No player should be underestimated, not even a little-known youngster.
Rondo remained calm...
After the second offensive possession, Garnett and his teammates quickly retreated to defense, while Rondo lagged behind a few steps, like a cheetah poised to pounce.
Wei Guo and Kobe returned to the frontcourt, leaving only Paul in the backcourt. Bynum stood on the baseline and passed the ball to Paul. Before Paul could even touch the ball, Rondo suddenly appeared from behind him, stole the ball, and scored a layup!
31:36!!
The Lakers are now down by 5 points.
Cummings spat, "This guy's a total idiot... damn it!"
Paul was very unhappy!
Rondo scored 4 points, along with 1 rebound and 1 steal, winning thunderous applause. The audience chanted Rondo's name, as if he had become a savior.
......
Rivers breathed a sigh of relief and a smile appeared on his face. He said to the assistant coach, "To win, everyone has to give it their all. Rondo did a great job."
"yes..."
The assistant coach seized the opportunity to boast, "Trading a first-round draft pick for Rondo was a sure win!"
Rajon Rondo entered the league through the draft in 2006. He was initially selected by the Phoenix Suns, but the Suns' strongest position was point guard, and they didn't need Rondo. So they traded Rondo to the Boston Celtics for a first-round draft pick. Rondo's performance in his rookie season was average, averaging 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists per game.
He started this season and is now averaging 10 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists per game.
Judging from their performance in the playoffs...
This will never be Rondo's limit; this 6'6" guard is sure to shine in the league.
......
This kind of behavior by the sixth man cannot be used as a regular tactic. If the ball is stolen once, Paul will not let it be stolen a second time.
Rondo knew this well, and after Rondo's layup, he ran back to the backcourt to prepare for defense. Garnett patted Rondo's head vigorously to encourage him.
Paul dribbles the ball up the court...
Wei Guo once again shook off Garnett and received the ball outside the three-point line. Kobe took the opportunity to cut to the basket. Wei Guo faked a shot and jumped to shoot!
"That's a pass!"
Rondo pointed sharply towards the basket, "Watch out under the basket!"
It's not easy to tell that this isn't a basketball shot, but just because you can tell doesn't mean you can defend against it. It's like Wang Yuyan knowing a lot of martial arts, but when Murong Fu and Qiao Feng fought, Wang Yuyan couldn't help at all, simply because Qiao Feng's movements were so fast that he had already finished a set of moves before she could even remind him.
"Whoosh!!!"
Kobe lightly flicked the ball in mid-air, and it fell into the basket.
33:36!!
The Lakers are down by 3 points.
The score remains close... There are only 5 minutes and 17 seconds left in the first half.
Neither Gentry nor Rivers called a timeout. Gentry is used to not calling timeouts. If Rondo hadn't scored on a second-chance opportunity and stolen two more points, Rivers would have called a timeout. Rondo gave Rivers a chance to catch his breath.
......
This was definitely one of the most exciting finals in recent years.
For the next three minutes, the two teams engaged in a defensive battle. In those three minutes, the two teams combined scored 0 points. Even a strong team like Wei Guo missed both of their shots in those three minutes. Garnett's tough defense still managed to disrupt Wei Guo's offense.
The audience has forgotten to cheer...
Everyone held their breath and watched the game intently.
It was the Lakers' turn to attack again. Wei Guo facilitated from the free-throw line and passed the ball to Odom, who was cutting to the basket. As Odom went for the layup, Garnett stopped guarding Wei Guo, turned around and chased after Odom, slapping the ball out of bounds as Odom went for the layup.
"Great hat!!!"
Pierce shoved Garnett hard, yelling, "Nice!!!"
This can't go on...
Wei Guo whispered a few words to Kobe, who nodded slightly and then walked to the sideline to inbound the ball. This kind of sideline inbound pass is usually inbounded by Odom because he is tall enough and has good passing ability... Many times, Kobe or Wei Guo will inbound the ball because these two are the Lakers' strongest offensive players.
Garnett looked puzzled, not understanding what Kobe and Weiguo were up to.
"Beep!!!"
The referee blew his whistle, signaling Kobe to inbound the ball.
There are only five seconds. If the ball cannot be inbounded within five seconds, it is a violation and possession will be changed... However, Kobe had the ball tucked between his waist and his face was stern. No one knew what Kobe was up to!
Pierce panicked...
He stood in front of Kobe and should have been jumping around to interfere with Kobe's inbound pass, but Kobe simply tucked the ball under his belt and didn't even look for his teammates. The more he did this, the more unfathomable he seemed. There was a three-second silence in the arena as the eyes of tens of thousands of people, including the players on the court, were fixed on Kobe.
"5...4...3...2..."
The referee silently calculated the time; if the ball couldn't be served within five seconds, the players would have to be substituted.
With one second left, Kobe suddenly threw the ball to the floor in a gesture similar to bowling. Pierce didn't even have time to react before the ball rolled to Weiguo's feet. Weiguo picked it up and threw it towards the basket.
"Whoosh!!!"
The basketball went into the net.
36:36!!
The Lakers tied the score.
"Oh~fuck~~~"
The scene was filled with shouts and curses!
Cummings looked on with envy. Kobe's serve was so cool. He wished he could be as elegant as Kobe.
......
"Celtics call a timeout!"
......
The players were stunned by Kobe's inbound pass, and Rivers had to call a timeout.
"They're playing psychological warfare..."
Rivers said, "We can't be disrupted. We played very well on defense for the last three minutes, and we need to keep going with that momentum."
The players recovered...
Rivers thought to himself, "That old geezer Gentry is really wicked. He's a master of psychological warfare. He can even trick Kobe, that big-eyed guy. Look at that inbound pass from the sidelines just now, how arrogant he was!"
Lakers' bench!
Kobe's teammates were also praising him, saying that this tactic was Wei Guo's idea and only a player with a big heart like Kobe could pull it off. They said that even if someone else had the chance, they wouldn't be able to pull it off so smoothly. They remembered a play where the opponent deliberately tried to scare Kobe with the ball when inbounding from the baseline, and Kobe didn't even blink.
......
The timeout has ended, and the game has resumed.
With only 1 minute and 50 seconds left, it all comes down to which team will take the lead into the second half.
Rivers reminded the players to play like it was the last minute and 50 seconds of the fourth quarter, and that they had to go into the second half with a lead, otherwise they wouldn't be able to withstand the Lakers' onslaught in the third quarter.
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