Chapter 147: Gentleman Lei sealed his throat with a sword
The Kings were tied for 13 points in the first eight minutes of the third quarter, and the Celtics instantly felt a sense of urgency, and after the timeout, the Green Army Big Three returned to the court, and now there are no extra points for them to squander, and they must fight.
Garnett returned to the court after a short break, and although he is nowhere near as athletic as he was in his prime, he has a lot of defensive experience and no one can match him in the agitation effect on the court, and under his command, the Celtics' defensive integrity has improved significantly. At the same time, for Cousins, who is in good shape, although Garnett is older, his mobility is still excellent on the inside, and under his assistance, Cousins's offensive efficiency has also declined.
At the end of the third quarter, the Kings replaced Tyrek and Cousins at the same time, giving the two some rest time to prepare for the final battle of the fourth quarter, the first three quarters of the game, the Celtics led the Kings by 7 points at home 82-75, and the Kings scored 35 points in the third quarter, and the suspense of the two sides was left to the final quarter.
"Very good, very good, there is still a seven-point difference, this is not an insurmountable gap, and if we fight again in the last quarter, we have a chance to win! DeMarcus ...... You didn't play long in the first half of this game, and I probably let you play the whole quarter in the last quarter, is there a problem? Coach Westphal asked, standing in front of the bench.
"No problem! I'm in a good state now, and I'm just comfortable! Cousins shook the towel off his shoulder and shouted, startling Casby around him.
"Good! Tyrek, you take a break from the fourth quarter and let DeMarcus take the lead! Jimmy must lock up Pierce in the last quarter, don't be scuttled out by his singles, force Allen from the outside, and reduce his catch-up opportunities! If the score is in a stalemate at the last minute, beware of Aaron! In the last section, everyone tensed my nerves! Coach Westphale clapped his hands vigorously and pointed at the players.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the two sides returned to the court, and Yudri, who had few opportunities this season, replaced Tyrek, and Westale coach was ready to let Tyrek rest for two or three minutes at the beginning of the final quarter to recover his strength, and the veteran Yudri came on to press the rhythm of the court.
At this time, the players of both teams are quite excited, after all, no one can relax now, and anything can happen before the game is over, not to mention that the score difference between the two teams is only in single digits now.
Cousins once again showed his diverse offensive means at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Cousins served to Udri on the bottom line, Udri advanced to the scene with the ball, Cousins followed from the backcourt, did not go to the inside position, but stood directly beside Udri, received Udri's hand pass, and took the ball by surprise at the top of the arc and shot directly with three points!
At this time, Buss, who was opposite him, was still standing at the free throw line and was at a loss, and Cousins had already split up three shots!
The three-point arc shot at Cousins' height is very hard, giving people an extremely arrogant feeling, and he hits domineeringly!
Then Cousins took the ball high again to respond, Garcia and Jimmy crossed the run, Cousins gave Jimmy a mid-range shot and hit!
"Cousins' form has been playing since the second half, as a big center, he's only in his second year now, he's really comprehensive......" Heinsohne's tone was a hint of envy, if the Celtics could have Cousins in the center position, it would be a dream.
However, the tough temperament of the Celtics was especially highlighted at such a critical moment in the fourth quarter, Rondo dribbled patiently in the front court to look for opportunities, faced with Yudri's sudden start, and then threw to Allen on the outside, Allen transferred to Garnett again, and Garnett shot steadily!
Pierce seeks a single, Jimmy is engrossed in close pressing, Pierce leans on his strong back to press Jimmy, who still looks thin as a rookie, Jimmy follows very closely, holding the idea that even if he eats a feint, he will form a disturbance, Jimmy will never jump early, but Pierce, as a veteran who has entered the 14th year of his career, nicknamed "The Truth", even if it is difficult for him to deal with a rookie, he may not be completely killed, and with a back turn to hold the ball and cut past Jimmy, he made an easy layup.
The two teams went back and forth, and the game entered a white heat, and with 3 minutes and 10 seconds into the fourth quarter, Terek also returned to the court.
After Tyrek came on the court, he tried two shots and then entered offensive mode again, one on a fast break, one on a positional battle around the cover layup, and a mid-range step-back jumper to score six points in a row.
The Celtics also responded with Rondo and Garnett, who completed an aerial link-up, and with Garnett's chest-pounding roar after his goal, the atmosphere at the North Shore Garden Arena reached the most tense moment of the game.
With 3:20 left in the game, the Celtics led the Kings by 5 points at 97-92!
The next few offenses were very conservative for both teams, the Celtics who were leading the score had to play a success rate to stabilize the score advantage, and there was plenty of time before the end of the game, and the Kings, who were not much behind, could not take the risk, and the two teams only played one attack in two minutes, the Celtics scored a strong attack under the basket by Buss, and the Kings hit a bottom corner three-pointer by Garcia.
The Celtics went into the final minute with a 4-point advantage!
At this time, the Kings control the ball, the backward Kings have no time to hesitate, the remaining time is enough for the Kings to play two offenses, Tyrek holds the ball in the frontcourt, this time it depends on personal ability, Tyrek faces Rondo's defense, a huge crossover dodge Rondo's defense, Tyrek breaks into the interior at a very fast speed, and at the same time, Garnett on the inside line is not willing to step forward to block the big move, once the foul is played by Terek 2 + 1, it will be worth the loss, and now the score is ahead, I would rather let him a two-point!
Tyrek scored a layup, and the Kings were only 2 points behind the Celtics!
The Celtics launched an offense, and at this time there was still enough time for each of the two teams to organize a complete offense, and the leading Celtics naturally had to control the time, Rondo controlled the ball in the front court, and dribbled back and forth from outside the three-point line.
With 8 seconds left in the 24-second offensive time, Ray kept running without the ball. Aaron slipped the bottom line and turned back again, finally bypassing Garcia, who was watching him!
Rondo quickly crosses the ball to Ray, who runs to the flank. Aaron, Ray. Allen catches the ball and throws it, without giving the defender a chance to react at all!
Mechanically accurate shooting stance!
Perfect arc! Steady hit! The true nature of the killer!