Chapter 1360 1359. First Defeat in the Christmas Battle
"Dunk of the century! This is definitely the greatest dunk of this century..." Yang Yi, who was commentating with the double-ping combination, shouted 'Dunk of the century'.
Although many fans hate Yang Yi's unconventional slogans, domestic fans felt that he was right this time!
Not only Odom, but also the fans who saw the replay on the big screen and the audience who saw the replay on TV also had goose bumps.
This ball is too exaggerated!
The TV commentators were all saying that Liu Mang was going to make a mistake. T.N.T's Kenny Smith analyzed that Liu Mang's only chance to get out of the crisis was to hit the ball to the two big guys, but it was very dangerous and might be judged as a steal by the opponent.
However, when Liu Mang was double-teamed, and a 2.26-meter-tall and a 2.08-meter-tall guy were double-teaming together, Liu Mang suddenly jumped out of the double-team and hit the ball into the basket through the 2.26-meter-tall giant!
Yao Ming did predict the direction in which Liu Mang would stretch the ball after he jumped up, but Liu Mang jumped with all his strength, with a bounce height of 97. After being knocked away by Liu Mang, Yao Ming only hit Liu Mang's arm with his foot, and failed to interrupt Liu Mang's dunk!
After 4 and a half minutes of the game, the Hawks led the Lakers by 1 point, 13 to 12, and there was still 1 free throw!
After a moment of stagnation, the Zen Master quickly called a timeout.
The whole scene was quiet, and even the Chinese fans who came to watch the game didn't know what to say about this game. They felt their scalps tingling when they saw the replay on the big screen!
For such a game, even if it was an away game, the director had to replay it on the spot.
It was incredible!
The bench of the Hawks, which had already rioted, immediately rushed towards Liu Mang after the Zen Master called a timeout.
If it was a center with super physical fitness, such as Kwame Brown, David Robinson, and Howard, occasionally completing such a dunk, or two or three times a game, it would not seem so exaggerated, and people would only praise his physical fitness.
But Liu Mang, a 1.93-meter-tall guard, completed such a dunk. Even if it was only once in his life, he would definitely be ranked in the top few of the NBA's historical dunk list, and even the first place would not be an exaggeration!
It's time to start showing off!
Seeing his teammates rushing up excitedly, Liu Mang showed a puzzled expression, as if saying: What's wrong with you?
This scene was captured by the cameraman and sent to the eyes of the fans in front of the big screen and TV at the scene...
Some fans at the scene began to curse, and some Chinese and Chinese fans who came to the scene began to cheer, but most Lakers fans chose to remain silent.
Teammates have become accustomed to Liu Mang's show-off performance, and they are more confident! They have Liu Mang! They have the best players in the world!
After high-fiving his teammates, Liu Mang came to the bench. The little girl ran from the second row behind the technical table to the back of the Hawks bench. Liu Mang walked up, and the little girl jumped up. Liu Mang quickly caught it. If she was tripped by the chair and fell, it would be terrible.
"Uncle is so handsome!" The little girl kissed Liu Mang on the face.
Liu Mang was so excited that he didn't think much and slapped the little girl on the face...
At this time, the team staff came to hand Liu Mang a towel at an inopportune time. Liu Mang put the little girl back behind the bench, and the little girl ran back to Levia with a red face.
In the United States, it is not a special thing for a father and daughter to kiss each other when they are happy. On the contrary, it is a very normal thing.
Liu Mang wiped the sweat off his face and rubbed his arm that was slapped red by the two giants. It is still painful now. Fortunately, the Lakers called a timeout early. If they had taken the free throw immediately, they really didn't know if they could have made the free throw.
Some people watch the excitement, and some people watch the doorway. The Hawks bench was very excited, and the fans were watching the replay in amazement. The Lakers bench was making personnel adjustments.
The Zen Master saw what Liu Mang wanted to do.
Yao Ming successfully avoided being fouled in the first defense, and made Liu Mang make a mistake in his shot, and he didn't make the shot. The defense was really good.
Just now, Odom jumped over the ball. If he had focused a little more and made a less aggressive jump, Yao Ming would have defended the ball well. Odom's rebounding ability is probably the strongest on the court except for Kwame Brown, and he could easily get the rebound.
Liu Mang pressed Yao Ming's waist, but Odom behind him was definitely unstoppable. It was just that Odom himself was in "normal state" and failed to make a clear and correct judgment.
Yao Ming had already scored 7 points in a row before. The Zen Master replaced Yao Ming during the timeout. He had already committed a foul. Liu Mang clearly wanted to make Yao Ming commit a foul. The Zen Master replaced Yao Ming first to protect him. Anyway, they had many superstars. He replaced Yao Ming with Gasol. Together with Wang Zhizhi and Odom, it was another three-high combination, and the speed was even faster.
…
After the timeout, the Lakers replaced Odom, Kobe, Barnes, Gasol, and Wang Zhizhi.
On the Hawks side, Coach Kruger and Liu Mang had the same idea, wanting to establish some advantages in the starting phase so that they would not be so passive when they entered the rotation lineup. Moreover, Liu Mang had just played a fierce game, and the team's morale was greatly boosted, so Coach Kruger did not make any personnel adjustments and continued to send out the starting lineup.
Liu Mang went to the free throw line and made the free throw.
14 to 12, on the field, the Hawks, who were playing away, took the initiative.
However, the Hawks' idea of relying on the starting lineup to play an advantage did not succeed.
When the team he coaches is strong, the judgments made by the Zen Master are usually correct. Yao Ming just suffered another tragic blow in his career. Two players who can be considered centers sandwiched a small guard and were dunked by the small guard on the spot. Yao Ming must have been greatly affected psychologically in a short period of time. Less than half of the first quarter, Yao Ming had already committed a foul. It was very likely that Liu Mang would foul him continuously, so Yao Ming was replaced with Gasol, and the superstar style was changed to a team style.
In terms of dominance under the basket, Odom cannot compare with Yao Ming even if he is focused, but he is comprehensive. If Gasol needs him to shoot three-pointers, he can shoot three-pointers. If Gasol needs him to cut, he can cut, and even mid-range shots can be competent.
And when Yao Ming went down, Kobe began to take on the position of the main scorer.
Kobe + Odom + Gasol, barely counted as another Big Three combination. Even if Odom is not so serious, he is also a first-class star with an ability rating of 85, who can do everything.
Although the Gasol and Kobe Bryant twin towers could not play together, the Lakers' tempo was not as strong as before, and the defense under the basket was also a level weaker, but the Lakers' offensive success rate was not affected. Although the Hawks relied on Liu Mang to get Yao Ming down, the offensive obstacles were much smaller, but unlike the expectation, they did not get the lead in the starting stage!
When Gasol + Kobe + Odom partnered together, it was too difficult to defend, just like when Yao Ming was in good physical condition during the drug combination period.
After Gasol adapted to Liu Mang's accurate prediction and mad dog-like blocking, he became more patient in cooperating with his teammates, and more systematically guided Kobe and Odom to integrate into the organization of offense, and played on par with the Hawks' team offense under the guidance of the Maimang combination.
At the end of the first quarter, with Prince cutting in and receiving Liu Mang's pass and hitting the buzzer-beating jump shot, the Hawks only led by 3 points with 29 to 26!
Despite forcing the Lakers to stagger the playing time of the Gasol and Odom twin towers in various ways, the Hawks failed to gain too much advantage!
The 3-point difference basically means no advantage. In the second quarter, after Rondo, Jason Terry, Battier, Rasheed Wallace, and Kwame Brown came on the court, they were quickly overtaken by the opposing team of Fisher, Maurice Evans, Odom, Radmanovic, and Gasol.
After only three minutes of rest, Liu Mang and Marion were replaced.
The Lakers also replaced Kobe and Yao Ming in time, replacing Odom and Radmanovic.
As long as Liu Mang is there, the Lakers Big Three and Odom, there are always three people on the court.
In the middle of the second quarter, it was Kobe and Yao Ming's turn to show their strength on the Lakers side. Liu Mang made a three-pointer, Yao Ming made a strong shot under the basket, Liu Mang and McGrady made a mid-range shot after the pick-and-roll, and Kobe made a mid-range shot to fight back. Kobe was a little bit stubborn today and was targeted by the Hawks, but he made the important shot...
With Liu Mang on the court, plus Marion and Kwame Brown, the Hawks can still compete with the Lakers.
But when Kwame Brown went down to rest, the inside line exploded!
Being entered from behind and dunked, Yao Ming was like crazy when he came on the court, slashing wildly in the inside line, and he didn't have to worry about physical problems. His teammates were strong, and Gasol was still there when he was tired!
At the end of the first half, although Liu Mang scored 19 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks in the first half, and McGrady also had 10 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists, the Hawks still trailed the Lakers by 8 points with 54 to 62!
When the rotation was changed in the second quarter, the Hawks were at a disadvantage, and were beaten 36 to 25 in a single quarter!
…
Rondo's performance was not without highlights, including his clever performance of secretly blocking Kobe from behind, and also helping the Hawks speed up and launch a counterattack.
The super forward defense lineup of Prince, Battier, and McGrady limited Kobe to 16 points with 5 of 15 shots throughout the game, which was also an excellent defense.
Kwame Brown couldn't defend or attack, but he protected the rebounds well and got 12 rebounds throughout the game.
Liu Mang scored 41 points with 13 of 28 shots, made 5 three-pointers, and was also very coquettish, scoring 41 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. McGrady also had 22 points and 6 assists, and Jason Terry also had 18 points.
However, Yao Ming scored 30 points and 5 rebounds with 12 of 18 shots, Gasol scored 16 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists, Odom scored 16 points and 16 rebounds, and Wang Zhizhi scored 14 points. Especially in the rotation time, the Lakers were much better than the Hawks!
When the Hawks sent out the three eagles to attack together, the Lakers used the Big Three combination to withstand the Hawks' offensive firepower and tried not to let the Hawks overtake.
When the Hawks needed to rotate, the Lakers left two of the Big Three and Odom on the court to serve as substitutes for the Hawks.
There was only one time in the game when the Lakers widened the gap to 11 points. Most of the time, the gap was within 10 points, but after the Hawks substitutes came on the court for a few minutes, they never led again!
The Lakers wanted to beat the Hawks so badly that Kobe was crazy. He scored 11 points in the second quarter and only 5 points in the other three quarters. But he didn't shoot. He got 16 points, 6 assists and 2 rebounds. He didn't play randomly despite the poor statistics. He just focused on defending Liu Mang.
Although Liu Mang scored 41 points and 5 of 12 three-pointers, Kobe tried his best. In order to win, he didn't talk back when Liu Mang scolded him... Mainly because he couldn't argue with Liu Mang, and he couldn't afford to be hurt by not reading enough books, so he just ignored him.
Tracy McGrady and Jason Terry scored 40 points in total, and the Hawks scored 81 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists. However, the most miserable thing was the assists of the Hawks. Most of them were active, and the pass to the open shots was not effective, especially when playing with substitutes.
Marion and Kwame Brown grabbed 20 rebounds in total, but Odom, who came off the bench, grabbed 16 rebounds in a single game with the help of Gasol and Yao Ming.
This is a rare time for the Hawks to have a disadvantage in rebounding! Only 40 rebounds were grabbed in the whole game, which was lower than the Lakers' 51 rebounds!
In the end, the Hawks lost to the Lakers by 6 points, 113 to 119!
When the whistle sounded at the end of the game and the score was locked, the Staples Center was like the New Year!