Chapter Forty-Eight: The Night of Defeat
After the pause, the re-entered 76ers players were not idle, and they all mobilized and started to run according to the coach's deployment. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ļ½ļ½ļ½Uļ½Eć Info Standing outside the bounds to serve, Noll looked anxiously at the court, the ball in his hand was not sent out for a long time, and the referee on the side had a whistle in his mouth, looking at Noll and the timetable from time to time. Just when the serve was about to be violated for 5 seconds, Brown, who saw that the ball could not be sent for a long time, called a timeout.
"I don't know if Coach Brown of the 76ers is ready to ask for a quick two-point or a three-point shot, Mr. Ma, what do you think?" Ke Fan pushed the eyes on his face and asked with a smile.
"I think it should be possible to fight for three points, first of all, there is not much time left in the game, and secondly, there are many players in the 76ers who can shoot three-pointers, and the shooting rate is not too low, such as Robert and McCarvey on the court, and the three-point shot is still guaranteed to a certain extent, so you can go to gamble!" The **** who was called Teacher Ma coughed lightly and said slowly.
"Well, I think the head coach of the Kings team should choose to put two points and defend three points!" Ke Fan nodded, and said from the perspective of the head coach of the Kings.
"What you said is very good, for the Kings to put two points is the best choice, even if the 76ers play this offense, for the Kings to lead by two points plus an offensive opportunity, it is equivalent to an insurance, even if the 76ers behind the 76ers take foul tactics, they will not be taken advantage of!" gave Ke Fan a response.
"Okay, the game is going to start again, let's see what the 76ers can change." Ke Fan saw the players from both sides enter the field, so he said that the game was over.
The 76ers, who were back on the court, were still fighting for a three-point opportunity, and the players on the front line pulled out to block the pick-and-roll. The Kings players stuck to their coach's instructions before they went on the court and resolutely defended the three-point game. It seems that the plot repeats itself, and the 76ers, who kept running and blocking in a short period of time, did not get rid of the 76ers' defense. At this time, Robert saw that the Kings were tight on the outside and loose on the inside, so he had the idea of giving up the three-point team, and ran inside with the space created by Covington's blocking.
Seeing that Noll was about to serve for a violation, and seeing Robert running in and no one to follow, Knoll had the mentality of retreating and threw the ball to the basket when he was about to violate. Robert saw that Knoll threw the ball over, and immediately increased his speed again, took three steps and made two steps, followed the ball when he was about to reach the basket, followed the inertia of body movement, dunked the ball into the basket, the ball reached the person, and the air caught the violent dunk! After landing on the ground, Robert slapped his chest vigorously and roared loudly.
The failure of defense did not make the Kings feel different, but Cosby, who had picked up the ball in the past, took a faint look at Robert, who was celebrating after the goal. Seeing that the Kings were ready to serve, Robert also came to celebrate, and his teammates sacrificed the whole court to defend. McClymer and Collison played a small combination, trying to use it to distance themselves and get the ball easier. Collison bypassed McCarvey, who was blocked, to receive a pass from Casby, and Robert, who was touching the ball on the side, watched the ball fly in this direction, strode forward, and jumped up to stop the ball. The arc of the ball flew a little higher, although Robert had already predicted the jump, it was still a little close, and the ball grazed Robert's fingertips and passed like this. Collison who was a little later was startled, and hurriedly took the ball into his arms, Collison dribbled and didn't take two steps, and Robert hurriedly fouled Collison after landing.
The referee awarded the Kings sideline serve after the number of free throw fouls had not accumulated in the fourth quarter. Cosby continued to walk to the perimeter, took the ball handed by the referee and threw it to McClymer, who didn't even think about committing a foul and sent McClymer to the free throw line. With both free throws, McClymer withstood the pressure of free throws at crucial moments and sent the ball to the basket twice.
With 24 seconds left in the game, still four points behind, the 76ers, who had no timeout, had no choice but to serve from the baseline and then dribble across the half court to complete the offense. The Kings didn't fully press the game, but only interfered with receiving and passing the ball to prevent the 76ers from breaking through the defense and getting three-point opportunities. McCarvey, who dribbled past half the court, did not hand over the ball, but chose to go it alone, taking a step outside the three-point line against Collison's defense, and McCarvey gambled and threw a three-pointer.
The ball was spinning on the basket, and Collison was a little afraid to look at the basket. In the end, the ball still turned out of the frame, and the three points did not go in, and Collison was afraid for a while, and couldn't help but show a relaxed look and breathe a sigh of relief. At this time, Noll under the basket saw the trajectory of the ball, and without waiting for the Kings to react, he jumped up and took off the rebound. Knoll was not greedy, looked at Robert's position, and threw the ball out of the line, Robert received the ball, saw McClymer, who had already begun to pounce in front of him, and threw the ball out before he had time to aim.
Pop up! This time Lady Luck didn't care about the 76ers, and the rebound was taken by Jason Thompson, who came out in place of Cousins, who left the game. Noll, who was also under the basket, decisively fouled Jason Thompson and sent him to the free throw line before Randle could pass the ball out of the rebound. Jason Thompson, who walked to the free throw line, took a deep breath and passed the ball out, and luckily, Jason Thompson, who was not a good serve, hit both free throws. With 13 seconds left, six points behind!
The Kings players involuntarily breathed a sigh of relief, the game was about to end, and with only 13 seconds remaining, they were leading by six points. Robert, who bypassed the defender, received Knoll's serve from the baseline and went straight to the front court around McClymer. McClymer saw Robert running past him, and hurriedly followed, seeing Robert's three-point line pull-up jumper, McClymer only symbolically interfered. The ball bounced out of the frame, and McClymer, who was still jogging inside, easily picked up this defensive rebound, with 6 seconds left, the 76ers, who were already impossible to turn the tables, chose to give up and not play, McClymer dribbled the ball twice, waiting for the time to end.
The referees, who saw the end of time, blew the final whistle and finally gave the Kings a thrilling home win 105-99 with Cousins leaving the court with six fouls in the fourth quarter. The Kings' Cousins still scored a double-double of 24 points and 12 rebounds despite receiving a foul, and for the 76ers, Robert, who played 37 minutes in the game, scored a game-high 32 points.
McClymer, who had been with Robert all night, shook hands with Robert and hugged him in a friendly manner. Guy, who was walking in the direction of his team, looked at Robert who came over and said, "Rookie, you did a great job tonight!" After speaking, he took two steps forward and shook Robert's hand, and continued: "I'm optimistic about your performance!" ā
"What do you think of Robert of the 76ers tonight?" At the Kings' press conference after the game, after a while, a reporter in a blue suit asked Rudy Gay, who was present at the press conference.
"Man! He's doing great! That's 32 points on our heads, what else can I say about that? "I think Robert has the potential to be a superstar, but only if he develops his potential," Guy said. Guy complimented Robert.
After listening to Gay's words, the reporters sitting there were already thinking about the headline in the newspaper: "Kings star of the house: Robert is the next NBA superstar!" ć
At this time, the 76ers who had finished cleaning up had already returned to the city, ready to meet the opponent in two days!