Chapter 875 Heaven and hell, ultimate kill and counter-kill!
In a five-on-eight situation, the Blazers' tenacity was beyond imagination.
The performance of the Lakers was exactly the opposite. As the team that took advantage, except for Kobe and Paul who were able to score steadily, the other players' performance was extremely disappointing and made all kinds of mistakes.
Paul, who had staged a dramatic stunt before, had a psychological shadow in his heart. The Lakers now rely on Kobe's continuous output to barely maintain the situation with the Trail Blazers.
But even so, with three minutes left, the Lakers still trailed the Trail Blazers by 7 points.
With the intensity of the playoffs, this is already a big point difference.
The Trail Blazers have great hopes of winning the third game, and the situation is very favorable to them.
However, just after Lakers coach Jr. Walton called a timeout and put in a three-guard lineup of Paul Luwei and Kobe Bryant to chase points, the situation suddenly changed in just one minute.
The Lakers' "nervous knife" Lu Wei suddenly felt good and hit two three-pointers in a row, including an incredible 3-1, which instantly narrowed the point difference to 2 points.
This is a typical neurotic style of play. Players like Lu Wei and Ke Liu are like double-edged swords on the court. When the iron is strong, the volutes have to stay away, but once they are accurate, they can also defeat the opposing players.
Doubt life.
His current performance was like a super giant from outside, and Button didn't even have time to react.
Coach Terry on the sidelines also noticed something was wrong and was about to get up and call a timeout, but in just a few seconds, Paul suddenly made a great contribution and completed the steal of Lillard with a controversial collision action.
After stealing the ball, he decisively handed the ball to the god Lu Wei, who then faced Patton's layup and scored.
After a 9:2 personal offensive performance, the Trail Blazers' lead was completely wiped out.
During the All-Star Weekend, Kupchak also planned to use Lou Williams to trade for a strong blue-collar player at the trade deadline to strengthen the team's inside line.
But fortunately they didn't trade. This nerve knife successfully pulled the Lakers back from the cliff.
Lou Williams helped the Lakers stay alive, Paul regained his form, and with the steady performance of Kobe, the scores of both sides increased alternately in the following rounds.
In the last 31 seconds of the game, 120:121, the Lakers were only one point behind the Trail Blazers. At this time, they had the ball. Whether it was a two-pointer or a three-pointer, as long as they could score, they could overtake the score.
Seal the victory with this crucial goal.
Paul patiently organized the ball on the outside.
"The Lakers must win! Lakers game!"
The cheers from the home fans were deafening, doubling the pressure on the players on the field.
Before the game, I am afraid no one expected that the third game between the Trail Blazers and the Lakers would be so anxious, and the suspense of the outcome would not be announced until the last moment.
In the key attack, you don't have to think about it to know that the Lakers will definitely need Kobe to play it.
I just don’t know, is Kobe going to play singles by himself? Or is he going to catch and shoot?
The Lakers' space was very wide, and the Trail Blazers did not double-team immediately.
Time passed bit by bit, and the emotions of the fans at the scene were brewing bit by bit. When the time entered about 20 seconds, Paul called Gasol and mentioned a pick-and-roll outside the three-point line.
After opening, Paul broke through to a deep position, but once again chose to break up after taking off!
The basketball fell to the left corner, and as expected, it was Kobe who caught the ball!
Paul and Gasol successfully attracted defense for Kobe, which is what Walton wants to see most.
Now, it's Kobe's turn to perform!
As the first defensive gate on the Trail Blazers' wing, Batum knows that the only one who can stop Kobe now is himself.
He raised his arms high to interfere with Kobe's shooting vision.
At this time, Batum didn't dare to jump to block the ball rashly, because Kobe's fake shot was too dangerous.
Seeing that Batum had no intention of jumping to interfere, Kobe decisively chose to take a three-point shot!
I took over the game!
"Kobe shot, and Batum raised his arms high and pressed against him. His defense was very sophisticated. Kobe's shot must have been uncomfortable." Barkley praised Batum's defense.
The space in the bottom corner is inherently narrow, and behind you is out of bounds. If there are defensive players in front of you, it will undoubtedly be very uncomfortable for the shooting side.
For those who are inexperienced, there may even be embarrassing situations where they step on the line.
And this time Batum's defense was just right. There was no jump, so there was no possibility of losing position; there was no rush, so fouls were avoided.
He just raised his arms and pressed forward, which not only made Kobe uncomfortable, but also made himself absolutely safe, and also made it difficult for the three referees to find fault with him.
As expected of a top perimeter defender, he knows how to make opponents feel uncomfortable when they shoot three-pointers.
If nothing else, this ball should be able to be defended...
Well, actually there was an accident.
Kobe was indeed disturbed, and his lower body was deformed due to Batum's pressing defense.
But the lower body, especially the shooting hands, the Black Mamba, who has experienced many battles, has not deformed at all, and is still stable!
Batum's tricks are okay against ordinary people, but they are far from enough against Kobe.
When Wang Zelin was about to collect the rebound, the basketball went directly through the net and fell into his arms.
Kobe made a three-pointer, 123:121, and the Lakers took the lead by two points!
"Beautiful! You can always trust Kobe! The Lakers played so tough in the last few minutes! The incredible Purple and Gold Army! The incredible Black Mamba..."
After scoring the goal, Kobe held his collar in his mouth, raised his right arm, and showed three fingers, looking around with a murderous gaze.
At this moment, Barton, who was closest to him, felt like he had fallen into an ice cave, feeling terrible.
He obviously defended himself so well, but Kobe was still able to score?
The key is that when Kobe Bryant scored, besides being briefly surprised, he also felt that it was natural.
Well, it can only be said that for a young guard born and raised in the United States like Barton, Kobe's influence has been carried out since his childhood.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Kobe has thrown countless magic balls like this in his career. It is no wonder that Barton suddenly came up with this seemingly absurd idea.
In the surrounding stands, Lakers fans who had been excited all night ignored their hoarse throats, and cheers of "MVP" echoed through the Staples Center again.
Beep!
The Trail Blazers called the last timeout of the game and arranged their final attack.
Whether to hit a two-pointer to force overtime or shoot a three-pointer to kill the opponent, it all depends on Coach Terry's decision.
Return to the bench.
Wang Zelin glanced at the timer and saw that there were still 17 seconds left.
17 seconds? That’s enough!
"coach!"
After thinking about it, he turned to look at Coach Terry who was arranging the final attack.
In the last attack, coach Terry originally chose stability.
After all, Wang Zelin and Lillard are much younger than old guys like Kobe, Paul, and Gasol. As long as they score two points and send the game into overtime, the Trail Blazers will undoubtedly be the more advantageous side.
But at this time, Wang Zelin suddenly spoke and interrupted his arrangement.
"The last attack, let's go for three points!"
"you mean……"
"That's right, I want to kill the opponent directly! Let them feel real despair!"
Feeling the looks from his coach and teammates, Wang Zelin chuckled, but looked towards the Lakers with stern eyes.
"But, isn't it a bit..."
Coach Terry looked hesitant and wanted to give some advice.
"Don't forget, we still lead them 2-0!"
Hearing what Wang Zelin said, Coach Terry's eyes suddenly lit up. Yes, we are still two games ahead, so we do have the capital to waste.
At this time, Coach Terry had no objection and re-arranged the tactics.
Then, the trouble comes... If I shoot a three-pointer, who should I choose for the last shot?
According to past practice, the final touches at critical moments for the Trail Blazers are handled by Wang Zelin, and he has perfectly completed the important tasks entrusted by the team many times.
But this time, we can't let him shoot three-pointers, right?
It seems that except for a few three-pointers in the first two seasons, Wang Zelin has never made a three-pointer in the following years after his arsenal of interior offensive weapons became more and more abundant.
In this regard, Wang said: "I obviously have a long-range shooting ability with a rating of 72, but I just don't shoot! Well, I'm just playing..."
Seeing the coach's troubles, Wang Zelin smiled and pulled Lillard to his side: "Next, I will be responsible for containing the defense. Let Damien do the last attack!"
"Ah...I'll come?"
Lillard raised his head in surprise and found Wang Zelin looking at him expectantly.
"Yes, whether we eat meat or soup tonight depends on your performance."
"Just one sentence, okay?"
Sure enough, as soon as these words came out, even a man couldn't bear it.
"no problem!"
Lillard nodded heavily and took over the responsibility of the final attack.
The timeout ends and players from both sides return to the court.
The Trail Blazers are still playing with all their main players. On the surface, Lillard, Barton, Batum, and Aldridge all have three-point ability, which makes the Lakers dare not easily use double-team tactics.
On the Lakers' side, Lou Williams was replaced and replaced by Derrick Williams, who played better defensively. The center position was also changed from Ryan Kelly to Hibbert.
The purpose of Walton's adjustment is very clear, which is to strengthen the defensive ability of the lineup on the court.
The Trail Blazers served from the sideline. Lillard controlled the ball and stopped at the top of the arc. He was born with a big heart and faced Paul's harassment, and always firmly controlled the ball in his hands.
Time passed quickly and 10 seconds passed. In the last 7 seconds, Wang Zelin and Aldridge took the initiative to move to the high position and conduct a double pick-and-roll.
After the pick-and-roll, the two cut in and Lillard found the right opportunity and passed a through ball to Wang Zelin.
I knew it!
Seeing this, Little Walton looked like "I have seen through you a long time ago", and then shouted loudly: "Shrink the basket and double-attack Wang Zelin!"
"Defend! Defend!"
Staples Center once again became agitated. All the home fans stood up, roared excitedly, and stared directly at Trail Blazers No. 36 on the court.
His shot will most likely determine the Lakers' life or death tonight.
On the court, as soon as he entered the free throw line, Wang Zelin was blocked by Hibbert. He made a powerful header and successfully broke through the opponent and launched an attack towards the basket.
If left alone, Wang Zelin will easily complete the dunk and get the 26th point of the game!
The most important thing is that if he suddenly succeeds, the Trail Blazers will eat up the Lakers' last two-point advantage and achieve an equalizer.
Once the game enters overtime, it will be obviously disadvantageous for the Lakers in terms of players' physical fitness.
So Accel, who was in the short corner on the left, gritted his teeth and launched a suicidal attack. He dragged his almost 40-year-old body over and prepared to have a head-to-head confrontation with Wang Zelin in the air.
Just behind Wang Zelin, Paul also got rid of Lillard at the last moment and chose to shrink to the basket.
On the one hand, it is the tactical arrangement of the head coach, and on the other hand, in his opinion, it is impossible for a player like Wang Zelin to give up the goal that determines the outcome of the game to others at the last moment. He will definitely choose to do it himself.
Throughout Wang Zelin's NBA career of less than four years, except for the key ball he passed to Aldridge once in his rookie year and assisted the latter to complete the game-winner, he basically made several key game-winners himself.
That's why Paul was so determined and didn't want the game to be dragged into overtime by Wang Zelin.
However, this time everyone except the Trail Blazers guessed wrong. After Wang Zelin jumped to the basket, he did not choose to finish in the air, but passed the ball back to the outside.
The basketball finally landed at the top of the arc. As soon as Lillard received the ball, he took off directly outside the three-point line and made a clean shot! No adjustment at all!
Paul did not expect that Wang Zelin would choose to give up the last opportunity to attack, nor did he expect that Lillard would choose to take such a hasty shot. By the time he turned around and reached out to block it, Lillard had already thrown the ball.
"It's impossible for such a quick shot to go in, absolutely impossible..."
Little Walton thought silently in his heart, this Blazers No. 0 is not the damn Blazers No. 36, and there is no way he can have the critical ball ability of the latter.
That No. 0 is just a green leaf next to flowers. It is impossible for him to score such a goal?
As soon as Walton put his hands together, the basketball passed through the net and slapped him.
Just when all Lakers fans thought that Lillard, who was not even the second-best player of the Trail Blazers, could not hit such a key shot, the basketball passed through the net without any warning, leaving only the floating net.
"this……"
Walton Jr. was stunned. Paul, who was closest to Lillard on the court, was stunned. Kobe Bryant, who had struggled all night to score the highest score for the Lakers, was also stunned. All the fans in the audience were stunned.
Time stopped at that moment, and then quickly returned to normal.
"...It's in, the ball is in! It's amazing! The king chose his teammates at the last moment, the Trail Blazers refused to overtime, and they successfully beat the Lakers at the buzzer!"
"Let's not forget this young Trail Blazers guard, his name is Damian Lillard! He hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer that was enough to kill the game tonight!"
"One moment is heaven, the next moment is hell, that's the Los Angeles Lakers tonight!"
"A kill and a counter-kill?! This is the best show I've ever seen this year! Facing the Blazers, the young team of kings, even the Black Mamba couldn't save the Purple and Gold Army..."
The entire Staples Center was silent, with only the impassioned voices of commentators from major television stations remaining.