The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 224 Need to show off
Some people are happy and some are worried. The Heat simply won two home games, and the Nets are under great pressure.

"This is too hurtful." Nets coach Kidd was helpless.

Playing against a team with a little more stars is also a smooth victory, and the attention they get is also different.

Zhang Xiaotian's defense is also recognized by many people. Although he used to work hard on the defensive end, but now it is the Eastern Conference semifinals of the playoffs, and he faces the Nets' top scorer in a row.

Even if he doesn't shine so well on the offensive end, he can gain a foothold in the league with this defense.

Zhang Xiaotian is also thinking about it. After he has more victory points, he will also increase his defense to above 80, so that he will truly have the confidence in his heart, instead of dealing with the exhausted core of the opponent who has already fallen from the peak.

On the same day, the Spurs also 2-0 the Blazers, and they settled their opponents at halftime, just like that.

The Spurs give people the feeling that they have been upgraded after playing the Mavericks, or that the Blazers have just been restrained.

With seven players in double figures, the Spurs are like playing underdogs in the regular season. Everyone has a chance to perform.

"Our second team is full of vitality. Their performance in the first round of the playoffs was a bit sluggish. They were not very effective against the Mavericks, but in the last two games, they played very well." Parker said.

The third game of the second round also started non-stop. The Pacers played an epic defense and beat the Wizards away at 85:63.

"This may be the ugliest game in the playoffs so far, but that's our style of basketball." Paul George said after the game, "That's what we do, whether you like it or not, if you like defense, then walk The latter will become your favorite team."

"Today's game is undoubtedly a complete failure for us. We lost confidence. This has nothing to do with age. This is not an excuse. It was really bad tonight." Wizards coach Whitman was depressed.

On the other side, the Thunder defeated the Clippers 118-112 in an away game, leading the series with a 2-1 total score and regaining home court advantage.

In the intense first three quarters, neither team took any advantage until the Thunder used a small lineup in the fourth quarter and tore apart the Clippers' defense.

Both sides did better in this game, and it can only be said that the Thunder are stronger.

Paul hit the iron at the critical moment, but the Shuangjun didn't, so the Thunder won the game.

"Today we did a good job in scoring explosiveness, and everyone played very united." Durant spoke as a leader, "If we want to continue to win, we will continue to strengthen this aspect in the next few games. Next we may The toughest game of the series."

The stronger regular-season teams seem to be taking the reins, and the Heat have been doing that.

Back at home, the Nets must win the Heat in order for this series to turn around.

"We are not afraid of the Heat, there is nothing to be afraid of." Pierce said.

"We must win the third game, we must defend our home court." Garnett expressed determination.

Zhang Xiaotian was relatively calm in the interview before the game, "Helping the team win every victory, this is what I want to do, that's all."

Everyone has nothing to dig out in the lineup, it depends on who can seize the opportunity on both sides.

At the beginning of the game, James gave his best. He was eager to help the team get the match point. If the old guys of the Nets let them play smoothly, it may be very dangerous, and they must be wiped out in one go.

The Nets also know the importance of the start. They couldn't stop James, but they also responded offensively.

They played more team, not stalking the Heat, they played more efficiently.

And they increased Brac's playing time. In the regular season, Brac was the Heat's pain point, and the offensive end was very threatening in the paint.

In the playoffs, due to the poor defense of this product, it was not reused, but the Nets have now reached the time when they must increase breakthrough points, and they trade offense for offense.

The effect is really good. The Heat's inside line can't bear Brac's weight a bit.

Of course, Brac's defense is also a sieve. The two sides played lively and the score was even.

There were no surprises for the two teams. The decisive battle was in the second half, which was the case in the previous games.

As usual, the Heat began to increase their intensity in the third quarter.

With the Nets at home, the players felt less fatigued, and they immediately had a hard fight with the Heat.

All of a sudden, the game was extremely tangled. James is now under strict supervision, and he will attack as soon as he enters.

He scored the ball a few times, but he missed the outside line, and playing away games still has a little impact.

In the second half, the Heat took the lead in showing signs of discomfort.

After Zhang Xiaotian and Wade missed a three-pointer, they resolutely attacked the inside line together, but the opponent shrank, and they would definitely hand over the ball to the open space, but Bosh and Chalmers didn't feel it, and it was the same when they replaced Ray Allen. .

The opponent Teletovic hit consecutive three-pointers, and the Nets opened the score all of a sudden.

The morale of the Nets is extremely high, the teammates are constantly fighting each other, and the defensive end is getting better and better.

Zhang Xiaotian was replaced and rested for a while, and the score gap widened to double digits, so he took the initiative to ask for a fight.

Spoelstra was still calm, telling Zhang Xiaotian not to be impatient.

Zhang Xiaotian could only sigh, originally he had to use some of the last 24 seconds, but it seemed that he could only wait for the final quarter.

In fact, Spoelstra is constantly thinking about whether to put James on the court and let Zhang Xiaotian bring him back to the team.

If James still has the touch of the first half, Spoelstra will definitely tend to let him continue to play.

But in the second half, James' shooting percentage dropped a bit, and it looked like he needed to rest.

For Zhang Xiaotian, Spoelstra has figured out the law of his explosion, but he is still not so confident. Zhang Xiaotian has not shown much performance in the playoffs.

Fortunately, they have already won two games, and the pressure on the Heat is not so great.

Spoelstra thought for a long time, and still planned to let James rest first, and then look at the situation.

If it really doesn't work, it's not necessary to win this game. The next game is an away game, so James can't consume too much.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Zhang Xiaotian stood up from the bench, full of fighting spirit.

It's not a matter of his status that he didn't show off in the playoffs, it's because he didn't have a chance.

He is also suffocated, and now he has the opportunity to lead the team during the rotation period, and he can't wait.

So what if you fall behind, he is confident to help the team get back the score, isn't it just 10 points.

The Nets are very satisfied with the performance of the bench lineup today, and let Deron play with the bench lineup at the beginning of the fourth quarter, trying to continue to play a good wave of outside offense.

They took the lead in attacking, and Deron pretended to break through after going to the cover and suddenly divided the ball beyond the three-point line.

Teletovic pulled it up and shot. He felt overwhelmed now, but a figure suddenly appeared, blocking his sight.

(End of this chapter)