Rondo dribbled across half-court and passed the ball to Pierce, who then set a screen for Pierce outside the three-point line.
He managed to shake off Kobe's defense with great difficulty...
Pierce used a no-look behind-the-back pass to Ray Allen. The pass was extremely subtle, and Kobe noticed it and turned to lunge at Ray Allen.
Facing Kobe!!!
Ray Allen takes a three-point shot.
"Whoosh!!!"
The basketball went into the net.
36:39!!
The Lakers are down by 3 points again.
"Ray Allen!"
"Ray Allen!"
"Ray Allen!"
A thunderous cheer was given to Ray Allen.
Countless times, whenever the Celtics make a good play, the crowd chants the player's name: Rondo's second-chance opportunity, Garnett's block, Pierce's strong drive, and then Ray Allen's three-pointer.
......
Gentry remained calm and unperturbed on the bench.
So what if they're behind in the first half? The Lakers are at their strongest in the third quarter. Gentry won't be as nervous as Rivers, demanding a lead in the first half.
Lakers on offense.
Paul dribbled for over ten seconds, unable to find a good offensive rhythm, and could only call for Kobe to receive the ball.
Kobe one-on-one against Pierce...
Pierce hit his wrist during a turnaround jump shot, which affected the trajectory of the ball. The shot missed, and Garnett grabbed the defensive rebound.
The referee didn't blow the whistle, and Kobe, gripping his wrist, questioned the referee, "This wasn't a foul?!"
"Defense!"
Wei Guo patted Kobe on the shoulder and said, "Don't argue with this idiot."
"You son of a bitch!"
Kobe cursed and ran back to defend with Wei Guo.
With 1 minute and 20 seconds left in the first half, Rondo could run down the clock while dribbling... Their goal is to go into the second half with a lead, and since they're currently up by 3 points, there's no need to contest an offensive possession.
Rondo has run down the clock to less than a minute...
Pierce received the ball, but his mid-range shot missed. Perkins grabbed the offensive rebound and immediately passed the ball to Rondo, who again ran down the clock!
"hehe..."
Gentry admired the Celtics' spirit, saying, "They played really well tonight."
Old Jin is an honest man. He didn't mean anything sarcastic when he said this. He genuinely appreciated the Celtics' performance tonight. In the playoffs... the Lakers won't hold back at all. You could say the Lakers used more than 80% of their strength tonight, and yet... they're still behind.
There's an art to timing; seize any opportunity to attack!
After shaking off Kobe, Pierce made his way to the basket, while Rondo simultaneously pushed towards the basket, making a bounce pass to Pierce as he moved.
Pierce drives past Kobe for a layup.
"ah!!!"
With a loud shout, his layup was blocked by Kobe.
Whether it was Pierce's shout that was too loud or the referee really didn't see it clearly, he immediately blew his whistle and called a foul on Kobe.
That was a slightly foul...
However, the play where Kobe's offense wasn't called, but this one was, which is biased officiating!
Just as Kobe was about to put pressure on the referee, Wei Guo pulled him aside. Justice will prevail... There's no point in putting pressure on the referee. The Lakers are not incapable of winning. The more biased the calls are, the stronger the sense of accomplishment from winning will be.
"Whoosh!!!"
"Whoosh!!!"
Pierce made both free throws.
......
The first half has ended, and the players have returned to the locker room to rest.
Before returning to the locker room...
Wei Guo walked up to Russell and whispered, "Old man, you have to come to the next game too. We're waiting to present you with the championship trophy."
Russell's face darkened!
This was said to Garnett and his teammates, and it will definitely become one of the most famous trash-talking lines in the league.
The away locker room was very basic, without even hot water... Gentry couldn't find hot water to make tea, so he could only look at the statistics sheet and noticed the Lakers' problem. He whispered, "This isn't good... Kobe already has three fouls!"
If Kobe gets his fourth foul in the third quarter, his playing time will have to be limited, and the team will have to rely on Wei Guo... Fortunately, Wei Guo only has two fouls, which is because the referee made biased calls. Wei Guo's defense relies on his talent. His blocks and steals are very clean, and he is generally not fooled by fakes, so it is difficult to draw fouls from him.
He was the Defensive Player of the Year for seven consecutive seasons, averaging only 1.9 fouls per game.
Cummings exclaimed, "The referees in this game were disgusting! They should all have their licenses revoked!"
"This is part of the competition..."
Kobe didn't seem to care about the foul, thinking, "If I can't fight back, I might as well enjoy it."
Because their final offensive possession missed, the Lakers trailed by 5 points at halftime. This deficit was different from previous ones, where they were down because they were throwing the game. But in this game, the Lakers were playing with all their might.
The home dressing room!
Rivers relayed what Wei Guo had said to Russell to the players, further stirring up their emotions. Russell was the Celtics' icon, and Wei Guo's provocation of Russell was a provocation of the Celtics.
......
As the second half began, the Celtics players all looked like they wanted to devour someone.
Kobe gave a wry smile...
This is all Wei's fault. If Wei hadn't said that to Russell, the Celtics players wouldn't be in this situation.
Celtics on offense!
Pierce attacked Kobe with a strong shot, venting his resentment towards Weiguo on Kobe. As he turned with the ball, Kobe reached into Pierce's arms and pulled the ball away, causing Pierce to fall to the floor.
Holy crap!!!
Gentry's heart skipped a beat!
Did Kobe not know he already had three fouls? And he still defended like that... Even if it was a clean steal, Pierce was thrown to the floor, and the referee could still call a foul on Kobe!
Just as the referee was about to blow the whistle, he met Wei Guo's icy gaze!
Thinking of those colleagues who lost their jobs for no reason...
The referee made up his mind not to call the foul... There was hardly any physical contact with the ball; Kobe was going for the ball and only managed to throw Pierce to the floor during the jump ball. It was at most a jump ball, and calling it a foul would be excessive!
The referee made no indication...
Kobe didn't stand still; he took the ball and launched a fast break.
"Corrupt referee!"
"Corrupt referee!"
"Corrupt referee!"
The audience was not having it and kept booing the referee.
Cummings was overjoyed and stood up to chant along with the crowd, "Black whistle! Black whistle! Black whistle!"
The audience was stunned...
What is Cummings up to?
They're calling it a biased call because Kobe fouled Pierce but the call wasn't made. Did Cummings also have something to do with it...? Which side is he on anyway?
"Sit down!"
Gentry glared at Cummings. "You show-off!"
Gentry is a decent man, and Cummings' behavior was so shameful that even he couldn't stand it. Moreover, Cummings' shouting about biased refereeing along with the home crowd didn't really hurt the referee, but it was extremely insulting.
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