Chapter 179: The Battle for Arizona's Revenge
As Hougist had done a good job of pacifying the day before, the Raiders were in good shape on the day of the game, and while they warmed up on the court to make final preparations for the evening's game, the first matchup of the elite quarterfinals, the final in the Western Conference, was played between the University of Arizona Wildcats and the University of Wisconsin Badgers.
The Western Conference Finals were held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The No. 1 seed University of Wisconsin and the No. 2 seed University of Arizona have both shown a level above all other opponents in the region in their previous three matches, and they met in the Western Conference finals last year, providing the talk of the day for today's match. In last year's game, Wisconsin narrowly won the Western Conference championship by 64-63 to advance to the final four, and this year's Arizona can get revenge has become the focus of widespread attention.
The game started with Wisconsin Core, who made a name for himself last year against Arizona. The Cumming veteran driver took the lead and scored an inside layup to create Brandon in Arizona. Ashley fouled to complete 2+1. Then Wisconsin scored 23 points in the last game. Decker and Josh on the outside. Gaither also caused damage on the inside and outside, and Wisconsin started the game with a 10-2 run, and Arizona had to call a timeout with just over three minutes to go. Coming back from a timeout, Arizona forward duo Stanley. Johnson and Brandon. Ashley continued to score on consecutive free throws, and Arizona gradually adjusted. Hollis Jefferson also showed an all-round offense, with layups, dunks and fouls that can do anything. At halftime, Arizona led by three points at 33:30, and everyone's efficient 12-of-22 shooting, a whopping 54% shooting percentage was the key to the lead. Wisconsin, despite having a big lead in rebounding frontcourt, shot just 38 percent from the field.
In the second half, Wisconsin, as if discovering the crux of the problem, opened up the situation with a warm three-point feel, first Kaminsky's three-point shot, BS station commentator, NBA celebrity Reggie. Miller commented: "Arizona head coach Sean . Miller must be telling his players that you just have to keep defending like that, that you're doing a great job defensively, and that Wisconsin isn't going to shoot three-pointers all the time. Before the words fell, he was slapped in the face, Wisconsin Josh. Gaither didn't shake off the Arizona defender from the outside, but forced a three-pointer when there was nowhere to go! Arizona blossomed in the second half, in addition to Ashley, Hollis Jefferson, the last game excellent point guard T.J. McConnell and center Caleb. Tarzouski also began to attack-for-tat, and although Wisconsin led by 13 points at one point, Arizona stubbornly chased back to under 10 points and kept clung to the score.
With two minutes left, Arizona's short point guard Gabby. York used the cover to run out of space, caught the ball and hit a quick three-pointer to bring the score to 76:71. The Wisconsin coach immediately called a timeout, and after mysteriously laying out a tactic, the timeout came back by Sam. Decker hit a three-pointer from the perimeter to stretch the deficit to eight points, 79-71.
With 1:33 left, Hollis Jefferson hit a desperate breakaway to hit again, 79-73. Wisconsin controls the tempo, Sam. Decker likewise forced a breakthrough to cause Stanley. Johnson made five fouls and hit both free throws to make it 81-73, and Decker surpassed his previous game to score a career-high 24 points.
Arizona at this time except Stanley. In addition to Johnson's five fouls and being sent off, all three main players have already committed four fouls. Hanging by a thread, Arizona asked for a timeout. Hollis Jefferson suddenly asked the team's equipment manager for a headband, and just when his teammates were confused, Hollis Jefferson confidently said to his teammates: "I can't fit anymore!" I'm going to start performing! I'll take care of the rest! ”
"Are you okay?" Stanley. Johnson questioned.
"It's better than if you can't play, right?" Hollis Jefferson was completely devoid of tension and even drove up Stanley. Johnson's joke.
McConnell, Ashley and other teammates want to laugh but don't dare to laugh out loud, after all, they are arguing with the number one star and the number two star in the country, where do they dare to interject more, not to mention that they are still behind at the critical juncture of chasing points, if they dare to smile on their faces, they will definitely be sprayed by the fans if they lose the game and can't take care of themselves.
"I can't play, you can do whatever you want! Anyway, there is 1 minute left to trail by 8 points, and it is normal to lose, so if you win, you should earn it! Come on! Stanley wasn't angry.
"Don't worry! I'm going to show you how Hoggist plays! Hollis Jefferson said calmly.
"That Haugist from UNLV? Then blame you for wearing a headband, this is to imitate his appearance! The equipment manager suddenly realized.
"You only know that Hoggist wears a headband when he plays, but do you know why he wears a headband?" Hollis Jefferson asked.
The equipment manager shook his head, and Hollis Jefferson continued: "Every time Hoggist encounters a strong opponent, he can always get stronger, but improving his state not only consumes his spirit, but also consumes a huge amount of physical strength, in this case, Hoggist will sweat a lot, in order to prevent sweat from flowing into his eyes and affecting his vision, Hoggist will wear a headband. ”
"You're saying you can get stronger, too?" McConnell asked.
Hollis Jefferson smiled confidently, "I've been a high school teammate with Hoggist for two years, so I still have that ability!" ”
"Then why didn't you come out early, I will only use it when I am full of mistakes and leave the scene? Do you want to trick myself into being a lone hero? Stanley Johnson questioned again.
"Of course, this kind of special move must be used at the last moment to defeat the enemy with one move! If I use it first, you may not be able to hold the lead, right? Hollis Jefferson explained disdainfully.
"Okay, we'll just look at you later, and we'll fight wherever you point!" Point guard McConnell took the initiative.
After the timeout, Hollis Jefferson took advantage of the unequal speed after improving his ability, forced acceleration and ran back to the basket when he was off the ball, and jumped on the spot after receiving T.J. McConnell's breakaway ball, dunked Decker and caused him to foul, making a 2+1 to narrow the gap to 5 points. If they can defend against Wisconsin's next wave of offense, Arizona has every chance to keep catching up.
Hollis-Jefferson's strong performance reassured his teammates, and everyone took his word for it and became more motivated on the defensive end.
Wisconsin began to consume time, the Arizona team defended seriously and refused to give away free throws easily, and the two sides were deadlocked until the game was 22 seconds left, and Wisconsin only had 6 seconds left in the offensive time. Seeing that he was about to be tackled by McConnell, Gaither did everything in his power to distribute the ball to Decker. Seeing that time was running out, Decker tried to repeat his old trick, stepping back and jumping to make a three-pointer. Unexpectedly, he raised his hands and just gestured to shoot the basketball, but the ball in his hand was long gone.
It turned out that the quick-eyed Hollis Jefferson didn't give Decker a chance to shoot, directly intercepted the ball in his hand halfway, dribbled across the half court, jumped up and glided forward two steps away from the three-point line, and shot forward, the ball made a jaw-dropping arc that hit the bull's-eye! At 81:79, only 2 points behind, with 17 seconds left, the suspense of the game is back!
Wisconsin is like a big enemy, the coach used up the last timeout, and carefully arranged the corresponding strategies for various situations such as not being able to serve, not fouling the opponent when the serve encounters the opponent, scoring 2 goals for fouls, scoring 1 goal for fouls, and not scoring for 2 fouls. Coming back from the timeout, Decker easily sent the ball to Josh. Gaither, sure enough, the opponent pressed, but he didn't foul easily.
Josh. Gaither dribbled the ball through the half court with ease, but it seemed that Arizona was the leading side, and the five men on the court just stuck to their defenders, but they didn't mean to foul, quietly waiting for the time to run out. The audience, including the referees and the Wisconsin players, were a little stunned, wondering what the Arizona players wanted to do and wanted to give up. But the opportunity is so good, if you foul and bet on the opponent's free throws, you still have a chance to win, and the five-person defense on the court is so hard, it can't be like giving up the game! But if they don't give up, why don't they do anything?
With 6 seconds left in the game, it was again this sensitive point in time, and suddenly, Hollis Jefferson let go of Josh, who had come to Decker to contain the ball. Gaither. Gaither hurriedly passed the ball to the unmarked Decker, but he didn't expect the ball to be blocked by the resolute Hollis Jefferson halfway, and bounced back into Gaither's hand, but this time Gaisher didn't hold the ball steadily, Hollis Jefferson, who pounced, cut the ball with a palm, McConnell picked up the ball and rushed to Wisconsin's backcourt frantically, Decker struggled to chase back from the middle, but it was too late, McConnell was already easily picked up and ready to go to the basket under the escort of Hollis Jefferson.
"Awesome, this can be tied! Arizona must be trying to give the opponent the illusion that he is about to relax in his opponent's heart and then strike a fatal blow! The audience secretly admired in their hearts.
What shocked the audience and even the national television audience was that Hollis Jefferson also took to the air and "blocked" McConnell's tie layup in the air. It was a hat-off, to be exact, and Hollis Jefferson snatched the ball McConnell in the air.
Everyone who saw this scene was dumbfounded, could it be that this Hollis Jefferson was an undercover agent in Wisconsin, and he cheated Arizona at a critical moment? No, if you want to pit Arizona, don't break Decker's ball just now, wouldn't it be good if you didn't score that three-point chase? Why do you have to do such a stupid thing that shocked the whole country at the last minute?
Because Hollis Jefferson's "hat-off" teammates were too bizarre, Decker, who had been chasing after the defense in place, was at a loss for a while and didn't know what he should do, and even he was a little suspicious of this Lang Day. Hollis Jefferson is not a dark chess set up in advance by the coach.
But what everyone expected was still to come, Hollis Jefferson accelerated to the bottom corner after landing on the ground, jumped up directly after both feet stepped over the three-point line, and forced a three-point shot in the air to face the basket. Decker found out Hollis Jefferson's true intentions, and then tried to pounce on the defense, but it was too late to make up for the leak, so he had to stand under the basket to prevent the opponent from making a basket.
But when the ball was only a few centimeters away from Langday's fingertips, the beep of the timer was already screaming. Decker didn't need to be stuck, because the game time was running out, and the victory or defeat was just one goal. The arc of the ball was almost as towering as Nowitzki's golden rooster independence, but the ball had barely left his hand and Hollis Jefferson was already raising his hand in celebration, as if he saw it had been scored.
But Hollis Jefferson's teammates were not as optimistic as him, and they were all nervously watching the trajectory of the ball, especially T.J. McConnell, who kept cursing Hollis Jefferson in his heart, "This arrogant idiot is obviously about to equalize, we have such momentum, overtime can definitely blow Wisconsin!" Idiot Idiot Idiot Idiot ...... Yes! ”
The ball fell into the basket at an almost vertical angle and smashed straight into McConnell's face under the basket, and McConnell, who was cursing Hollis Jefferson, let out a scream of pain. The scream even alarmed Haugist, who was practicing his shooting hundreds of kilometers away.
Hoggist looked back, and his teammates had all gone since some time, and he was the only one left to shoot on the court. His teammates gathered on a bench next to the training ground, and McCaw sat on a chair with a pad in his hand, which was the center of the crowd.
"What are you doing without training? Why such a terrible scream? Watching a horror movie? Hogist asked angrily. The big war is coming, Hoggist deliberately resisted all the pressure and did not give it to them, it seems that it is really people who are stress-free and fluttering, and the teammates without pressure are simply too presumptuous, and they don't even pay attention to formal training, and they are blatantly lazy to watch horror movies in the training hall.
"We're not that boring, boss, we're watching Arizona and Wisconsin! Speaking of that Lang Dai. Hollis Jefferson is your high school teammate! When I was in high school, I didn't think he was so powerful, huh? He just turned around with high difficulty and killed Wisconsin! That action was just a blast! McCaw replied.