At the beginning of the third quarter, the Knicks had the ball.
Lin Yu controlled the ball into the frontcourt, and the atmosphere in the Madison Square Garden Arena was quite warm, and there was a burst of cheers.
After controlling the frontcourt, Lin Yu didn't stop and walked in immediately.
Randolph came over and provided a screen, and Lin Yu used this to get rid of Tony Allen who was marking him.
Continuing inside, Garnett was pressing over, and Tony Allen was also going around the screen. Everything seemed to have acquiesced that Lin Yu was about to break through.
Lin Yu suddenly changed hands and dribbled from behind, taking a step to the left. He was completely away from the defense. In front of him was Randolph, who was blocking Tony Allen and Garnett.
He glanced at the basket, adjusted, and finally raised his hand to shoot the three-pointer.
With a swish sound, a three-pointer was hit!
There was a loud cheer at Madison Square Garden.
This three-pointer did not quench the thirst, because after the three-pointer, the Knicks were still 8 points behind. The key to the game was still defense.
Lin Yu cannot play like this every round. If the Knicks want to regain their disadvantage, they must improve their defense to the same level as the Celtics.
But it’s so difficult that almost everyone thinks it’s impossible.
However, Lionel Hollins seems to be very convinced that his targeted adjustments in the midfield will have an effect.
The Celtics' offense is controlled by Rondo and when Tony Allen is on the court as the shooting guard, Lin Yu can devote more energy to the defense side.
But now, not only Lin Yu, but also Lowry has invested more energy in assisting defense.
Rondo got a lot of intuitive opportunities. For example, with this ball, he got a good breakthrough space. Therefore, he began to control the ball for a long time, seeking to break down the defense one-on-one.
But the problem is that Lowry didn't completely let go of Rondo. As long as Rondo breaks through, the Knicks' supplementary defense and assisting defense are also in place.
Just like that, Rondo controlled the Celtics' first attack of the second half for almost 14 seconds. His last seemingly smooth breakthrough layup was interfered by Lin Yu, who was assisting on defense.
The basketball hit the backboard with a bang and bounced down.
Lowry followed up and grabbed the rebound, and the Knicks immediately launched a counterattack.
The quality of the counterattack was still poor, but Lin Yu seemed to burst out suddenly. He received the ball and rushed to the frontcourt. Facing Tony Allen, he first changed hands and dribbled past his opponent.
Then he faced Rondo, who was on defense, and there was another change of hands from behind. After changing back again, he simultaneously raised his hands for a layup.
The basketball knocked on the edge of the basket and got in obediently.
"Facing Tony Allen's defense, he scored 5 points in a row. In the second half, China Lin almost single-handedly brought the first-half deficit to 6 points!"
With a score difference of 6 points, Lin Yu's score finally quenched his thirst.
The Knicks' defense was similar to the previous round. Rondo controlled the ball from the outside and Lowry took a big step.
This gives Rondo room for singles and room for imagination.
The other Knicks players defended their position very tightly and meticulously.
His teammates had no chance, so Rondo did it on his own without hesitation.
Therefore, for several rounds in a row, Rondo seemed to suddenly become a black hole for the Celtics' ball rights, swallowing up the Celtics' ball rights in almost every round without getting corresponding rewards.
The Knicks were going smoothly during this period. After Lin Yu scored 5 points in the opening game, the Celtics quickly shifted their defensive focus.
But then, Lin Yu started to assist his teammates again.
Although in this game, his teammates are a bit tough and can hit the frame hard even in wide open spaces.
But as long as there are enough opportunities, there will always be points scored.
In this way, the game lasted for about five minutes, and the remaining 6-point deficit was erased.
In addition to the 5 points in the opening game, Lin Yu scored 4 points and 3 assists during this period. In the first half of the third quarter, he scored 9 points and 3 assists, which was regarded as the Knicks' tie with the Celtics.
The greatest contributor.
The score was immediately tied. James Dolan in the stand box, like ordinary New York fans, became extremely excited, following Madison's roar, cheering again and again, and even screaming and shouting Lin Yu's name.
As Doc Rivers called a timeout, James Dolan turned to look at Steve Mills.
Steve Mills knew what Dolan wanted to ask. He didn't wait for the other party to ask and said directly: "Leon's adjustment in the second half was so critical. We let go of the second-year point guard on the opposite side and achieved miraculous results!"
"Is that the little guy with the grimace on his face?"
"Yes, that's him. This guy doesn't have long shots. He only has one attack: break through and then distribute the ball. He's a bit like the point guard version of LeBron James, but obviously, he doesn't have LeBron's ability. So, Celtic
After the ball was completely given to him, the offense collapsed."
What Steve Mills said is relatively simple, or he sees it very clearly.
In fact, Hollins' adjustment accurately hit the Celtics' fate.
In the second half of the season, the Celtics' offense greatly improved, largely relying on Rondo's sudden scoring style. But obviously, Rondo's sudden scoring style is a bottle of poison.
When used well, it is very helpful and very effective.
But when it really matters, he will hurt the team itself.
The Knicks' current defense encouraged Rondo's sudden points from the source, but in the end, directly cut off the end point of the sudden points.
For the Celtics, they now have only two options.
One is: Recover Rondo's ball rights and hand it over to Pierce or Garnett.
Article 2: Remove the blue-collar players from the lineup and replace them with shooters, forcing the Knicks' defense to expand, instead of like the opening of the third quarter, where even Lin Yu can continue to shrink because his opponent is Tony
-Alan.
After the timeout, Doc Rivers replaced Ray Allen.
Obviously, he chose the second path and added shooters.
This is completely understandable. For the Celtics, Rondo's sudden scoring system is still very important. It enriches the Celtics' offensive system and helps the Celtics get many easy scoring opportunities.
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After the timeout, the Celtics recovered somewhat.
As for the Knicks, Lin Yu gritted his teeth and played a few more minutes, leaving the game with a 4-point lead.
But by the end of the third quarter, the Celtics got the score back.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the two teams were tied again.
Lin Yu continued to stay off the court to rest. Compared with the early days of his career, his physical fitness has improved somewhat. Now, he has no problem playing for seven or eight minutes in a game.
Therefore, Hollins planned to wait until the last 8 minutes of the game to replace Lin Yu again.
Even on the court, the Celtics began to take the lead thanks to their successful defense, but Hollins did not waver.