Zhang Zhu and Ma Long were really a lot more honest in the second quarter, one or two ordinary fouls are nothing, but they have to be careful with one technical foul each, the importance of the two of them to their respective teams is self-evident, and whoever is punished is equivalent to handing over the victory.

At the start of the second quarter, both teams switched to their respective rotations.

Zhang Yu also sat on the sidelines to take a break, and his physical strength also needed a proper rest in today's game.

Not to mention Ma Long, this kind of competition "postman" classmates will have to be soft for 40 minutes.

Battle once again lamented the perversion of this group of cattle off the field, if he came to play a game of this intensity, let alone 40 minutes, I am afraid that he will have cramps and be carried down in 20 minutes, and strong strength does not mean that the staying power is also strong.

This kind of rotation period tests the combat effectiveness of the bench, and although the Jazz's bench is not bad, the interior combination of Mason and O'Neal Jr. still makes it a little difficult for the Jazz to parry.

O'Neal Jr. scored first on a dunk at the start of the second quarter, and McDies made one of two free throws after a foul on Wilkins.

The Lakers began to resolutely flank McDyes, and the Jazz's iron triangle was now on the floor and had to be bullied.

But the Lakers ignored the outside combination of Eric Williams and Hornacek, and Wilkins + Starks obviously couldn't prevent the Jazz, two quasi-All-Stars with 86 and 85 ability points.

After O'Neal Jr. and Mason each scored two points, the Jazz quickly overtook the score with a wave of 8:4, and Harris could only let Zhang Mao, who had a three-minute break, play early.

Zhang Mao's blessing for the Lakers is obvious, and the koala baby, who returned to the No. 3 position, made Eric a kitten again as soon as he got on the court, not only hitting his own pull-up jump shot, but also making McDyce's air cut directly on the defensive end.

Sloan was helpless, he originally wanted to let Malone and Stockton rest for a while, but the Lakers didn't give him this opportunity, and then didn't let the second elder come up to stabilize the situation, and the Lakers easily seized the opportunity to play an attack wave.

As soon as the Jazz's Xuan Ming and the two elders came on the court, Zhang Fu immediately returned to the center position, and the Lakers' lineup became: Darrick Martin, John Starks, Dominic Wilkins, Jermaine O'Neal, Zhang Mao.

Harris continues to rest Kidd, Jones and Big Ben off the court as a build-up for the team's late game, and today is certainly not an easy game to decide.

But this will be a test of O'Neal Jr.'s level, and whether he can play a good offensive or defensive role at the No. 4 position may directly determine whether the Lakers trade him next season.

O'Neal Jr.'s single defense ability is good at this age, but his physical fitness is not mature enough, his defensive awareness and enthusiasm are not as good as his big book, and his experience is also in the accumulation stage.

McDyce played O'Neal Jr., obviously much easier than against Big Ben, who couldn't exert enough physical pressure on him, and O'Neal Jr. didn't have Big Ben's beastly pressing defense, and his experience was even worse than Big Ben's.

Zhang Zhu naturally couldn't lock the inside line, and even the Jazz's outside line began to attack the basket frequently, the Lakers quickly paid the price for using O'Neal Jr., Stockton assisted McDyce in the fast break dunk, Eric shot through the net, Malone took advantage of Zhang Zhu's position to send a letter directly to the basket, the Jazz quickly extended the lead to 5 points, and Harris was forced to ask for a timeout.

O'Neal Jr. looked disappointed after being substituted, and Big Ben was so good on the defensive end today, but he could only play an insignificant few points on the offensive end, but he couldn't even play half of Big Ben's role on the defensive end.

Harris knows that this can't be blamed on O'Neal Jr.'s lack of strength, a 20-year-old young player can't play a playoff-level game, Duncan is still competing with Camby in the NCAA when he is 20 years old, Mason is still unemployed at the age of 20, Mutombo is 20 years old and seems to be thinking about how old he is, and then think about Kukoc's pit performance in the playoffs in recent years, O'Neal Jr. has done well enough, but it's a pity that the Lakers require him to reach the level of McDyes, which is a bit difficult.

After a timeout, Big Ben replaced O'Neal Jr., Kidd also returned to the court, Starks' three-pointer allowed the Lakers to chase back three points, Zhang Yu hit a strong shot under the basket, and the two teams were back on the same page.

Malone was not to be outdone, the defensive intensity of both teams decreased a little in the second quarter, Stockton and McDyce blocked and assisted in the "postman" to the basket again, Lao Huo's three-point shot chased after the victory, but Big Ben's foul on the offensive end made the Lakers a little embarrassed, this is already Big Ben's third foul.

Harris sighed, Big Ben's problem is here, although his aggressiveness makes McDice's offense difficult, but he also pays too much for the foul, he doesn't have Mutombo's demonic ability to control fouls, he can only rely on enthusiasm to make up for the lack of experience, but if he defends too fiercely, it is easy to get fouls.

O'Neal Jr. can't be used, Big Ben has too many fouls, Harris can only send Mason to partner with Zhang Yu, and the task of defending Malone is naturally transferred to Mason, and his footsteps can't prevent McDyce.

As soon as Zhang Qi left, Malone immediately felt relaxed, although Mason's strength was more terrifying than Zhang Qiu, but he was too short, and Ma Long's turnaround jumper in the low post was much less affected than before, which allowed him to create offensive opportunities in the low post continuously.

The Lakers are starting to struggle with whether to wrap up Malone?

Malone not only made Mason's turnaround jumper difficult to defend, but his turnaround breakthrough can also come in handy, although Mason can defend the lower post with a bigger tonnage O'Neal is a headache, but he can't make Malone feel too uncomfortable, which is also the reason that attributes and styles are compatible.

"Because the dead fat man didn't shoot, the range is too close!"

Zhang Zhu knows why Mason can't defend against Ma Long, after the age of 30, Ma Long's attack range has shifted to outside the penalty area, but O'Neal's attack range has always been in the penalty area, which is why Mason can rely on his strength in the low position to harden O'Neal, but there is nothing he can do about Ma Long.

What should I do when I can't prevent it?

Attack with all your might, of course!

Zhang Wei came to the No. 4 position and let McDyce start stealth on the offensive end, this is the Lakers' plan B - the Jazz's iron triangle does not need to be blocked, as long as one of them is held down, it is a big deal to let them return to the offensive firepower of the double evil period, and the Lakers cannot be killed by just two people.

Kidd was also a little embarrassed, he had promised to make Stockton's voice disappear, but the latter's performance of scoring 8 points in the first quarter made his face a little swollen, and if he couldn't suppress Stockton at this time, it wouldn't be Jones who was traded.

What's so hard about Stockton?

If it comes to one-on-one, Kidd doesn't take Stockton seriously at all, he can beat the other party casually!

But just as Stockton will never respond to your trash talk, his offense will always live in pick-and-roll, and you'd be hard-pressed to see Stockton break straight without a pick-and-roll.

Kidd has always had a sense of powerlessness, he is obviously taller, faster, and more powerful than his opponent, but his opponent is always present in the pick-and-roll.

Once Stockton was covered by a team-mate, it was difficult for Kidd to keep up with him in the first place, and nine times out of ten, he was thrown away, and although he was able to catch up the second time, it was enough space for Stockton to handle the ball.

No, as soon as he talked about covering, McDice went up to block Kidd for Stockton.

But this time Kidd was not in a hurry, because it was Zhang Mao who changed to defend Stockton, which was different from before.

Stockton's reflexes, positional and spatial sense are excellent, and his ability to make the most of his teammates' coverage to create space for himself is fundamental to his difficulty in defending.

But Zhang Yu didn't give him enough space and time to react twice, he could use the confrontation on the inside + the footsteps on the outside and the reverse thinking brought by the same talent to accurately predict Stockton's breakthrough route.

Stockton completed the change of direction at the first time, if he could be ten years younger, maybe he could still pass the ball steadily, but the 36-year-old Stockton was too far behind in point explosiveness and speed, Zhang Yu went up in one step to interfere with the dribble, and the long arm was lightning like a pull, and Stockton, who could not control the balance, could only lose the ball and fall to the ground in the breakthrough.

Zhang was like a heron in the whole process, kicking Stockton, a little snake drilling around his own turf, with just one kick, and then grabbed the basketball and knocked McDyce who rushed to support him crookedly, and now all the Jazz players knew that this point was lost.

Kidd quickly rushed to the frontcourt, received a pass from Zhang Qi and scored an easy layup, and the Lakers' Plan C also began to ......

Ma Long's blood DK that can resist the output of energy is difficult to prevent, but the berserk battle that McDyce's level is not enough can be prevented, if Zhang Zhu works a little harder, Kidd will also be a little stronger, and Stockton's precept pastor is not unlimited.

This is the Lakers' ideal defensive plan, after all, Malone is not a furious battle like O'Neal, nor is it a weapon battle like Olajuwon, so he can basically reach the top with a 40 points.

However, the Lakers underestimated Malone's lethality, and when both of his partners were in crisis, Malone knew very well that he had to poke a hole in the Lakers' defense, otherwise the game would be over.

In the 5th minute and 55 seconds, Zhang Fu started at high speed on the offensive end and knocked McDyce to the ground, and the basketball was thrown by him before he fell to the ground, and then bounced on the basket for a long time.

Mason and Malone were stuck together under the basket, continuing to consume the postman's physical strength.

Marlon had another intention, this time he was stealthy enough, one hand dragged back hard, and the two looked like they were falling backwards together in an entanglement.

But don't forget, every part of Ma Long's body is a weapon, and one of his legs looks like he is out of balance and naturally lifted, but this is a trick that has been lost for a long time in the rivers and lakes The dragon swings its tail, and I saw that Mason, who lost his balance and really fell to the ground, was impartial, just so that his face and Ma Long's iron knee came into close contact.

Many fans who witnessed the scene closed their eyes and couldn't bear to look at it, and Mr. Murderer was immediately kicked in the head and bleeding, splashing red liquid on the floor.

"Damn, so ruthless?"

Zhang Wei didn't expect Ma Long to have this trick, wonderful!

But what everyone didn't expect was that Mason, who was splashed with blood, was not good at stubble, he knew that he didn't have much effect on the Lakers, and this knee made him angry, and immediately changed from passive to active after falling to the ground, and turned around with a domineering elbow that shocked the world and cried ghosts, directly watching a certain NCAA player in front of the TV who was looking forward to world peace and liked the pandas.

Of course, Ma Long, as the head of the four villains, actually lay on the spot in such a dangerous situation, and easily defused this fatal blow!

Mason didn't have a chance to strike a second blow, but the elbow he turned around this time was not accurate because of his poor vision during the attack, otherwise it would be difficult for Malone to dodge.

The players and referees of the two teams rushed to the scene, and Mason had already turned around at this moment, and his face was very hideous and terrifying, and even Malone was a little frightened.

However, this time the battle has been decided, and Mason's second move is a malicious attack, and it will be more than just a malicious foul.

Moreover, even this elbow is too obvious, Mr. "Murderer" is evil and brainless after all, and when he touches a wicked person with brains, it will be too tender.

The referee did not hesitate to expel Mason from the game with a "second-degree malicious foul", which is nothing to say.

But for Ma Long's dragon tail swing, the three referees discussed it but did not have any punishment, because there was no direct evidence to prove that he was malicious and hurtful, and that action could be regarded as a subconscious action, because he was also out of balance at that time.

The Lakers players were naturally very dissatisfied, Zhang Fu felt that even if Ma Long's action was not a malicious foul, at least a technical foul should be given, and it would be too partiality not to give a penalty, right?

The referee wanted to give Malone a technical foul, but considering that Malone had already committed a technical foul, he really didn't dare to make a decision to decide the outcome of the game at such a time.

However, now that the Jazz are not GG, then this malicious foul will make the Lakers uncomfortable.

Mason was ejected from the game, and after Stockton hit both free throws, the Jazz also got possession of the ball, which really hurts.

But what hurt even more was that the Jazz used this offense to hit an outside three-pointer and overtook the score in one fell swoop.

The Lakers' players were clearly affected, with Big Ben and Zhang being fouled by the beaters and offense shortly after, and the Lakers' morale was in a slump, and Harris had to reactivate O'Neal Jr. in the final four minutes of the first half.

However, the Lakers' use of O'Neal Jr. resulted in two consecutive minutes of scoring without a score, and the Jazz took advantage of Christie and Malone's outbursts to score eight points in a row.

It was clear that Salt Lake City's home court was back in momentum and played as it should, with a burst of morale and home bonuses in the last four minutes of the first half, and they went on a 13-2 attack wave to finish the first half at 52-42, while the Lakers scored a measly two points in the last two minutes of the first half.

Malone was naturally the best player in the first half, scoring just three points in the first quarter but already scoring 16 points by the end of the first half. Although the Lakers managed to wipe out Stockton and McDyce in the second quarter, they couldn't stop Malone from taking the whole team to Carrey alone, and single-handedly led the entire outside line to make the Lakers fall behind by 10 points at halftime.

"He's running out of energy!"

Zhang Qi also had a performance of 13 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in the first half, and the midfielder naturally had to encourage the team after returning to the locker room.

He is not talking nonsense, Malone did consume too much physical strength in the first half, and every offense of the Jazz basically starts with Malone, let me ask a 35-year-old interior line who weighs 280 pounds, how long can he last like this?

"One section, he can hold on to one section at most!"

Zhang Qi felt tired after playing the first half, and he didn't believe that Ma Long could be stronger than his staying power.

Harris didn't focus on Malone, and he was unhappy with the team's perimeter defense, which necessitated criticism of Starks and Jones.

Malone's explosion is actually a planned thing, but as long as the Jazz's outside line does not explode, a Malone explosion again, when both Stockton and McDyese are limited, it is impossible to play a 13:2 attack wave in the first half.

Eddie Jones and Starks can only step up and take responsibility, they didn't protect the Lakers' perimeter line, and while sometimes perimeter players are hard to guard when they are convulsed, it is impossible for anyone to convout all the time.

Harris criticized these two by name in the hope that they can play more effectively in the second half, and the two of them should also have the ability to limit the Jazz's outside line.

The Jazz needed Stockton and McDyess to step up in the second half, and Sloan knew that one Malone alone would not last long, and if the two were restricted, the current ten-point advantage would not last long.

However, Zhang will not let the Jazz get his wish, he has been staring at McDaces and Stockton since the second quarter, and even if he delays the offense, he must keep these two incognito.

Malone started the second half with a strong attack on the inside, Zhang Zhu had already focused on McDyce, and Malone handed it over to Big Ben to deal with, the latter has a task - "consumption", it doesn't matter if he can limit Malone to score, as long as he consumes Malone's physical strength.

In the second half, the Lakers' outside line stepped up on the offensive end, with Eddie Jones scoring two points on a single run of Bryan Russell, and then Starks cut off a pass from Old Huo to score points. Next, the Lakers' outside line let the Jazz miss three consecutive goals on the defensive end, and Malone also missed a goal under the entanglement of Big Ben, and the Jazz ushered in a three-minute scoring drought.

Although Zhang Qi has put too much energy into the defensive end to affect the offense, he can still contribute some output occasionally. In the 8th minute and 48 seconds, Zhang Wei took advantage of the Jazz's unstable foothold to score a three-pointer to help the Lakers chase the score to 49:54.

The Jazz's outside line has never been the starting point of the offense, and after being suppressed at the moment, Sloan can only let Malone charge forward if he is reluctant, hoping that he can lead Stockton and McDyce to change the situation on the offensive end.

Ma Long was really not soft at the critical moment, and scored points on the big book one after another.

However, Sloan's intention to rely on the "postman" to drive Stockton and McDies could not be realized, because Zhang Zhu has been greeting these two with his teammates, especially the change of defense and the inclusion of Stockton has achieved great results, and McDeyes has actually faced Kidd several times in a big and small situation It is difficult to score points, and he can't even grab a point guard with rebounds, which has made many Jazz fans dissatisfied.

The Lakers were chasing back point by point, but what really changed the situation was that after entering the end of the third quarter, the physical strength of the players on both teams entered a sensitive period from then on, and the shooting iron began to continue.

At this time, the individual ability of the star began to show, and the breakthrough of Zhang and Kidd made it difficult for the Jazz to parry.

In the 3:06 second, Malone and Stockton got a chance to shoot after blocking and dismantling, but Stockton was immediately entangled by Zhang Qi after the pass, Malone glanced at McDyce and found that Kidd was stuck in the passing route and could only shoot himself.

Big Ben desperately stepped forward to block before Malone shot, and I don't know if it was affected by Big Ben's blocking, or if he lost his physical strength, Malone threw the ball a little lighter, and the basketball knocked out of the frame.

Zhang grabbed the rebound and threw the basketball to the front court with only one dribble.

Starks had already raced to the front of the court with Eddie Jones left and right, and finally Eddie Jones shook off Eric and scored the ball.

It is worth mentioning that Eddie Jones jumped after stepping into the free throw line, and it was another ultra-long-range layup.

Since this offense, the Lakers have significantly accelerated the pace of offense and defense, and interfered with the Jazz's offensive rhythm with a lot of close presses and on-the-spot breaks. And Eddie Jones' ultra-long-range layups appeared more than once in the last three minutes of the quarter, with the Lakers launching a fast break under the basket by Zhang and Kidd at every opportunity, and Jones and Starks launching a lightning raid at every opportunity.

This style of play is unprecedented, as no team has ever given rebounding protection to a small forward and a point guard, and even though the small forward is nominally a center today, it still makes it difficult for Jazz players to adapt.

In the last 9 seconds of the third quarter, it was Big Ben who defended Malone's face and interfered with the "postman's" delivery, and Malone shot lightly again, and Kidd grabbed the rebound.

After the Jazz were successfully attacked by the Lakers' strange fast break several times, this time they finally did not let Starks and Jones complete the fast break, but they ignored one person, that is, Big Ben!

The Lakers can now confirm that Malone is really a little bit unable to run, and his pace of defense is significantly slower, while Big Ben's speed of running has not caused the Jazz to be wary because he has no ability to score.

However, few people look through Big Ben's resume, otherwise they will know that Big Ben never played inside before entering the NBA, and even when he represented the Lakers in summer league, he played at the small forward position.

Therefore, although Big Ben does not have the ability to shoot and is very on the outside, he has a certain ability to hold the ball, and can even pass the ball near the free throw line for the cut-in players on the wings and the baseline. It's just that the Lakers don't need these abilities of him for the time being, but he is definitely not a player who can only defend and dunk, which is too underestimate him.

Big Ben ran past the midcourt and received a pass from Kidd, and when the Jazz players saw that it was Big Ben who received the ball, they thought that the Lakers' fast break couldn't be played, and their hearts were relieved.

But what they never expected was that Big Ben didn't stop the ball, but maintained a high-speed dribble to reach the three-point line.

Big Ben's breakthrough disrupted the Jazz's defense, and everyone didn't know how to deal with Big Ben's surprise attack, which was not in their battle plan.

As a result, the Jazz players watched Big Ben complete the long-distance run alone, and a two-handed heavy dunk allowed the Lakers to enter the final quarter with a four-point lead of 77:73.