lakers championship

Chapter 439 The Final Battle

On the morning of the 15th, major media commented on the results of the first game between the Lakers and the Warriors.

ESPN wrote: "Obviously, the Lakers are as good as before. Passing, running positions, shot selection, etc. are very reasonable, while the Warriors are a little slack. This may be related to the physical exertion of the previous seven games, but we have reason to believe that, In the next games, the Warriors will gradually complete the adjustments, and the two teams will bring fans a wonderful series."

Fox Sports wrote: "Congratulations to the Lakers for their first victory. Tianyang's lore goal is really exciting. If Curry can score a layup at the end, it will be even better. I hope the Warriors can rely on their rich experience in the playoffs. We will make adjustments in the next game, as fans, we hope to see a series of 7 games rather than one side crushing."

CBS Sports wrote: "As everyone predicted, Iguodala's absence caused great damage to the Warriors' defense. Durant tried his best to limit the sky, but it was difficult to score with all his strength. Now we should pray that Iguodala recovers soon Come back, otherwise this round of the series will be full of regrets, and it will be difficult to become a classic in NBA history."

The comments of the three mainstream media spread on Twitter in just 3 minutes.

Lakers fans are very upset about this.

"Oh? The Lakers won, which made the series less enjoyable?"

"The yin and yang are strange! If you want to emphasize that the Warriors can rely on physical recovery, rich experience, and Iguodala's comeback, just say it, why pretend that the game is not classic enough?"

"It's so real, the pundits at ESPN lowered the Lakers' winning percentage."

Regarding the arguments of the Lakers fans, many "neutral fans" refuted them one after another.

"The comments from the three media are very pertinent. The Lakers are all healthy, and the Warriors have lost a core player. Their defensive pressure has been greatly reduced. As a result, Tianyang, Ingram and others can easily break through and score through the pick-and-roll, but that's it. The Lakers only won by only 1 point, let alone the Lakers are at home, doesn't that explain some problems?"

"It needs to be emphasized that Klay Thompson played poorly in this game, while the Lakers had the unexpected X factor of Kobe Bryant. It’s hard to play so well all the time, and comparing the two, it’s natural that the Warriors have a better chance of winning.”

These two points of view received the most praise, which led to constant debate between Lakers fans and "neutral fans". The debate did not stop until the major bookmakers in the United States uniformly increased the odds of buying the Lakers to advance.

Gaming companies have always been more accurate in judging the situation, even surpassing many professional analysis. The "neutral fans" suddenly received great "theoretical" support, and the Lakers fans could only avoid it and not fight.

...

On the evening of the 16th, the second game between the Lakers and the Warriors started at the Staples Center.

After the opening game, the Warriors did not continue the tactical style of shooting after a simple pick-and-roll in the first game, but adopted their most commonly used tactics: let Green go to the top of the arc to support, and the two MVPs, Curry and Durant, used the cover to run open. , Thompson squatted in the bottom corner and waited for a three-point opportunity, forcing the Lakers to make unlimited defense changes.

In the first quarter, the Lakers responded well, but when the game entered the second quarter, McGee and Randall were consecutively whistled by the referee for various fouls such as pushing and blocking, which led to Walton having to arrange Kurz Ma and Lopez played more time, but both of them moved slowly. Durant and Green took the opportunity to make various cuts inside, helping the Warriors play a 9-0-[-] spurt, forcing Walton to use one more time Pause redeployment.

Fortunately, the Lakers' offense was sharp enough. Tianyang and Ingram took up the banner of chasing points. At the end of the halftime game, they helped the Lakers tie the score and even caused Durant to make two defensive fouls.

But in the third quarter, when the Lakers were on the bench, Rose and Tatum did not have the desired effect, causing the Lakers to fall behind by another 8 points. Walton could only replace the main force in advance.

Since then, the two teams have been biting very tightly. You come and go and take the lead alternately, but when the game entered the final quarter, Curry suddenly broke out and hit consecutive three-pointers. On the Lakers side, Randall and McGee also let the referee catch them. As a result, within 3 minutes, the Warriors played a wave of 13 to 4, and then the Lakers still failed to tie.

In the end, the Lakers lost to the Warriors 105 to 117, and the series became a 1-1 tie.

After the game, the discussion of the Warriors' comeback became more prosperous, but the Lakers fans were powerless to refute.

The ESPN experts lowered the probability of the Lakers advancing again. Even Kevin Arnolds, who had supported the Lakers to eliminate the Warriors 4-0, also rewritten the series score so that the Lakers advanced 4-3.

...

After two days of rest, the Lakers flew to Oakland on the night of the 19th.

After the whole team got off the plane, they went directly to the hotel and did not accept any reporters or interviews of any kind.

On the evening of the 20th, the third game of the Lakers-Warriors series started at Oracle Arena.

At the beginning of the game, the Warriors played very tough. Tianyang encountered great resistance in the breakthrough. Wharton kept telling the referee that the Warriors moved too much and made many fouls, but the referee ignored it.

It was difficult for Tianyang to break through, which made it difficult for other Lakers players to touch the ball, while the Warriors were flourishing. Thompson turned on the Buddha mode and hit consecutive shots.

After halftime, the Lakers trailed by a full 15 points, but the worst thing was that after entering the second half, the Lakers still failed to regain their rhythm, so that after three quarters, the Lakers trailed by 21 points.

In the last quarter of the game, Tianyang was like a god descending from the sky. He hit consecutive three-pointers and mid-range shots.

In the end, the Lakers lost to the Warriors 115 to 123, falling behind 1 to 2 for the first time in the entire playoffs.

That night, when a reporter updated Twitter, he mistakenly released a picture of the Warriors' 4-1 promotion, and added the text "Tough Warriors!"

Obviously, this media is already optimistic about the Warriors' advancement, and has prepared press releases in advance.

For the Lakers losing two games in a row, there has been a lot of discussion on social networks.

Some people are complacent about the accuracy of the prediction, some are happy about the excitement of the game, and some people make conspiracy theories, saying that all of this is an arrangement of the league, because the Warriors have an absolute advantage in whistle-blowing in both games.

In the Lakers team, there is no such complaint.

That night, Kobe convened the whole team to share his experience and journey of the playoffs with everyone. He focused on the 10-year finals and how to deal with it after losing the Tianwangshan battle.

The restless hearts of the Lakers generals, especially the young players, were thus calmed down.

After getting up the next day, train step by step.

...

On the 22nd, the fourth game of the series between the Lakers and the Warriors started at the Oracle Center.

After the start of the game, the Lakers made adjustments. Kobe started the game, greatly reduced three-pointers and layups, and switched to more efficient mid-range shots to score. This can not only avoid excessive physical consumption, but also properly reduce the number of fouls.

Kobe is a master of mid-range shooting, plus Tianyang, the two used post-up singles to directly reverse the Warriors' defensive strategy. When Cole directed the double-team, the two began to pass the ball. play well.

As a result, the Lakers have not been able to be opened too much by the Warriors in the score.

In the fourth quarter of the game, the situation changed suddenly. The Warriors were too physically exhausted, and their shooting percentage dropped sharply. However, Kobe and Tianyang were still full of energy, and the Lakers' offensive efficiency remained high.

In the end, the Lakers moved back 112 to 92, and the series became a 2-2 tie.

It is said that under such circumstances, the media should change their views on the Lakers.

But I once thought that ESPN will reduce the probability of the Lakers' promotion again, and the reason given for this is: the Warriors' defensive core, Iguodala is about to come back, Tianyang and Kobe will not be able to play a wonderful performance in G4!
Tianyang laughed when he saw this analysis.

Finally a chance to defeat the strongest warrior!

...

On the 24th, the fifth game of the series between the Lakers and the Warriors started at the Staples Center.

Cole directly dispatched the Death Five, and designated Iguodala and Durant to guard Tianyang all the way.

This trick worked, and Tianyang was forced to make more passes, but unfortunately, except for Kobe and Rondo, the other Lakers players on the court felt cold, and the disadvantages of not having played tough battles were undoubtedly revealed, so that three quarters of the game After the game, the Lakers trailed by as many as 18 points, and the only advantage was that Green fouled 4 times.

During the timeout between quarters, Tianyang proposed to focus on Green, defeating the most important part of the Warriors' five small defenses.

Wharton took this advice.

After the start of the fourth quarter, on offense, Tianyang, Kobe, Rondo, Ingram, and Randall hit the basket in turn. Still centering on Green, he made a lot of big moves around the screen to maximize the home court advantage.

On the Warriors' side, Iguodala and Durant spent too much energy and physical strength on marking Tianyang, and their offensive efficiency dropped sharply. The Lakers took the opportunity to narrow the point difference to 9 points.

In the last 3 minutes of the game, Green finally couldn't bear it, and had a physical conflict with Ingram. Both were sent off, but the Warriors could only replace Rooney on one side, while the Lakers replaced Tatum on the other.

Without Green's blocking, Tianyang, Rondo, and Randall hit the basket more smoothly through the pick-and-roll, while the Warriors were actually sluggish. Curry and Durant made two mistakes in succession, helping the Lakers tie.

In the last minute, the two teams entered the superstar contest with the same score, and each had two ball possessions.

Wharton replaced Kobe and played with Tianyang, and then matched with McGee, Lopez, and Randall to grab the rebound.

The Warriors attacked first, and Curry hit a super long three-pointer in only 11 seconds.

The Lakers attacked again, and Tianyang also hit a super long shot in 3 minutes, which took only 9 seconds.

The Warriors attacked again, and Durant held the ball in the elbow and hit Kobe with his back. When he shot in 20 seconds, he hit the iron, but Rooney grabbed an offensive rebound and dunked on the spot.

The Lakers attacked again, with 16 seconds left before the end of the game.

Kobe pressed the time to the end, with the help of Tianyang's pick-and-roll, he shifted the top of the arc from the right wing by 45 degrees, faced Durant and Iguodala's defense, and hit a three-pointer to complete the lore, helping the Lakers win the battle of Tianwangshan .

After the game, Kobe did not accept any interviews. The press conference also asked Tianyang to accept questions on his behalf, and then took Kuzma and others who were cold in the game to practice shooting.

...

Leading 3 to 2, the Lakers slapped the media in the face, but the media were still stubborn.

ESPN claims that both teams are playing very well, and the Warriors' two consecutive counterattacks have injected new highlights into the series; Fox Sports said that Kobe's experience has helped the Lakers to a large extent, and the Warriors have the opportunity to drag the game into Grab 7; CBS Sports said that it looks forward to seeing Thompson's god-level performance in the last two games, preferably like G16 in the 6th Western Conference Finals.

...

On the 26th, the fifth game between the Lakers and the Warriors started at the Oracle Center in Oakland.

Tianyang and Kobe desperately wanted to win the game, but Durant and Iguodala gave up their offense to mark the two, resulting in a relatively low shooting rate for the two. Fortunately, Curry and Thompson did not perform well. , After halftime between the two teams, the Lakers still led by 58 points 54 to 4.

Unexpectedly, entering the third quarter, Thompson was really like G16 of the Western Conference Finals in 6. He caught and shot the ball, and it was difficult to defend with effort. He scored 7 points on 7 of 25 three-pointers in a single quarter. Curry also felt hot. Even if Tianyang stepped up and scored 8 points in a row, the Lakers still trailed by 19 points at the end of the third quarter.

In the last quarter of the game, Durant gave up marking Tianyang and started scoring points, continuing the Warriors' hot touch. The Lakers were powerless and lost the game 106-121.

So far, the two teams have tied the series at 3-3.

The seventh game became the ultimate battle.

(End of this chapter)