Heat (9): (4) Timberwolves.
In the first 2 minutes, Lin Fei hit three consecutive three-pointers, and one person took the Heat's first 9 points.
Especially the last two three-pointers were very difficult and shocking.
The Timberwolves fans in the Target Center Arena were filled with admiration and applause.
"Lin is too strong. I feel that his three-point shooting has obviously improved compared to last season's finals!"
"Lin's performance on the defensive end is exactly like two people from last season. His defense is no worse than Trenton Hassell's!"
"Lin's wingspan and speed are good in themselves, and he has always been very active on the defensive end. Coupled with the improvement of confrontation strength and the growth of experience, the defensive level will naturally improve!"
"Hey, it's a pity that Lin, who is now capable of both offense and defense, is no longer a player for our Timberwolves. Otherwise, there would be absolutely no pressure for the Timberwolves to defend their title this season!"
"We are not a team that is good at switching defenses inside. It is not easy to contain Lin's three-pointers!"
"I have a hunch that Lin will hit at least 10 three-pointers tonight! No, at least 12!"
On the court, Lin Fei, who hit a long three-pointer with confidence, squatted down in the LOGO area while returning to defense, stretched out his right hand and touched the pattern on the floor.
It's like feeling the temperature of this stadium.
Standing up and looking at the "madman" who looked angry and shocked, Lin Fei joked: "Latrell, I didn't expect that the first shot blocked in my NBA career was actually taken away by you!"
The very nervous "madman" was stunned. For a moment, he couldn't tell whether Lin Fei was praising him or hurting him with his words!
Head coach Flip Saunders, who was standing in front of the Timberwolves bench on the sidelines, also smiled and took the initiative to applaud Lin Fei's wonderful performance.
Sanders was not in a hurry to call a timeout and make adjustments. He wanted Lin Fei to perform to his heart's content.
After all, it’s just a not-so-important regular season game. The Timberwolves vs. the Heat tonight focus on one emotion.
Of course, Sanders knows Lin Fei best, and he also knows the essence of the second set of offensive tactics deployed by the Heat around Lin Fei.
Apart from the Wolf King, there is no other player in the Timberwolves who can effectively switch defense against Lin Fei on the outside. Olowokandi is not good, and Old Johnson and Mark Medsey are not good either.
If you want to control Lin Fei's three-pointer after receiving the ball, the best way is to double-team the ball holder and strictly guard against the passing line. If you change defense inside, you will only be shot to death.
In fact, this is also the biggest headache for the Timberwolves management in the new season. Now the two positions in the team that need the most reinforcement are the point guard and the second inside.
Although Garnett is at the MVP level, he must have a reliable inside helper around him to share the pressure. The parallel import No. 1 pick is obviously still far behind.
Stan Van Gundy also smiled and nodded. Lin Fei, who started tonight, seemed to be setting a new record when facing his former teammates who won the championship with him.
The "madman" who was blocked by Lin Fei was naturally unconvinced. He came to the offensive end and asked Cassel for the ball again. He faced Lin Fei out of position and wanted to play in singles.
This time Sprewell was no longer obsessed with breakthroughs. Seeing that Lin Fei's release was a bit too big, he decisively jumped up and shot two points after the three threats in the high post.
"Clang!"
The ball was thrown a little too hastily and with a little more force. The long backboard popped up and was caught by the Wolf King. He took advantage of the trend and broke through Haslem in one step, leaping directly for a one-arm dunk.
"Boom!"
When the ball was transferred, the Heat once again seized on the problem of the Timberwolves changing defense inside.
O'Neal caught the ball after a pick-and-roll with Wade at the top of the arc, followed by a screen with Lin Fei, and at the same time quickly sent the ball to the opponent's hands.
Lin Fei, who was running at a 45-degree angle on the left side, faced Olowokandi's stumbling defensive change and took off again to take a lightning shot.
"Uh-huh!"
the fourth.
Less than 3 minutes into the first quarter, Lin Fei had already scored 4 three-pointers in a row, all without miss.
Flip Saunders finally called a long timeout, preparing to adjust the defensive strategy against Lin Fei.
Stan Van Gundy saw that Haslem was beaten by the Wolf King, so he replaced Haslem with a rough player. He couldn't guard him anyway, so strengthening the offensive performance is also a good choice.
After the timeout, the Timberwolves made significant adjustments on the defensive end, continuing to let Trenton Hassell chase Lin Fei.
When encountering a screen, he immediately pinches Lin Fei's receiving line, chooses to decisively double-team the ball holder according to the situation, and tries every means to prevent Lin Fei from receiving the ball.
Phillip Sanders knew Lin Fei best, so this defensive strategy also achieved good results.
In the next few minutes, Lin Fei failed to get another chance to catch the ball in the position battle, but Wade and O'Neal stepped forward.
The two relied on their personal abilities and Lin Fei's outside control to continuously create damage in the penalty area and hit the basket again and again.
Among them, Wade withstood the Wolf King's defense change during a breakthrough, and took the extreme shot while completely losing balance in the air, resulting in a beautiful 2+1.
The powerful waist and abdomen strength and aerial confrontation ability are undoubtedly demonstrated. Even the always proud Wolf King has to admire the terrifying talent of Wade, a second-year rookie.
One is gifted with invincible breakthroughs, one has sharp movement and is accurate in three-pointers, and the other is a giant in the penalty area, one of the most powerful centers in the history of the league.
With these three guys teaming up, it's hard for the Miami Heat not to become powerful.
Eddie Jones and Roughly became the defensive points for the Timberwolves to selectively let go, and both of them also hit open three-pointers.
At the same time, on the defensive end, Lin Fei has always maintained a high level, performing in single defense, switching defense and assist defense.
Although it was difficult to catch the ball and take shots in the positional battle, the Heat launched two consecutive counterattack fast breaks at the end of the first quarter. Lin Fei also used sharp running to penetrate the defense and hit two more three-pointers after catching the ball.
"Uh-huh!"
"Uh-huh!"
After the first quarter, Lin Fei played a full 12 minutes in a single quarter and made 6 of 6 three-pointers, scoring a game-high 18 points.
Heat (33): (25) Timberwolves.
After the start of the second quarter, Lin Fei and O'Neal took a break off the court, while Wade led the substitutes on the court.
Taking advantage of the time when the Wolf King was not on the court, Wade's offensive breakthrough was even sharper. He instantly switched to the role of shooting guard and scored 5 points with sudden free throws.
On the defensive end, he even flew forward to steal the ball from Szebiak's hand, and delivered another explosive tomahawk dunk during the lightning fast break.
"Boom!"
Wade scored 7 points in a row.
Even "Madman" Sprewell, who was sitting on the Timberwolves bench, not only lamented that he rarely admired young rookies, but now Lin Fei is the first and Wade is the second.
"This guy's physical talent is so explosive, he's much stronger than I was when I was young!"
As a point guard, Sam Cassel's vision and perspective of looking at problems are naturally different from those of "Madman".
"Yes, Pat Riley is the godfather after all. Dwayne and Lin are a perfect match in the backcourt. The two perfectly make up for their respective shortcomings!"
The Wolf King next to him sighed: "Coupled with the league's number one center who is experienced, healthy and explosive, the Heat are really too strong this year!"
The Heat soon led by double digits, and Stan Van Gundy also tried more lineup combinations, allowing O'Neal to rest more time, Lin Fei and Wade playing at staggered times, and also giving Eddie Jones more opportunities. Ball possession.
Eddie Jones is still performing very well in the new season. Following the Heat's Big Three, he averages 15+ output per game and is very efficient, with a shooting percentage of close to 50%.
At the same time, on the defensive end, the 34-year-old Eddie Jones is still very active, which directly increases his transaction value.
Currently, the Miami Heat management and the Memphis Grizzlies and other teams are still actively discussing the Eddie Jones trade, and have achieved certain results.
Therefore, Pat Riley also gave Stan Van Gundy a request to create as many scoring opportunities for Eddie Jones as possible without affecting the team's chemical reaction and the outcome of the game.
Only in this way can we hope to trade Eddie Jones for a player of our choice and complete the final piece of the puzzle for the Miami Heat to win the championship.
After halftime, the Heat already led the Timberwolves by 15 points.
Heat (66): (51) Timberwolves.
He scored 66 points in the first half, and his scoring efficiency was very high.
The two teams focused on offensive efficiency tonight, but did not take defense too seriously.
Lin Fei played 18 minutes in the first half, making all 8 three-pointers and 3 of 3 free throws, scoring 27 points.
In the second half, the Timberwolves improved their offensive and defensive levels and wanted to launch a counterattack, but Sam Cassell accidentally collided with Wade during a defense and his back injury recurred and he exited the game.
With Cassel leaving the field, the Wolf King, "Madman" and Szebiak also fell into a situation of fighting on their own. The offensive end was messed up and the score was never close.
During one defense, "Madman" missed a three-point shot from the outside, and the long rebound just fell to Lin Fei's side.
"Snapped!"
Lin Fei concentrated his energy and picked up his first rebound of the night. He turned over and quickly passed it to Wade who was about to leave in the middle, and then walked quickly to the frontcourt from the wing.
"Swish swish!"
"Madman" turned around and chased closely, blocking Wade's first fast break route.
According to Wade's usual style, the ball had to be forced into a layup directly against Sprewell.
But at this time, Lin Fei ran into a good position on the right wing, leaving the chasing Hassel two meters away.
"Whoosh!"
Wade flicked his wrist while walking and passed the ball to Lin Fei at a 30-degree angle on the right.
But Wade's pass wasn't very good. Lin Fei didn't catch the ball properly at first when he hit the ball at high speed, but his brain had already given him the signal to take off.
So when Lin Fei took off gracefully and prepared to take action, the basketball he was not holding firmly fell out of his hand, and it jumped out of Lin Fei's hand like a disobedient rabbit.
Seeing Hassel struggling to catch up and about to grab the ball, Lin Fei had no time to think at this time. After landing, he rushed up with a big hand and subconsciously threw the ball directly above the basket.
But this was not a standard shot. The basketball hit the steel backboard and bounced back.
However, in the next moment, Lin Fei saw a strong figure leaping up from the basket, holding up the defender, reaching up to the sky with his long arms, dragging the basketball with his palm and slamming it into the basket.
"Boom!"
Amidst the loud noise, Wade relied on his excellent jumping and aerial confrontation ability to withstand the "madman" and instantly converted Lin Fei's near mistake into a wonderful rebound assist.
The referee blew the whistle to indicate that Wade's dunk goal was valid, and the staff in front of the technical desk quickly made changes to the player data.
Wade scored +2,
Lin Fei assists +1.
This is Lin Fei's first assist in tonight's game, and also his first assist in the entire 2004-05 season.
Unexpectedly, after the basketball was released, he subconsciously took the urinal and turned the almost missed ball into a wonderful rebound assist.
Lin Fei had to lament the terrible physical fitness of his teammate Wade, and at the same time, a bold idea suddenly came to his mind.
Now we have a breakthrough master like Wade and O'Neal, the league's number one center, around us.
Many times, if Lin Fei feels that his rhythm has not been adjusted well after catching the ball, or that the defense has completely caught up, he does not necessarily have to force a difficult shot.
Even if they throw the ball directly towards the basket, with two monster teammates in O'Neal and Wade, the Heat have a high probability of completing an alley-oop dunk or a second offense.
In this case, wouldn't I, a partial student with an assist attribute of 0, be able to happily earn assists?
After all, the rebound attribute is 0, and it's not like Lin Fei has never grabbed rebounds, so this assist is also the same.
After understanding this, Lin Fei started a new attempt in his playing style.
At 2 minutes and 19 seconds of the third quarter, the Heat attacked. Lin Fei received a pass from Wade at a 0-degree angle on the left after roughly covering the ball, but at this time the Wolf King quickly changed defense and pounced on him.
Lin Fei jumped up and calmly took the ball with both hands and faked a pass. He jumped into the air and threw the basketball from the armpit of the defending Wolf King.
At this time, O'Neal and Olowokandi were both near the penalty area. Subconsciously, the players from both teams thought that Lin Fei was probably going to score again.
After all, Lin Fei made all 10 three-pointers tonight and has not missed one yet.
But it is obvious that Lin Fei's throwing the ball in the air is an obvious passing action, without any shooting posture.
O'Neal reacted very quickly under the basket. He blocked Olowokandi with his body immediately, jumped up and grabbed the rebound. After landing, he jumped into the basket, suddenly took off and dunked with both hands, completing a shark dunk. .
"Boom!"
Lin Fei's pass was obviously not accurate enough, and the landing point and height were not suitable for a direct alley-oop dunk.
But O'Neal relied on his personal ability to turn Lin Fei's almost missed pass into a wonderful assist.
O'Neal scored +2,
Lin Fei assists +1.
This is Lin Fei's second assist tonight.
In the TNT live broadcast room.
He is used to seeing Lin Fei catch the ball and shoot three-pointers. Tonight, these two accidental assists for his teammates to score made Charles Barkley even more surprised and curious:
"Many people say that Lin has no assist ability at all, but tonight's assists for Dwayne and Shaquille from both corners in the third quarter were enough to slap these fans' comments in the face!"
"OMG, it turns out that Lin is developing in a more comprehensive direction. Not only has he greatly improved on the defensive end, but his options on the offensive end have also become diversified!"
Kenny Smith also praised: "It is worth noting that Lin has scored 34 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 block and 2 steals so far, filling up five data columns!"
"This is the first time in Lin's career that he has filled five data columns in an official game!"
"Although these two assists may seem a little funny and strange, we did see a Lin who was more active and comprehensive on both ends of the offense and defense tonight!"
At the last moment of the third quarter, the Wolf King was double-teamed by Shou and Lin Fei. On the offensive end, he forced himself to turn over and miss a jumper.
"Clang!"
"Snapped!"
The rebound was grabbed by Wade who rushed up immediately. At this time, there were only 1.5 seconds left on the timer before the end of the third quarter.
The Timberwolves' defense was obviously relaxed. No one thought that the Heat could complete the transition attack again in these 1.5 seconds.
But one person clearly didn't give up.
"Whoosh!"
Lin Fei threw away the Wolf King and ran straight to the frontcourt. The moment he stepped on the three-point line at the top of the backcourt, Wade's ball was quickly passed over.
This was a very good lead pass. Lin Fei took another step forward and reached out to pick up the basketball. He didn't have time to make any adjustments and threw the ball directly towards the front basket.
When the basketball flew out of Lin Fei's hands, the red light on the timer and the steel backboard also lit up instantly, and the third quarter ended.
The basketball flew nearly 20 meters above the court. Under the gaze of tens of thousands of fans in the Target Center Arena, it drew a long arc and headed straight for Huanglong.
"Uh-huh!"
Also hit.
No. 11.
With Lin Fei's buzzer-beating three-pointer from 20 meters away from the backcourt, the Heat ended the third quarter with a huge 17-point advantage.
Lin Fei played 28 minutes in the third quarter, making all 11 three-pointers and 5 of 5 free throws. He scored 38 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 block and 2 steals.
For the first time in his career, he filled five data columns in a game.
The Timberwolves fans at home were filled with admiration and helplessness. Lin Fei's 20-meter jump shot at the buzzer could be said to have completely destroyed the Timberwolves' confidence in chasing points and reversing the game.
In the final quarter, Eddie Jones led the substitutes to a small explosion, and the Heat once led by more than 20 points.
Stan Van Gundy was determined to let Eddie Jones score more points, and since the victory was basically determined, he did not send the Big Three in the final quarter.
The Timberwolves' Wolf King and Madman also did not appear in the final quarter. Compared with the victory or defeat of a regular season, Flip Saunders is more concerned about the team's current lineup structure.
If the Timberwolves want to go further in the playoffs this season, or even complete their title defense, they must strengthen the team through transactions and rationalize the lineup.
In the end, the Heat defeated the Timberwolves 116:99 on the road, and their new season record reached 9 wins and 1 loss, continuing to rank first in the Eastern Conference.
And Lin Fei made all 11 three-pointers tonight. For the first time in his career, he filled five data columns in an NBA game. He also played a wonderful performance in front of his old club and showed his performance. An all-round improvement compared to last season.
But this game did not become the focus of media attention after the game, and Lin Fei and the Heat did not make the front pages of sports newspapers.
Because this day is destined to shock the world with the man named Ron Artest.
Even with the lessons learned from the Timberwolves and Pistons in last season's finals, history is always surprisingly unavoidable.
On November 19, 2004, the Palace of Auburn Hills incident broke out.
(End of chapter)
