The Jazz sent out a combination of Jacqui Vaughn, Deshaun Stevenson, Quincy Lewis, David Bunteno, and Scott Padgett in the final quarter, and only Danny- Manning and John Crotty.
Of these seven, only Jacqui Vaughn and Danny Manning are part of the Jazz's rotation.
Knight scored 4 points and 7 assists in the final quarter, Li Ao scored 16 points, and O'Neal Jr. scored 7 points. The three of them dared to play hard and led the Clippers to a score of 33-20 in the final quarter.
In the end, the Jazz defeated the Clippers 100-92, handing the Clippers their 31st loss of the season.
The record became 46 wins and 31 losses. Li Ao took a look at the task 'Sprint and Beyond' that added advanced goals after winning 46 games the night before.
"Sprint, surpass:
…
Advanced goal: Lead the team to win 50 games for the first time in team history.
Reward: 1 advanced attribute point. "
There are 5 games left and we have to win 4 of them.
It's also too difficult.
Of course he wanted to win this game tonight, but they were fooled at the beginning...
Their team had 9 assists in the first three quarters. The Jazz's ability to deal with point forwards was too strong, and both he and Odom were affected.
He can only shrink his hat and let the veteran vent.
He looked towards the other mission 'Genius'.
Tonight, he scored 19 points in the first three quarters and 16 points in the fourth quarter, 35 points in a single game, plus 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 blocks.
In the next five games, scoring another 135 points will increase the scoring average to 25 points per game.
You don’t need to score 27 points in every game. You can score normally during regular time. If you have a chance, you can show off again...
…
12 consecutive away and home games are not all without benefits.
At least, they can be too busy to care about winning or losing yesterday's game.
At noon the next day, they returned to Los Angeles and held a meeting in the afternoon to discuss tomorrow's game.
Everyone on the Clippers feels that playing the Spurs is their easiest game this season. Although the Spurs have a record of 33 wins and 44 losses, they are still a playoff contending team in the Eastern Conference and have the ability to win in the Western Conference. But looking at the first three games, that's how they felt.
But at this stage, the easier the game is, the less the Clippers players dare to be careless and must win the game steadily.
It’s not just Li Ao who wants to win 50 games, the entire Clippers team wants it too!
They didn't openly shout about winning 50 games because they covered the mouth of a certain No. 0 player after beating the Bucks.
Now they feel that this decision is correct. After losing to the Jazz, they have to win 4 out of 5 games to get 50 wins.
The last five opponents are the Spurs, Kings, Timberwolves, Warriors, and Suns.
The Spurs and Warriors are in a tough game and must be won.
The Timberwolves must win no matter what.
In that case, the Kings and Suns can just try to win one of them.
It's not just about 50 wins, it's about the playoffs.
This season, we may really need 50 wins to make the playoffs.
The Clippers players even look forward to the Spurs continuing to target Li Ao, and Li Ao also looks forward to it.
That way they can win the game easily.
Li Ao once again licked his face and spread his hands when he beat the Jazz. To a large extent, he was worried that the Spurs would target him again because of his handsomeness and brainlessness, which would affect his ability to average 25 points per game.
At the end of the meeting, Li Ao suddenly had an idea and put forward another hypothesis.
"Is it possible that they can take advantage of our current thinking, predict our style of play, and kill us in an upset?
If we lose tomorrow's game, we will most likely lose our ticket to the playoffs.
Letting our efforts for a season go to waste would definitely make me feel more uncomfortable than just me having poor statistics. "
The teammates and coaches were all shocked!
Can anyone conceive of such a despicable and shameless conspiracy?
The Spurs' current record is neither good nor bad. It doesn't matter what they do. It is really possible to do this!
However... the coaches and teammates all looked at Spider-Man... the person who could make this speculation...
…
At 8 pm on April 9th, the Clippers' home game against the Spurs started.
Seeing Li Ao firing continuously from the mid-range from the beginning of the game, Gentry was secretly grateful.
Thank you for being prepared!
The opponent really wants to snipe them and hit the playoffs!
Tonight, Popovich sent out a combination of Avery Johnson, Derrick Anderson, Malik Rose, Samakie Walker, and David Robinson. He stepped up the confrontation with intensity at the beginning and used rough defensive actions. Consume the Clippers' long-range shots and actively shrink the basket to protect the rim.
Gentry didn't study the Spurs specifically before. He didn't pay attention when they played against each other for the first time. With 17 games in a single month in the middle of the season, he really didn't have time, so he just played casually, and the opponent only targeted Spider-Man.
Yesterday, he specifically studied the Spurs and found out that the Spurs played very well defensively this season, only conceding 93 points per game.
Although the average score per game is only 91 points, the team's three-point shooting percentage is as high as 41%. It is the only team in the league with a three-point shooting percentage of over 40%.
He averaged 6.2 three-pointers per game, third in the league, only lower than the Bucks and Celtics, and even higher than the Mavericks.
Gentry wanted to go over and ask the opposite head coach whose hair turned completely gray in just one year - didn't you say you hate three-pointers the most?
The Spurs' style of play tonight is to fight hard on defense + make wild shots from outside, and the shots are quite accurate!
Derrick Anderson, Antonio Daniels, Sean Elliott, Steve Kerr, Terry Burt, Ira Newbell, Jaren Jackson, the Spurs have 7 players this season The three-point shooting percentage is over 39%.
Li Ao played 10 minutes in the first quarter and scored 10 points and 3 assists on 4 of 7 shots. The Clippers were 1 point behind 25-26.
Li Ao played a full game in the second quarter and was on the line with Odom. Li Ao scored 8 points and 2 assists, and Odom had 6 points and 4 assists. The two worked together to lead the team to a score of 28 to 23 in a single quarter, winning 53 to 49. Going into halftime with a 4-point lead over the Spurs.
Gentry breathed a sigh of relief as he watched their offense become smoother and smoother, and the fierce firepower from the opponent's opening gradually weakened.
Looking at the seven outstanding three-pointers on the opposite side, he planned to ask Wally Walker to check after the game to see if any of them had expired contracts.
Dig people!
In the third quarter, the Spurs veterans played even harder. While scoring 23 points, they prevented the Clippers from scoring only 21 points.
After three quarters, the Spurs chased the score to 72-74!
Fortunately, Li Ao and Matt Halprin performed solidly in the mid-range shooting in the final quarter. Li Ao made 3 of 6 shots and scored 8 points with 2 of 2 free throws. Halprin scored 2 of 4 shots and 1 of 2 free throws. to 5 minutes.
Relying on the outstanding performance of the two, the Clippers scored 24 points in the final quarter. At the same time, Li Ao blocked 3 shots in the final quarter, leading the team to lower the Spurs' score to 19 points.
Li Ao made 13 of 22 shots, including 1 of 3 three-pointers, plus 6 of 6 free throws. He scored 33 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 6 blocks, leading the Clippers to a narrow victory over the Spurs 98-91!
Seeing the opposite Spider-Man make 9 mid-range shots in a single game, Popovich's mentality exploded.
Might as well continue to deal with this hateful Spider-Man!
…
A narrow victory over the Spurs, this victory, the Clippers team is very happy.
There is the joy of 'defeating an evil conspiracy'.
With the joy of victory, the Clippers came to Sacramento, the state capital, at noon the next day. After a night's rest, at 7 pm on April 11, the Clippers' away game against the Kings started.
The Clippers played extremely energetically tonight and had a very relaxed mentality.
Li Ao felt strange.
After they defeated the Spurs, their record reached 47 wins and 31 losses. If they successfully defeat the Warriors and Timberwolves, they only need to defeat one of the Kings and Suns to get 50 wins... These are obviously ifs, but Now their whole team seems to feel that they have "successfully defeated the Warriors and Timberwolves" and "they will definitely win against the Kings and Suns."
However, although Li Ao felt that this idea seemed wrong, he also felt that the future was full of hope and was unwilling to deny this feeling.
Moreover, such a relaxed and confident attitude worked tonight!
The one most affected was Odom. He really played like a magician. He scored 8 points and 4 assists in the first quarter, and led his team to score 26 points in a single quarter against the strong defensive Kings!
The Kings actually played very hard offensively in the first quarter, but the Clippers' top ten defense in the league was not in vain and did not allow the Kings to surge.
26 to 27, the Clippers trailed the Kings by 1 point in the first quarter.
Li Ao made 2 of 4 shots in the first quarter, plus 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 6 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist.
Seeing that the defense could no longer suppress him, Adelman changed his mind - attack aggressively!
This change allowed Odom on the opposite side to take off!
In the second quarter, Odom scored 7 points and 8 assists, leading the team!
Li Ao had 8 points, Maggette had 6 points, O'Neal Jr. had 6 points, Big Q had 5 points, Matt Halprin and Chris Mihm had 2 points each. The Clippers soared with 36 points in the second quarter and overcame 33 points. points for the Kings.
62 to 60, the Clippers led the Kings by two points at halftime.
Adelman re-adjusted his playing style during the halftime break and continued to play defense in the second half.
On the Clippers side... Gentry just does nothing and just takes care of things.
In the first half, the Kings were defensive and offensive at times. Who can guess how the devil coach on the opposite side will change? It's like he has an uncle here tonight.
The Clippers players' mentality is very calm. They can fight whatever the opponent wants. Their current thinking is very strange. They not only think that the opponent is much stronger than them, but also think that they can definitely beat either the Kings or the Suns. .
The Kings successfully suppressed the Clippers' scoring in the third quarter. The Clippers' score dropped sharply by 14 points from the second quarter and only scored 22 points. However, as Divac cut into the frame and was slapped away by Li Ao, the Kings' third The score in the three quarters was only 23 points. After a quarter of defense, they failed to overtake the score!
84 to 83, the Clippers continue to maintain a 1-point lead!
At the end of the quarter, Adelman also failed to perform well and continued to defend.
This time the Kings defended very successfully. In the first 11 minutes, they prevented the Clippers from making 6 of 21 shots and none of the three-pointers. In addition, they only scored 18 points by making 6 of 8 free throws.
But in the last minute, Maggette, who was in danger, continuously broke into the paint and caused damage, and made all 4 free throws!
Maggette scored 4 points in a row to tie the score at 106-106!
The Kings' scoring performance in the final quarter was also not good. When Maggette tied the score, the Kings made 8 of 22 shots in a single quarter, including 1 of 5 three-pointers. Plus 6 of 6 free throws, they only scored 23 points!
In the last 7 seconds, Peja caught the ball and missed a three-point shot under Li Ao's pursuit, entering overtime!
There were 14 points in the first half and 22 points in the whole game. Li Ao looked at his data and was paralyzed by the continuity of the Kings' eight-man defensive rotation.
After a short break, overtime began.
Li Ao, who had played 39 minutes in regular time, could only stand in the two-point area at a 45-degree angle on the right side in overtime to contain the situation, leaving his energy on the defensive end.
He believed in his teammates, just like he believed in Maggette in the last minute.
However, in the first attack of overtime, the opportunity appeared for Li Ao.
Boykins went to the right to break through. When Li Ao took a step back and stretched out beyond the three-point line, Doug Christie double-checked Boykins. Li Ao was left open and received the ball from Boykins!
Li Ao didn't hesitate. He couldn't hesitate at this time. It doesn't matter if he casts iron, he must cast!
Taking off, shooting, Klay Thompson's catch-and-three-point action, coupled with Li Ao's slender figure and handsome face, when a close-up of his shot appeared on the big screen, all away female fans turned against him and cheered.
Accompanied by the cheers of female fans, Li Ao's three-pointer hit the frame!
109 to 106, the Clippers took the lead in overtime!
When retreating, Li Aobi pointed his gun, and while kissing, he 'shot' at the female fans cheering for him behind the technical stage.
At this scene, the other female fans were not calm anymore. One after another, some female fans shouted "Spider-Man".
Sacramento, the capital of California, has many fans from Li Ao's college days in this city!
Male fans firmly support their own teams, but female fans still care more about face!
Peja was somewhat affected by the defection of female fans.
The Kings used Weber's cut to attract Li Ao to shrink and create an open shooting opportunity for Peja. Peja caught the ball and made a three-pointer!
Li Ao got stuck in the position to grab the board and was unable to catch Webber, but he relied on his wingspan advantage to swat the ball away from Webber's head.
Giving the opponent another chance to shoot from the outside does not allow Weber to attack a second time inside.
Luck is also part of strength. Boykins was the one who grabbed the ball!
Boykins grabbed the ball on the right side of the free throw line and counterattacked directly. Bobby Jackson slowed down when he reached the center circle. His speed would not be slower than Boykins dribbling the ball, but Boykins Sri Lanka only played 11 minutes in regular time, and he played 30 minutes!
Boykins rushed to the frontcourt and hit a layup. 111 to 106, the Clippers led by 5 points!
This 5-point advantage sealed the victory!
In the next 4 minutes, the Clippers only relied on O'Neal's tip-in 2+1 and Maggette's breakthrough layup to score 5 points. The other shots were all irons.
But it was enough. The Kings only relied on Bobby Jackson to score a step-back three-pointer, and there was no other score!
The Kings, who rotated with 8 players, were exhausted in overtime! Weber was stuck in position and failed to steal the offensive rebound from Li Ao, which exposed this problem.
And by this time, Adelman is less likely to make substitutions.
At 9:33 pm, the final whistle sounded.
With 15 points, 3 rebounds, 12 assists and 1 steal in the first half, 6 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal in the second half, plus 3 rebounds and 1 block in overtime, Odom transformed into a magician tonight, scoring 21 points, 12 rebounds and 15 assists. 2 steals and 1 block, overwhelming Weber who scored 41 points.
116 to 109, the Clippers upset the Kings with all their players, raising their record to 48 wins and 31 losses!
(End of chapter)
