Chapter 269: Overtime?
I have to say that Horry's three-point shot is very accurate, he hit 2 three-pointers at the top of the arc in a row in 30 seconds, the same position, the same action, just watching the video will think that it was a careless copy and paste in post-production.
Even a tried and tested head coach like Brown was shocked, he didn't expect Horry to have such a high shooting percentage, at least for a while, he was the only scoring point on the Lakers' perimeter, and even an unruly young man like Kobe Bryant was willing to attract defense for him. Not to mention anything else, at least Horry has a good relationship with his teammates in the locker room.
But the 76ers weren't to be outdone, especially Reed, who always felt he could keep hitting three-pointers. Of course, it stands to reason that Lewis should have taken the gun in his hand at this time, but Horry has been in the league for so many seasons, and he has never seen any storms and waves, and he completely put out Lewis on the defensive end, and he didn't even have room to shoot.
Lewis was ashamed, but he really couldn't get rid of Horry's defense, and if he barely shot, it would be a direct hit, so he might as well pass the ball to a teammate who was more sure! It's not a few minutes before the end of the game, and every opportunity to make a shot must be cherished, and don't burden Mutombo if it's okay.
Fortunately, Lewis is not useless on the offensive end, he has proven his three-point shooting ability with his performance throughout the season, and even if he doesn't shoot, the Lakers can't completely let him go, and invisibly help his teammates pull out space. Lewis was not satisfied with his performance, and he had the worst performance in this game out of the three people who received special training.
At Lewis' season average, the stats of 17 points and seven rebounds in this game don't look shabby, but compared to Iverson and Reed...... Okay, it looks a little shabby.
With just over three minutes left in the game, Iverson has 21 points and nine assists, as well as two steals, and Reed has scored 28 points and is the current scoring leader of the 76ers. It's clear that they've made the most of Chang Wei's special training, and only Lewis has basically lost himself in the Lakers' defensive system for the entire game.
Iverson can use speed to break the game, Reid can force a shot in front of Kobe, but Lewis can't, he is at a disadvantage in terms of physical confrontation and shooting timing, so he can only be silently a containment point.
Originally, Brown wanted Bell to defend Horry, although this is a small defense, but he believes that Bell's defensive ability can completely limit Horry to a certain extent. But thinking about it, Brown still gave up, he didn't want Lewis to face Kobe Bryant, even if this is a big defense, the probability of Lewis being beaten by Kobe can be said to be 100%.
In desperation, Brown can only ask Lewis to do his best to interfere with Horry's catch on the defensive end, and he is not even expected to block the opponent's shot, and now Lewis has carried four personal fouls, and if he fouls Horry, he may be sent off early. Although Lewis was not happy with his play, Brown didn't want to lose a guy who could provide the team with outside firepower and open up space, so he had to continue to shrink back and defend Horry.
The game came to the final minute and a half, and the Lakers temporarily led by 2 points at 92-90, but this is not a reliable advantage, after all, the ball is still in the hands of the 76ers, as long as they can score this goal, the two sides will at least return to the same running line, and if it is a three-pointer, they will even regain the lead, which makes the Lakers have to guard against this wave of offense.
The Zen master on the sidelines made a gesture, Fisher saw it and quickly conveyed the head coach's latest instructions to his teammates, so when the 76ers sent the baseline ball, the Lakers players quickly forced it one-on-one, obviously trying to play a full-court pressing tactic, which could directly cause the 76ers' mistakes and then take the opportunity to counterattack.
The players on the 76ers court were also a little caught off guard, but fortunately, their tactical literacy was still very good, although they faced high-intensity full-court pressing, they quickly recovered after a brief period of shock. Iverson got out of Lewis's cover to receive the ball and avoid being defended by the opponent for a service violation, but when he received the ball, Fisher and Kobe rushed up to block Iverson in the bottom corner, and the half-court violation was also acceptable.
However, Iverson reacted quickly, and before Kobe Bryant and Fisher's encirclement closed, he handed the ball directly to Lewis, because except for Mutombo, who was still getting rid of O'Neal's entanglement on the baseline, Lewis was the tallest man on the team, and his height at this time meant a wide field of vision, and if Lewis was trapped, he could pass the ball out.
In the face of Horry, who was pressing, Lewis did not panic, nor did he throw the ball to the frontcourt casually, but handed it to Iverson, who got rid of the bag, and the latter ran to the frontcourt in a puff of smoke, making the Lakers' full-court pressing useless. Seeing the 76ers break the full-court press with passing and running, the Lakers players returned to their own half like a low tide, rearranging the defense before the 76ers started to attack, and did not give the opponent any chance to take advantage of the situation.
But what they didn't expect was that the 76ers didn't give them a chance to gain a foothold at all, Iverson quickly transferred the ball to the right side of the 45-degree angle outside the three-point line after coming to the frontcourt, Reed did not hesitate to pull up and shoot after receiving the ball, and Kobe, who was ready to go forward to defend, was confused, and at this time he dared to shoot three points? What an awesome self-confidence!
Reed naturally dared to shoot directly with confidence, which was also to catch the opponent off guard. With less than one minute to go and two points behind, it's not unacceptable to make a three-pointer. And that's what Brown acquiesced to, and with Reed's shooting percentage in this game, he could fire with impunity as long as there was room to shoot.
The three-pointer, which looked rushed, didn't hear the prayers of the fans and the Lakers as a team, but went straight into the frame, and seeing himself hit the basket again and help the team regain the lead, Reed clenched his fists and yelled to cheer himself and his teammates on, and only 12 seconds passed on this offensive round, which can be described as a blitzkrieg.
But seeing the current situation, everyone on the sidelines couldn't help but have the same thought in their hearts: Is this game indistinguishable in the regular season, and will it continue to play overtime?