Madison Square Garden Arena.
The Orlando Magic challenged the New York Knicks away from home, and the game between the two sides entered the second quarter. The situation on the court was one-sided at this time, with the Knicks leading the Magic by as many as double digits.
The reason for such an exaggerated situation is that the Magic's inside and outside lines were completely unable to withstand the Knicks' offense.
call out.
The Magic serve.
Defender Augustin advanced with the ball, and after halftime passed the ball to Aaron Gordon on the wing at the top of the arc.
Gordon was holding the ball and marking his Adrian Ennis in singles. The two met each other, and Gordon suddenly accelerated towards the penalty area.
Adrian was almost guarding him personally and was not pulled away at all during the run. However, Gordon reacted faster and used the cover of his teammates to decisively rush to the other side of the basket and jump to take a shot.
However, the moment he jumped up to take a shot, Porzingis on the left side of the basket took a shot!
Snapped.
Porzingis swooped forward and slapped Gordon's shot away.
The whole audience exclaimed.
The basketball also flew out of bounds.
Porzingis's blocking is not unusual. Since the start of this game, he has given the opponent 4 big blocks. Each time it caused exclamations from the fans in the audience, which can be said to be full of dramatic effect.
The Magic continued to serve.
Snapped.
The ball was once again given to defender Augustin. This time Augustin took the ball and shot a three-pointer.
The moment he jumped up, Zhao Feiyang rushed in front of him to block his shooting sight.
boom.
Augustine's shot bounced away, and the rebound was picked up by Dwight Howard under the basket.
"Zhao! Fight back!"
Howard shouted, and then threw a long pass directly across the half court.
Zhao Feiyang accelerated his sprint to pick up the basketball, and continued to dribble toward the Magic's basket while running. Seeing that Augustin was about to catch up with him, Zhao Feiyang deliberately made a deceptive move by throwing the ball behind him when he came to the Magic penalty area. Augustin believed it and hesitated for a moment. Unexpectedly, the next second Zhao Feiyang decisively pulled the lever and sent the ball into the basket.
boom.
The basketball hitting board fell steadily into the basket.
The Magic continued to serve.
This time Augustin wanted to use a pick-and-roll screen to enter the two zones, and the Magic's big man Nikola Vucevic stepped up to help him cover.
The two met each other, Augustin took advantage of the situation and rushed to the left with the ball, and Vucevic followed up to help him cover.
Who would have thought that after entering the basket, Augustin would encounter interference from Porzingis again. He wanted to throw the ball, but Howard had already come to Vucevic. Once the ball was passed, there was a high probability that it would be intercepted.
Helpless, Augustin could only forcefully throw the ball out at the critical moment.
boom.
This time Porzingis didn't block the shot, but the ball still hit the basket and bounced out.
The rebound was picked off by Howard again.
Howard threw the ball to Zhao Feiyang. Zhao Feiyang deliberately slowed down to attract Magic players to double-team. In fact, he waited for Zach LaVine to rush to the opponent's three-point line and then decisively passed the ball.
Snapped.
LaVine caught the ball and rushed to the basket. With the fans watching, he jumped high and dunked the ball into the basket.
The ball went in.
The offense and defense of the two sides are simply incomparable. The Knicks have a tacit understanding, while the Magic have constant problems. It's not that there's something wrong with their cooperation, but no matter how the Magic play, it's difficult for them to break through the final line of defense.
The Knicks' inside line is so strong!
The starters are Porzingis and DeAndre Jordan, and the substitutes are DeMarcus Cousins and Dwight Howard. No matter how they are paired together, these four are enough to give other teams a drink.
Obviously, the Magic really felt the pressure brought by the Knicks this time.
Beep.
The first half came to an end.
The score was 66 to 51.
The 15-point gap is not small, which also made many New York fans at the scene look forward to it. After all, the Magic are also a playoff team in the Eastern Conference. Now they are so far away from their own team. You have to know that it is only halftime.
If the Magic can't reverse the situation in the second half, then you can imagine that the next few games should be less stressful for the Knicks.
By then, we can easily win the first round, and it is entirely possible to achieve a 4-0 record and sweep the opponent.
Not only the fans at the scene were so surprised, but the outside world was also a little surprised by this result.
The Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference are also paying attention to this game. They are not playing on the same day as the Knicks.
Therefore, when the game started, the team's head coach Mike Budenholzer specially called everyone to his home to gather together to watch the Knicks' actual performance.
By the time halftime ended, the Bucks players also looked solemn.
"Their starting lineup is so strong! It can be said that there are almost no weaknesses...It doesn't look easy to beat them..."
"They are not without weaknesses. The substitute lineup is relatively average... However, they have too many people on the front line! This is a challenge for any team... "
The players talked among themselves.
Seeing that everyone was a little discouraged, Antetokounmpo Giannis hurriedly stepped forward to boost morale, "Guys, don't worry, didn't we beat them last time? Even if we meet in the Eastern Conference finals, we will definitely be able to defeat them... ....”
"The Knicks look very strong! But a team is not bound to win the game just by having stars plus stars... In the final analysis, it still depends on how well a team works together! If just relying on stars can If you win, then why did the American team lose some games in the past?"
Antetokounmpo's comfort didn't do much.
The Bucks players all know that the last time they defeated the Knicks was entirely due to luck. Moreover, both Porzingis and Jordan were recovering from injuries at the time. It can be said that the Knicks' lineup at that time was incomplete.
Even then, they only won by 3 points.
Now that the opponent's two core players are back, as long as they stay healthy, can they still defeat each other when they meet again?
Many people are unsure.
His eyes returned to the field.
Before the second half of the two sides, in the Magic's locker room, the team's head coach Steve Clifford was laying out new tactics.
"We have to change our style of play in the second half... Now it's very difficult for us to break through, so let's just switch to pitchers and look for opportunities from the outside..."
"Augustin, Terrence, you two have the highest three-point shooting percentage on the team... I need you to increase your outside shots..."
"Vucevic, Gordon, I need you to reduce your shots to protect our rebounds... After grabbing the ball, hit it if you can, but if you can't pass it out for outside shots... This time we I’m afraid I have to take a gamble!”
"As long as the outside line can open up the situation, then we can reverse the situation on the field..."
