In the East, the top-ranked Bulls once again defeated the Pacers without any blood.
The best player in this game was Rose. He made 11 of 25 shots and 12 of 13 free throws. He scored 36 points, 7 assists, 8 rebounds, and 6 turnovers.
Although there were a lot of mistakes, Rose's impact was still very strong, and he disrupted the Pacers' defense by himself.
Losing this game, the Pacers also trailed the Bulls by a score of 0:2, and the situation was very dangerous.
In another game, the Heat, second in the Eastern Conference, easily defeated the 76ers 94:73.
Facing a weak opponent, James was full of firepower. He made 10 of 19 shots from the field, with a very high shooting percentage. He scored a game-high 29 points, 6 assists, and 7 rebounds.
In terms of his ability to torture food, James is quite powerful!
The duel between the third-place Celtics and the sixth-place Knicks in the Eastern Conference went to the last minute. Anthony showed off his power and scored astonishing data of 42 points, 6 assists, and 17 rebounds!
However, the Green Army blossomed more, with Rondo contributing 30 points, Pierce 20 points, Ray Allen 18 points, and Garnett also scored 12 points.
What is a pity for the Knicks is that their backcourt general Billups was injured for the season.
If Billups had not been injured, the game would still have been played.
In the end, the Knicks regretfully lost 93:96.
In another game in the Eastern Conference, the Magic pulled back a victory 88:82 at home, and the series score became 1:1!
Howard also showed his prowess in this game. He made 9 of 12 shots from the field. His shooting percentage was very scary. He also made 15 of 19 free throws. He performed exceptionally and scored 33 points and 19 rebounds.
Even so, the Magic only won by 6 points!
Now every team in the league has understood one truth, that is, to deal with the Magic, they must guard their perimeter!
In this game, the Magic made 5 of 23 three-pointers from outside, with a shooting percentage of only 21.7%!
If Howard's free throw shooting percentage is slightly worse and returns to its usual level, the Magic will probably lose!
…
At 8:30 pm on April 23, the third game between the Warriors and Trail Blazers officially started at the Portland Rose Garden Arena.
The current big score between the two teams is 2:0. The Trail Blazers are backed by a cliff and have no way out.
If we lose this game again, there will be no suspense in the series!
In order to seek changes, McMillan once again changed the starting lineup and sent Roy, Matthews, Batum, Fernandez and Aldridge at the beginning.
Roy, Matthews, Batum, and Fernandez all have good three-pointers, and Aldridge's mid-range shot is also very accurate.
This is the Blazers' five-man group with the most firepower on offense!
In addition, McMillan also made changes on the defensive end and began to flank Curry!
In the first game, McMillan wanted to grind out the position and fight defensively, but the Warriors' offense in the first few minutes made him give up this idea.
In the second game, McMillan took a unique approach and let Curry attack, hoping to lock down the rest of the Warriors. As a result, Curry showed off his power and led the team to a victory.
In this game, McMillan finally figured it out: he must not only attack, but also double-team Curry!
It is impossible to defend against the Warriors!
If you want to win, you have to play offense!
The Warriors' offensive firepower is already there, and the Trail Blazers' current lineup cannot defend them.
In this case, the only hope is to attack!
What if the whole Blazers team feels hot today and they all eat dumplings!
Although this probability is relatively small, it is not impossible!
So McMillan replaced the old Miller and Wallace and brought on Roy and Fernandez.
In addition, the last game also made McMillan understand a truth, that is, Curry must not be let go!
Two fists can't beat four hands, and a hero can't stand up to a crowd. This principle only applies to ordinary stars!
It’s useless against superstars!
Especially a player like Curry!
Curry only needs a few minutes to blow up the game!
And once Curry performs, the energy value of the entire Warriors team will immediately be full!
This is the scariest!
So Curry must be flanked!
In fact, McMillan also has a little thought of his own:
After these two games, the Blazers have little hope of reversal!
The Warriors are crushed in all directions!
The starters are stronger than the Blazers, and the difference between the bench comparisons is even greater!
There is little chance of winning the series, it’s time to find someone to take the blame!
Losing to Curry alone is my incompetence!
And losing to Curry's teammates is because the general manager is incompetent!
Curry is a superstar, and his characteristic is his super explosive scoring power. This is something everyone knows!
In this case, if you still dare to let Curry go and not double-team him, isn't that because the head coach is incompetent or something?
But if Curry is double-teamed and the Warriors rely on others to defeat us, then it’s none of my business...
The role players are great, what can I do?
If you can find such good role players for me, I can win too!
If you can't find good role players, that's the general manager's responsibility!
Therefore, McMillan has some thoughts of his own.
The head coach made up his mind and the result was predictable.
Curry's double attack of the Trail Blazers is very determined!
As long as Curry picks and rolls, Batum and Aldridge will decisively step forward to flank Curry!
Don't give Curry a chance to take action!
Even if Curry wants to pass the ball, he can't easily succeed!
Keep giving Curry physical confrontation!
Pulling, colliding, stumbling on the rope...
Curry fell to the ground 5 times in just 3 minutes!
Even if he commits a foul, Curry will not be able to play comfortably!
This is our home court!
The referee must give some face!
McMillan is betting!
Falling behind 0:2, there will be no suspense if we lose another series.
The alliance won't sit idly by and do nothing, right?
One more game equals millions of dollars!
As a head coach who has been in the league for many years, McMillan is still very experienced.
The result was similar to what McMillan thought. The referee was indeed very good to the Blazers!
Don’t call any fouls you can!
Even if you have to call fouls, try to call them on role players!
With the help of the referees, the Blazers were very aggressive on the defensive end.
The referee wants to help but has nothing to do with us!
We just play hard!
If you want to blame it, blame the referee!
The defensive end is full of aggression, and the offensive end of the Trail Blazers team is also very active: breakthroughs, throwing three-pointers, fast break layups...
Although the Trail Blazers played well, the Warriors still maintained the lead!
There is no way, the Warriors are much stronger than the Trail Blazers!
No matter what, you still have to rely on hard power to speak in the arena!
If you can’t do it yourself, it’s useless for the referee to help you!
Besides, although the referee is a bit biased, he is not the crazy type!
After all, this is only the first round of the playoffs!
No matter how high the attention is, it won’t get you anywhere!
Too obvious favoritism will cause the alliance to lose its due fairness, which is detrimental to the long-term interests of the alliance.
The only place where the referee can do anything is in the gray area: he can call it or not!
A discerning person would know the penalty at a glance and the referee would not dare to call it casually!
So even though the Trail Blazers played well, the Warriors still maintained the lead.
Although the lead is not large, it is a lead after all!
If Curry holds the ball, the Blazers will attack like crazy, so don't let Curry hold the ball and attack!
We are not the best in the league, we must have the ball in hand!
Even if we are just a pure shooter, our threat is big enough!
Letting Lopez challenge Aldridge in the paint is also a good choice!
We dare to flank Aldridge, but do you dare to flank Lopez?
The four of you on the outside are all good three-pointers, and the four of us on the outside are all elite shooters!
Your three-point score may not be bad compared with other teams, but not with us!
The most important thing is that several players on the Warriors' defense are good, and it is difficult for the Trail Blazers to penetrate the Warriors' defense!
Lopez's inside shot blocking is top-notch, and Prince, Azubuike and Laga Bell are all defensive heroes!
Even Curry is not bad at perimeter defense!
The Trail Blazers' lineup is good at three-point shooting, but its independent offensive ability is not good.
Roy was originally very capable in singles, but after a serious injury, he lost his explosive power and his athletic ability dropped by more than one level!
No matter how good your technique is, it won’t work without certain physical conditions to guarantee it!
What's more, Roy doesn't have any skills that are far superior to ordinary people!
Three points?
Can shoot!
But it’s just a matter of shooting!
Being an open shooter is good, but a pull-up three-pointer is not good!
This is Roy before the injury!
breakthrough?
Can break out!
But that’s only if you have explosive power!
Without explosive power, no one can easily break through a defensive champion like Laga Bell!
If he had a three-pointer like Curry, Roy might be able to use his breakthrough ability!
As soon as you raise your hand, the opponent will jump, so it will be easy to break through.
But Roy's three-pointer is not that good!
With no breakthrough and not many open opportunities, it would be difficult for Roy to lead the team forward.
Roy can't do it, Batum, Fernandez and Matthews can't do it even more!
Matthews is a pure shooter, and so is Fernandez.
Neither of them has the ability to attack with the ball!
Batum has a certain ability to attack with the ball, but that's all!
It's okay to suddenly jump in and encounter an opponent with terrible defense!
Opponents, be careful, it won't work if you are facing a defensive champion like Azubuike!
The only one the Trail Blazers can attack with the ball is Aldridge.
But Lopez’s single defense ability is not bad!
Lopez's problem on the defensive end is that he moves slowly and is not very good at attacking outwards.
But facing one-on-one attacks from inside players, Lopez is not afraid.
What's more, the Warriors also kept letting Lopez beat Aldridge in isolation on the offensive end!
If you hit me once, I'll come back in the next round!
Your offense is good, and my offense is not bad either!
What's more, I have a group of good teammates!
My teammates dare to flank you. Do your teammates dare to flank me?
So in the competition with Aldridge, Lopez does not fall behind!
There are no singles players on the outside, and there is no advantage in the competition inside. Even if the referee helps, the Blazers are always at a disadvantage!
After the first quarter, the Trail Blazers trailed by 5 points.
Curry was severely restricted by the Trail Blazers in this quarter. He only had 3 shooting opportunities. He threw in a three-pointer and scored 2 points from free throws. He scored 5 points in total.
However, Curry took advantage of the opponent's double attack to send 4 assists in a single quarter. Coupled with indirect assists, Curry created many scoring opportunities for his teammates.
It is impossible to completely restrict a superstar like Curry!
If he really could, then he wouldn't be a superstar!
In the second quarter, the Warriors played off the bench, with Aldridge and Matthews of the Trail Blazers still on the court.
There is no way, the Trail Blazers are rotating with 8 people, and no one else can be used!
Although they were at a disadvantage in the starting competition, with the help of the referees, the Trail Blazers did not lose much.
But it’s different once the substitute comes in!
The Warriors' bench is better than the main players of most teams in the league!
What's more, the Warriors' bench has a physical advantage!
The second quarter only lasted 5 minutes, and the score difference reached 12 points!
Trail Blazers head coach McMillan called two timeouts in a row, trying to interrupt the Warriors' rhythm, but failed.
There is no way, the Trail Blazers players are just as good as they are, and they are at an absolute disadvantage physically, so there is no point in worrying the head coach!
Soon, at the end of the second quarter, the score became 79:62!
The Warriors lead by 17 points!
The score of 62 points is quite high for the Trail Blazers, but the Warriors scored even higher!
The Trail Blazers played well offensively, but not so much on the defensive end.
There is no way, the Trail Blazers can't defend what they can attack, and they can't attack what they can defend!
If you want to attack well, you have to give up defense!
This is also McMillan's helpless choice.
After the intermission, the third quarter started.
The Trail Blazers' defensive strategy didn't change in the second half, and they still choked Curry!
You can lose the team battle, but Curry must die!
MacMillan made up his mind and recognized this truth!
But Curry doesn't care and keeps creating opportunities for his teammates through off-the-ball movements!
Anyway, I have rested for a long time and am full of energy. Let’s just go around and play!
See who is afraid of who!
Do you dare not to switch defenses?
As long as I switch defenses, I'll have a chance!
As long as you flank your teammates, you will have an easy chance to score!
As long as I win, I don't care!
I really don't care!
We are not the first in the league...
I have to say that sometimes Curry without the ball is even scarier!
As long as you give Curry a chance, as long as you let Curry catch the ball in the open space, your opponent will be in trouble!
When Curry holds the ball, the opponent's defense is still very targeted.
Curry is hard to defend without the ball!
Under the gravitational restraint of Curry, the rest of the Warriors got many easy scoring opportunities.
Fortunately, Roy suddenly woke up in this quarter and hit several difficult long-range shots in a one-on-one challenge against Laga Bell's defense.
A wounded lion is still a lion!
It is impossible to perform well in several consecutive games, but it is still possible to perform occasionally in one game.
With Roy's outstanding performance, the Trail Blazers also brought the score closer.
After 8 minutes of the third quarter, the score difference between the two teams came to 9 points.
Deng Fang called a timeout.
After the timeout, the Warriors replaced Curry and brought in Lowry and Tucker.
With Lowry, Azubuike, Tucker, Prince, and Lopez, the Warriors' defensive strength suddenly improved a lot!
Roy was also restrained a bit.
Fortunately, the Warriors' own offense was not very good either, and the point difference between the two teams did not change much.
Soon, at the end of the third quarter, the score between the two teams became 105:97!
