George Karl really wanted to ask the referee if the Nuggets could bring one more player on the court.
Can we play six against five...?
Five against five is simply unbeatable.
Iverson and Anthony are already showing signs of fatigue... If they aren't given a few minutes of rest, they really won't be able to play in the fourth quarter. However, Wei Guo and Kobe are very likely to play without rest in the fourth quarter. They need a win, and then go to Denver to win two more games and easily sweep the Nuggets.
When Odom was off the court, there were about five minutes when the Lakers had three 2.1-meter tall players on the court.
That height difference...
When Iverson and Anthony drove into the paint, they were just feeding the opposing team stats.
......
As the fourth quarter began, Wei Guo walked straight to the court.
"I knew it..."
George Carr slapped his thigh. "Gentry won't let the Defenders rest...they want to reap the game."
Should Iverson and Anthony continue playing?
George Karl made a decision after thinking for three seconds: he would give the two players at least two minutes of rest... So during this time, he would have to rely on Najura and Nene to double-team Wei Guo and limit his scoring as much as possible.
Fortunately...
Najera and Nene are both decent defenders, at least as good as Anthony.
Lakers on offense!
Farmar dribbled to the frontcourt and looked for Wei Guo. Wei Guo got rid of Najura, received the ball outside the three-point line, raised his hand and made a shooting fake. Najura was fooled and stopped in time, almost colliding with Wei Guo.
"You reacted very quickly!"
Wei Guo praised, then turned and walked past Nahula!
Come on in for a defensive boost!
It's useless...
Wei Guo pulled up for the shot without giving Nene any time to prepare. Nene jumped up just as the basketball was about to pass Wei Guo's fingertips, hitting Wei Guo's wrist.
"Whoosh!!!"
"Beep!!!"
The basketball went in. Although Wei Guo had already released his hand when Nene touched it, the shooting motion was not yet finished, which was also a foul.
"Well done!"
Cummings gave the referee a thumbs up, "That was the most decisive call you've made tonight."
The Lakers don't care about biased calls from the referees. Faced with absolute strength, even with the referees' help, the Nuggets can't beat the Lakers. It's just that even a clay figure has some temper. Who can stand it when the referees keep making random calls?
Making a sarcastic remark is the least of it; the reason we don't attack the referee is because we're all civilized people.
Wei Guo Jia Fa hits!
90:81!!
The Lakers lead by 9 points.
The Nuggets tried their best, but neither Najura nor Nene could stop Wei Guo. Kenyon muttered, "It's over... Wei Guo has opened up the way, we have no hope."
Wei Guo on the field looked so familiar!
This is true patriotism...
Back when he was with the Nets, whenever Wei Guo was in a similar state, his teammates would breathe a sigh of relief. All they had to do was do what they were supposed to do, and Wei Guo would lead them to victory.
The Nuggets are on offense!
Carter orchestrated the play, signaling JR to come out and receive the ball. Kenyon wanted to yell, "This tactic is too obvious!"
really...
JR received the basketball, but before he could shoot, Wei Guo stole it. JR then grabbed Wei Guo's jersey and was called for a foul.
"Want an autographed jersey?"
Wei Guo tucked his jersey into his pants, straightened it, and said, "Don't worry, I'll give you one after the game."
That's trash talk!
For some reason... JR was not only not disgusted, but also secretly excited, looking forward to Wei Guo really giving him a signed jersey after the game, preferably the jersey he was wearing that carried Wei Guo's scent.
Iverson couldn't sit still any longer. He threw down his towel and said, "Coach, I want to go on the court!"
"good..."
George Karl said, "Anthony, Iverson, you two go up there and bring the score back down to earth!"
With the Nuggets' lineup, if Anthony and Iverson aren't on the court, nobody can score... That's why Carter was directing JR to come out and receive the ball, but the tactical hand signals were too obvious, and Wei Guo saw through them at a glance. The moment JR received the ball, Wei Guo stole it.
Lakers inbound the ball!
Odom stood on the sidelines and tossed the ball to Farmar. Farmar dribbled for two steps and then made a through pass to Vujacic!
Wei Guo encouraged him, "Throw it! Don't hesitate!"
Vujacic adjusted his position and took a three-point shot.
"Whoosh!!!"
The basketball went into the net.
93:81!!
The Lakers lead by 12 points.
......
With a very safe point difference, Gentry confidently told Kobe and the others, "You guys can sit here and rest. In about ten minutes, Wei will bring us a victory."
This is like letting Kobe and three other players rest during the regular season!
Gentry dared to do this because he believed that Wei Guo alone was worth four of Kobe, Paul, Gasol, and Odom. Even if those four were kept, Gentry couldn't guarantee a win every game, but as long as Wei Guo was on the court, Gentry had that confidence. Wei Guo had never lost a crucial game.
The defensive pressure from the substitutes was far less than that from Kobe and his teammates.
Logically speaking...
Iverson and Anthony's offense was a bit smoother, but they had already played three quarters, and it was the most physically demanding one-on-one game. Their bodies were almost at their limit, and their shooting percentage kept dropping against these energetic young players.
When it comes to offense, Wei Guo takes on everything!
Even the zone defense couldn't stop Wei Guo from scoring, and after the point difference reached twenty points, the Nuggets gave up the game.
......
"Denver Nuggets request a timeout!"
......
George Karl called a timeout with just over three minutes remaining in the game.
I'm not playing anymore... Anthony is too tired to walk, there's no need to risk injury for a game we're destined to lose.
Iverson was also limping... Facing the powerful Lakers, Iverson scored 55 points, which is something not everyone can do. If they win this game, even if they lose three more games in a row and are ultimately eliminated 4-1, Iverson will have won, just like in the 2000 Finals.
Unfortunately...
Wei Guo was just so clueless about romance.
......
In the final three minutes, both sides substituted all their key players.
The substitutes didn't waste any time on the field; it was just three minutes of practice, but they still gave it their all!
"Beep!!!"
The whistle blew, and the game ended.
129:107!!
The Lakers defeated the Nuggets by 22 points.
......
Match statistics:
Wei Guo: 51 points, 17 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals, and 5 blocks
Kobe: 23 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
Allen Iverson: 55 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals, 0 blocks
Anthony: 41 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
......
Wei Guo didn't score much in the first half, but he scored 20 points in the third quarter and dominated the fourth quarter, scoring over 50 points. However, he was still four points behind Iverson. If Anthony had scored four more points, the golden duo would have combined for 100 points, which would have been a legendary achievement.
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