On the bench of the Lakers, Master Jackson had a headache. He did not expect that the situation on the court would change suddenly.
It was obviously an extremely anxious tug-of-war before, but why did it turn into a blitzkrieg in the blink of an eye? !
This is not the worst thing. The most terrifying thing is why did the guy opposite suddenly explode? !
Who can resist such a powerful scoring explosion?
Phil Jackson felt uneasy and couldn't help but think of the scene when Sun Yi beat the Mavericks in last year's playoffs and set a new playoff single-game scoring high.
If Sun Yi continues to kill everyone, the Lakers will not be able to play at all.
In the past, the Lakers relied on extreme teamwork to keep up with the Warriors. Now Sun Yi's sudden explosion instantly broke the balance. If they want to continue to maintain this balance, someone must step forward.
In Phil Jackson's mind, such a candidate has long been destined, and it is undoubtedly Kobe.
So, the Zen master called Lao Nai to his side and exchanged a few words.
"KB, the team needs you to score now. You should know how to do it, but you can't let the young people on the opposite side steal the spotlight."
"Old guy, do you think the provoking method will work for me?"
Kobe naturally understood what Phil Jackson meant and continued: "I'm not too old to score, so leave it to me. I'll let the brats on the opposite side know that old is better than old!"
"Then it's settled, I'll start arranging offensive tactics for you." The Zen master smiled and completed the agreement with Nacha.
After convincing Kobe, Phil Jackson called the players together and raced against time to plan the next offensive tactics and defensive tactics against Sun Yi.
Not long after, the timeout ended and the game continued.
After returning from the timeout, Kobe was on full fire, using his famous trick fadeaway jumpers to score consecutive points, immediately matching the Warriors' ferocious offensive firepower.
There is no problem with the offense, but there are still problems with the defense.
After Sun Yi realized that he was being targeted by the Lakers, he immediately reduced his singles with the ball and began to attack without the ball.
With the bonus effects of the badges [Marksman] and [Catch and Shooter], regardless of whether he is faced with a two-person defense or a three-person defense, as long as he is not blocked, his shooting rate is surprisingly high.
The Lakers have absolutely no choice now and can only hope to rely on offense to maintain a stalemate with the Warriors.
As long as the game is dragged into the decisive moment, they still have a glimmer of hope of winning.
The Lakers' wishful thinking was indeed good, but it didn't work out.
Kobe's scoring ability is indeed very strong, but don't forget that he is 34 years old and his physical fitness is a big problem.
In the last few minutes of the third quarter, there was a problem with Nao's physical fitness. His shooting percentage plummeted and the basket banged.
Seeing this situation, Sun Yi immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
This was the "Iron God" in his impression. Those violent outputs before were all illusions.
As Kobe missed many shots, the situation on the court suddenly lost balance again.
Taking advantage of the Lakers' scoring drought, the Warriors hit a scoring climax and once again opened the point difference to double digits.
In this way, under the leadership of Sun Yi, the Warriors entered the interquarter break with a 12-point lead over the Lakers 90-78 after three quarters.
After three quarters, Sun Yi had already scored 45 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals. This performance was quite explosive.
Kobe's performance was also explosive with full firepower. He scored 18 points in a single quarter. After three quarters, he had scored 38 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Not long after, the inter-quarter break ended and the fourth quarter began.
Sun Yi continued to play to contain the Lakers' defense.
For the Lakers, Kobe did not play, but sat off the court to rest and recover.
Seeing Sun Yi continue to play, Nacai shook his head helplessly, with mixed feelings in his heart.
If he were a few years younger, it would not be a problem for him to play the whole game physically.
But now I have to accept my old age!
"It's good to be young
! "Kobe looked at Sun Yi running on the court and whispered.
Back on the court, Sun Yi attracted double-teams, distributed the ball and assisted David Lee to hit a mid-range jumper, continuing to widen the point difference.
Looking back, the Lakers showed tacit teamwork, but unfortunately Yingodala failed to hit an open three-pointer.
The Warriors launched a defensive counterattack, and Sun Yi advanced in one line, forced a foul inside, and got two free throws.
Seeing that the score was getting bigger and bigger, Phil Jackson couldn't sit still. Taking advantage of the dead ball, Kobe, who was still sitting on his butt, was replaced on the field to put out the fire.
After substitutions and adjustments, Sun Yi stood on the free throw line and made two steady free throws amidst the MVP cheers of the fans.
The ball is transferred and the Lakers attack.
Kobe held the ball in the low post, attracted double teams and then skillfully passed the ball to the middle.
Gasol, who rushed to the basket, received the pass and scored a layup, breaking the Lakers' scoring drought.
It has to be said that the Lakers' offense has indeed improved after Kobe was replaced.
Even if this old guy doesn't do anything, just standing there is quite intimidating.
Seeing that the Lakers were about to gain momentum, Nelson immediately made substitution adjustments and replaced the five-death defense.
This is the scary thing about the Warriors. They can not only play a terrifying wave of offense, but also play a strong iron-blooded defense.
After substitutions and adjustments, the Warriors once again struggled defensively with the Lakers, playing steadily and not giving their opponents a chance to overtake.
The Lakers were playing very uncomfortable and could not easily break through the Warriors' defense, so how could they recover the point difference.
And every time the point difference was recovered to within ten points, the Warriors had players step up and score, widening the point difference again.
That 10-point difference is like a chasm, insurmountable at all!
Just like that, with about two minutes left, the Lakers gave up completely.
It is really difficult to recover a point difference of more than 10 points from the Warriors' iron-clad defense!
In the end, the Warriors defeated the Lakers 118-104 and won their first victory in the Western Conference semifinals.
In terms of statistics, 4 players from the Warriors scored in double figures.
Sun Yi was undoubtedly elected as the best player of the game.
In the 45 minutes he played, he made 21 of 30 field goals, 7 of 12 three-pointers, and 5 of 5 free throws. He scored a triple-double of 54 points, 15 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block.
This is his 10th triple-double in his playoff career, surpassing Dashuai Zhang and ranking fifth in NBA history. It is also the first 50+ triple-double in the NBA playoffs.
The performance of the rest of the Warriors was equally impressive.
Curry scored 18 points, 2 rebounds, 8 assists and 1 steal.
David Lee scored a near-double-double with 12 points and 8 rebounds; Brewer, the bench gangster, scored 10 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.
For the Lakers, the most outstanding player is undoubtedly Kobe.
In the 44 minutes he played, he made 18 of 32 field goals, 4 of 8 three-pointers, and 7 of 8 free throws. He scored 47 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.
As for other Lakers players, their performance was ordinary.
Nash had a double-double of 11 points and 10 assists; Gasol had a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The first game of the Western Conference semifinals between the Warriors and the Lakers came to an end, and the Warriors took the lead!
