Throughout the third quarter, the New York Knicks' performance exceeded fans' expectations.
The Knicks' perimeter trio all performed well, and the team's internal chemistry is much better than before.
On the other hand, the Boston Celtics made frequent mistakes in the second half of the third quarter. In particular, Jaylen Brown, who had a lot of ball possessions, performed poorly. He suffered a defeat in the confrontation with Zach LaVine. Two big blocks and one low-level mistake that shouldn't have been made.
call out.
By the end of the third quarter, the score between the two sides was 94 to 83, and the Knicks once again opened the score to 11 points.
Players from both sides exit the field.
The morale of the Knicks was high, and the players were talking and laughing among themselves. The atmosphere on the Celtics was completely different. Irving was already very unhappy after sitting on the bench for a quarter. After seeing Brown playing with Tatum and others for a quarter without any results, Irving's temper also completely changed. I can't stand it any longer.
During the break, he not only did not take the initiative to ask for his appearance, but also deliberately sat on the bench and chatted with his teammates.
Even if head coach Brad Stevens planned to deploy new tactics, Irving did not choose to get close to him.
Such a scene also made Coach Stevens very helpless.
"Kairi!"
"Come here! We need you!"
Coach Stevens said.
Owen turned his head when he heard this. He still didn't move, just sat in his chair, "No, it seems you don't need me!"
"do not do that!"
Coach Stevens persuaded, "Kyrie, you are part of the team! You know why I arranged it that way! I just don't want more conflicts between you..."
"Please!"
Irving laughed out loud when he heard this. He stood up and walked towards Coach Stevens, and then looked at Brown and others aside.
"Coach Brad, it's not impossible for me to play... I don't want to play with these two guys! I need Hayward to be my partner and let him go to the wing position... ."
Coach Stevens looked embarrassed.
"Kyrie, now is not the time for the team to split! I need you, and I need Brown and the others..."
Irving just smiled and said nothing, seeming to be waiting for Coach Stevens to compromise.
His attitude also made Brown and Tatum on the side very unhappy.
The two stood there looking at Irving. After noticing the joking on his face, Brown spoke to Irving first, "Kyrie! Even if you are a star, you are not qualified to do this... Celtics Not your team and you are not our leader..."
"No wonder you are not liked by LeBron. Now I hate you more and more..."
Tatum then spoke.
Owen is still calm.
"Do you two guys still want to be team leaders with such a performance? What can you do? You were completely beaten by the Knicks without me on the court..."
"If you ask me, the team might as well trade you. In that case, maybe we can get some good immediate combat capabilities..."
Time waits for no one, and Coach Stevens has no time to wait for several people to argue. After thinking for a while, he decisively chose to send Hayward and Irving, while Brown and Tatum, who were extremely unhappy, were replaced.
After achieving the staged "victory", Irving showed a proud look on his face, deliberately sneered in front of Brown and Tatum, and then walked to coach Stevens to obey the instructions.
"There is not much time left for us! We must quickly open up the situation by attacking... Kyrie, I need you to help the team score... No matter what way you use, you must help Team morale restored..."
"Hayward, you look for opportunities on the wing to help Kyrie... Remember, their forward Adrian is our biggest threat on the wing... Don't let him score, definitely Guard against him..."
call out.
The referee whistle sounded.
The final quarter for both sides arrived.
The Knicks continued to send out their main lineup. This time Zhao Feiyang took a rest, Dennis Smith Jr. went to the first position, and LaVine moved to the second position. DeMarcus Cousins is guarding the inside, and Adrian is sent on the wing.
Snapped.
The Knicks call the ball.
After getting the ball, Dennis Jr. held the ball and advanced to the half court. When he encountered Irving's marking, Dennis Jr. gave the ball to LaVine.
LaVine held the ball in singles, shook off the player marking him, and then rushed into the left side of the basket.
The Celtics defended in time, and this time LaVine chose to take a risk and rush to the basket to take a shot. However, the moment he threw the basketball, Celtics big man Marcus Morris rushed forward and slapped the ball down.
boom.
The basketball falls out.
The whole audience exclaimed.
In the chaos, the ball was taken away by the Celtics, and Hayward advanced with the ball on the wing. Seeing that Irving had already crossed half the court, he immediately threw the ball. Irving quickly caught the basketball. After getting the ball, he held the ball and played Dennis Jr. one-on-one.
The two met each other, and Irving easily shook off Dennis Jr. and turned into the basket. While Dennis Jr. was trying his best to defend, Irving made a backhand layup and sent the ball to the backboard.
boom.
The basketball board falls into the basket.
"nice shot!"
"Finally, I got some points!"
Celtics fans cheered and applauded on the sidelines.
It was the Knicks' turn to continue their offense.
The person who got the ball was LaVine, and after halftime Adrian came up to help him cover. LaVine took advantage of the situation and entered the basket. The opponent's big man once again stepped up. LaVine passed the ball decisively, and Adrian received the ball on the right side of the basket.
He threw the ball to Cousins with a throw, and Cousins caught the ball and threw it with a hook.
It's a pity that he was interfered by the opponent when he took the shot, and the basketball he threw hit the rim, spun and fell out.
boom.
The Celtics picked up the rebound again.
Al Horford threw the ball to Irving, and Irving once again led the team to attack. He is extremely fast and can carry the ball through half the field in the blink of an eye. When he rushed to the basket, LaVine and Adrian double-teamed him at the same time. The three of them jumped up almost at the same time. However, under the tight defense of the two, Irving still used a difficult pull-up layup to pass the ball. Throw to the backboard.
Snapped.
The basketball board falls into the basket.
The ball went in again!
Irving's successive scores soon made the Celtics excited again, and other players also covered him, including Hayward on the wing, all building offensive tactics around Irving.
On the other hand, the Knicks, although they scored from time to time, under the threat of Irving's super singles ability, the Knicks' lead gradually disappeared. With the last 5 minutes of the game, the Knicks even more Tied by the Celtics.
Uh-huh.
Another offense, Irving threw a three-pointer at Dennis Jr. from the top of the arc.
After scoring this three-pointer, the Celtics finally overtook the Knicks.
110 to 107.
Irving has become the focus of the entire North Shore Garden Arena.
