Two days later, on April 18, in the first round of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs, the second game of the series between the Washington Wizards and the Atlanta Hawks was played.
At the pre-game press conference, when reporters asked Eagles head coach Larry Drew how he would restrict Li Kaiming in this game, Larry Drew had a winner's smile on his face.
"Lee is a very good player. He can hit shots from every corner of the court. His defense is our top priority before the game. In the last game, Al Horford did a good job. , he tried his best to prevent Li Kaiming from receiving the ball and then preventing him from causing damage in our penalty area. I believe Al can perform the same performance in tonight's game."
A reporter asked Larry Drew how he felt about winning the first game of the series. Larry Drew shook his head and replied, "We are very lucky. We worked together to win a very difficult victory on the road, but the series is not over yet. We still have a lot to do, we have to win 4 games in this series, and we are only 1/4 of the way done."
Eagle King Joe Johnson, who scored 26 points in the last game, also accepted the interview, "The opponent will definitely make adjustments after the defeat. We must always be vigilant on the court. There are some very dangerous guys in the opposing lineup. Once We let our guard down and he came out in just a few minutes and scored in a row."
For tonight's game, Wizards fans were still very full. Although their home team performed poorly in the last game, the people in Washington will not give up on their team easily.
In the locker room before the game, after Sanders finished talking about tonight's tactics, Li Kaiming stood up first.
"ok, guys, I don't have to read it to know what the media is saying about us now, but it's not important. What's important is that we have to be ourselves on the field and don't follow the opponent's rhythm. If you don't know what to do, If you want to deal with it, then leave the ball to me and I will solve all the problems!"
After saying that, Li Kaiming walked out of the locker room.
Looking at Li Kaiming's back, the rest of the people in the locker room looked at each other. Why does this guy look like a different person today?
Yes, Li Kaiming decided to take the initiative tonight. It is not his style to passively wait for the opponent's attack. He wanted to take the initiative of the game into his own hands.
At 7:30 in the evening, after all the pre-match preparations were completed, the referee blew the whistle and threw the ball into the sky. Brac once again won the ball for the first attack.
However, this time the MCI Center was not as excited as last time, and there were only a few cheers in the entire arena. It seemed that although the fans still came to support the Wizards at home, they were much calmer than the last game.
After Li Kaiming reached the frontcourt, he took the initiative to ask for the ball from outside the three-point line. Hinrich passed the ball to him and moved far away, leaving space for Li Kaiming to play in singles.
The Hawks still used Horford as a one-on-one defense. They faced each other for a whole game in the last game. Horford already had experience, so he stepped up immediately.
Li Kaiming suddenly dropped the ball and broke through to the right, but he only took one step and was blocked by Horford with his arm!
However, this kind of action would be blocked in the regular season. The referee on the sideline just glanced at it without any indication. Li Kaiming dribbled behind his back to avoid Horford's hand trying to steal. Then he made a drastic change of direction and raised the ball at the same time. His left arm acted as a ball protector, and he used his arm force to directly block Horford's arm, and then reached the three-point line.
The rest of the Hawks did not help Horford defend, and Li Kaiming successfully broke into the penalty area.
When he reached the center's territory, Collins couldn't sit still under the basket and directly pushed Blatche with his back, and then focused half of his attention on Li Kaiming.
He wanted to threaten Li Kaiming and ask the latter to slow down so that Horford, who was following behind, could return to his normal defensive position.
But tonight Li Kaiming came with the intention of killing. When he got to this position, why did he stop the ball?
I saw that Li Kaiming's speed increased instead of decreasing, and he took long strides and went directly to the basket.
Collins was shocked when he saw this. Only then did he realize that Li Kaiming was serious, so he directly let go of Brac to protect the basket.
However, there was no fear on Li Kaiming's face. He put the ball together with both hands, raised the ball above his head, and then rushed to the basket without hesitation.
Collins, who was under the basket, relied on his height of 2.13cm to directly press down the ball, but he seemed to have forgotten one thing. Li Kaiming is the new dunk king.
So you can clearly see in the broadcast footage that Collins's expression changed from indifferent to surprise. Li Kaiming collided with Collins in the air, and then used his height advantage to slam the ball into the basket through Collins!
"Oh! Li Kaiming is so murderous tonight! He dunked Collins on the first goal of the game!" Justin Kutcher, tonight's home commentator, started yelling into the microphone.
This goal also successfully brought back the momentum of the mcI Center. The fans watched the wonderful replay on the big screen and then started cheering for the home team!
Larry Drew, who was standing in front of the visiting team's bench, frowned. The opponent came up to take the lead, which was not good news no matter how you looked at it. So he made a gesture to Al Horford on the court, asking the latter to strengthen his defense.
Looking back, the Hawks attacked and the ball was given to Josh Smith who cut into the penalty area. Li Kaiming was very focused on the side and let go of Horford in a flash. Then he rushed over and made a volleyball block to Smith's layup. The fan flew out of the bottom line!
The mcI Center was instantly filled with screams and applause!
This is the game that Wizards fans want to watch. This is the Li Kaiming who is decisive in the regular season!
The Eagles had a ball in the frontcourt, but Joe Johnson didn't have enough time to catch the ball and missed in a hasty shot. Li Kaiming jumped high under the basket, picked up the rebound through Blatche and Collins, and then held the ball halfway through the ball. field!
The Hawks knew they couldn't let Li Kaiming push for a fast break, so Horford came directly to block Li Kaiming, but the latter was too fast and couldn't withstand it. Horford made an intentional foul and pulled Li Kaiming down!
This is the playoffs! Even the opening won't let you play fast break easily!
The Wizards served the ball in the frontcourt, and Li Kaiming asked for the ball directly from the outside. Then when Horford wasn't paying attention, he picked it up from outside the three-point line and threw it!
Uh-huh!
The basketball went hollow into the net, and Li Kaiming scored 5 points in a row!
The mcI center is already buzzing, their hero dominated the game as soon as he came on!
But Li Kaiming didn't have any celebratory gestures or expressions. His face was still silent, but almost everyone could see the anger and murderous intent hidden in his eyes!
Larry Drew wanted to call a timeout, but he thought it was better to forget it. It was just one person on the other side who broke out, and it was not a tactical loophole. It was not worth paying a timeout for this.
But soon, Larry Drew paid a heavy price for his trust!
The Hawks served the ball past half-court and ran to the basket without a chance. The ball was given to Joe Johnson to hit Nick Young in isolation. Although Nick Young was fully defensive, Johnson still hit a jumper from the mid-range.
The Wizards still handed the ball to Li Kaiming in the frontcourt. This time, Horford was positioned outside. It seemed that he was not letting Li Kaiming shoot a three-pointer and forced him to go to the basket.
But Li Kaiming is a man who is determined to learn how to bend down. If you don’t let me shoot a three-pointer, I will throw it, and I will throw it in your face!
Horford thought that his defense was tight enough, but Li Kaiming found an opportunity. The latter took a step back to distance himself, and Horford quickly caught up. Logically speaking, few people have such a fleeting opportunity. Being able to take a shot is basically no different from a strong shot.
But Li Kaiming took action! Not only did he take action, but he was also able to score!
8 to 2!
Larry Drew held his palm tightly, thinking that this state would never last long, and his hand feeling would soon decline!
The Eagles served the ball and attacked, allowing guard Jordan Crawford to break through. After reaching the basket, his layup was interfered by Blatche. Li Kaiming grabbed the rebound again and continued to dribble forward in one train!
Horford immediately pressed forward, but this time he didn't dare to foul directly. It was just the beginning of the first quarter. If he committed two fouls, he wouldn't have to play tonight.
And even if it can't be guarded, the goal may not be scored, right?
Horford, like Larry Drew, has a sense of luck.
However, after Li Kaiming dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, under Horford's close defense, even other teammates did not follow the frontcourt, so he just picked it up from outside the three-point line and threw it!
Horford's eyes almost popped out!
This fucking NbA still plays like this? For those who didn’t know, they thought it was a community friendly match?
Because Horford was too close, after Li Kaiming took the shot, his leg was hit by Horford, and then he fell directly to the ground.
As a crisp swish sound sounded, there was also an obvious whistle sound at the same moment!
beep!
3+1!
Larry Drew was so upset that he didn't call a timeout in advance. This was good, but he didn't save the timeout. Horford committed two fouls in less than 4 minutes of the game!
Regret! Larry Drew can't wait to slap his thigh with his hand!
The Wizards' bench was already going crazy. After Larry Drew just called a timeout, the bench players rushed over to welcome Li Kaiming off the court.
Li Kaiming was pushed by almost every substitute player!
However, there was still no expression on his face, because this was just the beginning!
After the timeout, the Eagles successfully scored two points on offense. The Wizards sent a baseline kick, but Li Kaiming still wanted the ball after halftime!
Larry Drew's eyes were fixed on Li Kaiming's movements on the sidelines. During the timeout just now, he had already explained the key points of defense to his players, resolutely defending against three-pointers and double-teaming inside the three-point line to help defend.
Horford's whole body was stuck to Li Kaiming like a dog-skin plaster, and he was not given any space outside the three-point line. Li Kaiming accelerated and got rid of Horford. As soon as he entered the three-point line, the Eagles' help defense arrived.
But Li Kaiming showed no signs of passing the ball. Facing the Eagles' double-team, he stopped without hesitation and took action!
After a standard and elegant jump shot, Larry Drew's heart completely went cold!
He knew that it was impossible to win this game tonight!
At the end of the game, Li Kaiming scored 48 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks in the second game of the series, leading the team to a 115-103 victory over the Eagles, tying the score at 1-1!
The two sides are back on the same starting line again!
