McCollum and Lillard are on the floor at the same time, so there must be someone to play against Kobe. In the end, Lillard was the one who was chosen.

Batum went to play against Green as expected. Clearly, Trail Blazers head coach John Terry has understood the importance of defending Green, which means being able to cut off the Lakers' inside and outside ties.

The main team fought against each other for a few minutes, and the situation on the field between the two sides was still stalemate, and at this time, it was necessary for stars on both sides to stand up and score.

But Lillard and Kobe Bryant are in a match, and there is a disadvantage in height and experience, so he can't easily score against Kobe. Judging from the confrontation between the two, Lillard chooses to kill more inside, which is obviously to highlight his advantage of being flexible and young.

However, the Lakers are in the restricted area with Knoll, Green, and Gasol, three players who are good interior defense, so even if Lillard can score inside, it will be difficult to score easily.

Surprisingly, McCollum, who had not played much, scored frequently against Famar, and soon took the lead for the Trail Blazers.

The stalemate on the court was broken, and the Lakers' side immediately became alert.

"Chu, this guy seems to be very good." Whiteside asked Chu Xuan in a low voice.

Whiteside was referring to CJ McCollum, who was constantly scoring points.

Chu Xuan nodded, his face was very calm: "What he is best at is mid-range shooting, and his scoring ability is very strong." In fact, if you want to defend him, you just need to press him outside the three-point line as much as possible. Maybe he has a lot of potential, but at this stage, he can't play physically, and it's quite easy to defend him. ”

Whiteside smiled and was noncommittal: "I'm very good at defending mid-range and I don't think I can make him play that position that won't be as comfortable." ”

To be honest, what Whiteside said was also approved by Chu Xuan in his heart. According to the data, when Whiteside is on the floor, the opponent's mid-range shooting percentage is significantly reduced.

"Haha, Hassan. Since you've said so, I think I'll need to talk to Fill. ”

After that, Chu Xuan went to Phil Webb's side and communicated with him about the situation on the field and his tactical ideas.

Soon, when it was time to take a timeout, Phil Webb immediately changed the lineup. Bryant was moved to the No. 1 spot, Wesley was the No. 2 spot, Green was the No. 3 spot, and as for the interior line, it became Whiteside and Thackeray.

The strength of this lineup is defense, and the biggest test is whether Kobe Bryant can take on the task of organization.

In fact, Kobe Bryant still did a good job, and he was also quite careful in his shooting selection.

Under his leadership, the situation on the Lakers' side began to improve a little, with Wesley and Whiteside completely guarding McCollum from outside and inside.

Thackeray was on the field in place of Knoll and was extremely tough against Thomas, thus suppressing the momentum of Thomas.

In this way, the two sides are once again deadlocked.

When the third quarter ended, the score on the court became 69:69.

The two sides were tied, and the game entered the fourth quarter of the decisive battle.

******

Staples, the air seems to be boiling.

Lakers fans dressed in purple and gold logo clothes looked excited, and there was a strange similarity in their eyes, which was the desire to win.

The big screen shows the comparison of the main players of the game.

Bryant: 6-of-14, 20 points.

Lillard: 5-of-13, 14 points.

Aldridge: 3-of-9, 8 points and 4 rebounds.

Gasol: 4-of-6, 10 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

In this game, Aldridge and Gasol, the two stars did not perform very well inside. Aldridge, in particular, had a terrible performance in the first three quarters of this game.

What is surprising is Kobe Bryant, in the first three quarters of the game, he was inconspicuous, and he had already scored 20 points, which made people feel like they were back in time a few years ago.

At that time, Kobe Bryant was always able to score high scores easily.

And now, it is a luxury for fans to want to see him get high scores.

Just like this season, the reason why Kobe Bryant can still contribute an average of 20 points per game is entirely due to his stability. In nearly a quarter of the games that have been played in the new season, Kobe Bryant's highest single-game score is only 33 points.

Obviously, all this shows that Kobe Bryant is old and his explosive power in scoring is gone. And 81 points, 4 consecutive games of 50+, 3 quarters 60 points...... And so on, it's all in my memory. It can only be used occasionally in nostalgia to reminisce and feel youthful.

"20 points in the third quarter, considering the current situation of the game, Kobe Bryant should be able to score 30 points again in this game. Seriously, it's incredible that he's able to recover after such a big injury. ”

Kenny Smith also seemed extremely emotional when he talked about Kobe.

"For an athlete, the Achilles tendon means life. It can only be said that Kobe Bryant is a surprising guy, he is always able to pull off miracles. ”

'You're right, he's a great player. However, I think the most important thing to think about at the moment is the competition. ”

"Hehe, Kenny, who do you think will win the game?"

Kenny Smith smiled: "I think the Trail Blazers will win, they will score more. Once they show their firepower, the Lakers are completely powerless to resist in their current state. ”

"But, Kenny, I always had a feeling today that Kobe Bryant was going to take care of everything."

Kenny Smith laughed, "Man, it's 13 years, not '03. There's definitely something wrong with your feelings, Kobe Bryant can't do that much now. ”

"Kenny, words can't be said so absolutely. Who can say what is going on in the game? With star players, it's impossible to predict what they'll be able to do in the next second. I'm a firm believer that the Lakers can win. ”

*******

The game began in the final quarter, and the Trail Blazers attacked.

Lillard, a sophomore, held the ball across the halfcourt, faced Blake's defense, and hit a three-pointer to give the Trail Blazers the first score.

It was Lillard's second three-pointer of the game, and his personal score came to 17. Considering there is still a lot of time left in this game, Lillard's 20 points seems like no problem.

However, no one expected it to come so quickly, and just 20 seconds later, Lillard hit another three-pointer to refresh his personal score to 20 points.

That's more than Lillard's season average, and he's averaging 19.5 points per game so far this season.

Although the statistics are not much better than last season. However, looking through the past month, Lillard's progress is obvious to all.

He's become the Trail Blazers' core point guard and the future of this team.

And he has proven many times that he is a key gentleman.

Obviously, in the final moments of this game, Lillard had signs of breaking out again.

It's a trait that is very valuable for a player.