Falling behind by 12 points in the final quarter made the Timberwolves fans at home feel familiar.
In G5 of the Western Conference Finals, the Timberwolves also trailed the Lakers by 12 points in the final quarter.
It was at this time that Lin Fei came into being and started his "Linsanity" journey in the NBA.
But when the Timberwolves fell behind by 12 points in G5 of the Western Conference Finals, there were still 8 minutes left in the game, and there was still plenty of time for a comeback.
But tonight, with a 12-point difference, the Timberwolves only had 3 minutes.
At the critical moment, Lin Fei's three-pointer may be late, but he will never be absent.
This is the sixth one tonight!
The Target Center Arena was once again filled with cheers and shouts from fans, but there was still a bit of uneasiness and nervousness in the excitement.
"Without saying a word, Lin has already scored 20 points tonight. This efficiency is really high!"
"Lin's six three-pointers tonight were too scattered, so I feel like he didn't even break out!"
"Being behind by 9 points in the last 2 minutes and 50 seconds, God bless, let Lin continue to make shots!"
"Memet Okur is indeed a breakthrough. His defense change speed is obviously slower than Rasheed Wallace!"
Larry Brown, who has always been full of gentlemanly demeanor, was furious because Memit Okur did not change defense in time at the critical moment, and directly called another long timeout.
Even after Lin Fei hit the three-pointer, the Pistons still led by 9 points.
Timberwolves (86): (95) Pistons.
It can be seen that Larry Brown is very cautious and is also quite afraid of Lin Fei's three-pointer.
The two-pointers of the Wolf King and the "Madman" cannot reverse the situation, but if Lin Fei's three-pointers go crazy, anything can happen.
Lin Fei walked off the court with confidence and high-fived every Timberwolves teammate. He would never give up the game until the last moment.
The Wolf King and "Madman" know very well, and Flip Saunders also knows very well that the team may not be able to complete the reversal just by relying on Lin Fei's three-pointers, even if they score every time.
Because the Pistons are also constantly scoring.
Only by defending well and limiting the Pistons' offense to the greatest extent can the Timberwolves have a chance to turn defeat into victory.
"We must do a good job in defense this time!"
"Lin, Richard is likely to hit you with the ball again. His physical fitness and condition have declined significantly now!"
"Latrell and Kevin, if you look at the right time, you can double-team Hamilton decisively and force him to make a mistake!"
For the Pistons, Larry Brown repeatedly told Memit Okur in a deep voice that when encountering the pick-and-roll screens of Wolf King and Lin Fei, he must make a decisive change of defense as soon as possible.
Okur nodded solemnly. He was really not confident in his ability to defend against the big and small, but at the moment of the final, it was always right to listen to the head coach.
After the timeout, the Pistons attack in the frontcourt.
"Madman" defended Billups very hard, so Billups gave the ball to Hamilton again.
Lin Fei has already committed 4 fouls. As long as he is fouled once more, he will be on the verge of being sent off, and both offense and defense will inevitably be tied up.
Faced with Hamilton's obvious tendency to commit fouls, Lin Fei did not risk reaching out to steal, and tried his best to stand in a defensive position to avoid being shaken by fake moves.
At this time, Hamilton and Lin Fei were facing off at a high position on the right side, and the Wolf King near the free throw line, facing Okur, also inadvertently moved towards the right axis area, gradually approaching Lin Fei's side.
Hamilton was not in a hurry to attack, and kept trying with his back, obviously intending to waste time and take action in the last few seconds.
The Wolf King was as quiet as a virgin and as active as a stray rabbit, like a hungry wolf with green eyes on the grassland late at night, suddenly pounced on Hamilton.
"Whoosh!"
His tall stature and slender arms completely blocked Hamilton's immediate path to the two teammates on the left, while Prince in the right corner was also closely watched by Szebiak.
The Wolf King immediately rushed up and formed a double-team with Lin Fei. Taking advantage of Hamilton's panic, he swatted the basketball out of the opponent's hand with his big hand.
"Snapped!"
Hamilton quickly bent down to grab the ball, but Lin Fei on this side rushed up and poked the ball, allowing the Wolf King to seize the ball immediately.
"Whoosh!"
Lin Fei kept his feet and walked straight into the frontcourt from the right. The Wolf King was the "madman" who passed the ball to the left to get rid of Billups while moving.
Hamilton shook his arm fiercely, and before he could regret it, he quickly chased after Lin Fei.
"Madman", Wolf King and Lin Fei formed a three-line fast break situation, and Szebiak and Olowokandi tried to delay their opponents in the follow-up process.
After rushing into the frontcourt, Lin Fei suddenly changed direction, and with the help of the cover of the Wolf King in the middle, he penetrated diagonally into the left corner.
Hamilton took a step around to catch up, but the distance was further widened.
As a white center, Okur is very slow to return to defense and cannot catch up with the Wolf King, let alone chase Lin Fei.
Seeing that Lin Fei was about to rush into the 0-degree angle on the left, Billups subconsciously stepped forward to delay, and at the same time stood between "Madman" and Lin Fei to prevent the opponent's pass.
"Madman" judged the situation in the frontcourt very well this time. Taking advantage of Billups' defense being out of position, he accelerated to the right and smashed into the penalty area. He jumped up and made a violent slam.
"Boom!"
Lin Fei clenched his fists and waved for the "Madman". The Timberwolves made a fast attack this time and scored two more points.
Although he failed to hit consecutive three-pointers, Lin Fei's key movement in the frontcourt this time successfully disrupted the Pistons' retreat and gave the "Madman" the opportunity to dunk at the basket.
Flip Saunders, who was standing on the sidelines, nodded with satisfaction. This is the most united and tough look of the Timberwolves.
Larry Brown clearly saw that Hamilton was not physically exhausted. He only rested for one and a half minutes after the whole game, and he spent most of the time playing ball-handling, which he was not good at. This was really a test for the masked man.
But the game has reached such a critical moment. If Hamilton is replaced, Lin Fei is likely to explode again, so Hamilton cannot be replaced anyway.
The time on the timer stopped at 2 minutes and 24 seconds. The Timberwolves chased for 5 points in less than 40 seconds. The home fans cheered thunderously, and the momentum of the reversal was finally fully achieved.
"reverse, reverse, reverse..."
The Pistons attacked, and Billups held the ball to steady the rhythm.
The attack time was reduced to 5 seconds, and Billups still chose to break through the "Madman", even though breakthroughs were not his specialty.
At the end of the fight, "Madman" also had obvious problems with his physical strength.
Because of Cassel in the last game, the "Madman" got a lot of rest time in the first half, but tonight the "Madman" has been playing since the beginning of the game, and has played hard for 46 minutes now.
The 34-year-old veteran played the entire game. In order to win the first championship in his career, the "Madman"'s willpower has exceeded the limit.
But Billups's ability to draw fouls is too sophisticated. An emergency stop fake shot during the breakthrough directly caused Sprewell's shooting foul.
"Beep!"
This is already the "Madman's" fifth foul tonight.
Big beads of sweat fell from his forehead, and the "madman" gritted his teeth and swallowed it down his throat.
"Uh-huh!"
"Uh-huh!"
Billups made both free throws, and he lived up to his reputation as a key player.
The Pistons regained the lead to 9 points, and there were only 2 minutes and 01 seconds left on the timer.
Rasheed Wallace, who was ejected from the game, was now in the visiting team's locker room. He took off his shirt and was shirtless. He was watching the game on the TV screen and slammed his fist on the locker with excitement.
"Haha, great job Chauncey, want to reverse? Damn it!"
On the court, the Timberwolves attack.
It was still a continuous double screen. This time the Wolf King came to the familiar left position, and Lin Fei inserted straight into the left side at a 0-degree angle.
Because the cooperation between Wolf King and Lin Fei is also very common in this position, Hamilton has already been fully prepared for defense.
Memet Okur also immediately let go of the Wolf King and went around from outside the baseline to attack Lin Fei.
Lin Fei quickly pulled up the ball after receiving the pass from the Wolf King. Facing the long-arm blockage of Hamilton and Okur, he shot another lightning shot.
Okur's defense change speed was indeed slow, and Hamilton was also restricted by his physical fitness. Lin Fei's ball was once again suspected of passing, and it flew past the fingertips of the two defenders and went straight to the net.
"Uh-huh!"
the seventh.
Larry Brown on the sidelines frowned and said nothing. After all, Oku immediately switched defenses, and Lin Fei was still able to make a shot despite two people. There was really no way around it.
When the Pistons attack, Billups still holds the ball and controls the time.
Leading by 6 points in less than two minutes, Billups said he was very confident that as long as the Pistons no longer made obvious mistakes, G2 would definitely win this finals.
After running out of time, Billups made a pick-and-roll with Okur at the top of the arc, misplaced the ball and returned it to the opponent.
Okur took advantage of the moment when the Wolf King failed to change back from the high position, and took a decisive shot to gain two points.
Perhaps it was because he had been on the bench for a long time, and his hand didn't warm up for a while. The ball bounced on the left side of the basket and missed.
"Snapped!"
Ben, who was furious, was wild and rough, and he grabbed Olowokandi and grabbed another offensive rebound.
"OMG, the 19th, this is the 19th rebound Ben Wallace grabbed tonight!"
Olowokandi didn't say much, but he rushed forward and decisively fouled Shark, and then sent Ben to the free throw line.
"Beep!"
This is Olowokandi's fifth foul tonight.
"Clang!"
Ben, who walked to the free throw line, tried to calm himself down, but he didn't know how to really do shooting. The first free throw was still a shot.
The Pistons players took the initiative to come up and high-five Ben, encouraging him to relax.
Ben tried to raise the arc of his shot, but his second free throw turned out to be even more outrageous.
"Whoosh!"
Directly vote out a three-no-touch...
The referee Joey Crawford was also confused and quickly blew the whistle to signal that Ben had committed a free throw violation.
According to NBA rules, if a free throw is missed, it will be considered a free throw violation and one free throw will be counted as a turnover.
This is the second penalty violation, so the Timberwolves will no longer kick off from the baseline, but from the frontcourt sideline (the horizontal extension of the three-point line at the top of the arc).
Larry Brown on the sidelines shook his head and sighed. Ben's free throw was indeed a flaw at the critical moment, but Rasheed was gone and he definitely couldn't be replaced.
Looking up at the time on the timer, there was only the last 1 minute and 27 seconds left. Larry Brown really wished that the damn time would run out quickly.
Szebiak's first serve was to the "Madman" who stepped forward to respond. The "Madman" held the ball at the top of the arc and first set up a pick-and-roll with the Wolf King, and then passed the ball back to the Wolf King during the breakthrough.
In a flash of lightning, Lin Fei quickly moved from left to right this time. The Wolf King's cover was of high quality, and Hamilton's bypass was once again significantly delayed.
"Whoosh!"
Seeing Lin Fei once again received the pass from the Wolf King outside the three-point line at a 45-degree angle on the right,
Memit Oku had already rushed forward without any hesitation. He clenched his teeth and extended his arms. His whole body fell towards Lin Fei like a mountain.
"Snapped!"
The basketball thrown from Lin Fei's hand was slapped hard by Oku's big hand. He finally hit Lin Fei!
However, Okuku, who was so excited, knocked Lin Fei down with his whole body and pressed hard on him.
Isn't this a violation?
"Beep!"
Referee Joey Crawford blew the whistle quickly and unselfishly.
Being pinned down by Oku's 250-pound weight and hitting the floor on his back, Lin Fei almost couldn't catch his breath, but luckily there was no structural damage.
The Wolf King was the first to rush forward angrily, pushed Oku away, pulled up Lin Fei and roared at the white center:
"White Men, do you want to destroy me, kid? Come at me if you can!"
Okur didn't dare to say anything when facing the Wolf King. Perhaps he really felt that his defense was a little too big this time.
Ben Wallace immediately rushed up to block Okur, raised his chin and faced the Wolf King: "Kevin, you should be the biggest coward on this court!"
The assistant referee rushed over to stop the scolding between the two sides and gave a warning.
The Wolf King felt guilty and stopped talking to Big Ben, and both sides were exempted from the penalty of technical fouls.
Amid the cheers of the home fans, Lin Fei stood up and calmly walked to the free throw line, made a Thompson-style preparation for the free throw, took a deep breath, and the basket seemed to turn into a sea of stars.
"Uh-huh!"
"Uh-huh!"
"Uh-huh!"
Three consecutive free throws were made, and the Timberwolves chased the point difference to only 3 points.
Timberwolves (94): (97) Pistons.
The last 1 minute and 09 seconds of the final quarter.
A three-pointer can solve the problem, and the suspense of the game returns in an instant.
Pistons head coach Larry Brown, who was standing on the sidelines of the Pistons, quickly called another long timeout. This was the last long timeout for the Pistons in regular time.
Okur fouled at a critical moment. I originally thought Larry Brown would blame him, but Larry Brown smiled and patted Okur on the shoulder, encouraging him to continue to switch defenses, but to pay attention to his defensive actions.
"My, God, the amazing Lin, he once again became the protagonist of tonight's game!"
"7 of 8 three-pointers and 5 of 5 free throws. In the last minute of the quarter, Lin had already scored 26 points, the highest on the team and second only to Hamilton's 32 points!"
"I have to say that as a rookie, Lin is really solid in his free throws at critical moments and has an absolute big heart. No wonder Coach Sanders has asked Lin to take technical fouls in the last two games!"
In front of the commentary desk, Mike Breen and Chat Ford spoke with passion and their spirits were high. This game was really exciting to watch.
"With a three-point difference, the Timberwolves completely restored the suspense of the game. No matter who wins in the end, this G2 finals is destined to be a classic battle!"
"Lin's seven three-pointers tied his personal three-point record in the NBA Finals for the second consecutive game. In the last 69 seconds, does he have a chance to break this record?
"let us wait and see!"
On the court, after the timeout, the Pistons attacked, and the Timberwolves fans at home chanted for defense:
"defend, defend..."
Billups's physical strength was also severely overdrawn, and he had no energy to break through the "Madman".
So he summoned Hamilton's pick-and-roll, hoping to dislocate Lin Fei.
However, the pick-and-roll quality of the two small guards was very limited, and the "Madman" quickly got around the defense.
Billups had no choice but to combine the ball and make a shooting fake, hoping to deceive the "madman" into another foul.
But how could the experienced Sprewell fall twice in the same pit? Billups saw that the attack 24 seconds were approaching and could only barely take a mid-range shot.
The "Madman" guarded this ball very well, and the ball was thrown ridiculously wide, not touching the basket at all, and hitting the steel backboard hard.
"boom!"
The rebound angle of the rebound was very good, and the Wolf King turned around and caught it firmly.
"Snapped!"
The boss pushed Olowokandi hard, and Olowokandi fell to the ground and looked at the referee with an innocent face, but the Joey Crawford whistle did not sound.
Phillip Sanders was so excited that he quickly called a 20-second pause and quickly arranged an attack.
On the timer at this time, there were only 0 minutes and 45 seconds left before the end of the final quarter.
The timeout came back quickly, and the Timberwolves continued to serve from the frontline.
The Wolf King is still holding the ball in the high post, and Lin Fei comes up to set a pick-and-roll screen with the Wolf King.
The Pistons changed defense very quickly this time, and Okur's tall body quickly blocked Lin Fei.
But what the entire Pistons team didn't expect was that the Wolf King did not choose to pass the ball, but took a decisive step, stopped and jumped at the free throw line, and the two-pointer hit the target.
"Uh-huh!"
Trailing by three points, the entire Pistons team thought that the Timberwolves' offense would have to revolve around Lin Fei, allowing Lin Fei to shoot three-pointers, so the focus of defense was actually the Wolf King.
The Wolf King's two-pointer was not terrible when the Timberwolves were 12 points behind, but now that the point difference has caught up, this quick two-pointer is very deadly.
Timberwolves (96): (97) Pistons.
The tactical arrangement that Flip Saunders had just paused for was exactly the opposite, and he hit the Pistons squarely.
The Target Center Arena was completely boiling, and the cheers of "MVP" broke through the roof.
The Timberwolves' frontcourt attack only took 9 seconds, and the time on the timer reached the last 0 minutes and 36 seconds.
In theory, both teams still have at least one offensive opportunity.
On the Pistons side, Larry Brown also called a 20-second timeout.
After the timeout, the ball was still in Hamilton's hands, and he hit Lin Fei with his back.
In the decisive goal, Larry Brown still focused on Lin Fei as the breakthrough point, confirming that an undrafted player was likely to make mistakes on the defensive end under tremendous pressure.
Lin Pegasus gritted his teeth and refused to give Hamilton a chance to easily turn over and shoot. If he chose to break through, the Wolf King and Szebiak would be nearby to help defend and intercept.
Hamilton was in no rush to attack and was obviously stalling for time.
"Whoosh!"
Szebiak in the right corner decisively let go of Prince and rushed forward to double-team. This was a tactic arranged by Phillip Saunders on the spot.
Hamilton did not panic and quickly gave the ball to Prince, who was in the wide open space at a 0-degree angle on the right.
Even though he was in a wide open space, Prince still hesitated after receiving the ball. At the final moment of the finals, the second-year Prince was still too young after all.
"Clang!"
It was precisely because of this hesitation that Prince missed this crucial three-pointer.
The long backboard bounced high and was decisively caught by the Wolf King.
"Snapped!"
On the timer at this time, there were only 0 minutes and 13 seconds left before the game.
The Wolf King saw that "Madman" had thrown away Billups and ran forward, so he quickly passed the ball.
Lin Fei, who was on the right wing, was also racing at full speed, gritting his teeth and running at full speed. The sweat beads on his long eyelashes were flung into the air, shining with crystal brilliance.
The Pistons fought back to defend, and Flip Saunders saw that this was a good fast break opportunity, so he gave up the idea of calling a timeout.
In a matter of life or death, he believes that the players can control their own destiny.
At this moment, the entire Target Center Arena was engulfed in roars of shouts. All the fans stood up from their seats and shouted:
"Buzzer Beater, Buzzer Beater! (Kill! Knock!)"
Kevin McHale, who was in the box on the roof of the stadium, was always cautious. He slapped the table, jumped up and said angrily: "This Sanders, why don't you call a timeout?"
But at the same time, his eyes were widened, and he faced the Timberwolves' stormy counterattack and fast break on the court, with his heart directly in his throat.
"Swish swish!"
(End of chapter)
