As Lin Fei scored 5 points in a row on the offensive end, the Heat quickly led the Lakers by 23 points.
Less than halftime, the Lakers had already shown a tendency to collapse.
The Heat have allowed Wade to play at such a high level, and the strength gap between the two teams can really be said to be worlds apart.
The angry Kobe seemed to have a fire burning in his chest. When he came to the offensive end, he directly grabbed the collar of his jersey. The monstrous battle in his eyes seemed to turn into a sea of blood.
"Give me the damn ball!"
Kobe faced Lin Fei at the top of the key and yelled at point guard Atkins who was holding the ball on the side.
Naturally, Atkins shouldn't have disobeyed his boss's orders and passed the ball quickly.
But in his heart, Atkins dared not speak out about Kobe, and even waited for his blacksmithing performance.
This also fully reflects the current internal and external troubles of the rebuilding Lakers.
Atkins, a non-draft player, was dissatisfied with Kobe in his heart. Naturally, Odom and Caron Butler had never really admired "Peter Pan".
After all, even after Kobe retired with five championships, many fans still believed that Kobe's first three championships were all due to the boss O'Neal.
If Kobe's position at that time was replaced by Wade's now, then the Lakers would probably win more championships.
Kobe faced Lin Fei with the ball at the top of the arc, but the angry sword pointed at O'Neal first.
The frontal block that was knocked to the ground by O'Neal with the ball just now obviously really stimulated Kobe's paranoid pride.
Especially in front of the Lakers fans at home, Kobe knew that even if he worked hard, he had to prove himself.
He made a pick-and-roll gesture to center Chris Mihm, who quickly moved up to the top of the key and used his strong body to block Lin Fei's right side of the space.
Lin Fei quickly bypassed Chris Mihm to block Kobe's breakthrough route, but Kobe's breakthrough speed was very fast with the help of the pick-and-roll, and Lin Fei had no choice but to catch up after going around.
O'Neal came up to guard Kobe, and Lin Fei was also ready to double-team Kobe with O'Neal. After all, Chris Mihm basically had no basket in the mid-to-long range, and his independent offensive ability at the basket was also very limited. It was completely right to let him go. s Choice.
But O'Neal signaled to Lin Fei not to double-team. He obviously wanted to give Kobe a chance to fight one-on-one.
Faced with the love and murder of the OK group, Lin Fei naturally understood the fun and quickly stepped aside. After all, it was just a Christmas game, and the Heat led by 23 points early. There was no need to take it too seriously.
It's a feast for the eyes to see up close whether O'Neal can guard Kobe Bryant alone in the penalty area.
But the ball was too close to O'Neal. Kobe seized the opportunity to lower his center of gravity and accelerate in a different direction, completely passing O'Neal in an instant.
O'Neal turned over and pursued again, but his excessive tonnage and height made his flexibility and speed completely unable to compare with defenders, let alone Kobe?
When it comes to playing small versus big, Kobe still has a big advantage over O'Neal.
Kobe, who quickly reached the basket, leaped up and delivered a signature one-arm dunk.
"Boom!"
O'Neal staggered back to catch up, but after all, his defense was a beat too slow.
The Lakers' next offensive possession.
Kobe faced O'Neal again after the pick-and-roll, but O'Neal did not dare to get too close to Kobe this time, which made Kobe almost semi-empty.
"Uh-huh!"
After the feint, he immediately started a high jump shot. The basketball flew over O'Neal's head and hit the net again.
On the offensive end, facing O'Neal and scoring 4 points in a row, Kobe also showed his terrifying output on the offensive end.
O'Neal admitted that it was difficult for him to guard Kobe, after all, the difference between the two in position was too big.
When they were teammates in the Lakers, the two had many duels. Basically, they were attacking each other on the offensive end, and neither could restrain the other on the defensive end.
If it were O'Neal who was at his peak, around 2000, he might have been able to limit Kobe's breakthroughs to a certain extent and also interfere with his shooting.
The Heat came to the offensive end, and this time O'Neal also found an opportunity to misplace Kobe in the low post.
Kobe also clenched his teeth and faced O'Neal head-on, signaling Chris Mihm to open up space.
Just like this, holding up Kobe and avoiding his steal, O'Neal directly turned over and jumped up, delivering a powerful and heavy dunk.
"Boom!"
Seeing the old OK combinations blowing up each other one after another, the Lakers fans at home were filled with emotions. Will the former purple and gold team never come back?
At this time, sitting on the sofa in a luxury box on the roof of the stadium was Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak.
The reason why Kupchak let O'Neal go during the offseason was partly due to his own decision, but also partly due to the stinginess of the Lakers owner Buss family.
Originally, the entire Lakers management believed that Kobe was a more suitable team core than O'Neal. However, O'Neal was already 32 years old and no longer at his peak. Big contract renewal was obviously unreliable.
What's more, the contradictions in the OK group have reached an irreconcilable point, and one person must be sent away.
But now I see O'Neal flourishing in the Miami Heat. His condition has improved significantly compared with last season. The Heat's strength is also very terrifying.
On the other hand, the Lakers led by Kobe Bryant are in disarray. Whether they can make it to the playoffs is a huge problem.
This makes the Lakers management somewhat regret sending away O'Neal, thinking that they can try again in the offseason.
At the same time, Kupchak also has a lot of concerns about Kobe's ability to lead the team.
In the final analysis, he is just a part-time worker. Since the Bass family is unwilling to spend money, he has no good solution.
On the court, the ball changed again and the Lakers attacked.
Kobe's mismatch this time continued to dominate O'Neal.
The Shark, who was beaten twice in a row, was obviously more prepared. He turned over quickly and returned to defense quickly. He swooped up and completed a wonderful pursuit of Kobe from behind.
"Snapped!"
"Beep!"
However, the whistle sounded, and the assistant referee signaled O'Neal to foul Kobe's shooting hitter.
This is O'Neal's third foul tonight.
O'Neill's eyes suddenly widened with an innocent look on his face, and he turned around and spread his hands towards the assistant referee.
Although Kobe fell to the ground after this layup, it was entirely because his body lost its center of gravity, and O'Neal's block was relatively clean and did not directly hit Kobe.
The white assistant referee did not explain much. The head coach Stephen Jiawei also frowned and believed that the assistant referee's penalty was indeed unfair.
A few minutes ago, the goal when Kobe Bryant was chasing Lin Fei and was beaten 3+1, and then was whistled for a technical foul, was also made by the first vice referee.
But Stephen Jiawei didn't say much. After all, this Christmas game was just an ordinary regular season game, and any penalty that wasn't too controversial was acceptable.
What's more, the assistant referee did not obviously favor any team and treated both sides equally.
"Uh-huh!"
"Uh-huh!"
Kobe was quite stable when he got to the free throw line and made both free throws.
Seeing that there was only one minute left in the second quarter, Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy replaced O'Neal, who committed three fouls, in advance to provide some protection for him.
Without O'Neal, the Heat's offense naturally revolves around Lin Fei.
Roughly, Haslem and Haslem set up an elevator door screen at the high position, allowing Lin Fei to suddenly accelerate and reverse running as he slipped to the baseline, passing through the elevator door and directly to the right side of the 45-degree three-point line.
This was the first time the Heat used the elevator door tactic tonight. Kobe was caught off guard, and because he was chasing too fast, he knocked Kobe to the ground.
At the same time, Lin Fei had already received a precise cross pass from Jason Williams on the left, bent his bow and arrow, faced Odom, who was misplaced and changing defense, and took off decisively.
"Uh-huh!"
"Beep!"
When the ball went in, the buzzer sounded, and referee Stephen Jiawei gestured that Lin Fei's three-point goal was valid. At the same time, Kobe, as a defender, knocked down the attacker who was not holding the ball. He also awarded a foul and an additional penalty goal.
Lin Fei was roughly pulled up from the ground and walked to the free throw line for additional penalties.
"Uh-huh!"
The foul that Kobe just knocked down was also his third foul tonight.
The OK combination was in foul trouble at the same time, and they must control the number of fouls in the second half.
The Lakers fans at home were in an uproar. This was Lin Fei's ninth three-pointer in the first half tonight. He made 9 of 9 three-pointers and 4 of 4 free throws. Lin Fei had already scored 31 points.
The Lakers executed the last attack of the first half,
Seeing that Lin Fei made 9 of 9 three-pointers in the first half, Kobe was not to be outdone. When he came to the frontcourt, he took advantage of Lin Fei's defensive distance and directly launched a cold arrow three-pointer from the top of the key three-point line. point.
"Clang!"
This three-pointer was a little short, and it was a bit powerful, but the offensive rebound was grabbed by Odom. The latter avoided Haslem with a jump step and tipped the ball to score two points.
"Uh-huh!"
There were only the last 3 seconds left in the first half. Lin Fei was tightly guarded by the two Lakers. Jason Williams, who was receiving the serve, could only try a long-range three-pointer across half court.
"Clang!"
Williams' aim on the ball was pretty good. When he shot it from such a long distance, the basketball at least hit the basket.
The first half of the game is over.
The Heat entered the 15-minute break at halftime with a huge 24-point advantage.
Lin Fei played 19 minutes in the first half, making all 9 three-pointers and all 4 free throws. He scored a game-high 31 points, plus 1 rebound, 2 steals and 1 block. He showed top performance on both offense and defense. level.
Especially against a top offensive and defensive shooting guard like Kobe, Lin Fei still maintained a super high level of output.
Judging from the entire first half of the game, Lin Fei is undoubtedly the first focus of this Christmas battle.
During the halftime break, the Lakers fans at home unconsciously talked about Lin Fei's accurate three-pointer.
A few neutral fans who were not die-hard Lakers couldn't help but take out their mobile phones and cast an All-Star vote for Lin Fei.
"It feels like after giving up Wade, the Heat not only didn't lose strength, but actually played harder. Isn't this crazy?"
"The Heat's overall lineup is really strong, especially with the addition of Jason Williams and Shane Battier. It's a championship-ready lineup!"
"I have always felt that Lin has too little shot power. He often gives way to Dwayne and Shaquille. He averages less than 12 shots per game. Tonight, Wade retired due to injury. It seems that Lin will have to do it again. There’s going to be a big explosion!”
"Kobe also scored 27 points in the half, and his shooting percentage tonight exceeded 50%. He played really well, but he was still robbed of the limelight by Lin!"
"Who said Shaquille is old? Can 32 be considered old? Look at his skills, which are obviously more powerful than last season. It seems that his mediocre performance last season has a lot to do with the conflict with Kobe!"
"There were already 9 three-pointers in the half, and the shooting rate was still 100%. If Lin was allowed to play another 15 minutes in the second half, would that be enough?"
"The Lakers have no chance of winning anyway, so why not watch Lin break another three-point record at home tonight? The tickets for this Christmas game are worth it!"
"I can't help but vote for Lin as an All-Star. This guy is so accurate!"
"With Lin's level of three-pointers, doesn't he have the skills to win the All-Star Three-Point Contest? I guess no one dares to compete with him. It's a complete humiliation!"
After the start of the second half, the Heat always maintained their advantages on both offense and defense, and the game was very united.
Although Jason Williams's gorgeous pass will inevitably make one or two mistakes, giving the Lakers and Kobe Bryant a chance to counterattack the fast break.
But O'Neal's dominance at the basket has always existed. Even if he was cut off, his performance at the free throw line was still above 60%.
Lin Fei's three-point shot was further restricted by the Lakers' defensive end, which instead liberated O'Neal in the penalty area and his teammates in the open space.
Tomjanovich had no choice about this. Just like Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy, he knew that he must limit Lin Fei's three-pointers and not let him break the record again.
But for a super 3D like Lin Fei, no matter how restrictive it is, it is impossible to completely lock it down. Through constant cover tactics and sharp movements,
Lin Fei had three opportunities to catch the ball in the third quarter, but Kobe Bryant and the Lakers' defensive players chose to foul them immediately.
Although he failed to hit a three-pointer, Lin Fei went to the free throw line three times, including two three-pointers and one two-pointer. He made all eight free throws, as steady as an old dog.
Through free throws, Lin Fei scored 8 points in the third quarter and contributed 2 steals on the defensive end.
With a steal attribute of 97, coupled with his increasingly improved speed and explosive power, as well as his ability to always be focused on the game as soon as he steps on the court, Lin Fei has the capital to win the NBA season's steals title.
The game reached the last minute of the third quarter, when O'Neal went to the free throw line and made 1 of 2 free throws.
At this time, the Heat already led the Lakers by 29 points.
Heat (89): (60) Lakers.
This Christmas Day game was a complete massacre, and the Lakers led by Kobe Bryant were crazily humiliated.
Originally, fans thought that the game had lost its suspense in advance. After all, it was just a festive regular season, and the lagging Lakers did not need to work too hard.
Trailing by nearly 30 points in the third quarter, there was basically no chance of a comeback.
However, in the next defensive round of the Heat, something unexpected happened.
Kobe's difficult pull-up layup was blocked by Lin Fei and O'Neal, and he missed the ball.
However, just as O'Neal landed after grabbing a defensive rebound, his left foot accidentally stepped on the instep of Chris Mihm, and he immediately fell to the ground gritting his teeth.
Chris Mihm spread his hands and looked at the sky, making a very innocent expression to show that he didn't mean it at all.
Lin Fei, Jason Williams and others rushed up and asked about O'Neal.
Heat head coach Stan Van Gundy, who was standing on the sidelines, was also startled and suddenly regretted not replacing O'Neal a minute earlier.
Wade is injured and O'Neal is also injured now?
"Swish swish!"
The team doctor immediately trotted onto the court. After a simple examination, he confirmed that O'Neal's ankle had no tissue damage and was fine.
But Stan Van Gundy still chose to let O'Neal return to the locker room and no longer play tonight's game.
Even without Wade and O'Neal, the Heat are already 29 points ahead of the Lakers. With Lin Fei on the court, there shouldn't be a big problem.
But with O'Neal, the Heat quickly missed the penalty area, and the situation of the game suddenly changed...
(End of chapter)
