Winning the first game, the Lakers finally breathed a sigh of relief, because they have tried the Rockets' ceiling. The Rockets are actually no less powerful than the Lakers, but the experience gap is too big. Needless to say, O'Neal, because of Kobe's two-world experience, he can reasonably handle the key ball in difficult times in the playoffs.

On May 31, the second game between the two sides continued at the Staples Center. Before the game, the old Nelson emphasized the defense very rarely, requiring the players to strengthen the confrontation and overwhelm the Lakers from the morale.

ABC is still responsible for the national broadcast of this game. After Jordan retires, the NBA can still be so popular, Kobe and the Lakers can be said to have contributed.

Smith introduced before the game: "The Knicks actually defeated the Pacers in the Eastern Conference yesterday. It's incredible. I really didn't expect Van Gundy's team to be able to play like this. It seems that the Knicks want a black out."

Link sighed: "This year's playoffs are really subversive, but the Eastern Conference finals were too ugly."

Smith laughed and said: "This is caused by the characteristics of the players and the skills and tactics of the game. There is rarely an offensive team that thinks about the current Lakers and the Rockets in the league. Didn't you notice that the Lakers and the Rockets are similar in many ways. The offensive starts from the point guard, and the end points are generally completed by the inside, but O'Neal's finishing ability is stronger than Duncan. Duncan's help defense ability surpasses O'Neal, and the Lakers' outside three-pointer is also better. opponent."

Link laughed: "Anyway, I think most of the fans in the United States definitely hope that the Lakers beat the Rockets a step further. You know Kobe is now an idol sought after by many young men and women."

The whistle sounded and the game began.

The Rockets start five players: Duncan, Olajuwon, Carter, Nash, Bowen.

Today, the Rockets put Bowen on the starting lineup in order to choke Kobe. Although Bowen is not as good as Jackson on offense, he can rank in the top three in the league in terms of perimeter defense.

The Rockets lineup is the same as the previous game: Kobe, O'Neal, Barkley, Ray Allen, Eddie Jones.

This lineup can maximize the Lakers' offensive and defensive balance and will not collapse at any time.

O'Neal won the jump ball and the game began.

Bryant held the ball in the middle, and it was Bruce Bowen who defended him. Ray Allen and Eddie Jones pulled away from the side.

Kobe suddenly made a jump shot from the penalty spot, Bowen was very focused, the ball missed under his interference, and Duncan grabbed the rebound.

Kobe shook his head when he retired. He was a little anxious for this shot. At the same time, he also tried Bowen's defensive ability, which really improved too much.

Many people in later generations will say that Bowen's defense is dirty and like to step up, but to be honest, can Bowen be the core of the perimeter defense in the Spurs defensive system. Does it really depend on the bottom line? If it weren't for the superior defensive ability, how could the four major strikers complain.

Rockets offensive, Bowen is defended by his good friend Ray Allen. You heard right. Bowen and Gentleman Ray are actually very good friends in private. In this life, Bowen still keeps disgusting little defensive moves, but still There has not been a stepping behavior. It seems that the environment is really an important factor in character, so Bowen and Ray Allen have not fallen out. Kobe focused on Carter, only he can keep up with Carter's speed and resist Carter's impact.

Nash held the ball to organize, and Duncan passed the ball to Carter after a pick-and-roll. Carter jumped up and handed the ball to Olajuwon.

Barkley changed defense against Olajuwon, clinging to the big dream behind him, Olajuwon couldn't move his footsteps, turned around and made a jumper, but also missed the interference of O'Neal.

Both sides attach great importance to defense. In this way, they can't get up fast. They can only focus on singles. In the last game, both teams have figured out the opponent's matching routines. This game needs to fight for star ability.

An important criterion for testing whether a star is a superstar is "singles", how the league will be reformed in the future, and how strict team cooperation will be, this has not changed. When the opponent's defense is tight and the rotation is excellent, singles will be the best way to win.

Although Curry has won the regular season MVP again in his previous life, his status has not been recognized by many fans. An important reason is that his singles ability is a little watery. When the playoffs are intensified and the defense is tighter, Curry's efficiency will be greatly reduced compared to the regular season.

And the reason why Kobe, James and others evaluate it higher than elementary school students is because they can open the situation with singles at critical moments in the playoffs.

Six minutes before the first quarter of the game, the Lakers overtook the Rockets, leading 16-11.

Rudy Tomjanovich began to adjust the lineup, replaced Pierce, replaced Bowen, and added an offensive point.

The Rockets changed to Olajuwon’s side screen. Carter and Duncan played the pick and roll in the middle and hit the basket. O'Neal faced a huge test. He needed to block the impact of the Rockets outside while ensuring the number of fouls.

Carter's offensive is very determined, that is, an empty cut to hit the basket and specialize in O'Neal. Soon O'Neal received two fouls and had to stop temporarily.

The old Nelson simply replaced Barkley with Horry, Mobley replaced Eddie Jones, let Nowitzki play the small forward, Kobe played at the fifth position, and started shooting compared to the Rockets.

Both sides fire frequently on the outside, the Rockets are not as efficient as the Lakers, but the inside rebounds are worse than the Lakers, and the two sides fought hard.

At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers led 31 to 27 by four points.

In the second quarter, both teams were placed on the bench. For the Rockets, Nash and Alston formed double point guards. Inside O'Neal and Brad Miller partnered, Pierce continued to play small forwards; for the Lakers, Ryan Bowen and Huo Li was responsible for defending O'Neal and Brad Miller, Lewis played the third position on the outside, and Fisher and Mobley played double shots in the backcourt.

Not to mention that Lewis, Miller, Pierce and others are all All-Star players, but they have not yet grown up at this time. Both teams played fiercely on the bench, but both sides made a lot of mistakes.

After eight minutes of playing, the two teams switched to the starters at the same time, and the game was deadlocked until halftime.

In the third quarter, the Rockets outside players suddenly exerted their strength. Carter made three three-pointers in a single quarter, two of which were against Kobe's defense. Kobe's hands covered almost all of Carter's sight.

Once the star convulses, no amount of strong defense will work.

Carter’s three-point shooting ability is actually very strong, better than his cousin Tracy McGrady, but he loves dunking too much and doesn’t shoot many three-pointers. This gives people the impression that Carter’s long-range shooting ability is average. .

O'Neal was troubled by fouls in the game, and received two more fouls in the middle of the third quarter and was forced to rest.

Without O'Neal, the Lakers are 79 to 82, 3 points behind to enter the fourth quarter.

At the beginning of the last quarter, both sides convulsed at the same time. Kobe scored four three-pointers in three minutes. Ray Allen made 2 of 3 three-pointers. For the Rockets, Nash scored three three-pointers. Carter is in this state. It broke the table and scored two more three-pointers.

Both teams ran and blasted, and the guards advanced to the frontcourt as soon as possible. Whoever had the opportunity to vote, and quickly returned to defense after the shot, the score also rose alternately.

In the last few minutes, the Rockets veteran Olajuwon experienced physical problems again, but he gritted his teeth and continued to support.

In order to win the game, everyone on both teams worked hard.

In the last minute and a half, Kobe and O'Neal made a pick and roll in the middle, passing Jackson and scoring a layup.

With the Rockets offensive, Carter attracted a double-team and scored in the middle. Nash scored in the shot.

In the last 18 seconds, the two sides drew 102 and the Lakers controlled the ball.

The old Nelson handed the key ball to Kobe. O'Neal was the most sure of this, but the league has not introduced relevant restrictions for the shark-slashing tactics, so O'Neal can only cheer for his teammates off the court.

Bryant held the ball and Barkley's pick and roll. After getting rid of Jackson's entanglement, he went straight to the basket. Carter and Duncan came out to double-team. Kobe shot backwards from a high post, his back almost stuck to the floor, and finally avoided the defense and shot the ball.

With only 3.6 seconds left for the Rockets, Rudy Tomjanovich immediately called a timeout.

After the timeout, the Rockets replaced Duncan and Pierce, leaving only Olajuwon inside.

Olajuwon fought off Barkley, leaped high and received a free throw from Nash, without stopping for half a moment, and passed the ball directly to Carter who was fast-moving in the air. Carter caught the ball and shot a step away from the three-point line. , The red light was on when the basketball was flying in the air. With a scream, the basketball went straight to the net, 104 to 105. Carter killed the Lakers with a total score of 1 to 1.

After landing, Carter had no time to cheer, and rushed to Olajuwon, who fell to the floor due to cramps, and pressed his leg with his teammates.

Everyone in the Staples Center stayed the moment the basketball fell into the rim, and couldn't believe it for a long time.

O'Neal looked at the scoreboard with a serious look~lightnovelpub.net~ With his fists clenched, this game can be said that the Lakers lost on the inside, because when O'Neal was trapped in foul trouble, no one could replace him. .

The old Nelson's mentality is very flat, comforting the frustrated disciples one by one. After all, 7 games are 4 wins and the loss of a home game is just not the end of the world.

Smith sighed: "There is no loser in this game. The Lakers are already defensive very well. When Olajuwon finally received the ball, his physical energy was actually exhausted, and he delivered the ball to Carter precisely with perseverance."

Link regretfully said: "I think it will be difficult for the Rockets to stand up if they play overtime. It is because Rudy Tomjanovich knows this, he desperately arranged a three-point tactic, and the boss succeeded."

In the last half-minute of the game, the ratings exceeded 40 million in one fell swoop, especially at the moment Carter's lore, the ratings soared to 41 million.

The moment he got the ratings data, David Stern lost his mind and jumped up the waltz awkwardly in the office. At this moment, a name appeared in his heart, Vince Carter, and he had more hands next season. A trump card.

Rudy Tomjanovich let out a long sigh of relief and walked onto the court to shake hands with old Nelson.

"Rudy, congratulations!"

"Thank you!"

Rudy Tomjanovich was silent after speaking, this game was too difficult to save, the series is over, and his pressure is still great.

Old Nelson smiled slightly and said: "You won't be so lucky in the next game, except for Hakim, everyone else is too young."

"Sometimes experience doesn't mean everything, see you in Houston."

Rudy Tomjanovich smiled calmly, turned and left.