manynovel Chapter 556 I can fight like this all day long!
Chapter 556 I can fight like this all day long!
"How long can you keep playing like this?" Billups, at least on the surface, remained completely unmoved, as if Lin Tian had just made an open layup.
After all, a person's name might be wrong, but their nickname will never be wrong!
A guy nicknamed "Mr. Key" must have an enormous heart.
"I could play like this all day!" Lin Tian casually bent down, beckoning Billups with his finger. "Bring it on, let's see who wins tonight!"
Billups' calm and composure served as a boost to the rest of the Pistons players, helping them quickly regain their composure, and in the next offensive possession, Rasheed hit a close-range floater.
In the following minutes, Lin Tian knew very well that his teammates were no longer reliable. Whether it was Anthony, Stoudemire, Jackson, or Smith, none of them could match the intensity of the Pistons at this moment.
Facing the Pistons' all-out defense, the Knicks players felt a huge difference. In the first three quarters, they were able to run and attack at will and make shots.
But in the fourth quarter, when the Pistons increased their intensity, they suddenly couldn't do anything... This sense of frustration was quite intense.
From this perspective, Brown's strategy was absolutely successful.
But the problem is...
His strategy only worked against the rest of the Knicks team, not against Lin Tian.
That's equivalent to it not working!
With one minute left in the game, the score remained close!
121: 120!
The Knicks still lead by one point, and in the past few minutes, both teams have seen a significant drop in scoring efficiency and a noticeable decrease in possessions. With Billups in control and the two Wallaces dominating the boards, the Pistons have completely taken control of the game's tempo.
Even so, they just couldn't turn the score around!
Just one point!
They closed the gap to just one point multiple times, but they just couldn't overcome that one point!
At this point in the game, even Billups was getting a little impatient. Being dominated for so long was a bad thing for the team.
Although it's only by one point, being behind is being behind. A persistent deficit, unable to catch up, will put the players under immense pressure.
"We scored!" Billups shouted, raising his arms in celebration.
"Don't let them score this ball!" Lin Tian shouted, raising his arm in celebration!
"Ignore that bastard! Let's go for 1!" Billups once again organized his teammates to move around.
"No matter what that bastard is doing, we have to defend against him!" Lin Tian reminded his teammates again.
"Richard! Go around!" Billups began calling for his teammates.
"Richard, ignore him! He didn't say 'please'!" Lin Tian continued to cause trouble while blocking Billups' position.
"You son of a bitch, are you ever going to stop?!"
"Damn it, I'm not done yet!"
Just as the two were arguing like children, Billups suddenly made a one-handed behind-the-back pass, sending the ball to Rasheed, who had just run out from under the basket and rushed to the three-point line.
This time, Stoudemire stayed close behind, spreading his arms to try and disrupt Rasheed's shot, preventing him from getting an easy pass.
Although Rashid was interfered with by Stoudemire and had to adjust his arc, he still resolutely threw the ball out!
This is his characteristic, and he is confident in it!
"Bang!"
But then came a sharp crack. Rasheed missed a three-pointer, and Okur grabbed the rebound. But before he could even hold on tight, Artest next to him reached out and shoved the basketball from Okur's hands onto the floor.
Before Artest could even rush over to grab the ball, Anthony was already on the floor, clutching the basketball to his chest while yelling, "Timeout! Timeout!"
The referee confirmed possession of the ball and, ignoring Artest's protests while he was on top of Anthony, promptly gave the Knicks a timeout!
Anthony played like his life depended on it, fighting for a possession for the team!
The score difference between the two sides remains at 1 point!
The last 42 seconds!
During the timeout, Don Nelson didn't say much, but instead tried to let Lin Tian, who had only rested for less than two minutes each in the second and fourth quarters, get some rest. Just before everyone was about to step onto the court, Nelson said, "Give the ball to Lin! Then spread out!"
Don Nelson understands that for the current Knicks team, the more crucial the moment, the simpler the game must be!
The simpler it is, the greater the opportunity.
To make things even simpler, Nelson didn't have the team take the throw-in from midfield; instead, he suddenly took the ball from the baseline.
This sudden change of tactics caught the Pistons players somewhat off guard, rendering their original defensive strategy ineffective.
Even when the referee blew the whistle to start the inbounds play, Lin Tian sprinted towards the frontcourt, causing the Pistons to hesitate to press the Knicks' backcourt. Otherwise, who knows if Lin Tian's speed would have led to a fast break.
The entire Pistons team retreated rapidly. Anthony, holding the basketball, easily dribbled it across the frontcourt and passed it to Lin Tian.
"You guys are running around like crazy, playing all-out offense and defense, it must be exhausting," Lin Tian said casually while dribbling the ball. "How long can you keep going like this?"
Billups was about to return Lin Tian's line, "I could play like this all day long," but Lin Tian had already answered first.
"Don't tell me you can fight all day. Even if you guys are the best fighters, you can only fight like this for another 30 seconds or so!"
After Lin Tian finished speaking, he didn't give Billups a chance to retort and immediately began his breakthrough!
Even though he had only made one crossover dribble, Artest had already rushed over from the wing to help defend. Even though he was about to pass the ball, he saw Hamilton fill the gap left by Artest, and Rasheed was also ready to rush into Hamilton's open space to fill the gap in the team.
But Lin Tian remained remarkably calm!
This time, he again chose to turn halfway and accelerate from Billups' side. Then, as he reached the free-throw line and was surrounded by Hamilton and Billups, he suddenly stopped and stepped back.
Lin Tian stepped back, tapped the floor with his left foot, and then suddenly gathered the ball before jumping back again.
Visually, he took three steps back in an instant!
But the referee, who had been completely focused on the play, made no indication that the goal was absolutely legal!
At the same time, because Lin Tian took three steps back, his retreat distance was quite far, jumping directly from the free throw line to outside the three-point line!
Then Lin Tian made a swift move and launched a three-pointer!
"Whoosh!"
After a crisp crack, the point difference between the two sides was widened to 4 points again!
There are only 30 seconds left in the game!
The Pistons have very few chances left!
After scoring a three-pointer, Lin Tian immediately performed the three-point celebration move that he had designed for Anthony.
He stretched out three fingers of one hand and kept poking his head while shouting excitedly!
You guys tried to play dirty with me!
Today I'll squeeze every last drop of your juices dry!
Brown on the other side had a grim expression. He quickly called a timeout; he needed to make proper arrangements for the final 30 seconds!
With 4 points, the Pistons are not without a chance!
124: 120!
"Insane!" Barkley's voice rang out again: "Absolutely insane! This is the Pistons! Lin is almost replicating his insane performance in last year's first round against the Pistons! He's already scored 47 points tonight! 20 of them were in the fourth quarter alone!"
「并且，从球队和活塞队打成100：90的时候林登场，到距离比赛结束只剩下最后30秒的现在，林爆砍20分！这意味着他拿到了球队最后24分之中的20分！」
"He destroyed the Pistons' defense! After destroying the Celtics, Lin destroyed the Pistons!"
"Now it all comes down to the last 30 seconds. Can the Pistons regain the lead?" Kenny added. "If they can't take the lead and can't win this game, then their decision to ignore defense and try to out-attack the Knicks on offense will become a joke."
"A huge joke!"
"Alright! Timeout over, both teams' players have returned to the court. The Pistons still have their five starters on the court, while the Knicks have... um? All-defensive lineup? Let's just say that for now!"
"After all, their defensive lineup is only slightly better than their offensive lineup; they're a team that's always pushed to the limit!"
The lineup that Don Nelson fielded in this crucial defensive play was Lin Tian, Ward, Jackson, Wallace, and Okur.
This roster is somewhat small, but it boasts top-notch mobility and aggressiveness. The players themselves are also physically capable. Most importantly, these five players are truly among the few Knicks players who possess both a clear mind and a tenacious work ethic.
As for whether they can stop the Pistons' final attack, all Old Nelson can do is wish them luck.
Unfortunately, Don Nelson hadn't practiced any defensive tactics beforehand, so expecting his players to engage in a top-level defensive play in the Eastern Conference Finals was a bit of a stretch.
Old Nelson said: You guys play as you see fit. As long as you don't make any stupid mistakes, like giving your opponent a 3+1 or something, then this round is passable!
He has never had high expectations for defense.
"Beep beep!"
With a whistle from the referee, the basketball flew out of Rasheed's hands from the sideline, and the Pistons' offense started incredibly fast!
Artest received the ball at the top of the key. It was quite unexpected for him to be the first to receive the ball, after all, he is definitely the most unreliable and most prone to making mistakes on the Pistons.
This time, however, Artest played very calmly. He didn't force a three-pointer to gamble on a three-pointer. Instead, after getting the ball, he turned on bulldozer mode and drove straight into the paint!
Artest's breakthroughs may have been ugly and unsightly, but they were quite effective!
He dominated Wallace as he drove to the basket, then shoved him aside with his shoulder and made a layup, quickly scoring 2 points for his team!
The entire process took Artest less than 4 seconds!
There are 26.5 seconds left in the game!
A quick two-pointer makes this round's result absolutely acceptable!
In particular, the Knicks didn't have a timeout!
The one Anthony just called was the last one; they have to inbound the ball from the baseline without a timeout!
But the Pistons had obviously anticipated this, and all of them found the nearest defender they were matched up against and started a new round of intense battles!
This is Brown's plan: a quick 2-pointer followed by full-court press, they want to force the Knicks into turnovers!
But the Knicks have Lin Tian!
Even though he was being double-teamed by the Knicks' backcourt duo, he kept running. With the 5-second inbound pass time approaching, Lin Tian accelerated towards the baseline, as if he was going to catch the ball at the nearest point.
But after only one step, he suddenly turned and accelerated towards the Pistons' frontcourt, yelling, "Throw!"
One word is enough!
Jackson, positioned at the baseline, quickly understood Lin Tian's intention and threw the ball forward with one hand, like throwing a javelin.
Lin Tian, disregarding everything, accelerated wildly, completely shaking off the double defense of Billups and Hamilton, and charged straight into the heart of the Pistons' territory.
"Defense! Keep up with him! Stop him!" Brown shouted anxiously, hoping his disciple could catch up with Lin Tian and complete the defense, but Lin Tian's speed was simply too fast.
By the time he caught the basketball, the distance between him and Billups and Hamilton had not only not decreased, but had actually increased!
After Lin Tian got the ball, the game time began to fly by.
Then, he and Hamilton played hide-and-seek on the court, from the basket to the corner, from the corner to the wing, and from the wing to the top of the key.
Lin Tian's speed was too fast, and his turning and changing direction were too fast and fast. The Pistons' backcourt duo tried their best but couldn't stop him. Instead, they wasted a lot of time. It wasn't until Lin Tian had run to the top of the arc and the rest of the Pistons' players had already run past half-court that Lin Tian was finally grabbed by Ben Wallace.
However, Lin Tian had already used up about 10 seconds of the game time, leaving the Pistons with only 16 seconds left.
Lin Tian, who has the second-highest free throw percentage in the league since the playoffs began, second only to Nash, will have to take two free throws.
Considering that he had almost no chance of missing those two free throws, most people thought that the Pistons were doomed to lose!
Lin Tian certainly wouldn't let those who believed in him down. He stepped up to the free-throw line and calmly made both free throws, leaving the gap between the two sides still at 4 points!
With less than 17 seconds left, the Pistons had no choice but to abandon their aggressive two-point-at-a-time strategy.
Billups received the ball quickly in the backfield, then pushed forward with all his might, charging all the way to the frontcourt before pulling up and throwing it!
"Bang!"
That muffled thud essentially sealed the Pistons' fate for the night.
Especially after Okur grabbed the rebound again and immediately found Lin Tian, it sealed the Pistons' fate for the night.
They lost!
With only 7 seconds left in the game, the Pistons did not choose to foul Lin Tian.
After all, they were down by 4 points and had no timeouts available.
Even if they commit a foul and Lin Tian misses both free throws, and then they make a three-pointer, there won't be enough time left for them to repeat the process more than once.
Those 10 seconds that Lin Tianping wasted were absolutely fatal!
That was fatal, a death sentence for the Pistons! Otherwise, the Pistons would have had ten more seconds, giving them a chance to fight back!
Unfortunately, they didn't have that chance. They couldn't catch Lin Tian, and they could only painfully accept the loss in the first game of the series!
It's also a pity that Lin Tian only scored 49 points tonight.
If he gets fouled by the Pistons again at the end, he could score 50+ points tonight!
Of course, for Lin Tian, who has already delivered countless brilliant performances and broken numerous records in the playoffs, scoring 50 points in one more game is not much, nor is scoring one less game.
Most importantly, his incredible 22-point performance in the fourth quarter tonight led his team to victory!
The confident Detroit players fell into complete silence when the final whistle blew.
They lost the first game of the series, and at home no less!
This was absolutely a devastating blow to them!
Although the series has just begun and we are only down 1-0, thinking about Lin Tian's past achievements and his comeback last year when he was down 1-3, and how he reversed the situation all the way back.
Pistons fans can't help but be pessimistic.
Last year, they came back from a 1-3 deficit to win, and this year they're leading 1-0. Do you think they can let a sure win slip away?
Meanwhile, Detroit fans began to lament the unfairness of fate.
More than 10 years ago, they formed the Bad Boys 1.0, leading the team to two consecutive championships and enjoying unparalleled success. But at this time, they encountered Jordan, whose dream of a three-peat was shattered.
Now, they have formed a Bad Boys Legion 2.0 with almost the same style, but this time they are in a worse situation. They have encountered Lin Tian. In the first year, they were upset by the eighth seed, and in the second year, they were hit hard at the start, leaving the Detroit people speechless.
Why are we so unlucky?
Why do we always get schooled by superstar players?
Why do we never have any superstar athletes?
Isaiah Thomas: Achoo! Achoo!
I feel like someone is cursing me!
Brown looked somber after the game. He knew, of course, that the responsibility for the loss lay with him. He had failed to give the right instructions and had allowed the team to focus on offense against the Knicks, which led to the team's defeat.
At least from the course of the game, even though Lin Tian scored 20 points in the fourth quarter, when the team was on full defensive endeavors, they were still able to close the gap to 10 points in a single quarter!
If we had focused on defense from the start tonight and played the game in the style that the team is best at, we might not have lost!
No, it's almost certain that we'll win!
It's all my fault!
After uttering a curse, Brown stood up from the bench. He was going to the press conference; he was going to take responsibility! (End of Chapter)