stonecrandall Chapter 314: A Free Epic Data Giveaway! Amazing VS
Chapter 314: A Free Epic Data Giveaway! Amazing VS
Chapter 314: Free Epic Data Giveaway! Amazing vs. Amazing! Madness vs. Madness!
Soon, Bird's timeout ended, and the Pacers brought in Webber, along with their strong perimeter quartet of four players who had performed well in the fourth quarter: Lin Tian, Carter, Miller, and Lewis.
They clearly intend to fully display their speed, frenzy, and range advantage, without holding back at all!
As for the Lakers, they also opted for a lineup with one big man and four small men.
Shaquille O'Neal, Horry, Shaw, Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher!
Jackson put the team's five best shooters on the court.
The Pacers had possession of the ball first!
Lin Tian received the throw-in from midfield, but instead of rushing to attack, he held the ball and observed his teammates' positioning.
At this stage of the game, every possession is crucial! Even if Lin Tian is 100% confident that he can easily get past Kobe, he still needs to observe his teammates' movements and the Lakers' defensive positioning.
He must make all the necessary preparations before launching an attack!
With 10 seconds left on the attack time, Lin Tian finally launched his attack!
He continued with his crossover dribbling and his signature attack step dribbling. After a slight upper body movement, Lin Tian didn't change direction but instead made a one-handed deceptive dribble, then brushed past Kobe and twisted his body to drive into the paint!
This time, O'Neal arrived faster and more fiercely, his arms outstretched and his eyes wide with anger as he charged at Lin Tian.
But with O'Neal's long arms outstretched, ready to block, Lin Tian opted for a quick shot, a high-arc floater that flew over O'Neal's head and fingertips, even above the top edge of the backboard, and flew toward the basket behind his head.
"Whoosh!"
With a crisp sound, Lin Tian took down the OK duo in one round!
They also narrowed the gap to 3 points!
That was an absolutely inspiring goal!
"Come on, Shaq! Come on!" After scoring, Lin Tian roared at O'Neal, "I don't care if you're the Big Shaq or the Little Yellow Croaker, bring it on! Let's see who can beat whom!"
O'Neal snorted, didn't stop, quickly moved to the frontcourt, and then backed down Webber.
Webber's defense has always been negligible. While not a complete liability, he's at best below average. As a power forward, he was truly helpless against a monster like O'Neal, who easily pushed him aside and gave him his position!
"boom!"
After another loud bang, O'Neal completed another dunk, and the score difference between the two sides remained at 5 points!
Lin Tian continued to break through, but this time he didn't shoot himself. Instead, he found Miller on the wing. The cold-blooded shooter received the ball and didn't hesitate to shoot a three-pointer!
"Whoosh!"
With a crisp sound, Miller scored a crucial 3 points for his team!
122: 120!
A 2-point difference!
After successfully closing the gap to 2 points, the Pacers' defense finally showed some problems!
They were no longer willing to let O'Neal go one-on-one against Webber. When O'Neal once again had the ball and was about to drive into the paint, Lewis couldn't resist the temptation and rushed into the paint to double-team O'Neal.
Just as Lewis rushed to the vicinity of the three-second zone, O'Neal had already made a bounce pass, sending the ball out of the three-point line!
Lewis realized something was wrong and tried to turn around to pounce, but it was too late!
"Whoosh!"
With a crisp sound, Horry swiftly swung his knife and calmly sank the three-pointer!
Horry, the "lucky charm," truly lives up to his name!
Even if he plays terribly tonight, even if he has played terribly throughout the entire playoffs, Jackson will still put him on the court in crucial moments! And as long as he's on the court, he really makes an impact!
After that three-pointer, there were only 1 minute and 30 seconds left in the game!
The Lakers still maintain a 5-point lead!
Kenny exclaimed excitedly, "90 seconds left! 90 seconds left! The Lakers are still leading by 5! Horry! That old monster! He's really one of those guys who doesn't look like much, doesn't seem to have any noteworthy abilities, but can still put the ball in the basket at the most crucial moments!"
"This play could very well destroy the Pacers' confidence! Every time they close the gap, the Lakers pull away again! Being the trailing team must be incredibly frustrating!"
Lewis on the court had no time for regret or despair, because Webber had already played to his strengths, quickly stepping out of bounds and then throwing the ball forward!
Lin Tian quickly grabbed the basketball, and just as Kobe was about to steal it, he turned around and completely bypassed Kobe. Then, he only dribbled forward two steps before shooting!
"Whoosh!"
After a crisp sound, Lin Tian chased down and hit another three-pointer!
This shot came less than 4 seconds after Horry hit the three-pointer!
"Less than 4 seconds! Less than 4 seconds!" Barkley and Kenny exclaimed almost simultaneously. Before Kenny could even finish speaking, Barkley yelled again, "The difference is still 2 points! Lin's pull-up 3-pointer! A clutch performance! A true clutch performance!"
"At this point in the game, with the team behind, Lin actually dared to throw that up! Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable! This is the level of a two-time MVP! Those bastards who didn't vote for Lin, do you regret it now?"
After Lin Tian scored, Jackson on the sidelines suddenly stood up, but instead of calling a timeout, he reached out and pressed his hand against the floor while whistling to attract the players' attention.
His meaning was clear: Suppress it! Stabilize it!
With only 86 seconds left, let's play it safe and hit two shots!
Fisher, who was dribbling the ball, nodded to indicate that he understood.
Then, as expected, he slowed down his initial charge, waving his hand and shouting as he slowly dribbled the ball towards the frontcourt.
"Experience! This Lakers team has reached its peak after years of gelling. Their experience, fighting spirit, and mentality are impeccable!" Kenny said with a smile. "This Lakers team is fully prepared to win the championship!"
"This Pacers team has already won a championship once," Barkley rolled his eyes. "Should I remind you who won the championship the year before last? FUXX! Shaq got the ball again!"
The two were bickering while keeping an eye on the situation on the court. This time, O'Neal received the ball with his back to the basket, held off Webber, and after a few probing fakes, the monster who had already scored 59 points that night suddenly exerted force behind him, his shoulder ramming into Webber!
The expected collision and loud noise did not occur!
Webber gave O'Neal a hard time!
Webber, who had been relentlessly battling O'Neal throughout the entire game, suddenly started playing dirty tricks on O'Neal in the last minute or so!
The moment O'Neal exerted force, he swerved to the side, causing O'Neal to immediately lose his balance!
"Traveling violation!"
The referee quickly issued a ruling, awarding O'Neal a traveling violation for staggering due to excessive force and losing control of his steps!
The Lakers made a crucial mistake in a very critical possession!
"See? This is the consequence of handing over offensive control to this fat guy." Lin Tian said to Kobe, "He needs someone to feed him the ball, he needs to post up, which makes it easy for him to make mistakes."
"This mistake is just the first one! He'll continue to make mistakes!"
"But what about you? In this situation, when your old man Shaq is in trouble and needs someone to support him, would you dare? Would you have the guts to take possession of the ball and handle the game yourself?"
After provoking Kobe for more than 40 minutes, Lin Tian was actually ready to give up.
Kobe's mentality was much more resolute than he had imagined. During the game, no matter how Lin Tian tried to deal with Kobe with all sorts of dirty tricks and trash talk, Kobe remained unmoved and simply followed Jackson's tactics!
Lin Tian could only say that he still preferred Kobe's rebellious spirit; how did he become such a coward?
Despite the trash talk, he continued playing basketball. After saying those few more trash words to Kobe, Lin Tian once again took the basketball and dribbled it towards the frontcourt.
This round is extremely important!
"The Pacers' chance has arrived! This might be their most important chance tonight! 1 minute and 10 seconds left! Pacers, go for it!" From Barkley's words, you can tell how important this play is, and what it means!
If the Pacers score, it will be a tie or even a comeback!
At this moment, all 18000 fans in the City Square Arena spontaneously stood up and gave their biggest support to the stadium that night!
They must do their best to cheer for the team!
After arriving at the frontcourt, Lin Tian did not attempt a shot himself this time. Instead, he raised his hand and called for a screen.
Webber immediately ran out from the paint and blocked Kobe from behind.
This time, O'Neal stopped guarding the three-second zone and charged out from the paint.
Shaquille O'Neal, the Tiger, is out of his hole!
As for Kobe, who was blocked by Webber, he struggled desperately to break free and finally succeeded in breaking free from Webber's screen. He then ran towards Lin Tian.
OK combination, double-team Lin Tian!
Lin Tian immediately made a bounce pass to Webber, allowing Webber to organize the offense. The moment Webber received the ball, Horry rushed to Webber's side, raising his hands to defend, preventing Webber from easily attacking the basket or shooting directly.
But then the OK duo double-teamed Lin Tian, and Horry came to help defend Webber, leaving Lewis on the wing wide open once again!
Webber didn't hesitate. He held the ball with both hands and first made a fake pass to Miller in the corner, making Fisher not dare to let Webber go for a rotation. Webber then made a no-look pass to Lewis, and the second-year freshman got another chance beyond the three-point line!
Without hesitation, the knife fell!
"Whoosh!"
Lewis hit his fourth three-pointer of the quarter! And his fifth three-pointer of the night!
Lewis tonight was even more explosive than in the Eastern Conference Finals!
125: 126!
The Pacers have taken a one-point lead!
There are only 51 seconds left in the game!
The entire City Square arena erupted in cheers, and similarly, at another arena in Indiana, Conseco Arena, the fans were going wild with excitement!
With nearly 4 fans in the two arenas in Indiana, plus countless other enthusiastic fans watching the game in the plazas and at home, their cheers made the whole of Indiana feel like an earthquake!
That shot was absolutely exhilarating!
Especially considering that the Pacers had been trailing for almost the entire 47 minutes of the game and were dominated by the Lakers for almost the whole time, this go-ahead basket made the fans even more excited!
This is what they've been waiting for! This is what they want!
Webber had a poor performance tonight. Although he hasn't scored in double digits yet, his defensive play and pass in the last two possessions made him the biggest contributor to the team's turnaround and regain of the advantage!
With 51 seconds left, Jackson called a timeout.
He remained calm and composed. In his experience, being down by only one point with 50 seconds left was nothing out of the ordinary. He had previously played under Jordan, who had made countless crucial comeback shots like this.
And tonight, he has O'Neal on his team!
Although he has never won an MVP, he is definitely the most dominant monster in the entire league!
The subsequent tactical arrangements were also very simple and clear.
The whole team spread out, and O'Neal went one-on-one!
If the Pacers double-team, O'Neal has to decide for himself whether to pass the ball or try to score himself!
As for the Pacers, Bird passionately declared, "Five seconds left! Victory is already in our hands, so let's not let it slip away! Defend this possession!"
"O'Neal! Jackson will definitely still be playing against O'Neal! Everyone, in the next moment, raise the intensity of the contact and defense to the maximum. Don't let them easily pass the ball to O'Neal! Delay and postpone O'Neal's time to receive the ball! Compress the time as much as possible!"
"Sam! You have the most experience and know best how to defend a traditional center like this. You're up this time! You're responsible for fronting O'Neal! Chris, you stand behind O'Neal. As long as he gets the ball, as long as the Lakers counter-attack..."
"I need you to rush behind O'Neal and double-team him immediately!"
"Force him to pass the ball! I want him to have no space to make any moves or go one-on-one! As for the rest of you, the guy Chris left open, get over there and help defend! Everyone, push your rotation speed to the limit! I want you to run faster than when you were still horny!"
"I need you to use the speed you have to defeat your billions of brothers and sisters, get to where you're supposed to be, and stop this Lakers attack! Understand?"
"clear!"
"Then, go and secure the first victory in the finals!"
Inspired by Bird, the Pacers were now united and marched onto the court with great momentum!
Lin Tian, Christie, Carter, Webber, and Perkins!
"My God! Bird's player selection is absolutely insane!" Kenny exclaimed upon seeing the Pacers' roster. "39-year-old veteran Sam Perkins, who hasn't played a single second in the previous games! And Christie, who didn't play a single second in the fourth quarter!"
"Bird immediately brought out two fresh players for this crucial defensive possession! I understand Bird's intention and thinking behind that substitution, but I really think that 99% of coaches wouldn't use players like that at this moment! It's insane! It's outrageous!"
"Kenny, I told you, you'd never be a good head coach!" Barkley added, "The Lakers will most likely target O'Neal in the end, and the Pacers' Davis and Wallace are both fouled out, leaving them severely short-handed in the paint!"
"Instead of hoping Webber will put on some top-tier defense, it would be better to put veteran Perkins in and use his experience to guard O'Neal for one possession! As for Christie, he's already the Pacers' second-best defender on the perimeter after Lin, so putting him in is also to improve the defensive quality! So Bird's personnel decisions are incredibly clear!"
"This is the lineup the Pacers should be using right now!"
The two kept discussing Bird's player selection, while Jackson's player selection seemed much more traditional at this moment!
Shaquille O'Neal, Horry, Rice, Kobe Bryant, and Hubble!
Aside from replacing the pure blue-collar Green with the shooting guard Horry, the rest of his players were all from his starting lineup!
While Bird was taking a risky gamble, Jackson opted for a very safe and conventional lineup!
Seeing Jackson's lineup, Bird sighed. He had seemed so confident just moments before, but now he was genuinely nervous!
He originally thought Jackson would play AC Green, a pure role player! That way, the Pacers would have an easy time either helping or assisting on defense.
Because Green has virtually no offensive capabilities.
But now, with Jackson bringing on Horry, who's in good form, the pressure on Webber, who's guarding him, and the other Pacers players who need to help defend and rotate at any time has increased dramatically.
We can only hope that the first point of defense and Perkins' experience will allow O'Neal to receive the ball as late as possible!
"Beep beep!"
The referee blew his whistle, and Rice passed the ball to Kobe. After Kobe received the ball at the top of the arc, he didn't rush to attack. Instead, he dribbled the ball back two steps to steady himself.
But Lin Tian, who was defending him, didn't give Kobe any chance to calm down. He quickly clung to him and started a grappling battle with Kobe!
"You still haven't started attacking yourself by now? What are you doing here tonight? Just a passing machine? Why don't you let my grandma do it? She can pass the ball to Shaq just as well!" Lin Tian continued to taunt Kobe while putting pressure on him, trying to provoke him into attacking on his own.
But tonight, Kobe seemed determined not to attack with the ball himself. He turned to the side to block Lin Tian's defense, preventing Lin Tian from easily touching the basketball he was dribbling. At the same time, his ball-protecting hand kept pulling at Lin Tian, blocking Lin Tian's increasingly fierce close defense!
Then?
Then Kobe passed the ball!
This guy passed the ball directly to Horry, who was half-opened by Webber. Horry didn't rush to pass the ball after receiving it, but continued to pass it around. Perkins under the basket was putting in all his effort. He kept changing direction and adjusting his footwork in front of O'Neal, trying to cut off the connection between O'Neal and his teammates and prevent him from receiving the ball easily!
At the same time, he also had to keep O'Neal firmly under his control!
Although he had only been on the court for a dozen seconds, in that one possession, Perkins felt like his bones were about to break!
For older players, it's definitely better to play as few matches as possible at this level, otherwise their bones will really break!
Perkins' experience and defensive skills are indeed impressive. The Lakers' perimeter players had already passed the ball around the court, but the ball just couldn't get to O'Neal's hands!
"Give it to me!" Finally, with only 5 seconds left on the shot clock, O'Neal suddenly gave Perkins a rough shove, causing him to stumble. O'Neal finally got space, and Rice immediately slammed the ball into the paint!
Before O'Neal could even get the ball, Webber stepped up behind him, blocking him tightly. At the same time, before O'Neal could even make any offensive move after getting the ball, Perkins had already regained his position and was standing in front of O'Neal again!
O'Neal felt like he hadn't even gotten the ball before he was double-teamed!
Unfortunately, he was standing a little too far from the basket, preventing him from getting up directly to attack the rim! This distance is definitely not a good area for a tall center to dribble and launch an attack!
Facing a double-team while dribbling and attacking here is extremely easy to make a mistake!
So, after calmly swearing, O'Neal didn't hold onto the ball, but instead passed it to Horry, who was left wide open!
The Pacers' rotation was incredibly fast at this moment! When O'Neal saw Horry just now, he had a huge open shot, but by the time Horry got the ball, Christie was already in front of him!
This pure shooter didn't have the skill or ability to shoot over someone, so he quickly passed the ball to Rice, who then passed it to Kobe!
Kobe didn't pass again! He ignored O'Neal, who was still trying to establish position in the paint.
With so little time left on the shot clock, is it time to pass the ball again?
That can't be called a pass, that's passing the buck! That's forcing your teammate to catch the ball at the buzzer and take a difficult shot!
Kobe wouldn't do that kind of thing, nor did he like doing it!
After getting the ball, Kobe dribbled between his legs to find his rhythm, then pulled up and forced a shot, completing the three-pointer over Lin Tian before the 24-second shot clock expired!
"Bang!"
Amidst the anticipation and hopes of the entire stadium, Kobe's three-pointer bounced off the rim and missed!
At the same time, the rebound bounced a bit too far, flying directly to the vicinity of the three-point line, trapping Kobe in Lin Tian's hands behind him!
Lin Tian jumped up and grabbed the basketball. Then, the moment he landed, he suddenly slapped the ball hard from his left side behind him, and then quickly turned to his right!
The ball and the player have passed each other!
Kobe, who was originally positioned behind Lin Tian and was preparing to counter-steal after Lin Tian landed, was completely thrown off balance by Lin Tian's swift and sudden dribble past him. He tried to steal the ball and block Lin Tian's advance, but the ball just passed by him and Lin Tian passed by him on the other side.
He couldn't stop any of them!
"My God! Lin's back again!" Kenny gasped. "Who would pull off such an arrogant and crazy move in the last 20 seconds of the Finals?!"
"Lin has crossed souls again! He's completely swept Kobe's soul away!" Barkley exclaimed wildly, "I'm putting this in my list of the top ten crossovers in NBA history! Definitely! It was incredible! In the blink of an eye, Lin shook off everyone!"
"Now I firmly believe that even if God stood before the forest, the forest would surely overshadow Him!"
Before the two could even exclaim in surprise, Lin Tian had already reached the frontcourt. But this time, instead of shooting, Lin Tian dribbled the ball and stood under the Lakers' basket, then turned around to observe the Lakers' pursuit and defense.
With only about 20 seconds left in the game, dunking isn't the best option, as it would give the Lakers plenty of time to complete one or even two offensive plays!
Therefore, Lin Tian needs to waste time, giving the Lakers as little offensive time as possible to ensure the Pacers' victory.
You wouldn't be surprised if you didn't look, but once you did, you'd be shocked.
Kobe was right in front of Lin Tian!
This guy never gave up on defense. Even though he was beaten so badly, he didn't just stand there with his hands on his hips or shrug to indicate that referee Lin Tian had committed a traveling violation. Instead, he unleashed a speed far exceeding his usual level and chased back desperately.
Finally, when Lin Tian turned around, they were less than 3 meters apart!
And this guy was going too fast; he was clearly having trouble braking.
Fortunately, Lin Tian reacted quickly and turned around to avoid Kobe, otherwise the two of them would definitely have collided and had a close encounter!
Lin Tian managed to avoid Kobe's "close contact," but he couldn't avoid Kobe's outstretched arm.
"Beep beep!"
The referee blew his whistle quickly, awarding the Pacers two free throws!
As Lin Tian stepped to the free-throw line, looking at Kobe, he realized that if Kobe hadn't been playing such relentless defense, Lin Tian could have at least run down the clock for another 7-8 seconds, and the situation would have been completely different then: "You're even more tenacious than I thought! Like a damn cockroach!"
"You should have known this three years ago! You should have known it when we first trained together in Los Angeles! I will never give up on a game." Kobe, panting heavily, looked at Lin Tian and said, "You better make both free throws, or I'll definitely hit the game-winner!"
"We'll see." Lin Tian shrugged, then easily made both free throws!
With 23 seconds left, the Pacers' lead reached 3 points!
Jackson then called his last timeout!
"Quick two-pointer! Let's start with a quick two-pointer. Shaq, get into position inside and try to drive the ball straight in. Finish the game within five seconds and take those damn two points!"
"Then, Kobe and Ron, you two shut down Lin and don't let him get the ball. Glen, you're responsible for Reggie. Under no circumstances should you let those two get the ball! If anyone else gets the ball, foul them immediately, without hesitation!"
"Besides these two guys, the rest of the Pacers might not be able to withstand this much pressure! If they miss just one free throw, our chance will come!"
"Remember, don't rush to shoot, don't rush to gamble on a three-pointer! Understand?"
After giving repeated instructions, Jackson sent his players onto the court. It was the same lineup as before, the same five players!
The Lakers are about to make their final push!
As for the Pacers, Bird didn't make any substitutions; the same five players still took the court.
It was still a double-team defense against O'Neal, with one player flanking him and the other pushing him from behind.
Bird clearly anticipated that Jackson would execute a quick two-point play.
Horry stood on the sideline, ready to take the most important throw-in of the game!
"beep!"
After the whistle blew, the players began a frantic run!
Aside from O'Neal standing directly under the basket and constantly reaching for the ball, the other three Lakers players ran around O'Neal, keeping a safe distance from him, as if afraid of drawing their defenders to O'Neal's side.
But under such double-team defense, how easy is it for O'Neal to receive the ball?
With a five-second violation looming, Horry had no choice but to pass the ball to Kobe, who was running out from the top of the key!
"I bet you won't dare shoot!" Lin Tianding said to Kobe. "Come on, pass the ball to Shaq! Let him score a meaningless two points! Then you'll see how accurate Indiana's free throws are!"
"You think our team is full of free-throw idiots like Shaq? Even if you give the ball to Shaq, we'll foul him immediately and make him shoot free throws!"
"Phil's strategy is a complete waste of effort!"
Kobe still had that poker face, showing no expression, and didn't give Lin Tian any answer, but Lin Tian just felt that this guy was going to shoot!
There was no reason or basis, but Lin Tian just had this feeling!
Sure enough, Kobe, who had the ball, suddenly dribbled between his legs twice in a row, then suddenly changed direction sharply to his right, and then pulled up and launched an unreasonable three-pointer!
"Snapped!"
Lin Tian, who had been waiting for Kobe, did not jump. Instead, he kept his eyes fixed on Kobe's hands. Just as Kobe jumped to release his hand, Lin Tian's big hand slapped down!
His cut was incredibly precise, hitting the basketball directly between Kobe's hands.
"Steal! Lin stole the ball!" Barkley roared excitedly. "The game is over! The game is over! Congratulations to the Pacers in advance for completing the comeback and winning Game 1 of the Finals!"
"The Pacers now lead the Lakers 1-0!"
With Barkley's shout, Lin Tian transformed into a nimble cheetah, launching a rapid advance towards the Lakers' half of the court!
This time, he no longer ignored Kobe, but dribbled the ball and ran at top speed without stopping. After driving to the Lakers' basket, Lin Tian made another rapid change of direction without stopping!
Lin Tian made a 90-degree right-angle turn with almost no deceleration, no pause or hesitation!
Like a car drifting and tail-sliding, he suddenly pulled the handbrake while driving at high speed, turned the steering wheel all the way in the opposite direction, and completed a turn with great style, running towards the Lakers' baseline!
The sudden change of direction was so unexpected that Kobe didn't have time to catch up with Lin Tian. He even stumbled and almost fell to the ground!
In that instant, he lost sight of Lin Tian, allowing Lin Tian to waste another 3 seconds at the baseline before he could catch up!
But just as he ran to Lin Tian's side, Lin Tian made a one-handed pass to Carter outside the three-point line. Carter then quickly passed the ball to Miller, who had run to the other corner.
After Miller got the ball, he even faked a three-point shot, which scared Horry, who had run hard to get in front of him, into not daring to foul him!
Just kidding, if I got a three-point foul right now, I'd be completely finished!
But with that slight hesitation, Miller bent down again, darted past Horry, and charged to the basket once more!
Then, Miller passed the ball again, bouncing it to Lin Tian, who had just run to the free-throw line and was already two body lengths ahead of Kobe.
After receiving the ball, Lin Tian ran in the opposite direction towards the top of the arc.
When Lin Tiancai finally reached this position, he was surrounded by Rice, O'Neal and Hubble!
Because the three players were too close together, Lin Tian did not choose to pass the ball again.
Pressuring too hard can easily lead to mistakes.
At this point, the Lakers finally completed their fouling strategy, but more than ten seconds had already been used up, and now there were only 7.9 seconds left in the game!
The Lakers have already used up their timeouts. From any perspective, if Lin Tian makes one free throw and extends the lead to 4 points, then tonight's game can be declared over!
For Lin Tian, with his clutch gene and free throw skills, making just one free throw would be an insult. Twenty years from now, Chinese guards might not be able to make a single one, but Lin Tian calmly makes both!
A 5-point difference, with 7.9 seconds left!
Horry quickly reached the baseline and passed the ball to Kobe. Kobe dribbled forward at lightning speed, driving all the way to the frontcourt while holding off Lin Tian. Then, with a desperate three-pointer, he forced his way up and shot!
The ball went in, and the Lakers, who have no timeouts left, can still gamble on a Pacers turnover on the inbound pass!
If you make it in, a miracle is still possible!
But
"Bang!"
Unfortunately, Kobe's third shot in the final moments missed again!
His performance in the final minute was disastrous! Two missed shots and one turnover!
Kobe became the number one culprit for the Lakers' loss!
After the basketball bounced off the rim and missed, although O'Neal rushed to the basket, grabbed the rebound, and scored a putback, securing the final 2 points and 1 rebound, nobody paid any attention to him. The Pacers players had already huddled together and started cheering wildly!
Won!
The Pacers won the opening game of the Finals!
It was a hard-fought comeback. The Pacers were dominated by the Lakers for almost the entire game, but thanks to outstanding performances from players like Lin Tian, Lewis, and Miller, they still managed to secure this incredibly tough victory!
"Indiana! They won! They won this incredibly tough game! A magical night! A magical performance!" Barkley roared. "And Lin broke the NBA Finals scoring record! He became the first person in NBA Finals history to score 66 points!"
"By the way, he also tied Michael Jordan's NBA playoff single-game scoring record. In the 98 Eastern Conference Finals, Jordan scored 66 points against Lin! But Jordan and the Bulls unfortunately lost that game!"
"But tonight, Lin scored 66 points and led his team to victory!"
"At the same time, Lin not only scored 66 points, but also incredibly put up an all-around stat line of 13 assists, 10 rebounds, 6 steals, and 3 blocks! Incredible! It's like God, the god of basketball, has possessed him! Tonight, Lin did everything!"
"Nothing more amazing than this!"
"There's no more incredible performance than this! Nothing! 66 points, a triple-double, almost a quadruple-double! Who can do something more insane than Lin?"
"That's Lin! Lin is insane!"
After Barkley's roar subsided, Kenny immediately added, "Also, this is Lin's second time scoring 60+ points alongside an opponent in the playoffs! The last time was also in the 98 Eastern Conference Finals, when Lin and Michael Jordan scored 60+ points in the same game!"
"Although O'Neal lost tonight, he still racked up 61 points, 22 rebounds, 5 assists and 7 blocks! It was another performance like that of an ancient monster! But the Lakers obviously had problems in the last 2 minutes. Kobe missed 2 shots and had 1 turnover, and O'Neal himself also had 1 turnover."
"These subtle differences meant that despite the Lakers' hard work throughout the game, they could only suffer a heartbreaking defeat! Hopefully, this loss won't affect them, and they can quickly recover their form and mentality!"
"And then, continue to give us wonderful performances!"
Looking at the stats, Barkley said, "Besides those two crazy guys, Lin and Shaq, the brightest star tonight is undoubtedly Rashad Lewis! Remember this guy, this clutch player!"
"Ever since his breakout performance in the Eastern Conference Finals, he's played with increasing confidence and improved with each game! Tonight, he scored the Pacers' second-highest 17 points, and most importantly, he hit four three-pointers in the fourth quarter! His magic in the fourth quarter helped the Pacers complete the comeback!"
"Besides those two, Carter scored 14 points, Miller 12, and Ben Wallace, who fouled out, also contributed 6 points and 14 rebounds!"
Kenny added, "As for the Lakers, although Kobe played poorly in the fourth quarter, he still managed to score the second-highest points on the team with 21 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals thanks to his outstanding performance in the second quarter."
"In addition, Rice scored 11 points and Horry 10 points, bringing the Lakers' total to four players scoring in double figures tonight!"
"But ultimately, tonight's game belonged to Lin and O'Neal! These two, one inside and one outside, unleashed the most insane scoring duel ever! They both delivered perfect performances tonight! They both put up historic numbers and performances!"
"This level of Finals performance has never been seen in the entire history of the NBA! But tonight, we saw two! I think if O'Neal played like this tonight, he could lead his team to victory in 99% of the games!"
"But tonight, of all times, he met Lin! He met Lin, who was even more perfect than him!"
(End of this chapter)