On May 16, Staples Arena ushered in a battle of life and death. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 InfoOne year ago, on May 1, the Lakers lost to the Rockets here, ending their three-year dominance in the league. Will this happen again?

This is a real back-to-back battle, and the Lakers players are holding back their strength. In the locker room, O'Neill can be seen clenching his fists and the green tendons on the back of his hands; Kobe Bryant can be seen gritting his teeth all the time, with an expression of refusal to admit defeat; Payton can be seen looking confused, as if he is thinking about whether he made the right choice to join the Lakers before; You can also see the Zen master frowning and his face full of seriousness.

"Don't think about whether you can continue the season, don't think about whether you can draw at the Toyota Center in the seventh race, and don't think about whether you can get the championship back. Just think about the game in front of you and win this one. Jackson said.

In such a dull and slightly tragic atmosphere, the Lakers players walked into the players' tunnel under the leadership of O'Neal.

The Zen master looked at the court and couldn't help but wander for a while: "As a coach, I have led the team to win 9 championships (I won the championship in the Knicks when I was a player), and I am famous in the NBA. At the end of the season, maybe it's time for me to leave the Lakers. ”

He saw O'Neal force out of Yao Ming to grab a frontcourt rebound and hit the equalizer. "Thank you Shaq, it's because of you, an unbeatable inside giant, that I've been able to achieve this success in Los Angeles. But now that you and Kobe Bryant have a lot of conflicts, will Lakers fans still see this funny you on the team next season? ”

He saw Payton fight hard to grab a floor ball and fall to the ground. "Gary, it was me who led Michael's Bulls back in the day to stop your superSonics from winning the championship. It's the same with Carr's Jazz. Now you come to me, I hope I can accompany you to the championship, and I hope I will fulfill the last wish of your career. But sorry, it looks like we're going to lose. ”

He saw Bryant press Maddie so ferociously that the latter had to pass the ball out. "Kobe, you're playing most like Michael. Jordan's star, but now it looks like McGrady is his successor. I moved from assistant coach to head coach of the Bulls in '89 and won my first championship two years later, winning all six championships in Bulls history with Michael. Michael is a natural leader, and he has the same energy, endless fighting spirit, and competitive spirit as Kobe. But he's better at dealing with his teammates and bringing the team together. Kobe, the gap between you and Michael is not only physical, but also mental. Of course, you are still young, and you will continue to grow and get infinitely closer to him in the future. ”

He saw Maddy pull up a three-point shot under Bryant's defense to open up the gap again. "McGrady, you're like Larry. Bird shoots like Reggie. Miller is as killer as he is and as dominant as Michael. I'd love to have the opportunity to coach a player like you rather than see you destroy my team in the opposing team. I wish you weren't there! Thinking of this, he not only shook his head, "Alas! ”

Maddie falls to the ground and the referee's whistle blows.

The referee gave Bryant a malicious foul when Bryant moved too much in the scramble for the rebound, interfering with Maddie's landing, causing the latter to sprain his foot when he landed.

***

"Over to you, Michael!" Maddie swallowed Reed on the shoulder and said, "You have to hold on, I don't know if I can continue to play this game." If not, it's up to you and Joe. ”

Reed looked nervous and nodded heavily.

Maddie forced a smile, but in fact, she was nervous. After all, I sprained my ankle when I landed last season and the team was eliminated, so I won't repeat the same mistake this year, right?

Fisher hits a shot. The Rockets executed the last attack of the first quarter, and after multiple passes to Reed, he shot a three-pointer, missed, and the time was up. The Rockets still led the Lakers 26-21 in the first quarter, but the main player left them less confident.

Reed's shooting has been inconsistent in the last month, which has also led to a sharp drop in his playing time. Pitchers are occasionally in a slump for a while, and Reed has been training hard for a long time, but the feeling doesn't mean that you can get it back. He even began to wonder if he should have turned up an offer from the Magic or the Bucks the summer before to go to an underdog. This could make Reed the star of the house, but he insisted on renewing his contract in Houston City at a modest price of 5 million.

He looked in the direction of the Lakers, where Jackson was foaming at the mouth and the Lakers players seemed to have confidence on their faces. Maddy is gone, the Rockets are missing the backbone, and the Lakers' chance is here.

A hand patted him on the back. "Michael, focus on your game and leave it alone." Yuan Fei said: "You and Tracy are different players. You can't learn what he's capable of, but what you can do, Tracy can't do. ”

"I'll pass the ball to you, and I'm sure you're going to throw it in that damn hoop." Billups looked at him as well, with a sincere expression.

"I'll do my best!" Reed's expression finally became firm.

***

Bryant glared at Reed with a look of lust and dissatisfaction. While the other Lakers players may be glad that Maddy is gone, Kobe Bryant will only feel a frustration. Even if you beat Michael. Reed, an unknown person, cannot reflect Kobe's majesty. What Kobe Bryant wants is to crush MVP Maddie in a 1v1 game to lead the team to victory.

It was because of this that he relaxed for a moment.

Reed made a three-pointer, and this time the shot was fast, like a natural toss or a push. Goal in, 29:21.

Payton scored 2 points on a breakaway layup. Billups kept the ball solid and slowly looked for opportunities. Reed spared no effort to start running all over the court, and Kobe Bryant hurriedly instructed George to change his defense, he didn't want to chase Reed all over the court.

Reed slammed into Payton's side to make a cover, Billups understood that he would break through, and George was still trying to chase Reed and didn't keep up with Billups. Chauncy attracted O'Neal's move, and Yao Ming scored a dunk in the open position for 31:23.

Kobe Bryant missed a backward drifting jumper in the face of Wallace, and Reed ran to the offensive position early this time, received a pass and made a three-point shot, and then scored 34:23!

This time, Bryant chose to break through the lever and make a rebound, and this wonderful goal caused the audience to stand and cheer. But he was horrified to find that the Rockets players didn't seem to be in a hurry, as if their beautiful goal didn't hurt them.

Actually, Jason. Wang has long done psychological counseling for Rockets players based on Kobe's technical characteristics - "No matter how gorgeous the difficult ball is, it is 2-3 points, and a simple empty basket is also two points." You are professional athletes, not fans, and fans should be impressed by beautiful goals. And you shouldn't be fooled by your opponents, remember, basketball is all about points. ”

Unmoved, Chauncey found Reed, who ran out of the open space, and the latter shot again with three points, but unfortunately missed. Yao Ming jammed O'Neal and pulled the rebound out, and George jumped up to grab the ball but didn't grab it. The ball happened to fall into Reed's hand again, and he was unmarked at the moment.

Reed exhaled deeply, jumped high and made another quick three-pointer, a beautiful arc, and the ball went in! At 37:25, the margin widened to 12 points.

"Maddie's place, I'll fill it!" Reed's roar resounded through Staples.