Chapter 269: Cold Reality
Although they fell behind by a score of 1-2, there were still four games left in the game, and the Warriors could still advance as long as they won three of them, so both the players and the fans did not lose their fighting spirit, and the fourth game was still on the Warriors' home court.
In this game, the Warriors were united and emotional, but Chamberlain was too excited when he jumped the ball, and the ball belonged to the Lakers.
After the game began, Bryant scored first on a mid-range shot, but the scrappy Warriors suddenly got off to a slow start, and their first five attacks were fruitless, and Chamberlain scored the first goal under the basket nearly three minutes later.
Fortunately, the Lakers' opening shooting rate was not high, Odom also made a passing mistake and passed the ball to the referee, seeing this Chamberlain was happy, taking Odom and the referee to joke, for the last game's decision, Chamberlain was also very unconvinced, he also thought that the referee was biased in favor of the Lakers, and several times it was obviously a blocked ball, and he was blown by the beater.
Chamberlain asked Odom if he had a leg with the referee, and to his disbelief and remorse, the referee gave him a technical foul! Seeing this scene, the fans in the Oracle Arena almost rioted, and Chamberlain couldn't stand it, so he tore the referee's collar and angrily asked him why he was so targeted at him, and the referee Bavita gave him a cold technical foul again, two technical fouls in a row, and as soon as the game started, Chamberlain was expelled from the game!
The atmosphere suddenly became hot, beer bottles, chips, popcorn flew everywhere, and the Warriors security guards had to rush to prevent the riot, and Billups led the players to pull the angry Chamberlain off the court, and the game was temporarily suspended. Bavita is the oldest referee in the NBA, and he has a good relationship with Nelson Sr., but this time the two almost fought, and Chamberlain walked into the court unwillingly under the escort of the security guards.
The game restarted, the Warriors house leaked, as soon as he came back, Evans ate a three-second violation, there was no way, lost the backbone of Chamberlain, Billups had to stand up, he used two three-pointers and a break through the restricted area to throw a subcontract to the Warriors' first 8 points, the Lakers took advantage of Chamberlain's absence to attack inside, Bynum and Gasol contributed to the offense, relying on Billups' bravery, the Lakers fell behind 7-10 and entered a timeout.
Then, Bynum came back and turned around and dunked, although the dunk dunk flew but caused Evans to foul, Kobe Bryant received a pass from Gasol and scored three points, the Lakers led by 1 point, Kobe Bryant then assisted Bynum dunk, during which the Warriors did not score a point, so that the Lakers took a 13-10 lead.
In the latter time, although Chamberlain was lost, the referee's approach angered the Warriors players, each player's defense was very tough, and the Lakers became very difficult to score, but still maintained a slight lead, and the Warriors relied on defense to bite the score, and the Lakers only led by two points at 18-16 at the end of the first quarter.
Evans received a pass from Billups inside to send the game into the second quarter, but then Kobe Bryant made a layup and scored five points in a row, Gasol gave West a hot pot in defense, and the Lakers stopped the Warriors with a 7-2 small **** and took the lead 25-18 in the score.
Then, Fisher cut off Harrington's ball, and Bryant hit both free throws after a quick foul to extend the Lakers' lead to nine points. Billups also cut off Fisher's ball, he assisted West to score, West went from strength to strength, and then grabbed the rebound himself to make a full-court one, scoring four points in a row to catch up with the score.
Gasol, who had been off the court, returned to the court and immediately hit a three-pointer to help the Lakers maintain a 10-point lead at 30-20. West failed to chase the score but was blocked by Gasol, the Warriors' offense had problems, Ellis's breakthrough was blocked by Kobe, Vujacic took the opportunity to steal Ellis's ball and gave it to Fisher to shoot, the Lakers stopped the Warriors again at 35-21, and there is no doubt that the whole momentum of the game is now on the Lakers' side.
Of course, the rhythm of the game is also on the side of the Lakers, the Warriors' offense is almost completely suppressed by the Lakers, and the loss of Chamberlain, this team is equivalent to losing the barrier of the interior line, which is no different from a soldier losing body armor and steel helmet on the battlefield!
In the second quarter, the Warriors scored just eight points in 8:24 as the Lakers went on a 21-8 run to take a 39-24 lead. The Warriors continued to lose foot in the Lakers' defense with two free throws that added points to the Lakers' defense, and the Lakers held a double-digit lead at 43-32 at halftime.
At halftime, Chamberlain covered his face with a towel in the locker room and didn't see anyone, the atmosphere of the Warriors was very heavy, Nelson Sr. didn't say much, after two quarters of calm, he had accepted this fact, and Nelson Sr. was still a little happy, it's time to teach Chamberlain a lesson, his growth is too smooth, it's not a good thing, there has never been a giant who has grown up smoothly - Jordan was once suppressed by the Bad Boys Army for eight seasons!
At the beginning of the third quarter, Billups came up and hit a mid-range shot, and in the locker room, Nelson Sr. emphasized that the players should play defensive battles, and the team significantly strengthened the defense, West and Billups cut off Wharton and Radmanovic in succession, and the Warriors chased the score to 37-47. After that, both offenses failed to score, and with a shock layup from West, the Warriors narrowed the gap to eight points.
A single-digit margin is not the same thing as a double-digit deficit in terms of morale, and Billups cut Odom's ball again and assisted Harrington on a back-to-back jumper. Seeing that the Warriors' momentum is about to rise, Kobe Bryant re-emerged, he first came up with a breakthrough layup to stabilize the team's position, Gasol also followed the court, and then completed 2+1 on Harrington's head, the Lakers still strengthened their attack on the inside, and Gasol scored 5 points in a row to help the Lakers regain a double-digit lead at 54-40.
The Warriors struggled to catch up with the pace of the Lakers, West and Billups just caught up with the score, Kobe Bryant's three-point and layup scored 5 points in a row to fight back, Gasol and Bynum attacked the basket to score, the Lakers forced the Warriors again 65-48, and the old Nelson was a little out of line, and no one was available inside, so he could only replace his brother O'Bryant on the court at the beginning of the playoffs.
After O'Bryant came on the court, the Warriors' offense and defense were a little chaotic, there was no way, Evans had four fouls on his back, and he couldn't stop resting. Now the old Nelson misses Biedlings very much, and he is determined that he must choose a replacement for Chamberlain in this draft!
Kobe Bryant commanded his teammates to respond to Bynum and Gasol, they used the advantage of the inside line to chase after the victory, the Lakers led 70-48, the Warriors' interior line was completely blown up by the Lakers, and the outside line had no advantage, without Chamberlain, Kobe's breakthrough became unscrupulous, and the lethality of the interior line was even stronger than that of the twin towers.
Then West forced a breakthrough to the basket and used two free throws to narrow the gap to 20 points, the Lakers played more and more smoothly, Bynum and Gasol played well on the inside to hold back the momentum of the Warriors' counterattack, and the Lakers led 74-55 after three quarters, basically determining the outcome of the game.
Nelson Sr. gave up the game directly, and all the substitutes began to play in the fourth quarter, Azubuke, Luis, West, Belinelli, Ellis, Petrus, Barnes, Jackson, a group of outside giants took turns to play, just like a wheel war - it can also be seen that the Warriors have a lot of ****, a group of fierce generals on the outside, and only one Chamberlain and Evans who can barely look at it on the inside. However, this kind of lineup is now very common in the NBA, because there are too few good interior lines these days, and many teams are a super interior with a group of shooters, such as the Magic, and this kind of deployment record is not bad!
These outside players are very strong in individual ability, and they began to play their skills after they came on the court, leading the team to launch a crazy counterattack, and they have a good defensive attitude, plus everyone has a good set of defensive skills, and the Lakers did not score a point in 2 minutes and 50 seconds in defense!
However, the Lakers still have the main force on the court, the offense is not good, but Kobe Bryant leads the team to defend very well, and the Warriors have no one on the inside and can only float on the outside, so their offense is not very ideal, it is very difficult, and the last is only to chase the score to 59-74, still 15 points behind, a fatal 15 points!
Kobe Bryant is an old man, he grasped the defensive characteristics of the Warriors players, knowing that this is not their real strength show, but a moment of brain fever, he has been waiting patiently, and when the Warriors players' physical strength has declined and the defensive quality has begun to decline, he has led the team to counterattack.
First, he cut off Belinelli's ball and broke through to cause Barnes to foul, Kobe Bryant scored 4 points with free throws, and then the Warriors players were unwilling to be humiliated, but West broke through and ate an offensive foul, Kobe Bryant seized the opportunity to hit the Warriors again, and firmly controlled the initiative of the game 82-59.
After the worst, West broke through frantically, and 5 of 6 free throws slightly regained a little momentum, but Evans' six Fan Man downs made the Warriors completely disarmed, and the game officially entered garbage time, and the Lakers finally defeated the Warriors 92-70, and took the lead in winning the match point with a score of 3-1.
3-1, the Warriors are in danger, they have stood on the edge of the cliff, and if they make another mistake, they will enter the abyss, everyone knows that their hope of advancing is far away, unless they can win three games in a row, they will not be able to advance to the finals.
It's too difficult to win three games in a row, and the Warriors' opponent is the Lakers, the No. 2 seed in the West this year!
In the last game, the Warriors went to Los Angeles again, and unlike the last time they came to Los Angeles, they were still in the mood to pick up girls, this time they were in a heavy mood, and now their desire is just to bring the game back to their home court to finish!
The fifth game finally came, Chamberlain grabbed the ball and handed it to Billups, Ellis, who started the game, broke through to score, and then Kobe Bryant turned around and hit a jumper in the bag to hit two points, and the two sides were very fierce at the beginning.
Gasol suddenly became tough, and he continued to attack in the restricted area, which made the Warriors fans scold him for being shameless: so far in the game, everyone knew that the league did not want to see the Warriors advance, and Chamberlain was deliberately treated by the referees, just like Yao Ming, they enjoyed a special whistle. Gasol has been playing inside one after another, and Chamberlain will inevitably have some frictions, and the referee will give him a foul at this time, especially now in Los Angeles, which is the home court of the Lakers.
Not only Gasol, but Bynum also stepped up the frequency of low-post attacks, but Chamberlain gave him two blocks in a row, which made him a lot more honest later. However, in this game, Odom stepped up, and he scored a free throw opportunity on a second offensive to help the Lakers take a 9-6 lead.
Chamberlain, bent on avenging the humiliation of the previous game, stepped up his attack under the basket and scored twice in a row, but Gasol's dunk and Fisher's three-pointer allowed the Lakers to maintain a 14-11 lead, and the Jazz at home controlled the game.
West came off the bench, his breakthrough was blocked by Kobe Bryant, who helped defend him, Kobe led his teammates to a fast break after blocking West's breakthrough, and the Warriors' offense encountered the Lakers' tough defense, and slowly, the Lakers defended the onslaught and gradually widened the difference to more than 10 points, leading 24-13 in the score.
Chamberlain made Bynum foul and made one of two free throws and then rewarded Gasol with a hot pot, West broke Kobe Bryant and Odom's ball to launch two fast breaks, helping the team narrow the gap to 6 points, Chamberlain continued to chase points at the free throw line, and the two teamed up to complete a 9-0 small ****, but Kobe's subsequent breakthrough and Odom's three-pointer allowed the Lakers to end the first quarter with a 32-22 lead.
In the second quarter, the Lakers maintained the starting lineup, and continued to work hard to expand the score, and the players were also very powerful, Gasol attacked the basket and cut 4 points in a row, Odom seized Jackson's walking error to add two more points, and the Lakers forced the Warriors 6-0 at the beginning of the game to take a 38-22 lead.
It was Billups who stepped up and burst into the box to draw a foul on Bynum, making one of two free throws to end the Warriors' scoring drought, and Chamberlain attacked the basket to score, but the Lakers firmly controlled the situation on the court and led 41-25. The old Nelson on the sidelines frowned, and the Warriors fans were even more disappointed, they knew that today they were hanging.
What disappointed them even more was that then Chamberlain and Jackson made mistakes, which made the fans' mood worse, and only halfway through the second quarter, some fans began to leave the court sadly, they didn't want to see the team be eliminated, they waited for the team to rise for so long, but they didn't expect to be disappointed.
Bryant's three-pointers and back-to-back shots gave Gasol the momentum of the Lakers firing inside and outside at the same time, and Chamberlain and Billups couldn't turn the Warriors around with a single offensive style, and the Lakers went from strength to 50-34 ahead. After that, Chamberlain didn't care about the foul, and once again resumed his madness of killing God and Buddha in the restricted area, and two consecutive big hats forced the Lakers to rein in their offense, and their shooting percentage began to decline, and the Warriors strengthened their defense to complete the 7-0 small ****, chasing the score to 41-50 in one fell swoop.
The Zen master asked for a timeout and began to change to the bench lineup to rest the main team, taking advantage of this opportunity, West hit back with consecutive breakthroughs and layups, narrowing the gap to 7 points. Chamberlain rewarded Vujacic with a hot pot to get out, and the Warriors began to fight back, Billups made a three-point shot without mercy, and Jackson's tough layup caused Vujacic to foul and hit one of two free throws, and the Warriors chased the score to 51-55 in one go. Then Evans dunked and caused Radmanovic to foul again, and after he hit one of two free throws, the second free throw popped up, and Chamberlain grabbed the offensive rebound and rushed to the basket to get the crucial two points and caused a foul, but unfortunately missed a free throw to tie the score.
But this also scared the Lakers enough, why was the lead of more than 15 points before suddenly almost tied? The Zen master scolded his mother vigorously, and could only send the three generals Kobe, Odom and Gasol on the field again.
Chamberlain scored a basket after receiving an assist from Billups, Kobe Bryant hit a three-point shot to fight back, Gasol sent a hot pot in defense, and the Lakers stretched the score again with a small **** of 7-2.
The morale of the Warriors came out, and Jackson scored three points through the Lakers defense to give them all kinds of blows, but at the critical moment, the Warriors' defense had holes again, first Gasol took advantage of Chamberlain's absence to complete 2+1 on Evans' head, and then Odom made a three-point shot to further open the score and force the Warriors to call a timeout again.
Chamberlain and Billups continued to counterattack unsuccessfully, the two sides were competing defensively, neither could easily score on the opponent's defense, the two sides continued to play iron, Kobe Bryant played a superstar effect at this time, he scored two key three-pointers, helping the Jazz 67-59 to stop the Warriors. After all, the Warriors have too many young people, and the core Chamberlain is just a rookie, and they panicked when they saw the team falling behind so much, so that the offense and defense not only did not improve, but became extremely chaotic.
Kobe Bryant created a lot of trouble for the Warriors' defense, and Chamberlain relied on a difficult secondary offense to end the Warriors' scoring drought, but at this time the Lakers had completely controlled the scene, Kobe Bryant made a layup to chase the score to 71-61, and the Lakers left the Rockets behind, maintaining the advantage of the score until the end of the third quarter, leading 75-65.
In the fourth quarter, Chamberlain made a mistake at the end of the quarter, and the Lakers took the opportunity to extend the lead to 79-65, and the Staples Center Court turned into a sea of joy, with all the fans standing up and applauding on the sidelines.
Billups' three-pointer brought the difference back to around 10 points, but it couldn't fundamentally shake the Lakers' absolute superiority in momentum and rhythm. What's even more unfortunate is that Chamberlain left the court with six fouls again, this time he pushed Bynum when he grabbed the rebound, and the latter was directly pushed down by him - this has an element of fake falls, but it is true that Chamberlain's hand is a bit strong.
Chamberlain walked off the court in frustration, and then a touching scene happened, Kobe Bryant rushed up and hugged him, pulled his head into his arms, and kept patting his back to encourage him, in addition to waving to the fans, under his hint, the Lakers fans shouted: "SUPER-Z, the future is yours, you have to stand up bravely!" ”
So far, the ending is almost doomed, West tried to shoot a three-pointer, but then Kobe Bryant shot back, Billups and West used their personal ability to play the most difficult last game on the outside, but Gasol in the restricted area two consecutive 2+1 almost wiped out the Warriors' last breath, before they were only ten points ahead, but just two minutes after Chamberlain went off the court, the score became 102-83!
The Warriors were powerless, and the rest of the game was meaningless, and Lakers fans began to celebrate early promotion at home, and finally the Lakers advanced to the Finals 108-92 to meet the Green Shirts!