Chapter 107 Decisive Battle of the French Sports Car
At halftime, Lin Yu, who won the battle with Bruce Bowen, scored 22 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.
Relying on Lin Yu's outstanding personal performance, the Celtics took a 6-point lead at halftime.
The Spurs played very tenaciously, and Lin Yu and Pierce teamed up to almost crush the Spurs' perimeter.
However, the strong side cooperation between Parker and Duncan is still a problem that the Celtics cannot solve. The Spurs have also been relying on the scoring of Duncan and Parker to maintain the suspense of the game.
In the second half of the game, Lin Yu continued to work hard, and the more he played, the more he looked like the man in Los Angeles.
With all kinds of forced fadeaway jumpers and three-pointers, Lin Yu went completely crazy. Bruce Bowen, who didn't use any small moves, couldn't restrain Lin Yu, who was already shooting hotly.
But on the other side, the Spurs relied on the steady scoring of Duncan and Parker, as well as the performance of role players, to stabilize the situation that was about to collapse.
The Spurs have always been in a lagging position, but they have also kept the gap behind within 8 points.
At the last moment of the fourth quarter, they relied on veteran Brent Barry to score two three-pointers, suddenly narrowing the point difference to less than 5 points.
In the last 1 minute and 45 seconds, the Celtics led 105:101 by 4 points and had the ball in hand. The game entered the most critical stage.
The Spurs chased points frantically, while the Celtics tried their best to stabilize the lead.
As the atmosphere began to get tense, Doc Rivers called a timeout and was about to make a substitution.
"In the last 1 minute and 45 seconds, Lin, you are going to be the point guard. Wally comes on to replace Delonte. Paul plays the three position, Al at the fourth position, and Kendrick at the fifth position."
Rivers put together what he thought was the Celtics' strongest lineup, and then, Jim Brevo suddenly whispered something in his ear.
Rivers suddenly became excited: "Everyone, before the game starts at the last moment, I want to tell you some good news. The Milwaukeeans lost!"
The Bucks lost, what does it mean?
This means that as long as the Celtics win this game, they will be able to overtake the Bucks in terms of record, and with one win advantage, they will be ranked eighth in the Eastern Conference and officially enter the playoffs.
At this time, Rivers announced such good news, obviously to stimulate the fighting spirit of the players.
"Guys, the playoffs are right around the corner. If we win this game, we will be eighth in the Eastern Conference. This is a rare opportunity and we can't miss it!"
"Beat the San Antonians and get this win!"
All of a sudden, the Celtics bench became excited, and everyone was shouting as if they were on fire. They wanted to go on the court immediately and kill the opposing Spurs directly with three-pointers one after another.
This is what Rivers wants. At critical moments, fighting spirit is far more effective than some complicated and difficult tactics.
"The Celtics made a substitution. Wally Szczerbiak came on, replaced Delonte West, replaced a shooting guard with a point guard. At the last moment, the Celtics' position should be
How to distribute it?”
"The Spurs also made substitutions. Tony Parker and Manu partnered in the backcourt. Small forwards Bruce Bowen and Tim Duncan moved to the fifth position. The player at the fourth position is Robert Horry."
"The big heart Horry is here, and the Spurs are also determined to win this game..."
Lin Yu tucked the hem of his jersey into his shorts and stood on the sidelines.
Wally Szczerbiak also appeared on the court, and for a while, the Spurs didn't know how the Celtics' positions were allocated.
Pierce, who was serving from the sideline, passed the ball to Lin Yu. Lin Yu controlled the ball and came to the frontcourt. Bruce Bowen was still marking him.
At the critical moment, Uncle Bao's little tricks came out again.
This guy looked at Lin Yu and frowned, then laughed and goaded Lin Yu: "Don't think about falling to the ground and committing a foul. Boy, it's the last moment. The referee won't blow the whistle."
Lin Yu knew this, and he temporarily tolerated Bowen's little actions.
At this moment, he only has eyes for the basket. He wants to score goals. He wants to lead the Celtics to win this game and then enter the playoffs.
Controlling the ball from the outside, Lin Yu asked for a screen, passed the screen and accelerated to the mid-range.
At the last moment, the Spurs rotated defense very quickly, and soon formed a partial pincer attack on Lin Yu.
A fadeaway jumper or a pass?
Lin Yu chose to pass the ball because he saw Wally Szczerbiak in the other corner.
He jumped up high, seemingly trying to shoot, and missed Bruce Bowen, who was guarding him, and Robert Horry, who was assisting him.
Lin Yu suddenly turned around in the air and threw the ball directly towards Wally Szczerbiak.
"Wally, who just came on the field, got the ball. Does he want to take action directly?"
Szczerbiak took the key ball directly.
But the moment he took the shot, he missed it a little, and with a bang, the basketball hit the frame amidst the exclamations of the entire court.
"Wally's shot didn't go in, whose rebound was it?" Kenny Smith in the commentary box opened his eyes wide: "Tim Duncan grabbed the rebound, it's so crucial!"
The basketball was quickly passed to Tony Parker, and the French sports car accelerated toward the frontcourt, and Lin Yu pushed forward.
"China Lin defends Tony Parker, and the Celtics' position distribution is clear. China Lin takes over the point guard position. With his current style, it is very suitable to play the point guard position."
Parker accelerated to the frontcourt, Lin Yu kept up with his speed, Duncan provided a cover, and Lin Yu was directly blocked.
Pierce on the wing immediately ran over to cover the defense.
Rivers covered his face off the court. The moment Pierce made up the defense, he knew that the Celtics' defense had made a mistake.
"Tony Parker passed the screen, Paul Pierce helped defend, oh no, Tony Parker just passed the ball!"
Robert Horry received the ball in the bottom corner, and under the desperate eyes of the Boston fans, he raised his hand and shot the three-pointer.
Whoosh!
"The ball went in! As expected of the big-hearted Horry, he hit a key three-pointer as soon as he came on the field, and the score difference was only one point in an instant!"
Charles Barkley glanced at the time: "There are only 1 minute and 11 seconds left in the game. The Celtics still have the ball and they urgently need to score."
One point behind and with more than one minute of game time, the Spurs were suddenly not in a hurry.
Returning to the defensive end, they patiently organized their defense, like a huge spider web, covering all aspects, leaving not even a shred of space for the Celtics.
Lin Yu tried to play singles, but was flanked after breaking through.
After passing the ball, Pierce also played in singles after receiving the ball, but still failed to make a great opportunity.
There wasn't much time, and Pierce immediately wanted to vote.
On the flank, Lin Yu kept running back and forth without the ball, and Uncle Bao could only follow Lin Yu and keep running back and forth.
During the third turnaround run, Lin Yu suddenly changed direction midway and ran out of a T-shape. Perkins also appeared on the path of this T-shape at the most appropriate time.
"Give me the ball!"
In the last three seconds, Pierce jumped up, retracted the hands that were guarding the shot, and then violently threw them behind him.
"In the last two seconds, China Lin's open three-pointer! The goal was scored!"
Charles Barkley was already cheering, because Lin Yu's open three-pointer hit more than 90% of the time. In Barkley's view, this goal was a must-goal.
Whoosh!
The basketball got into the basket in response!
The cheers at the TD North Shore Garden Arena exploded instantly, and Charles Barkley shouted at the top of his lungs: "At the critical moment, China Lin of the Celtics also stood up. He shot a three-pointer at the buzzer and responded directly.
Robert Horry’s three-pointer!”
"In the last 47 seconds, we regained the 4-point gap. Let's see how the Spurs play."
Tony Parker controlled the ball and advanced to the frontcourt. He pressed for time and seemed to be preparing to accurately time the offense and defense with only two rounds left.
Time passed by minute by second, and everyone felt that their breathing was tense.
Especially for the Celtics, their 4-point lead gave them temporary peace of mind, but this game was too crucial to allow for any loss.
At about a 45-degree angle to the left of the top of the arc, Lin Yu faced Tony Parker.
He lowered his body's center of gravity, put his long arms in front of him, and stared at the basketball, his entire attention focused to the extreme.
Tony Parker changed hands to dribble from his hip, then placed the basketball on his right side and patted it three times in a row.
Then, Lin Yu saw an obvious movement of leaning forward while dribbling, like a slow motion, which slowly made him feel excited and excited.
At this moment, Lin Yu opened his eyes wide, and the basketball enlarged in his pupils.
His right hand quickly reached out and accurately hit the basketball.
boom!
Shouts of exclamation!
"Precise interception!"
Lin Yu rushed out and pushed aside Tony Parker who was stagnant. After grabbing the basketball, he accelerated directly and headed towards the frontcourt!
"Oh God, at the most critical moment, Lin from China stole Tony Parker, and the French sports car made a mistake. He made a big mistake that determined the outcome of this game!"
Manu Ginobili and Bruce Bowen were chasing after Lin Yu, but Lin Yu stopped before rushing to the front three-point line.
He raised his hand and chased a three-pointer!
Whoosh!
The entire TD North Shore Garden Arena went crazy...