Chapter 326: Can’t afford to lose (Part 2)

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Ryan Anderson struggled to defend An Zhu. First, he was not tall enough and second, his strength was not enough. The only thing he could rely on was his flexible and agile defensive footsteps.

But An Zhu seemed to have eaten Viagra, and he roared and pressed down hard with his right hand. As the basketball rose and fell, Andrew Bynum's whole body burst out instantly. The powerful force made Ryan Anderson take two steps back.

Before Ryan Anderson made up for the position again, Andrew Bynum quickly turned around and made a one-handed dunk.

Then, the referee's whistle also sounded, and Ryan Anderson's defensive foul just now.

Ryan Anderson was replaced by Brandon Bass.

"Clang", Andrew Bynum's free throw seemed a little stronger, and it hit the root of the rim and was bounced out directly. Brandon Bass easily took the rebound.

Faced with Kobe's defense, Gilbert Arenas did not hesitate at all. He just made a tentative breakthrough and cleverly transferred the ball to Gerald Wallace on the other side. At this time, Ron Artest was responsible for defending Gerald Wallace.

After receiving the ball, Gerald Wallace took the ball without any hesitation and made a three-pointer on Ron Artest's head.

"Swish" the ball was arrested, leaving Ron Artest, who was waiting for the game, without even defending.

The Magic regained the double-digit lead.

Gerald Wallace has a very good feel today. So far in the game, he has made three three-pointers.

The Lakers' offense failed. Wu Feng took the rebound and quickly handed it to Gilbert Arenas. Gerald Wallace, Gilbert Arenas and Wu Feng quickly rushed to the Lakers' half.

At this time, Kobe was left in the Lakers' half, with three-for-one.

Kobe couldn't help but gasp. How can he defend himself in such a situation? It was Gerald Wallace in the center, and Wu Feng and Gilbert Arenas on the left and right wings were respectively Wu Feng and Gilbert Arenas.

Kobe's eyes were swaying between the three of them at this time, and he quickly retreated. Seeing that Kobe had passed the free throw line, Gerald Wallace gently threw the ball while moving, and the ball easily flew into Gilbert Arenas's hand. Kobe had to move his position to the left. The ball did not stop at all in Gilbert Arenas' hand. He gently supported the bottom of the ball with his left hand, and the ball flew lightly from Kobe's head to Wu Feng's hand on the other side.

From the free throw line to the basket, three Magic players actually completed five passes, and Kobe had to run around between the three.

After receiving the ball, Wu Feng flew up and raised the ball high above his head with his right hand. Kobe quickly rushed forward.

Looking at Kobe who was getting closer, Wu Feng hooked his right hand lightly, and the ball flew lightly over Kobe's head.

Kobe gritted his teeth and had to run back at a speed of 100 meters.

Gilbert Arenas had already taken the air and easily caught the ball with his right hand. At this time, his man flew to the basket, his tight body like a bow and arrow ready to go.

With a roar, Gilbert Arenas' right hand smashed the ball towards the basket.

The moment Gilbert Arenas' right arm was smashed heavily, a lightning figure came up from the side, and Gilbert Arenas was shocked. Before he could react, he felt a huge force spread in his hand.

"Clang" with the sound of the huge basket, Gilbert Arenas' basketball directly hit the front of the basket. Kobe and Gilbert Arenas' bodies collided hard, and the two fell from the air to the floor.

"Clang" After the two of them fell to the ground, a slam dunk that rang through the arena came from above their heads.

Wu Feng caught the pop-up basketball and made a quick hit.

At this time, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy called a timeout because Gilbert Arenas looked injured.

With the help of Chris Duhon, Gilbert Arenas returned to the locker room, and Vince Carter was the one who played in his place.

Although Gilbert Arenas' accident had little impact on the Magic team, it still had some impact on the Magic team's arrangement.

The Magic only hopes that Gilbert Arenas will be able to play in the next game just by a minor injury.

After Vince Carter came on the court, the game continued, and the Lakers' ball rights were on the table.

Paul Gasol missed his first shot, and after grabbing the offensive rebound, his second shot was directly interfered by the opponent. Kobe was in the interior at this time, and his breakthrough pass created an opportunity for Paul Gasol. Paul Gasol's shooting was still a little hesitant, and Dwight Howard saw through his shooting route and jumped early to interfere with his shooting.

Just over three minutes after the timeout, the Magic made four goals with six shots. The Lakers' offense is not very smooth. The offense is mainly focused on Kobe and Paul Gasol. Kobe's two shots only scored one goal, while Paul Gasol made one three shots, but in the free throw, he made two free throws, and all four shots of other players missed.

Phil Jackson directly called a timeout. At present, the Lakers' problems are not only in offense but also in defense, especially in round defense conversions, which can't adapt to the opponent's fast attacks. Wu Feng's organization also makes the Magic often have a misaligned attack situation. Vince Carter singles against Ron Artest and Gerrard Wallace against Kobe in a misaligned manner. This situation is very unfavorable to the Lakers.

The current lineup is already the strongest lineup for the Lakers, and the Magic's fast attack is completely unacceptable to the Lakers.

After the timeout, the Lakers just replaced Ron Artest with Matt Barnes. Ron Artest's performance was not very good just now. He missed both shots and was hesitant in offense. He was not very good at defense, and he was in no state today.

Matt Barnes performed well today and his defense was excellent.

After the game started again, the Magic's offense was still very sharp. Wu Feng and others took turns to attack the Lakers' basket, and the Lakers' offensive effect also improved significantly.

56:42, the Magic have expanded their lead in a step further.

Kobe slowly led the ball through half. The game was not fast just now. The Magic team was like fish in water at such a rhythm, but the Lakers chased someone behind the butt, and the situation was very passive. Fortunately, Matt Barnes played very smoothly, so the score was not expanded further.

Kobe skillfully controlled the basketball and raised his fingers to direct his teammates to run.

"Los Angeles is now 14 points behind, and they are not very reasonable today. At Artest, it is not opened." Zhang He said understandably.

The Lakers' running was very active. After the timeout, the biggest change for the Lakers was that the players' enthusiasm was mobilized and they were very active in running on the court.

Matt Barnes cleverly pulled Kobe to the outside line to play a pick-and-roll for Kobe. Wu Feng's route was blocked by him. At this moment, Kobe broke through lightning, and in a flash, Wu Feng had lost his trace of Kobe. Vince Carter was old after all, and his footsteps were far less flexible than before. Although he was good at defense, he had no choice but to accept the fate of being broken through in the face of Kobe's absolute speed advantage.

At this time, only the one who blocked Kobe's eyes was that Gerald Wallace's athletic talent was amazing, especially his super attack power, but his speed was not a strong point compared to Kobe. Kobe's defender who made sharp breakthroughs and flexible steps was his natural enemy. Gerald Wallace quickly interspered after getting rid of Matt Barnes.

Vince Carter also knew his defense, but he was also very smart. He did not rashly go forward to defend, but instead judged Kobe's forward route and tried to push him to the bottom line. As long as he could slightly block Kobe's pace, Gerald Wallace could quickly double-team up.

Kobe did not forcefully squeeze into the basket. At the moment when the two bodies were about to come into contact, Kobe's body quickly tilted to the right side, rotated in place with his right toe as the axis, and quickly rebounded and jumped up. The whole person jumped obliquely at the bottom line, and the whole body tilted at a forty-five degrees in the air.

Vince Carter also quickly posted it on, using his body to block Kobe's attack space. What made him even more reassuring was that Gerald Wallace also arrived in time. Kobe's choice was undoubtedly stupid.

Kobe, who was leaning back in the air, threw his right hand hard, and the ball flew over half of the court and fell into the hands of Matt Barnes on the left wing.

At this time, there was no one in front of Matt Barnes. With no defense, Matt Barnes calmly adjusted the basketball in his hand and easily took off and shot from the three-point line.

"Swish" amid the crisp sound of the net, the basketball sounded into the net.

56:45, the Lakers narrowed the gap to 11 points.

Kobe's breakthrough just now has attracted most of the Magic's attention, and the ball was passed very promptly, allowing Matt Barnes to get such a good shooting opportunity.

Fifteen seconds later, Kobe was almost in the same position, in the same way, and once again delivered the ball to Derek Fisher, who made the second three-pointer.

56:48, the Lakers finally narrowed the gap to single digits, and now they are only 8 points away.

The two consecutive three-pointers made the atmosphere on the Lakers' bench rekindled. The player who seemed a little frustrated just now was excited and full of energy.

Coach Stan Van Gundy also anxiously commanded on the sidelines, and returned to the bench under the warning of the referee. At least under the current circumstances, the Lakers have an advantage in the field.

In the following game in the second quarter, both teams entered a stalemate. The Lakers' players defended very actively and never allowed their opponents to take the opportunity to expand their advantage. The Magic finally ended the first half with an advantage of 8 points leading by 58:50.

Lakers players can still accept this result. After all, the score difference of 8 points can easily catch up in one half.

"This guy..." Kobe looked at Wu Feng's back with a serious expression, sitting on the bench panting.

In the past few minutes, his exercise volume was too great, and most of the Lakers' scoring opportunities were obtained by relying on Kobe's breakthrough and passing the ball, and the Magic's defense against him became more and more powerful.

At the end of the first half, the Magic led the Lakers by 8 points 58:50. Although the Magic still led by 8 points, the big score lead in the middle of the second quarter is no longer comparable.

Especially the morale that was originally strong was slightly lower at the end of the second quarter. Kobe of the Lakers, like the mainstay of the Lakers, after resisting the Magic's attacks, the Lakers players gradually regained their confidence under Kobe's leadership, especially Derek Fisher, who hit two consecutive three-pointers at the last moment.

The Lakers' morale rose, and the Magic's morale naturally declined. However, despite this, Stan Van Gundy did not criticize his disciples. He believed them and believed that they could get out of this period of dilemma, especially with Wu Feng.

Although the Magic did not perform well at the end of the second quarter, they still controlled the initiative on the court. Wu Feng did not perform well in the last two minutes of the second quarter, but espn's column reporter still chose Wu Feng as the interview target.

It was Wu Feng who revitalized the entire team's offense in the middle of the second quarter that brought the Magic's vitality back to life. And it was obvious that victory was very close to the Magic's, as long as Wu Feng could perform normally.

Moreover, the Lakers sacrifice most of their physical strength to defend the Magic and always play fast attacks, so their physical strength will definitely be problematic.

In the second half of the life-and-death battle, physical strength will become a fatal factor for the Lakers.

What's more, the Lakers are originally an old team. In the team's starting lineup, except for Andrew Bynum, four players are over 31 years old.

Needless to say, Derek Fisher is already thirty-seven years old this year, Kobe is thirty-three years old, the "Beast" Ron Artest is also thirty-two years old, and Paul Gasol is also thirty-one years old.

So for the Lakers, a protracted battle is the most difficult. Especially because they are still on the back side, the Lakers, which consumed a lot of physical strength in the first half, will face a very big challenge in the second half when they are more intense, have dense physical contact and are more frequent.

In the first half, the Magic had nine players, Wu Feng, who had been on the court for the longest time. He only rested on the bench for more than five minutes; and on the Lakers, except for Paul Gasol, who was injured at the beginning of the first quarter, rested for one quarter, the other four players almost played the first half.

Wu Feng was a little overwhelmed after playing for so long. He said to the espn reporter panting: "We must fight hard in this game. We have lost two finals, and the championship is getting farther and farther away from us. So we can't afford to lose this game."

After saying so much in one breath, Wu Feng quickly rushed into the lounge.

The Lakers players also rushed into the locker room. Phil Jackson was a little depressed. Although the score difference was narrowed to single digits at the end of the second quarter, their main players were all very tired. At least a few starters had to get enough rest time, otherwise the game would be exhausted before the game was over.

Phil Jackson is the most troublesome now. How to arrange players to rest is so difficult for the Lakers now. Paul Gasol and Kobe are the most difficult to arrange. The game is inseparable from them now. Paul Gasol is the guarantee of the inside offense. His role in the inside is now unsubstituted.

Kobe is the team's decisive force. Without Kobe, the Lakers will undoubtedly lose.

But the two are the players that the team needs the most to rest. Once the game enters the final victory or defeat, they are the players that the team needs the most urgently.

Therefore, the Lakers coach, who is called "Zen Master" by fans, is studying how to arrange the players' rest time during the halftime break.

The third quarter began soon, and it was a bit surprising that the Lakers did not let Kobe play, which may have something to do with his consuming too much physical strength in the first half.

Shannon Brown, who came on the bench, took a tight defense against Wu Feng and kept drawing the ball from Wu Feng's hand.

However, with Wu Feng's ball control ability that has reached its peak, even Kobe cannot easily interrupt the ball from him. He always keeps two steps away from Wu Feng, which makes Wu Feng unable to have enough time to start.

Wu Feng took the ball to halftime and took about six seconds. Other players of the Magic were all standing on one side.

Wu Feng was secretly surprised, but he didn't expect that after Kobe came off the court, the Lakers' defense made people even more troublesome.

After the third quarter, the Magic's outside feel suddenly cold. Only Wu Feng made a goal at the beginning of the game. Several other players did not seem to find the basket in the next few long shots from outside, and even had a bad phenomenon of three-no-touch.

It can be said that the Lakers are very labor-intensive in defending the Magic’s outside. Especially the ‘Beast’ Ron Artest, who was "please go for tea" by Phil Jackson due to his poor performance in the first half, and worked very hard on defense.

Phil Jackson may want to use the tight defense to catch up with the score difference first, and then change his defensive tactics.

The Lakers' defense made the Magic worry. They even had 24-second offensive violations by the Lakers twice.

The Magic did not have too persistence when they could not open the outside line. Several players rushed into the penalty area without any mercy. After Vince Carter and Gerald Wallace succeeded one after another, the Magic took a double-digit lead with more than seven minutes left in the third quarter, with more than seven minutes left.

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Chapter completed!