Back home, Zhao Chen saw a piece of news. Although the Warriors had the match point, Curry sprained his ankle and was doubtful for the next game.
Zhao Chen smiled when he saw the news.
After entering the playoffs, injuries also had a great impact.
Zhao Chen also had the experience of being injured in the playoffs last year. He knows that reaching the end does not just depend on the strength of both teams, but also needs better luck to a certain extent.
May 13, afternoon.
Zhao Chen took the Lakers bus from the training facility to Staples Arena.
After two away games in the Clippers' colors, Staples Center finally became the Lakers' home stadium in gold.
Press conference interview hall.
Reporters surrounded the Lakers players.
"Zhao, your contract has an opt-out option. Will you leave if you don't win the championship in the summer?"
"Kobe, do you think the Lakers can keep Zhao Chen?"
"Zhao Chen, what do you think of the phenomenon of one person, one city?"
"Nicholas, do you think Zhao held the ball too long."
....
The reporters who asked the questions did not have good intentions. These were all unfamiliar faces.
It can be seen that the Clippers' off-court public relations have also begun to work hard.
The Clippers don't want to watch the team collapse on the court!
It's just that the Lakers players are as united as monolithic.
In the face of absolute advantage, these tricks seem like trivial tricks.
Not only will these troubles not have much effect, but it will make the Lakers players more confident.
....
G5 is back to the Lakers' home court, and the Lakers have the advantage of winning streak.
No matter how you look at it, the Clippers cannot avoid the fate of being eliminated.
Lakers fans are getting more and more loud at Staples Center.
After the appearance ceremony, Zhao Chen stood on the court and hugged and high-fived every Lakers teammate.
The Lakers formed a united front.
This series will end tonight, they will advance to the Western Conference Finals! !
Killing the Clippers is everyone's goal tonight.
On the other side, Paul continued to emphasize the importance of tonight's game to all his teammates.
A 1-3 deficit means that as long as they lose again tonight, they will be eliminated!
The Clippers are facing the most serious scene of the season. This is a truly desperate battle.
Rivers was also constantly motivating the players and instilling chicken soup.
Rivers, who is often reversed, is very calm about such big scenes.
This is the impression the players have of him.
Rivers didn't know what to do except calm down.
The Clippers are not monolithic in facing pressure. Only the core players are determined to reverse the situation, and the other players don't care.
Redick, Crawford and others care more about high salaries than the highest honors.
For them, the money they get is the most important, not the championship.
They know that their historical status has been almost determined, and they have little pursuit in these aspects.
...........
Get it done and get on the court.
Zhao Chen felt the noise around him.
The enthusiasm of the fans here means it’s almost summer!
When entering the summer, he still has to stay on the NBA court. This is the goal that Zhao Chen set at the beginning of the season!
Tonight, Zhao Chen will continue to move towards this goal!
Zhao Chen used [Fiery Feel] at the primary level.
Although there are victory points for every win, it is also very difficult to buy trump cards with victory points.
For example, when I scored 94 points in a single game, I used a high-level fiery touch, but the victory points I earned back were enough to buy two low-level ones.
So as the playoffs progress, Zhao Chen's trump cards will only become less and less!
Zhao Chen wants to use his trump cards sparingly as much as possible to ensure victory!
...........
"The pressure is on the opponent, don't panic, focus all your attention and try to win them tonight." Lakers head coach Scott shouted from the sidelines.
Scott is also very confident in this series now, and they have an absolute advantage.
Scott thinks this may be the craziest year of his career.
...........
The game started soon.
Ballmer led the Clippers executives to sit in the front row, cheering for the Clippers as the most loyal Clippers fan.
But that kind of shouting was insignificant among the shouts of the Lakers home fans!
His voice is muffled!
Paul, Griffin, and Jordan all wanted to win fiercely, and their offensive and defensive enthusiasm was very high.
In the first quarter of the game, the two teams fought hard to defend. The rhythm of both teams was very slow, and both teams scored very low.
Kobe, who performed well in the last game, continued his good form. In the last two minutes of the first quarter when partnering with Zhao Chen, Kobe scored 7 points in a row, helping the Lakers establish a 3-point lead.
The score in the first quarter was 23-26.
In the second quarter of the game, Paul, who played the full first quarter, continued to stay on the court and led the team to chase points.
Paul is indeed outstanding, he scored consecutive mid-range goals.
When playing against big men, Paul will resolutely follow their footsteps and rhythm, and when playing against small guards, Paul will be smart to use screens to find gaps.
Paul's consecutive scoring quickly led the Clippers to take the lead, and then Griffin and DeAndre Jordan successively attacked the inside to help the Clippers expand the score.
Although Zhao Chen and Kobe still maintained a stable touch, they could not withstand the Lakers' overall defense and frequently lost positions.
The Lakers were suppressed throughout the second quarter, and the point difference between the two sides once widened to 16 points.
At the last moment of the first half, Zhao Chen hit a three-pointer at the buzzer, which helped the Lakers chase the score to 63-50.
"Chris Paul was responsible for the Clippers' lead in the first half. We can see a smile on Coach Rivers' face. This is different from before the game started. Chris Paul scored 22 at halftime. With 10 assists and 10 points, he performed like a god from heaven!" Barkley shouted.
"Griffin and DeAndre Jordan's performance was not bad either. Together they contributed 26 points in the half. These three are the Clippers' best players, and they also accounted for most of the Clippers' scoring," said Kenny Smith. .
"For the Lakers, Zhao Chen scored 23 points and Kobe Bryant scored 13 points. The two of them are the most reliable offensive points for the Lakers. But other than these two, no one else on the Lakers scored more than 6 points. They performed well in the last game. The rookie group was on fire again in this game, and if it weren't for Zhao Chen's buzzer-beating three-pointer at the last minute, they might have fallen behind by more points," Barkley said.
"Coach Scott needs to make changes, and they still have a half to make adjustments," Kenny Smith said.
The Lakers' rookies have indeed stepped up again. Each one is as arrogant as a tiger before the game, and then as docile as a kitten during the game.
The Clippers' defense became more targeted, and they felt troubled and were a little helpless.
The atmosphere in the Lakers' locker room is a bit gloomy.
But Zhao Chen was very calm at the moment.
After experiencing the journey of winning the championship, Zhao Chen knows that the game cannot be smooth sailing.
Although we were behind in the first half, wasn't there a second half?
Until the last moment of the game, no one knows who will have the last laugh.
