Li Kaiming used a rhythm change to get past Odom and reach the basket.
At this moment, Artest next to him immediately rushed over, with a fierce look in his eyes, and he was ready to pour all the energy accumulated in his body into Li Kaiming.
As if Li Kaiming didn't see Artest coming to help defend him, he directly joined the ball and started a three-step layup. When he took the last step, Artest just caught up with him.
Artest's face flashed with excitement. He stretched out his palm and gave Li Kaiming a hard push on his waist!
Li Kaiming in front said "Ouch!" Then he lost his balance and fell to the ground like a dog eating shit.
Of course, the referee wouldn't miss such an obvious move and directly called Artest a pushing foul!
The fans at the McI Center began to boo Artest, but the latter seemed to enjoy this moment very much. Instead of showing any shame or nervousness, he opened his arms toward the audience and greeted the boos from the audience!
Artest only thought that he had succeeded in revenge for this slap, and did not care that he had committed his fifth foul.
So Phil Jackson on the sidelines took advantage of the timeout between Li Kaiming's free throws and directly replaced Artest.
The latter's face was a little surprised when he came off the field, but he was still very excited.
Li Kaiming was helped up by his teammates. After the Lakers rotated players on the field, he stood on the free throw line, took the ball from the bottom line referee, and then steadily hit both free throws!
The Lakers served, and after arriving in the frontcourt, Fisher and Gasol played a pick-and-roll tactic. Fisher took advantage of the mismatch to break through Blatche, and missed the layup. The rebound was protected by Li Kaiming and passed to Hinrich.
The Wizards launched a counterattack, and after quickly reaching the frontcourt, the ball passed around the outside with no chance, and was eventually given to Li Kaiming.
Facing Odom's defense, Li Kaiming crossed and dribbled outside the three-point line to find rhythm, and then suddenly broke through from the right side.
Odom barely kept up, but Li Kaiming only took one step before making an emergency stop, dribbling the ball behind his back, and changing the direction of the breakthrough from the right to the left.
Odom lost his position and was spun around in a circle by Li Kaiming in a fit of excitement. Finally, he found the direction of Li Kaiming's breakthrough.
However, this is not the end of this offense. After dribbling behind the back, Li Kaiming did not join the ball and shot directly, nor did he push the ball forward to break through the basket. Instead, he suspended the ball and waited for Odom.
After Odom completed a circle and found his direction, Li Kaiming's floating dribble just ended. He suddenly exploded the ball with his left hand and jumped back, one step beyond the three-point line!
Before Odom could make his next move, after the step back, Li Kaiming didn't hesitate to pick up the ball and throw it up for a three-pointer!
With a swish sound, the basketball hit the net!
The fans at the mcI Center exclaimed. This is already the third three-pointer Li Kaiming has hit in a short period of time!
Could it be that tonight is another record-breaking night?
The Lakers attacked, and Kobe wanted the ball from the outside for a single. Nick Young's desperate defense finally affected the latter's sight. Kobe turned over in the mid-range and hit the iron.
Blatche protected the backcourt rebound and passed it to Hinrich. The Wizards dribbled the ball past half-court and then cooperated inside and outside first. Li Kaiming passed the ball and then received the ball to attract the Lakers' double-team from the outside. Then he distributed the ball to Hinrich from the outside. .
Hinrich's rhythm was just right when he caught the ball, and he shot directly and hit again!
80 to 64!
For a period of time after Kobe opened the field, the Lakers briefly came close to the score, but were then blocked by the Wizards led by Li Kaiming with a wave of three-pointers.
Phil Jackson decided not to call a timeout this time.
Among the people on the court, except for one who was beaten down by the opponent and was still complacent, the rest are the strongest players in each position of the Lakers.
He has already established the team's operating system for the players, and then it's up to them.
The Lakers served and attacked from the bottom line, and found that after scoring 5 points in a row, the point difference was once again widened. Even Kobe's face changed a little!
When did this Wizards team become so strong?
It can make a championship team fall behind even after the boss is at full strength!
What kind of powerful offensive firepower is this? It’s terrifying to think about it!
In addition to Kobe, several other players who have experienced the finals also became serious.
Because they finally discovered that the last time the Lakers lost to the Wizards was not an accident!
The goal of a championship team is to win consecutive championships, while the goal of a second consecutive championship team like the Lakers is to win three consecutive championships and establish a dynasty of their own!
If you want to become a dynasty team, in addition to luck, your strength must also reach the top of the league!
If we lose to the same team consecutively, it will be a devastating blow to the team's confidence!
So starting from this moment, the Lakers, who had been sleeping for half a season, woke up...
Championship teams like the Lakers are basically composed of top superstars or veterans. These old guys have very deep paddling experience in the regular season.
They know how much energy they need to use to deal with opponents in regular season games, so that they will not lose the game because of over-striking, thereby losing the home field advantage, nor will they be exhausted physically and mentally due to excessive exertion. Sai doesn't have enough stamina.
Therefore, the previous Lakers were all half-awake Lakers. This point did not even need to be reminded by head coach Phil Jackson. The Lakers players made the best choice themselves.
The Lakers served the ball from the baseline to Fisher, who dribbled to the frontcourt and began to direct his teammates to move.
Kobe also gave up his previous attitude of having to hit every ball by himself and began to participate in the team's tactics.
The Lakers obviously suppressed the pace of the game, and in some cases they actually created opportunities, but Fisher did not pass the ball.
They are waiting for the best opportunity.
Kobe made a big circle from the outside and then ran to the other side at 45 degrees. Fisher passed a through ball to Kobe's hands.
Kobe caught the ball sideways while running. The moment he caught the ball, Gasol's screener also stood in position.
Kobe used Gasol's screen to successfully break into the Wizards' three-point line.
The Wizards immediately shrank inside. Gasol went down after the pick-and-roll. Kobe jumped up and passed the ball to Gasol. The latter caught the ball and went straight for a layup. At this time, Li Kaiming and Blatche under the basket had already been distracted by Kobe. Attracted.
Gasol succeeded in a three-step two-handed dunk!
Kobe waited at the three-point line to high-five and celebrate after Gasol returned. When the Lakers get serious, even this kind of celebration ceremony is essential!
The Wizards attacked, and Hinrich dribbled the ball and met Fisher, who was defensively serious.
Although Laoyu is not very good at biting his opponents, he is strong and strong, so there is no problem in giving Hinrich a fight.
Hinrich was a little uncomfortable with Fisher's sudden tough defense.
He only felt that the opposite side suddenly became tight, and he almost lost it after losing control!
Fortunately, Li Kaiming appeared in time to rescue Xin Liqi.
He received the ball from the outside and faced Odom's defense. He stood up and took a quick look. The entire Lakers formation had shifted a little in his direction.
If there are fans at a higher position at this time, if you look closely, you will find that the Lakers formed a triple block against Li Kaiming with Odom as the top!
Although Li Kaiming on the court couldn't see clearly how the Lakers' defensive formation changed, he only needed one glance to know that this defense was not easy to break!
Odom in front of him was extremely serious now. His boss Kobe Bryant had already set an example, so he naturally had to show some seriousness.
Li Kaiming directed his teammates to pull away. Since he couldn't see the details of the opponent's defense, let's try it first!
After the other four players except Blaqi all pulled away, Li Kaiming directly dribbled the ball and forced a breakthrough to Odom.
With his speed, if Odom defends alone, he can also create opportunities. He chose such a simple offensive method just to see how the Lakers' formation will change if he breaks through!
Odom was thrown away half a body, and Li Kaiming broke through and found something was wrong when he took one step into the three-point line!
He felt as if he was surrounded by the Lakers, with people on the opposite side all around him!
Moreover, this encirclement has clear layers. Odom is a speed bump, and the next two layers are the trump card that can make him fall into the quagmire!
If we try to break through in this situation, the scene will definitely not be pretty.
Li Kaiming didn't want to cause trouble for himself, so he passed a long pass to Sun Yue on the outside!
The latter's Lakers substitute player Matt Barnes is a guy who has mediocre performance on the defensive end. Compared with Artest, this person's defense can be said to be useless.
But such a player can actually pounce on Sun Yue without hesitation after losing his position, without fear of being passed by the latter.
This is because the rest of the Lakers will help him defend!
After getting the ball, Sun Yue used a fake move to dodge Barnes, then dribbled the ball and took a step inside. When he found that the opportunity was not good, he passed it out again.
In the end, the ball returned to defender Hinrich. After passing the ball several times without finding a chance, Hinrich decided to do it himself.
He called Li Kaiming to come over for a pick-and-roll, and then dribbled to the mid-range to face the blind defense and force a shot.
The shot was formidable, and Gasol protected the rebound to Fisher under the basket.
The Lakers launched a fast break, and the players performed their duties. During the fast break, Kobe attracted most of the Wizards' attention. Unexpectedly, Odom suddenly accelerated, caught the ball and cut through, causing a foul!
Li Kaiming stretched out his hand to indicate a foul. This was his second foul of the game.
Odom went to the free throw line and made two free throws.
The Lakers' sudden change of form made the Wizards players unable to bear it. Not to mention others, even Li Kaiming had a hard time facing such a defense!
In the second half of the third quarter, the Wizards played very rough, with low shooting percentage, high consumption, and most importantly, unable to defend the opponent.
The triangle offense also showed its fangs!
So after the third quarter, the Lakers successfully overtook the score and entered the fourth quarter with a 3-point advantage at 94-91.
And what is visible to the naked eye is that the balance of victory and the momentum of the game are tilting towards the Lakers...
