The entire third quarter,
Lin Fei often switches offense and defense. After forcing Hamilton to attack with the ball on the defensive end, the Timberwolves create a dead ball and replace Lin Fei with Hassell.
Hassell chased Hamilton to make the opponent keep moving without the ball. After catching and shooting, there was another dead ball or timeout, and Lin Fei replaced Hassell again...
By repeating this process over and over again, Lin Fei could not only rest and digest his on-the-spot experience, but also work with Hassell to constantly wear down Hamilton's energy and physical strength with wheel-to-wheel battles.
The result of such hard work was that Hamilton made 3 of 9 shots in the third quarter, added 1 free throw and scored 7 points. The overall performance was tepid.
Although this method of frequently changing guards was not effective on the defensive end, on the offensive end, Hassell was in full bloom and hit a rare open three-pointer in the corner.
This is also Hassell's first score in the NBA Finals as a third-year rookie.
Seeing Hassel walking off the field as happy as a child, Lin Fei also took the initiative to send blessings.
He can truly care about his performance on the defensive end and provide personal guidance on ball defense. At the same time, he does not complain at all about being robbed of playing time and supports his teammates.
The simple, kind and contented feelings of these black people in the slums were enough for Lin Fei to treat Hassell as a true friend.
At the same time, Lin Fei also seized an opportunity to counterattack a fast break in the middle of the third quarter, receiving a pass from "Madman" and scoring another three-pointer.
"Uh-huh!"
Just a stolen opportunity was already quite rare. The Pistons' five-talented off-ball defense against Lin Fei in the second half was truly airtight.
Although Lin Fei personally only hit one three-pointer and scored 3 points in the third quarter, the offensive and defensive rhythm of the two teams in the third quarter was obviously faster.
Hamilton was barely limited at this point, but several other points of the Pistons exploded in the third quarter.
The roaring Tianzun, who has a certain three-point range, after a high pick-and-roll with Billups, did not follow the routine, but withdrew outside the three-point line.
The Wolves disdainfully did not quickly step forward to defend, but gave Rasheed Wallace a chance to shoot a three-pointer.
Rasheed Wallace took a deep breath, opened his hand, and came in.
"Uh-huh!"
Prince, who specializes in defense, also flew over on the defensive end to steal the ball from Szebiak's hand. During the fast break, he connected with Billups and flew over to complete the dunk.
"Boom!"
In the third quarter, Billups made consecutive pick-and-roll shots, broke through and drew fouls, scoring 9 points in a single quarter.
In the third quarter, Ben grabbed 7 rebounds by himself. Unfortunately, he was beaten by the Timberwolves and was furious and messy in the wind.
The Pistons' five Tigers went all out, treating tonight's Game 2 of the Finals as a tie-break, venting their energy against the Nets and Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals and Eastern Conference finals.
A team that is not good at attacking, in this crucial third quarter, scored 32 points in a single quarter, with an overall shooting rate of over 52%, giving it a sense of deja vu as the Sacramento Kings.
Ben Wallace shook his fist and roared after a big defensive block, and roared at the Timberwolves bench:
"Go to Minnesota, never underestimate the heart of a championship!"
The Timberwolves home fans were excited and cursed Big Ben, but this only made the undrafted player's performance on the field even crazier.
Fortunately, the Timberwolves' offensive end in the third quarter was by no means useless. Although Lin Fei only scored 3 points, the Wolf King and "Madman" still maintained a good minimum output.
Szebiak scored 6 points in a single quarter, and Hassell's 5 points in a single quarter was no small surprise.
The home team also scored 27 points in the third quarter and only lost to the Pistons by 5 points in a single quarter.
After three quarters,
Timberwolves (73): (73) Pistons, the two teams were tied again.
The two teams combined to score 59 points in a single quarter. This was definitely an unusual battle in the big ball era, not to mention it happened in the finals of the 2003-04 season.
Various difficult breakthroughs, outside three-pointers, counterattacks and fast breaks, steals and blocks...
Two finals-level NBA teams presented a visual feast of ups and downs, excitement, and full viewing pleasure to hundreds of millions of fans around the world.
James Cameron, the world-famous director who came to watch the game as a VIP in the front row, couldn't help but admire:
"My, God, Haolaiwu can't capture such a wonderful basketball game!"
But this game is exciting and exciting, and the fans at the scene always feel that something is missing? I couldn't remember it for a while.
What is missing?
Celestial dynasty.
In the fifth live broadcast room of Tianchao.
The person responsible for explaining G2 of this finals tonight is not Coach Zhang, but Mr. Sun Zhengping.
Teacher Sun's identity is different from that of Zhang Weiping. He is not a professional basketball player, and he does not have the knowledge reserves of the younger generation of professional basketball commentators such as Yang Yi and Su Qun.
Sun Zhengping is a national first-level announcer with high qualifications at the Central Broadcasting Corporation. His voice is calm, magnetic, and full of emotion. In the 1990s, when Tianchao Radio lacked commentator talents,
One person often has to commentate on several games in a day, often switching between basketball, football, track and field, and table tennis.
As the saying goes, a capable person is old, but after all, he is not professional enough. Therefore, Teacher Sun Zhengping often exposes some shortcomings and flaws in knowledge during the explanation process, and there are often slips of the tongue.
Tonight, teacher Sun Zhengping and co-host Yu Jia gave commentary on G2 of the finals. After the third quarter, he was too excited and gave some commentary that made the fans laugh and cry.
"Ben Wallace is really strong. It would be a pity not to box professionally. He grabbed 7 rebounds in the third quarter tonight, which was more rebounds than the entire Pistons team had in the third quarter. one!"
"Oh, Flip Saunders called the timeout very timely! I feel it is very necessary. Now that the Timberwolves are behind, they must solve two problems. One is how to score, and the other is how to limit the Pistons' scoring..."
"Why did Rasheed Wallace shoot this ball directly from outside the three-point line? He is a power forward shooting a three-pointer? This choice can be said to be very... Oops, good shot!"
"Latrell's shot was so beautiful, but what, it didn't go in? It's a bit difficult to handle in this case. No matter how beautiful your sudden move is, if the ball doesn't go in, it won't look so beautiful!"
"The Timberwolves are really strong this season. It's a pity that Dayao's Rockets didn't reach the finals. Otherwise, we Chinese fans would be more excited to see the Timberwolves beat the Rockets!"
"Sprewell is also a veteran in the league. He is 34 years old this year and has played in the league for nearly 20 seasons!"
"Okay, Lin Fei is on the field. This game will be interesting next. What? Why did Lin Fei go down again..."
Yu Jia, who was sitting next to him, was a junior after all, so he didn't dare to criticize rashly. He could only smile with his face, but he didn't know whether to laugh or cry in his heart.
Looking back at the Target Center Arena, the final battle of the fourth quarter has begun.
Phillip Sanders allowed the Wolf King, who had played the first three quarters, to take a break. Lin Fei also temporarily sat on the bench, while "Madman" and Szebiak led the team to play.
For the Pistons, Hamilton and Big Ben took a rest, and the other three Pistons brought Memit Okur and Coris Williams.
Rasheed Wallace came up with a violent dunk that turned over and went straight to the basket, blowing the Pistons' go-ahead horn.
Then the "Madman" made a passing error in the frontcourt. Billups flew to steal the ball and connected with Corris during the fast break. He assisted the latter for a dunk and scored two more points.
After a wave of 4:0, the Pistons quickly took a 4-point lead.
The Wolf King couldn't help but get up and go on the court, but Flip Saunders kept his composure and wanted to wait for one more round.
As a result, Szebiak's three-pointer from the bottom corner failed, and the rebound was protected by the Pistons. Okur tried to respond with a three-pointer on the offensive end, and so on.
"Uh-huh!"
Although this ball is an outside three-pointer, the reason why Okur dared to shoot it confidently is because of the absolute height of the Pistons' basket and the guaranteed offensive rebounds.
Less than 90 seconds into the fourth quarter, the Pistons quickly blasted a 7-0 wave, directly stopping the Timberwolves.
In the finals where every second counts, due to substitution issues, they were chased by their opponents and beaten 7-0 in the final quarter. For the home team, this was very demoralizing.
At this time, in a luxury box on the roof of the stadium, Timberwolves general manager McHale angrily slapped the coffee table and jumped up, saying angrily:
"Sanders is too conceited. He dared to let Kevin take a one-and-a-half-minute break at such a critical moment. What on earth was he thinking?"
Although the Timberwolves won the first game in the Finals, leading by a big score of 1:0, the outcome of the second game was also very crucial. The win was 2:0, and they had enough confidence to go to Detroit and play three away games in a row. .
But if they lose this game, the big score will be 1:1. Next, they will go to Detroit, and there is even the possibility of being eliminated by the opponent after winning three consecutive games. This pressure will not be ordinary.
As the general manager of the Timberwolves, McHale does not look down on Lin Fei, a rising star, but also highly affirms his contribution to the team.
But Kevin Garnett's significance to the Timberwolves' offense and defense cannot be compared to Lin Fei's. The two are far from the same level. The Timberwolves will always be Garnett's team.
On the court, Flip Saunders quickly replaced Wolf King and Lin Fei, and tonight's starting lineup was combined again.
Lin Fei only played intermittently for 7 minutes in the third quarter, and rested for one and a half minutes in the fourth quarter. His physical fitness should be able to sustain him until the end of the game.
Flip Saunders' substitution in the third quarter did not have a very good effect, so now in the life-and-death fourth quarter, he is determined to let the starting five play until the end of the game.
I admit that Lin Fei's defense is worse, let's bet that his offensive performance can make up for it!
Don't use it if you doubt it, don't doubt it if you employ it.
Because Flip Saunders knows very well that the more critical the moment, the less trustful the players will be. Frequent substitutions will most easily lead to playing with fire and burning yourself.
For the Pistons, Larry Brown also hurriedly replaced Okur with a big budget, and Hamilton replaced Corliss.
Okur is a little dissatisfied with how little time he has played in the finals. After all, he has reached the contract year.
Producing good data in a high-profile game like the finals is very effective in increasing one's worth.
Looking at Lin Fei opposite, everything became clear.
But naturally he, a foreign substitute, would not dare to have any objections to the head coach's arrangements.
After playing in the league for two seasons, Turkey High Fortress averaged 9.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in the regular season this year, and has already achieved a good value.
In an era when the inside is king, even if Okur is not very good at defense, there are still many NBA teams pursuing him. The highest team offer has an annual salary of US$8 million.
This value is obviously much higher than the current Lin Fei. Long-term stable performance and health must be an important basis for a player's value.
From the perspective of many teams in the NBA, insider players like Okur are at least unlikely to be thrown away. They are difficult to use and have good trading value.
But if it were Lin Fei, there would inevitably be too many uncertain factors, and there must be an element of gambling involved.
On the court, the Timberwolves attack.
With Lin Fei's presence, the space was obviously opened up. The Wolf King faced Rasheed Wallace from the high position again. The superstar could not be soft at the critical moment. He turned over and shot, and made another iron-blooded jumper.
"Uh-huh!"
Hamilton came over and continued to beat Lin Fei with the ball behind his back. This time the turnaround jumper was not available, but the rebound was again obtained by Ben.
"Snapped!"
"OMG, the 15th. This is Ben Wallace's 15th rebound tonight. There are still 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Does Ben hope to grab 20 rebounds?"
In front of the live commentary desk, Mike Breen's commentary voice was high-pitched and powerful, and Chat Ford next to him continued:
"Ben has done everything he can to help the team. If the Pistons can't win, there's no point in him getting 30 rebounds!"
"From the current point of view, the Detroit Pistons did play better than the Timberwolves tonight. They deserve and need this victory more!"
Olowokandi quickly came up to withstand Ben's foul and sent the opponent to the free throw line.
The Timberwolves' starting five have all committed more than three fouls, which is also a hidden danger.
"Uh-huh!"
"Uh-huh!"
This time, Ben Wallace, who stepped to the free throw line, had a rare dumpling and stumbled into two free throws.
The Pistons still lead by 7 points.
In the next few minutes, the two teams started a tug-of-war. The Timberwolves could not get closer to the score, and the Pistons could not expand their lead to double digits.
With all five of the Pistons on the court, the Timberwolves couldn't counterattack and fast break, so Lin Fei couldn't find a chance on the offensive end.
But the performance on the defensive end was quite solid, and he did not make any rookie mistakes at the last critical moment of the finals, nor did he suffer any serious setbacks.
Hamilton had already scored a game-high 32 points by the beginning of the fourth quarter, but he switched from continuous off-ball and on-ball attacks in the third quarter to continuous ball-holding offense in the fourth quarter.
After all, Hamilton felt a little weak, and his feel changed from tepid to more inefficient.
This also directly reflects that Lin Fei's defense is pretty good. At least the Timberwolves' home fans are willing to believe this judgment.
Seeing that Hamilton couldn't hit the ball anymore, Billups, Roaring God and Prince stepped forward one after another. The Pistons always maintained a lead of about 7 points.
As time runs out, Timberwolves fans at Target Center become increasingly concerned.
The situation is obviously becoming more and more unfavorable to the Timberwolves.
In the last 4 minutes of the game, the Wolf King continued to face the Roaring Gods at a high position. Ben Wallace double-teamed at the critical moment, leaving the Wolf King with no time to release the ball and was directly intercepted by Ben Wallace.
"Snapped!"
The Pistons' fierce defense was on full display in the final moments, and their arrogance was overwhelming.
During the counterattack fast break, Billups received the pass from Ben, glanced across the frontcourt, and passed directly to the right to get rid of Lin Fei's speeding Hamilton.
"Whoosh!"
Lin Fei quickly chased after Hamilton, taking advantage of the moment when Hamilton slowed down to catch the ball, and rushed forward to interfere, but he did not dare to get too close for fear of incurring another foul.
Lin Fei has already committed 4 fouls so far.
Lin Fei really has no experience in this kind of defensive key points in chasing fast break players, and his physical fitness is also restricted.
Hamilton just supported Lin Fei, accelerated straight into the penalty area, squinted at the position of his teammates, faked a real pass, and threw the basketball directly towards the steel backboard above his head.
"boom!"
The basketball hit the steel backboard and bounced to the right at an obtuse angle. Prince, who followed up diagonally, jumped up, extended his long arms, and dunked directly.
"Boom!"
The Pistons led by 9 points.
The situation has become increasingly unfavorable for the Timberwolves.
Flip Saunders quickly called a long timeout, but the effect of the timeout was not good. The home team seemed to have been suppressed by the Pistons in terms of momentum.
"Madman's" missed breakthrough did not result in a foul. Although the Wolf King rushed up and grabbed the rebound, the two Wallaces once again worked together to double-team.
At this time, Lin Fei took advantage of the cover and ran a good opportunity at a 30-degree angle on the left side. Hamilton was successfully delayed by Szebiak again.
But the Wolf King was double-teamed by Wallace and was eager to pass the ball to Lin Fei. The pass was a bit risky and was touched by Ben Wallace's big hand.
Lin Fei rushed up to fight for the ball, but Hamilton gritted his teeth and knocked him to the ground.
The Pistons once again took control of the ball and counterattacked quickly.
The Timberwolves fans at home were completely confused. This Pistons team is simply a group of robbers!
Lin Fei endured the pain and quickly jumped up to chase after him, but it was already too late.
The Pistons' fast break was like a pack of wolves coming out of a hole, with only "Madman" and Szebiak running at the front.
The starting five of the Timberwolves originally had poor overall athletic ability. Their average height was on the high side and their average speed was far inferior to that of the Pistons' five. They would definitely suffer when returning to defense.
Under the "Madman's" entanglement, Billups gave the ball to Hamilton for the first time.
"Madman" can only turn around and interfere with Hamilton again. After all, in his perception, this guy's ability to combine man and ball is far inferior to Billups.
But Hamilton was very smart. After getting the ball, he just took one step. Seeing the "Madman" coming to defend him, he turned around and passed the ball back to Billups.
This 2-on-1 dog-walking operation made the bad-tempered "Madman" completely angry, and he turned around and pounced on Billups.
Billups saw the "Madman" blushing, and was not afraid at all. He took advantage of the moment when the opponent pounced on him, and took advantage of the situation to hit a super long three-pointer one meter away from the three-point line.
"boom!"
The madman directly threw Billups to the ground as he took off, and the basketball also drew an arc and hit the side of the basket heavily.
"Clang!"
"Beep!"
Although the ball missed, the referee's whistle sounded.
It was a shooting foul and Billups got three free throws.
The Timberwolves fans at home held their heads helplessly, and an ominous premonition hung over the Target Center Arena like a dark cloud.
Joey Crawford warned the "madman" who couldn't control his emotions, and forced him to be ejected directly from the field.
Amid the noise and interference, Billups showed his big heart at critical moments, calmly walked to the free throw line, and made all three free throws.
"Uh-huh!"
"Uh-huh!"
"Uh-huh!"
Phillip Sanders called timeout again, and at this time he no longer had much hope.
Timberwolves (83): (95) Pistons.
The score difference has reached 12 points.
On the timer, there were only 3 minutes and 02 seconds left before the end of the final quarter.
Lin Fei also frowned and walked off the court with his teammates. At this time, the Target Center Arena was already dead silent.
The Pistons here.
Larry Brown was full of joy and patted the shoulders of the Pistons five. It seems that tonight's game is basically stable.
However, at this moment, referee Joey Crawford's whistle sounded again.
"Beep!"
"Beep!"
Everyone turned around and saw that it was an emotional Rasheed Wallace roaring loudly towards the Timberwolves bench, venting his excitement about winning the game.
The Timberwolves' backup center, Old Johnson, was well-informed and took the initiative to challenge Roaring Heavenly Lord, and the two almost clashed.
Joey Crawford showed no mercy and directly gave him a technical foul.
This whistle of 20 rebounds from both sides instantly turned the situation on the court.
Old Johnson's technical foul is irrelevant, but Rasheed Wallace has accumulated two technical fouls tonight and was ejected directly.
Looking at Rasheed Wallace walking towards the tunnel, he was still very proud, thinking that the Pistons would win by 12 points in the last 3 minutes tonight.
Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders suddenly had a dazzling light in his eyes.
Whether it can be reversed or not depends on Lin Fei in the end!
Rasheed Wallace was ejected, and the Pistons' five tigers were constantly switching defenses when defending Lin Fei's screen. There was bound to be an omission, and this link was at the power forward.
If Larry Brown lets a small forward and guard replace Rasheed Wallace, then the Pistons will only have Ben on the inside, and the twin towers of Wolf King and Olowokandi will definitely make all the difference.
So in Phillip Sanders' view, Larry Brown will most likely be replaced by Memit Okur.
Okur's defensive switch flaw is the last big gamble of the Timberwolves tonight.
"All our offensive tactics will be centered around Lin's off-ball movement and catching the ball. We will focus on the Wolf King and Lin's cover, misaligning Oku's point!"
Sanders patted Lin Fei's shoulder with a solemn expression, and his teammates all looked at Lin Fei with trust.
"Lin, are you confident?"
Lin Fei nodded decisively. He always has only one goal when he takes the field, and that is to win for my team.
"Pass the damn ball to me and I'll make more!"
Pause back.
The Timberwolves still played with the starting five, and the Pistons did as Flip Saunders expected. Larry Brown replaced Rasheed Wallace with Mehmet Okur.
The Timberwolves attacked, and the "Madman" brought the ball to the frontcourt and quickly gave it to the Wolf King in the high position.
Memet Okur stepped forward to defend against the Wolf King. Although his lateral movement speed was slower and his body was clumsier than that of the Roaring God, Okur had the height and tonnage after all.
And the Pistons are obviously not afraid of the Wolf King's high jump shot percentage, even if he can't shoot, the Pistons are 12 points ahead.
At this time, Lin Fei quickly shook off Hamilton and rushed forward to engage in a pick-and-roll with the Wolf King. This time, the Wolf King's pick-and-roll worked very well and Hamilton was fully delayed.
"Whoosh!"
The ball quickly passed to Lin Fei, who was running on the left side of the 45-degree three-point line. Memit Okur hesitated to step forward and change defense. Hamilton had just bypassed the Wolf King and was still a few meters away from Lin Fei. Two meters away.
How could Lin Fei miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?
Even if he hesitates for only 0.1 seconds, it is considered as Lin Fei's disrespect for his 99-point three-point attribute.
Lin Fei took off while looking at the basket, and without saying a word, he just shot!
Larry Brown, who was on the sidelines of the Pistons, saw Okur hesitate to switch to defense. He immediately jumped up from his seat and shouted:
"Change it, why don't you change it! Change it for me quickly!"
The next moment.
"Uh-huh!"
(End of chapter)
