At the end of the quarter, Oakley sat on the bench.

He didn't do it because of fouls, but because of his fitness, which was his shortcoming, and he never averaged more than 37 minutes per game in a season in his career, and he played less than 32 minutes per game in his career.

Mason didn't come up either, and the Knicks inside consisted of Ewing and Smith as the starting inside, and John Starks, Doug Rivers, and Blackman on the outside.

On the Pistons' side, it is composed of Rodman and Secali, Mark Aguirre, Joe Dumas, and Zhou Quan.

And it was up to Rodman to defend Ewing, who shot 11-of-20 in the first three quarters, shooting as much as 55%, plus 4 of 6 free throws, and had already scored 26 points, the threat was too great, and if it weren't for the good performance of the super center, the Pistons should have led more.

At the beginning of the final quarter, the Knicks attacked.

The three outside lines were still very open, not giving Zhou Quan and Jo Dumas a chance to flank and then attack from the flanks.

And the offense is generally carried out by the other two, John Starks plays without the ball, so that he can avoid Zhou Quan's defense as much as possible.

"After the second half of the first quarter, the Knicks learned a lesson, no matter who is on the offensive end and Zhou Quan, they just don't hold the ball and don't give him a chance to steal, and the effect is really good." Zhang said reasonably.

"Bang!"

Ewing received the ball and hit Rodman with his back, he actually found it difficult to push the little man behind him, so he came to a free jump, and then caught the jump shot, but unfortunately missed.

Secali protected the rebound in the backcourt, and the Pistons attacked.

Zhou Quan did not ask for the ball, and Joe Dumas attacked with the ball.

He played three quarters and only rested for three minutes, and the key was to hold the ball throughout the second and third quarters to break through the strong attack, and he needed to adjust his fitness.

Chuck Daley's tactics of creating damage in the middle two quarters had a bad effect, and when Zhou Quan rested, the Knicks began a round of onslaught.

Halfway through the final quarter, the Knicks chased four points, 88-88, the two teams were tied, which was also the first time the two teams were tied, and the Pistons called a timeout.

"Be careful with the Pistons, the Knicks chased for three and a half quarters, and finally caught up, and now the pressure is on the Pistons' side." Robert Giddah reminded.

"At the critical moment, it's time for the team boss to step up, and the iron fist should be ready to exert its strength." Ringer Wilson said.

After a timeout, the Pistons attacked.

The Knicks have been replaced by Oakley, along with Ewing, Mason, John Starks, and Doug Rivers.

On the Pistons' side, Secali, Rodman, Joe Dumas, Zhou Quan, Isaiah Thomas.

Chuck Daly still arranged for Rodman to defend against Ewing, and Secali would never be able to defend against Ewing.

On the left wing three-point line, Zhou Quan attacked with the ball.

The Knicks' nerves tensed, especially John Starks, who didn't dare to be distracted.

At the start, Zhou Quan broke through from the right side, and John Starks chased the defense with his left hand, but the next moment, he slowed down and distanced himself from the defender.

"Not good!"

John Starks knew that Zhou Quan was going to make a pull-up jump shot and immediately braked.

But at this moment, Zhou Quan accelerated his stride and rushed over in one step.

"Bang!"

There was a mess under his feet, and John Starx was thrown directly to the ground.

"Well done!" Zhang Li exclaimed.

Zhou Quan entered the penalty area from the left elbow area, and Doug Rivers, who defended the assassin in the high position, immediately went down to make up for the defense, Zhou Quan was bold, and when Rivers pounced on his side, he suddenly passed the ball, and the ball flew to the top of the arc.

The assassin received the ball, Rivers was two steps away from him, and he didn't even have time to start the defense, absolutely big space, he calmly jumped shot, and the basketball flew to the basket.

"Brush!"

The water splashed and hit the three-pointer.

"Beautiful breakaway!" Zhang said excitedly.

"The Assassin's open three-pointer is also accurate." Sun Zhenping smiled happily.

Zhang Li smiled: "The assassin can also throw empty positions now, and he can't hold the ball." If he still has the ability to attack with the ball, and the strength of '89 and '90, then the Pistons will be incredible, and no one can stop the three top first-class masters on the outside. ”

Next, John Starks ran off the ball, used the pick-and-roll to shake off Zhou Quan, and hit a catch-and-shoot jumper.

91:90, Pistons attack.

Zhou Quan still broke through with the ball, and once again burst John Starks, this time Doug Rivers didn't dare to let go of the assassin, and he hit the penalty area from the left elbow area, forcing Ewing to come up to make up for the defense, he passed the ball to the vacant Rodman, Rodman stepped to the basket, and did not dare to do anything at the critical moment, and hit a goal.

The game continued, with three minutes left in the final quarter, 97-92, the Pistons led by five points, the Knicks attacked, and Pat Riley called a timeout.

Zhou Quan made five breakaways in three minutes, delivering three assists and one indirect assist, Rodman and Secali each hit one shot, the Assassins made one of two three-pointers, plus the Assassins assisted Joe Dumas for a goal, and the Pistons shot 4 of 5, leading the team to a 9:4 attack wave.

Zhang Li said: "The Knicks actually have a good offense, shooting 2 of 4, but the efficiency can't keep up with the rhythm of the Pistons, so they fall behind." But the Pistons can't be careless, the Knicks have the ball in their hands and score a goal, which is a one-goal gap. ”

Pat Riley laid out an offensive tactic, and then focused on playing a good defensive strategy, focusing on defending Zhou Quan's ball-holding breakthrough.

This is actually a problem he has been emphasizing, but unfortunately no matter how he defended today, Zhou Quan got 38 points and 11 assists, and the defense has failed.

This made him realize that Zhou Quan's threat with the ball is indeed like what ABC TV commentators Lewis Williams and Bill Wharton said, and he is already about the same level as Jordan, which belongs to the top level of the league.

Jordan's offense is incomprehensible, although Zhou Quan's offense has not reached that level, and even has a large distance, but coupled with the extremely sharp passing, his threat with the ball is almost unsolvable.

The timeout ended, and the Knicks attacked.

John Starks ran off the ball and Ewing picked up from the low post on the left wing to make a pick-and-roll, and he wanted to bypass Rodman to cut inside the basket, but underestimated Rodman's defense.

Rodman doesn't plan to change defenses, he can defend from the No. 1 position to the No. 5 position, but Zhou Quan can't, if Zhou Quan changes defense Ewing, the height disadvantage is too great.

But just when John Starx was about to get around him, he blocked it in time, which gave Zhou Quan the opportunity to chase the defense.

At this time, Doug Rivers' ball came down, and Zhou Quan chased it from the top side, just in time, and with a big hand, he instantly cut off the pass to Starks.

"Oh, the ball is broken, Zhou Quan makes his sixth steal!" Sun Zhenping shouted excitedly.

"The Assassins are fast, so is Joe Dumas, and the Pistons are fast again." Zhang said excitedly.

The Assassin who was fast down the middle rushed to the top of the arc and immediately stopped, and Doug Rivers also stopped after rushing two meters, at which point he received a pass from Zhou Quan, Rivers pounced on him, and he did not force a shot, but passed.

On the left wing, Joe Dumas had already shaken off Oakley and Mason who were returning to the defense, cut diagonally into the paint, received a pass from the assassin, smashed into the paint from the left elbow, and hit a layup in three steps.

"Look, Zhou Quan, Joe Dumas, Assassins, three-guard tactics, two of them are passing masters, it is precisely because of the three of them that the Pistons' fast-break tactics played really well today, with few errors and a high success rate." Zhang Li praised.

It's 99:92 and the Pistons are back up to seven points. Come on, win an away game, and you will take the initiative. Sun Zhenping said excitedly.

The Knicks attacked, and Doug Rivers didn't dare to pass the ball to John Starks for the time being, and he hoisted Ewing in the low post on the left wing.

Ewing received the ball and singled Rodman, and after jumping away from the defender, he followed up with a mid-range jumper.

"Smack!"

Just as he jumped out of his hand, Zhou Quan above pounced and slapped the ball up.

"Oh, Big Hat! Iron Fist Cap Ewing! On the TNT commentary seat, Robert Giddah yelled excitedly.

Because of the advantage of precision strikes, Zhou Quan has the ability to control the landing point when blocking, he did not fan out of the bottom line, but accurately pointed at the bottom of the ball with his fingers, the ball was thrown upwards, flew past Rodman and fell immediately, just caught by him.

At this time, the outside assassins and Joe Dumas's fast fall had begun, Joe Dumas was already one step ahead of Oakley on the left flank, and the speed of Oakley who defended him couldn't keep up with him, and his physical strength was not enough, he couldn't run anymore, and the distance was still widening.

Rodman handed the ball to Zhou, who dribbled past John Starks and passed it to the Assassin.

Pat Riley, who was staring at the field from the sidelines, turned around at this moment and shook his head helplessly.

"Brush!"

The Assassins assisted Joe Dumas for another layup.

Knicks ball, Pat Riley called a second timeout of the quarter.

"That's the advantage of the back three, whether it's Mason or Oakley, they can't keep up with Joe Dumas." Ringer Wilson said.

"At 101:92, the Knicks are already behind by nine points, and now there are two minutes left in the clock, and it should be said that there is still a chance." Robert Giddah said.

"Iron Fist's defense today is really strong, 6 steals and 3 blocks, this is the game he blocks the most in a single game, and the defensive performance is no worse than the last time when he made 10 steals in a single game." Ringer Wilson laughed.

Robert Giddah laughed: "If he doesn't work the defensive end, how can the Pistons beat the Knicks, who are the first in the league in defense?" ”

Ringer Wilson said: "On the offensive end, his ball-handling offense has destroyed the Knicks' iron-blooded defensive formation, 17 of 18 free throws in the third quarter, this kind of lethality, this ability to break through with the ball, if it weren't for the Knicks' willpower is really strong, the average team would have been collapsed long ago." ”

"Coach Pat Riley has really built a team with a strong will, and if the Bulls don't get eliminated and the Knicks meet the Bulls, I think it will be a close series." Robert Giddah said.

On the Knicks bench, John Starks was scolded by Pat Riley, asking him to pull Zhou Quan away when he ran next, don't get too close to Ewing, and give Zhou Quan a chance to go down and wrap up.

At the end of the timeout, it was Ewing attacking.

This time, Zhou Quan didn't have a chance to get down and was taken around by John Starks, and Ewing received the ball and singled Rodman.

He rested for four minutes today, his physical strength was at the limit, his feet were heavy, and he couldn't kill it, so he made a hook on Rodman's head.

"Bang!"

It's a pity that the critical moment is not in the middle and is short.

"Mine."

Rodman was still alive and turned back to grab the rebound.

"Ewing can't stand up at a critical moment!" Shaking his head, Robert Giddah said.

At this time, the three Pistons guards all went down quickly, Rodman passed to Zhou Quan on the right wing, the assassin rushed to the top of the arc and stopped, Zhou Quan passed directly to Joe Dumas who was diagonally inserted into the paint area from the left wing, Joe Dumas received the ball and hit the basket and easily completed a layup.

"At 103:92, the Pistons have led by 11 points, and the Knicks should not be able to pull it back. Oakley can't keep up with Joe Dumas, his fitness is not good, and Joe Dumas has made three fast breaks in a row. Ringer Wilson shook his head.

Robert Giddah said: "In order to defend, the Knicks let Mason, Oakley, and Ewing stay on the court together, reducing their speed, but the Pistons used the fast break to give their defense no chance to play at all, the Pistons took the initiative tactically, and Pat Riley's tactics were problematic." ”

"Brush!"

Mason received the ball in the low post on the right wing, singled the basket under the soft egg Sechari, and the extremely strong body arched a few times, easily arched to the basket, and then turned to the basket and hit a layup.

Ringer Wilson laughed: "Coach Pat Riley put Mason at the No. 4 position, not just to defend, but to increase offense, and Mason is the most efficient offensive man in the Knicks."

But today's Pistons' fast offense is really powerful, the three guards add up to their combat power, all of them can pass and shoot and break through, and play slow with fast, haha! That is, the assassin is now unmoving, but today his open shot is also good. ”

Robert Giddah said at this time: "Speaking of offense, on the Knicks' side, alas, according to my observation, Patrick Ewing's ability at critical moments does need to be improved, and his mental quality at critical moments does not seem to be very good." ”

Ringer Wilson nodded and said, "Some people are born with big hearts, maybe Ewing is not that big heart." ”

Robert Giddah said: "Now Ewing can't stand up, John Starks is being targeted to death with an iron fist, the Knicks can't score first and second points, it depends on Mason's offense, if he can't play again, then the Knicks will lose." ”

"Bang!"

Zhou Quan missed a pull-up jumper, and Mason grabbed the rebound.

"At 103:94, with 56 seconds left, the Knicks basically don't have a chance." Zhang said reasonably.

"With a gap of 9 points, there is not much chance." Sun Zhenping shook his head and said.

John Starks ran desperately in the front court, but his speed was a weakness, and he couldn't get rid of Zhou Quan.

"Smack!"

Doug Rivers passed the ball quickly, but his awareness of the pass to John Starks was too obvious, and the extremely experienced assassin stepped up at the right time to cut the ball off.

"Shet!"

When a fan saw this, he scolded angrily, stood up and left his seat.

Like him, there were many fans who stood up and prepared to leave.

"Bang!"

Zhou Quan hurried, received the Assassin's pass, and smashed a ball, once again widening the difference to double digits.

Pat Riley called a timeout and couldn't change the outcome, and the Pistons defeated the Predators on the road.

The score was 107:96, winning by 11 points.

At the end of the game, the Pistons received a lot of applause from Knicks fans.

"Crazy, you said I was going to blow you up, so did I do it?" After the game, Zhou Quan said to John Starks with a smile.

John Starks' little face was as black as carbon, he snorted coldly, bypassed Zhou Quan and walked to the player's tunnel.

He was greatly disqualified by Zhou Quan, shooting 6 of 18 from the field, shooting only 33.3%, and only scoring 14 points, the key efficiency was too low.

And Zhou Quan scored 40 points on his head, and the key is that the shooting rate is much higher.

"Remember, don't challenge my profession with your hobbies in the future." Zhou Quan said sincerely in the back.

"Damn it!"

The hot-tempered John Starks cursed and quickened his pace and rushed into the players' tunnel.

Zhou Quan played 45 minutes in this game, shooting 11 of 19, shooting 57.9% from the field, 1 of 2 three-pointers, 17 of 18 free throws, 40 points, 5 rebounds, 12 assists, 6 steals, 3 blocks, 2 turnovers and 4 fouls. He blew up John Starks, who was opposite him, on both ends of the floor. Robert Giddah said.

Ringer Wilson held the stats table and said: "Joe Dumas shot 9 of 14 tonight, shooting 64.3 percent, including 2 of 5 three-pointers and 2 of 2 free throws, and got 22 points, 3 assists and 1 steal.

Assassin Isaiah Thomas shot 4-of-8 from the field and 2-of-4 from three-point range for 10 points, seven assists and two steals.

The three guards combined for 72 points, 22 assists and 9 steals, plus Rodman's 12 rebounds and Secali's 11 points and 9 rebounds for a quasi-double-double, the five of them were guaranteed to win for the Pistons. ”

Robert Giddah picked up the Knicks' stats sheet and said: "Ewing shot 11-of-20 in the first three quarters, 4-of-6 free throws, and scored 26 points, which is a very good performance.

But he only made 3 of 8 shots in the final quarter, and 0 of 3 shots in the last three minutes of the crucial game, which is what he deserves to criticize, and his ability at critical moments is not good.

Ewing shot 14-of-28 for 44 minutes, shooting 50%, plus 7-of-9 free throws, and got 35 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 4 turnovers and 3 fouls. ”

Ringer Wilson went on to say: "Mason played 36 minutes and shot 9-of-14 from the field for a whopping 64.3 percent, plus 3-of-5 free throws to finish with 21 points and seven rebounds.

His offensive efficiency is still up to what Pat Riley expects of him, and neither Sekari nor Polinis, even Rodman, is not good defensively against him. ”

Robert Giddah smiled: "The Knicks, like the Bulls, lost the most important reason because they couldn't defend against the Iron Fist, and John Starks was also prevented by the Iron Fist." ”

"The process and result of this game seem to make me feel that the Knicks may not be able to drag the Pistons to the tie-break like the Bulls did." Ringer Wilson said.

At this time, Zhou Quan gave a post-match interview to TNT TV on the sidelines.

"Iron Fist, as a point guard, how does it feel to block a super center?" The reporter asked with a grin.

"I want to try that again." Zhou Quan smiled.

"So what does it mean for the Pistons to win their first road game?" The reporter asked again.

"That means we're working against the Knicks. We beat them twice in the regular season and we actually always had a way to beat them. He replied.

"Is this a way to strengthen your own individual offensive and defensive intensity?" The reporter asked.

Zhou Quan smiled, but nodded and said: "The Knicks don't have top defenders, they are different from the Bulls, the Bulls have two top defenders, and the Knicks' strongest defense is the interior, and they even have three inside."

But the pace of the interior is going to be slower, so we have to use a different approach to the Bulls and the Knicks, which is to use fast breaks and constant defensive counterattacks to give them no chance to build up their defense, so as to draw down their defense. ”

"After winning the first away game, do you have a stronger sense of anticipation for the finals?" The reporter asked again.

"Of course, I haven't tasted the finals yet, that's what I dreamed of." He nodded.

After the interview, Jo Dumas was still in the interview, he went to say goodbye to his friends and made another appointment with the Roberts for lunch tomorrow.

He said a few words to some Chinese who came to greet him, took a few photos, and signed some names before he and his teammates went back to the locker room.

Chuck Daly summed up the game and said: "Today except for Zhou, Joe, Isaiah, everyone else has average shooting percentages, we have to pay attention to that, increase our runs, only then can we get open spots."

We must not underestimate the Knicks' defense, the middle two quarters of Iron Fist like the ball break, the lethality is infinite, but the Knicks still prevent the rest of you from repeatedly missing, which is worthy of our vigilance, once Iron Fist and Joe's hand feels down, or Iron Fist's physical fitness is problematic and suddenly can't move, we can only wait for the loss. ”

His words made the Pistons players calm down because of the excitement of winning.

(End of chapter)