When the Suns attacked, the Lightning transferred the ball to Dan Malley in the backcourt. In the frontcourt, he ran to the right wing and caught the ball back.
The next moment, he took advantage of Dan Marley's cover and rushed in from the outside. Zhou Quan quickly followed up and cut off the passing angle between the Lightning and Dan Marley in time.
Joe Dumas very decisively chose to attack from the flank, keeping up with the lightning and sticking to the left side to prevent him from jumping inward, forming a flanking attack from the left and rear with Zhou Quan.
The lightning could only continue to rush downwards. The back and left side had been blocked, and there was no longer any angle for passing the ball.
"Oops!"
The on-site commentator exclaimed.
When Lightning was about to rush to the right corner, he could only take off, glide toward the baseline, and shoot a jump shot.
"Drift shot...ugh!"
One of the on-site commentators shouted loudly, and then he couldn't help but sigh.
"boom!"
The basketball hit the basket and Rodman soared into the sky and grabbed the backcourt rebound over Sekali's head.
"The Lightning made a wrong choice. He shouldn't have gone to the right wing. That would have only allowed him to be flanked by Iron Fist and Joe Dumars." Bill Walton said.
"Joe Dumars is also capable of defending one team. If there are two teams defending one team, no one except Jordan can withstand their attack." Williams nodded.
The Pistons attacked, Zhou Quan advanced with the ball, and when he reached the left wing of the frontcourt, Joe Dumars went to the right wing, positioned inside, and the position battle started.
When Zhou Quan leaned down, the hairs on Lightning's body stood up. He felt that Zhou Quan one step away was a beast ready to pounce on food. The bloodthirsty feeling was particularly strong.
"squeak!"
The next moment, Zhou Quan broke through.
Hearing the harsh friction sound of sneakers, Lightning's nerves tensed up, his cerebral cortex went numb, and he quickly stepped back.
"squeak!"
But in the next moment, Zhou Quan's right foot that he had just stepped on hit the floor hard and applied the brakes.
"not good!"
Lightning's feet paused, but he couldn't hold his upper body back and fell backwards.
Zhou Quan retreated outside the three-point line, looked down at the lightning on the floor coldly, then calmly took off and shot a three-pointer.
"Fake shot, real shot, three-pointer!" Zhang Lili shouted excitedly.
"brush!"
With precise guidance, the basketball passed through the basket and splashed down.
"Bang!"
He was knocked down unexpectedly, and Lightning punched the floor angrily.
"All 4 shots were made. Zhou Quan scored 9 points in a row in the opening game. He was on full fire today and in great condition!" Sun Zhenping said excitedly.
"Now the Suns called a timeout and were stopped by Zhou Quan's attack." Zhang Lili smiled excitedly.
In front of the Suns bench, Paul Westphal nervously yelled: "Attention, I don't see your attention on the game, have you given up?
Guys, this is only the second game, we can't give up, cheer up, this is our home court, not their home court..."
Lightning and Barkley looked at each other, their eyes a little confused. Neither of them expected Zhou Quan to start so fiercely and his hands to be so hot.
They originally thought that Zhou Quan would be affected by public opinion and be in bad shape, but reality slapped them in the face and impacted their psychology instead.
In front of the Pistons bench, Chuck Daly said to Zhou Quan: "Zhou, if it feels hot, just hit it with all your strength. I will give you unlimited power to fire."
He is not a stubborn head coach, but a very practical head coach who does whatever works.
The timeout ends and the Suns attack.
Barkley caught the ball on the left wing and beat Rodman with his back.
He missed one shot just now, but this time he made two shots without touching Rodman. Suddenly he turned around, passed Rodman, and went to the left waist.
At the left end of the free throw line, Zhou Quan quickly moved down to cover.
The all-around warrior Barkley quickly passed the ball to the open Lightning. The Lightning received the ball at the top of the arc, faced Zhou Quan's counterattack, and shot a three-pointer.
Zhou Quan fought back to block the shot. After landing, he immediately turned around and saved the basket, preparing to grab the rebound.
The Lightning had no three-pointers at all. This was the reason why he tried his best to defend Barkley, and also the reason why he went down to grab rebounds.
"boom!"
Sure enough, it missed, the arc was too flat, it bounced off the basket, bounced very far, and was directly caught by Zhou Quan on the free throw line.
"The second rebound." Zhang Li said with a smile.
"Missed the opening three shots?"
One of the commentators lamented.
Zhou Quan turned around and rushed forward, intercepted by lightning, and with a bad luck, he controlled the ball with his left hand and charged his opponent from the left.
"Beep!"
During the confrontation, Lightning was knocked aside and the whistle sounded.
The referee came over, took a look at Zhou Quan, and made an offensive foul gesture.
"Pa bang bang..."
The American West Arena suddenly burst into warm applause.
"Is this an offensive foul? No!"
Chuck Daly was furious and immediately roared at the technical stage.
"Is that wrong? This is an offensive foul? Iron Fist changed direction, and Lightning had no defensive position at all. There was physical contact when Iron Fist rushed over. This is a very normal physical confrontation." Bill Walton said dissatisfied.
"Normally, this is the home court of the Suns." Williams laughed.
"Just call a violation at the home whistle. Give Iron Fist a wrist-turn and walk or something. What offensive foul is called? This is the playoffs. Offensive fouls should be called less. The referee needs to maintain the continuity of the game, not to mention that this is completely normal. Confrontation." Bill Walton said still dissatisfied.
The ball is exchanged and the Suns attack.
On the right wing, Dan Marley receives the ball and Joe Dumars defends.
Lightning ran from the top of the arc to the left wing, giving Zhou Quan no chance to flank the right wing.
"boom!"
Dan Malley faked a shot and tried a three-pointer, but missed.
"Oh, missed four shots!" Countless Suns fans couldn't help but lament.
"mine!"
Rodman shouted in his heart and once again grabbed the rebound over Sekali's head.
Roni Seikali shook his empty hands, Big Chong, will you die if you leave me a board? I also need to sign a new contract.
Zhou Quan had already activated his speed and rushed past Ling Ling in front of him. Ling Ling also reacted very quickly and turned around to chase after him on the right, only half a step behind.
"Whoosh!"
Rodman passed the ball.
When the ball flew over, Zhou Quan did not slow down in order to prevent Lightning from catching the ball.
Instead, his left hand moved forward the moment it touched the ball, and then accelerated forward, chasing the basketball thrown forward.
"hiss!"
Lightning secretly pulled Zhou Quan's jersey, but Zhou Quan opened it with one hand. Zhou Quan's bones were very hard and painful.
, which made him gasp.
Taking advantage of Lightning's distraction, Zhou Quan accelerated to distance himself, took one step ahead, caught up with the basketball, and strode toward the basket from his right elbow.
"No more!"
Seeing that Zhou Quan, who was one step ahead, had already taken off, Lightning gave up the pursuit.
"boom!"
"ah!"
As the basket was exploded, the Pistons suddenly cheered.
"Iron Fist, blast them!"
Assassin Isiah Thomas was particularly excited. He seemed to see his own shadow in Zhou Quan. At this time, he thought of what general manager McCloskey said to him. Zhou Quan was like a replica of him.
"5 of 5 shots, Zhou Quan scored 11 points in a row in the opening game. He defeated the Suns by himself." Sun Zhenping shouted loudly and passionately.
"At 11:0, Zhou Quan had a hot start. He used his offense to tell his opponent that he must win this game. He said so." Zhang Lili said excitedly.
"If he can't defend himself, he will foul. I don't care what method you use, you must stop his attack. Do you hear me?"
Rookie head coach Westphal kept shouting on the court to relieve the tension and uneasiness in his heart.
Chuck Daly has turned into a Zen master and is sitting firmly on the bench, just like he coached the Dream Team last year. If the game continues like this tonight, he feels that it should be like the Olympics, without calling a timeout at all.
Dan Malley advanced with the ball, faked a shot and shot toward the right elbow area. Mark Aguirre in the high post immediately went to cover, while Zhou Quan in the left elbow area rushed along the free throw line to cover the high post. At the same time, he also waited for an opportunity to attack the right elbow area.
There was an opening on the left wing of the Lightning, and Sekali did not cover him. However, Danmarley failed to observe the weak side properly, especially when there were Mark Aguirre and Zhou Quan between him and the Lightning, blocking his line of sight. , no lightning openings were seen.
As soon as he burst into the right elbow area, with Mark Aguirre on the left, Joe Dumars on the right, and Rodman in front, he was already in trouble.
"squeak!"
Emergency stop, fadeaway jumper.
"Snapped!"
Zhou Quan happened to be in position from behind and clapped his hands to catch the ball he had just released.
"Oh, Caps?"
Countless Suns fans are lamenting this again.
"Beautiful! Four and one, the Pistons completed the most beautiful defense!" Bill Walton shouted excitedly.
Zhou Quan turned around from his right elbow and quickly descended. There was only Suns small forward Richard in front of him. He accelerated and stepped past Richard in a different direction, and passed by Richard's left side.
In desperation, Richard hugged him from behind with both hands.
"Beep!"
The referee's whistle sounded and the Suns were given a personal foul.
However, the number of free throws was not enough, and the Suns served from the backcourt sideline.
"This foul is still worth it. It's not a foul. There's no one in front of me. There's no one in front of me, and it's another dunk." Lewis Williams said.
Bill Walton laughed and said: "This is the Suns' first foul. Richard's foul doesn't matter. He also has a substitute in Ceballos, who is no worse than him. This foul is indeed a good deal."
At this time, Zhou Quan received the ball on the left wing and moved forward again. After crossing the center line, he immediately accelerated and stepped past the opponent. When the lightning followed up in time, he continued to make strong breakthroughs and reached the left elbow area and braked to slow down.
"squeak!"
Lightning was already prepared and stopped suddenly, stopping half a step before.
"This guy!"
But at this moment, Zhou Quan exerted force on his feet again and took another step forward.
Seeing Barkley blocking the basket, Mark West also returned from the left wing to defend the basket. Zhou Quan suddenly stopped three meters in front of the left side of the basket.
The lightning behind wanted to make a back-up shot, but unfortunately Zhou Quan's shot was not a jump shot, but a toss-up shot. He slapped the shot away.
Mark West and Barkley in front were more than one step away from Zhou Quan and had no chance to block the ball.
"brush!"
The water splashed and hit two points.
Suns fans no longer exclaim or lament. Many fans are praying to God: "Lord, let him miss a shot!"
"6-for-6 shooting, Iron Fist's hands were like a hot stove. He was unstoppable today. Today he met the gods and killed the gods."
Bill Walton roared excitedly.
Far away in New York, Jordan scolded: "You useless guys, you can't guard them even once."
"13:0, do you want to call a timeout?"
Westphal felt a little panicked and barely maintained his composure on the outside, but the fine beads of sweat on his forehead, the torn tie knot, and the unbuttoned shirt all showed that his psychology at this time was already a little chaotic. Nervous.
Barkley served from the baseline, and Lightning pressed his left elbow against Zhou Quan behind him, extending his right hand to prepare for the ball.
At this time, Zhou Quan retreated a little and seemed to give up the press, which made Lightning feel more relieved.
Barkley was also unfocused. After retreating to the baseline, he threw the ball to Lightning with one hand, and then prepared to enter the court. However, just as he was throwing the ball, he suddenly saw an iron fist emerging from the right side of Lightning. out.
"careful!"
He yelled instinctively.
"What?"
Lightning was startled, and in the next moment, Zhou Quan emerged from the right side, reaching out and catching the ball thrown by Barkley half a foot ahead of him.
"Shet!"
At this moment, countless Suns fans broke into foul language.
Zhou Quan caught the ball and went to the basket in one step, jumped up, turned 360 degrees in the air, and then dunked hard with both hands.
"boom!"
"oh!"
When the basket exploded, cheers from the Pistons side suddenly erupted, and the crowd of less than 300 people roared with the momentum of thousands of people.
An on-site commentator said very angrily: "Are you all sleepwalking on the court? With a combined annual salary of 14.29 million U.S. dollars, the Pistons scored 15:0. I can also score like this. It should be easy not to score a point. ?”
"Yes, fifteen to zero. Anyone can score like this. Why should we pay them so much? This is the finals. Are our fans paying to come in and watch a game like this?" His partner also said angrily. .
"The Suns are finished! What kind of ball is this? Iron Fist is behind Lightning, but Barkley and Lightning don't care at all. One serves the ball casually, and the other does not catch the ball. Don't they know Iron Fist's stealing ability? Or do they? They no longer care about winning or losing?" Bill Walton said angrily.
It's not that he wants the Suns to win, but if the game is one-sided, it will seriously affect the ratings, and as a commentator, he will also be affected.
Barkley and the Lightning were sweating profusely. They had no idea that they would have such an unexpected start tonight.
They were out of shape, and Iron Fist was in super explosive shape. As a result, they were beaten fifteen to zero, and their morale was hit rock bottom.
Westphal called the second timeout of the first quarter, and only 135 seconds had passed in the first quarter.
But the timeout did not solve the problem. He could adjust his tactics, but he could not control Zhou Quan's state. Although Zhou Quan's state was not as good as the opening game, it was still good.
After halftime of the game, the Pistons' lead reached 24 points, and one-third of the Suns fans had left. After three quarters, the Pistons' lead reached 31 points, and half of the home fans left.
In the end, Zhou Quan clocked in for three quarters and did not play in the final quarter. The Suns suffered a losing streak at home, 76:109, a huge defeat, losing by a full 33 points.
After the game, Bill Walton praised: "Tekken played three quarters in the finals. In 34 minutes of three quarters, they made 15 of 21 shots, 71.4% from the field, 3 of 5 three-pointers, 9 of 9 free throws, and scored 42 points. Data of 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 6 steals, 1 block, 0 turnovers and 3 fouls.
With 42 points, he broke his career scoring record in a single playoff game. This was also the first time he scored 40+ points in a single playoff game. If he hadn't played in three quarters, the Suns would have lost even more. "
Lewis Williams shook his head and said: "The Suns were sleepwalking as a team, with a total of 23 turnovers in the game. The team's shooting percentage was only 37%, while the Pistons were as high as 55%.
The Lightning made 6 of 18 shots, a shooting percentage of 33.3%. They were sleepwalking in a state of sleepwalking. In addition, they made 4 of 5 free throws and scored 16 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 6 turnovers and 3 fouls.
Barkley made 8 of 24 shots, and his shooting percentage was as amazing as the Lightning. He made 0 of 5 three-pointers and 4 of 6 free throws. He scored 20 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 5 turnovers and 3 fouls.
The internal and external core combined to only contribute 36 points, and the efficiency was far inferior to that of the Iron Fist. This was the main reason why the Suns lost. "
"If the Suns continue to play like this, they may be swept."
Bill Walton shook his head. He was furious with the Suns, Barkley and the Lightning because the ratings were off!
Tekken scored 15 points in a row at the beginning, and after a 15-0 run, the ratings reached 23.2 million, and then began to drop. In the end, the average ratings were only 15.5 million, and the lowest was only 12.8 million. A typical start is the peak.
If the Suns perform like this, Barkley at his peak will never have a chance to win the championship.
(End of chapter)
