Chapter 1281 After Many Years of Waiting, Yao Mai Finally Breaks the Curse (Part 1)
Phil Jackson's new era is obviously closely related to the rise of the Lakers. The unprecedented record is not inconsistent with the first consecutive best coach in history. According to the regular season, no one is more deserving than Big Phil. for this award.
And as ESPN said at the end of the news: "Phil and his Lakers need to use championships to test the quality of the award."
Yes, the Lakers are now at their peak. With their invincible appearance in the regular season and sweep of all major awards, the Lakers seem to have reached the top of the league at this moment. But in fact, this is not the focus of this journey, and the peak is not there. here.
After the Lakers swept 4-0 and entered the Western Conference semifinals, the journey has just reached the halfway point at best. If they want to reach the true peak, the Lakers still have a lot to do.
When the world thinks the Lakers are stable, it is the most dangerous time. Before the Lakers, no team in history could go further in the second season after winning 65 games.
The regular season is like a marathon. Achieving a record of more than 65 wins is a kind of physical and mental torture with no end in sight.
But this record was broken by the Lakers. In a way that can be called unconventional, JK's uncompromising attitude has been deeply engraved in the minds of countless people. The Lakers' league-leading technical and tactical play has caused many teams in the league to face difficulties. When he came to the Lakers, there was no way to resist. Just like the Jazz, he clearly knew that Kirilenko and Korver were defensive holes, but he had to continue to use them.
In such an atmosphere, people are talking about who will be the Lakers' opponent in the finals and who will cause some trouble to the Lakers, but no one has ever questioned whether the champion will be the Lakers.
Just like no one thought that the team would have a record of 75 wins and 7 losses, no one thought that such a team would not win the championship.
But Pat Riley once said that what kills champions is the champions themselves.
This is also the most dangerous time for the Lakers. The most dangerous time during the flight of the plane is exactly when it is about to land. As the helmsman, Zen Master still has a lot to do.
So after lunch, Jackson temporarily summoned all the Lakers players, and they spent the whole afternoon together in the video analysis room at Jackson's house.
And this is also the most important thing besides daily training in the past week, because they don't know who their opponents will be in the next round, so whether it is the Trail Blazers or the Rockets, they need to study it.
On April 27, the fourth game between the Rockets and Trail Blazers continued at the Toyota Center, the Rockets' home court. This is the focus of this round.
This game is very important for both sides. If the Rockets win this game with a big score of 3-1, they will have one foot in the second round. If the Trail Blazers win, they will tie the big score with 2-2. Everything is possible. possible.
The players of both teams naturally knew that this game was basically a battle that decided the fate of both sides. Before the game, the two pairs of management teams also launched eighteen classes of martial arts in order to increase the team's chances of winning through other factors.
For example, the Rockets are building momentum at their home court. In addition to various activities, they also invited Usher to be the opening guest.
After the experience of the first few games, the Trail Blazers have also evolved from a rookie in the playoffs to a veteran. Roy, Ade and even Oden, who was still fishing at home and recuperating, all stood up and made harsh remarks.
However, no matter how lively the game is outside the court, the truth still needs to be seen on the court, no matter how good the talk is, it means nothing.
This game was just like a replica of Game 3. Tracy McGrady was absent from the Rockets due to injury, and the core of the offense became Artest. Artest was still very strong, but in the first quarter, he relied on the strength of Dayao and Scola inside. Performance, the Rockets went on a 30-22 run, leading by 8 points in a single quarter.
I have to say that Ade is still too young compared to Dayao. Although he can rely on his flexibility to deal with Dayao on the offensive end, he is really helpless on the defensive end.
Fortunately, they still have Roy. This guy nicknamed Yellow Mamba broke out again today!
Breakthrough, keep breaking through!
Roy didn't care about his knees at all today. Roy played like Rose next door, with endless layups. Dayao was forced to take a rest after fouling three times in the second quarter.
This freed Ade. Facing Uncle Mu, Ade's coquettish turn shot made the old Uncle Mu unable to parry. However, relying on two three-pointers from Foye, who replaced McGrady, he won 20-22 in a single quarter and lost two games. point.
But in the third quarter, Roy's precise mid-range shot broke the Rockets' rhythm. Roy turned on his personal scoring mode and scored 12 points in 4 minutes. This really reminds me of Kobe, who led the Trail Blazers to complete the lead in the third quarter!
70-64, the Trail Blazers entered the fourth quarter with a 6-point advantage!
The impact of the Blazers' lack of experience is exposed here. In fact, it would be no problem for Roy Ade and other main players to continue playing at this time, but he replaced Roy, who had performed the best before.
What a great loss!
Rockets Adelman has rich experience and is the main force of the dead grass. Dayao has never been down before, and finally completed the lead in the last 3 and a half minutes. After that, the two teams chased each other, playing from 80-80 to 86-86!
In the last minute, the two teams were still tied. At this time, it was Battier who stood up, with a magical three-pointer from the top of the arc!
The Trail Blazers recovered two points from Roy at the last moment, but the last shot was blocked by Artest. In the end, they narrowly defeated the Trail Blazers by one point, 88-89, and took a 3-1 lead!
The moment Dayao finished, he hugged Artest excitedly. After so many years, he finally saw the dawn of promotion.
"Phew, it's really thrilling." Ji Feng breathed a sigh of relief after watching it. The Blazers were really difficult to deal with. If McMillan hadn't made a substitution before this ball, the Rockets would probably have lost.
Although it was 3-1, we won by 3 points in the two games. I was really lucky, but it is always good to win. Ji Feng also sent a congratulatory message to Dayao. Of course, it did not mention promotion. After all, the Rockets team is poisonous...
However, although the Rockets won, the protagonists tonight are not just the Rockets. The protagonists tonight also include the Nuggets led by Anthony.
The Nuggets had taken a 2-1 lead in the first three games. The Hornets, who returned to home in the fourth game, won the game 98-95 under the leadership of Paul with 32 points and 13 assists. And tonight they also won the game 98-95. The fourth matchup between.
The Hornets, who were at home in this game, naturally hoped to equalize the score. The victory in the previous game also gave them confidence. However, when the game ended, the entire Hornets home court was silent. There were only ten fans left in the stands. Most of them were expressionless or with tears streaming down their faces. Scott's face was filled with water, and Paul smashed his stool in anger.
The reason for all this is right above the head. The score of 121-63 on the big screen was blinding. The Nuggets beat the Hornets by 58 points in an away game!
The 58-point difference set a record for the largest point difference in NBA playoff history. This record broke the 56-point point difference record set when the Lakers faced the Warriors in 1973!
Anthony had 26 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists, Billups had 17 points and 8 assists, Nene had 13 points, Jones had 12 points and 5 rebounds, Kleiza had 14 points, Smith had 12 points, Anderson had 11 points and 8 rebounds, and the Nuggets had 7 players. He scored in double figures and didn't regard the Hornets as human beings at all. The Hornets' defense was useless and they couldn't guard any Nuggets player.