In the long history of the Lakers, the Celtics are the undisputed number one opponent. The black-and-white rivalry of the 80s is still a topic of conversation among fans today. The two giants divided eight of the ten championships in the 80s, which can be called the two giants.

Since then, although the Lakers have repeatedly entered the playoffs, they have never missed the championship, until the arrival of Phil Jackson and the formation of the OK combination of the Big Shark and Kobe, the Lakers regained the taste of the championship at the beginning of the new century, creating the third dynasty in the history of the Lakers.

Now that the first decade of the new century is about to pass, the Lakers have been silent for a long time. Reaching the Finals last year was a huge surprise for Lakers fans. With such high expectations, coupled with the complete Lakers lineup, Kobe Bryant is in good shape, and Lakers fans are thinking that they will have to enter the Finals this year.

Unexpectedly, in the second round, he was forced into a desperate situation by a young guard who had just entered the playoffs.

Zheng Ke is only 21 years old this year, and he has not yet reached the normal peak of a basketball player, but he already has an unstoppable feeling. Lakers fans painfully thought that in the next ten years, if Zheng Ke has been with the Timberwolves, then there will always be such a stubborn rock in the West that blocks the Lakers' progress, and this stubborn rock, at present, it seems that they have no way to deal with him.

In the second quarter, Zheng Ke only had a three-minute rest before returning to the court.

He didn't expect that it would be such a good effect just to make a temporary cameo as a big forward, and it would be in the low post. His attack efficiency seems to be higher, and if it weren't for the height and weight restrictions, Zheng Ke would even think about switching to a power forward in the future.

Strength made up for part of his lack of weight. The bounce and reach make up for some of his height limitations. Zheng Ke's ability to play alone with his back was outstanding, and Odom couldn't cover him at all, so he could only blink his eyes and watch helplessly as the basketball flew over his head and then plunged into the net.

And when Gasol singled Lefou, Lefu was always in a good position as the main card, although he couldn't cover Gasol. But Lefu always used small movements to force Gasol to make a move, and he was not particularly comfortable. In this case, once Gasol misses a shot, there is a chance that the rebound will be taken into Zheng Ke's arms.

At halftime. The Timberwolves trailed the Lakers by one point 51-52. Zheng has 19 points and 11 rebounds, and he now looks more like a double-double machine than Love.

"It seems like the Lakers are in a dead zone right now." Barkley took advantage of halftime to eat a large burger, but he had not yet eaten dinner, Master Charles.

"How?" Smith asked.

Barkley swallowed, then said, "Look. When Andrew Bynum is on the pitch. The Timberwolves replaced Chris Anderson on the court and switched to a normal lineup, and when Pau Gasol was at the No. 5 position, the Timberwolves switched to a one-big and four-small lineup. But no matter how it changes, neither Lamar Odom nor Trevor Ariza can prevent Zheng Ke, on the contrary, the Timberwolves' Aaron Afralo and Chris Anderson can do their job well. ”

"But now the difference between the two teams on the field is comparable, right? Even the Lakers have a 1-point lead. Smith asked, puzzled.

"So in fact, the overall strength of the Lakers is higher than that of the Timberwolves."

Smith was even more confused and asked, "But didn't you just say that the Lakers don't seem to be able to handle the Timberwolves?" How did it become that the Lakers' overall strength is higher than that of the Timberwolves? “

"You still don't understand?" Barkley spread his hands. Unexpectedly, Smith actually fell into a dead end. He paused, reorganized the language, and said, "I mean. Although the overall strength of the Lakers is higher than that of the Timberwolves, there is no player who can limit Zheng Ke. ”

"Oh," Smith suddenly realized, "So, you mean, the Lakers are now playing against Zheng Ke, resulting in overall tactical passivity, and even can only fall into a scorching tug-of-war." ”

"Yes, both teams can't help each other, it's a tug-of-war and I think the game will be seen in the last minute."

"This requires the two teams to fight for the key ball ability of the superstar!" Smith exclaimed, and then said, "The Timberwolves aren't afraid of anyone in this regard!" Billups is a big-hearted player, and Zheng Ke's key ball ability is also outstanding. According to a survey in the regular season this season, the Timberwolves fell into the last five minutes, that is, in the last five minutes, when the difference between the two teams was still within 5 points, the Timberwolves were 23-5! ”

"That's a staggering statistic." Barkley laughed

The scorching battle between the two teams continued, and after the start of the third quarter, the score continued to rise in a continuous staggering, and the fans watched with great interest.

Kobe Bryant erupted late in the third quarter, first hitting a three-pointer on the offensive end, then stealing Lefou's pass on the defensive end, and then counterattacking defensively.

In the blink of an eye, the Lakers opened up a five-point gap. Zheng Ke motioned to everyone not to rush and take their time.

Billups stretched out his arm to direct the Timberwolves' runs, Zheng Ke ran from the right baseline to the baseline, and then suddenly switched back and ran to the right right 45-degree three-point line.

Lefu slowed Ariza slightly.

Zheng Ke received the ball, turned around, jumped, raised his hand, his eyes were firm, and his movements were completed in one go. The basketball arced through the air and then through the hoop.

"Stand out!"

Zheng Ke let out a loud shout and took the lead in running half the court, he rubbed his hands, and then leaned down like a wolf, revealing a murderous look.

The audience immediately rejoiced, watching Zheng Ke's shot was a pleasure, and they all enjoyed the process.

By the end of the third quarter, Zheng Ke had 32 points and 15 rebounds, which was his highest number of rebounds in a single playoff game.

It's really a record.

Zheng Ke seems to have put all his energy into the Lakers, and although he is also excellent in the face of the Trail Blazers, he is not so perverted.

With such a record and performance, Zheng Ke has been called a top ten player in the league by many media and commentators, and many people are even optimistic that Zheng Ke will become a top five player in the league next season. Some unscrupulous media gave Zheng Keguan the title of "No. 1 small forward in the west", which made Zheng Kedu laugh and cry.

In the interview before the start of the fourth quarter, ESPN approached Whitman and gave the coach a close-up.

"Coach Randy, the Timberwolves tied with the Lakers in the first three quarters, are you satisfied with the performance of the Timberwolves players?" The ESPN reporter asked.

"yes, yes." "We've been doing a good job, moving the ball, defending, and attacking well," Whitman said solemnly. All that's left to do now is keep it up and give the Lakers a lethal blow when they show their flaws. “

"Your disciple Zheng Ke broke his personal single-game playoff rebounding record in the third quarter, do you have anything to say about that?"

"Well, he's done a good job. You know, he's a small forward, but he's done a lot of things that a lot of interior players can't, and we're confident that he's going to lead the team to victory in the end. “

Whitman was interviewed here, and the fourth quarter of the game between the Timberwolves and the Lakers was also in full swing.

Zheng Ke, as the most relied on player of the team, still did not take a break at such a critical moment. He has now also learned to "slowly regain his strength" when he is on the field.

After several attacks in a row, Zheng Ke touched the ball very well, but the Timberwolves were not pulled away by the Lakers, and the strength between the bench players of the two teams was half a pound and it was difficult to distinguish between them.

Five minutes later, the main players of both teams returned to the field.

At this moment, the Lakers led the Timberwolves by one point 89-88, but the ball was in the hands of the Timberwolves.

Zheng Ke got the basketball in the low post, and he put the ball in a hard-to-reach place with one hand, and his movements were chic and elegant, causing the female fans at the scene to scream.

As the Lakers packs followed, Ariza moved in small steps, stretched out his arm, and sliced at Zheng like a vicious cobra.

Zheng grabbed the basketball, estimated the height, and passed it back to Billups on the outside. Non-stop, non-stop ball, Billups dialed Mike Miller in the bottom corner on the other side.

Miller faced Ariza, who arrived quickly, and made a decisive move!

"Huh!"

91 to 89.

Miller threw it in, sticking out his tongue and looking excited.

When he first came to the Timberwolves, Miller didn't fit in in with the youthful and energetic collective, and a small city like the Timberwolves didn't meet the requirements of his ideal team. But it didn't take long for his mind to change. This is not only a youth army, but also a strong team in the west, and every player in the team is brave and eager to show themselves, even in the usual training games, their efforts can be seen.

Miller gradually recognized such an excellent team, he played on the court wholeheartedly, and gradually became an important player on the Timberwolves' bench, and after entering the playoffs, he squeezed out the regular season bench leader Randy Foye, and Lowry and others became the new bench bandits of the Timberwolves.

That frontcourt rebound in the first game against the Lakers doubled his value. And this game has reached a new playoff high, and he has indeed lived up to Whitman's trust, so far, he has scored 12 points on 4-of-6 three-point shooting.

The Lakers called a timeout, Phil Jackson felt the need to call a timeout to arrange the tactics, if the Lakers lost this game, it would be really bad luck, you know, there are only 8 times in history to complete the reversal after falling behind 1-3 (to be continued......