novelhk Chapter 259 is never-ending, is it? The most unlucky champion in history.
Chapter 259 is never-ending, is it? The most unlucky champion in history.
Chapter 259: Is this never going to end? The unluckiest championship team in history!
During halftime, Riley looked at the first half's statistics and recalled the Pacers' playing style. He knew that if they wanted to win, they had to change their strategy!
So he instructed Hardaway to strengthen his defense against Lin Tian, and at the same time, PJ Brown had to move his position further out to keep an eye on Lin Tian and prevent him from getting away with things so easily!
The Heat are preparing to tighten their defense on Lin Tian, focusing on his individual offense and his ability to engage his teammates. Riley can only accept Lin Tian scoring either one of these!
As for the offensive end, Riley didn't make too many arrangements. He let Mourning attack two first to see how Schmitz was doing, and then, depending on the situation, decide whether to continue focusing on Mourning or let Leonard or Mashburn attack.
As for Hardaway, Riley had given up hope.
Although saying this might upset Hardaway, he and Lin Tian are no longer in the same league! As long as he can control his turnovers, minimize his missed shots, and avoid getting blown out so badly, that's fine! Everything else is just icing on the cake!
On the Pacers' side, Bird opted for encouragement, clapping his hands loudly and saying, "Guys, give it your all! Lots of guys are watching us tonight! We have to get into the game! Third quarter, let's finish the battle! Get the lead over 20 points!"
"Also, Ben, they'll definitely start by attacking Mourning in the second half! So you'll start in place of Dell in the second half. Rick, you and Ben will switch, let Ben be the primary defender, and you'll stay behind him, waiting for opportunities to help defend and block shots!"
"As for that Brown, just ignore him. Once he's out of the paint, his scoring efficiency is worse than my grandma's!"
"On offense, Lin, that's your job! You handle it yourself! That's it, understand?"
"clear!"
After a break of more than 10 minutes, the players from both sides went back into the stadium!
The second half continues!
"Look! The leading Pacers have changed their starting lineup!" Su Qun exclaimed immediately upon seeing the lineup on the court: "Ben Wallace has replaced Dale Davis as the Pacers' starting power forward!"
Sun Zhengping added, "I think this is to increase the team's toughness and defense in the paint! Although Davis can also grab rebounds and is more mobile than Wallace, he's not as good as Wallace when it comes to blocking shots and defending post-up plays!"
"So, the Pacers should strengthen their interior defense in the second half and continue to target Mourning and Mashburn's post-up attacks! Let's see how effective their lineup change is!" After Su Qun's summary, the second half of the game officially began!
After dribbling the ball to the frontcourt, Lin Tian calmly reached out and asked for a screen!
Try out the Heat's defensive strategy, and then see how to respond!
After Ben Wallace blocked Hardaway, Lin Tian immediately accelerated towards the inside. Perhaps knowing that Ben Wallace's offensive ability was insufficient, Brown and Hardaway ignored him and instead double-teamed Lin Tian!
In an instant, Lin Tian made a judgment!
After dribbling the ball two steps toward the inside, he suddenly turned his head to look at Schmitz, and at the same time raised the basketball in his hand toward Schmitz.
Mourning immediately started moving under the basket. In the second half, the Heat would no longer give Schmitz as many open shot opportunities!
But as soon as Mo Ning took a step, he knew he had been tricked!
No look, pass!
Although Lin Tian was looking at Schmitz, the basketball flew in the opposite direction!
After the pick-and-roll, Ben Wallace was completely unguarded this time. Facing an open basket, even if he's not very good at dunking, he still has no problem!
"boom!"
Ben Wallace takes a step and dunks, slamming the ball into the basket with both hands, adding 2 more points for the Pacers!
Turning back to the Heat's offense, although Hardaway dribbled the ball across half-court, he still didn't choose to go one-on-one against Lin Tian, and once again quickly passed the ball directly to Mourning in the paint.
"Tim, when did you become such a coward? Have you been possessed by that cowardly soul?" Lin Tian glanced back at the confrontation between Ben Wallace and Mourning, but made no move to help.
"As long as we win, Lin, as long as we win, that's all that matters!" Hardaway explained the reason for his cowardly playing style.
"Down by 12 points, you call that winning? What, is your goal tonight to lose by less than 20 points?" Lin Tian didn't give Hardaway any face and immediately retorted with sarcasm. Hardaway opened his mouth, then snorted and ignored Lin Tian.
When it comes to arguing, I simply can't win!
Ben Wallace's current defensive skills and physical size give him a significant disadvantage in the paint; he hasn't reached his peak yet.
But against a center like Mourning, whose height and weight are about the same as Ben Wallace's hairline, Ben Wallace isn't afraid at all!
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The two players were like bumper cars in the paint, muscle against muscle, bone against bone, going head-to-head and clashing several times in a row without any tricks!
Then Mo Ning was surprised to find that, in terms of strength alone, the ugly man with the afro in front of him was actually on par with him!
However, whether Mourning is the league's 'fifth center' or the true number one center this year, brute force alone can only surprise him, but it can't stop him.
After another fierce impact, Mourning took advantage of Ben Wallace's lack of recovery, then suddenly turned around quickly to create distance, and then jumped to the side, about to finish the fight with a small side hook.
But as soon as Mourning jumped up, he felt his hands go empty; the basketball that he had been controlling had disappeared!
Lin Tian!
While Mourning was in the air, he saw the back of that annoying Pacers number 7, who was already dribbling the ball and sprinting towards the frontcourt!
This time, Lin Tian got the ball very quickly. He had just crossed half-court when he passed the ball to Carter, who had already reached the three-point line.
Carter dribbled the ball and drove straight into the paint!
The Pacers are fast, but the Heat, who were prepared, are not slow either!
When Carter drove into the paint, Mashburn and Brown were already in position, arms outstretched, waiting for Carter to walk right into their trap!
Carter isn't the kind of reckless guy who just charges in without thinking. He knows exactly what to do at what time. Charging in when there are two opponents waiting for him under the basket can easily lead to injury!
Carter then slowed down and passed the ball back to Lin Tian!
The Heat players were so afraid of the Pacers attacking the paint that Lin Tian, outside the three-point line, was given a wide-open shot!
"Throw it, you've got a board!" Carter grinned smugly, indicating that Lin Tian could throw it without worry!
"Whoosh!"
How could Lin Tian miss such an opportunity? He drew his bow and shot an arrow, hitting the bullseye three times!
"Who are you calling a jerk? Do I need a rebound to shoot a three-pointer like that?" After scoring, Lin Tian reached out and ruffled Carter's bald head.
Carter laughed and said, "I was mainly mocking those two guys; they couldn't beat me!"
After Lin Tian hit that three-pointer, the Pacers extended their lead to 15 points in less than a minute at the start of the second half!
Then the Heat's offense found Mashburn again, sending him to bully the slender Christie.
After receiving the ball, Mashburn repeated his previous tactic, just like in the first half, lowering his shoulders and charging at Christie!
"Snapped!"
This time, Christie was like a piece of paper; Mashburn touched him, and he fell straight to the floor!
"Offensive foul!"
The referee immediately issued a ruling, awarding Mashburn an offensive foul!
Mashburn held the ball with his hands outstretched, looked helplessly at the referee, then shook his head, threw the basketball on the floor, and turned to go back to defense.
Riley, sitting on the sidelines, couldn't sit still any longer. He stood up unconsciously. The team's offense had been repeatedly thwarted in the second half. If this continued for another two minutes, the point difference would be 20 points!
Down by 20 points at the Pacers' home court, what's the point of even playing?
Let's just surrender!
Riley was determined that if the point difference widened again in this round, he would immediately call a timeout!
This play is crucial for the Heat, and equally crucial for the Pacers!
If this shot goes in, the Pacers will have a huge advantage!
In this kind of round, Lin Tian naturally had no choice but to take the lead!
Beyond the three-point line, Lin Tian raised his hand and drew a circle – another island tactic!
The Pacers quickly spread out, leaving plenty of space in the middle lane for Lin Tian.
"PJ! PJ!" Riley, who was on the sidelines, saw that Lin Tian was going to take a one-on-one shot and immediately shouted loudly, calling for Brown to come over and help defend!
Anyway, Brown is matched up against Ben Wallace, and this guy with no offensive capabilities can be let go! Rather than believing that Hardaway can defend Lin Tian, Riley is more willing to believe that Mourning can defend against both Ben Wallace and Schmitz by himself!
Brown's double-team came very quickly, but Lin Tian remained completely unmoved and showed no intention of passing the ball.
If I said I wanted to play one-on-one, then I have to play one-on-one!
Lin Tian observed the rhythm of the two men's double-team, and then, just before Brown officially reached his defensive position, at the moment when the two men were most relaxed psychologically, he suddenly accelerated!
He changed direction and threw the basketball through the gap between Brown and Hardaway, while simultaneously leaping between them!
In the blink of an eye, Lin Tian dribbled the ball once and broke through the still-developing double team!
Now it's Mourning's turn to face a three-man attack from the Pacers all by himself!
However, Lin Tian clearly had no intention of passing the ball. He charged forward with the ball, heading straight for Mourning.
"Come on, Lin! Come on! Let's face off!" Mo Ning's muscles were taut, and the veins on his thick, somewhat frightening arms were bulging. Coupled with his extremely ferocious face due to his all-out effort, if Mo Ning looked like this, he could scare 98 out of 100 children to tears if he went into an elementary school!
The remaining two would be so scared they'd faint!
Despite facing such a terrifying Mo Ning, Lin Tian showed no sign of backing down and charged towards Mo Ning with all his might!
Then, just as all the fans in the stadium gasped, waiting to see the ultimate clash that was about to happen, an unexpected scene unfolded!
As Lin Tian charged towards the basket at full speed, he suddenly took a step to stop his momentum and simultaneously raised the ball!
Mo Ning, who was already poised to attack, immediately fell for the trap. He instinctively jumped with all his might to block Lin Tian, but only realized after jumping that he had been tricked!
"Snapped!"
Lin Tian's reaction was incredibly fast. He didn't even give Mo Ning a chance to react or make up his mind to commit a vicious foul before Lin Tian had already made physical contact and then released his shot!
"Whoosh!"
After a crisp sound, the referee's whistle blew!
"Foul! 2 points awarded, plus one free throw!"
Mourning got a 2+1 by Lin Tian!
"MVP! MVP! MVP! MVP!"
"Dry him to death!"
"Lin has fooled this idiot, whose head is smaller than a walnut, so much that he's almost forgotten his own name!"
"Azoren Ningmo, do you still remember your name?"
"Call the police! Call the police! Lin is committing fraud! This is a crime!"
"Call the FBI! This is absolutely the biggest scam in American sports history!"
The fans at the scene immediately cheered and taunted!
Their heroes have once again defeated the evil Mourning!
Lin Tian, who had scored 2+1, looked at Mo Ning and raised an index finger near his temple, making a "Ikkyu" gesture.
Although Mo Ning had definitely never seen Ikkyu-san, Lin Tian's expression and actions made Mo Ning immediately understand Lin Tian's meaning.
He was beating himself for being stupid!
"If you dare to do it again, I'll cripple you! I promise I'll show you what pain is, and you'll know the consequences of lying to me!" Mo Ning glared fiercely at Lin Tian and threatened him.
"Are you threatening me?"
"Yes, I'm threatening you!" After being dunked on, faked out, and blocked, Mourning finally snapped. He glared at Lin Tian and said fiercely, "We'll see! If you're not afraid, then go ahead and try to trick me with this cheap stuff again, and see who regrets it!"
"You've got guts!" Lin Tian gave a thumbs up and said, "I hope you won't regret saying that!"
"You two, watch your language!" The referee rushed between the two, separating the two hot-tempered guys, and looked at them, saying, "I don't care if you're MVP or Defensive Player of the Year. You can trash talk, but if you dare to lay a hand on me, I will treat you both the same and kick you off the court."
"I'm the kind of person who never takes the initiative," Lin Tian shrugged and said casually, "It depends on what he does to me."
"If you come again next time, you'll know what I'll do to you." Enraged, Mo Ning was now completely out of control, no longer caring about Lin Tian's illustrious reputation and glorious history. He just stubbornly insisted on proving himself superior to Lin Tian.
"Enough! Enough for you two!" The referee forcefully separated the two with his hands, saying, "If anyone dares to utter another word, it's a technical foul! I said any and every single word! Any!"
Lin Tian shrugged at the referee's threat, turned around and walked to the free throw line to prepare for the free throw. Although Mourning was still looking at Lin Tian fiercely, he didn't say anything more, but walked to the basket to prepare for the rebound.
"Whoosh!"
Standing at the free-throw line, Lin Tian stopped trash-talking. He knew that if he continued to talk trash at this point, it might not do much harm to Mourning, but he would definitely get a technical foul.
After making this free throw, the score difference between the two sides has reached 18 points!
He was just one step away from the 20-point mark that Riley considered crucial!
Without further hesitation, he quickly called the first timeout of the second half.
The timeout was called, but even someone as experienced and tactically versatile as Riley didn't know what tactics to devise at this moment.
Aside from telling everyone to calm down and play it safe, he genuinely seemed a bit helpless.
Mourning's offense was ineffective, Hardaway was completely shut down, and he had no way to deal with Lin Tian on the defensive end.
Riley is really at a loss now.
But the game didn't give him time to think about what to do. The one-minute timeout was fleeting, and Riley didn't say anything useful other than some encouraging and comforting platitudes.
This time, Riley didn't sit down after the timeout ended. He crossed his arms and stared at the court without saying a word.
His stern expression and furrowed brows made it clear to everyone just how agitated Riley was.
Everyone could see that he was at a loss!
In this game, the Heat found themselves in an extremely passive position.
However, the Heat are a top team in the league, and these players have been playing together for many years, possessing excellent chemistry and resilience.
So although Riley couldn't come up with any effective tactics, the Heat found their rhythm on the next few possessions, scoring several baskets in a row and finally managing to keep pace with the Pacers again!
But all they could do was maintain the stalemate! They simply didn't have any effective methods to close the gap or reduce the deficit between the two sides!
Riley felt like he was being slowly boiled like a frog in water.
The first quarter ended in a tie, the second quarter saw a 10-point deficit, the third quarter a 7-8-point deficit, and the fourth quarter a 3-5-point deficit. Then, as the game was about to end, they looked down by more than 20 points!
Without anyone noticing, the Heat were "killed" by the Pacers!
Riley knew very well that things couldn't go on like this!
If this continues, the Pacers will slowly grind them down!
It wasn't just because the Heat struggled to close the gap, but also because the Pacers were simply too good at creating offensive surges and capitalizing on opportunities!
The slightest lapse in concentration or fluctuation in form will allow the Pacers to launch an offensive surge and widen the score gap!
Each time, the gap between them wasn't very large, only about 5 or 7 points.
But with such a slow and ineffective approach, the Heat were truly at their wits' end!
Throughout the latter part of the third quarter, the two sides were locked in a back-and-forth battle around a 15-20 point gap. Riley's expression grew increasingly grim, while Bird, of course, became more and more relaxed. By the latter part of the third quarter, he was already sitting on the bench with his legs crossed, resting. Unless the Heat suddenly had a miracle and scored 30 points in a row, this game was definitely in the bag!
However, problems still arose!
With 1 minute and 30 seconds left in the third quarter, Hardaway's seventh shot of the night missed again! Mourning, Brown, Schmitz, and Ben Wallace were in complete disarray under the basket!
The four of them engaged in a frantic physical battle, trying to gain a better opportunity to grab the rebound.
The four players were neck and neck under the basket, with the ball bouncing into the air several times, but none of them could control the backboard.
After being tapped several times, Ben Wallace, with his fiery temper, finally couldn't take it anymore! He roared, crouched down, then suddenly jumped up, standing out among the four men. His large, iron-like hands grabbed the backboard and landed on the ground.
But before he could regain his footing, he suddenly bounced up again, then let out a scream and collapsed to the floor! All he could do was clutch the basketball tightly with both hands and call a timeout!
The person who fell to the ground with him was Schmitz, who had been standing next to him just moments before!
Upon seeing two players fall to the ground while Mourning and Brown are unharmed, the Pacers immediately rushed to the scene!
"It has nothing to do with me, I don't know what happened to them! Alonzo was just next to me, he can vouch for that!" Brown quickly spread his hands to show his innocence when he saw Lin Qi charging over aggressively!
Seeing the shocked and puzzled expressions on the faces of the two men, Lin Tian believed them and immediately squatted down to ask Schmitz and Ben what was wrong.
Anyway, he'll get the answer soon. Even if Ben Wallace and Schmitz don't know what happened, the big screen at the stadium will tell Lin Tian that if the Heat are playing dirty tricks, Lin Tian will definitely make Mourning, Brown, and Riley suffer the consequences!
Right now, the two people in the room are the most nervous!
One of them was Bird, who pointed to the middle of the court and yelled, "Team doctor! Where's the team doctor! Go fucking there! Hurry up! Check on those two and see what's wrong with them! Hurry up!"
Bird is really panicking now! What's going on?! One injury after another!
He's waiting for the replay on the big screen. If he sees that Mourning and his team played dirty, then Bird will charge at Mourning and...
Yeah, let's go after Riley, go over there and give him two big slaps! I don't care if you're some Lakers legend or Heat godfather! Anyone who dares to treat me like this in the playoffs, I'll make sure you regret it.
Another person who was somewhat anxious was Riley! He hadn't seen what had just happened either, and he was terrified! Yes, terrified!
After all, when other star players argue with their coaches, they only use their mouths, at most pointing their fingers at the coach's head and spewing a few trash words.
But Lin Tian doesn't care if you're 50 or 70 years old. When he gets worked up, he'll really beat you to death!
Riley didn't believe Lin Tian would listen to his explanation, nor did he believe Lin Tian would believe his explanation.
Who told him to have a criminal record?
Riley suddenly remembered that poor Sloan had been lying in a hospital bed for more than a month after the last incident.
I hope I don't have to lie in bed for three months.
Just as Bird was furious and Riley was terrified, the big screen finally started working, showing footage of Ben Affleck and Schmitz being injured together.
Then, the noise that had just filled the arena with boos and shouts of "Miami trash dogs" disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving the fans somewhat unable to accept what had just happened.
How should I put it? It's just incredibly fantastical!
Just now, Ben Wallace grabbed the rebound, but when he landed, he didn't check what was behind him and landed hard on Schmitz's lap!
What is Ben Affleck's weight and size? Ben Affleck's butt almost broke Schmitz's bones! But although the bones didn't break, Schmitz's standing posture wasn't very good. Ben Affleck's butt landed right near his knees, causing his knee joints to visibly move in a reverse joint motion.
Then, Schmitz collapsed to the ground!
These kinds of joint injuries can range from minor to serious! The best-case scenario is a simple sprain that's not a big deal. You might even be able to get up, jump around a bit, and continue playing! But if it's more serious, then it depends on the degree of the sprain!
Just like with Mullin, it could take anywhere from 1 to 12 weeks!
As for the specifics, that depends on Schmitz's fate!
As for Ben Wallace, he was also pitiful. After he jumped up and grabbed the rebound, he was about to counterattack when he felt that he hadn't landed properly, and he knew very well that he had sat down in the wrong place.
So Ben instinctively wanted to jump up quickly to avoid aggravating his teammates' injuries, but he forgot that he hadn't even gotten a firm footing yet, and that he had just used all his strength to jump and grab the rebound, leaving his body in an awkward state of exhaustion and lack of new strength.
Or to put it simply, Ben Affleck was in such a hurry that he didn't use his full strength, and in his attempt to exert force, he misdirected his power, causing himself to get injured.
Or to put it simply: bad luck!
It's like bad luck opening the door for bad luck itself; bad luck has reached its peak!
Bird kept cursing and swearing as he watched the team doctors split into two groups to check on Ben Wallace and Schmitz. He was now wondering if God was playing a trick on him because he wasn't devout enough!
The point is, why are you messing with me? Why are you messing with my players?!
Lin Tian, Carter, Christie and the others were extremely anxious at this moment. They looked at Schmitz and Ben, who were lying on the ground waiting for the team doctor to give them the results, and were very worried.
If the team suddenly loses two more players, both of whom are key players with more than 25 minutes of playing time...
It seems we won't even be able to get a full starting lineup!
Although Riley looked expressionless off the court, his earlier worry and fear had vanished.
He was secretly overjoyed!
Although he talks about keeping injuries away from the court, Riley is absolutely happy when opposing players get injured, especially when it's due to their own mistakes! And it's a happy feeling without any burden or pressure!
Simple joy! So satisfying!
About two minutes later, the team doctor called over several players. Pope and Davis carried Schmitz, Ellington and Lewis carried Ben Wallace, and the six of them walked step by step toward the locker room. The team doctor stayed behind to report the injury to Bird.
Even before they saw the two injured players walking towards the players' tunnel, the fans at the stadium already felt a wave of despair.
What happened? Two more people got injured?
What did we do wrong? We lost four players in just one playoff run? If we keep going, will our bench be empty?
This is outrageous!
The most outrageous thing is that Miller was injured during training, Mullin twisted his own ankle, and Ben Wallace and Schmitz's actions were even more outrageous!
Big Ben sat down hard on Schmitz, injuring him, and then lay down himself.
Accidental injury + suicide!
It’s just that!
Outrageous!
Outrageous!
Ignoring the chaotic chatter of the 18000 spectators in the arena, the team doctor walked over to Bird and said, "Rick has a knee contusion. He was jolted, and there's no structural damage yet, but it's swollen! He definitely can't play tonight. We'll need to get an MRI at the hospital to see the full extent of the damage."
"Conservatively speaking... this series is over."
"As for Ben, he strained his thigh muscle when he jumped. Like Rick, the initial examination showed no serious injury, but we need to go to the hospital for further examination to find out the exact situation. However, our advice is... it's best not to play this round."
"Fuck!" Bird roared, nearly in despair. "If no one's going to play, can't I just change my clothes and go up there and play? Injuring two big men at once, what's the point of playing?! Fuck! What kind of ridiculous nonsense is happening on such a beautiful sunny day?!"
At this moment, Barkley and others sitting on the sidelines also stood up with concern, as the two injured men were their teammates.
"This is none of your business, all of you sit down! What are you doing crowding around here? Get lost! Get lost!" Bird was really furious and annoyed! He was seriously considering surrendering on the spot and disbanding the team.
How can this be? Playing in the playoffs, and the starters are getting injured one after another?
Lin Tian and the others heard what the team doctor said, and they knew that their inside game would face huge problems for the remainder of the game!
Although the team has five players on the roster for the frontcourt: Davis, Pope, Perkins, Lewis, and Harrington, four of them don't play much. Davis is the only one who can actually make it into the rotation!
Are you suggesting Davis take on Mourning alone? He'd be lucky if he didn't get beaten to a pulp!
During the timeout, the referees kept reviewing the replay to see if there had been a foul. After watching for several minutes, they all concluded that it was purely accidental—a friendly fire incident!
Mourning and Brown are completely innocent!
After the ruling was made, the fans at City Square Stadium responded with a retaliatory chorus of boos.
It wasn't that they thought it was definitely a foul, but rather that they felt the team was in a really bad situation!
How could a defending champion be so miserable?
"Oh no! This is really bad! The Pacers' two big men have both been carried off the court! Judging from their appearance, their injuries seem quite serious!" Su Qun said worriedly, "This is already the Pacers' third and fourth player missing!"
"The Pacers have had a really bad year. They've suffered so many unnecessary and inexplicable injuries! They're practically cursed!"
Sun Zhengping continued, "If it were a contact injury, if it were caused by a dirty tackle, or if it was due to some dangerous move, then we wouldn't find it so hard to accept, because those are all part of the game. But now..."
"These four injuries to the Pacers are truly more bizarre and incomprehensible than the last!"
Among the entire Pacers team, Lin Tian is the only one who still has confidence and rationality.
While everyone was somewhat bewildered and at a loss, he quickly gathered his teammates around him and said, "Cheer up! Look at you all, what kind of state are you in! We're leading by almost 20 points right now!"
"There's only a little over a quarter left in the game. Even if the Heat pull off a stunning comeback, can they turn the score around? Impossible! We're still going to win this game! Understand? We're going to win tonight!"
"As for what happens next, Rick and Ben's test results haven't come out yet, right? They might both be fine at all, just minor injuries! They might even be bouncing around before tomorrow's MRI results are out!"
"Dale, you know Ben best. You know how strong he is. Do you really think Ben would be seriously injured just from bouncing around like that? That's impossible!"
After Davis nodded silently, Lin Tian continued, "Right now, we shouldn't worry about injuries or their injury reports. We only need to focus on one thing: how to crush the Heat! How to beat them today! That's what we should be doing!"
"Unless you want to be ridiculed by Rick and Ben during tomorrow's training."
"See? I told you guys are nothing without us! A 20-point lead, and the Heat still managed to come back and win the whole quarter. You guys are absolutely awful!"
"Do you want Ben and Rick to talk to you like that?"
"No!" The Pacers players roared after Lin Tian finished his speech.
They don't want to be laughed at by Ben and Schmitz!
Well, okay, Schmitz isn't much of a tease, but the increasingly wicked Ben wouldn't let such a good opportunity pass him by!
Tonight, they're not just going to win, they're going to win spectacularly! Then tomorrow, when they see Ben Wallace and Schmitz, they can confidently tell them, "Without you two losers dragging us down, we won much more easily!"
Yes! That's it!
We won even more easily without you!
After Lin Tian's encouragement, the Pacers incredibly and quickly regained their fighting spirit and morale. Riley, who had been watching this side, looked at Lin Tian and the Pacers players in disbelief.
He really couldn't understand how these guys could regain their fighting spirit so quickly.
Just two minutes ago, they were all in despair, frustration, and pain, as if they had lost a family member.
Then, Riley's gaze settled on Lin Tian!
The perfect player!
The idea immediately popped into Riley's mind.
A truly perfect leader who can always solve problems with opponents, resolve internal conflicts, and handle everything!
Lin Tian had no idea that Riley had suddenly given him such a high evaluation. All he knew was that the team had to win this game, no matter how many players they were missing, or even if they only had four players left!
If we lose today, that would be a real shock!
As for the injuries of Ben and Schmitz, Lin Tian could only say that he would do his best and leave the rest to fate!
Aside from praying that they were both okay and that the team would win the game and wait for their return, there was nothing else the players could do. Meanwhile, Lin Tian was also calculating the time he could use his Jordan card.
Today is May 17th. According to the schedule, the NBA Finals will begin on June 16th!
This is one of the reasons why we absolutely must win this match!
If Ben Wallace and Schmitz's injuries are more serious, then Lin Tian must postpone using this card as much as possible so that he can cover at least half of the Finals schedule!
Winning one more game means delaying the use of the trial card by two days, which is more meaningful for the team!
When the game resumed after a timeout, Lin Tian led his team back onto the court. The timeout that Ben Wallace had desperately called for allowed the Pacers to retain possession of the ball.
1 minute and 30 seconds left in the third quarter!
Lin Tian slowly moved forward with the ball, then raised it with one hand and spun around.
Continue with the isolation tactic!
Facing Hardaway's one-on-one defense, Lin Tian kept dribbling the ball outside the three-point line, observing the Heat's defense.
No one stepped forward!
After confirming it was a one-on-one defense, Lin Tian suddenly accelerated forward and broke through. After stepping into the three-point line, Lin Tian suddenly took a step back and dribbled back out of the three-point line!
Although Lin Tian only dribbled the ball twice, his speed was so fast and his impact was so strong that he actually made Hardaway flip over!
Hadaway's legs couldn't keep up with Lin Tian's speed, and he fell to the ground in a very sorry state!
After pulling out to the three-point line, Lin Tian immediately pulled up for a three-pointer and shot!
"Whoosh!"
After a crisp crack!
Lin Tian excitedly pounded his chest with his fist, demonstrating his toughness and confidence!
Come on! It's just four people short!
Lin Tian's goal reignited the atmosphere in the stadium!
The fans were once again filled with passion and began cheering loudly!
Lin Tian always manages to bring them hope even in dire straits!
The Heat dribbled the ball up the court. At this point, the Pacers' interior players were Davis and veteran Sam Perkins. The two were old and short, and obviously had no way to compare with Mourning. So the Heat's tactics were very simple: give the ball to Mourning!
After two consecutive passes, the basketball was tossed in from the wing by Mashburn. Mourning caught the ball, blocked Perkins, and then quickly spun past the aging Perkins before jumping up, intending to dunk with both hands!
But before his hands even touched the rim, an extra hand appeared on the other side!
That hand was firmly blocking Mourning between him and the basket!
"boom!"
Mourning's strength was still formidable. Even though the ball was intercepted solidly, he still mustered all his strength and slammed it toward the basket!
Unfortunately, although he was strong enough, the basketball was blocked and he lost control. Although he slammed his hands hard on the rim, the basketball flew out!
Lin Tian!
The only person who could suddenly rush into the paint to help defend at this moment is Lin Tian!
Furthermore, after so forcefully blocking Mourning's dunk, Lin Tian quickly adjusted his footwork, then jumped up again and caught the basketball falling from the sky in his arms!
"We scored! The third quarter is over, time to go home!"
Lin Tian raised one hand and called out another isolation tactic; he wanted to continue his one-on-one attack on Hardaway!
62: 85!
Despite being plagued by player losses, the Pacers are leading by 23 points!
(End of this chapter)