744: An attack that thwarted the Emperor
James had already scored 16 points in the first half, and after hitting a free throw in the second half, the score had reached 20 points.
As always, LeBron. James carried the Heat's offensive banner. He pulled the team again when the Heat were at their toughest.
Of course, he has already become Carl. Aside from Malone and Jordan, the player with the most 2,000 points in a single season in his career.
Now, though, few people are going to talk about James' record. Even, many people don't know that James has broken the record. Because at this point, everyone's attention is on 72 wins!
When the Grizzlies came to their senses, 72 wins were officially on the agenda. Whether the Grizzlies can make history today depends on this last half of the game!
James hit a free throw to close the gap to just three points. I have to say that the Heat's state today is really good, Randolph scored 19 points in a single quarter, but he couldn't completely pull the score away.
The Grizzlies aren't in a hurry, though, Randolph isn't a game finisher, but Link is!
In the second quarter of the game, the Heat fielded the traditional lineup of Chalmers, Wade, James, Haslem and Bosh with two serious interior players. Now it's not the Grizzlies who are playing one big and four small with the Heat, but the Heat who are playing with the Grizzlies.
As a result, the pace of the game will be greatly slowed down and there will be no thunder. After Allen's point, the Heat's threat from beyond the three-point line also plummeted.
So even if James scored a four-point shot as soon as he came up, Link wasn't nervous. First of all, James can't play that way every round. Secondly, in the rhythm of the Grizzlies, Link is confident that he will open up the difference in one fell swoop!
The Grizzlies deliberately dragged the tempo very slowly, and now it's the Heat and not the Grizzlies themselves who should be in a hurry. And the more anxious the team, the easier it is to make mistakes.
When Link received a pass from Conley from beyond the three-point line, the Heat's defense was no longer as airtight as it was in the first half.
As soon as Link got the ball in the first half, he could instantly see at least three people ready to pinch him!
But now, the Heat are forced to play man-to-man defense. With Randolph's big killer in the low position, he completely nailed Haslem and Bosh to death.
Now, it's Link and James' game.
Link lowered his center of gravity and quickly alternated between his left and right hands. James slowly stepped back, a little nervous.
This prepares for action...... It's Link's previous breakthrough method!
This guy, is he going to change his breakthrough style again!?
For a moment, James didn't know what to do. Do you want to completely abandon the sudden acceleration of the re-defense link, or do you want to leave one hand to prevent the double change of direction of the link?
Link's new breakthrough method does not mean that his previous breakthrough method will be completely abandoned.
Playing Durant and George, Link only had to kill them by surprise. But this time, since James had been prepared, it would make him unpredictable!
Just as James was still struggling, Link suddenly accelerated, incredibly fast! His instantaneous explosive speed is not inferior to many defenders.
James immediately stepped back, knowing that there was no barrier behind him now, and that Haslem and Bosh themselves were too busy to wipe their butts.
Now defend Link, you can only rely on yourself!
However, at the moment when James retreated, Link, who had already started his speed, suddenly reduced his speed to 0 again, and then retreated under his crotch and retreated outside the three-point line!
"Step back! Link shook off the space and he made a jumper from beyond the three-point line! ”
James stumbled under his feet, if it weren't for his excellent core strength and timely stabilization of the center of gravity, this ball might have been shaken down!
Link: What kind of terrible stop-and-go ability!? Can his body stand it!?
James sighed as he sealed Link's face. But it's a pity that Link was able to survive in the league because of projection. He started by projection, and now he has strong physical fitness, and his shooting ability is still not weak!
"Brush!"
As soon as James landed, he heard the sound of the Nets tumbling, and he was shot by Link's quick stop and step-back. Got a face!
"Beautiful, Link also returned a three-pointer to LeBron! It's not a four, but it's already very exciting. Haha, that's Link's style, he has a debt to pay! ”
Link's beautiful step-back three-pointer allowed him to officially take over the game, and by this time, Link had already scored 18 points. Although it was not the highest in the game, although it was one point less than Randolph. But everyone knows that the three-pointer is a sign that the Grizzlies are starting to move towards a 72-win win!
James's heart had already risen to his throat, and he didn't expect that he would fail in the first round of his single defense against Link!
That guy's singles ability is really top-notch in the league. Any way, any technique, any style, Link seems to be able to master.
James and Link both started to make a big splash, which made the fans even more restless. After the Heat passed, Wade, who cut in, received James's "bullet pass" and made an easy layup, narrowing the gap again.
Seeing Wade cut to the basket and score, Link was very relieved.
This has nothing to do with the personal relationship between the two, and Link is relieved because the Grizzlies' defense really worked!
The fact that the Heat are starting to be able to go to the basket instead of chasing three-pointers is a good sign that their three-point strategy isn't working as well as it just started. This indicates that the situation of offense against offense is about to pass, and the Heat will have no good fruit to eat on both offensive and defensive ends.
The 4-point difference hung over the heads of the Heat players, although the difference was not large, but it overwhelmed everyone.
James is now tense every time he defends, even when he faced Durant's scoring champion in the Finals two years ago, James has never been so tired.
Durant was mainly high enough to be accurate at that time, and sometimes even if you know what he wants to do, you can't stop him from scoring. Even if the interference goes up, it is not necessarily high enough. But in any case, you can roughly predict Durant's trajectory. His offensive behavior will most likely not exceed expectations.
And Link and Durant are completely different, facing Link, you have no idea what Link will do next time! So, when defending Link, you are always in a state of tension.
This time, Link didn't hold the ball, but slowly and leisurely walked around the right side of the court. James couldn't predict what Link was going to do, was he going to cut out and catch and shoot? Or cut into the empty catch?
The best part is that no matter which of these two options, Link is very good at it!
In the end, since Link didn't cut outside or inside, he suddenly leaned on James with his back!
James hated the back-to-back offense of his opponents, and in the summer of 2011, he was overshadowed by Nowitzki.
Link caught the basketball with one hand, without any extra movements, and turned directly to the left to prepare to shoot!
James had to press up, and Link's shooting threat was just too great. Give him any space, and the difference can be widened.
But James had just taken a step forward when Link suddenly turned in the opposite direction. "Whoosh" past James and into the penalty area! His ability to seize opportunities is no less than that of any top scorer.
James didn't have time to react at the moment Link broke through, and he now knew why George was stunned like a stake by Link.
The breakthrough after the fake rollover allowed Link to easily overtake James by half a position.
Spoelstra was sweating profusely, and he had coached James for several years. However, this is the first time he has seen James so embarrassed on the defensive end.
After Link broke into the box, Haslem came to block. But Link, who was flying into the air, flashed sideways in the air and slid past Haslem to score with a one-handed dunk!
Link scored 5 points in a row! When the Heat could only rely on one-on-one to contain Link, Link's offense instantly became fluid!
After this goal, Link's score was the same as James'. He came from behind and became the Grizzlies' top scorer.
"Link is completely liberated, and his fluid offense is back! Keep your eyes peeled, every goal Link scores now is laying the groundwork for the final 72 wins! ”
Before the game began, James thought he had studied Link thoroughly and that he should be able to stabilize the situation on the defensive end.
But today, it dawned on James.
Link's guy can't be studied thoroughly. He can update his arsenal much faster than you can adapt to him!
The Heat's third offense, they didn't score again. This time, James broke through and was blocked by Gasol. The Heat's three-point threat has dropped, and the Grizzlies can guard it under the basket!
In the first half, Link would be caught in a flank once he broke through. And now, it's time for James to experience that feeling.
The Grizzlies' defense is starting to get back on track, and when they start to re-solidify their defense, it's a sign that the margin is about to be widened!
Conley struck this time, his eyes on Link, but he actually hit the ball to Gasol Jr., who cut under the basket.
Seeing that Gasol Jr. broke through Bosh's defense, James hurried back to the defensive penalty area! Now that the margin has become 6 points, James knows that he can't let the Grizzlies score anymore!
However, Gasol Jr., who broke into the inside, did not follow the trend to make a layup, but used an unbelievable pass from the back to send the ball to Link outside the three-point line!
As a big man with a height of 2.16 meters, he actually used the way of passing the ball from a defender, and everyone in the audience was stunned, including James!
However, Link was prepared for this, and he knew that Gasol was one of the most adaptable big men in the league! This kind of passing is a complete piece of cake for Gasol.
When Link received the basketball, he had no defenders in front of him at all, and he was completely empty.
When a team's star is completely empty, it shows how leaky his opponent is on the defensive end.
The Heat's defense is now completely disrupted, and not only are they unable to defend themselves against Randolph, but they are even starting to leak Link.
James simply gave up on chasing back, knowing that even if he rushed over, it would be useless. This time on defense, he was completely defeated!
As a result, the Heat players could only watch as Link made a jumper from beyond the three-point line. For some players, a completely large open space can only put more pressure on them, which can eventually lead to missed shots.
But this kind of thing definitely won't happen to Link.
The basketball hollowed into the net, and Link didn't waste Gasol's brilliant pass. Instead of widening the margin to 8 points, the Grizzlies directly widened it to 9 points!
Link scored 8 points in a row as soon as he came up in the second half, and every time he scored, he played James around!
After the goal, Link yelled sideways into the stands, and in an instant, all the fans in the Federal Express Arena stood up.
Link just yelled at the stands with a number, but the number "72" was enough to make everyone boil!
James silently picked up the basketball, and for the first time since 2011, he was so frustrated on the defensive end.
But in 2011, he and Nowitzki were mismatched, and it was understandable that they were defeated. But this time, there was no mismatch between him and Link...... Easily defeated by three consecutive rounds that will leave James with an unforgettable appearance.
Great LeBron. Having lost the support of his teammates and the system, James also seems inevitably going to repeat Durant and Paul. George's tragedy.
James personally controlled the ball this time, but it is unknown how long the Heat No. 6 can hold on to the rhythm of the Grizzlies.