Chapter 341: Battle of Los Angeles (1)

Before the game started, Paul Pierce carefully checked his ankles, jumped on the court, twisted with force, and felt that there was no problem at all. He made an OK gesture towards the team doctor on the sidelines. Start to warm up.
In the last game at North Shore Gardens, Pierce slipped in a breakthrough in the fourth quarter, his right ankle twisted almost 90 degrees, then he was lifted off the court and never returned to the court. Fortunately, after that game, James Posey stubbornly topped it and hit a key three-pointer. In the end, the Celtics gritted their teeth and suppressed the Lakers and achieved a 2:0 situation.
After the preliminary examination by the team doctor and the MRI after the game, the team doctor believed that Pierce had only a mild sprain, and he only needed ice and physical therapy to recover soon. It is estimated that he will be able to play on the day of the third game.
But how did Fox-Lyon and Celtics’ propaganda agencies let go of such an opportunity to throw smoke bombs? The Boston media and the New York media immediately posted on the second day after the game that Pierce was likely to miss the third game and the fourth Whether a game can be played is also doubtful. Pierce himself was even more blunt in the interview, the ankle injury is not too bad, but it is not very optimistic.
This makes the Lakers and Los Angeles fans feel quite excited. Pierce is the most important scoring point and offensive organizer for the Celtics outside, as well as the spiritual leader of the Celtics. Once Pierce is unable to play, it is definitely a major benefit for the Lakers.
Unexpectedly, the whole of Los Angeles was put together by this Inglewood-born kid. He appeared on the floor of the Staples Center like this, wearing the green jersey most hated by Los Angelesers. And he himself once hated this green very much, but now he wants to wear this suit to Los Angeles to kill the Lakers.
Pierce was once a fan of the Lakers. His favorite star is the greatest superstar in the history of the Lakers, Magic Johnson. In the most glorious 80s of the Lakers, their home stadium, the Great Western Forum, is being built in the Inglewood area. , Pierce, who was born there, would beg his parents to take him there every weekend to watch the Lakers game. He longs for one day like a magician, wearing a purple and gold Lakers jersey, galloping on the floor of the Great Western Forum Arena.
As a result, on that heartbreaking night in 1998, not only did he drop to an unexpected tenth place, he was also selected by the team he least liked and wanted to go to-the Boston Celtics. The team he had cursed countless times when he was a child became his first place to play, and he stayed for six years, and it seems that he will stay for a long time.
Recalling this, Paul Pierce's mood was not affected at all. Some of his classmates and friends in Los Angeles, his mother, and his childhood idol Magic Johnson also came to the scene of the game. In addition to his mother, Pierce believed that these people would stand on the opposite side of him, but he still greeted them with a smile, and at the same time firmly stated in his heart that he would help the Celtics to be crowned ahead of time in Los Angeles!
Once they win this game, with a 3:0 lead, the Lakers will no longer be able to stand up. Pierce still remembers Fox-Lyon's words to him before the game, "Don't let a miracle happen is the greatest miracle."
The more you have to be cautious when the champion is at your fingertips, otherwise the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment and the deeper the pain.
After American country singer Don Williams sang the national anthem and DJ introduced the players from both sides, the third game of the 2004 season finals, the battle of Los Angeles began. Tonight’s referee is no surprise, the league arranged for Javie, this Leon is more annoying and likes to balance the referee. Seeing Stern sitting on the sidelines with a smile, Leon thought that this guy would definitely want to watch the finals play a few more games.
Indeed, how can the decisive battle of the century between the Celtics and the Lakers end with a sweep? At any rate, it has to be ups and downs to attract more audiences. Leon also anticipated this, knowing that the Lakers are a last-ditch match, and they will definitely go all out to fight the Celtics. So Leon greeted the players to relax in the first half, reduce fouls, reduce turnovers, reduce rhythm, and don't let the Lakers play momentum and climax.
But things don't always follow the coach's ideas. The Lakers' morale at the beginning of the game was amazing. Payton changed the problem of excessive stickiness in the first two games and kept feeding O'Neal. PJ-Brown is no longer so fierce after two tortures by O'Neal, because the shark's elbow is really not a vegetarian. Especially in the opening game, Brown would rather allow O'Neal to score.
As a result, O’Neal felt surprisingly good at the beginning. As long as he caught the ball, he could score points. The Celtics didn’t double-team, and rarely fouled. Just like this, Sharks scored 15 points in the first quarter and helped the Lakers in the first quarter. One quarter achieved 28:24, a four-point lead. 28 points is also the highest score in the first quarter since the Finals.
In the second quarter, the Lakers' offensive began to become more intense with the blast of the Staples Arena. Jackson sent a lineup of Fisher, Fox, O'Neal, Kobe and Rush, which is closer to the three consecutive championships. The starting. This lineup is obviously more fluid and tacit on the offensive end. The teenager Rush has a huge three-point threat on the court. As a surprise player, he made three three-pointers in the second quarter and once helped the Lakers to make the difference. Pulled to 11 points.
The Celtics got into a lot of trouble as the game deepened. The Lakers made a very important adjustment on the defensive end, that is, let Kobe Bryant defend Arenas, Fisher, Payton to deal with Reed, which restricts the Celtics' first offensive engine, many times They had to stop and fight the Lakers. This is exactly what the Lakers have. Although the Celtics have a more sophisticated tactical coordination and system, in the high-intensity confrontation of the Finals, sometimes the subtle tactics are not as good as the superstar singles and fast break.
The Lakers know this truth well, Jackson insisted that O'Neal and Kobe singles unwaveringly, making full use of the triangle offense to create opportunities for them. In fact, to deal with the Celtics' super strong overall defense, only superstar singles can really break it, turning basketball from five people into one-on-one, and the Celtics' delicate defensive cooperation has lost its power.
What worries Leon even more is the referee on the court, Javie, the master of balance. Leon can see through some of his tricks at a glance. Most of the penalties he makes are fine. The problem is that those wandering On the edge of the foul action and behavior, he played for the Celtics, but not for the Lakers. Although there are only some subtle differences each time, such as one ball possession and one free throw, the accumulation of these subtle things is likely to bring huge differences between the two sides, until it affects the final game result.
"If you really want the Lakers to win, you can now blow your whistle to announce the end of the game!" When Kevin Garnett was fouled for the third time on defense in the second half of the second quarter, Leon Finally couldn't help it, yelling at Javie. And he was about to rush into the field with his fist, and Carlisle drank Cowens from behind and pulled him tightly, so Leon didn't let Leon rush up and punch Javie.
Of course, Javie would not be polite to Leon. He directly fouled and gave the Lakers a free throw opportunity, and then Garnett had to leave the court to rest. Leon replaced Dalemport and formed a twin tower with Brown in the interior, hoping to withstand the Lakers' offense in the final stage of the second quarter, because the point difference between the two sides is close to 15 points.
When Kobe made a free throw from the free throw line, the difference between the two sides became 15 points, 61:46. The Lakers showed strong offensive firepower in the first half and gave the Lakers fans a huge motivation. 0: The big score behind 2 doesn't look so terrible anymore. Win one game tonight and the next game will be in Los Angeles. Just like against the Spurs in the semifinals, the more important thing is that if the score is 2:2, Tianwangshan will be played in Los Angeles.
Less than 20 seconds before the end of the first half of the game, the Celtics' last attack, 15 points difference, Leon called a short timeout of 20 seconds, simply arranged the tactics. After a technical foul, Leon also calmed down a lot. He knew that his fist could solve some problems, but it could not solve the current problem~EbookFREE.me~ The Celtics played impetuously throughout the first half. Although Pierce's return gave the Lakers some shock, the Celtics did not make good use of this advantage to win first, and now they must struggle to catch up.
The timeout ended quickly. The Celtics made a sideline kick. They played a very simple round-cut tactic. Pierce and three other players lined up near the free throw line, then scattered around. Pierce pretended to go to the baseline and then went around. Back outside the three-point line, Brown made a screen for him, Pierce caught the ball and hit a three-pointer.
It's not over yet. The excessive smoothness of the first half seems to make the Lakers forget how they were abused by the Celtics in the first two games. Fox accidentally served in the backcourt and was bumped by Dalem Porter who suddenly shot out. With the ball, Arenas grabbed the ball in front of Kobe, then rushed to the basket, grabbed a change in front of the timer and succeeded.
"Om!" With the buzzer sounded at the end of halftime, the score instantly became 61:51, and the difference was reduced to 10 points.
"I told you that if you want the Lakers to win, you TM should blow the whistle to announce that the game is over!" Leon stood up from the bench and shouted towards Javie not far away, and then returned with the players. locker room. (To be continued.)