1083: Don't be a hero, kid (1/5)
This year's Christmas battle is actually less topical than before.
The Celtics and the Knicks played very fiercely, but now these two Eastern teams are not really powerful.
The Thunder's game against the Timberwolves is not much highlight. The Timberwolves are still in the "Husky" state. The league originally predicted that they would soar to the sky this season, so they were arranged to play the Christmas game.
Little did they know that after having two talented top scorers, they were still hanging out in the lottery zone.
Who would like to watch a team in the lottery play Christmas battle?
The same problem also occurred in the same-city derby between the Lakers and the Clippers. Although the Lakers are in a trend of upset today, due to their previous poor record, everyone's attention to this same-city derby is far lower than expected.
This year's Christmas battle can be called an epic showdown in just two games, one is the Warriors vs. the Spurs, and the other is the battle between the Grizzlies and the Cavaliers!
In the five games, the Grizzlies and the Cavaliers led the whole day.
The scenes of James and Link fighting attracted the attention of fans.
"LeBron plays back-on-on-one on the right side, and he makes a jump shot again! He makes a move, but this time he doesn't play the board! Since he was defeated by the Mavericks in 2011, LeBron has always attached great importance to his back-on-on-on-one skills. Until now, his back-on-on-one skills are also very suitable! The Cavaliers are leading by two points, and it's Link's turn again!"
McLeod's voice had become husky, as he was almost yelling from the first second of the game.
The regular season has been playing for two months, but he has never seen such a wonderful showdown as today.
Before the Cavaliers, whether they were fighting against the Warriors, the Thunder or the Rockets, the game was far less enjoyable than today.
Now, the game has reached the fourth quarter, but McLeod doesn't feel bored at all.
Link and James' fierce offense and defense on the court made the game pass quickly. The whole game can be described as the whole game without urine.
"Fuck, James is afraid that he has saved up two whole months of blue, so he will hold on to me today." Link wiped the sweat from his forehead. If he had to choose the hardest game of all the games he played against James, he would definitely choose today.
James has fully demonstrated all his life's learning today, and the strong support from Irving and Love has kept the Cavaliers firm until now.
On the Grizzlies, except Link, their performances are actually very good.
Jokic has scored 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, and Wade has scored 18 points without mercy in front of James.
The Grizzlies' sixth man Dinwiddie has scored 15 points to the point.
But everyone, including Irving and Love, can only play a supporting role.
Everyone can see that only James and Link have the ability to decide the outcome of this game.
At every key node, they are changing the trend.
Now, the Grizzlies are lagging behind again, and all the pressure is resting on Link.
In the last game, when the Grizzlies and the opponent were so one goal against each other, they still faced the Rockets.
But that time, Link didn't actually encounter much obstacle on the offensive end.
Ariza's defense is very strong for ordinary players, but for a superstar like Link, it's just that.
So in that game, it was actually a comparison between Harden and Link who would make mistakes first.
But today is different. James' defense is not comparable to Ariza. What's more, today Link is still facing a James who is extremely eager to win.
Conley originally wanted to avoid the important things and find other points to attack. Therefore, he took the lead in fighting with Wade, allowing the "Flash" to successfully break through.
However, Wade finally leaned against Shampoo's layup and hit the frame.
Shampoo was playing very hard today, and Wade's ability to fight against layups now is not comparable to that in the past. Therefore, Wade's idea of changing the game trend was dashed.
This game was only ended by Link and James.
"I haven't scored, and now the defensive intensity of both sides has gone from the scope of the regular season! It's almost impossible for the Grizzlies to score in such a simple way! Let's see if the Cavaliers can take the opportunity to open the score!"
As soon as McLeod finished speaking, Jokic used his high-coke bouncing ball to magically fight offensive rebounds, which allowed the Grizzlies to "escape".
Serbian Xiaopang did not hesitate and threw the ball directly to Link outside the three-point line.
As the game hits this point, others are no longer able to get in.
"Jokic's offensive rebounding is amazing. He is definitely the top rebounder in the league! But now, the real top showdown is outside the three-point line!"
James got very close, and Link felt that he could even feel the heat that James exhaled.
Both of them were sweating profusely, but they would never feel satisfied until one of them fell!
Link waved his hand and signaled that he wanted to play the singles. Then, he leaned against James and suddenly turned to the right!
James did not dare to slack off and immediately took a big step to block it.
Little did he know that Link was just a half-turning action. After tricking James into the center of gravity, Link immediately turned left with the axis of the spine.
"Beautiful half-turning fake move, Link broke through! Damn, who knows how much is in Link's arsenal!?"
Although James was shaken away by this half-turn, he immediately gritted his teeth and chased after him.
At this time, the desire to win that supported James in the battle was burning. He drove at full speed and Link suddenly blocked it when he jumped and made a layup!
"Dudu!" The referee immediately blew the whistle, and James had already knocked Link down before he touched the basketball.
"Ah!" Link's arm was pressed tightly by James. He could fall to the ground and wait to get up and hit the two free throws, but he was not satisfied with that.
Link shouted, and forced the ball to the basket under James' pressure!
During the fierce confrontation, Link sat down on the ground. He swore that he would never fall to his head again, so his butt was hit today.
At the same time, basketball also rubbed the rebound and refracted into the net!
The audience exclaimed, and Link was able to make the ball even though he was almost suppressed by James!
Sitting on the ground, Link didn't care about his butt, which had already fallen, and waved his fists vigorously.
"My God, Link bit so tightly, you can get in!"
"He won't allow himself to be beaten for nothing, McLeod. He will beat back the previous punch anyway, that's Link!"
After Reggie Miller said that, he looked at the data of Link and James today.
James scored 28 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists, and Link scored 30 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists. If he made another free throw later, he would be 31 points.
Two superstar-level figures have scored quasi-triple-double. Their performance can definitely guarantee victory in any previous game.
But today, the outcome is still uncertain!
Gasol and Jokic immediately ran to Link and reached out to pull their main general up.
After standing up, Link quickly rubbed his butt. It felt so uncomfortable that James directly shot on the floor.
But it is worth it to let the Grizzlies take the lead again.
Link steadily made the free throw, and the Grizzlies took the lead!
James and Link were both gasping for breath at this time, and they were almost at their limit.
There are three minutes left in the game and they have to solve each other in the last three minutes.
At this time, Kelly Irving bravely stood up to help the exhausted James share the pressure.
He used a fake shot outside the three-point line to shake Conley's center of gravity. Although Conley did not take off, the center of gravity was indeed raised a lot.
And this subtle change in center of gravity was enough to allow Irving to pass through him quickly.
Conley was also very helpless. Today Irving had made 3 of 4 shots outside the three-point line, and his average 40.1% three-point shooting percentage is not a big deal.
So although I knew there was a possibility of being shaken away, Conley could only try his best to block it.
"Kelly Irving breaks through at a rapid pace. Can he break the deadlock between Link and LeBron and make the game turn? Now only one person is needed, and both sides only need one more person to stand up to break the balance!"
McLeod was sweating all over his palms. Last season's playoffs, Irving killed games a lot at the deadly moment.
Today, this kid may be able to create miracles again!
Irving took off two steps and prepared to make a layup. At this time, Tristan had already stuck Gasol behind him, while Jokic was pulled outside the three-point line by Love.
Irving's breakthrough is unobstructed, and he believes that he will definitely be able to break the deadlock!
But as soon as Irving jumped up, he suddenly found that the basket was dull.
Irving swallowed, almost suffocating. He knew that the beast must be behind him now!
Irving wanted to find James, but he didn't see James' position. This ball was so badly stolen!
Irving was ready to be knocked out of the baseline by Link, but the next second, Link's hand was the first to hit the basketball.
In an instant, Irving felt that the basketball was out of hand. It wasn't being slapped or being knocked down, but it was out of hand.
Link took the ball from Irving's back and directly removed it from his hand.
Chase and catch the enemy!
"God, Link's head is beyond the basket! How is this possible? He actually completed the capture from behind Irving!"
McLeod had goose bumps. Although he saw it with his own eyes, he still couldn't believe that everything was true!
Irving was also shocked and sweated all over, and he felt a chill on his back.
It is already difficult to block a shot in the NBA. As for catching a shot, it is even more rare.
And chasing oneself and catching one's own fault... Irving was beaten to death and never thought that such a thing would actually happen to him!
After getting the basketball, Link looked down at Irving. Link's height of 2.03 meters can only be considered ordinary in the league, but at this moment, Link was an unattainable huge shadow in Irving's eyes!
"This is not your game. Don't interfere, don't think of being a hero, little dear!" Link said leisurely to Irving. This sentence, along with the catch just now, completely shattered the only trace of confidence that Irving had left!
He deeply understood what "this is not your game".
After getting through the trouble of Irving, Link looked at No. 23 in Cleveland again.
Wade missed, and Irving missed too.
The result of this game is destined to be decided by them!
Reggie Miller took a deep breath and slowed down from the incredible chase just now.
Looking at McLeod yelling beside him, Miller shook his head.
"Don't let God call you, man, God is just in front of you."
Miller disrespects anyone, including Jordan.
Chapter completed!