Basketball Dragon

Chapter 98 The Knicks' Chance
With less than 1 minute left, the Heat will certainly not resign themselves to failure.

After the timeout, Wade once again showed the speed of the breakthrough, rushed in and got a free throw opportunity.

But then the Knicks scored with the pick-and-roll cooperation of Marbury and Leahy, and it took 21 seconds. The Heat missed a quick three-pointer, and the game lost its suspense.

At 101:94, the Knicks tied the score, which surprised everyone.

On May 5, the contest between the Knicks and the Heat went to the Heat's home court again.

In this game, Li Hai unexpectedly fouled twice in the first quarter and was replaced early to rest. The Heat took the opportunity to lead by double digits.

In the second quarter, the Knicks had just caught up with Li Hai, who was substituted for the third foul, feeling extremely aggrieved.

At the beginning of the second half, O'Neal launched a brutal mode again, extending the Heat's lead to 15 points. In the last quarter, Li Hai and his teammates chased the score to only 5 points, and then it was his first time in the playoffs. Six fouls were sent off.

At 95:102, the Heat won the match point.

At this time, several teams have already entered the second round of the playoffs.

灰熊被太阳横扫，马刺4:1干掉掘金，超音速4:1干掉国王，76人1:4不敌活塞，公牛2:4败给了奇才。

The Rockets and Mavericks, Pacers and Celtics have already reached 3:3 and are preparing for a tie-break.

The sixth game between the two sides returned to the home court of the Knicks again, but this time the Heat had some minor problems. O'Neal fought too hard in the past few games, and his injury recurred and he couldn't play.

The Heat don't have O'Neal. Although the Knicks still don't have an advantage inside, their defense no longer needs to bet on the opponent's peripheral shooting percentage.

The most critical thing in this game was to limit Wade. After hearing the news, Li Hai said on the spot that even if he didn't do anything on the court, he still had to watch over Wade.

Without the presence of O'Neal, he can finally use all his defensive methods.

At the beginning of the game, he still sticks to Wade, but when Wade catches the ball, it is different. He takes half a step and makes a sudden shot. However, facing Wade is different from facing James. Li Hai has the advantage of height Yes, even if Wade shoots, he can intervene even more.

Without O'Neal, Wade was the only leader on the court, and he chose to make a decisive shot on the first ball.

Li Hai's attention was concentrated to the extreme, and the moment Wade's feet left, he jumped up like a spring, and his right arm sealed it with all his strength.

Under his interference, Wade's already unstable CIC hit the iron immediately.

The Knicks entered counterattack mode, Li Hai broke through and scored, and Crawford hit the first goal.

Next, the Heat try to pass the ball to the inside. After the Knicks enter the normal defensive mode, the inside has a chance. Haslem and Mourning can also make mid-range shots, but the Knicks can't prevent O'Neal's domineering play. He still has some experience in defending inside shots.

When Mourning was at his peak, he might be able to fight on his shoulders, but now he has more energy than he wants.

Haslem was disturbed by Tim Thomas' long arm and missed a half-block. The Knicks started to speed up after getting the rebound. Their current lineup has a very fast counterattack.

Li Hai received the ball without stopping and passed it directly to Marbury. Marbury sped up again and made two free throws.

Seeing that the start was not good, Wade immediately made a crazy breakthrough.

Wade's first step was quick, and if Li Hai was close to him, he would definitely be passed, but given half a step away, Li Hai had a chance to react.

He is taller than Wade, as long as he keeps following Wade and interferes when the opponent shoots.

The Heat's first score came from Mourning's offensive rebounds. Mourning is now an occasional showman, and he is still very strong in rebounds and blocks.

But at this time, the Knicks had already scored 7 points.

Wade was very uncomfortable being defended by Li Hai. The Heat's offense was in trouble, but Haslem and Mourning were very powerful in the interior. Several times the Knicks were strong in the frontcourt, and the Knicks were not able to open the score. .

The Knicks led by 5 points in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Wade's touch became better and better, and he hit two mid-range shots in a row.

And in order to shoulder the responsibility, Wade only rested for more than 1 minute.

In this game, Li Hai is completely marking Wade, and he will play immediately when Wade is on the court. He is not afraid of exerting his physical strength, and now his good body gives him something to rely on.

He cleverly controlled the distance between Wade. Wade thought that it was several times more difficult for him than before. If he didn't grab it, Li Hai would not foul easily. He just left room for the opponent to shoot and pass.

This kind of defense will definitely cause problems when O'Neal is there, but it is very useful now.

Wade hit a few mid-range shots, which didn't do much damage to the Knicks at all.

In contrast, Eddie Jones, who has a longer range, is more of a threat on outside shots.

But because of the decline in physical fitness, Eddie Jones was unable to make a big wave, and his scoring explosiveness was not Crawford's opponent.

So even if the two played well, the Knicks still led by 6 points in the first half.

In the second half, Wade's mid-range shooting percentage was further improved. Wade, who was still a second-year rookie, showed the temperament of a superstar. With a big heart, he would score more accurately when needed.

On the contrary, Crawford was out of order for the Knicks. Crawford's lack of offensive firepower was completely a loophole on the court. Seeing the Heat catch up with the score, Li Hai hit a three-pointer and then assisted Dee. Tom Thomas hit a three-pointer and immediately stabilized the situation.

How to defend Li Hai has been an unsolved problem for the Heat in this series.

At the beginning, they didn't expect that a rookie entering the playoffs for the first time could perform better than in the regular season. In addition, Li Hai's type is inherently difficult to defend.

Wade wants to organize the offense, so he can't mark Li Hai all the way, and even if Wade marks the whole court, he can't completely restrict Li Hai. After all, Li Hai is taller than Wade, with accurate shooting, strong body and good passing ability. No way.

But the core of the Knicks is not Li Hai. When Li Hai is flanked, he can focus on defense instead of attacking. Marbury and Crawford can also support the Knicks' offense.

Rookies who grow too fast will cause this kind of trouble to their opponents. The Heat now also put part of their expectations on luck. Rookies cannot always be so good.

But apparently they still didn't see it clearly. Although Li Hai didn't score like the first home game, when the Knicks needed someone to stand up and score, he would do his part.

"Too fast, Mourning reacted a step slower, Li Hai scored a dunk, 76:71, the Knicks led by 5 points and entered the final quarter."

(End of this chapter)