Chapter 334: The Left Hand That Broke the Seal
Wu Huang did not feel too tired in an interview after the game, and he couldn't see that he had just played 46 minutes of high-intensity playoffs. He stretched his eyebrows and said, "To be honest, I'm not surprised by this. We are full of confidence and trust each other. Tonight I feel hot, I can reach any corner of the court, and I even think I will make all the shots." After the Knicks defeated the Bulls, they have won 7 consecutive playoff wins, and the score difference of 7 games reached double digits in five games, which allowed them to catch up with the best playoff results in team history. Many Knicks fans with more than ten years of experience do not remember when they were so majestic.
"He took the initiative to take control of the ball and earn us points. So I said to him, 'Okay, just be responsible for the defense'," said coach D'Antoni.
Xiao Si performed averagely today. In fact, even if he performed well, he could only give the same statement at this moment: "He has a unyielding character. When he decides what to do, no one in the league can stop him."
Garlinari was familiar with his boss's flattery and didn't even have to beat the draft. He opened his mouth and said, "There is no doubt that tonight is Hugo's time. He is the best player in the league. He knows when to motivate the team, and he does the same. As long as Hugo is there, we don't worry about losing the game. At critical moments, you just give him the ball and wait for him to pass the ball back to your hand, or be ready to give applause and cheer for his goal."
The media actually wanted to see the Bulls tie the total score at home to 1:2 or even 2:2, but now they can only be amazed at Wu Huang's performance again, and then titrate him crazy!
Espn reported the second day: With another amazing performance from Hugo, the Knicks are only one step away from sweeping the Bulls. In fact, even the Bulls know that it will be sooner or later that they will be eliminated.
Hugo's current performance is exactly the same as Michael Jordan, who was watching the game on the sidelines, and the former also only has the championship trophy like King Qiao. In the last three games, Hugo played a total of 130 minutes and scored 116 points. Even head coach D'Antoni admitted that he was conquered by the performance of the New York Emperor.
Perhaps in the eyes of others, Hugo is numb to the ease of defeating his opponents again and again. But on the contrary, he enjoys the feeling very much. We hear him say, "I have always had fun in the game, and I also love the feeling of playing with passion."
So are the Bulls players watching Hugo score unscrupulously?
"Of course not, we have tried our best to defend him," said Bulls center Noah. "But when you play such an offensive feel, no one can defend it. And he is much more mature now, and there are many words that I can be affected by his trash words at the basket. You can imagine what Derek encountered in the game! I can only say that he is now a very mature superstar, and it is like this in all aspects."
In the second half of the third game, the Bulls once used two to three players to defend Hugo, but the effect was very little. They only successfully limited the "New York Emperor" quarter game. Once he held the ball to the top of the arc, he could choose to shoot 3 points, break into the basket directly, and pass the ball to his teammates. Therefore, his score often left the opponent with no time to react, especially when he really entered the state, no matter how many people defended, it would be useless.
Espn's report shows that they have determined that the Bulls have no chance. In fact, the Knicks have not encountered any real challenges since the start of this year's playoffs. They have scored 7 consecutive games to defeat their opponents. The Bulls themselves understand that the possibility of turning the series is slim.
"The opponent defeated us, but if we want to say that the opponent can easily defeat us by 20 or 30 points, there is absolutely no way!" Anthony's answer already explained everything.
Charles Barkley was assigned to comment on the series between the Lakers and the Mavericks in the division final, but after the Knicks defeated the Bulls, ******* also ran out to make a prediction: "After being directly stuffed by the Knicks 3:0, the Bulls are now on the verge of collapse, but even if their hope of turning the tables is quite slim, in order to maintain their dignity, they will do their best to stop the Knicks' full victory in the playoffs so far, but I still bought the Knicks and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals 4:0. Maybe we can look forward to the heavy competition between the Knicks and the Heat."
Barkley didn't expect that his stinky milk would kill the Heat. Rondo played a representative battle of his career in the third game. In the second half, he reproduced Pierce's return to the king and staged a story of savior one-armed savior.
With 7 minutes left in the third quarter of this game, Rondo fell to the ground while competing for the rebound. Since Wade was under him, Rondo tried hard to support his body with his arms, but in desperation, Rondo did not notice his posture, he used his counter-joint support to the ground.
In the slow-motion replay, the fans saw a very terrifying scene: Rondo's arm was bent outside, which was the direction we could not do under normal conditions. Rondo lay down on the ground, and then when he barely stood up, he could not maintain his body balance. He barely left the court with the help of the staff.
At this moment, many people will definitely think of the four words "seasonal reimbursement" in their minds, because such injuries make people feel shocking and thrilling...
But many people have forgotten that this is the North Shore Garden Arena, a place that has produced countless miracles. All Celtic players seem to have a magical power here, and nothing can stop them, including those seemingly serious injuries.
At the last moment of the third quarter, Rondo slowly walked out of the locker room and sat on the bench on the sidelines. Although his expression was solemn, he did not seem painful. Unlike before his injury, there was a hint of perseverance between his eyebrows and eyes, and at the same time, he also had white arm guards on his left arm.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Rondo made his debut again, and the sound of tsunami sounded from the North Bank Garden Arena, and they once again saw the scene of the return of the king.
Rondo, who had only one arm left, ran unceasingly on the court. He was able to steal Bosh's pass with his once injured left arm. Under his leadership, the Celtics' leading advantage gradually expanded, gradually locked in the victory of the game, and finally defeated the Heat with a score of 97-81, and tied the total score to 1-2.
Time seemed to have returned to the first game of the 2008 finals. In that game, fans also saw a similar scene. The person injured in that game was Pierce. After being injured, he first returned to the locker room, and then returned to the court again, staged the famous Return of the King.
This time, Boston saw the return of the king again and at the same time, the victory of the game was also seen.
This is Boston, this is North Shore Garden Arena, this is a place where miracles will never be lacking.
Emperor Wu was convinced afterwards. He looked down on Rondo, thinking that this guy's shooting was like shit, and he was not a player of the same level as him. But now it seems that the Celtics can enter the defense for a while, and this man with a girlfriend who looks similar to Durant is indeed a fierce player who can break through and defend.
Now, look at the Lakers, who are always in a good show of turning the tables by their opponents. There is still a big difference between these two largest NBA teams. The Celtics' iron-blooded spirit has been passed down, but the Lakers' aristocratic aura always reminds people of words such as "decline".
The same is true in reality. The Celtics relied on their resilience to see hope again, but the Lakers rushed to the end.
The showdown between the Lakers and the Mavericks in the Western Conference semi-finals is fundamentally a peak competition between the inside and the outside. Whoever can play his advantage and defeat the opponent's advantage can take the initiative in the game.
This is somewhat similar to the Knicks' matches with the Bulls. D'Antoni used small lineups for a long time in the second and third games. He gave up those seemingly reasonable but not good at playing, and completely took the best running and bombing route, and played even more extreme than the regular season.
The Mavericks also have a large number of high-quality outside shooters. Nowitzki, Kidd and Stevenson all have excellent outside offensive abilities. Terry, Stoyakovic and Baria who come on the bench are all players with speed and range.
In the first two games, the Mavericks fully utilized their outside advantage. Not only did the three-pointer give the Lakers a heavy blow, Kidd's passing route is also a problem that the Lakers cannot solve. When the Mavericks used the two-point guard lineups of Barria and Kidd, neither Gasol nor Bynum could keep up with the defensive pace in the interior and were killed by the pick-and-roll tactics of the Mavericks' outside players many times.
When the Mavericks played out their own advantages, the Lakers' inside advantage became a decoration, and the advantages of the two towers were basically not played out. Gasol, Bynum and Odom combined had less than 50% of the shooting percentage, and the offense at critical moments did not show its power.
In the third game of Dallas, the Mavericks continued to use their own outside advantage to fight the Lakers' inside advantage. In this game, the two teams' tactics were very clear. The Lakers kept attacking in the inside, and the Mavericks frequently shot on the outside. The two teams were you playing on your outside, and I attacked my inside, it depends on who can survive to the end.
The Lakers' inside advantage helped them gain a certain advantage in the first half, but at the beginning of the last quarter, Stoyakovic, who came on as a substitute, made two consecutive outside attacks, and Baria quickly cut into the layup, causing trouble for the Lakers' defense. Nowitzki and Stoyakovic's three-pointers gave the Lakers a heavy blow at the critical moment.
When the Mavericks showed their strength on the outside, the Lakers insisted on attacking the inside but did not receive satisfactory results. At the last moment, the Mavericks' three-pointer once again destroyed the Lakers' inside advantage, won the third game, and completely took the initiative of the entire series into his own hands.
So the question is, if the Thunder team, which is leading 2:1, currently the advantage in the division semi-finals are all teams that are good at playing outside. Teams with traditional inside are either eliminated or are about to be eliminated. Does this mean that the league will completely usher in the world of small balls in the future?
It is worth mentioning that after the Lakers lost the game, Artest, who had been suspended for a game due to a malicious foul, made inappropriate words off the court and brought Wu Huang with him.
Artest had no regrets in his interview. Instead, he blamed the referee in his words: "This is a ridiculous plot. I don't want to do this because it means I have to defend my behavior and compare it with other similar situations. I have to think of when my face was hit by that bastard, and when I had to think of Dirk elbowing me. In the first game, he hit me back with his elbow and aimed at my head. I still remember that during the Kings, Ginobili hit me in the mouth and elbowed me on the head, even though they all said that these were not intentional."
Mr. Peace said with great grievance: "They said I hit Barria with my shoulders. How should I calculate that Dirk hit me elbow? And that guy, his boxing skills are better than his three-pointers. Even in Memphis, Mark Gasol hit me and my lips were broken. So, do you know what I mean?"
Wu Huang smiled and wrote on his Twitter: "Mr. Peace's explanation sounds very reasonable, and even I began to doubt whether someone deliberately hit my fist with his face that time? But I want to say that it is hard to believe that he will not commit it again with such an attitude?" Wu Huang's gloating attitude naturally encountered a lot of criticism. Some fans left messages on Wu Huang's Twitter and Facebook, believing that he was too petty. It has been a long time since that incident, and it was obvious that he took advantage, but he still kept holding on to it.
After teasing Artest, Emperor Wu no longer cared about this matter. It only took them one or two games to eliminate the Bulls. They could already turn their attention to the Heat and the Celtics. The winners of these two teams will become their opponents in the Eastern Conference Finals.
However, Wu Huang believes that the most important task at present is to kick the Bulls out first. Even if they are 3:0, it does not mean that they will definitely win 100%. It is not too late to win the last game first and then consider the Eastern Conference Finals.
There is only one day off in the fourth game between the Knicks and the Bulls. This year's playoff schedule is very close. Wu Huang thought maliciously: I don't know if the league wants players to experience the horror of shrinking season first, so that they know that if they are unwilling to compromise on the labor-management agreement, then next season will be full of two-day games, or even five-day three games. At that time, many people will be reimbursed if they fail to persist.
On May 8, the fourth game between the Knicks and the Bulls was in a very fierce battle. The Bulls played particularly tenaciously, and they finally reduced Wu Huang's score.
In the first quarter, Wu Huang lost frequently under heavy defense. Except for one layup, he only made one goal from the outside, and the other five shots missed. He failed to get a free throw opportunity in this quarter. The Knicks scored only 18 points in the first quarter, 8 points behind the Bulls.
Wu Huang still couldn't play it in the second quarter, and only made a three-pointer. However, his teammates performed well. Xiao Si took on the heavy responsibility of scoring, Gallinari and O'Neal also played. Wu Huang, who was strictly guarded, could only contribute to the team with Iguodala on the defensive end.
The first brother said that he had been sacrificing other data for the team's defense in the second round. Today he continued to use his own defensive defense to consume Anthony. When his teammates could not provide him with support, this is the best defensive strategy at present. The more Iguodala consumed Anthony, the greater the chance of the Knicks winning.
The Bulls maintained a lead in the first half. Although they suffered losses in long shots, the Bulls relied on tight defense to force the Knicks' shooting percentage to drop significantly. Moreover, the Bulls' rebounding was finally normal today. Boozer and Noah finally suppressed the Knicks' small lineup on rebounds. In the first half, the Bulls led the Knicks by 25:15 on the rebound. However, the Knicks did not lose completely on the defensive end. In the first half, Wu Huang, Iguodala, and Tony Allen's strong individual defense ability forced the Bulls to make 8 mistakes, otherwise the Knicks would not be just seven or eight points behind.
Shortly after the start of the third quarter, the Bulls' aggressiveness on the defensive end was reduced.
As soon as Wu Huang got the breath, he immediately made two shots. After the Knicks scored 8 points in a row, they narrowed the gap to 3 points with 48:51.
The Bulls can only resume their strict defense against Wu Huang. In this game, he faced two or three Bulls surrounded by two. In order to maintain this high-intensity defense, Noah's running distance in the first half was almost the same as that of Xiao Si's running in the whole game. The Bulls can place nearly half of the defensive forces on Wu Huang, while also supporting the attacks of other Knicks players. Noah's overdrawn physical strength assisted defense and repair defense plays at least half of the role, but this style of play cannot persist in the whole game.
The Bulls have maintained a weak lead in the third quarter. Wu Huang could feel that the referee's whistle was also quite partial to the Bulls today, and many of his breakthroughs were not allowed to be fouled. However, the Knicks players have long foreseeed this situation. If the Bulls still cannot enjoy the home whistle treatment when they are behind 0:3, they will definitely offend David Stern.
Ross broke out for a while at the end of the third quarter. His continuous high-difficulty shooting hits made Wu Huang a little embarrassed, and he also dropped his shooting percentage to 37%, slightly pulled back. Otherwise, if the shooting percentage drops, even his fans will not be able to bear it. How can a team's core shooting percentage be so low?
At the critical moment, Gallinari stepped forward again, first hit a key three-pointer on the left wing, and then broke through and broke into 2+1 to offset Ross' efforts.
In this round of the series, the Italian performed very well. He has stood up several times when the team needs it. Although this is related to Wu Huang and Xiao Si attracting most of the defenses, it also shows that Gallinari is moving closer to a quasi-star player. Once he ignores his defense, the result will be fatal. This is a threat that only players who have entered the quasi-all-star level will have.
Wu Huang only scored 12 points in the first three quarters, which was his worst performance in this round of the series. Although he also contributed 4 rebounds and 9 assists, scoring was always the most effective killing and his best skill.
After the start of the fourth quarter, Wu Huang felt that the Bulls' defense should decline, but he still missed the shot twice under Ross' desperate entanglement. Today, Ross used the mad dog-like defense again, which was like imitating Iguodala, but the fact was that Iguodala was imitating Ross' defense in the second game.
Wu Huang still only hit one three-pointer in this quarter, but his three-pointer is worth a thousand gold.
In the last moment, Anthony, who had almost exhausted his energy, made a mistake in the dribbling breakthrough and was intercepted by Iguodala. Wu Huang used his left hand who had saved a lot of time and character to shoot a perfect shot in 4 seconds before the end of the game. This ultra-long three-pointer 26 feet away from the basket also helped the Knicks draw with him to enter overtime at the end of the fourth quarter.
When Thibodeau saw the game being dragged into overtime, he knew in his heart that his team had little chance. Anthony's last-minute mistake indicated that his physical strength had been exhausted, and Ross and Boozer had little physical strength left. Noah, who had the best physical fitness in the team, was also exhausted because of excessive consumption on the defensive end. Now they have no energy to play overtime?
Wu Huang smiled, his recovery ability once again showed a perverted side. When the Bulls made repeated mistakes in overtime passes and cooperation and could not even compete with the Knicks on the rebound, Wu Huang Huang was as omnipotent as if he had taken drugs. Not only did he grab the rebound from Boozer again, he also scored 2+1 twice on the offensive end. The Bulls sealed the monsters that had been sealed throughout the game and finally broke through the seal in overtime. The Chicagoans were defeated for a moment.
The home fans left the court early again. The Bulls were significantly slower in defense due to physical strength, while the offensive end made frequent mistakes. First, Noah made a pass mistake, then Anthony made a dribble mistake, and finally Rose’s shot did not take the box... When the overtime entered the last 1 minute and 20 seconds, Noah even had cramps.
Wu Huang only scored 17 points, 5 rebounds, 12 assists and 3 steals in the regular season, but in just five minutes of overtime, he turned his data into 31 points, 8 rebounds, 13 assists and 4 steals. At the same time, Sir and Gallinari's performance was also remarkable. The collective performance of the three main players of the Knicks made the Bulls' defense lose the focus and had to swallow the bitter fruit of the loss at home.
In the end, the Knicks defeated the Bulls 119:108 away, thus sweeping the opponent with a total score of 4:0, advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals first, waiting for the winners of the Heat and the Celtics.
Chapter completed!