chsdbacks Chapter 391 I had only just exerted my strength when you collapsed?
Chapter 391 I had only just exerted my strength when you collapsed?
That's basically how the game unfolded.
For the first three and a half quarters, both sides traded blows, with impressive shooting percentages and statistics, resulting in a very high score!
With five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the score was temporarily set at 119-120!
The Pacers are currently down by one point!
At this point, both sides had a field goal percentage of over 54% and a three-point field goal percentage of over 45%!
In addition, both sides play a high-paced, high-volume style of play and rely heavily on three-pointers, so in terms of shooting percentage, both sides can truly be described as having both quality and quantity!
However, the happy time of mutual trust and trust is coming to an end!
"Alright, guys, we've had our fun. Time to get back on track and take the game back!" Carlisle said, spreading his hands casually. "Ben, El, Doug, Vince, and Lin, go!"
"Expand your defensive zone, switch on pick-and-rolls and don't give them shooting opportunities! Everyone, speed up your footwork and stick to them, increase your physical contact! Communicate more on defense, watch out for their baseline cuts and backdoor runs, watch out for their lob passes and bounce passes to put the ball directly to the basket."
"Lin, Al, you two go and take on Bibi and Peja, increase the physical contact, and prevent them from getting the ball out of play!"
"Doug, you stick to that Turk and make it difficult for him to organize the team's offense. His dribbling fundamentals are a problem. Find an opportunity to steal the ball from him!"
"The rest of you, once you've secured the defense, be ready to launch a fast break! Okay, that's it, go and finish the game!"
"clear!"
The five people who were called stood up at the same time, responded loudly, and then turned and walked onto the court.
For the Pacers, the warm-up is over, it's time to unleash their power!
On his first offensive possession back on the court, Lin Tian easily beat Bibby one-on-one, drove into the paint, and quickly passed the ball to Carter outside the three-point line.
Carter received the ball and immediately took a shot.
"Whoosh!"
Carter hit his sixth three-pointer of the night, which was also his 37th point of the game!
In the first game of the Finals, Carter delivered a near-perfect performance, further solidifying his status as the top free agent!
122: 120!
The Pacers have once again taken the lead!
In terms of the pace of tonight's game, this two-point deficit will not cause Sacramento any anxiety at all, since they will be back in one round, it's very easy!
The cheers from the fans continued to rise, and they remained incredibly excited, eagerly anticipating the team's first-ever victory in the Finals!
But their excitement lasted for less than 15 seconds!
Because the Pacers are on fire!
From midfield onwards, Lin Tian began a high-intensity, close marking defense against Bibby, while also constantly trying to steal the ball.
Bibby was caught off guard by Lin Tian's sudden increase in defensive intensity, but as a former second overall pick, he didn't make a direct mistake. Instead, he quickly passed the ball to Turkoglu, but Turkoglu couldn't organize an attack after receiving the ball.
Because Christie's hands were always in the place he hated most, Christie was constantly interfering with and blocking his dribbling and breakthroughs. This kind of skillful defender was the type of defense that the young Turkoglu feared most.
After dribbling repeatedly without being able to shake off the ball or find an opportunity, Turkoglu had no choice but to pass the ball to Peja, the team leader, on the other side.
Peja's situation after getting the ball was even worse than Pekogru's. He was not good at dribbling and breaking through, and he encountered Harrington, who was full of energy and jumped around like Sakuragi Hanamichi.
Facing the strong and energetic Harrington, Peja didn't even dare to dribble the ball. Instead, he held the ball with both hands, turned around, and waited anxiously for his teammates to come forward and support him.
Fortunately, Bibi ran like crazy at this moment and finally managed to shake off Lin Tian and rush to Peja's side.
Peja saw a savior and quickly passed the ball to Bibby, but Bibby only had 2 seconds left on the shot clock when he got the ball. At the same time, he hadn't completely shaken off Lin Tian. The moment he received the ball, Lin Tian had already squeezed past Peja and stuck to him.
Whether it's weight, height, or wingspan, Lin Tian has an absolute advantage over Bibby. In less than 2 seconds, Bibby didn't even see the basket, let alone complete the shot. Before he could even straighten his body, the 24-second shot clock went off.
24-second violation!
The Kings were clearly caught off guard by the Pacers' sudden increase in defensive intensity, and were forced to commit a 24-second violation before even getting inside the three-point line!
For the Sacramento Kings, a team known for its shooting, offense, passing and cutting, and who made it all the way to the Finals, it's not difficult to stop them from missing shots. But to force them into a 24-second violation like in this play, preventing them from even getting a shot off, is truly a difficult task!
After all, this was exactly what the king excelled at.
"The game is over. The match begins now." Lin Tian looked at Bibi, who was panting heavily and slowly retreating, and said, "I hope you can hold on a little longer."
"If you all fall down the moment we exert ourselves, then this competition will be so boring!"
"It's just one round. Do you think you can keep defending against us like this forever? We were just unprepared!" Bibby retorted, but his tone clearly lacked confidence.
"Unprepared?" Lin Tian immediately scoffed, "This is the finals! You're saying you're unprepared in the finals? Do you think this is some neighborhood senior citizens' basketball tournament?"
"The real winners are those who have everything prepared from the very beginning of the season!"
"Shut up!" Bibi cursed. Although "White Devil" was famous, his trash-talking skills were really not good. He was defeated before the first round was over, and he was completely powerless to fight back!
What's worse is that it wasn't just Bibby's trash talk that was powerless to fight back, but the entire Kings team as well!
After the Pacers forced a 24-second violation, the Kings seemed to have completely forgotten how to play basketball and how to break down the opponent's defense.
First, Lin Tian drove to the basket and made a layup, widening the gap to 4 points. Then, on their next offensive possession, they were defended terribly by the Pacers. Finally, Peja shot an incredibly absurd three-pointer over Harrington.
The ball didn't even touch the rim before it started to fall. After being caught by Ben Wallace, he threw it towards the frontcourt!
As for Ben Wallace's passing, well, it's the same old flavor, the same old recipe.
If Lin Tian hadn't started his fast break as soon as Peja was shooting, that shot would have gone out of bounds 100%!
Even though Lin Tian had already started sprinting when he was shooting, he barely managed to grab the ball before it went out of bounds.
Then, because Lin Tian rushed too hard, he didn't even manage to dunk once, and instead finished the attack with a layup!
"I made a great pass, Lin!" Ben Wallace excitedly raised his hands, indicating that his passing skills were in no way inferior to Webber's.
"Great pass!" Lin Tian gave Ben Wallace a thumbs up. "Never pass like that again in your life. Let this kind of pass, like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's skyhook, be forever sealed in history!"
In the next few minutes, the Kings couldn't find their offensive rhythm. Facing the Pacers' defensive lineup, which was full of mobility, toughness, and aggressiveness, the Kings were unable to mount any effective counterattacks.
Even though Adelman called two timeouts in a row to try and give the team a break, it was to no avail!
For the next three minutes, the Kings, known for their offense, only managed 4 points! Meanwhile, the Pacers scored 10 points with a combination of inside drives and outside shots!
再加上之前步行者队拿下的7分，在终场前5分钟到2分钟的时间里，猛然将强度提起的步行者队打了国王一个17：4！
They went from trailing by 1 point to leading by 12 points!
With two minutes remaining, and after Bibby missed another three-pointer, Carlisle stopped sending his starters onto the court. He called a timeout and substituted the five starters, bringing some bench players onto the court.
The suspense of the match has now ended!
140:130!
When the final whistle blew, this all-out attacking battle finally came to an end!
After a back-and-forth battle with the Pacers for a full 43 minutes, the Kings suddenly became helpless against the Pacers' increased defensive intensity. They were unable to respond and suffered a painful defeat.
And it was in those last 5 minutes that everyone realized: these two teams are definitely not on the same level!
If the Pacers exert even a little effort, the Kings will immediately be unable to withstand it and collapse!
If the Kings' fighting strength is 3000, then the Pacers have at least 1!
So even though Bibby scored 36 points and 11 assists, Peja scored 33 points and 6 rebounds, Divac scored 15 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists, almost a triple-double, and Jackson scored 19 points with inside and outside shots, and even though these guys performed perfectly in the first 40 minutes of the game, they just couldn't hold on!
If you can't beat them, you can't beat them!
至于步行者队那边，林天拿下全场最高的47分7篮板8助攻，卡特41分4篮板2助攻，韦伯22分10篮板9助攻！
Even disregarding the huge gap in defense and resilience between the two teams in the final minutes, and even considering only the performance of their key players, the Pacers still held a clear advantage over the Kings!
They suppressed the Kings in every aspect.
After the game, during TNT's post-game analysis, Barkley bluntly stated, "After watching this game, I'm absolutely certain we can celebrate the birth of a new dynasty ahead of schedule!"
"4-0, or at most 4-1, there won't be any other score. The gap between these two teams is just too big."
"In terms of offense, the two teams may be evenly matched, but if you add defense, physicality, resilience under pressure in crucial moments, and the ability of their leaders to close out the game in the final moments, then..."
"All of this combined means the Kings and the Pacers are simply not on the same level! After all, if even the Pacers' defense, which isn't particularly strong, can completely suppress the Kings and prevent them from scoring for three minutes, how can the Kings compete with the Pacers?"
"Another little-known fact, or rather, a point that no one has ever paid attention to, is that since this Pacers team was formed in 97, has there ever been a single time when they faltered on defense? Has there ever been a single time they lost because their own defense was poor or because the opponent's defense was too good?"
"No! Absolutely not! Not even once! Whether their opponents were the Bulls, Heat, Knicks, or Jazz, they've faced every defensively dominant team in the NBA over the years, but has any team been able to contain their firepower?"
"Is there even one team that can beat them offensively simply because they are bad at defense?"
No! Absolutely not!
"The Pacers' defense may not be among the league's absolute best, but it's definitely not a liability! They just don't like to play defense, not that they can't! When they want to play defense, they can shut down almost any team and player!"
"This year's Kings will probably be the best example!"
"At this point, the situation of this year's finals is actually quite clear."
"One good news and one bad news."
"The good news is: Lin and Indiana fans can enjoy an incredibly easy series and then celebrate them becoming a brand new, true dynasty!"
"The bad news is: those Kings fans, neutral fans who just want to see a great Finals series, and fans who want to see the underdogs win and the Kings pull off a comeback."
"You're going to be disappointed! This finals series will most likely be the most boring and least suspenseful finals series in the last 20 years!"
"If I were Indiana, I would prepare champagne, confetti, fireworks, or other celebratory items in advance, because these things will likely go up in price in a week, and it won't be worth buying them then!"
Judging from their expressions alone, you could tell that Kenny next to Barkley completely agreed with Barkley, but since this was a TV show, he couldn't just stand there saying "yes, yes, yes, yes."
He needs to have his own perspective and spark some discussion.
"So, Charles, do you think there will be any unexpected twists and turns in the Pacers' championship run this year?"
"No more."
"So, on their path to winning the championship this year, what do you think is their biggest challenge going forward?"
"Is the biggest problem that the opponent was too weak?" Barkley shrugged and said, "As the last game of the three-peat, to be honest, the Pacers didn't face much of a challenge in the playoffs this year."
"The Heat are a bunch of veterans past their prime, the Nets are a group of rookies, the Hornets are not worth mentioning, and the Kings made it to the Finals thanks to the Lakers' injuries. I suspect that if God hadn't gotten tired of watching the Pacers and Lakers matchups, the Kings definitely wouldn't have made it to the Finals!"
"After so easily defeating such a group of opponents, I can only say: it's so boring! Look at the opponents Michael faced when he won his three-peat! His opponents that year practically wanted to smash his brains out!"
"But what about this year? Lin barely lost a single hair this year, his hairstyle was perfectly fine, and he still won the championship!"
"Stop! Wait a minute!" Kenny quickly seized on the flaw in Barkley's words: "When Michael won three consecutive championships, his opponents wanted to smash his brains out? Charles, do you have any shame? What you mean by smashing his brains out is making him average 41 points per game in the Finals, with four consecutive games scoring 40+ points?"
"Ahem." Barkley's face flushed slightly, a rare occurrence. His little scheme had actually been seen through!
"In short, the value of Lin's third championship isn't really that high! His opponents were too weak! If we have to point out a flaw, the only flaw is that there weren't any equally great opponents to match the greatness of Lin and the Pacers!"
"What a pity! It's such a pity. In such a great year, they encountered opponents who were old and young, easy prey, which completely failed to showcase the greatness and toughness of Lin and this Pacers team."
"But no matter what, no matter how strong their opponents were, the Pacers still did it! We can congratulate them in advance on becoming champions. This is an absolute dynasty! This is a true dynasty! This is a genuine dynasty!"
"They are truly great!"
Barkley's words, unusually, did not spark much discussion or debate across the United States. This was understandable, because most people felt that Charles was right!
His views, unusually, were agreed upon by the majority. Apart from a very few trolls and neurotics who just wanted to be different, everyone thought: Charles is right!
The Pacers are indeed very close to winning the championship this time, and the challenges they have encountered along the way are negligible!
This is completely different from their 15-game winning streak to win the 00 championship!
Although the 00 Pacers swept all the way and did not lose a single game, their opponents included the unstoppable Shaquille O'Neal and his 67-win Lakers, the Heat's Big Four who were aiming for the championship and had won 61 games, as well as the up-and-coming 76ers and Celtics.
The fact that they were able to sweep two top teams with 60+ wins back in a row already demonstrated the Pacers' strength! Not to mention that the Pacers themselves won 75 regular season games that year!
They were relaxed that year because they were strong!
Their ease this year is due to the weakness of their opponents!
The situation is, of course, completely different.
Of course, as the saying goes, too much of anything is bad, and too much toxic milk can be choking.
Right after Barkley praised the Pacers and received nationwide acclaim, the Kings played an absolutely perfect game!
In Game 2 of the series, the Kings' starting five all exploded, making one incredible shot after another. The whole team played at an unprecedentedly high level, with all five starters scoring over 20 points. Peja and Bibby once again combined for over 60 points!
In this game, the Kings displayed their fighting spirit, played their own style, preserved their dignity, and won the second game of the series by 16 points, tying the series 1-1!
After such a crushing defeat, many Kings fans, Lin Tian haters, and Pacers detractors who had disappeared a couple of days ago suddenly popped their heads out and began to mock Lin Tian, the Pacers, and Barkley.
Several TV stations capitalized on the hype by launching their own programs, inviting commentators to ridicule and mock Barkley, saying that the series was still undecided, that the Kings still had a chance, and that they could turn the tide soon.
After all, they still have two home games to play, don't they?
A multitude of voices emerged at this moment!
Just like birds that have been waiting for a long time finally seeing insects crawl out of the ground, they were extremely excited. For a time, not to mention the whole of America supporting the Kings and believing that they could win the championship, at least it was no longer as one-sided as after the first game.
Of course, it's not that Lin Tian and the Pacers are particularly hated, or that everyone wants to see them lose. Rather, there are still many people in this world who enjoy watching strong teams falter, underdogs win, and underdogs upset their opponents!
Unfortunately, the celebration only lasted for three days.
Only 3 days!
Because three days later, when the two teams moved to the Conseco Center in Indiana, the Pacers once again eliminated all suspense!
Not only did they defeat them, they practically made the Kings back down!
As if to prove their toughness and that the loss in the second game was just a momentary lapse in concentration, the Pacers raised their intensity completely from the very beginning of the game.
From the very beginning of the game, the strategy was half-court zone defense and area-of-effect defense, which are the most effective counters to Princeton's figure-eight cuts, baseline runs, and pick-and-roll plays.
Furthermore, while playing zone defense, Lin Tian and Christie also intensified their efforts against Bibby and Peja. Lin Tian wanted to stick close to Bibby from the very first second of the game and attack him from all directions.
Christie stayed close to Peja almost constantly, never giving him a chance to shoot easily.
In Game 3 of the series, the Pacers stopped playing dirty and focusing on offense, and immediately raised their defensive intensity!
Do you want to shoot? Do you want to run? Do you want to play some fancy offensive basketball?
What a load of crap!
I'll beat you until your face is covered in peach blossoms!
That night, the Pacers displayed the intensity they showed when battling the Heat in the East, and the focus they had shown when facing top opponents like the Lakers, Jazz, and Bulls!
So, how did the Kings react when the Pacers pushed their intensity to the limit?
No response at all!
Or rather, there's absolutely no way!
Their physical strength couldn't keep up with the Pacers. Bibby, nicknamed "White Devil," was a top-tier point guard in terms of size and strength, but when he encountered Lin Tian, the top small cannon and tank-like guard, he was almost powerless to fight back.
The only physically fit guy on the team was forced into such a sorry state by Lin Tian, not to mention the technically gifted Divac and Peja.
On the field, they were being pushed around by the rough Indians, almost unable to stand!
Under these circumstances, how could the Kings possibly compete with the Pacers?
69: 89!
当全场比赛结束的时候，国王队全场比赛只拿到69分，他们的投篮命中率仅有31%，3分线外更是17投4中只有24%的命中率。
In addition to their abysmal shooting percentage, they committed 31 turnovers throughout the game and were outrebounded 37-56, losing by a full 19 rebounds!
They were completely shut down! And they were utterly crushed!
The reason the Kings only lost by 20 points and the Pacers only scored 89 points was not because the Kings' defense was particularly good. On the contrary, the Pacers' 89 points tonight had absolutely nothing to do with the Kings!
The Kings relied on the Pacers putting too much effort into defense, and the intense physicality caused the Pacers' shooting touch to decline significantly.
The Pacers missed many open shots tonight.
This is also a side effect of high-intensity, slow-paced gameplay; too much intensity can really affect your feel for the game!
However, whether or not it affects their shooting touch has little to do with the Kings.
And after this game, the Kings players were really stunned.
After all, in their minds, this game, or rather this series, should be an offensive battle, a game where both sides run, shoot, and blast.
But how did it inexplicably turn into a defensive battle?
It's not that the Kings haven't seen good defense before, but the key question is, who gave them this high-intensity defense?
If a team specializing in defense, like the Pistons, Magic, or Heat, were to provide the Kings with this level of defense, they wouldn't think much of it.
But now, it's the Pacers who have completely bewildered them on the defensive end!
21投6中的佩贾，18投5中的毕比，还有10投3中的迪瓦茨和12投只有2中的鲍比·杰克逊，他们在离开球场的时候，甚至都无法相信自己这场球居然是这幺输的。
It was completely beyond their expectations, and the content of the match was entirely outside their match plan!
Then, in the fourth game, after a day of rest, the Kings made ample preparations and mental preparations, ready to go all out, fight the Pacers physically, get revenge, and win this extremely important game!
After all, for the Kings, another loss would put them down 1-3. Even though they still have two home games, losing the match point so early would be a huge blow to them!
So Adelman gave his players a lot of mental preparation before the game, telling them to relax and be ready, not to be afraid or shy away, and to just go for it!
After all, this is the finals!
There's no room for making the same mistake twice in a row here!
But when the Kings stepped onto the court, the Pacers' reaction once again greatly surprised them.
The Pacers, who were like wolves in the last game, seemingly carrying a battering ram and smashing it into the Kings' position, suddenly stopped fighting against them tonight!
Run! Boom! Throw!
The Pacers suddenly started playing the kind of game the Kings wanted to play, and suddenly went on a crazy offensive, focusing all their energy on offense!
This change caught the Kings off guard, and the Pacers went on a 12-3 run in the first three minutes.
Fortunately, Adelman finally realized what was happening and quickly called a timeout. He then gave the players a thorough analysis and a lesson before allowing the Kings players to return to the court.
If the Pacers want to go all out on offense, then bring it on!
It's true that we Sacramento people have many weaknesses, but when it comes to offense, we're second to none!
The Kings players, who were striding onto the court with great momentum and ready to give it their all, suddenly discovered that the Pacers on the other side were even crazier than they were!
Just how crazy is it?
With a good start, Carlisle immediately substituted Ben Wallace and Christie for Arenas and Parker!
Just three minutes into the game, with a nine-point lead over their opponents, Carlisle pulled out an incredibly insane four-defender formation, showcasing his skills!
Lin Tian, Carter, Arenas, Parker, plus Webber who can pass the ball and act as a pivot!
The Pacers' message couldn't be simpler: you want to focus on offense, right? You think you can hold your own against everyone if it's just about offense?
Let's go for it! Let's have a proper attack and see who kills whom!
The Pacers' lineup at this moment truly surprised the fans in the arena, the professionals in front of the TV, and everyone watching the game!
How to describe the Pacers' current situation?
It's fucking awesome!
There is a scenario where two armies are facing off on the battlefield. One side originally relied on high walls and thick fortifications, and could easily defeat the opponent by hiding on the city tower and throwing stones, shooting arrows, and sprinkling molten gold.
But just as the enemy was provoking them, a gong suddenly sounded, the city gates swung open, and the city's commander led his elite cavalry out, shouting, "You dare call yourselves elite cavalry? Today, I'll show you who the strongest cavalry in the world truly is!"
Having said that, he spurred his horse, brandished his spear, and led his men out to attack the enemy's central stronghold!
This choice is irrational, even incorrect, and doesn't conform to any military strategy, tactics, or logic, but it's just so inspiring!
Of course, the prerequisite for getting fired up is winning!
We must win, and we must win big, achieving the kind of momentum and results that Zhang Liao's 800 iron cavalry swept through the Wu army or Zhao Yun led his troops in three charges into and out of the Han River, scaring Zhang He and Xu Huang into fleeing without daring to fight. Only then can we call it a thrilling choice!
If you lose, or even if you don't lose, but only win a Pyrrhic or narrow victory, then this choice is incredibly stupid!
This kind of game would be a complete joke!
So, will the Pacers keep the fans and players fired up tonight, crushing their opponents head-on in the way they do best, or will they end up nailing themselves to the pillar of shame? You thought they pulled off a big move, but actually they just made a mess of things?
The former is definitely better!
With the Pacers going all out, they can't possibly lose to anyone on offense! (End of Chapter)