Even Spider-Man's one-on-one defense couldn't be defended, and the hopes of the Mavericks players were dashed.
The backcourt combination of Nash and Finley was the core of the Mavericks' offense in the final quarter. They were physically exhausted. In the first 10 minutes, they relied on the belief of a comeback and the hope of winning.
Seeing that the score difference reached 10 points again, both of them seemed to have been drained of energy, and their fatigue could not be suppressed.
Rather than reversing the situation, what the two of them are thinking about now is - Spider-Man's progress is too terrible!
The Mavericks played against the Clippers 4 times this season, and the distribution was very even. The first meeting was in the 8th game of the regular season. Although the Clippers had a beautiful start of 5 wins and 2 losses at that time, the Mavericks still lost 100 to 79. Clippers.
At that time, Li Ao was good in mid-range shooting, but his running skills and catching and shooting skills needed to be improved; he was good in passing, but his cooperation with teammates was not good enough, and he lacked game experience; he had good defensive conditions, solid foundation, and good awareness, but he was unable to make up defense. The intention of helping defense is unclear and can easily be exploited by top scorers.
Up to now, in the past four months, I have developed a back slap with a picturesque posture!
In the next three games, Nash and Finley could see Li Ao's progress every time!
From one time to another, the progress was not particularly great, but now comparing the latest time with the first time, the progress is terrible.
It’s as if there is no rookie wall!
No, it’s because the rookie wall can’t keep up with Spider-Man’s progress!
The rookie wall actually means that each team is more familiar with a famous rookie player, can think of more countermeasures, and is willing to invest defensive resources for it. In addition to the rookie's own physical strength, mentality and other issues... this rookie will appear Periodic performance decline.
Li Ao has been improving rapidly, and his opponents' targeted preparations are always lagging behind. It seems that there is no rookie wall.
The changes in the Clippers team also surprised Nash and Finley.
Nash glanced at Jordan's successor, then at Spider-Man...
There is really a big difference between a leader and a leader.
There was no disturbance in the last two minutes. Li Ao turned his back and cut in to catch the ball and fed O'Neal. Juwan Howard forced a shot and scored a meaningless three-pointer. The game was over.
With 10 points in the first quarter, 7 points in the second quarter, 9 points in the third quarter, and 16 points in the final quarter, Li Ao exploded tonight, making 16 of 27 shots, including 2 of 3 three-pointers, and 8 of 9 free throws. 42 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.
Coupled with Brevin Knight's 6 points and 14 assists and Odom's 22 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, the Clippers defeated the Mavericks 124-115!
Nash's performance of 24 points and 15 assists tonight was amazing, but his teammates couldn't keep up with him and unfortunately lost.
After the final whistle sounded, the Clippers players gathered together to celebrate and were extremely excited.
After losing to the Mavericks 3 times in a row, they finally won! Not swept!
There are already two teams that have swept them this season, the Magic and the Pacers, but there is no third team!
Texas has won three consecutive away games, which is the first time in the history of the Clippers!
Defeating the Mavericks, their winning streak reached 5 games and their record improved to 39 wins and 27 losses, catching up with the Sonics!
…
At noon the next day, the Clippers returned to Los Angeles.
Li Ao received the news that he won the latest award with his performance of winning all 4 games last week, scoring 1 triple-double, 40+ points in a single game, and averaging 29 points, 5.75 rebounds, 6.25 assists, 1.25 steals and 3.75 blocks in 4 games. player of the week award.
This time the Best of the Week award is a little different. He tied David Robinson's record for Best of the Week in his rookie season!
Since the NBA established the 'Best Player of the Week' award in 1979, as of last season, only two players have won the Player of the Week multiple times in their rookie seasons: Magic twice, David Robinson three times, and no others. As for people, Jordan, Bird, O'Neal, and Duncan couldn't do it.
Li Ao is the third person! Moreover, it was his third time too!
However, the response caused by such a big event this time was not as sensational as when he won the Best of the Week for the second time and was tied with the Magician and the Admiral.
Of course, the intensity of media coverage, fan attention and enthusiasm for discussion are not low, but they are not as high compared to that time.
Because, NCAA March Madness kicks off today!
Not to mention the fans, Li Ao himself paid more attention to the unveiling of Crazy Three than he did to win the award.
After arriving at the Los Angeles Airport, Li Ao stayed at the airport, waiting for the Trojans to arrive and cheering for his former teammates heading to San Diego.
The first place in the Pac10 League this year is Stanford, with 16 wins and 2 losses.
With the Collins brothers and a group of junior and senior teammates, the Cardinal team is still among the top in the country and incredibly stable.
The second place in the division is the Wildcats led by Arenas and Richard Jefferson, with 15 wins and 3 losses.
The Trojans ranked third with a 14-4 record over the 13-5 Bruins.
The Trojans were ranked fourth in the Western Conference this time, on the same promotion line as the first-place Illinois Warriors.
The Wildcats were also placed in the Western Division, ranked second, on another promotion line.
Seeing that the old team might meet the Wildcats in the quarterfinals, Li Ao felt regretful. It would definitely be very suitable for Arenas to practice the defense of pull-up jump shots for a long time.
Kobe and Stackhouse, who are already good at pull-up jump shots, cannot be defended at all and have no defensive experience.
Farewell to his old teammates, Li Ao put away his nostalgia for the college game and looked at the present.
He drove to the supermarket to buy groceries and returned home to prepare dinner with his mother.
In the evening, Kobe and Vanessa came to Li Ao's house.
Kobe came to the kitchen and watched Li Ao skillfully use kitchen utensils, (｀Д)!!
Is the big spider so versatile?
Wait, this smell...
Kobe looked at the transparent lid of the incubator.
Apple pie, macaroni, chicken rolls...
He looked at Li Ao who had cut the green onions into shreds and picked up the noodles. Is this fried noodles?
He remembered that he seemed to have said that during the lockout in 1998, he went to a flower grower and ate fried noodles every day...
He heard Gentry say that Li Ao would carefully remember the preferences of each teammate...
…
The help this time was really worth it!
After eating, Kobe dragged Li Ao to the game room on the pretext that he wanted to play games, and then collapsed on the sofa, relaxing with his belly bulging.
He felt that Li Ao wanted to support him to death and affect their Lakers' game tomorrow.
He has proof! too delicious!
Originally, Li Ao had cooked the dishes he liked, and he was already very satisfied. He thought that although the big spider was irritating with his words, he could still do things well.
Then he realized that he still underestimated this big spider.
He ate so fast that he bit his tongue. He could feel the rusty and sweet taste, and it even bled. But he kept eating like crazy, and no one knew he bit his tongue.
Li Ao handed the controller to Kobe, but Kobe refused.
He was very strange. Didn't he say he wanted to play games? He was about to ask a question when Kobe said, "I thought of a nickname for me."
"Uh... I just wanted to ask, why do you have such a big tongue?"
(￣ェ￣;)
Kobe was speechless for a moment, then got angry and asked, "You don't care what nickname I came up with?"
Li Ao's eyes lit up!
"You want to be called Big Tongue? Tied with Big Shark and Big Basic Skills?"
[○｀Д○]
Kobe closed his eyes, took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and said: "I watched a documentary a few days ago, and there is a kind of snake in Africa..."
"animal world?"
"It doesn't seem to be called by this name. What is it called...wait! Don't interrupt me!"
"Oh, okay, you continue."
"That kind of snake usually hides in the shadows, waiting for the opportunity to strike and kill the opponent. I like it very much. Its name is Black Mamba, so I decided that my nickname will be..."
"Snake?"
"Black Mamba! I told you it's called Black Mamba! Of course it's Black Mamba!"
"Oh... Snake still sounds better, hiss, hiss..."
"..."
Kobe felt that it would be better to eat to stop this big spider's mouth.
That’s when it’s not annoying!
Seeing that it was getting late, Kobe took out the invitation and said, "I'm getting married on April 19th. I saw that you guys didn't have a game that day. If you're free, you can come and have a look."
Li Ao took the invitation and congratulated him repeatedly: "Congratulations, I wish you have a daughter soon."
Kobe asked: "Why daughter?"
"Looking at your face, you should have several daughters."
"You can also do divination?"
"No, I'm just guessing, but my guesses are usually pretty accurate."
Kobe Bryant: (=`=；)ゞ
With his fists tightened, Kobe turned around and left. He returned to the living room and said goodbye to Vivian and Mary before leaving with Vanessa.
…
After a day of rest, on March 18, the Clippers faced the challenge of the Warriors at home.
Watching the other side put Mookie Blakelow and Dampier on the bench, let Bob Sura play the starting point guard, Foyle the starting center, Adam Fekey the starting power forward, Larry- Hughes plays shooting guard, Jamison plays small forward...
Li Ao really wanted to tell the other side - you don't have to work hard until now. You don't need to do anything. The last place in the Western Conference is very stable.
If you suddenly fail in your efforts at this time, what if your performance improves?
After the game started, the Warriors used practical actions to prove to Li Ao that his worries were unnecessary.
To get better, the Warriors don't know what to do.
But when it comes to being bad, they are better than anyone else.
Jamison played 44 minutes and scored 25 points on 11-of-26 shooting. Larry Hughes played 41 minutes and scored 22 points on 9-of-24 shooting. The two combined for 47 points. The Warriors scored 74 points. .
For the Clippers, Li Ao also played 40 minutes, making 12 of 25 shots, including 2 of 4 three-pointers, plus 8 of 8 free throws, scoring 34 points, plus 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 5 blocks.
The hit rate was less than 50%, which was purely caused by singles. He was happy and even had a breakthrough.
I succeeded in using my long legs to get in, but I was too excited to grab the ball and hit the frame, so I smacked the ball hard on my toes...a tribute to the captain of the USC Computer Science Basketball Team.
94 to 74, the Clippers easily defeated the Warriors and won 6 consecutive victories!
40 wins and 27 losses, the Clippers have won 40 games for the third time in franchise history!
On the 20th, the Clippers faced the challenge of the Jazz at home.
After 2 hours and 27 minutes, the game ended. The Clippers lost to the Jazz 86-91, ending their 6-game winning streak and failing to tie the second-highest winning streak in team history.
Relying on the team's attack, the Clippers successfully prevented Malone from shooting and only scored 18 points on 6 of 16 shots. However, Donyel Marshall made consecutive hits from long distance and scored 22 points in a single game. Danny Manning and John Si The two veteran Tuckers also performed well offensively.
Compared with the good-looking veterans of the Lakers, Li Ao's inside defense is not that great a deterrent to the veterans of the Jazz.
No matter how effective Li Ao's shrinking assist defense is, the Jazz veterans will take action when it's time to take action. If they were blocked this time, they should be faster next time.
But the key to the Jazz's victory is defense.
The playoffs are less than a month away, and referees have habitually relaxed their whistleblowing standards to allow teams to begin to adapt to playoff-level confrontations.
The Jazz's defensive intensity has improved a lot compared to before the All-Star break!
Li Ao made 8 of 22 shots and scored 20 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 7 blocks. Although he helped the team suppress the Jazz's offense, their offense played very poorly.
The Clippers' record came to 40 wins and 28 losses, and the SuperSonics once again surpassed the Clippers with a record of 41 wins and 27 losses, occupying eighth place in the Western Conference.
…
Late March arrived, and Li Ao smelled the strong smell of gunpowder smoke, and the competition in the playoffs became increasingly fierce!
They are okay in the Western Conference. The Rockets are falling behind due to Olajuwon's contract extension, the Nuggets are falling behind due to lack of strength, and the three teams are competing for two positions.
The competition in the East is even more intense, with five teams: the Pacers, Celtics, Cavaliers, Pistons, and Knicks competing for seventh and eighth place.
According to the current overall record of the Eastern Conference, it is possible that 35 or 6 wins this year will make it into the playoffs. The Bulls, Wizards, Hawks, and Nets, the last four teams in the Eastern Conference, have too much of a lead, and the other teams are not even close to the bottom. The possibility of being in the top three is not as good as rushing into the playoffs and selling more tickets.
Teams that are firmly in the playoffs compete for rankings.
In the West, the Kings, Lakers, and Trail Blazers are all trying to get the first place, because according to the rules of the division, if the three teams do not get the first place, they will fall to third and fourth. According to the current record, In the final ranking, the Mavericks are second in the Western Conference and first in the Midwest Division. The Kings, Lakers, and Trail Blazers are actually competing for first place in the Pacific Division.
Playing in the sprint stage of the playoffs for the first time, Li Ao had little experience and didn't know what he could do, so he trained, trained and trained.
After two days of rest, the Clippers ushered in a back-to-back home game against the 76ers and Rockets.
Li Ao has been looking forward to the game against the 76ers for a long time.
But on the day of the competition, he was happy and regretful.
Happily, they easily defeated the 76ers 88-77. Unfortunately, Iverson was injured tonight.
Tonight, the Clippers team played very poorly offensively. The 76ers defended fiercely, but his personal offensive performance was quite good. He made 8 of 16 shots, including 3 of 7 three-pointers. He made 3 hits in a single game for the second time in his career. Three-pointers, plus 5 of 5 free throws, scored 24 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 blocks.
George Lynch couldn't keep up with him, Aaron McGee couldn't stand up to him, and when Eric Snow defended him, he just turned around and relied on his height to make strong shots...
With 41 wins and 28 losses, the Clippers tied for the second-highest number of wins in franchise history.
Asking for a monthly ticket!
(End of chapter)
