There was a reason the referee didn't call it; he knew Kobe had already committed three fouls.

Another foul, and Kobe will have to sit on the bench for most of the third quarter. Kobe was also fouled maliciously by Tony in the second quarter, so this can be considered the referee's compensation to him.

Even if the referee doesn't call a foul, you still have to play defense!

Pierce got up and chased after Kobe, with three men following behind. Kobe went coast-to-coast for a layup, and Garnett followed up, trying to deliver a spectacular block.

However...

Kobe had no intention of attacking at all; he made a behind-the-back pass in mid-air!

Rondo sensed something was wrong and immediately changed direction, rushing towards the left corner. His awareness was really good... If it weren't Wei Guo hiding in the three-point corner, Rondo would definitely have been able to defend him. However, the height difference between him and Wei Guo was too great. When Wei Guo jumped to shoot, the only thing Rondo could do was foul.

He gave Wei Guo a push...

Even for Wei Guo, it would be difficult to make the shot if he completely lost his balance; all he could do was barely keep his body steady and prevent himself from falling.

"Beep!!!"

The referee called a defensive foul on Rondo.

Such an obvious foul couldn't go uncalled, but the audience was still dissatisfied, chanting in unison, "Black whistle! Black whistle! Black whistle!"

"You're not bad, kid!"

Wei Guo ruffled Rondo's hair. "You actually managed to cover for him!"

If it were a teammate, a pat on the head would be a sign of affection and encouragement; but if it were an opponent, a pat on the head would be a provocation, causing Rondo's anger to soar... However, the height difference between him and Wei Guo was too great, and he had to look up to see Wei Guo, so he simply didn't have the courage to provoke him.

But...

It was truly frustrating to be provoked by Wei Guo and not retaliate.

In the past, some teams have used that extreme one-for-one tactic against the Lakers. They really didn't know how to deal with the Lakers, so they simply arranged for a role player to constantly provoke Wei Guo, preferably to fight with Wei Guo. Regardless of whether they suffered a loss or not, as long as they could both be ejected from the game, they would have achieved their goal.

This kind of tactic is very unsportsmanlike!

Ironically, it's very useful...

In that game, Wei Guo was ejected in the second quarter for fighting with an opponent, but he was not suspended for another game. This was a form of protection for Wei Guo by the league, as he was a ratings guarantee and a one-game suspension would have caused the league an immeasurable loss.

This tactic can only be used once. Once they've learned their lesson, the Lakers won't make the same mistake again. If an opponent provokes Wei Guo again, someone will step in for him before he even has a chance to make a move. Even Kobe fought for Wei Guo, not to mention others. There's also Odom on the court, and Odom is always at the forefront.

That's why...

Rivers then gave up on provoking Wei Guo. If the extreme one-for-one tactic had worked, the Jazz would have used it in the second round.

......

No conflict occurred, and the match proceeded as scheduled.

Wei Guo stepped to the free-throw line. He had played in seven Finals and missed no more than ten free throws, becoming more and more composed in crucial moments.

"Whoosh!!!"

"Whoosh!!!"

"Whoosh!!!"

All three free throws were made.

39:41!!

The Lakers are down by 2 points.

Rivers was incredibly nervous every time the score was close... This was the first time he had faced Wei Guo in the Finals, and he was curious why the head coaches who had played against Wei Guo in the previous six years hadn't had heart attacks after the Finals.

Celtics on offense!

If this attack fails, the Lakers could very well tie the score. Rivers has also instructed that they must target Kobe and try to draw fouls on him.

Pierce was one-on-one with Kobe, and then he turned around and leaned against Kobe!

Kobe remained unmoved...

Kobe knew exactly what Pierce was trying to do, so he wasn't going to let him have his way. He just guarded him closely, but didn't commit any fouls.

Even on offense, Pierce kept making small elbowing moves, not because he wanted to play like that... He just wanted to provoke Kobe and make him lose his temper, so that it would be much easier to draw fouls. But Kobe was so calm, so he had to rely on his acting skills.

Pierce raised his hand...

"ah!!!"

With a shout, the basketball was thrown into the air.

The referee remained unmoved!

The refereeing in the first half was too biased towards the Celtics, so they had to make amends in the second half. In addition, Pierce's performance was too theatrical, so it was good enough that he wasn't given a technical foul.

"Corrupt referee!"

"Corrupt referee!"

"Corrupt referee!"

The audience isn't buying it.

Cummings joined in, shouting, "Black whistle! Black whistle! Black whistle!"

The referee would just roll his eyes at such jeering. It's one thing for the audience to jeering, but what's wrong with a benchwarmer from the away team joining in?

Paul dribbled past midfield and handed the ball to Wei Guo hand-to-hand.

The Lakers didn't plan to play any specific tactics. They would just let Wei Guo play one-on-one when he could tie the score. So Wei Guo would wait for Paul after crossing midcourt. Even if Rondo was guarding him closely, he couldn't stop Paul from handing him the ball.

Garnett defends the nation alone!

When he got close to the three-point line, Wei Guo first dribbled between his legs a few times to find his rhythm, then made a crossover and broke through Garnett's left side. After creating space, Wei Guo stopped abruptly and stepped back to the three-point line!

The whole process...

Wei Guo only scooped the ball at the very moment he was about to shoot, and his first shot was a feint!

With a dangerous glint in his eyes, Wei Guo waited until Garnett was lunging at him and could no longer control his body in mid-air before leaning against Garnett and shooting!

"Beep!!!"

The whistle blew, Garnett committed a defensive foul!

Foul drawn successfully!

Wei Guo drew circles with his index finger and said to Pierce, "That's how you draw a foul. Learn from this."

Pierce almost couldn't hold back!

In the second half, Wei Guo went a bit too far. First, he ruffled Rondo's hair, then he taught him how to draw fouls. Wei Guo did everything the Celtics wanted to do, as if he were teaching them how to do things.

so...

The Lakers players haven't lost their composure yet, but the Celtics players are on the verge of a mental breakdown.

"Whoosh!!!"

"Whoosh!!!"

"Whoosh!!!"

Wei Guo made all three free throws, and the Lakers took the lead.

......

"Celtics call a timeout!"

......

If this timeout isn't called, Rivers will be the one to blame for the loss.

Some head coaches are confused and don't even know when to call a timeout... Rivers, on the other hand, knows exactly when to call a timeout.

With Wei Guo's constant provocations, the Celtics' momentum was completely suppressed, and they could only rely on timeouts to curb the Lakers' counterattack. At the same time, they needed to devise an effective offensive tactic. If they could score on the first possession after the timeout, they could turn the tide.

Before setting up tactics, Rivers said, "Wei Guo keeps provoking us because he's panicked... He feels threatened. Even he isn't sure he can win, which just shows how strong you are. As long as you persevere, you will definitely win this game."