The Lakers trailed by 3 points in the first quarter.

26:29!!

This is the current score.

Despite a low free throw percentage, O'Neal still managed to score a team-high 13 points in the first quarter thanks to his tough one-on-one play.

This scenario unfolded exactly as D'Antoni had hoped...

O'Neal's resentment towards Cummings has lingered until tonight. I wonder if he's been sleeping well these past few days, and if he'll wake up in the middle of the night, punching his fist and yelling, "Cummings, you deserve to die!"

The Lakers are too strong this season. With Wei Guo as the cornerstone, they were able to win championships with the Knicks and the Trail Blazers. It is even more surprising that the Lakers have such a roster, with Kobe, Gasol, Paul, Odom, Bynum... Wei Guo has never fought such a rich team in his life.

D'Antoni knows very well... winning this series is a pipe dream!

His only goal is to win a game. If he wins just one game and breaks the Lakers' undefeated streak, the Suns will have achieved great success. Tonight is arguably the best opportunity. Regardless of the outcome, O'Neal's resentment will dissipate, and he will never be able to perform like this again in the next game.

......

The second quarter begins!

D'Antoni used a small lineup, with Diaw and Barbosa replacing O'Neal and Hill. This will be the seven players in the rotation tonight. If nothing unexpected happens, Nash, Stoudemire, and Bell will all play more than 40 minutes. As for veterans O'Neal and Hill, D'Antoni will arrange as much playing time as possible based on their condition.

Kobe is drinking a beverage...

Wei Guo glanced at the lineup on the court and suddenly said, "The Suns are about to launch an offensive surge and widen the gap!"

"Pfft~~~"

Kobe spat out his drink. "You have that little faith in them?"

The Lakers have a strong roster, and Gentry often uses a five-in-five-out or four-in-four-out strategy, like right now... Except for Paul, the other four key players are not on the court, but Paul is leading Odom, Walton, Vujacic, and Ariza, and this roster is not weak either.

Why does Brother Wei have so little confidence in them?

Because Bynum lost the jump ball to Stoudemire, the Lakers took the first possession in the second quarter!

Bell closely guards Paul...

Paul repeatedly made dribbling moves such as between-the-legs and behind-the-back, looking for opportunities to attack or pass. After dribbling for seventeen seconds, Paul passed the ball to Odom, who then made a layup!

Stoudemire used physical contact, forcing Odom to take a difficult shot.

"bang~~~"

The basketball bounced off the rim!

With the offensive rebound out of reach, Paul called for his teammates to quickly get back on defense. Nash grabbed the defensive rebound, dribbled the ball to the top of the arc, and raised his hand to shoot!

Vujacic and Walton pounced on him together...

"This is a pass..."

Wei Guo, sitting on the sidelines, reminded him, "Block Stoudemire..."

Just as expected!

Nash faked out two players, then passed the ball between them with a bounce pass to Stoudemire!

Stoudemire took two powerful strides and reached the basket in two steps.

"Bang!!!"

He slammed home a powerful dunk over Paul!

Kobe pursed his lips. "Could you speak a little louder? I'm the only one who can hear you."

"hey-hey..."

Wei Guo blinked and laughed, "Just hearing that is enough. Isn't my predictive ability amazing?"

"Very strong!!!"

Kobe gave a strained thumbs-up, his praise not entirely genuine.

Wei Guo's anticipation ability is the best in the entire league... There's no need to prove anything further. It can only be said that Wei Guo was just having fun. If Wei Guo had shouted a warning just now, even if Vujacic and Walton were faked out, Odom would have been able to block Stoudemire in time.

It can't be that bad...

Let Paul face the little tyrant directly under the basket.

......

tNt live stream room.

Johnson: "With O'Neal and Hill off the court, the Suns' speed has increased dramatically!"

Barkley: "This is their signature run-and-gun offense..."

Johnson said, "No one knows the run-and-gun offense better than Gentry. The Lakers' young players are all quite fast, so it will be easy for them to limit the Suns' scoring."

Barkley: "Whether this is the beginning or the end, we'll have to wait and see."

......

Gentry also wanted to know whether Nash and Stoudemire's connection was the beginning or the end.

Speaking of run-and-gun tactics...

Many people have a misconception that Gentry brought this to the league, but in fact... only the Suns players understand that the run-and-gun offense was entirely proposed and perfected by D'Antoni and Wei Guo, and has absolutely nothing to do with Gentry. As for how to deal with the run-and-gun offense... Gentry's ideas are no more numerous than those of other head coaches in the league.

This is indeed the beginning!

The Suns players followed Nash at breakneck speed... the ball arrived just as quickly as the player, and in just five minutes, the Suns went on a 21-9 run, extending their lead to 15 points.

Paul is not at a disadvantage when matched up against Nash!

These are two completely different players. Speaking only of offense, Nash is best at organizing the team's fast break, while Paul's style of play is more inclined towards half-court offense. His small-on-big-on defense after switching on defense is very effective. However, tonight he was completely shut down by Bell. Bell's tough defense made Paul very uncomfortable.

35:50!!

The Lakers are down by 15 points.

Gentry is a tanking head coach. They're down so much... and he doesn't even call a timeout, he just puts Wei Guo and Kobe on the court!

Paul is holding onto the ball too much...

When neither Wei Guo nor Kobe was on the court, he trusted himself the most, always dribbling for more than ten seconds before passing the ball out when the best opportunity arose. This was unlike Wei Guo, whose overall vision was unique... He often received the ball and passed it to his teammates without even dribbling.

D'Antoni glanced at O'Neal, thinking that he should let him rest a little longer, as the Suns had been playing very well lately.

Wei Guo and Kobe Bryant are on the court...

First, observe how strong the two players' offensive desire is before deciding whether to substitute O'Neal and Hill.

......

There are 6 minutes and 16 seconds left in the second quarter!

Lakers on offense!

Paul dribbled slowly, and Kobe urged, "Hurry up!"

The team is down by 15 points...

Why isn't this person in a hurry at all, just because Wei Guo has returned to the field?

Wei Guo positioned himself under the basket to receive the pass. After receiving the pass, he turned and made a powerful shot, feigning a shot with his left shoulder, thus fooling Stoudemire. Wei Guo then gathered the ball, turned around, and put the ball into the basket.

"After Wei Guo retires, there will never be another big man in the league with such excellent footwork under the basket."

As O'Neal said this, he subconsciously sighed... Even Hakeem Olajuwon's Dream Shake wasn't this unstoppable.