The remaining four minutes of the first quarter were quite dull.
There are many passing balls...
There were very few exciting plays, with only Paul's fake pass and shot being a slight highlight, and four minutes passed just like that.
Then came the second quarter!
It's still the same group of players... The difference is that Sloan made a slight substitution, replacing Millsap with Boozer, mainly to increase the Jazz's interior height.
Jazz on offense!
Deron Williams went one-on-one against Paul, but his step-back shot missed. Boozer grabbed the offensive rebound and passed the ball to Deron Williams, who, relying on his strong physique, forced his way past Paul to make a layup!
*Smack!!!*
Bynum leaped out and blocked Deron's shot, saying menacingly, "A one-on-one against my brother... you're only fit for hotpot."
A touching display of brotherhood!
The emotions between men are so strange... Bynum and Paul had a conflict, but after making up, their relationship was even better than before. They also supported each other on the court. Paul would feed Bynum the ball, and if someone was going to isolate Paul, Bynum would help defend and deliver a big block.
The basketball was swatted away by Bynum...
Ariza dives to save the ball and slips it back into Paul's hands!
Paul launches a fast break!
Bynum followed from behind, crossed the free-throw line, and Paul estimated Bynum's jump height and distance, then threw the ball behind him. Bynum took a step and jumped to catch the basket.
"Bang!!!"
A powerful one-handed dunk!
31:30!!
The Lakers are leading by one point.
After scoring, Paul turned around and high-fived Bynum... and their revolutionary friendship was built up through these alley-oops.
......
Let's talk about Harpring; he was one of the key contributors to the 76ers' championship victory.
With a background in rugby, he has a tough playing style, is good at close marking, and is strong in physical confrontations... His defensive characteristics can be summed up in one word: ruthless!
Offensively...
Harpring's shooting has almost no blind spots and is not limited by distance. During his time with the 76ers, he also learned a lot from Wei Guo. If you had to describe this player in one sentence, he would say he has the touch of a white man and the body of a black man. He is a tough player!
Nobody expected this!
Harpring, in his 30s, made a significant contribution to the Jazz tonight.
......
Just after Paul and Bynum completed an alley-oop, Harprin's strong drive against Vujacic helped the Jazz take the lead again!
Then...
During the Lakers' offense, Walton's layup was stolen by Harpring, but the play was not called a foul. The Jazz quickly launched a fast break, and Kirilenko received a long pass from Deron Williams and scored with a layup.
31:34!!
The Jazz are leading by three points.
Such a point difference shouldn't have made the Lakers panic. The bench players were still chatting and laughing, even discussing where to go for a late-night snack. Because of the climate, Wei Guo rarely stays overnight in Salt Lake City. He usually leaves on the team's private plane after the game. Unfortunately, that's not possible tonight... There's another away game the day after tomorrow.
Flying around is too much trouble...
Gentry wanted a late-night snack, and Cummings joked that nobody dared to wander around Salt Lake City at night.
The situation on the field has changed dramatically!
Harprin scored on consecutive shots and limited the Lakers' scoring with tough defense... The Harprin of yesteryear, averaging 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal per game, with a 51% field goal percentage and a 41% three-point percentage, is back.
"Old Jin, stop talking!"
Kobe interrupted the conversation, saying, "We're already down by double digits."
Wei Guo and the others then turned their attention to the field, and upon seeing the score, exclaimed in surprise, "What happened?!"
33:44!!
The Lakers are down by 11 points.
In just a few minutes, the Jazz went on a 14-4 run.
What else is there to say? Wei Guo and Kobe exchanged a glance. "Let's go on the court!"
......
The game was still going on when Sloan saw Wei Guo and Kobe walking towards the scorer's table, feeling both happy and worried... happy that the Lakers were finally getting anxious, but worried that with Wei Guo and Kobe on the court, the game's momentum would inevitably shift.
Paul drew a foul on Deron Williams during a one-on-one play...
Taking advantage of the foul and free throw opportunity, Wei Guo and Kobe replaced Vujacic and Walton. Wei Guo walked behind Harprin and slapped Harprin on the butt, "Good job, kid!"
"Hiss~~~"
Halprin gasped.
Just as he was about to lose his temper, he saw that it was Wei Guo... and could only smile brightly.
The referee didn't give Wei Guo a technical foul, which was a very polite way of greeting him. Besides... Harprin wasn't angry, so the referee didn't need to make a fuss. Only Sloan had a gloomy face and was very unhappy... He didn't like people like Wei Guo who had no sense of boundaries. Regardless of their personal feelings, on the court they were teammates. What's the big deal about patting an opponent's butt?
"Whoosh!!!"
"Whoosh!!!"
Paul made both free throws!
35:44!!
The Lakers are down by 9 points.
Paul was under a lot of pressure on those two free throws. Making both would have brought the score within one player's reach, and thankfully... he made both.
Jazz on offense!
Harprin is on fire, so we'll target him. Boozer screens Ariza for Harprin, and Harprin catches the ball and shoots!
"bang~~~"
The basketball bounced off the rim!
"broken!"
Sloan slapped his thigh and said, "What kind of Eastern magic is this... Wei Guo slapped Harprin and ruined his touch."
Lakers on offense!
The tactic was very simple. Wei Guo first received the ball in the low post, passed it to Kobe, and then ran towards the outside... seemingly to get back on defense. Kobe received the ball and drove into the paint, but instead of going for a layup, he passed the ball to Wei Guo outside the three-point line.
The state of Wei was completely left empty.
"Whoosh!!!"
Three-pointer made!
38:44!!
The Lakers are down by 6 points.
If Wei Guo runs to the perimeter and draws the defender away, Kobe can easily make a layup. If he doesn't draw Wei Guo away, he will be left open, and Kobe will pass the ball to Wei Guo. This tactic is simple and efficient, and other teams can imitate it, as long as you have a Wei Guo (who has amazing offensive power in both the low and high post) and a Kobe (one of the league's top scorers).
in addition...
There need to be three players on the field who cannot be ignored.
The audience fell silent!
Harprin had just given them a glimmer of hope when Wei Guo brought it back to reality... Although it was just a three-pointer, its intimidating power made the Jazz players tremble.
Sloan sighed...
If Wei wants to fight like this, they will surrender!
In basketball, it's crucial to avoid using the same tactics repeatedly, otherwise you'll definitely be countered.
Kobe and Weiguo refused to believe in superstition...
This is the tactic: Wei Guo receives the ball in the low post, passes it to Kobe, and then runs to the three-point line to receive the ball and shoot.
soon...
The Lakers not only caught up but also took the lead.
Sloan called a timeout to adjust tactics. After the timeout, he had Boozer defend Wei Guo one-on-one under the basket, which delighted Wei Guo, who scored twice in a row against Boozer. Sloan devised several tactics, but when one didn't work, he switched to having Boozer and Okur double-team Wei Guo and had Kirilenko guard him closely to prevent Kobe from receiving the ball.
It's not difficult...
And then there's Paul. Paul's mid-range shot is also very consistent. He just needs Bynum to screen Deron Williams for him, and his shooting percentage is over 90%!
Sloan had figured it out: Wei Guo had no weaknesses whatsoever. He could score and facilitate. The Lakers' offense was very exciting, and the starting point was always Wei Guo. If you couldn't find a way to deal with Wei Guo, you couldn't deal with the Lakers.
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