the rest, only noise

Chapter 269 Make Tonight Eternal (16125)

What is the clearest sign before a team wins the championship?
It must be to convince everyone that this year belongs to them.

For more than half a year, the Celtics have proved themselves.

In the first two quarters tonight, their performance got better and better with the passage of time, and Bird played 100% of the state.

He was in such good shape that Louie was reluctant to replace him.

When he scored three consecutive points and pulled the point difference to 15 points, there were 4 minutes left in the first half.

Louis didn't want to see players playing too long and causing injuries to players, so he replaced Bird.

He stood on the sidelines unsatisfied, cheering his teammates on a rare occasion.

The last time he devoted himself to the game so wholeheartedly was in the legendary 1981-1 reversal of the 3ers series in 76.

49 is better than 34
The Celtics have a 15-point lead, and Bird's performance completely overwhelmed the Magician.

After Bird went off the court, the Magic seemed to want to turn the score back.

He tried this way, but was flanked by the Celtics and made a mistake.

Maxwell went on a fast break, and Wilkins tried his best to catch up with him, interfered with him, and then couldn't do anything else.

He fouled and Maxwell went to the free throw line.

"You guys are finished, you know?" Maxwell yelled arrogantly, "It's not our opponent at all. The championship belongs to Boston, and the glory belongs to the Celtics!"

Louie yelled, "Stop talking nonsense, Cedric, make free throws!"

Maxwell made one of two free throws.

It's a fly in the ointment, but it doesn't matter much.

At the end of the first half, Bird stood up and gave high-fives to every teammate who left the field. You could see the smile on his face, and he was happy from the bottom of his heart.

Getting used to his usual haughty and stern appearance, it was difficult for Louis to change his impression when he saw the enthusiastic Byrd for a while.

Isn't this what a magician looks like?

Speaking of the magician, Louis turned his eyes to the opposite side.

From the perspective of overall morale, the Lakers have given up fighting for victory, and every body language of the Magician reads "Mom, I want to go home."

At halftime, the Celtics led by 17 points.

In an interview with CBS's midfielder, Louie mentioned his thoughts: "I am sorry that the Lakers did not show their best level. We should have competed in six or seven games, but now it seems that this round of the series is coming to an end tonight."

The CBS reporter didn't expect Louis to speak so boldly.

They tentatively asked: "Coach Lu, you mean the Celtics will win the championship trophy after the game?"

Sometimes it's disgusting to be too modest.

Anyone with basic common sense about the game of basketball will come to a conclusion.

"I don't see any factor that can prevent us from winning the championship." Louie said affirmatively, "It's tonight."

These words are bound to reach Riley's ears, and then he will find a way to stimulate the lifeless players with Louie's words.

If he can do it, he can still play in the second half. If he can't, it's not impossible to have garbage time in half the game.

Louis hopes that the Lakers can hold on and not fall so quickly.

In his memory, the 1984 Finals was a classic decisive battle with seven games in one round.

If not the greatest series in NBA history, it is one of the top five, if not the top three.

If the Celtics win five games this year and even waste time in the season-ending game, can this series still be called a classic?
Although the end of the series in five games will make people misjudge the strength of the Lakers, thinking that they and the Celtics are not a team of the same level.

But as long as fans who have watched the first four games in full, they will know that these two teams belong to the same level.

The Celtics are just the better team in every way.

Especially in the third game, it is simply the difference in absolute strength between the Celtics' Big Three and the Lakers' stars.

Louis returned to the locker room, and the noisy room suddenly fell silent.

Louis doesn't like to say some empty words and lies, and the next one may be his last speech of the season. What is he going to say?

"You know what? When I took this job, I promised Reid that I would make you what you should be."

"This is actually a big statement. Human beings are too complicated. Everyone's exposed side is not the truest side. All of us are a special individual who longs to be understood but will never be understood."

Louie's voice was soft, but the locker room was so quiet you could hear your breathing, so his tone didn't matter.

"I want to see a team that can't be beaten, and I've seen that."

"I want to see a smart, tricky, hateful team, and I've seen it."

"I want to see a group of talented guys working selflessly for the same goal." Louis said with satisfaction, "I swear I saw it."

Louie's voice became aroused, as if he had been injected with adrenaline.

"There are many problems in this team, and even each of you is a problem for me, but the answer to this problem is not me, but you. It is you who need to face the problem. You face your own desires, struggles, team and individual choices. It is the biggest problem in the world. I am very happy to see that each of you has made the right choice."

Louis said excitedly: "This is the reason why you cannot be defeated. You have consolidated your heart, treated the game with a pragmatic attitude, firm belief, and full of desire. Believe me, as long as you keep your original intentions, put your teammates in your heart, and forget those selfish desires, no team will be able to beat you in five years, not in ten years."

"Just go ahead, you have reached the highest hall in the basketball world, go win the championship, and make this night eternal!"

In the small and closed locker room, the Celtics players jumped up. They clapped, high-fived, and cheered each other on. Everyone folded their hands together and yelled a slogan. Then they rushed out of the room with full fighting spirit and returned to the court.

They are ready to end the Lakers and win the game with unprecedented dominance.

KC Jones stands behind Louie, the players leave, and he's still standing there.

"A 100-point speech." KC laughed.

Louie responded with a smile: "Because we have players with 100 points."

Next, Louie returns to the scene with KC.

In the second half, as Louis expected, his words were used by Riley as fodder to motivate the players, successfully awakening their sleeping fighting spirit.

It's a pity that the Celtics have been beaten full of chicken blood, and everyone has put out high-intensity offensive and defensive pressure.

Wilkins missed the basket. Kareem grabbed the rebound and wanted to hook close to the basket, but was blocked by Sampson.

Magic came in and grabbed the second offensive rebound, and what awaited him was another block from Sampson.

Isiah Thomas shot forward like an arrow from the string. When he was advancing at full speed, the Lakers had nothing to do. Watching him score a layup with a standard layup, the difference between the two sides came to 19 points.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wanted to preserve the dignity of the Lakers. He stubbornly demanded a position, wanted to save the game, and hit a hook.

That was his 22nd point of the night.

With 22 points, it is also the most scored by the Lakers.

The 37-year-old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the pinnacle of the Lakers, but the magician who can pick him up and wave him is trapped by the thoughts in his heart. Trash talk from opponents, boos from fans, and terrible self-doubt have destroyed his will.

He dribbles, rebounds, passes, but these are just his instincts, he is already a walking dead.

Louis didn't expect the magician to collapse in this way. The pressure of the finals was enormous for him and Bird.

The difference is that Bird doesn't like the media, he blocks outside voices.

The magician is the darling of the media. He cannot face the media's harsh questions, and he cannot bear the fact that he was completely suppressed by Bird in the final.

The way the Lakers hit the penalty area in large numbers gave the Celtics the best chance to defend.

Usually, the Celtics are not so tight on the defense of the penalty area.

Now they crave a game of dominance on both ends of the floor, defending as hard as they can against every Laker who tries to score from the paint.

For four consecutive rounds in the second half, the Lakers' breakthroughs were all interfered with without causing a single foul.

This is not the worst, the worst thing is that the Celtics' offensive efficiency is not high, but the Lakers' rebounds were blown.

If you compare Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Duncan, these two evergreen players took two different paths in their later years.

Duncan is defense + rebound + takeover under desperate situation.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar only had offense. At the age of 41, in Game 1988 of the 1 Finals, the Lakers were still [-] point behind in the last half minute. As a result, Riley called a timeout and gave him the chance to save the season with the last attack.He fouled the Pistons, made two free throws, and sealed the win.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar took on too heavy an offensive task, which directly affected his rebound protection and rim protection.

From the third quarter, the Celtics' desire to rush for offensive rebounds has greatly increased.

The Lakers lost offensive rebounds in a row, causing the Celtics to score in the second offense after grabbing the offensive rebound even if they did not score in the positional battle.

The Lakers missed four times and the Celtics succeeded four times.

The point difference suddenly widened to 20 points.

"It seems that there will definitely be garbage time tonight."

Louis is convinced that the Lakers are gone.

(End of this chapter)