One Thousand Six Hundred and Eighty-Three. Fight the Wind with the Wind, and the King Will Win!
NBA is a place where a team often plays in excellent form due to various factors. At that stage, no matter how strong the team is, they will be beaten.
For example, the Pacers last season, the Heat in the 12-13 season, the Spurs in the 10-11 season... But this good state will eventually come to an end.
During the winning streak of these teams, when some strong teams meet them, they all hope to be the one to end these winning streaks, prove their strength, make headlines... There are many purposes.
Everyone thinks that they will be the lucky one. In this case, even if there are more "unexpected" results, it will not affect the next time such a situation occurs, and the parties still regard themselves as the lucky ones who may appear.
The Knicks are in this situation. Even though they were beaten so badly by Sun Ce last year, they think that the Grizzlies have won so many games in a row and their state may have come to an end. Generally, the winning teams will be very uncomfortable after the winning streak ends. It is normal to lose two or three games in a row. It takes some time to adjust from the situation where everything ends smoothly.
However, Sun Ce's good form obviously has not ended, and Sun Ce's form has not ended, which means that Klay Thompson's form has not ended either. Then Paul George, as an organizing forward, can play well. At 3:17 and 3:40 in the first quarter, Sun Ce and Klay Thompson made two consecutive three-pointers, and the Grizzlies' offense exploded again. Paul George took advantage of the threats of Sun Ce and Klay Thompson and played high and low passes with Randolph. Randolph often found opportunities to face Bargnani, and every time he could easily carry the opponent and put the ball into the basket.
After a wave of 14 to 6, at 5:29 in the first quarter, the Grizzlies led the Knicks by 12 points with 22 to 12, and stopped the Knicks!
The Knicks players are going to explode on the spot!
Watching Sun Ce make 2 of 2 shots, including 1 of 3-pointers, plus 2 of 2 free throws, he easily got 7 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block. The Grizzlies scored 22 points in less than half a quarter. Even though the Knicks got 6 points with Dragic's singles, Bargnani made a three-pointer, and Howard had a 2+1 and even made the free throw, they were still pressed to the ground.
Entering the official timeout, the Grizzlies began to rotate, and the combination of Sun Ce, Klay Thompson, Carter, Richard Jefferson, and Yi Jianlian was replaced.
The Knicks Dragic certainly didn't dare to be replaced, and the combination of Shumpert, Ariza, Louis Amundson, and Howard was replaced.
D'Antoni really had no choice. The defense was not done by him, but by the Zen Master. He, his brother and other assistants were all offense-first. The Zen Master ran away to become the CEO, and he had to help with defense.
He had people under him, and the Zen Master's defense was still very good.
But when facing the Splash Brothers, one of them made a three-pointer and the other immediately followed up with a three-pointer. D'Antoni was really helpless. He could only use Dragic, Ariza and Howard to death. The other two who were substituted were also the kind who could shoot or cut but had defensive capabilities.
Now D'Antoni wants to defend, so he doesn't mind the help of Zen Master, a former super coach with great defensive ability, but in this situation, he has only one way, to try to send people who can defend while taking into account offense.
Fortunately, the Knicks are really willing to spend money. Calderon, Sheved and others did not play, and the rotation lineup is still very good. Louis Amundson is also a player D'Antoni has coached. He cooperated well with Nash and Dragic back then. Although he is a short white inside player, he has good athletic ability, a tough style of play, and is good at defense and pick-and-roll.
There are money and people. Except for the absence of Nash, D'Antoni returned to the Knicks as the head coach this time. The coaching experience is no worse than when he was in the Suns. The depth of the lineup is indeed good.
However, unlike when they were in the Suns, they even had a chance to beat the Spurs in the playoffs. Even if they did a good job on defense, no matter how many role players they had, they could not match the real superstars. Dragic and Chandler Parsons obviously had nothing to do with the word superstar, and Howard was only at the edge of the All-Star level.
They met Sun Ce, a real superstar, and Sun Ce has been in good shape since the beginning of the season and has continued to this day. In this case, the Knicks, who are only at the ordinary first-class level, can't stop them!
In the second half of the first quarter, Sun Ce played very calmly, shooting when he should shoot, swiping when he should, passing when he should pass, and fighting for rebounds on the defensive end. After the first quarter, Sun Ce scored 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal, helping the Grizzlies start with a score of 40 to 30!
That is, the Grizzlies' lineup basically had no defense, so Dragic and Howard were able to keep the score close.
The Knicks still have strength. In the second quarter, after Sun Ce went to rest, the lineup of Blake, Paul George, Pierce, Yi Jianlian, and Gobert came on the court, and the Grizzlies were unable to continue to dominate.
The lineup of Calderon, Shumpert, Chandler Parsons, Lance Thomas, and Bargnani played very well. Gobert could not expand, which limited his defense. D'Antoni is really capable and played these role players well.
When the official timeout in the second quarter came, the Knicks chased the score to 44 to 50, and the Grizzlies were beaten 14 to 10, and the lead was reduced to 6 points.
When Sun Ce played with Klay Thompson, Paul George, Randolph, and Larry Sanders, he didn't dare to be careless when he saw the combination of Dragic, Shumpert, Ariza, Bargnani, and Howard on the opposite side.
Although they were in good shape, at this stage, he felt that his teammates were indeed a little bit drifting. After winning 23 consecutive games against the Thunder, they were a little bit drifting against the Raptors. Only Klay Thompson was very hard against DeRozan, and the others were more or less drifting.
There was nothing he could do about it. Sun Ce understood the mentality of his teammates very well. If he hadn't had the goal of winning 25 consecutive games, he would have drifted too.
Moreover, he not only had to win 25 consecutive games tonight, but also had to get higher scores than the highest scorer on the Knicks, more rebounds than the player with the most rebounds on the Knicks, and more assists than the player with the most assists on the Knicks... He was under a lot of pressure, so he could play one ball at a time so calmly.
Fortunately, his teammates were in good shape, and they have been in good shape since the beginning of the game. Therefore, as long as he plays well and holds the last hurdle, there will be no problem.
If the opponent is in a really good state, he can't do anything about it. In the 2001 playoffs, the invincible OK combination was defeated by Iverson alone.
However, the Grizzlies, who played more recklessly at the beginning of the second quarter, really gave the Knicks a chance. In the last 5 minutes of the first half, Dragic and Howard of the Knicks led the team to close the score.
At the end of the half, the Knicks trailed the Grizzlies by 7 points with a score of 58 to 65 and entered the intermission, keeping the possibility of a comeback!
Sun Ce scored 18 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block and 2 steals in the first half. The Grizzlies' overall offense was good, but as the game went on, the defensive wave at the beginning was gone. After the lead was established, the defense was floating.
...
During the halftime break, Coach Hollins did not say anything about the fact that everyone was a little bit floating. This is normal. If Sun Ce had not tried so hard to continue the winning streak, Coach Hollins would have wanted to let the players go after the Thunder won 23 consecutive victories, the third longest winning streak in history, and let them play however they want until the winning streak ends.
This is what the head coach of a team with a long winning streak should be prepared for. Adjustments after the winning streak is interrupted must be made, because the winning streak will definitely break. With such a long distance from the first record of 33 consecutive wins and the second record of 30 consecutive wins, Coach Hollins felt that it would be better to break it as soon as possible after getting the 23rd consecutive win, unless he was very close to the top two.
But Coach Hollins was surprised by Sun Ce's focused attitude. The first 18 consecutive wins were okay, but after getting the 20th consecutive win, Sun Ce has always been focused, very proactive in details, very calm, and has always maintained a calm and focused mentality.
Think about the 12-13 season, the Heat were so arrogant after 23 consecutive wins, James and Wade started to play tricks, Bosh went to break through, and played as wildly as he wanted.
As for Sun Ce, it didn't seem like he was arrogant after 24 consecutive wins, but it seemed like he was losing 24 games in a row. He tried very hard to handle every goal. He played 22 minutes against the Raptors and scored 26 points very efficiently, helping the team to win.
It was the same tonight. The Grizzlies came to Madison Square Garden to play. After more than 5 minutes of defense in the first quarter, they started to be arrogant. The defense was not good, which led to fewer defensive counterattacks and less efficient scoring than in the first 5 minutes of defensive counterattacks.
But Sun Ce, who should be the most arrogant and the most wild, played very calmly except for the pot shot he had to take, and got 6 assists in the first half!
Sun Ce loves to break all kinds of records. Coach Hollins admires and feels helpless. He admires because Sun Ce has really broken many records that other players dare not think of in this mentality. He feels helpless because this really tests their coaching staff and other players in the team. Not everyone has the energy and effort to follow Sun Ce to break records.
Fortunately, their team has a strong lineup.
Since Sun Ce wants to continue to rush, Coach Hollins feels excited after being helpless. Who doesn't want to get a record? He just considers the overall situation of the entire regular season. Since the core wants to rush, then rush!
...
After the halftime break, Coach Hollins replaced Livingston, Klay Thompson, Pierce, Larry Sanders, and Randolph, letting Sun Ce and Paul George rest first.
On the Knicks side, Dragic, who is at his peak, is not going to rest. There is a chance to turn the tables. D'Antoni unknowingly started an 8-man rotation again, replacing Dragic, Shumpert, Chandler Parsons, and Bargnani Howard.
The Grizzlies really gave Dragic a chance. After scoring 15 points in the first half, he exploded at the start of the second half! He helped the Knicks to score 17 to 14, chasing the score to 75 to 79, narrowing the gap to within 5 points!
Coach Hollins was originally as stable as a rock, because their combination defended the Knicks' shooters very well, but Dragic exploded so fiercely!
With only Howard scoring a dunk and Chandler Parsons scoring a mid-range shot, and no other points, Dragic made 4 of 5 shots in the first half, scored a three-pointer, and made 4 of 4 free throws, scoring 13 points in a single quarter!
Seeing that the point difference was narrowed to 4 points, coach Hollins quickly replaced Sun Ce and Paul George, and then sent Yi Jianlian and Stoudemire, coupled with Klay Thompson, to form a pure bombardment lineup.
The defense couldn't be guarded anymore. Coach Hollins emphasized the defense during the halftime break and successfully mobilized the enthusiasm of the players. He did a good job. However, most of the first half was given opportunities for Dragic to play. In the playoffs, he scored 23 points in a single quarter against the Spurs to help the Suns sweep the Spurs 4-0 to complete their revenge.
Fortunately, Sun Ce and Paul George came up and switched to an offensive lineup, because Dragic's explosion was not over yet. He scored 8 points and 3 assists in the second half of the third quarter, helping the Knicks explode in the middle of the quarter. Score 19 points!
The Grizzlies scored 17 points in the first half, but the Knicks continued to narrow the gap by two points.
After three quarters, the Grizzlies led the Knicks by two points 96 to 94 entering the interquarter break!
Looking at Dragic's 36 points and 6 assists in the three quarters, Sun Ce looked at his 27 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals in the third quarter. He did not expect such a situation to happen. Dragic scored 21 points in the third quarter!
The rebounds are okay. Howard is now working very hard to avoid being grabbed more offensive rebounds by the strong rushing interior group sent by the Grizzlies tonight. Therefore, Howard does not have many rebounds and played 29 minutes in the third quarter. , scored 10 points, 5 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal.
In terms of assists, Sun Ce does not lose to Dragic, and it is relatively easier for him to get assists. Dragic is a type that is stronger in personal offense than organized offense. Six assists in three quarters is already beyond his usual level of performance.
But in terms of scoring, Dragic scored 36 points in three quarters, 40+ points and no runs!
Dragic has only had 40+ points once in his career, and he got it when he was playing against Irving. Sun Ce really didn’t expect that Dragic would have a chance to get 40+ when faced with Paul George and Klay Thompson’s defensive defense. .
However, after the third quarter, all the players on the Grizzlies team except Sun Ce woke up!
After the interval, the Grizzlies sent out a combination of Sun Ce, Klay Thompson, Carter, Richard Jefferson, and Yi Jianlian. As soon as they came up, Klay Thompson took a pass from Sun Ce and made a three-pointer. While increasing Sun Ce's assists to 9, he also helped Sun Ce trigger "Splash Power Level 4"!
When the state came, he couldn't stop him. In the third quarter, Dragic couldn't stop him and helped the Knicks score 36 to 31 in a single quarter. After the start of the fourth quarter, Klay Thompson helped ignite Sun Ce's touch. Sun Ce made two three-pointers in more than 4 minutes, a baseline hook for defensive counterattack, and a strong dunk under the basket after Carter's pass. Bargnani scored 2+1 and scored 11 consecutive points. points, and also got 2 assists. The key is that during this period, their shrinking defense had an effect. Dragic's superb state seemed to have exhausted his touch tonight. After Bargnani was dunked The open three-pointers were also tough. The Knicks only scored two sports goals and two free throws in more than 4 minutes and only scored 6 points in total. The Grizzlies played a 15-6 wave and widened the point difference in one fell swoop. To 11 minutes!
The Splash Brothers scored three three-pointers in just over 4 minutes. D'Antoni, the head coach, was stunned. It was only when Sun Ce hit his second three-pointer in a single quarter that the point difference widened to 11 points that D'Antoni reacted. Call a timeout.
When Curry came here before and scored 50 points in a single game, D'Antoni was stunned by a shot in the third quarter, but when he encountered this situation again, he still couldn't react.
It’s so demoralizing!
Dragic's comeback opportunity and morale boost for the Knicks in the third quarter were defeated by the Splash Brothers!
Seeing Sun Ce's 38 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals, in more than 4 minutes, Sun Ce was stunned to tie Dragic's score, who scored two more points in the fourth quarter. At this moment, D'Antoni really wanted to give up. , However, it would be too shameful to give up now. I can only bite the bullet and arrange the offensive tactics and then re-send the first and fourth small lineups of Dragic, Shumpert, Ariza, Chandler Parsons, and Howard. Fight!
The Grizzlies also sent out a starting lineup with Randolph and Larry Sanders in the outside triangle.
The Grizzlies players who were awakened by Dragic in the third quarter did not dare to be careless anymore. They had to hold on for the last 7 minutes or so!
No one can predict the state of things. Just like Dragic's amazing performance in the third quarter, it is unpredictable. The Grizzlies' good state has exceeded most people's expectations from the beginning. No one can predict it. Unexpectedly, the Grizzlies, who had just formed a new lineup, were the first team in the league to enter the state, let alone that they could continue to maintain the state after 24 consecutive victories.
In the second half of the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies, who refocused on defense, were unable to defend against the Knicks' space-oriented lineup with one large and four small players. They were still wary of Dragic and were defeated by Dragic. Got 2 points and 4 assists in the first half of the quarter.
However, the Grizzlies played very well offensively. Sun Ce scored 5 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal, helping the Grizzlies to an 18-17 score in the last 7 minutes or so, stabilizing their 10-point lead. Keep it till the end!
In the end, Sun Ce scored 43 points, 16 rebounds, 15 assists, 3 blocks and 3 steals, thanks to 37 minutes of 14-of-24 shooting, including 6-of-12 three-pointers, and 9-of-11 free throws, as well as the outstanding offensive performance of other players. , the Grizzlies narrowly defeated the Knicks 129-117 in this defensive battle and won their 25th consecutive victory!
Looking at the score... Sun Ce felt that their average points lost this season might not be suppressed, but, they won!
Moreover, he got 3 times 15 of 40+! He made good use of his teammates' excellent touch, scoring and assisting!