Chapter Eighty-Three: Tribute to Bird
In the Nuggets' half, Miller made a quick run and shuttled between the players of both teams, using them as obstacles to run out of the open space.
Miller was full of energy, and even in the fourth quarter, his speed still didn't drop much, but he was speechless to find that no matter how he ran, he couldn't shake off Chi Liang.
In the state of dynamic vision, even if Miller runs desperately, in Chi Liang's eyes, it is simply slow motion, as long as the other party has a sudden stop or reverse running, Chi Liang can always detect it at the first time.
For a while, Miller couldn't get rid of Chi Liang, so naturally he didn't run out of the vacant position.
Compared with Miller, Mullin's situation is much better, Stich is not Chi Liang, even if he tries his best, but in a counterrun, Mullin finally got rid of Stich with the help of Schmitz's cover and temporarily ran out of the vacant position.
Outside the three-point line on the left, Mullin received a pass and immediately threw a basket before Stich could return to defense.
Swish~
This goal reopened the difference to 9 points.
In this game, Mullin's hands were hot, shooting 4 of 4 from three-point range, and the threat was no worse than Miller's.
After the Nuggets served, Billups held the ball over the half court and wanted to pass it to Chi Liang, but the Pacers were very strict with Chi Liang, Miller was always close to Chi Liang, and Mullin, who was not far away, was also always watching, ready to help defend and pack at any time.
In order to get rid of Miller, Ji Liang began to run, using McDyce's cover to go around the 45-degree three-point line on the right side, and at the same time opened a certain distance from Miller.
After receiving the pass, Ji Liang raised the basketball, his eyes stared at the basket not far away, his feet curled, and it seemed that he would start at any time, making a realistic shooting action.
At this time, Miller pounced on the front, and because Ji Liang's movements were too realistic, Miller jumped up without thinking.
It was also at this time that Ji Liang withdrew the basketball, used the Buddha worship action to break through Miller, and strode into the restricted area.
Seeing that Ji Liang wanted to make a stop-and-go jump shot, Davis hurriedly dropped Fortson and immediately pounced.
Syllable~
In mid-air, Ji Liang moved his hands slightly to avoid the block, but he was still slapped in the arm by Davis and hurriedly threw the ball out.
Honk~
At the same time, the referee blew the whistle!
Swish~
At the moment of landing, Chi Liang took a step back, and saw the basketball spinning on the basket, and finally fell into the basket obediently.
Under the instructions of the referee, Ji Liang came to the free throw line, adjusted slightly, and threw the basketball.
Ji Liang made a steady free throw to narrow the difference to 6 points.
In just one minute, Ji Liang scored 6 points in a row, and his speed of scoring was terrifying.
Glancing at Miller, Ji Liang was too lazy to talk trash again, and when it came to the fourth quarter of the game, he would concentrate and seize every opportunity.
For him, trash talk is just a way to adjust his state, mainly used to suppress his opponent and adjust his mood, but also to avoid the possibility of being looked down upon by his opponent.
At this stage, he doesn't talk trash talk, but can put more pressure on the other party. In addition, at this time, his hands are hot and hot, and he has the confidence to face any difficulties.
His experience is not as good as Miller, but he has an advantage in his body, and he can be five or five with the other party in a normal state, not to mention the explosive state, and now he has enough confidence to beat Miller!
The Pacers' offense, under the double cover of his teammates, Miller finally received the basketball, but at the moment when he shot, he was interfered with by Ji Liang, and finally ended up playing iron.
After McDyce grabbed the rebound, the Nuggets launched a full-line fast break, and Ji Liang, Billups and Stich began to go straight to the frontcourt.
On the other side, the Pacers were shocked and wanted to start defending as quickly as possible. But the only players who can keep up with the pace are Miller and Mullin.
As for Jackson, his fitness was running out, and with a bit of thwarting by Fortson, his speed was noticeably affected.
Without hesitation, McDice threw out the basketball, and Billups jumped back and caught the basketball steadily.
As Billups landed, Miller immediately changed course in an attempt to entangle Billups and buy time for his teammates to return.
Billups didn't stick to the ball and immediately passed the ball to Stich, who dribbled quickly forward.
Mullin glanced at Chi Liang, but still stubbornly faced Stich, and then what he was worried about happened, Stich did not throw a wave, but took the opportunity to pass the ball to Chi Liang.
After two passes, Ji Liang was completely empty, and he was standing outside the three-point line in the bottom corner at this time.
After receiving the basketball, Ji Liang even adjusted it and calmly threw a three-point shot.
As soon as the ball was shot, he knew that the ball was there, and without looking at the result of the ball, Chi Liang stretched out his finger to the sky and turned straight back to defense.
His actions are a tribute to Larry Bird!
This extremely confident attitude 'infected' Pacers fans, who thought that Ji Liang's actions were 'provoking' Larry Bird, making them involuntarily boo.
Swish~
At this time, the basketball hollowed into the basket, and the boos first stagnated, and then there was an even stronger boo.
They...... I'm scared!
It took only two minutes for the perverted rookie to score nine straight points for a total of 36 points and is likely to continue scoring.
In addition, Ji Liang made 6 three-pointers and did not miss a single shot, maintaining a 100% shooting rate.
There was no doubt that after the start of the fourth quarter, the Nuggets got off to an exciting start and narrowed the deficit to three points.
Beep~
At this time, Larry Bird had to call a timeout, the Nuggets had risen, and the Pacers were in a difficult situation, if this continues, the advantage that the Pacers have built up so hard will be eaten away.
Bird didn't have the idea of preventing Chi Liang from dying, he knew very well that it was impossible, there was no way, Chi Liang's state was so good that Bird was shocked.
In Larry Bird's view, the key now is not to limit Ji Liang, but to help the team get out of the offensive woes and regain lost points.
Looking at the two minutes, except for Mullin's three-pointer, the other players did not achieve anything, but were limited under the Nuggets' tight defense.
At the end of the timeout, the Pacers replaced Davis with Perkins, who, unlike Davis, had a longer range and was able to stretch beyond the three-point line, effectively opening up space.
In addition to this, Bird also strengthened the wheel transition, moving to achieve pick-and-rolls and crossovers to achieve misalignment defense.
After the game resumed, Jackson took advantage of Perkins' pick-and-roll and began to rush towards the penalty area.
At this time, due to the serious lack of running-in, the Nuggets' coordination had problems, and both Billups and McDyce pounced on Jackson one after another, ignoring Perkins who blocked the pick-and-roll.