After Li Kaiming got the rebound, he passed the ball to Kemp and then quickly ran forward.
Andrew Smith gritted his teeth and followed behind. Other Butler University players also ran towards the backcourt at the first moment of Memphis' fast break. The four of them formed a wall near the three-point line.
The rhythm of the game once again fell into a positional battle.
The audience at the scene began to shout "defense" in unison again.
This time Kemp chose to play a tactic, but at this moment, the tactic must be as simple as possible, and the ball must pass through fewer hands, otherwise mistakes are likely to occur.
Last time, Williams was used as bait, but this time, Li Kaiming was used as bait.
Let Li Kaiming come up to pick and roll, and then attract a double team. Williams took the opportunity and ran to the right side to receive the ball from the 45-degree three-point line.
The rest are stretched beyond the three-point line to create singles opportunities for the core of the team.
Williams successfully received Kemp's pass from the outside. His opponent was blocked by Li Kaiming and was still one step away from Williams.
This kind of space was enough for Williams to take a shot. Facing the rushing Leandecker, he looked calm and shot a three-pointer.
Li Kaiming and Andrew Smith under the basket engaged in crazy physical confrontation to determine who owned the rebound.
Although Li Kaiming has the "Rebounder Madman" badge, he is lighter than Smith after all, and his strength attributes are relatively poor in the interior.
Coupled with the fact that he was grabbing an offensive rebound, Smith was naturally blocked.
But Williams' ball didn't give Smith a chance to rebound, and flew directly into the basket along a parabola.
63:67!
The Memphis dual-core suddenly exerted force and chased the score to only 4 points between the two sides!
Stevens couldn't sit still and immediately called a timeout.
There are less than three minutes left before the end of the game, and the gap between the two sides can be erased in only two rounds.
No matter how calm the coach is, he has to step up and direct the team at this time.
Moreover, this was only Stevens' second timeout. Butler University performed very well in the second half and did not ask Stevens to call a timeout to arrange anything. He only needed to give instructions with gestures from the sidelines.
Li Kaiming and Williams high-fived each other and then sat side by side on the Memphis bench.
The players at the water dispenser enthusiastically handed over two bottles of energy drinks, while the team staff on the side gave each of the players a clean towel.
Pastner glanced at the burly players, with a smile on his face.
"Kids, your performance is very good, keep up the performance, I can already see the finals..."
As a rookie coach, Pastner has experienced a lot along the way. Although he is still lagging behind today, he is no longer at a loss as he was in the last game.
In addition to the players, coach Pastner is also growing.
Although Memphis did not need to make much tactical adjustments, Pastner still habitually drew a few points and running routes on the tactical board.
After the timeout passed and before going on the court, Pastner suddenly grabbed Li Kaiming and said, "Li!"
Li Kaiming was a little confused, but still leaned forward.
Pastner covered his mouth with his hand, and then said something into Li Kaiming's ear.
After hearing this, Li Kaiming showed a surprised look on his face.
But he nodded anyway and walked onto the court.
As soon as the Memphis players took the field, they were shocked by the boos coming from the fans.
Butler had the ball and gave it to Hayward after serving. This time, point guard Hahn became a tool man.
Hayward dribbled from the backcourt to the frontcourt and faced Williams' defense.
The entire audience was silent. Whether Butler scored or not, the game would be completely different!
In such a depressing atmosphere, Hayward started. He once again chose to back up to the inside and hit Williams with his back.
But he didn't dare to hit too deep with his back.
After all, there is also a very fast-moving center Li Kaiming inside. With the latter's defense speed, he can completely defend one against two in a small penalty area!
So this time Hayward turned his back and hit a small step outside the 45-degree penalty area, and then shook his shoulders in the opposite direction.
This back-up fake is a compulsory course for all forwards and swingmen.
Williams was confused by Hayward's feint, slightly deviated from his defensive position, and was then wiped away by Hayward's turn.
In this position, after the opposing defender has been passed, only the last line of defense is left, which is the center protecting the frame!
When Li Kaiming saw Williams being passed, he immediately took two steps forward and raised his hands high to prevent Hayward from throwing.
But Hayward didn't intend to shoot, he went into the penalty area, and the most efficient thing was to attack the basket.
Although before the game, Stevens warned Butler's players not to easily challenge Li Kaiming's frame protection.
But by this point, Hayward had completely forgotten Stevens' advice.
He is confident that even if the opponent is Duncan, he can score a few, not to mention he is a bankrupt version of the second generation Duncan.
Even if you can't score, you can still make free throws!
In this game, his performance was very good and his shooting percentage was also very high, which further enhanced his confidence.
His feet were a little faster, and after passing Williams' first step, he had already joined the ball. At this time, he could not go up!
One step away from the basket, Hayward's face turned ugly.
Because he discovered that he had not gotten rid of Li Kaiming!
That guy is nearly 10 centimeters taller than him!
How can this be?
But the arrow is on the string and must be fired!
He took the last step toward Li Kaiming, then fought with his left arm against the latter's chest, held the ball with his right hand, flicked his wrist, and made a pick.
Although Li Kaiming's strength level is not very good at the center position, his strength advantage is still relatively obvious when facing the dislocation of the small forward.
Hayward obviously didn't get the ball away from him. Under the interference of his raised hands, Hayward's layup hit the backboard and fell over the basket!
Li Kaiming came over to defend Hayward, and Andrew Smith under the basket naturally faced Williams, who came over to defend.
There is a height difference of more than ten centimeters between the two, and Smith easily picked off the rebound over Williams' head.
But when Smith got the rebound and started again, Li Kaiming, who had finished guarding Hayward, had already freed up his hands and swooped over to give him a big block!
This block made the basketball escape Smith's control. A group of people made a mess under the basket, and finally the ball hit Smith and went out of bounds!
The bottom line referee immediately signaled, Memphis' frontcourt ball!
Andrew Smith made a token protest, then ran helplessly to the backcourt.
In the commentary box, Sharp completely replaced Koslov's host job and explained into the microphone, "Hayward's choice to challenge Li Kaiming does not seem to be a good choice at the moment. In this case, the rhythm of the game will be completely different." When we get to Memphis, as long as Memphis can score the next goal, the offensive and defensive momentum will be completely reversed!"
The audience at the scene also saw that the trend of the game was developing in a direction that was not conducive to the home team, so they became even more hysterical.
Li Kaiming on the court felt that his eardrums were about to be burst!
More than 60,000 spectators shouted "defend" in unison!
The Butler University players also had very serious expressions on their faces, staring unblinkingly at the Memphis players serving in the backcourt.
[Second update today, thank you all for your support! Please vote~]
