Chapter 963 962. Decisive Moment
The Hawks were confident and wanted to counter the opponent's moves, while the Pistons, as the underdog, kept fighting back. As the game went on, the two sides were evenly matched!
After the second quarter started, Jason Terry started the main attack, Liu Mang was the assistant, Korver and Person took turns to be shooters. The Pistons relied on steady defense to break up the Hawks' team cooperation, allowing Liu Mang, Jason Terry and McGrady, who came up in the second half of the second quarter, to enter the singles mode, and then used the offensive abilities of Billups, Hamilton and Bosh to support the offensive end, and brought into play Delfino's three-pointers and cuts and Ben Wallace's ability to eat cakes under the basket.
Billups' steady and stable characteristics; Hamilton's accurate mid-range shooting skills, even the mid-range shooting skills after receiving the ball; Bosh's mid-range and long-range shooting; Delfino's cuts and three-pointers; Ben Wallace's rebounds and physical fitness were all used by Coach Sanders!
After the first half, the two teams played an unexpectedly high score. The Hawks made 23 of 42 shots, 6 of 13 three-pointers, and 11 of 13 free throws, scoring 63 points.
The Pistons made 27 of 44 shots, 3 of 10 three-pointers, and 7 of 13 free throws, scoring 64 points!
The two teams played evenly! And the Hawks were slightly at a disadvantage!
Liu Mang scored 25 points in the first half, McGrady scored 11 points, Jason Terry scored 9 points, Kwame Brown scored 4 points, Mourning scored 2 points, Iguodala scored 4 points, Prince scored 2 points, Rasheed Wallace and Persson each scored a three-pointer.
Hamilton scored 20 points in the first half of the Pistons, Bosh scored 16 points, Billups scored 13 points and 5 assists, and the others scored 15 points in total. The three arrow players scored 49 points together!
The Hawks were still one point behind at halftime.
…
Liu Mang had already scored 25 points with 8 of 14 shots in the first half.
Liu Mang felt the progress of this Pistons team!
This Pistons team certainly does not have the same oppressive defensive strength as the Pistons team in the original time and space, but the offensive end is much better.
Liu Mang thinks this lineup is more suitable for Billups than the iron-blooded lineup created by Larry Brown.
Bosh is younger and more impactful than Rasheed Wallace who originally came to the Pistons. Rasheed Wallace's offensive performance in his peak period is not as good as Bosh this season. Rasheed Wallace had a higher hit rate during his time with the Trail Blazers and was more willing to go inside. His style of play was wild and gorgeous, but he was not so good at this sharp off-ball offensive mode.
The original Pistons' five tigers, Rasheed Wallace's offense completely degenerated after he joined the Pistons. The Pistons' two defensive stalwarts are very strong, but they are good at defense and not enough at offense. Bosh is different. He is only in his second year. His figure and physical fitness are similar to Garnett. He met Saunders, the head coach who trained Garnett, and got the opportunity to fully display his talents. He and Ben Wallace formed a strong inside combination of one offense and one defense.
Delfino's defense is a little worse, but he is more passionate than Prince. Ben Wallace and Hamilton are at their peak, one year younger than when Saunders took over in the original 05-06 season. Especially Ben Wallace, he has not yet reached the age of 31 when he fell off a cliff.
In the original 05-06 season, the Pistons' Ben Wallace's defensive efficiency declined severely, from 9.6 and 9.1 in the 03-04 and 04-05 seasons, which were among the best in history, to 6.4 in the 05-06 season. It was thanks to the new coach Saunders's use of Billups's organization and rhythm that the Pistons achieved a record of 64 wins and 18 losses, the best in the league that season. Billups almost snatched Nash's second MVP.
In the original time and space, the Pistons won 54 games in the 04-05 season. In the 05-06 season, when other teams' records declined, the Pistons went against the trend and won 64 games, but the lineup did not change. The improvement brought by coach Saunders was obvious.
It was difficult to play the tactics. Liu Mang and McGrady both tried to organize the offense and pass the ball, but the Pistons defended the pass-cutting cooperation very well. The Hawks could also organize the offense, and the scoring was more dispersed than the Pistons. Two of the seven Pistons players did not score a single point, and the Hawks' organization of offense was not as efficient as single-player scoring...
Looking at Bosh's 16 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in the first half, he was a poor version of Garnett in defense and rebounding, but with an enhanced scoring version in the East. Liu Mang felt that digging out Rasheed Wallace was like digging a hole!
Digging out Rasheed Wallace forced the Pistons to choose a power forward, which helped the current coach Sanders find the most suitable player.
Last season, Larry Brown did not pay much attention to Bosh. Bosh played hard in a strong team. This season, he took off when he met Coach Sanders. He made it to the Eastern Conference Finals and was evaluated higher than James, Wade, Milicic and Anthony!
I dug a hole for myself, so I dug it. I just don't jump into it, let others jump into it. Liu Mang felt more and more motivated, and felt more pressured than he imagined. Liu Mang had only felt this pressure when he played against the Lakers in the finals last season. He felt this pressure again in the playoffs this season, and he was even more excited.
A little hungry, Liu Mang called out: "Andre, bring me some bread and Gatorade, I'm hungry!"
"Okay..." Iguodala went to the staff to get bread and energy drinks.
The coaching staff of the Hawks started to lose hair again. It's too hard to play!
Coach Kruger is anxious!
In the first half, the opponent played more and more fiercely. Billups' offensive mobilization was easy to do. It seemed that 5 assists in the first half were not many, but players of his type did not pass the ball directly to teammates to score, but controlled the rhythm.
This is very similar to Kidd and Payton, and they are almost the same.
Coach Kruger was having a headache, and heard that Liu Mang was still thinking about eating at this time! He got angry: "Ace! Come here and think of a way!"
Liu Mang immediately ran over and responded: "What coach?"
"Do you have any solution to deal with the Pistons?" Coach Kruger stared at Liu Mang and said.
"Uh..." Liu Mang leaned close to Coach Kruger's ear and said something.
When Coach Kruger heard this, he suddenly felt so stupid that he ignored the simplest things...
...
...
After the halftime break, the Hawks sent out a combination of Liu Mang, Iguodala, McGrady, Josh Smith, and Kwame Brown.
On the Pistons side, Billups and Hamilton continued to play, second-year undrafted Ronald Dudley played at the small forward position, and the inside combination of Derrick Coleman and Ben Wallace appeared.
At the beginning of the third quarter, the Pistons attacked first.
Billups tried a three-pointer as soon as he came up to show his threat, but unfortunately he didn't make it.
The Pistons still retreated quickly. After Liu Mang grabbed the defensive rebound, he didn't rush. He kept steady and controlled the ball to advance to the frontcourt.
Hamilton felt nervous following McGrady, fearing that Liu Mang would pass the ball to McGrady.
Dudley, a 2003 undrafted player who averaged 10 minutes per game in the regular season, was okay at catching the ball and shooting, but his defense was really bad, otherwise he wouldn't have averaged 10 minutes per game in his rookie year and scored 6.2 points and was abandoned by the Bulls.
Billups was also very nervous and ready to double-team McGrady at any time. Of course, it would be best if Liu Mang played alone.
Liu Mang passed the center line and advanced to a distance of more than one or two meters from the free throw line, and suddenly began to accelerate!
"Ding... The strongest first step level 5 is triggered, burst speed +5..."
The strongest first step outside line requires at least one step of space. Now, it is the critical moment that Liu Mang thinks!
Liu Mang suddenly accelerated, and Billups didn't have time to pull him in, and Liu Mang rushed into the inside from the left!
The Pistons' defensive discipline is better than that of the Bulls, and they immediately shrank. Although Dudley's defensive ability is not good, he can still stay in the NBA. He relies on his positivity. It's not easy for undrafted players to come up and block Liu Mang, who is obviously eight centimeters shorter than him but much stronger than him. Billups also chased him from behind.
Liu Mang immediately passed the ball to Iguodala on the left sideline. After Iguodala received the ball, he did not shoot a three-pointer, but also chose to force his way into the inside.
Hamilton quickly let go of McGrady and rushed to Iguodala, blocking Iguodala in the left mid-range. Iguodala then passed the ball to McGrady, who chose to rush inside after receiving the ball...
Ben Wallace was attracted to the right side of the three-second zone by Liu Mang's breakthrough, and Coleman was attracted to the left outside the three-second zone when Iguodala broke through. McGrady got a big gap and rushed directly to the basket!
Coleman turned around and could only hug McGrady. McGrady grabbed the ball with one hand and threw it to the basket. Unfortunately, it didn't go in, but he got two free throws!
McGrady went to the free throw line and made one of two free throws... But he also tied the score, 64-64!
Seeing the Eagles' play, the heart of coach Sanders on the bench of the Pistons jumped!
The coaching staff of the Eagles was once very troubled, and the Pistons were even more troubled!
Coach Sanders has done his best to make effective adjustments to the team's offense, and scored one more point than the Hawks in the first half. However, in their starting lineup, Billups, Hamilton, and Ben Wallace all played the entire first half. Only the young Bosh and Delfino rested for four minutes. Physical fitness is a big problem.
After the second half of the game started, the Hawks adopted Liu Mang's idea, more people!
Because the Pistons did not win the championship in 2004, there were fewer people who hugged their thighs. Their substitute lineup was quite miserable. Even Coleman was an important part of their inside substitute.
The Hawks replaced five players with strong impact, rushing to the inside one by one, just to cause damage!
Next, just like the most feared situation when Coach Sanders' heart jumped suddenly, the Hawks began to rush to the basket!
Let's not talk about the offensive efficiency first, the main attack is that the inside defense is slow when Bosh is not there!
After 3 minutes in the third quarter, although the score was not overtaken by the Hawks, the Pistons and the Hawks tied at 70, but Ben Wallace was forced to take a foul!
And in just 3 minutes, the Pistons had already committed four fouls! Next, in addition to offensive fouls, the Hawks can make free throws for any fouls on the defensive end! Coach Sanders was forced to call a timeout.
Encountering a rogue team like the Hawks, Coach Sanders' face, which looked as vicious as a gangster godfather, became even gloomier, and he cursed the big-headed coach on the opposite side for being shameless! Using such despicable means.
There was no way, they just had people, and Coach Sanders could only replace the five best players under his command, Billups, Hamilton, Delfino, Bosh, and Ben Wallace.
The Hawks started the regular rotation again, Liu Mang continued to be on the court, McGrady, Person, Rasheed Wallace, Kwame Brown played, and fought hard with the Pistons' starting lineup.
The only team that can win 63 games with its starting lineup is the Pistons. The Hawks also have Jason Terry and several Mesozoic players and veterans like Mourning, Persson, and Muhammad on the bench. The young players performed well in the regular season.
When they really worked hard, when the Pistons played a new combination, the Eagles did not take advantage and finished the third quarter anxiously with the Pistons.
After three quarters, the Eagles were 1 point behind the Pistons, 92 to 93.
…
…
"We have to hold on! The opponent's physical fitness is not as good as ours. We just need to hold on. When the opponent's physical fitness declines, we can take away the game in one wave! Ace, you and Tracy's defense must be more oppressive..." Mike Woodson is yelling at the defense.
After three quarters, beyond Liu Mang's expectation, the opponent played really well!
Liu Mang scored 38 points in three quarters, but still couldn't open up the score. He even moved God because of Hamilton's open three-pointer, and fell behind by one point with a buzzer-beating three-pointer!
Billups scored 26 points and 9 assists in the third quarter, Hamilton scored 31 points in the third quarter, Delfino's 9 points in the third quarter played a key role, Bosh was targeted for defense but was attracted to the defense...
The Pistons are so difficult to beat!
…
After the break, the Eagles returned to the starting lineup. It was time for the decisive victory. Liu Mang led Jason Terry, Tracy McGrady, Rasheed Wallace, and Mourning to perform today. Your best teammate takes the field.
Kwame Brown was put on the bench at a critical moment, which was a bit depressing, but the biggest gain from his two-year Wizards career was that he was "good at waiting." He sat on the bench honestly and watched Mourning's performance.
Mourning had 8 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks today. He was able to limit Bosh in the third quarter, and he played a major role.
The Pistons continued to field the starting lineup, with Billups, Hamilton, Delfino, Bosh, and Ben Wallace continuing to play.
The fourth quarter started with the Eagles taking the lead.
After Jason Terry came up, he singled out Delfino and used his speed to break into the three-point line, forcing the Pistons to make up defense.
At this time, Liu Mang and Tracy McGrady ran to the left three-point line as quickly as possible after picking and rolling in the high post. Jason Trima passed the ball and received the pass from Jason Terry. Liu Mang received it. Three-point shot!
"Ding... Quick Shooting Master is triggered at level 5. This shot ignores running interference..."
When Liu Mang took the shot, the discomfort of shooting immediately after sprinting at a speed of 100 meters disappeared, and he hit the open three-point shot steadily!
95 to 92, the Eagles continued to keep the score tight with the Pistons.
41 points! Liu Mang hit a three-pointer as soon as he came into the fourth quarter and scored 40+ points in the playoffs for the sixth time in his career!
However, immediately after the Pistons attacked, Billups came up and scored another three-pointer, and his personal score reached 29 points!
The Pistons began a fierce counterattack, it was a wave!
The key is that the Pistons shot really accurately today. Hamilton and Billups scored 57 points in three quarters, while Liu Mang and Tracy McGrady only scored 56 points together!
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the two continued their good touch today and scored consecutively.
Liu Mang, Jason Terry and Tracy McGrady worked together to fight against the Pistons' fierce and abnormal offensive performance today. Because they did not expect the opponent's tactics to change so much, it was Mike Woodson, who is regarded as the best defensive assistant in the league, on defense. Everyone can't think of a good solution, so they can only hold on.
In fact, the physical fitness gap between the two teams has begun to show at this time. It is not that the Pistons' physical fitness has begun to decline at this time, but that Coach Sanders must start working hard! The extreme change in play style shows from the side the fact that the Pistons' physical fitness is better than that of the Eagles!
It's not that the Pistons players can't all start and play the entire game, but this is a series! Move your whole body! Playing exhausted from the first game, then that will work.
Therefore, the Pistons launched a wave of attacks in the fourth quarter, and the defensive end became much simpler. The two teams scored back and forth to take the lead.
At the sixth minute of the fourth quarter, the Eagles led the Pistons by 1 point 104 to 103. Seeing that the official timeout was about to enter, Coach Kruger waited for the Pistons to call a timeout, but unexpectedly at this time, the game Lupus is furious!
Billups faced Liu Mang's defense continuously and forced two three-pointers!
It's not that Liu Mang didn't defend well, but Billups was cold and missed two three-pointers when he was stuck and had no rhythm. He went on a 6-0 run and the Pistons led 109-104. The point difference was widened to the largest 5-point difference in the game!
Coach Kruger quickly called a timeout. Unexpectedly, they were called for a timeout when they were beaten!
Liu Mang saw that he had already scored 46 points with more than 5 minutes left in the game, but Billups actually caught up, surpassing Hamilton's 37 points and reaching 40 points. Billups scored 14 points in the half. , worse than his 8 points in half a quarter!
…
"Don't be anxious! Don't panic!" Coach Kruger said loudly. The scene was too noisy. Just now, it was because after Billups made his first three-pointer, Jason Terry rushed to take a three-pointer. This guy It was accurate when it was accurate, and it was accurate when it was wrong, and it gave the opponent a chance to widen the gap to 5 points.
Coach Kruger looked at the players and decided to let the careless boy solve the problem: "Ace, go up and shoot the ball!"
Liu Mang was thinking about how to defend Billups when he suddenly heard such a simple and crude tactical arrangement. He was shocked and figured it out.
The opponent's attack was violent today, can't we just go back to our side?
Coach Kruger's simple and direct tactical arrangement also made other players stunned. The opponent was 5 points ahead, so was his side still squandering?
Even the veteran players have doubts. Are the Pistons really that strong? Can you beat them to this level? Although they despise the Pistons, their preparation time and concentration for this series are no worse than the Pistons!
Are the Pistons really on the rise?
The reason why Coach Sanders risked his life to win the first game was to completely establish their psychological advantage and make the Eagles have self-doubt.
Seeing that his teammates were a little confused by Billups' two three-pointers, and clearly feeling that their morale was somewhat depressed, Liu Mang clapped his hands to attract his teammates' attention.
Seeing his teammates looking at him, Liu Mang activated his power: "Okay, it's time to win. Have you forgotten that you have the strongest scorer who is invincible and has no friends?"
Liu Mang's voice seemed to have magic power, which made his teammates laugh all of a sudden. You are so pretentious, you deserve to have no friends!
Don't rush it, it wouldn't look good if it was written as a running account of 2,000 words and takes away a key battle, right? The details of Xiaofeng's key competitions are all 2,000 words.
The final decisive moment has come. Keep writing for a while. Friends, you can get up and read it tomorrow morning. If you finish tonight, Xiaofeng will update it tonight. If you haven’t finished it, I will update it... I will update it at noon tomorrow... I still want to sleep until I wake up naturally on Sunday... Thank you friends for your monthly votes and recommendation votes.