With two minutes left, Zhou Xuan scored 23 points, 2 rebounds, 11 assists and 2 steals, he didn't shoot much, and his shooting rate was very high, 7 of 11 shots, 3 of 7 three-point shots, and 6 of 6 free throws.

Zhou Xuan assists his teammates on the premise of ensuring efficient scoring, he has developed in the direction of the absolute core, and his teammates trust him and will create opportunities for him.

Barkley said: "Zhou Xuan played fantastic, and the playoffs were not only a test of skill, but also a test of the mentality of the players. At critical moments, his psychological quality is extremely strong, and he is always unhurried and impatient. ”

"The Celtics are not bad, the score is always scorching," Smith said. ”

91 to 91, this game may not be able to score more than 100 points, for the Knicks the offensive power has dropped. The Celtics' pivotal game erupted with astonishing resilience. They had a similar performance in the playoffs last season, where defense was up for grabs.

D'Antoni feels that if it weren't for the Knicks' home-court advantage and strong momentum, he might have lost.

Rivers also watched the shock, if it weren't for the Knicks' slightly worse outside hand, the Celtics could only be eliminated and enter garbage time.

D'Antoni made a substitution, Pekovic on the inside, replaced Anderson on 1-of-5 three-point shooting, and partnered with Stadamire. Outside Gallinari, Matthews, Zhou Xuan.

D'Antoni said loudly: "The last moment to ensure the success rate, Zhou controlled the ball and Amare blocked high, Danilo paid attention to the inside lob on the right perimeter, Nicola can force the attack, Wesley is in the bottom corner and waits for opportunities." ”

This is the Knicks' strongest lineup, which can attack and defend, and the only weakness is that Pekovic is slow and can't defend himself. D'Antoni believes that the Celtics should play O'Neal Jr. in order to solidify their defense, and will not replace Davis at this time. Attacking Pekovic has an advantage.

Sure enough, the Celtics changed to the starting lineup and were ready to win the game with the experience of the veteran.

The Green had the ball, Rondo took to the frontcourt, and after a couple of passes to Pierce, everyone pulled away and let him play alone. Pierce leaned against Gallinari, shook his left shoulder, and turned to the middle to shoot a jumper. 91 to 93.

The Knicks attacked, Zhou Xuan was blocked by Garnett after the dismantling of the breakthrough route, and passed to the side Gallinari, who hung to Pekovic, the "White Bear" took the ball and dribbled two steps, and forced O'Neal Jr. to turn around and shoot with one hand, the opportunity was good, but unfortunately the force was a bit large, the shot was missed, and Garnett won the backcourt rebound.

The Celtics tried to run out of 24 seconds, and the situation was not in favor of the Knicks. Fortunately, Garnett didn't make a catch-and-shoot after blocking and dismantling, and the rebound was won by Pekovic.

Zhou Xuan organized an attack and found that the Celtics began to compress the defense again, the ball was hoisted to Pekovic, Pierce retracted and put pressure, the white bear hurriedly passed out, the accurate head was not grasped well, Gallinari received the ball unsteadily, touched out of bounds, and gave the ball to the opponent again.

Yang Jian said: "These two balls were all hung to Pekovic, and I didn't grasp any of them, so I should vote for Zhou Xuan." ”

Su Qun said depressedly: "The outside defense is too strict. ”

The Celtics attacked, the Knicks also compressed the defense, failed to find a good opportunity for a few passes, couldn't get into the penalty area, the ball returned to Rondo's hands, seeing that the time was coming, Rondo and O'Neal Jr. blocked and covered, broke through with the ball, Stoudeye followed Garnett, Pekovic saw that he couldn't keep up with the speed when he saw the misplacement, and hurriedly pulled people to foul.

The Knicks have committed four fouls across the team, Rondo went to the free throw line, and at critical moments, Rondo hit one of two free throws. 91 to 94.

The Knicks attacked, Zhou Xuan and Gallinari blocked and dismantled, broke through on the right side, Pierce hurriedly changed the defense, Rondo did not dare to easily chase Zhou Xuan at this time, stayed on the right side, Zhou Xuan accelerated past Pierce and burst into the basket.

Pierce had a lot of physical exertion, getting slower and slower, and Zhou Xuan didn't stop the jump shot, but chose a more secure way to rush to the basket, attracting Garnett to make up for the defense, and passed the ball to Stoudamire from close range. Xiao Si received the ball and threw the ball in the middle with one hand. 93 to 94.

Zhou Xuan's twelfth assist, the Celtics did not call a timeout, Rondo stabilized the rhythm, passed the ball a few times, and Garnett received the ball in the low post on the left side, forming a single.

Xiao Si defended, the two stars collided head-on, Garnett dribbled two steps, couldn't squeeze Xiao Si, turned around in the middle and retreated to the jumper.

The leader should step up at a critical moment, but Garnett's shot was missed, he couldn't hit the basket physically, and the speed was also Xiao Si's advantage, and Pekovic grabbed the rebound in the backcourt.

With 28 seconds left, Zhou Xuan, Gallinari, and Matthews made a fast attack, and Zhou Xuan passed to Gallinari, who received the ball and grabbed three points from the outside.

This ball is to rush to shoot, and even if it doesn't go in, leaving the Celtics with 24 seconds at a time, few teams can run out of time. The Knicks are likely to have one more chance to attack, even if it is only for two or three seconds, and they may turn the game around.

The ball bounced out of the frame, and Zhou Xuan and Rondo rushed to the basket together.

What did he practice rebounding for in the first place? It's just to win Rondo, the skinny monkey! Zhou Xuan roared in his heart, he had never been so fanatical about rebounding, he glanced at it while running, and identified the direction in which the rebounding ball popped up. But Rondo was quicker than him and went to the basket first.

It was too late to get stuck in the position, Zhou Xuan had an idea, did not get close to Rondo, a cat waist, lowered the center of gravity and moved behind Rondo, judging the direction of Rondo's turn and pass. Ray Allen is back with Matthews, and Rondo has watched his position before, and should want to pass in that direction, or just call a timeout. Either way, you'll have half a second to make the move.

Rondo really planned to call a timeout, he didn't feel the strength to fight, just wanted to make a pause, but before he raised his hand, Zhou Xuan's hand stretched out from the side, from the bottom to the top, and hit the basketball accurately, the ball was hit in the air, and Zhou Xuan jumped up and took it down for the second time.

Rondo counter-robbed on the spot, which was completely subconscious, and he was unwilling to be cut off like this. But he immediately regretted it, Zhou Xuan immediately got up, took the ball with both hands and hit his arm, the referee's whistle blew, Zhou Xuan didn't throw the ball, but got a free throw.

He shot 90 percent from the field and made sure he made it. 95 to 94.

The fans chanted MVP together, and at the critical moment, Zhou Xuan scored his 25th point and led the team to overtake.

Rivers hurriedly called a timeout, and with 23 seconds left, there was plenty of time to plan a play. He sighed in his heart, Rondo was completely overwhelmed by Zhou Xuan in this series. Rondo's data is similar to that of the regular season, but Zhou Xuan can average 30+10 per game.

D'Antoni arranged tactics, replaced Anderson, and replaced Pekovic, intending to speed up the rotation of positions, and he was worried that the opponent would rely on double cover to find opportunities, and Pekovic's slow defense would become a fatal danger.

"If Garnett and Pierce receive the ball and attack, compress the defense. Pay attention to the rotation position, you can put Rondo to shoot. ”

At the end of the day, Rondo was still the target of the void, and he was much less of a shooting threat, and only an absolute gambler would choose Rondo to shoot the key shot.

The game started and the fans held their breath. It was a crucial goal. The Celtics chose to play fast, and in case they didn't score, they could also execute foul tactics.

The ball was handed to Pierce, and Gallinari intervened closely. At this point, the Italians' physical superiority was unmistakable. Pierce passes to Garnett in the middle, who catches the ball and throws it, but the ball still goes out of the frame.

Xiao Si blocked people, Zhou Xuan rushed into the basket, grabbed the key backcourt rebound, and hugged him tightly in his arms. As soon as he saw him getting the ball, Rondo was depressed whether to go up and foul, but it was not okay not to foul.

Zhou Xuan went to the free throw line again, and like last time, he hit both free throws. 97 to 94. The Knicks led by three points.

Rivers called another timeout.

After the game, D'Antoni shouted: "Defend three points, let them shoot two points, expand the defense." ”

The tactic previously arranged was compression, and if it is compressed again at this time, it will be an idiot.

The Celtics replaced Jeff for a three-point shot? Green played at the No. 4 position, replacing O'Neal Jr. and adding a shooting spot. If the goal is scored, it can still be played in extra time, and if it is not, everything will be over. It's hard to make foul tactics work, and the Knicks are all good at making free throws.

At this time, you can imagine how much pressure the Celtics players are on, and even more so Ray Allen, who is responsible for executing the key shot. The race is on. The Celtics played a pick-and-roll combination, with Ray Allen and Green covering without the ball and running 60 degrees to the bottom corner and right respectively. Garnett won the ball down the middle and sent it into the bottom corner. Anderson defended the shot, and Ray Allen dribbled a shot, then took a step to the side and made a three-point jumper.

He shot very quickly, with a little more force, and the ball bounced out of the frame. Because the formation was expanded relatively far away and the inside line was empty, Rondo rushed to grab the rebound in the front court.

Just as he was about to pass the outside line and let his teammates shoot one more, the referee's whistle blew, and Zhou Xuan caught up from behind and fouled someone before he could play the ball.

Kenny? Smith said: "This foul is too timely, Zhou Xuan is very smart, and the Knicks can also use foul tactics, and if the two sides make free throws, Rondo is a drag." ”

Barkley laughed: "As long as both goals are scored, you can gamble three points after the foul tactic." If the penalty is missed, it is estimated that the Celtics will be finished. ”

Rondo goes to the free throw line, the first free throw misses, and the second goes in. 97 to 95.

In the backcourt, the Knicks player blocked Zhou Xuan and helped him receive the basketball, Ray Allen stepped forward to foul, Zhou Xuan was sent to the free throw line, and he hit both free throws steadily. 99-95, 29th personal score.

The Knicks lead by four points and the Celtics have four left. In 2 seconds, he could only shoot three points quickly, Green missed the jumper, and the rebound was picked up by Anderson. The Celtics players finally gave up the foul and time was running out.

The whistle blew at the end of the game. The home fans cheered, and after losing one game first, the Knicks won four games in a row to eliminate the Celtics and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Zhou Xuan had 29 points, 3 rebounds, 12 assists and 3 steals, and 6 free throws at critical moments helped the team complete the reversal. It looks like a no-brainer free throw win, but in fact he gets every choice right.

After the game, the Celtics triumvirate shook hands and hugged their opponents, congratulating the Knicks, only Rondo did not shake hands with Zhou Xuan, this guy regarded Zhou Xuan as a lifelong enemy.