Before the excitement of Zheng Ke's whistle victory over the Lakers had passed, the Timberwolves lost the game away.

If you only look at the final point difference, the Timberwolves only lost by 7 points, but those who have watched the whole game know that the Timberwolves have been behind since the beginning, and they have not exceeded the score once in the whole game.

In other words, the Timberwolves were completely suppressed by the Lakers.

The media in Los Angeles was overjoyed and racked their brains to come up with various report headlines: "Kobe Bryant 35 points, Lakers capture wolves at home", "Six double-doubles, Lakers pull back a game", "Full court suppression, reviving Lakers!! 》

No one thinks that the Timberwolves are not performing well, and the first game has been a big surprise, in their opinion, this is the true portrayal of the strength of the two teams, and this is the script that should really be staged.

From a lineup point of view, the Lakers are clearly better than the Timberwolves. In the eyes of the media, reporters, including most experts, and basketball commentators, the Timberwolves' lineup is really average. Among the starting five, one is a rookie, two are sophomores, and one is a marginal person that the Nuggets don't want, and the rookies and young players in the bench lineup are even more grasped, and they can only play to this point, and they can only praise Billups for being so good at channeling and Zheng Ke's ability value is too outstanding.

And the level of coaching is an issue that has been criticized by the media. It's not that Whitman isn't a good coach, it's that Whitman's current state and ability are not suitable for this Timberwolves team. In the NBA, there are many types of coaches, and the needs of teams in different periods are completely different. In the early days of superstar development, coaches like Whitman and Paul Silas were needed (James' coach when he first entered the league). Their greatest specialty is not how high the results they have achieved, but the careful care of the embryos of superstars to protect them from growing into players who can take charge of themselves.

And once the superstar grows up, a coach who can adjust the team's lineup and rationally arrange various tactics is a more suitable choice for the team. In other words, it takes a famous coach to calm the scene, in addition to preventing young and wealthy superstars from going astray. A capable manager is more of a booster, and through tactical arrangements, he is able to get the most out of his superstars.

So. Just as Whitman's contract expires this summer, the Timberwolves' team management has begun to work on hiring a new head coach, and with the Timberwolves' excellent performance this season, they believe that there will be many coaches interested in the Timberwolves.

May 8th. Game 3 of the Timberwolves-Lakers game was held at the Target Center.

Zheng Ke and others played in full state. The Timberwolves players were in great shape, and by the end of the first quarter, they had made five three-pointers, three from Billups, one from Zheng and one from Afflalo. The Timberwolves led the Lakers by nine points at 34-25.

The Timberwolves' tactics haven't changed much, but they have strengthened Billups' ball-handling, and most of the tactical initiation points start with Billups.

After the pick-and-roll tactic is complete. Zheng Ke's low-post singles are much more efficient. Ariza's strength was a hard injury, and Zheng Ke scored 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the first quarter. Completely undid the huge damage that Gasol brought to the Timberwolves.

The Timberwolves players are used to the feeling of playing in the center of the target, every tap here is so familiar, and every fan is so cute. In the cheering of the tsunami, the players played better and better, and even the bench lineup overwhelmed the Lakers for the first time.

Lowry led the bench to an 11-3 run at the start of the second quarter, giving the Timberwolves a 17-point lead at 45-28, and Jackson reluctantly called a timeout.

The Timberwolves players completely let go of their hands and feet, and the small orgasms continued.

The Lakers, on the other hand, were a little disoriented by the high-decibel boos in the center of the target, and the faces of Vujacic, Luke Wharton and others were a little pale, they had never seen such fanatical fans. At least in Staples, fans don't make that level of noise.

At halftime, the Timberwolves led by 12 points, 63-51.

It's an unbelievable thing, the Lakers have the best record in the regular season, and they were on a tear in the playoffs, and they simply finished out the Nuggets. Now facing the Timberwolves, who have little experience in the playoffs, they are beaten to the ground and can't find the north.

The Timberwolves' three-point shot continued to be hot, and at the beginning of the second half, Zheng Ke threw a big three-pointer on Ariza's head, which suddenly mobilized the atmosphere of the whole court.

Kobe Bryant turned on the solo mode and scored difficult goals in a row.

"Give me the ball!"

Zheng Ke stretched out his arms to ask for the ball, feeling completely fattened today, he scored 21 points in the first half, and he should strike while the iron was hot in the second half, if he broke the record or something, it would be a huge shock to the morale of the Lakers, and it would be of extraordinary significance to the entire series.

"Bang!"

Ariza snorted as he was knocked out, and his chest felt as if he had been hit by a rock, and he didn't feel it in pain.

Zheng Ke rolls over and throws a jumper.

The basketball flew high, drew a wonderful arc, and plunged headlong into the net, swinging a burst of snow-white nets.

Yay, die!

Zheng Ke clenched his fist and waved it slightly, his face full of enjoyment.

As if he had a sense, Kobe Bryant's successive difficult goals stimulated Zheng Ke's desire to attack, and the two staged a drama in the third quarter.

Zheng Ke scored 19 points in a single quarter, and Kobe Bryant scored 17 points in a single quarter, which made the audience addicted.

But playing like this can't win the Timberwolves, the difference between the two teams still hasn't narrowed, and at the end of the third quarter, the Timberwolves led by 10 points 93-83.

Zheng Ke scored 40 points in the third quarter and successfully set a Timberwolves personal three-quarter scoring record in the playoffs, which is not far from his personal playoff scoring record.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Zheng Ke did not take a break.

Whitman knew that Zheng Ke was hot, and Zheng Ke shot very resolutely today, and his offensive desire was much higher than before. Even against the pack, he tried to force the attack many times, and has already committed five fouls on Ariza. Phil Jackson finally knows the only hole in the Lakers' lineup - a flaw in the small forward position!

Ariza defends well, but it's still too hard to defend a top small forward like Zheng Ke, and just like last year with the Celtics, Pierce is always the biggest threat that can cause massive damage to the Lakers. Jackson couldn't help but think of the popular phrase on the internet that if you want to go further, you have to have top-tier wing defenders. It looks like it's time to bring in a top-tier wing defender this summer.

Seeing Zheng Ke, who was a little crazy on the field, he was thinking about who to limit him and how to limit him. The first thing that came to his mind was the arrogant No. 96 in Houston and the devil muscular man "Little AI" of the Philadelphia 76ers. These two players have the strength, speed, bounce, and defensive skills to defend Zheng Ke.

Zheng Ke played the best game of the playoffs, he played 44 minutes, 18 of 30 shots, 4 of 7 three-pointers, and 13 of 13 free throws, scoring 53 points, setting a personal record for the highest score in a single game in the playoffs!

The Timberwolves won 118-106 at home over the Lakers. The 12-point difference can barely be regarded as a big victory, and the key is that under the brilliance of Zheng Ke's 53 points in a single game, everything else has become a floating cloud. Interestingly, Zheng Ke's score in this game was exactly half of the Lakers' overall score.

Bryant walked into the locker room with an ugly face. His highest single-game score in the playoffs was 50 points, and it was done in overtime. Zheng Ke scored 53 points in front of him really stimulated him a lot, even if he also scored 39 points in this game, but what use did he be, but instead became a supporting role for the winner.

Zheng Ke grinned in the locker room, and the Timberwolves players made a fuss, and everyone enjoyed a hearty victory, one by one, shouting and screaming, until Whitman pushed the door in.

"Boys!"

Whitman smiled, his face wrinkled, "I'm so proud of your performance tonight. You've kicked those arrogant LLEMs in the ass! ”

"Haha~"

There was a lot of laughter in the locker room.

"You were the star tonight, and I don't think the Minnesota fans will ever forget your performance. Everybody played to their strengths, and who's to say we can't do without playoff experience? It can still beat the first place in the West in the regular season! ”

"But we can't underestimate the Lakers. We had a good hand today, making 14 three-pointers and shooting 50 percent from the field. But we can't hit that high every time, so we still need to train hard and keep it that way. ”

"I'm going to say ugly things in front," he paused, swept over the Timberwolves players with a serious expression and murderous eyes, especially Randy Foye and Lefu stayed for a long time, and said: "No one can indulge themselves at this critical moment, don't let me hear any bad news, report to the arena on time tomorrow afternoon, do you hear?" ”

Everyone looked stunned and nodded yes one after another

(To be continued......)