Chapter 227: Persistence
Peja. Stojakovic, Europe's legendary shooter and certainly one of the greatest shooters in NBA history. After wandering, the 33-year-old chose to come to the Mavericks midway through the season with the simple goal of winning a championship trophy and a championship ring for his career!
Jason. Terry, an old boy in his thirties, but still as unruly as a rookie player. He never admits defeat, and at the beginning of the season, when he took Yiyang to tattoo an O'Brien Cup on his arm, the championship was the man's only goal.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Carlisle did not follow the starting lineup, but put these two people who did not perform well in the first quarter and put them next to Yiyang.
Carlisle's purpose in doing this is clear, he wants to strengthen the attack and try to open the score!
Two outside players with more scoring ability, paired with Yiyang and Nowitzki and Chandler. If this lineup plays well, it is not impossible to pull away from the score.
Of course, the most important thing is that if Nowitzki still doesn't find his form in the second quarter of the game, then there are more scoring points, and Yiyang can also play a bigger role. At that time, even if the Mavericks can't pull away the score, they can make sure they don't fall behind too much.
The only thing Carlisle hopes for now is that Dirk can get back to form quickly, because he doesn't know how much responsibility Yiyang's rookie can take on in the playoffs.
The game restarted, and the Trail Blazers took the lead in attacking. As soon as he came up, Aldridge approached Dirk, hoping to use the in-form German as a breakthrough.
See Aldridge to be in a deep position, Tyson. Chandler also went to the defense according to the tactics. But Aldridge didn't attack blindly, seeing that Chandler's defensive titan would be attracted to him, Aldridge threw the basketball to the basket with a hook move.
Such a difficult hook makes people look at Aldridge more like he is coming to a nonsense. But it's not a hook, it's a pass.
Aldridge couldn't get the ball into the hands of the empty Camby without Nowitzki and Chandler, so he came up with a way to pass the ball to the sky!
Although Camby's athleticism is not as good as when he was still with the Nuggets, Camby can still complete a simple empty dunk.
Before Chandler could make a stop-up, Camby jumped on the spot and grabbed the basketball with both hands in the air. Then he landed straight on the ground and easily pressed the ball into the frame.
Camby's goal meant it was no longer safe to use the trap tactics against Aldridge. In the defense after that, I am afraid that Nowitzki will face even greater pressure.
A beautiful inside pass and inside goal added to the fierce battle between the two sides.
Now, the pressure is all on the Mavericks. If they can't continue the score in time, then the confident Trail Blazers are bound to launch an onslaught. If the situation is bad, the one who can pull away will be the Trail Blazers!
Andre. Miller originally planned to use the atmosphere under this huge pressure to force Yiyang to make mistakes, but Yiyang, a rookie who played in the playoffs for the first time, was as calm as a yellow-skinned version of Kidd.
Yiyang's somewhat dull personality may not make him as popular with the media and fans as other stars, but this personality is just right for someone who plays point guard on the basketball court.
Dealing with things without being surprised is a rare trait in Yiyang. Now maybe you just call Jordan up and wear a Trail Blazers jersey in front of Yiyang, and he won't have any emotional fluctuations.
The result of a point guard's calm is that no matter what the situation is, whether he is behind or ahead, he will handle the team's offense clearly.
This time, Yiyang broke through on his own, but did not share the ball directly, but passed the ball to Nowitzki as he went.
Nowitzki felt Aldridge's defense with his back and seemed to attack. But in the end, he suddenly passed the ball back to Yiyang.
Yiyang didn't stop after receiving the basketball, touching the ball with one hand and letting the basketball transfer quickly.
Peja just borrowed Chandler's off-ball block and went out to the three-point line, and when he received the basketball, he shot and hit the three-point shot, cleanly!
"The Mavericks have done a fantastic job of sharing and running the ball! Their tactics are interlocking, and Coach Carlisle must have put a lot of effort into it! ”
"Don't forget Charles, if you don't have a good point guard, you can't execute these clever tactics. It's a lot of fun for a rookie to take a group of veterans on the field. ”
As a shooter, it's not wrong to feed him the ball when he's feeling good. So just a few dozen seconds later, Yiyang found Peja again.
This time, it wasn't Yiyang who personally passed the ball to Peja. Yiyang first played the ball to Terry, who broke through along the baseline with the ball, but when people thought the "Jets" would go it alone, he threw the ball out of the box and went straight to the outside.
Peja received the ball at the top of the arc outside the three-point line and made a decisive shot again! When Peja shoots, his body is still very aggressive and leans forward slightly. Wallace didn't dare to act rashly when he saw this. As soon as Peja is touched, the referee will not hesitate to blow the whistle. "Elvis" didn't want to send someone to the free throw line for three free throws, but all he could do was raise his arms high.
But Pejana's height at the No. 4 position is not something that Wallace can interfere with his arms raised. The basketball dragged its long "tail" and plunged into the net under the raised arms of fans all over Dallas.
With two consecutive three-pointers in one minute, Peja, a 33-year-old veteran, played his part in the playoffs. Carlisle's substitution worked again, and the Mavericks went from a one-point deficit to a three-point lead in an instant.
Subsequently, the Trail Blazers managed to tie the score. But the other person has left this team from the City of Roses without a respite at all.
Yiyang borrowed Chandler's blocking breakthrough, and he repeated his old trick and split the ball as he went. Only this time, Yiyang's pass was not to Peja, but to Terry in the middle distance.
Matthews became nervous, and in the first quarter of the game, he could be said to have been beaten by Kidd to the fullest. In this second quarter of the game, he didn't want to be beaten so badly by another old guy.
But instead of attacking on his own, Terry shoved the ball inside. Chandler, who received the basketball in a deep position, turned directly against Camby, squeezed the most controversial best defensive player behind him, and then forced a violent dunk, causing a huge earthquake in the center arena of the American airline!
Thirty-five seconds later, Terry made a shot from beyond the three-point line with an assist. Yiyang is a two-way defender and a defender who plays equally well with and without the ball. So on the field, the identities of Terry and Yiyang can actually be transformed imperceptibly.
Sometimes, Yiyang is the point guard. But sometimes, it's Terry who is in control.
In the midst of the Mavericks' incessant scoring frenzy, the Trail Blazers players felt like they were about to run out of steam.
Every offense, every offense by the Trail Blazers is under pressure. Because they know that if they can't continue the score, they will give the opponent a chance to pull the score. And in the playoffs, with the great defensive intensity, it is not easy to chase after the score is pulled away.
This pressure gradually interfered with the hearts of everyone on the Trail Blazers, and when Aldridge broke through Nowitzki with the ball again, he felt like he had lead on his legs, and he couldn't run at all.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yiyang rushed behind Aldridge and took the Trail Blazers leader's basketball from behind.
After the steal, Yiyang staged a long-distance run again. Facing Gerrard who was following him. Wallace, Yiyang was not afraid, but leaned on the opponent for a tough layup.
In the face of the strong "Elvis", although Yiyang did not score a layup in the confrontation, Wallace did not escape the price of a foul on his back.
Yiyang's free throw brought the difference between the two sides back to five points again. So far, Yiyang has done very well. He withstood all the pressure and led the team his own. A group of old guys shined under the leadership of Yiyang, making the Mavericks overwhelm the Trail Blazers. Now, now, it's Novitzki!
In the sixth minute of the second quarter, Wesley. Matthews' three-pointer put the Trail Blazers just one point off the score. But in the next round, Yiyang used a beautiful turn to get past the elder Miller, and dodged Camby's block in the air, and successfully scored a layup, opening the score again.
Watching Yiyang deftly pull the lever in the air to evade the defense, Charles. Barkley couldn't help but imitate the series of moves on the commentary platform. But no matter how beautiful the ball is, it is only worth two points, and the Trail Blazers are still chasing hard, and it is very difficult for the Mavericks to maintain their advantage.
In the seventh minute of the second quarter, the two sides had already begun to make substitutions, but Yiyang remained on the court. This time, the substitute Frenchman Nicolas. Batum receives Spanish defender Rudy. Fernandez's pass, the mid-range shot is solidly hit. The combination between the two European players allowed the Trail Blazers to narrow the gap to one point again.
"Look at him, look at him!" McMillan couldn't believe his team couldn't take the lead because of a rookie. When the players returned to defend, the black coach also opened his throat and shouted. He hopes that this time, the Trail Blazers can rely on one defense and one offense to completely overtake the score!
If a head coach can win a game just by having a loud voice, then Charles. Barkley shouldn't be a commentator, but should be a copy of Phil. The Jackson Myth.
Although McMillan reminded his players to watch Yiyang die, Yiyang first used a block to dismantle Fernandez, and in the face of Batum's supplementary defense, Yiyang changed direction sharply.
When the Frenchman moved sideways, Yiyang suddenly stopped suddenly, and then retreated to jump!
The caught off guard of the French pounced forward with all their might, but unexpectedly, Yiyang also took the initiative to pounce on him. Batum hit Yiyang's palm solidly, the defense fouled, and Yiyang was online again!
After Yiyang fouled Batum, Barkley clearly saw that McMillan had smashed the tactical board to the ground and cursed words that began with the letter "F".
He knew that the Trail Blazers' hopes of once again overtaking the score had been dashed. And the one who caused all this is still the damned Chinese!
Until the final 40 seconds of halftime, the Mavericks' lead remained unshaken. The Trail Blazers didn't fall behind much, always spinning around within five points, but the psychological pressure brought by the long-term backwardness and being suppressed on the players made the score difference much more terrifying.
This time offensively, the Trail Blazers played the ball to Aldridge, but Nowitzki's tough defense kept Aldridge from getting a chance.
So, Aldridge decided to pass the ball to Miller Sr. to reorganize. But the moment Aldridge passed the ball, he regretted it, because Yiyang had been lurking beside old Miller for a long time!
Miller wanted to get the basketball before Yiyang, his thinking was fast, but he couldn't move his legs.
Yiyang straightened his arm and cut off the somewhat random pass. Subsequently. Yiyang is not in a hurry to push the fast attack. Instead, it slowed down, intending to run out of time and not give the Trail Blazers another chance to attack.
At this time, there were exactly 24 seconds left before the end of the half, Yiyang stood in place after breaking the ball, and waited for the opponent and teammates to run towards the other half, and then he slowly walked forward with the ball.
Yiyang had just walked through the LOGO in the middle circle of the court with the ball when he stopped his steps. He's wasting time, and now that the Trail Blazers are one point behind, it's clear that Yiyang wants to hold on to that last point.
The timer on the rebound is decreasing a little bit, everyone is fully focused, and that number one must be the end point of the final attack!
In 6 seconds, Old Miller pressed up, but Yiyang was still unmoved.
In 5 seconds, Yiyang used a crotch change to get rid of the entanglement with Old Miller and began to move forward.
4 seconds, Yiyang burst into the three-point line, seemingly intending to go straight to the basket.
At 3 seconds, Aldridge and Camby contracted, and Miller Sr. tried to chase back.
2 seconds, Yiyang, who broke into the three-point line, suddenly stepped back and returned to the three-point line, and shot coherently.
In 1 second, the basketball fell steadily into the net under the illumination of the bright lights of the court.
At 0 seconds, an electronic beep sounds. 50 to 54, Yiyang's whistle ball made the entire arena of the American Route Center boil. The Trail Blazers, who were originally only one point behind, are now going into the second half with a four-point deficit.
The commentators were shouting, the fans were shouting, even the Mavericks players were shouting, but Yiyang on the court and Carlisle off the court weren't excited about it.
In the second quarter of the game, Yiyang played a full 12 minutes. That's right, a whole section.
It is precisely because of Yiyang's 12-minute persistence that the Mavericks can maintain their leading position. If Yiyang is removed, then the leading one now may not be the Mavericks fighting at home.
How long can this guy hold out? Carlisle didn't know. Can Dirk turn the tide in the second half? Carlisle didn't know either.
Everyone is partying, but Carlisle and Yiyang themselves are a little worried......