Jim Bass Ambition

Chapter 37
Carter rode his motorcycle back to the bench to cheers from his teammates.

Ben Wallace's already dark complexion became even more gloomy, as if the bottom of a pot had been burned for 20 years.

Within a few minutes, the same person was used as the background of the five best goals twice in a row. No player wanted such a good thing to happen to him.During the break, Da Ben didn't say a word, covered his head with a towel, drank the water brought by the staff in two big gulps, squeezed the paper cup into a ball and threw it on the ground.

After a short break, the two sides entered the second quarter of the game. Usually the team will change the rotation at this time, but Ben Wallace rejected Zen Master's suggestion to replace himself.

Anyway, O'Neal will not play this time, the newcomer Ethan Thomas is still recovering from his injuries, and Okur is not doing well. Veteran Manning will let him watch the water cooler.

The Zen master continued to leave Big Ben on the court and replaced Stephen Jackson, Dan Marley and Mike James at the same time.Together with Bowen who is still on the field, a small lineup is formed.

Fortunately, the Raptors' insiders are not doing well. The signed Rockets legend Olajuwon is old and no longer the courage of the past. He averaged only single-digit scoring contributions per game and was injured in the previous game. , cannot appear in this game.The remaining blue-collar insiders headed by Antonio Davis have basically negligible scoring ability.

Carter was also replaced, and the Raptors replaced Carlos Arroyo, an undrafted pick from Puerto Rico, and sent Peterson to make up for the lack of offensive firepower.

The Raptors kicked off from the backcourt. After Arroyo dribbled the ball across the half court, facing Mike James' sloppy defense, he used Keon Clark's screen to easily break into the paint.

Facing the empty Lakers penalty area, Arroyo's eyes were full of joy about to score. With only the basket in his eyes, he didn't see the sympathetic eyes of the audience at the bottom line, and started to layup on his own.

As soon as the basketball left his right hand, Arroyo felt his eyes dim.

Wallace had already adjusted the focal length behind him, and was waiting for Arroyo to deliver the goods to his door. A brutal volleyball cap flew the ball directly into the auditorium, and let out a fierce breath.

"It's all right for Carter to challenge my dignity. How dare you come to the Lakers penalty area to make a fuss even if you are an undrafted pick?"

Big Ben may have forgotten that he was also a draft pick.

The Raptors sent a sideline ball. Arroyo didn't dare to blindly attack the Lakers inside this time. He controlled the ball at the top of the arc and waited for his teammates to move. This time, Dell Curry used Clark's cover to make a quick three-point shot. , as he has often done for decades.

As soon as the basketball left his right hand, Dell Curry felt his vision go dark.

Daben had seen that the Raptors didn't have much time left to attack, and expected that Curry would make the first shot. When the pick-and-roll was on, he ignored Clark, who was facing him, and rushed directly to Curry, slapping his three-pointer. Back to the Raptors' backcourt.

When Arroyo ran back to pick up the ball, 24 seconds had expired, and the Raptors violated the rule.

Teammates ran over to give Big Ben a high-five to celebrate, and the home momentum that had been suppressed by Carter broke out again.

It was the Lakers' turn to attack, and Ben, who had entered the state, ran to the low post, stuck Keon Clark behind him, and reached for the ball.

Stephen Jackson ignored Mike James, who was asking for the ball on the other side, and chose to lob the ball to an emotional Ben.

Big Ben immediately turned around after receiving the ball, leaving behind a bewildered Clark, who took off and dunked with both hands.

The imaginary cheers did not come, and Da Ben, who landed on the ground, immediately saw the referee make a gesture of illegal walking.

Daben spread his hands, with black question marks all over his face, and appealed to the referee, but the referee was unmoved.

On the coach's bench, Zen master adjusted his glasses, bent his index finger and tapped his forehead.

Peterson felt Carter's feelings. Although Bowen was much thinner than the previous Mason, the discomfort when facing him was no less than fighting with Mason.After a series of pushes, pulls, squeezes and tugs, Peterson finally got out of space a little and managed to catch the ball near the sideline.

Bowen has already followed him to defend, and Peterson is good at shooting, and his breakthrough is relatively weak. In addition, he has a big guard on the inside, so he can safely prevent shooting bursts.

Peterson didn't dare to dribble rashly under the high-pressure defense, so he could only turn around to protect the ball and look for his teammates.As far as I could see, Arroyo was standing near the middle circle, at a loss; Curry was in the corner on the weak side, and there were several people in the middle who couldn't pass; Jerome Williams was at the elbow and Stephen Jackson melee; as for Keon Clarke...what's he doing dangling at the free throw line?Does he have any mid-range shooting ability?
Peterson searched around, but couldn't find a point to respond to. The attack time was getting shorter and shorter. Peterson had no choice but to hit the ball on the ground on the right side, then half-turned and drifted for a three-pointer and forced a random shot.

Bowen was afraid of getting a three-point foul, so he just stretched out his hand and made routine interference.

Unexpectedly, Peterson's three-pointer drew a strange arc, wiped the backboard from a high position, and fell straight into the basket.

A little frustrated, Big Ben smashed the basketball hard into the ground, making a muffled "bang", and the audience next to him couldn't help worrying about the ball.

Stephen Jackson dribbled the ball across half court, and Marley and Bowen set a cross-screen on the baseline, pocketing left and right.

Big Ben stepped up to screen for Jackson, and Keon Clark followed up to defend.

Jackson took a step to the right, but slammed the ball between Clark and Williams straight to the baseline.

Both of the Raptors' inside lanes were pulled to the top of the arc, and the basket was empty. Mike James got rid of Arroyo, cut to the basket, received a pass from Jackson, and scored an easy layup.

It seems that Zen master gave up the idea of ​​treating James as a beggar version of Arenas. Letting James control the ball is equivalent to putting the whole team in a car driven by a drunk driver, and may fall into the ditch at any time.

The Raptors were attacking, and Peterson, who had just scored a fairy ball, was inflated with confidence. After receiving the pass from Arroyo, he did not have much warm-up, and took two steps from outside the three-point line.

It is impossible for good luck to favor the same person all the time, and the ball flew directly out of the baseline without any suspense.

Jerome Williams didn't intend to let Jackson dribble the ball comfortably across the half court. He played his true role as a garbage dog and began to entangle the Lakers in the half court. Jackson had no choice but to pass the ball to Mike James. .

James has the ball in his hand, I have the world. While Williams and Jackson are still entangled in the backcourt, press the accelerator button and go straight to the basket of the Raptors, leaving Arroyo far behind and flying to the basket.

Keon Clark, who had been holding back for more than a quarter, finally waited for the opportunity. He rose from the ground and rounded his bamboo pole-like arms, nailing James' layup to the backboard mercilessly.

Before Clark was happy for a second, a black shadow rose up behind him. Ben grabbed Clark's head with one hand and grabbed the basketball that bounced off the backboard. After landing, before Clark could react, he jumped up again and flew to the basket. On the other side, both hands clasped back!
The Raptors called a timeout and the game was tied.

　I wish you all a happy Chinese Valentine's Day...be safe at night...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)