137: The Strong Bear Heart
Just a few rounds past, Mike. Conley has already begun to draw the attention of the Knicks' defense. If Conley scored the first two goals in the fourth quarter, it was because the Knicks underestimated him. Then after two shots, the Knicks players won't be so stupid.
So in just a few rounds, Conley has become a key defensive target for the Knicks. On one of those occasions, Link and Conley blocked the pick-and-roll, and Anthony switched to Conley without even thinking about it. This change of defense allowed Link to seize the opportunity to receive a pass from Conley and score on the head of the 1.88m Douglas.
This goal was also the only goal Link scored in the fourth quarter.
It was just an ordinary offense, but it gave Link hope. Conley has become a huge threat right now, and the Knicks' lineup makes it impossible for them to guarantee that every defense is exhaustive.
Conley was right, the next few minutes, there were opportunities everywhere!
"I'm proud of your defense, and our strangulation keeps the Knicks' offensive efficiency down! Although they are still two points ahead, they are going downhill! Link, you've done a good job in the last few minutes, don't be burdened! ”
Link nodded, their strangulation defense just now had really put the Knicks in a quagmire. Before Conley's timeout at Hollins, Anthony had scored 27 points. But now that the game is coming to an end, Anthony has 31 points. In other words, except for the unreasonable ultra-long-distance three-point shot just now, Anthony only scored 1 point from the free throw line during this time.
Link's defensive efficiency has really improved in the last few minutes.
But Link is not going to be complacent, and letting Anthony score 31 points is anything to be thankful for. He just asked for a few crucial rounds to stay and not make a mistake himself. As long as it can help the team win, the result is good.
"Conley, keep attacking later, don't let your momentum slow down. In the last 1 minute, we held on until the last 1 minute and were not crushed by the Knicks. Now, then, let's defeat them! ”
"Roar!"
The Grizzlies players yelled and stepped back onto the court. Before Link re-played, Battier stood up and patted him on the shoulder.
"Link, defensive super scorer is like that, and sometimes, you might wonder if your effort is worth it. Don't doubt it, I scored nearly 40 points in the playoffs, but I never doubted myself, so I missed a couple of key shots after that. Super scorers are all very capable of scoring, and they are not always able to limit them. But sometimes, one or two offensive defeats are enough for them to lose their victory! ”
With that, Battier pushed Link onto the court. As a defender, in addition to being tough in style, you must also be tough on the inside. Defending is a test of will, and a true super scorer will not only destroy your defense, but also destroy your heart.
If a defender concedes early, it's hopeless.
The game restarted, and the Knicks, who still had a two-point advantage in the last minute, were full of confidence. Anthony, in particular, was already thinking about how to humiliate Link in front of reporters and pretend to be B by the way after five consecutive wins.
The Grizzlies' offense is still dominated by Conley, and if the Grizzlies win the game in the end, Conley will definitely be the star of the day. After all, it was he who single-handedly handled the Grizzlies' fourth-quarter comeback.
Conley's attack was uncomplicated, he first gave the ball to Randolph, then cut in and then received Randolph's return pass. Stoudemire's attention was all on Randolph, and before he could help the defence, Conley scored comfortably to win the 22nd point of the game and equalize the score.
"It's still Conley, he's just a god today. If it weren't for Conley, maybe Cameron would have started celebrating the victory. But the game isn't over yet, and maybe Cameron can still be the winner. ”
Anthony had already turned the finger from Link to Conley at this point, and any player who dared to snatch victory with him would be targeted by Anthony.
Anthony, who was full of self-confidence, held the ball alone on the right side of the mid-range this time, and Link seemed to him as if he was no match anymore.
But Link remained focused, watching Anthony's offensive footsteps and gauging his intentions. The strangulation isn't over yet, and the Memphis Grizzlies players will never raise their hands in surrender.
Anthony was very relaxed this time, alternating between his left and right hands, and seemed to enjoy Link's wavering center of gravity.
But this time, Link is as steady as a rock! He knew that Anthony was a feint, and there was a high probability that this guy would not break through, but would jump directly after shaking the opponent's center of gravity!
The moment he saw Anthony holding the ball in both hands, Link immediately jumped up and reacted very quickly! As a result, Anthony had just lifted the ball above his head, and before he could jump, he took a big shot!
"Link! It's literally a light-speed reaction! He blocked Cameron, and it was a defense worth a thousand dollars! ”
After Anthony was blocked, he complained to the referee vigorously, saying that Link had committed a foul. Nima obviously wanted to humiliate him in the last ball, but he was split and covered with a face, and the society couldn't get by, and he would not be in New York in the future?
But the referee saw it clearly, Link did use his extremely sensitive reaction to complete the block, and didn't even touch Anthony at all, so he ignored it.
Anthony, who was angry, then remembered to retreat, but it was too late. Kang used a pass-through to give Link a chance to cut to the basket, and Link faced Stoudemire's block, very calmly jumped the lever and made a layup in one go!
"16 points! Link actually did pretty well today, but Anthony was too dazzling. But I believe that one block and one goal at a critical moment has already stolen the limelight from Anthony! ”
After the goal, Link pointed to Conley, who was really a good commander and more than twice as good as Douglas on the opposite side. Link's cut was quick and stealthy, but Conley saw it and delivered it accurately.
"Cameron! Be focused! On the sidelines of the court, Knicks coach D'Antoni couldn't stand it anymore and he started yelling at the court. Antony had a good night today, but just because of the argument with the referee and the missed key defense, D'Antoni was a little uncomfortable.
Anthony and the mustache are still in their honeymoon phase, but once the Knicks start losing, it's really impossible to say how the two will get along.
Anthony ignored his manager, it was just two points, he was capable of it.
Stoudemire singled Randolph with his back this time, and the big black bear naturally deserved it. "Little Overlord" then turned and broke through to the basket, ready to solve the problem with a violent dunk. But after bursting to the basket, he found that Gasol Jr. raised his arms and wrapped him, and Stoudemire's recklessness made him dumpling in the restricted area.
Knicks center Jarryd. Jeffries has been an obscure blue-collar throughout his career, averaging just 6.8 points per game in his career. So Gasol Jr. can safely let him go, and instead wrap Stoudemire.
D'Antoni's heart was pounding, and Stoudemire was a little overconfident. Looking at the whole league, no inside line dares to take on the black and white bear alone.
Stoudemire finally passed the ball three seconds before the attack, not to mention the quality of the pass, it was good to be able to hit the ball out of the black and white bear.
The basketball flew towards Anthony, but Link couldn't reach the ball, and eventually the ball stumbled into Anthony's hands.
At this time, the Knicks had little offensive time left, and Anthony dribbled two steps outside the three-point line and directly pulled up the shot!
"Another shot one step from beyond the three-point line, Cameron can not do a miracle this time!"
Link didn't go to block Anthony's ball this time around, he was afraid of fouls. So he simply learned from Battier and sealed Anthony's eyes! The defense also has to change its strategy from time to time, so that you can catch the opponent off guard, which is what Battier taught him.
Anthony was suddenly looked at like this, and he was also a little confused. His shooting stance has been formed, and he can't hold it. But you can't see the basket at all, it's basically a blind shot.
At mid-range or close range, a top scorer may still be able to score even if he is blindsided. But with a blind shot from beyond the three-point line, Anthony is really relying on blindness.
In the end, the basketball smashed directly onto the rebound, and even the frame was not sticky, which was ridiculously biased! Link defended the opponent's key attack for the second round in a row, and he overshadowed Anthony's previous 31 points!
"Damn! Why is this kid's defense still so strong! ”
Anthony thought that Link had lost confidence, but in fact, that No. 0 was very scrappy!
With 38 seconds left in the game and the Grizzlies leading by two points, they had plenty of time to make that final move. And the Knicks won't foul, and they have at least 14 seconds left after defending this shot, so there's no need to send the opponent to the free throw line.
This time the offense and defense will have a good chance of directly deciding the victory of the game.
All eyes of Memphis fans were on Conley, and no one knew how the little guard would score. In crunch time, he was certainly the Grizzlies' first shot option. So far in the fourth quarter, Conley has scored 10 points in a single quarter! If he wins today, he will be the Grizzlies' greatest hero!
If it's Guy, Mayo, or even Link who has the ball right now, they'll definitely continue to attack on their own. No one will give up the chance to kill the game with their own hands when they have dominated the entire fourth quarter!
Conley controlled the ball calmly, and opposite him, Douglas, who was more than ten kilograms heavier than him, was so nervous that he couldn't squint. This is truly a small and big, basketball court has never been a place to win by height and weight alone.
An angry Anthony also looked at Conley, and if needed, he would pounce on the guy as soon as he needed to. He wouldn't allow anyone to take away his night, Link couldn't, and neither could Conley.
With 24 seconds left to play, Conley began to dribble quickly and alternately, and Douglas couldn't guess which side the guy would break through, as Conley's left and right hands were very balanced.
The sophomore guard stepped back in small steps, hoping to distance himself from Conley and prevent him from breaking through. Conley suddenly accelerated to the left, and Douglas also puffed up his strong chest and blocked it!
However, the moment Douglas sealed it, he regretted it. Because he saw Conley nimbly slap the ball down to his crotch, switch to his right hand, and then accelerate forward!
"Smack!" The sound of the basketball hitting the wooden floor was rhythmic like a drumbeat, and Kang used a beautiful crotch to change hands and shake Douglas away!
"Mike. Conley, pretty, is the king of Memphis! Now, he has a chance to kill the game! ”
Seeing this, Anthony immediately left Link to make up for it, and if Conley scored this goal, the Knicks would be very passive. If you are 4 points behind, even if you play foul tactics in the last 14 seconds, it will be difficult to tie and overtake the score!
Conley continued to get close to the basket with the ball, and people said he was the son of an Olympic champion, that he was Oden's younger brother, that he was the deputy of the Black and White Bears, that he was too high. Even if he has always been so good, he has never been praised by others.
Now, an opportunity lay ahead of him. He had a chance to kill the game while dominating the fourth quarter and had a chance to contribute a quasi-final shot. Think about how people will praise him after this game, and maybe no one will say that Conley is just a deputy again.
As long as he makes a shot and scores this goal. All doubts will be dissipated.
Anthony had rushed to Conley, and he was the only one in Conley's way. Shoot and score, and Conley gets everything he wants!
But he didn't, and eventually, under Anthony's stunned gaze, Conley passed! Looking at Anthony's frightened expression, Conley smirked.
What about saying I'm a deputy? What about saying that I am living under someone else's aura? He doesn't care what people say! The only thing he cares about is a collective victory.
He was a selfless man.
Link caught Conley's pass steadily, and he kept on guard, because he hadn't forgotten what Conley said to himself, "The next few key rounds, there are opportunities everywhere!" ”
"It's a pass, Link! Can he kill the game!? Can he do it!? ”
Hubi. Old Brown yelled, his partner was really worried that Old Brown would have a cerebral hemorrhage as a result.
Anthony immediately turned his head and ran towards Link, who lifted the basketball and Anthony jumped up.
Halfway through the flight, Anthony's expression distorted with horror. Because Link didn't leave the ground with either foot, it was a shooting feint! But Anthony's body is no longer possible to brake in the air!
"!" Anthony yelled.
When Anthony flew in front of him, Link took the initiative to lean in and shoot the basketball!
The basketball grazed the rebound and gently entered the net, and at the same time, the referee's whistle sounded!
"Doot toot!"
"Boom!" The whole FedEx arena is boiling, Link hits the board and hits, and he has to add a penalty! He got a chance to hit a three-pointer, and the magical draft pick killed the game with the most crucial shot after being suppressed by Anthony for an entire game! This goal is even more valuable than Anthony's previous goals combined!
Anthony covered his head with his hands in annoyance, and his 31 points were almost in vain! After the goal, Link rushed to Conley and hugged the always polite guy tightly.
Conley's strong "bear heart" made Memphis's grinding and strangulation persist to the end!