The Lightning advanced cautiously, and the Iron Fist had 4 steals in the half, enough to make him cautious.
Not only that, Tekken blocked two shots in the half. Although he was not a blocker, it also made him more cautious in his shots in front of Tekken.
But when people are too cautious, they will become hesitant, and their technical actions will not be decisive enough. At the same time, according to Murphy's Law, things they don't want to happen will happen.
At the three-point line on the left wing, the Lightning took advantage of small forward Richard's pick-and-roll, and then took a step inside the three-point line, hoping to take advantage of Zhou Quan's opportunity to make an emergency stop jumper.
But he was afraid that Zhou Quan would catch up, so his technical movements were not coherent enough, and Zhou Quan took advantage of this little time to catch up.
"Snapped!"
He caught up from the back left side, half-turned in the air after taking off, and made a big shot with his left hand, which slapped Lightning's far two-point shot, deliberately towards the midline.
"Oh, three shots. Are Zhou Quan addicted to blocking today?" Zhang Lili shouted excitedly.
"damn it!"
Lightning's eyes were bleeding, he turned around and ran towards the backcourt.
Mark Aguirre got the ball first and then passed it to Joe Dumas on the left wing. Joe Dumas took the ball across the three-point line and drove diagonally to the basket, with Dan Marley following closely on the side.
At this time, Zhou Quan followed up from the right wing, saw the lightning in front rushing towards the basket, and stopped at the three-point line.
"Whoosh!"
Joe Dumars took off for a layup, and the Lightning desperately took off from the opposite side to block the shot. At the same time, Dan Marley also took off from the top to block the shot, but he suddenly threw the ball outward with both hands, and the ball flew to the right three-point line. Zhou Quan.
"Pass the ball!" Bill Walton shouted.
"Iron Fist caught the ball and took a shot... Oh, Barkley?" Williams yelled excitedly, and finally exclaimed suddenly.
"Snapped!"
Zhou Quan made a three-pointer, and Barkley rushed up from behind and made a big block, knocking the ball directly out of the baseline.
"What the hell!"
After receiving a blood cap, he was also a little depressed.
"Tekken boy, how do you evaluate my blocking?" Barkley said proudly.
Zhou Quan walked aside without saying a word.
Buckley's face broke out with laughter. The two were in different positions and he was very happy to take advantage of Iron Fist.
The Pistons attack and serve from the baseline.
Joe Dumars received the ball at the top of the arc. At this time, Zhou Quan cut in from the right wing. Rodman came out to do a pick-and-roll. The lightning was blocked and Barkley made an emergency switch.
At this time, Joe Dumars passed the ball, and Zhou Quan received the ball and rushed into the paint from the right waist. Barkley defended the lower side and squeezed him upwards.
The difference in tonnage was too big, and he couldn't bear it. He slowed down and stopped suddenly, dribbling and taking a step outward.
But in the next moment, he turned around and suddenly took another step forward, put the ball together with both hands, and jumped up facing Barkley.
"Damn it!"
Barkley's rhythm was half a beat slower.
"boom!"
"Beep!"
After the strong explosion of the basket, the referee's whistle also sounded, and he rushed over and pointed at Barkley, making a gesture of fouling the thug.
"Okay, dunk on Barkley, Zhou Quan hit Barkley with a two plus one, which was a response to Barkley's block on him just now." Zhang Lili shouted excitedly.
"Sir Flying Pig, please evaluate my buckle on you. If there are shortcomings, I will definitely improve it next time." Zhou Quan said politely.
"Want to do it next time?"
Buckley was so angry that the fat on his body shook, and said angrily: "Please call me Sir Charles, what the hell is Sir Flying Pig?"
"Ha ha……"
Zhou Quan, Rodman and others laughed.
In the following time, facing the Lightning's defense, Zhou Quan began to continuously attack with the ball.
He doesn't just rush to the basket to cause damage, but combines breakthrough layups with breakthrough points, pull-up jumpers, and fake sudden shots from the outside, making the Lightning hard to guard against.
From the second half to the 10th minute of the final quarter, within 22 minutes, he carried the ball 29 times, and two-thirds of the Pistons' attacks were initiated by him.
9 of 14 shots, 1 of 2 three-pointers, and 5 of 6 free throws. In the second half, he scored 24 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover and 1 foul.
Under his strong performance, 100:94, with 115 seconds left in the game, the Pistons were still ahead by 6 points.
Zhang Lili said: "Zhou Quan was in very good condition today. He made 14 of 24 shots, a shooting percentage of 58.3%, 1 of 2 three-pointers, 8 of 9 free throws, 37 points, 5 rebounds, 12 assists, 6 steals, 3 blocks, 1 turnover and 3 fouls. , he basically blew up the lightning and achieved what the magician said was the suppression of lightning in all aspects."
Sun Zhenping said: "The Lightning are now 5 of 14, 2 of 6 in the second half, 35.7% shooting, 3 of 3 free throws, 13 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 4 turnovers and 2 fouls. They are indeed suppressed by Zhou Quan in all aspects. .”
Zhang Liji smiled and said: "I thought Lightning would be faster than Zhou Quan, but now it seems that is not the case. He was seriously injured this season and has been out for dozens of games. His athletic ability should have declined. His running and jumping ability and speed are not as good as before. .
In addition to being able to maintain a balance with Zhou Quan in terms of speed, he is not as good as Zhou Quan in terms of other tonnage, confrontation, wingspan, physique, etc., especially his confrontation ability. It is really difficult for him to compete with Zhou Quan's breakthrough with the ball on the defensive end. Jordan couldn't guard him, so he couldn't guard him even more. "
Sun Zhenping nodded and said: "If it weren't for Barkley's performance, the Pistons would definitely have a big lead."
Zhang Lijia smiled and said: "After Zhou Quan dunked the Flying Pig in the air, it also started to explode. It made 15 of 28 shots, a hit rate of 53.6%, 1 of 4 three-pointers, and 5 of 8 free throws. It has already won With 36 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls, Rodman should not have much effect on his defense."
At this time, the Suns' timeout ended and the game began.
Barkley held the ball on the left wing and singled out Rodman.
Time is running out, he must score this goal. Only if he scores can he hope to make a comeback.
"Damn it, what if I can't make a shot?"
Rodman tried his best to withstand the attack of the big butt, but Barkley's physical strength was not enough and he couldn't push in. He was breathing heavily, his mind was a little confused, and he was thinking too much.
But he had no second choice, so he turned over and shot a jumper.
"boom!"
Missed, the basketball bounced straight ahead.
"It's over!"
When Barkley saw that he missed, his will collapsed.
Zhou Quan rushed in from the high post to grab the rebound, and the Pistons attacked.
He came to the top of the arc unhurriedly, dribbled outside for seven or eight seconds, and then suddenly made a one-handed feint and burst into the paint from the left end of the free throw line.
"brush!"
Barkley was forced to come out from the basket to cover up the defense. Zhou Quan, who was in good physical condition, made an emergency throw. His technical movements were not out of shape and he accurately scored a goal.
"It's over, it's over!"
Barkley looked back and saw that the ball had been scored, the point difference continued to widen, and time ran out. He really collapsed.
Lightning caught the ball and started a fast break, but Zhou Quan was physically better than him and caught up to stop his fast break. He passed to Barkley who was following up. Barkley took a three-pointer from the left wing. Rodman's defense failed. Keep up, but still miss.
"It's really over!"
After consecutive misses, Barkley completely lost his fighting spirit.
Rodman rushed in and grabbed the rebound, and the Pistons attacked.
Bill Walton shook his head and said: "It's when we are chasing points. The offense can't score and we can't defend. The Suns are going to lose at home."
"There is no way, Barkley is in good condition, and Iron Fist is in better condition than him. Now Barkley's physical fitness may not be able to hold on, and the situation is further shifting towards the Pistons," Williams said.
In the last two minutes, the Suns missed three consecutive shots. Barkley missed two and the Lightning missed one. The entire team failed to score a point. However, the Suns launched a 6-0 offensive wave and won 106:94. With 12 points, he defeated the Suns in one fell swoop and won the G1 game.
After the game, Zhang Lili concluded: "Zhou Quan played 48 minutes, made 15 of 25 shots, just 60% from the field, 1 of 2 three-pointers, 8 of 9 free throws, 39 points, 6 rebounds, 13 assists, 6 steals and 3 blocks. 1 turnover and 3 fouls.
In comparison, the Lightning's data was not good. Barkley made 15 of 30 shots and had a 50% shooting percentage. However, he missed two shots at the critical moment and lost the game, so Zhou Quan's performance was even better. "
"After winning the first away game, the situation will be favorable to the Pistons. Even if they lose the G2 game, they will return to Detroit and try to win two home games, haha!"
Having said this, Sun Zhenping was a little overjoyed.
In the ABC commentary box, Bill Walton concluded: "The Suns made 3 of 10 three-pointers in this game, with a shooting percentage of 30%, which is a bit lower. But Barkley's performance was very good, and Rodman did not defend him very well. Not that good.
But the Lightning was stared at with an iron fist. Without him, the Suns had a very difficult time relying solely on Barkley and without making three-pointers. As a result, Barkley's physical strength was even greater, and he was in poor condition at the final critical moment. Slumped and lost the game. "
Williams said: "The Pistons still defended well. Iron Fist had 6 steals and 3 blocks, and his 3 blocks also broke his single-game block record. Without his defense, the Lightning and Barkley combined inside and outside, and the Suns' offense He will play better, but he and Barkley didn't have much coordination in this game, and Tekken didn't give him a chance."
Bill Walton nodded and said: "The way Lightning and Barkley cooperate, usually Lightning breaks through and distributes the ball, creating opportunities for Barkley. But today, his breakthrough with the ball could not break through Iron Fist's defense. Barkley was more of a Attacking with the ball yourself is the key to the Suns losing."
At the scene, after the game, Zhou Quan shouted to Barkley: "Fliggy, congratulations, you scored 40+ points in the air. Let's continue at the end."
"How can there be 40+?" Buckley said angrily.
"Congratulations, you scored 30+ in vain." Zhou Quan immediately corrected him.
"I'll teach you a lesson next time, kid."
Without a word of pretense, Buckley turned around and left angrily.
"Maybe I'll win next time." Zhou Quan said cheerfully.
At this time, a group of reporters swarmed up and began conducting on-site interviews after the game.
Asked by a reporter from ABC TV station, he asked: "Iron Fist, I gave you three big hits today, how do you feel about it?"
Zhou Quan shook his head and said: "I hope to cap Barkley in the end. That fat guy capped me once. I am very proud of him."
"But you dunked him." The reporter laughed.
Zhou Quan laughed, and then said: "It feels good to dunk him, but I still hope to hit him once and let me shut his big mouth, haha!"
"We won the G1 away game. Are you ready for two consecutive away games?" the reporter asked again.
Zhou Quan smiled and said: "I am even prepared for four consecutive wins, but we have to play one game at a time. We have to consider all possible processes that may happen, whether it is two consecutive away games or two consecutive away games. One win, one loss and so on.
For us, the Suns are a very strong team and we are very mentally prepared. Our will cannot be shaken under any circumstances.
In the end, we will move forward firmly, and we firmly believe that we will make it to the end and become the final winner of this season. "
After the interview, Zhou Quan and his teammates said goodbye to less than 300 Pistons fans, and then chatted with the stars they knew for a while before returning to the locker room.
At this time, David Stern received a report. The highest ratings for tonight's game were 22.5 million, and the average ratings were 18.6 million. Although it was not as good as the second round series between the Pistons and Bulls, the data was pretty good, ranking third in history. Three, which relieved him.
Compared with last year's Finals G1 game between the Bulls and Trail Blazers, the average viewership was only 800,000 lower, which actually surprised him.
Michael Jordan's absence from the Eastern Conference Finals caused the ratings to plummet, but the ratings of the Finals did not plummet. Is this because of the duel between Barkley and Zhou Quan?
He had to think this way, because Zhou Quan also played in the Eastern Conference Finals, but the average viewership was less than 13 million. There is no doubt that the showdown between Zhou Quan and super center Ewing was not attractive enough, or in other words, Ewing was not attractive enough.
"such a pity!"
At this time, he had to regret that Zhou Quan was not white or black. If he were, he would create another Magic Bird era again.
…
"The Age of Iron Fist!"
The next day, the Detroit media shouted that the Pistons era was coming, and they even named this era the Iron Fist Era.
This naming was immediately opposed by many media and league stars, and the attitude was very fierce.
Larry Johnson took the initiative to accept interviews with the media and criticized mercilessly: "The Detroit media's praise of Iron Fist has no bottom line. It's so shameless! It's so despicable!
He has no championship, no scoring champion, and no MVP. Does he have any hard honors that he can win?
Let's wait until he dominates an era like a magic bird before saying this. Now he has no qualifications to say so. Calling it an era now only shows that he is a clown. "
Pippen was also very unconvinced. He also mentioned the disappeared Jordan and said: "Michael has two championships and countless hard honors. He didn't even say that he created an era. Isn't Iron Fist too thick-skinned? Detroit media It’s so shameless!”
The media in other cities expressed their opinions one after another, and a wave of public opinion quickly formed against Detroit and Zhou Quan, and Zhou Quan suddenly became at the forefront.
"I'm in!"
Zhou Quan was very helpless when he saw these reports. Are the Detroit media setting him on fire?
Before the finals, the wave of public opinion generated by Barkley's complaints about the schedule had not yet affected him, but with the current wave of public opinion, he will be under great pressure.
(End of chapter)
