Chapter 80: The Age of Superstars is still not far away
Under the heavy pressure of the 76ers, the Knicks' offensive chain collapsed, which led to a series of chain reactions, that is, the Knicks' originally proud defense also lost its due intensity for a while.
At the most critical time for the Knicks, Van Gundy had no intention of stopping, but simply gestured and completely handed over the decision on the court to Mo Xi. For a while, Mo Xi himself was also a little shocked, but instead, Mo Xi thought of what Van Gundy had said to him before the playoffs began.
"It's Ewing's playoffs, Johnson's playoffs, Mark Jackson's playoffs, the entire Knicks' playoffs, my playoffs, but none of that matters, you just have to remember the most important thing, it's your playoff."
Mo Xi didn't know what Van Gundy meant at the time, but now, in this situation, Mo Xi finally understood Van Gundy's hard work. Joe's gang will hardly pass the ball again in the final quarter, not just because he doesn't trust his teammates, but because he is responsible for himself, preferring to take the victory into his own hands. What Mo Xi has to do now is to break down the blockade of the 76ers in his own way.
The first place to counterattack is not on the offensive end, but on the defensive end.
Iverson once again penetrated the Knicks' outside defense and went straight to the inside.
This time, Mo Xi seemed to have a feeling of avoidance, but Iverson's brows were furrowed deeper, this position, this posture, Mo Xi calculated Iverson's next move.
Originally, Iverson wanted to use a whole air fold to avoid Mo Xi and go to the basket directly, but Mo Xi's position happened to be sealed on his first step, and Iverson's best choice now is to go straight to the basket, but this is ......
With a crisp sound of "pop", Iverson's shot was blocked by Mo Xi, who perfectly predicted Iverson's shot.
Mutombo on the side was quick and controlled the ball directly, but then, unexpectedly, a big hand stretched out directly from under his armpit and poked the ball out, which was still a pity.
However, the ball did not come to the Knicks players, but to Snow, who didn't want to just make a three-point shot.
It was at this time that a black shadow fell from the sky, and it was Mo Xi, who rushed directly in front of Snow with lightning speed after completing a wave of defense on the inside, and finally caught up with Snow's shot and clicked Snow's three points.
The rebound was finally taken by the Knicks.
Mo Xi alone clamped down on the entire 76ers' offense on the defensive end, and for a while, it was terrifying, and the 76ers looked at each other and didn't know what to do.
However, the Knicks did not mean to stop, Sprewell received a pass from Thomas and ran directly to the frontcourt, and now it is Ward who is on the court, not Mark Jackson, and the Knicks' fast-break advance has the same speed as in the past.
Sprewell passed to Ward, who turned around and passed to Houston, who jumped around the baseline and ran to Sprewell on the other side, who received the ball and hit a jumper.
This goal was scored, and the Knicks' somewhat debilitating momentum suddenly stopped.
Then the 76ers continued to attack, but because of the shadow of the previous ball, Iverson did not choose to enter the interior line, but chose to make a stop-and-go jump shot after tearing through the Knicks' defense, but the ball was a little too powerful and bounced directly on the back edge of the basket.
Mo Xi pushed Mutombo, and then jumped up and took the rebound, which was the eleventh rebound of the game, and he had already scored a small triple-double.
The Knicks began to switch offense and defense, but Snow had the right idea, pulling Sprewell at the first step, interrupting the Knicks' fast break, and the Knicks had to serve again at halftime.
The Knicks' tactical thinking is still clear, and they continue to hand the ball to Mo Xi, but this time Mo Xi is a little different.
The 76ers' bag is still very fast, and this time the space left is Ward on the outside, but Mo Xi just shook it and didn't pass the ball, Mo Xi turned around directly after feint to pass, and squeezed through the gap of the 76ers bagger.
This is really not easy, you know, Mo Xi's body is there, and the person who wraps him is one tall and one short, it is easy to squeeze his dribble space, but Mo Xi is squeezed through, and then in the face of the oncoming defender, Mo Xi stepped and made a layup from the side.
In the next three rounds, Mo Xi singled in a row, scoring two goals, and Mutombo realized that something was wrong, and Mo Xi began to single early, and it seemed that he realized that the 76ers had seen through their tactical intentions. However, Mutombo still wanted to hold on, and the third quarter was over immediately, and it was about to enter the fourth quarter of the decisive stage.
It was the Knicks' turn to attack again, and this time the Knicks played very slowly, and they were determined to use up the time. With eight seconds left, Ward passed the ball to Moxi.
Mo Xi did not catch the ball in the high post this time, but returned to the familiar low position, he directly resisted Mutombo, shook left and right, took a step forward with his left foot, and then moved his center of gravity, as if he was going to turn over and jump back, but Mutombo clearly felt according to the force coming from Mo Xi's body, this was a fake move by Mo Xi.
Mutombo's judgment was still accurate, but he was only half right.
Mo Xi is indeed a feint, but it is to better open up the space.
After this step, there was a half-step distance between Mo Xi and Mutombo, which was enough for Mo Xi.
Mo Xi's center of gravity changed again, and the foot that leaned out slashed, and his body turned, facing the basket, and then made a hook hand feint.
Mutombo had to lean his body entirely against Mo Xi in order to interfere with Mo Xi's balance when he made his move.
But Mo Xi swiped his feet, returned to his original position, held the ball between his chest and abdomen with both hands, and squatted slightly.
Shoot!
Mutombo moved quickly, his hands raised in the air, trying to disrupt Moxi's move.
However, Mo Xi's action was not over yet, and at this time, the distance between the two people was close to half a step, and Mo Xi suddenly accelerated with the dribble, walked on the side of Mutombo, and went directly to the basket.
Mutombo reacted quickly and followed with a big stride, blocking Moxi.
Then, the fans in New York only saw Mo Xi push Mu Tombo, Mu Tombo was nailed to the spot, Mo Xi quickly turned around, turned over and pulled the bow, raised it with one hand, and all kinds of one-handed hanging frame splits.
"Bang~"
A loud bang rang through Madison Square Garden.
In the midst of a boiling cry, Mo Xi calmly said to Mutombo: "Organize an attack? That's what I did before. Taking over the game, that's what I'm going to do now and in the future. ”