"OMG, Lin is so fucking handsome. He doesn't even look at the ball after he throws it. He's so confident. Who else is there?"
"Haha, Lin's first three-pointer tonight came neither early nor late, just right!"
"Just now, Lin was barely able to withstand Hamilton on the defensive end. He didn't give him a chance to turn over and shoot a jump shot directly. This also indirectly helped the team achieve a counterattack and fast break!"
"I feel that Hamilton is not so easy to deal with. He should have underestimated the enemy. Next is the time when Lin's defensive quality will be tested most!"
"My, God, Lin from the 0-degree angle on the right has never missed a shot. I hope this record can be maintained until the end of the finals!"
Flip Saunders on the sidelines also nodded with satisfaction. It seemed that his idea was right. Even if he was solely defending the ball holder, Lin Fei was not without merits on the defensive end.
Compared with the three games of the Western Conference Finals, Lin Fei's defense has improved somewhat. At least he no longer blindly commits fouls, but his habit of taking risky steals still needs to be changed.
However, before Phillip Saunders could finish being happy,
On the court, Hamilton rushed up with a cold face, held the ball from a high position and hit Lin Fei with his back. He turned around and faked a shot, successfully shaking his opponent, and hit Lin Fei's chest for a jumper.
"Clang!"
"Beep!"
The basketball missed the frame, but referee Crawford blew the whistle to signal Lin Fei to foul Hamilton's shooting thug.
Two free throws.
"Uh-huh!"
"Uh-huh!"
Hamilton, who stepped to the free throw line, made both free throws and already scored 4 points tonight.
Timberwolves (8): (6) Pistons.
When the Timberwolves attacked, Flip Saunders stood up and shouted at Lin Fei on the court, indicating that he should pay attention to his foul.
The ball finally got into Szczerbiak's hands this time, but after the lesson of being blown up on the defensive end in G1, Prince defended rigorously this time, causing Szczerbiak's turnaround jumper to miss.
"Clang!"
The first shot of the rebound was taken out by Olowokandi. The "Madman" who quickly followed up with an air cut took advantage of Olowokandi's screen and jumped out of the penalty area for a dunk.
But the fierce boss rushed to the scene, and the speed of the defense exceeded the "madman's" understanding.
"Snapped!"
Amid the loud noise, a bloody hat full of aesthetic violence emerged.
Big Ben used his terrifying unicorn arms, which were as muscular as horny dragons, to forcefully dribble Sprewell down from high in the air.
"boom!"
"Madman" fell to the ground in pain, and the basketball flew out of his hand, and Rasheed Wallace immediately turned over and caught it.
The bald referee agreed that this was a good call, indicating that there was no foul and the game continued.
Rasheed avoided the Wolf King's steal, turned over and gave the ball to point guard Billups, and the Pistons counterattacked with a fast break.
The "madman" who fell on the ground endured the pain on his back, gritted his teeth, rolled over, glared at the referee, and quickly returned to defense.
But Billups had already rushed into the frontcourt at this time. Szebiak could only let Prince go and quickly pursue him, but his speed obviously couldn't keep up.
Lin Fei chased Hamilton down the wing, and Billups took advantage of the situation to get to the basket and get an easy layup.
"Uh-huh!"
8:8!
The Pistons quickly tied the score.
The Wolf King came to the offensive end and faced Rasheed Wallace. He turned over and took a shot, causing the shooting hitter of the Roaring God to foul.
"Beep!"
The Wolf King took a deep breath as he stepped to the free throw line and made both free throws.
"Uh-huh!"
"Uh-huh!"
The Pistons' offense this time was still aimed at Lin Fei, but it was Billups holding the ball and Hamilton's pick-and-roll cooperation.
In his impatience, "Madman" failed to bypass the screen immediately and collided with Hamilton.
Seeing Billups defending without the ball in the high post, Lin Fei could only try to step forward to delay and interfere.
But Billups' ability to draw fouls is quite outstanding, at least one level higher than Hamilton's.
Lin Fei had already committed a foul, so he didn't dare to get too close, so he could only shoot without letting go.
Billups took advantage of the gap between "Madman" and Lin Fei to quickly jump out of the distance.
"Uh-huh!"
A solid hit.
This can be said to be another point loss due to Lin Fei's poor defense, but the Wolf King and "Madman" did not blame him at all.
At least in the first 4 minutes tonight, Lin Fei's performance on the defensive end cannot be considered an absolute stretch. Compared with the previous games, his teammates have seen his active efforts on the defensive end.
Flip Saunders called the first long timeout, with 7 minutes and 56 seconds left in the first quarter.
Timberwolves (10): (10) Pistons.
"Lin, good job, keep up the good work!"
"Everyone, remember, if Hamilton wants to hit Lin with the ball, let him hit it. Others should keep an eye on their defenders. No matter how you look at this guy, he doesn't look like a master of holding the ball!"
"But if the Pistons play a pick-and-roll against Lin, they must go around the screen to pursue the defense as soon as possible. They must not switch defenses!"
Flip Saunders glanced at "Madman", obviously referring to the unfavorable pursuit around the screen just now, which gave Billups the opportunity to play Lin Fei alone.
"Madman" clenched his fists angrily and cursed Crawford in a low voice:
"That Hamilton guy just made a clear mobile pick-and-roll, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to keep up with Chauncey!"
Phillip Sanders patted "Madman" on the shoulder and comforted:
"Latrell, never complain about the referee. We also have mobile screens. Only by showing a stronger performance is the best response to unfair penalties!"
"By the way, Lin, stop taking risks and steal. If you can keep your position and don't foul, even if you complete the defensive task, Hamilton can't kill our Timberwolves no matter how accurate he is!"
Lin Fei nodded to the head coach, feeling satisfied with his overall defensive performance tonight. As long as he worked hard, he would have a clear conscience.
After all, his comprehensive defensive attributes have just reached 46 points.
Hamilton was able to hold the ball against Hamilton in the finals, allowing the opponent to succeed only twice in four targeted one-on-ones, while also controlling the number of fouls, which is already quite good.
Judging from the first 4 minutes, tonight’s finals G2 is more intense and tense than the last one.
The head coach didn't substitute himself, which says it all.
Trenton Hassell also smiled and patted Lin Fei on the shoulder, encouraging:
"Lin, come on, you can almost guard Hamilton!"
Lin Fei's little nose twitched, why didn't this sound like a compliment?
After the timeout, the two teams still had their starting five and no substitutions were made.
The Pistons made no mistakes. In the Timberwolves' position battle, Lin Fei always had difficulty getting a chance.
He simply reduced the running distance and squatted on the outside to open up the team's offensive space.
Szebiak's back-up jumper to Prince was available this time.
"Uh-huh!"
Looking back,
Hamilton continued to hold the ball in the high post and beat Lin Fei. Lin Fei kept in mind the coach's words and did not risk the steal anymore. Instead, he took two steps away and assumed a standard defensive posture.
After a triple threat, Hamilton saw that Lin Fei didn't respond, so he jumped up decisively and shot two points longer.
"Clang!"
The ball indeed missed, but the rebound was grabbed by Ben.
"Snapped!"
Olowokandi immediately withstood the attack, and the Wolf King quickly turned over and double-teamed him.
Ben Wallace obviously had a flaw when facing a double-team, and Szebiak quickly turned over and rushed forward to complete the steal.
"Snapped!"
But Szebiak was a little impatient when he turned over and passed to "Madman" for a fast break, but was intercepted by Billups flying back.
"Snapped!"
After completing the counterattack, Billups stabilized the rhythm, and after picking and rolling with Rasheed Wallace, he still missed the three-point shot from the outside.
"Clang!"
The Timberwolves grabbed the rebound and counterattacked, and the Pistons quickly defended.
"Clang!"
"Madman" took advantage of the screen to break through the penalty area for a difficult layup that was interfered by Ben, but still missed the frame.
Pistons attack,
Rasheed Wallace misplaced the "Madman"'s straight-arm jump shot but still didn't.
"Clang!"
The two sides then entered a two-minute fighting period, and no more points were scored until the official timeout.
After the official timeout came back, Hamilton faced Lin Fei and feinted with the ball before making a shot. This time he finally got it.
"Uh-huh!"
12 to 12, the two teams tied again.
Throughout the first quarter, Lin Fei failed to get another chance to catch the ball, and his defense against Hamilton was lackluster, allowing the opponent to score 9 points in less than one quarter.
Timberwolves (19): (19) Pistons.
The game reached the last 15 seconds of the first quarter, and the two sides were still tied. The Pistons executed the last attack of the first quarter on the offensive end.
Lin Fei continuously went around to prevent Hamilton from receiving the ball, but Billups still rushed up and made a pick-and-roll, handed the ball to Hamilton, and then quickly opened up the space.
Hamilton faced the frame and took a shooting stance. Lin Fei was a little closer this time, his eyes were sharp, and every defensive nerve was tense.
"Lin, even if you want to guard against me, stop dreaming!"
Hamilton threw a trash talk, reducing the attack time to 7 seconds. Suddenly, a dribble changed direction after feinting and hit Lin Fei's left side.
Perhaps it was because he played the entire first quarter and made many strong attacks with the ball. Hamilton was obviously physically exhausted, and the last attack at the end of the quarter was a bit reluctant.
This time, Lin Fei accurately judged the direction of Hamilton's breakthrough, but his body still held him back, allowing Hamilton Wang to pass half of his body in one step.
But in the second breakthrough, Hamilton was obviously unable to follow up.
Lin Fei saw this opportunity, his eyes flashed, and his long arms were like snakes, and he quickly struck out under Hamilton's armpits.
"Snapped!"
The passing line of 60 steals played a vital role at critical moments.
Lin Fei directly poked the ball out of Hamilton's hand. Seeing the "madman" on the other side who rushed up to grab the ball, he quickly turned around and strode towards the frontcourt.
"Whoosh!"
"Latrell, here!"
"Snapped!"
"Madman" took one step ahead of Hamilton and bent down to grab the basketball. It was a long pass without his hands sticking to the ball. The basketball flew over the top of the three-point arc and landed accurately in front of Lin Fei who was about to leave.
The moment Lin Fei received the ball, he happened to step on the center line on the right side of the court.
Looking at the basket 14 meters away, he took a deep breath, adjusted his strength, and it was a horseback archery.
"Whoosh!"
The basketball flew over half-court of Target Center and roared toward the basket.
Just when everyone thought that Lin Fei's super long three-pointer was bound to hit, there was a "clang" sound, instantly waking up countless people in their dreams.
Because the shot was very far away and very powerful, the long backboard bounced very far away and landed directly at a 45-degree angle on the left side of the front court.
When Lin Fei took the shot, he felt that the ball might miss, so he judged the position of the backboard and was already prepared to only insert it at a 45-degree angle on the left side.
However, at this critical moment, Lin Fei noticed a familiar figure flying past him.
The Ferrari's exhaust sprayed onto Hamilton and Billups who were chasing after him.
It was "Madman" Sprewell.
"Whoosh!"
So Lin Fei turned the steering wheel without any hesitation and headed straight to the right at a 0-degree angle.
"Snapped!"
The "Madman" rushed into the frontcourt and flew to grab a long rebound. He watched the flames burning in the pupils of the basket, accelerated to get rid of Billups who was chasing behind him, stepped into the penalty area, and was about to send a flying dunk. .
In the first quarter tonight, the "Madman" did not play well. He only scored 4 points on 2 of 7 shots. He was interfered with by Ben many times when he broke through the basket and missed long-range shots.
In particular, the blood cap that knocked someone to the ground while dribbling the ball made Sprewell feel angry.
Seeing that the time on the timer reached the last 2 seconds of the first quarter, Latrell wanted to vent his anger with a fast-break flying dunk.
However, at the moment when the "madman" stepped into the penalty area and jumped up to dunk, his eyes once again caught a glimpse of Lin Fei standing at a 0-degree angle on the right.
At this time, Lin Fei did not wave to the "madman" for the ball. After all, his dunk was more certain and could boost the team's momentum.
"Madman" himself thought the same thing, but he didn't know why. After a moment's thought, his wrist seemed to be out of control, and he still chose to pass the ball to the right at a 0-degree angle.
"Whoosh!"
In this position, "Madman" had already given Lin Fei several assists, and he knew in his heart that Lin Fei would not miss.
Lin Fei was also a little surprised by the "Madman's" fake dunk and real pass, but he still didn't hesitate after catching the ball. He jumped up and shot another shot just before the time on the timer reached the last second.
Hamilton had no time to rush forward and defend. Watching Lin Fei take off and take a shot, he didn't even dare to look at the flight path of the basketball and just chose to close his eyes.
"Uh-huh!"
the second.
When the basketball was hollowed into the net, the red light on the steel backboard turned on, and the first quarter ended.
Timberwolves (22): (19) Pistons.
Lin Fei's buzzer-beating three-pointer allowed the Timberwolves to finally break the balance and take a 3-point lead at the end of the first quarter.
Throughout the first quarter, the two teams alternated the lead 11 times, which shows the intensity of the game.
Lin Fei, who hit his second three-pointer at the same position, smiled and rushed up to high-five the "madman":
"Latrell, why are you passing the ball to me when you can obviously dunk it easily?"
"Madman" stared at his hands with wide eyes, and said with a look of horror on his face:
"Lin, I don't know why I suddenly passed it to you. When I saw you standing in the right corner, I couldn't control my hands at all!"
"Maybe subconsciously, I feel that three points is one more point than two points!"
Lin Fei smiled and said: "Thankfully I made the shot, otherwise I would have wasted a perfect opportunity!"
Szebiak rushed up and said with a smile: "Lin, your three-point shooting rate at 0 degrees on the right side is 100%!"
"Besides, you just missed a half-court shot, how could you miss a second shot in a row?"
Lin Fei and "Madman" looked at each other and nodded.
This seems to make sense!
Although Lin Fei has missed several three-pointers from G5 of the Western Conference Finals to tonight's G2 of the Finals, he has never missed two consecutive three-pointers, and his overall shooting rate is also horrifying against humanity.
Even in off-court training, Lin Fei has never missed two consecutive three-pointers.
"Wally, you still understand me!"
After the first quarter, the high-definition four-sided screen above everyone's heads also slow-speed replayed the entire process of the Timberwolves' last counterattack fast break in the first quarter from several different camera angles.
Lin Fei and "Madman" were the absolute protagonists of this counterattack fast break. The two combined to score 3 points, 1 steal, 1 rebound and 1 assist.
Tonight, the famous ESPN commentators Mike Breen and Chat Ford in front of the courtside commentator's desk praised Lin Fei's three-point accuracy while also praising "Madman" for his amazing assists.
"I have to say that Latrell's fake dunk and pass after he soared into the air at the last moment was a very difficult assist!"
"Because from the video replay, Latrell has already made a one-handed slam dunk after taking off, and then passed the ball, which requires the player's very strong core strength and coordination!"
"Besides, Latrell also controlled the time very well, allowing Lin Fei to catch the ball comfortably in the last second!"
"For such a high-quality pass, I would like to say that looking at the entire NBA today, only a few top point guards such as Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, and Mark Jackson can do it!"
The "madman" sitting in front of the Timberwolves bench looked innocent. He never expected that his so-called uncontrollable wrist would be praised by the commentator and regarded as a classic finals assist in NBA history.
Lin Fei played the full 12 minutes of the first quarter, and naturally needed a certain amount of rest in the second quarter, so Flip Saunders could only let Trenton Hassell take over.
But there was no rest for Hamilton. Seeing Hassel come up, he instantly switched to the familiar off-ball mode.
"Uh-huh!"
"Uh-huh!"
In two consecutive offensive moves without the ball, Hamilton made Hassell move around, receiving passes from his teammates and scoring two consecutive goals, scoring 4 points.
Lin Fei, who was sitting on the bench, couldn't help but sigh. He was indeed the "mask man who can't run to death." His ball-holding ability would make even a big wolf dog die from exhaustion.
After holding the ball for 12 minutes in the first quarter, Lin Fei could clearly feel that Hamilton was tired. However, in the second quarter, he switched to off-ball mode and instantly became lively and full of blood.
Lin Fei really couldn't envy this kind of physical ability.
Fortunately, Hamilton's mid-range shooting percentage was not as abnormal as Lin Fei's three-pointer. Perhaps his physical strength was still slightly affected, and he only hit 1 goal in the next three shots.
Phillip Saunders made Hassell grit his teeth and hold on for 5 minutes, and then quickly replaced Lin Fei.
As soon as Lin Fei came up, Hamilton instantly switched to the ball-holding mode, faced the frame and took a sudden stop, and the basketball hit the net again.
"Uh-huh!"
Lin Fei's mouth twitched, isn't this bullying?
After one and a half quarters of the game, Hamilton had already scored 18 points. When the Wolf King and "Madman" were not feeling well in the second quarter, the Pistons had already led by 5 points.
Flip Saunders, who was standing on the sidelines, was thinking. If Hamilton's problem is not solved tonight, the Timberwolves may be killed by the opponent...
(End of chapter)
