Paul's outburst was expected by Whitman, but what he didn't expect was that he was so sharp, and he seized the opportunity to successfully play a wave of orgasms.

"Bag clip, we need bag clip!" Whitman said loudly, drawing lines on the board: "Chris (Paul) is too easy to hold the ball, we have to put pressure on Chris to hold the ball and force him to protect the ball first and then return to his own players, here, here, and here, pay attention to Peja's off-ball runs."

"You have to believe that as long as we play our defense and force the Hornets to make mistakes, we can win!" Whitt zuihou, did not forget to encourage the momentum of the Timberwolves players.

"Come on, come on, everyone!" Zheng Ke shouted encouragement, clapped his hands, and stretched out.

The Timberwolves generals also put their hands together cooperatively, "One, two, three, come on!" ”

In fact, not only the Timberwolves, but all teams in the NBA are looking for how to defend the pick-and-roll, and after each team encounters a pick-and-roll master like Paul, the way to deal with it is different, and the most common is to switch the wrong defense and forward defense.

The Timberwolves took the approach of putting pressure on Paul to hold the ball, not seeking to make Paul miss, but only to delay the Hornets' blocking efficiency and rhythm. After the replay, the Timberwolves attacked.

Paul took advantage of his height and hoisted the ball directly into the inside, Love got the basketball with his back, and Zheng Ke, Billups and Afflaro stood in their designated positions on the outside.

Peja looked at Zheng Ke intently, a little worried that he would run around.

Really. Zheng Ke's left shoulder sank, and the whole person had a feint to run to the left, but then. He changed his center of gravity again and turned into a xiangyou side run.

Lefu responded in a low position, did not look at Zheng Ke, shook his left wrist, and handed it to Zheng Ke, who was cut inside.

"Stop him!"

Paul shouted from the outside, not knowing who he was talking to.

Then, a huge figure appeared on the line that Zheng Ke broke through. It was Eli, and he had a death-defying look on his face, solemnly as if he were bombing a bunker.

Zheng Ke avoided it. It slammed into Eli's chest, and a huge rebound force was heard, causing him to stop himself.

Eli, who was protecting the vital point with both hands, felt hit by a rhinoceros that was running wildly, and his body couldn't help but fall backwards. A butt sat on the cold floor. Slide out a few meters away.

"Di~" the referee made a decision, "block the foul." ”

Eli's chest was sore and he got up from the ground in the middle of a bang, but when he saw the referee's decision, he felt indescribably frustrated, no way, he is not a superstar, and the NBA has always encouraged outside offense. This kind of controversial decision, the referee is understandable to blow it like this.

Zheng Ke stands at the free throw line. After taking a few deep breaths, I slapped the ball twice on the ground, looked for a feel, and then flicked the ball out.

"Huh!"

A free throw hits.

Zheng Ke has shot 83 percent from the free throw line this season, and free throws have gradually become a more consistent and easy way for him to score.

Zheng Ke reached out to Lefou, and Anderson gave him a high-five, then stepped back and waved his palm, and high-fived Billups and Afflaro.

"Huh!"

Two free throws were hit.

11 to 6.

Paul pushed forward with the ball, and the Timberwolves would quickly retreat.

This time, when Paul broke through to 45 degrees with the ball, Peja made a block with him, and Zheng Ke shouted when he saw this: "Change defense, Chauncey." “

Zheng Ke opened his hands, a light flashed in his eyes, blockade defender, launch!

Paul suddenly felt that the momentum of the whole person changed, Zheng Ke opened his big hand, and the terrifying momentum surged towards him in all directions, and the basketball in his hand seemed to be cut off by Zheng Ke at any time. Paul turned his head, but his wrist flicked, and the basketball in his left hand suddenly turned into an orange light and looked for Peja.

Paul played with a good idea, and with Peja's height, shooting in front of Chauncey was simply stress-free.

This time, however, he miscalculated.

A black arm suddenly appeared on the line of the basketball, and then, cutting off the light, he threw the racket to the frontcourt.

Chauncey!

The 32-year-old veteran, like a 22-year-old teenager, vigorously chased down the basketball that was bouncing and rolling to the front court, and then turned into blue lightning and slashed to the empty basket.

A dragon layup and hits.

11 to 8.

It seemed that Whitman's timeout had an effect, and in just one minute, the Timberwolves scored four points and caught up in an instant.

Paul turned his head to look at Hornets coach Byron Scott standing on the sidelines, and last season's best coach shook his head cryptically and signaled that Paul didn't need to take a timeout.

Paul picked up the basketball and reached out to give tactical instructions: "Tactic No. 2." “

Usually the Hornets' tactics rely on Paul's individual ability, just as the Timberwolves rely on Zheng Ke's finishing ability, Paul's individual singles are one of the important tactics of the Hornets.

In the face of the Timberwolves' aggressive momentum, Paul made up his mind and decided to attack the ball himself.

Paul's center of gravity sank slightly, and he began to dribble under his crotch to the extreme, and in the face of Billups, his shoulders began to shake irregularly, making it difficult to see his intention to break through.

"Left or right?" Paul asked himself this in his heart.

In Chauncy's view, Paul's sharp eyes revealed a hint of firmness, and he had a hunch that Paul's breakthrough this time would definitely be very resolute and rapid.

As he expected, two seconds later, Paul suddenly accelerated, quickly dribbling to the left side of Billups, who did not dare to slack off, moved in small steps, and clinged to it.

Feeling the pressure of Billups' defense, Paul's body slammed, his right hand holding the ball swung behind him, one dribbled behind him, exchanged the ball to his left hand, and accelerated to the left, unexpectedly throwing off Billups' defense.

Two steps away, Paul rose from the ground, it turned out to be a simple mid-range shot, Billups retracted his center of gravity, snorted, and sealed forward.

The ball was already shot, and Billups looked back, and the basketball fell into the basket with precision.

13 to 8.

Paul secretly clenched his fists, cheered himself up, and then beckoned his teammates to come back to the defense.

Looking at Paul's back, Billups suddenly smiled.

It's not the first time the two have played each other, Paul's growth has made Billups feel shocked, but he is not a vegetarian either, and he has his own way of dealing with a point guard like Paul.

In the next round, Zheng Ke forced a breakthrough through Peja, and the Hornets immediately shrank their defense, Zheng Ke threw the ball outside the three-point line and found Afflalo, who distributed it to Billups.

In the face of Paul, who was one step away, Billups directly pulled out a jumper!

This came very suddenly, and although Paul reacted quickly, he was still a beat slower.

"Huh!" Hollow into the net.

13 to 11.

Paul's brow furrowed, Billups's shot was unreasonable, but the shot was resolute, and more importantly, he made a shot, which made him feel unpleasant, as if he saw the omnipotent shadow of the Utah No. 8 in front of him.

West can't shoot, Lefu can't shoot

The two teams traded a few rounds before Billups found another opportunity to hit a three-pointer from the outside.

14-13, the Timberwolves led by one point.

Scott's face changed slightly, Billups had hit two three-pointers in a row, and this feeling seemed to be a bit overkill, and if he shot it, it would be a disaster for the Hornets. So he walked to the front of Jishutai and applied for a timeout.

"Well done!" Zheng Ke smiled and walked down with Billups, he reached out to touch Billups's bald head, and felt that this was not appropriate, so he stretched out his long arms and hooked Billups's shoulders, and the two of them walked down shoulder to shoulder

Chauncey's performance wasn't over yet, and he hit another three-pointer in the second half of the first quarter, and the 8-centimeter height advantage was a chasm for Paul at the moment.

After Billups came on the court in the second quarter, he still maintained his hot hand, and he hit two three-pointers in a row to help the Timberwolves score 55-47 overall.

Billups admitted after the game that I was on fire today and the basket was as wide as the sea in front of him.

This is a three-point show of Billups, Zheng Ke watched Billups's performance and was enthusiastic, after the start of the second half, everyone consciously handed the basketball to Billups, and Zheng Ke found Billups as soon as he broke through the score.

In the third quarter, Billups made three consecutive three-pointers in a row and hit three three-pointers again in a single quarter, and hit all three shots. In the third quarter, the Timberwolves won by 10 points at 32-22, and the total score was already 87-69 with an 18-point lead.

The Hornets ultimately failed to make a comeback.

In the end, the Timberwolves defeated the Hornets 113-84 away and won eight consecutive victories! Billups was voted the man of the game, scoring 36 points and eight assists on 8-of-9 three-pointers. (To be continued......)

PS: In the 08-09 playoffs, the Nuggets played the first game against the Hornets, and Billups shot 8 of 9 three-pointers, so I used this chapter to remember it.