super heavy artillery

Chapter 440 The Powerful Pelican

The only thing that makes Portland feel gratified is that the Blazers have not lost their fighting spirit.

When questioned by reporters, Lillard said calmly: "I may be a little annoyed and frustrated. But they need to work harder to make me lose my confidence. It is 3:0 now, but this Doesn't mean it's over. We're not here to get beat. We need to win the next game. After the next game, the series will change, especially if we come back after this. to the home court."

As the Blazers' No. [-] man, McCollum performed better than Lillard in this series, but it was not satisfactory.Rondo and Holiday's defense is too strong.

"Now, we have to face a possible elimination game in the away game, and the opponent has beaten us before. So we have to be ready, bring energy to the court, and leave everything on the court." Colum said, "You have to win the next game. The most important game is the next game. So you have to win the fourth game and then the fifth game. All I can control is my mentality and determination. , entered the game with an attitude of hard work.”

However, nothing was said before the game.The fourth game came as scheduled, and Lillard's state has recovered, but the Pelicans did not give them a chance to bring the game to Portland.

In fact, the Blazers played very well in the first half. They controlled their mistakes very well, and their offensive success rate was also very high.The team's tactics played very smoothly, and the overall shooting rate was as high as 20%.The Pelicans didn't hit the 17-pointer, but their inside shooting percentage was terribly high. He made 85 of [-] shots and a hit rate of [-]%.However, the Pelicans made too many mistakes in these two quarters, giving the Blazers too many opportunities.Therefore, the two teams have been in a stable state, and neither can gain much advantage.

The turning point of the game came in the third quarter.The Blazers still maintained their state in the first half, controlling mistakes and playing steadily.But the Pelicans found their perimeter touch.Holiday, Davis and even Rondo all hit shots from beyond the arc.Especially Holiday, after he scored three consecutive three-pointers, he immediately opened the point difference to double digits.

The Blazers had to call a timeout to interrupt the Pelicans' offensive rhythm, but the effect was not ideal.After returning from the timeout, with Rondo's assists, Davis continued to get to the basket, and Holiday made a sudden shot from the outside.The most fatal problem of the Blazers has been exposed, that is, their defense, which was good at the beginning, has become powerless.The defensive end couldn't stop the Pelicans from scoring, and the offense couldn't open.In the end, the Blazers could only enter the final quarter with a 13-point disadvantage.

In fact, at this time, the moods of the players on both sides are completely different.Even An Luo could see through the TV that Lillard's mood was very low now.They really can't beat it!This time the Pelicans have hit seven inches from the Blazers.This also shows the importance of Lillard to the Blazers.In fact, this is the first time people have seen such a depressed Lillard in so many years.He has always been full of confidence, but in these few games, Rondo and Holiday took good care of him.

In the fourth quarter of the game, the Blazers, who were forced to the edge of the cliff, finally broke out with the strongest combat effectiveness in this series.McCollum and Nurkic, one inside and one outside, played a wave of 11:2 offensives, closing the score to 4 points.Of course, this is due to the decline in the Pelicans' shooting rate, and Davis has five fouls on his back, so he can only sit on the sidelines in the first half.Nurkic controlled the rim and the Blazers played the game they had been trying to play for four minutes.At this time, there are still more than 4 minutes before the game. The Blazers are only 7 points behind the Pelicans, and everything is still hopeful.

However, then Holiday found out to help the Pelicans stabilize the situation.In the time Davis can't play, he must shoulder more responsibilities.Although his shooting percentage dropped, Holiday was still able to go to the basket through his own breakthrough to cause damage.After all, the Blazers' Nurkic and McCollum were also fouled four times, and they didn't dare to make too many moves.

Although the Blazers approached the score, they were not happy at all.The opponent's downturn is not caused by their defense, which means that as long as Davis and Rondo play later, the Blazers will face the same dilemma in the second half of the third quarter.They originally wanted to seize the first half of the quarter to accumulate some advantages, but now it seems that the effect is not good.The wave of their attack just now was more like a dying struggle, returning to the light.

At the same time, An Luo, who was far away in Oklahoma City, was on the phone with Westbrook.The two of them have the same opinion, and both believe that the Pelicans will solve the Blazers in this game.In fact, this is not good news for them.Although the configuration of the Pelicans cannot be said to completely restrain the Thunder, at least the three points of Westbrook, An Luo and Adams will be suppressed.Given that the overall strength is stronger than the Blazers, An Luo may not be targeted as badly as Lillard, but if the Thunder want to win, Paul George is bound to be a very critical point.

The result of the game was as they expected.After Davis and Rondo played, the Blazers were completely irresistible.In the end, the Pelicans defeated the Trail Blazers, who were ranked higher than themselves in the regular season, 131:112 at their home court. While successfully advancing to the second round of the playoffs, they also became the second team to sweep their opponents.

131 points, also the highest score so far in the playoffs this season.It can be seen how strong the Pelicans' offense is!Of course, this also has a lot to do with the Blazers' defense.

Davis won the battle in this game!He scored 47 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.Among them, the score set a new high in the personal playoffs, and also broke David West's team history record of 38 points.Of course, the victory belongs to the entire Pelicans.Davis is just the brightest of them all.

What made An Luo most concerned was Holiday.As the older brother of his good brother at UCLA, An Luo is still very familiar with this guy.Good defense and strong scoring.In this game, he scored 41 points!He also sent 8 assists, which is really the pinnacle of the Pelicans' outside line.Of course there is Rondo, who played 38 minutes and handed over 7 points, 7 rebounds and 17 assists.It can be said that Long's guidance, which focuses on organization, is the most important engine of the Pelican chariot.

(End of this chapter)