novelhk Chapter 474 The decisive battle only takes two minutes! The goddess of victory drills overnight.
Chapter 474 The decisive battle only takes two minutes! The goddess of victory drills overnight.
"Is it height or speed? Who will gain the upper hand in the final two minutes of the third quarter?"
After the players from both teams stepped onto the court, Kenny said, "After this timeout, will anything happen that could directly change the course of the game? And can either team use this rotation time to decide the winner?"
No sooner had Kenny finished speaking than Barkley chimed in, "Detroit will win!"
Regardless of who wins or loses between the Pacers and Pistons tonight, one thing is foreseeable: Barkley will definitely receive a barrage of complaints after the game.
The people of Detroit will absolutely file a huge complaint against him.
That's outrageous!
The Pacers had possession of the ball on their first offensive possession after the timeout. They inbounded the ball to Lin Tian from the center line, who quickly moved to the top of the key and then swiftly raised his hand to signal Haslem to screen for him.
He's going to exploit a mismatch against Campbell!
Campbell at his peak once put up stats like 15+9 per game and was the Lakers' starting center before O'Neal came to the team, but that was almost 10 years ago.
Now, Campbell, who is about to turn 37, has only a size of 211 centimeters and a still relatively soft feel.
The rest?
Anyway, facing Lin Tian, he couldn't even catch a whiff of Lin Tian's exhaust. Lin Tian used a screen to get past Sura who was guarding him, and then accelerated and charged forward, leaving Campbell completely behind him in one step, and in the blink of an eye he was at the basket!
Even when Lin Tian was already near the free throw line, Campbell only turned around outside the three-point line to chase and defend.
Forget it! The fact that he made way for Hamilton in the first place and didn't block Hamilton's route to chase Lin Tian shows that he was experienced and reacted quickly!
Campbell's significant lack of mobility meant that the rest of the Pistons had no time to fill the defensive gaps he left behind. The Pistons' seemingly impenetrable defense in the first three quarters finally developed a huge vulnerability.
Rasheed, under the basket, had no choice. He certainly couldn't just watch Lin Tian shoot with such an open shot. He could only step forward and spread his arms to defend Lin Tian, but Lin Tian had already thrown the ball out, aiming right behind Rasheed.
"boom!"
Then, a loud bang came from behind Rashid!
Without even looking, you can tell that the "beast" descended from the sky and completed an aerial relay with Lin Tian!
"Beautiful!" Barkley finally couldn't hold back and shouted out loud. But just as Kenny looked at him with a wicked grin, giving him a look that said, "You finally couldn't hold back, huh?" Barkley quickly changed direction.
"But this basket is only temporary. The Pistons still have an undeniable height advantage, and they still have a very clear advantage. The victory in this game will definitely belong to the Pistons!"
What could Kenny do after hearing Barkley's shameless words? He really wanted to pick up a chair and smash Barkley's annoying bald head, but unfortunately, this was a live broadcast of the game, and he couldn't do anything. He could only roll his eyes and then make up his mind that he would never speak to Barkley again in this series!
On the court, the Pistons' offense fell into Campbell's hands this time.
This is also Brown's style.
Make the most of everything!
Now that he's on the field, he has to play to his strengths and show his advantages! Otherwise, if he keeps getting chased and beaten by Lin Tian, what's the point of him being on the field? Is he just giving Lin Tian free wins?
Brown clearly overestimated the strength and energy of the 37-year-old Campbell. The guy is no longer as powerful as he used to be. In a situation like tonight, after Campbell received the ball with his back to the goal, he simply couldn't move Haslem, who was already playing aggressively behind him.
He tried to push in twice, but Haslem didn't budge an inch!
Just as he was about to try a third time, the opportunity was gone!
Lin Tian rushed out, providing help defense, and then slapped the ball that Campbell was dribbling away!
After receiving the ball, Lin Tian didn't dribble it himself. Instead, he pushed the ball forward with both hands, and the basketball slid in a beautiful arc, flying over almost everyone's heads and across the midcourt.
Parker, who is the fastest player on the court besides Lin Tian, took the lead, leaped out from the crowd, grabbed the basketball, and sprinted all the way to the basket to complete a one-handed layup, scoring 2 points for the Pacers!
"Seven points! The Pacers have a seven-point lead! This is their biggest lead of the night! And it's the first time tonight that the difference between the two teams has exceeded five points!"
"This advantage is absolutely huge! Brown's adjustments this time can be described as a complete failure! Campbell's performance on both offense and defense completely dragged the team down! Let's see if Brown will change his lineup again... No change! Brown didn't make any substitutions or call a timeout! The game continues!"
It was still the Pistons' offense. With 1 minute and 20 seconds left, they were more patient this time, passing the ball back and forth among everyone. Campbell even went directly to the high post to set a screen for his teammates. He understood just from that one possession.
He can't beat Haslem!
Near the free-throw line, Ham, with Campbell's screen, suddenly made a reverse run and charged towards the basket! This reverse run was incredibly sudden, and the angle and timing were just right. Howard was blocked by Campbell and couldn't get past him at all.
"Run to the frontcourt!" Howard was just frantically trying to squeeze past Campbell and attack the paint, but in the blink of an eye he heard Lin Tian's words. Relying on the absolute trust and obedience cultivated over the past year, Howard didn't even think about why he had to run forward now, but instead turned around and accelerated.
Its main strength lies in its extremely strong execution capabilities!
Ham attacked the basket and received a pass from Sura. Just as he was about to repeat his previous attack on the rim, Lin Tian, who had just reminded Howard how to play, was already in position to help defend!
He rushed out from the side and slapped the ball off the backboard before Ham could even make a layup.
Then Lin Tian quickly jumped again. Before most of the people on the court could even react, Lin Tian had already caught the basketball in the air and, with a burst of power from his waist, threw the basketball towards the frontcourt again!
This time, it was Howard who had just followed orders and made a fast break!
And this time, the Pistons' defense failed to keep up again!
One reason is that they focused too much energy on Lin Tian and didn't pay attention to Howard's positioning. Another reason is that the Pistons' lineup really lacked mobility.
Unable to keep up with the Pacers' pace, they really had few solutions for the Pacers' incredibly fast and insane offensive plays in those two possessions.
We can only watch, what else can we do?
"boom!"
This time, a loud bang was heard as Howard glided into the air and slammed home a one-handed dunk, scoring another 2 points!
9 points!
In the past minute, the Pistons have been outscored 6-0 by the Pacers!
"Will the Pistons make a substitution? After being outscored three times in a row by the Pacers, will they make a substitution? I really think Brown should! He shouldn't be so stubborn, he shouldn't insist on this big-man lineup anymore!"
"If a team lacks offensive firepower inside, then its so-called big man lineup is just for show! Brown's big man lineup is the exact opposite of the Pacers' small man lineup! Because the Pacers' small-ball lineup has fully utilized its advantages in mobility and speed!"
"Still no substitution, God! Is Brown asleep? Why isn't he making a substitution? Does he have to extend the Pacers' lead to more than 10 points before he'll make one?"
No one can say for sure why the Pistons haven't made any substitutions, but at least this time, the Pistons' offense has found the right players.
Hamilton and Rasheed executed a pick-and-roll. After the two quickly separated, Rasheed stepped back beyond the three-point line. Hamilton didn't force his way to the basket but instead quickly turned and passed the ball to Rasheed.
The defender who switched onto Rasheed was Parker. The nearly 30-centimeter height difference between the two allowed Rasheed to completely ignore Parker's defense. He easily received the ball, raised his hand, and unleashed a powerful three-pointer!
"Bang!"
Unfortunately, this shot, which was almost indistinguishable from an open shot, failed to go in!
Not only did he miss the shot, but Lin Tian also grabbed the rebound once again. Lin Tian caught the basketball in mid-air and once again chose to exert force from his waist before he landed, throwing the basketball towards the frontcourt once more!
The same trick, used for the third time!
But the Pistons are the Pistons after all. Even if Brown was a little slow to react and didn't make a timely substitution, the Pistons' discipline and defensive desire, which are ingrained in their bones, will not be diminished because of this.
At least this time, after receiving the ball in the frontcourt, Parker had absolutely no chance to attack.
Three Pistons players have already retreated to defensive positions!
Parker certainly wouldn't dare to take on three opponents at once.
Of the entire Pacers team, only one person dared to do it.
"Tony!"
Seeing Parker stop dribbling outside the three-point line, looking like he wanted to play it safe and take it slow, Lin Tian immediately shouted at him.
Parker looked back and found that Lin Tian had already crossed the three-point line and was standing right next to him.
Parker didn't hesitate and immediately passed the ball to Lin Tian.
After receiving the ball, Lin Tian showed no sign of stopping. He even accelerated again, using a speed that was almost unbelievable to everyone. In the blink of an eye, he overtook Sula and rushed to the vicinity of the free throw line.
Facing Rasheed and Hamilton rushing towards him at high speed, Lin Tian was of course not afraid, nor did he hesitate. He jumped up right at the free throw line and launched another mid-range jump shot!
"Whoosh!"
After another crisp sound, the Pacers finally extended their lead to double digits!
After the timeout, the Pacers went on an 8-0 run!
They successfully extended their lead to 11 points!
The score became 69:80!
The Pacers' advantages are gradually becoming clear!
There are 40 seconds left in the third quarter!
At this point, no matter how slow Brown's reaction was, how stubborn his personality was, or how much he trusted big men, he dared not continue to hold on like this. If he continued to stubbornly hold on, the Pacers might completely pull away!
Billups and Ben Wallace only rested for less than 90 seconds before they had to go back into the game, replacing Campbell and Sura.
The Pistons' key players are back once again.
Unfortunately, Brown's reaction was too slow. The Pacers, fueled by their recent surge, were now riding high on their fighting spirit once again!
They became much more aggressive on defense! Even Parker, who isn't particularly good at defense, stuck to Hamilton tightly, and no matter how Hamilton tried to run left and right, he couldn't get a chance to catch and shoot.
Billups was once again put in a difficult position by Lin Tian, and was completely unable to organize the team's attack!
Fortunately, the Pistons' two walls were really tough and thick. The two Wallaces moved up to the inside at the same time and set a high double screen for Billups!
The Pistons had never used this high double screen before, and the Pacers were caught off guard by its sudden appearance. Lin Tian was sandwiched between two big men, while Haslem and Artest were a step too slow to catch up.
Billups immediately got a huge open shot opportunity beyond the three-point line!
"Mr. Clutch" Billups certainly wouldn't hesitate in this situation. After regaining his balance, Billups launched another three-pointer from beyond the arc!
"Bang!"
Unfortunately, Billups missed a wide-open three-pointer this time!
Artest immediately turned around and grabbed the rebound, then started his charge, dribbling the ball and quickly advancing towards the frontcourt!
The fact that Artest didn't immediately look for Lin Tian, or even pass the ball to Parker, caught the Pistons off guard. They didn't manage to close in on this unpredictable "beast" until Artest crossed half-court. But once Artest was at full speed, he was not so easy to stop.
Perhaps he's not fast enough, but he's heavy enough!
He was like a steamroller, crushing Ham in front of him as he pushed his way toward the basket.
However, Artest's ability to break through defenses and face-up drives is indeed slightly lacking.
Although Ham couldn't keep up with him at all, the guy wasn't maintaining his balance very well either, stumbling all the way and on the verge of making a mistake.
"Ron! The bottom line!"
Just as Artest was about to fall, Lin Tian suddenly shouted loudly to remind Artest of his position.
Artest reacted as if he had met a savior. He no longer dared to hold onto the ball and flung it away towards the source of the sound.
Lin Tian, positioned in the left corner, grabbed the basketball and made a feint, sending Billups, who was chasing him, flying out of bounds.
Lin Tian then dribbled the basketball again to adjust his center of gravity, and then decisively pulled up and shot another three-pointer!
"Whoosh!"
This time, Lin Tian's three-pointer was a perfect shot!
This is the luck Kenny was just talking about!
Both of Lin Tian's and Billups' shots were absolutely wide-open shots, and both Lin Tian and Billups are top-tier shooters.
In the same situation, Billups' wide-open shot bounced off the rim, while Lin Tian's three-pointer went through the net.
The Pistons could have narrowed the gap to 8 points, but with such a small difference, the gap between the two sides has instead reached 14 points!
One inside, one outside, that's 6 points!
The Pistons really lost out big time!
After Lin Tian made that shot, there were 8 seconds left in the third quarter!
Lin Tian immediately shouted:
「找自己的人！给他们施加压力！1-3-1！打一个1-3-1！」
Lin Tian's full-court press tactic was executed perfectly in an instant. Every player on the Pacers found their position, marked their assigned opponent tightly, and raised their defensive focus to the highest level.
As for Lin Tian, he once again got entangled with Billups, not giving him any chance or space to receive the ball.
Time was ticking away, and the five-second inbound pass was fleeting; the Pistons were on the verge of making a mistake.
Unfortunately, the Pistons had already used up their timeouts, so they couldn't use them to regroup.
"Ben, pass it!" Brown on the sidelines was also getting anxious. With a five-second violation imminent, the coach yelled, "Pass the ball in the most comfortable way possible! A turnover isn't your fault, but no five-second violation!"
Brown's voice made Ben's eyes light up!
He came up with the most comfortable way to pass the ball. Last season, Carlisle even said that this move was the Pacers' secret weapon!
"Chauncey, run!" Big Ben suddenly roared, yelling at Billups who was sprinting to the three-point line. Then, like a bomb, he threw the ball towards the frontcourt!
"FUXX! What are you doing, you son of a bitch..." Billups only glanced at the speed of the basketball and knew things were going to go wrong. He cursed wildly while accelerating as fast as he could, trying to catch up with the basketball.
Unfortunately for him, he was being defended by Lin Tian. How could he possibly outrun Lin Tian?
Even if you were to ride Bolt, you might not be able to succeed, let alone Billups?
Then why not play?
Billups watched almost helplessly as Lin Tian pulled away from him, surpassed him, and then left him far behind.
He really can't catch up.
A sense of helpless despair swept over Billups.
What could he do? He could only watch.
To be honest, Lin Tian's position when he got the ball was really good, just one step away from the three-second zone. With Lin Tian's physical attributes, he didn't even need to dribble. After receiving the ball, he could just take three steps and dunk!
Unfortunately, it can't be deducted!
Despite receiving such a comfortable pass, Lin Tian could only forcefully suppress the urge to dunk after receiving the ball, then turned around and dribbled towards the frontcourt.
At this moment, Lin Tian had only one thought.
Ben Wallace's passing has improved!
In the past, this ball would have been a hard-fought catch-up, and it would have been a miracle if he could have kept his balance within the boundary and not fallen out of bounds. But now, he can hold onto the ball after a confrontation and start a powerful dunk.
What a pity!
No one on the Pistons is worthy of Ben Wallace's passes.
At the same time, Lin Tian, who received the pass, suddenly had a strange idea.
The basketball I was holding felt like the goddess of victory had just snuggled into my bed overnight.
Won!
"FUXX!" Brown, furious, slammed his clipboard onto the floor. He was genuinely enraged.
This is ridiculous! Does this bastard still think he's a Pacers player?
Are you playing me?
But after smashing the tactics board, Brown quickly realized he had done it too soon.
The third quarter won't end just because of a steal.
Lin Tian dribbled and collided with Billups again. He drove all the way to the Pistons' three-point line and then suddenly stopped. Lin Tian turned his body and bumped Billups with his shoulder, then quickly turned around to create distance.
Billups never expected Lin Tian to use such a spin move beyond the three-point line, and in a direction that was damn far away from the basket. Lin Tian's unconventional spin move completely shook off Billups and created a significant distance.
Then Lin Tian looked up at the timer, paused for a few tenths of a second, and then slowly pulled up and shot from beyond the three-point line!
"Whoosh!"
"Buzz!"
The two sounds that rang out at the same time were enough to send the entire Indiana into a frenzy!
That was enough to make every Indian raise their arms in celebration!
69: 86!
The Pacers' lead has reached an astonishing 17 points! Just two minutes ago, they were only leading by 3 points.
The Pacers unleashed a crazy 14-0 run in the final two minutes of the third quarter!
Lin Tian's two consecutive three-pointers in the last 10 seconds plunged the Pistons into despair!
In their last game, the Pacers came back from an 18-point deficit into the fourth quarter to win. Tonight, they led by 17 points going into the fourth quarter.
How could we possibly lose a game like this?
impossible!
We can definitely pop some champagne and celebrate in advance! We can congratulate the Pacers on making it to Game 7!
Lin and his team did it!
Despite being down 1-3, they won two consecutive games, forcing the series into a decisive Game 7!
Although Game 7 will be played on the road, and the showdown will take place at the Palace of Auburn Hills, one of the most dangerous away games in the entire league, everyone who supports the Pacers is now incredibly confident!
They have the confidence that their team can continue the miracle!
Those who mocked the Pacers when they were down 1-3, and those who ridiculed Lin Tian when he boasted about winning the championship despite the Pacers only having 43 wins, all remained silent at this moment.
The energy that Lin Tian and the Pacers unleashed was truly frightening!
Lin Tian didn't play in the fourth quarter!
He finally got some rest!
At this moment, Carlisle had absolute confidence!
Given the Pistons' limited offensive capabilities, if our players go all out on defense, it's a stretch for them to even score 17 points in a quarter. A comeback? Absolutely impossible!
Carlisle had even decided that he would not let Lin Tian play again unless the point difference narrowed to within 10 points!
He wanted to give Lin Tian as much rest as possible so that he could be in the best condition to prepare for the decisive Game 7 of the series!
This time, the rest of the Pacers players held on!
After Lin Tian came off the court, they didn't collapse and get blown out by the Pistons like they did in the regular season.
They maintained their toughness and ferocity on the defensive end, just like in the first three quarters. On the offensive end, although they didn't have many options, Parker's drives and Artest's strong attacks were consistently effective.
Although the Pistons are narrowing the gap, their efficiency and speed in doing so are extremely low.
Unfortunately, they weren't good at offense, and when faced with a huge point difference of nearly 20 points and an opponent playing desperate defense, the Pistons really didn't have many options!
Even so, the Pistons, fielding their full starting lineup, gradually narrowed the gap. With seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Hamilton's signature mid-range jump shot brought the Pistons within 11 points!
"Lin, get ready to go on stage!" Although Carlisle wanted Lin Tian to rest, he also knew that the most important thing tonight was to play it safe rather than show off or be arrogant.
So when the Pistons closed the gap to around 10 points, the first thing he did was to have Lin Tian prepare.
However, the situation on the field took another dramatic turn!
Parker exploded!
When this guy saw Lin Tian stand up, he knew that Lin Tian was most likely going to replace him, so it was as if he was using this last bit of time to release all his energy.
This guy came up to the frontcourt, called Haslem over, rushed to the basket, and made a floater.
Then he desperately defended Billups's layup attempt. On the offensive end, he called for Haslem's screen again, drove to the mid-range, and passed the ball to Haslem. Haslem caught the ball and jumped to shoot, making another mid-range shot!
Just when it seemed like the gap was about to be narrowed to within 10 points, it has once again reached 15 points!
After scoring in two consecutive rounds, Parker looked back and found that Lin Tian was already sitting on the bench.
"Tony can handle it tonight!" Lin Tian said calmly to Carlisle, "I don't think I need to go to bed tonight."
While Lin Tian was speaking, Parker had already defended Billups' attack once again, then received the pass, launched a counterattack, and drove all the way to the Pistons' basket, using his signature spin move to score 2 more points for the team!
Carlisle nodded. Parker's contribution tonight exceeded everyone's expectations!
In the subsequent game, the Pistons launched several counterattacks, but they were unable to close the gap or reduce the deficit to single digits.
With two minutes left in the game, seeing that his team was still trailing by 14 points, Brown could only sigh and give up, substituting all his starters.
In that very round, Carlisle immediately executed a five-in-five-out maneuver, taking down all of his main players.
If we can rest, we should rest as much as possible; we won't fight for even a second longer!
He knows how tired and stressed his key players are right now.
They battled the Pistons defensively for the entire game with almost no rotation. Without a doubt, these guys will be collapsing into bed as soon as they get home tonight!
98: 107!
A little over a minute later, the final whistle blew, and the Pacers won the game by 9 points, marking their first 100-point game of the series!
这个晚上，林天只打了3节，上场36分钟，22投11中，3分球6投3中，罚球8罚全中，轰下33分10篮板13次助攻4抢断3盖帽的完美数据！
Lin Tian's 14-0 run in the final stages of the third quarter was crucial in securing the victory for his team!
Although Lin Tian didn't play in the fourth quarter that night, everyone knew that he was preparing for an even more intense Game 7 of the series!
The biggest reason Lin Tian was able to rest in the fourth quarter was that his teammates finally stepped up tonight! The embarrassing situation of no one on the team scoring in double figures in the first five games of the series, except for Lin Tian, is finally over!
帕克17分7次助攻成为球队获胜的第二功臣，阿泰斯特11分10个篮板，克里斯蒂13分，哈斯勒姆12分16篮板两项数据都是职业生涯季后赛的新高，另外米勒也拿下10分8篮板4助攻的全面数据。
Also after that night, many who had initially favored the Pistons and believed they could win the series changed their minds and began to favor the Pacers.
The confidence, intensity, and resilience shown by the Pacers in Games 5 and 6 were truly superior to those of the Pistons.
Although the difference wasn't much, just a tiny bit, it was enough for everyone to believe that the Pacers could pull off a comeback!
Of course, fans clearly don't trust the role players who performed well in Game 6.
The reason they trust the Pacers more is still because of Lin Tian!
This superstar, who almost single-handedly helped the team survive the first five games, single-handedly smashed the Pistons' defensive wall, and spearheaded a 14-0 run in the last two minutes of the third quarter of Game 6 that directly sealed the game, is the ultimate reason why everyone believes in the Pacers!
In terms of star power, Rasheed, Billups, Hamilton, and Ben Wallace are all quite good. They are all qualified to be selected as All-Stars for many consecutive years and are representative of the league's top stars.
But they encountered Lin Tian, and none of them were able to provide a continuous and effective response when Lin Tian was wreaking havoc.
Teamwork and defense gave the Pistons a 3-1 lead, but Lin Tian's dominance and relentless play allowed the Pacers to win two straight games, forcing a decisive game!
At the same time, this tiebreaker was the only one of the eight matches in the first round to go to a tiebreaker.
Thus, this decisive Game 7 undoubtedly became the focus of fans across the United States. Everyone interested in the playoffs turned on their TVs to watch this game!
Even though more people favored the Pacers to win on the road, and even more people believed that Lin Tian could lead the team to another crazy game.
But almost everyone also believes that this match will be a closely contested and evenly matched battle!
The match will most likely go down to the last few minutes before a winner is decided. The process will be exciting, with neither side able to shake off the other or completely gain the upper hand.
Simply put, everyone believes that this match will be incredibly exciting and will become a classic battle that you will still be able to reminisce about 10 or 20 years from now!
But when the match started, everyone stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
The course of the game was truly beyond everyone's expectations.
This match was completely unexpected, and it can be summed up in one sentence.
The Pacers are on fire! (End of Chapter)