Chapter Seventy-Eight: Series 2:0
The team's good start is a good trend, but Harris is also keeping an eye on the situation of several other teams, the Houston Rockets defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-95 in the West, the Timberwolves are a young team, they will certainly not be able to compete with the luxurious Rockets, they are expected to win at most one game, the Utah Jazz did not encounter any decent resistance in the game against the Los Angeles Clippers, they slaughtered the Clippers 106-86, However, the Phoenix Suns were a minor upset, beating the Seattle SuperSonics, third in the West, 106-101 on the road, much to the surprise of most. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ļ½ļ½ļ½Uļ½Eć ļ½ļ½ļ½ļ½
In the East, the Chicago Bulls defeated the Washington Bullets 98-86, and the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat played a game between the Orlando Magic and the Miami Heat, due to O'Neal's premature departure of six fouls, the Magic were beaten 64-99 by the Heat, and they lost by 35 points, but they also have good news, if they can reach the Eastern Conference semifinals, they will usher in the return of Anfernee Hardaway.
Alan Houston was a standout performer in the New York Knicks vs. Charlotte Hornets, scoring 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting to help his team beat the Hornets 109-99 at home. The Atlanta Hawks also easily defeated the Detroit Pistons 89-75.
After a day of rest, the Lakers also welcomed their second game against the Trail Blazers at home.
The atmosphere for the Lakers is still hot, and the Lakers looked to beat their opponents with great ease in their last game, which has given Lakers fans hope of advancing to the semifinals.
The game begins.
The Lakers started well today, taking advantage of the momentum of the last victory, several young people played very openly, and there was no jerky feeling of entering the playoffs at all, and the Lakers actually built an 8-point lead for a while.
Harris was both happy and worried, and he was happy that the Lakers' young men were able to steadily suppress the playoff regulars Trail Blazers with the momentum of this born calf and not afraid of tigers, and this temperament of not being afraid of life may really be able to create a greater miracle.
And what worries him is that the Lakers won the last game too easily, and this time they established an advantage so early, it would be better if it was an old bird team, but this Lakers team is so young, he is afraid that these young men will have a game mentality.
It's a terrible thing not to take the playoffs to heart, and there are some strong teams in history who have been knocked out of the upset for ignoring their opponents, and Harris is even thinking in his heart that if this one is lost, maybe it will be a good thing for the team.
The game continues.
"Tony was in great shape today, he's already scored two goals on Sabonis's head, oh my god, he's got Wallace's layup again, Tony is the patron saint of the Lakers!!" The Lakers' home commentator DJ roared wildly, and he was almost impressed by Tony, but before he could catch his breath, the next scene made him crazy again, "God! Look what's going on?? Bryant jumped two steps from inside the free-throw line and dunked Sabonis!! Is this guy human?? ā
The Trail Blazers were stunned in the first quarter, their offense was timid, even the defensive end was full of holes, the advantage of the three-high lineup in the interior defense was not brought into play at all, and the Lakers' outside breakers were almost unscrupulous to attack the Trail Blazers' basket.
At the end of the first quarter, the Lakers built an 11-point lead at 29:18.
Callesimo kept roaring and tried to stir up the team's fighting spirit, but it didn't work.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Coach Harris was very relieved to put the bench lineup, and now the momentum is on the Lakers' side, and he can give the starters a break.
The Trail Blazers also sent a bench lineup, but Callesimo was also helpless, because he found that the Trail Blazers' starting lineup was not even as effective as the bench lineup.
After at least a few minutes, the Trail Blazers even chased the margin to around five points.
Halfway through the second quarter, Harris called a timeout, and the two sides continued to start a showdown between the starters.
It's too pit!
Callesimo shook his head helplessly, not long after the Trail Blazers' starters came on the court, the difference that was chased back to about five points was once again stretched by the Lakers to more than ten points, and the first to bear the brunt was Sabonis, Sabonis was completely blown up by Tony today, and he lost himself on both offensive and defensive ends.
So far in the game, he has only gotten 2 points and 0 boards, while Tony has already scored 10 points and 7 boards on his head, and Sabonis's performance is simply not worthy of the title of being able to fight O'Neal alone.
At halftime, the Lakers led the Trail Blazers by 13 points, 63:50.
"In the second half, we have to continue to be vigilant and not relax, the Trail Blazers are not a weak team, we have an advantage now, but not to the point where we can guarantee victory, I need you to show the strongest competitive form to deal with them!" Harris was constantly reminding his players in the dressing room not to let up.
However, although the Lakers players nodded in agreement on the surface, they were still a little unimpressed in their hearts, at least until now, the strength shown by the Trail Blazers was not their opponent at all.
At the beginning of the second half, the Lakers' offense was still very ferocious, but they still slackened a little on the defensive end.
They still subconsciously underestimate this Trail Blazers, but fortunately, the Trail Blazers still haven't found the balance on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, and they still can't stop the Lakers' ferocious offensive.
Callesimo is also very helpless about this, the key to the Trail Blazers is actually Sabonis, Sabonis's defense can't prevent Tony, the core of the Lakers' tactics, and the offense can't score, and he is almost sleepwalking on the court, which directly leads to the collapse of the Lakers' own team system while running the ball very smoothly.
And it's a matter of the player's condition, no one can maintain a consistent performance in every game, and Sabonis's role is irreplaceable in the team, Callesimo has to put him on the pitch even if he is hard-headed, and he can only consider himself unlucky with this result.
107:93
The Trail Blazers lost by 14 points, and both of their road games ended in big defeats.
Sabonis only had 4 points, 2 rebounds and 5 fouls in the game, while Tony, who had 30 points and 11 rebounds, was the winner of the game.
Bryant finished with 20 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists on 8-of-19 shooting, and he played the role of passing the ball for Toney, while Eddie Jones also played quite well, he only took 7 shots in the game, but hit all of them, and scored 19 points.
The Lakers successfully defended their home court, and they only need one more win to knock out the Trail Blazers and advance to the Western Conference semifinals.
And the Trailblazers, at this time, have fallen into a desperate situation.