The situation at the beginning of the game actually surprised Min Congda.
Although Kobe was absent, it was precisely because of Kobe's absence that the Lakers started the offense very smoothly as a team.
Curry got the first ball and dominated the Clippers' first offense.
Maybe because I was too nervous and cared too much about winning this game.
When Curry had a chance to take a shot from the outside, he did not shoot, but passed it to the inside.
The opportunity was no longer good at this time. The Lakers' defense was in place and Randolph's layup missed.
Gasol got the rebound, and the Lakers launched a counterattack.
Falling into position, Gasol received the ball in the low post, and it was his younger brother who was guarding him.
Shannon Brown shakes off Baron Davis' defense.
Cutting to the basket, Gasol seemed to have eyes in the back of his head.
A no-look pass was stuffed into the basket, and Shannon Brown received the ball and made an easy layup.
Scored the first point of the game.
Then, Curry passed the ball to Randolph.
The Lakers chose to use Andrew Bynum to defend Randolph.
Bynum has an absolute advantage over Randolph in height, wingspan, and weight.
Randolph's strengths lie in experience, footwork, technique, and hip strength.
Randolph didn't find a good opportunity with this ball, but passed it to Ricky Davis in the bottom corner.
What makes Ricky Davis better than Thornton is that his fixed-point three-point ability has been gradually developed.
The space on the Clippers court was widened, and he had a chance to take a shot after receiving the ball.
But in the end, he chose to break through with a fake move and then passed it to Gasol in the middle.
Gasol knew he couldn't pass anymore, so he caught the ball and threw it, but missed.
This shot was a bit complicated. Bynum got a backcourt rebound and the Lakers counterattacked again.
Gasol is the core of the Lakers' tactics on the court, and he still gets the ball in the low post.
He attacked his younger brother Xiaojia with his back, observed, and hit him with his back. After turning left, he easily hit with a hook shot with his right hand.
At the beginning, the Lakers led 4:0.
Subsequently, Curry tried to miss a three-pointer from the outside.
Gasol responded from the high post and passed the ball to Artest.
Artest slid to the baseline, caught the ball and forced a layup.
6:0.
Obviously, the Lakers played much more relaxedly than the Clippers at the beginning.
Because the Lakers no longer care about winning or losing.
Win the game and beat the Thunder. On another field, the Thunder have a big lead over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Lose and play the Clippers. It just so happens that the series is in Los Angeles.
The Clippers are different, they must win this game.
The players' baggage is a bit heavy and they obviously can't let it go.
Not only the players couldn't let go, but the head coach Deng was also very nervous.
So when we fell behind 0:6, we immediately called a long timeout instead of a short one.
It can be seen that Deng really wants to win this game and then compete with the Lakers in the playoffs.
In 2000, the Trail Blazers were only one game away from the Finals.
A 15-point lead in the fourth quarter was reversed, right at Staples.
In 2006, the Clippers had a chance to play the Los Angeles Derby with the Lakers.
It's a pity that the Lakers were reversed when leading the Suns 3:1.
Both Los Angeles teams were defeated by the Suns in 7 games, leaving a gap.
This year is another good opportunity to win this game and enter the playoffs.
It was announced that the Clippers quickly completed their reconstruction.
Lao Deng's timeout had a certain effect.
After returning, Baron Davis drove to the basket and caused a foul.
Two free throws were made and the Clippers finally scored.
However, the offensive end of the Lakers, who became more and more relaxed as they played, was very smooth.
Shannon Brown received a pass from Fisher, broke through Curry, and made a throw.
Gasol playing against Gasol is worthy of being an older brother beating a younger brother.
The hook shot turned inside and hit the mid-range jumper.
In the first quarter, he made 4 of 5 shots and had 3 assists, as if he was teaching his younger brother.
Dajia really understands Xiaojia very well.
The two brothers grew up together, and Gasol was led by his older brother to play basketball when he was a child.
They grew up in the same club and worked together in the national team.
My brother knows exactly what his characteristics are, so he is at a huge disadvantage.
In the first quarter of the game, the Clippers' offense was very difficult.
Three-pointers and low posts, these two magic weapons have not exerted their due combat effectiveness.
Curry made 0 of 3 three-pointers and Ricky Davis made 1 of 2 shots.
In the end, it relied on Baron Davis's strong breakthrough and substitute Gordon's strong breakthrough to maintain the score.
At 29:20, the Clippers fell behind by 9 points in the first quarter.
Such on-site situation made Min Congda full of hope again.
"Very good, very good, great! The Clippers players must be too nervous and want to win too much, but they don't perform well. Lakers, you must maintain the lead against the Clippers, don't relax, don't relax. Second Don’t blindly add players to the lineup, just sit on the bench with rubbish players.”
Min Congda pinned his hopes on the Lakers players.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the second lineups of both teams came on stage.
Phil Jackson obviously will not follow Min Chongda's wishes and not be the end player on the bench.
Their role is to give the main players rest time in such games.
Powell, Mbenga, Luke Walton and other players appeared one after another.
The Lakers quickly created a poor offensive lineup with no ball-handling offensive points.
The Clippers, led by Gordon, launched a 7-0 counterattack climax.
Reduce the difference between the two sides to 2 points.
Min Congda is desperate. Lakers, please hold on a little longer!
I don’t know if Min Congda’s sincerity moved God, or if the Clippers were really under too much pressure.
Subsequently, the Clippers were unable to turn the score over in the second quarter.
They have always had strong firepower, but their outside touch tonight was very poor.
The three-point shooting rate is low and the open shots are not missed, which is a headache.
Gordon screamed for breakthroughs again and again, barely maintaining the point difference and trying his best to narrow the gap.
The Lakers substitutes are playing smoothly because of their relaxed state, and they can get easy-ball opportunities from time to time.
The two teams have different mentality, which leads to different performances on the field. The difference is clear at a glance.
At the end of the first half, the Lakers led the Clippers by 6 points, 61:55.
This result shocked many Clippers fans present and made them anxious.
Tonight is the Clippers' home court, and because Kobe Bryant is on rest, not many Lakers fans will come to watch the game.
Regarding whether the Clippers can advance to the playoffs, the tickets for this game were sold out.
More than 100 seats were added, and the box office revenue exceeded one million.
At this time, Min Congda no longer cared about whether the box office was high or not. He just hoped that the Clippers would not make the playoffs.
At halftime, everyone in the Clippers locker room was a little frustrated. Their performance in the first half was not satisfactory.
Especially Curry's performance. In the first half, he made 0 of 4 three-pointers, only scored 4 points and sent 2 assists, which was definitely unqualified.
Curry was disappointed with his performance and his mind was confused. He didn't pay much attention to the tactics deployed by midfielder Dunleavy.
Until the third quarter was about to start, Dunleavy pulled Curry to the sidelines and asked: "Did you listen to the tactics I deployed in the midfield?"
Curry was silent. He really couldn't listen, so he shook his head.
Dunleavy nodded and said: "Very good, just don't listen. Just play your best."
Curry looked at Dunleavy, and then at Min Congda, who was sitting behind the bench, eating popcorn.
He suddenly understood what the coach meant, so he took a deep breath and entered the game.
(End of chapter)
