Chapter 964 963. Give It a Try (a Long Chapter, Please Give Me a Monthly Ticket~please Subscribe)
Without passion, how can one become great?
Some players will cry because they are defeated by a buzzer beater, some players will cry because they have fought for the entire game but still failed to win, and some teams will leave the court because their faith was destroyed by a dunk...
The Hawks players all love basketball, so they will be greatly affected by the game, and their confidence was affected by Billups' two consecutive three-pointers.
However, Liu Mang's confidence is even stronger than the pressure from the Pistons. In other words, the pressure from the Pistons is nothing compared to the impact of Liu Mang's outstanding performance on the Hawks players!
The Hawks activated the list and Calderon, McCarty, and Valanciunas all gathered together, and Rasheed Wallace took the lead and shouted: "Go-Hawks-Go..."
The roar of the Hawks players led the surrounding fans at the scene, and also shocked the opponent's coach Sanders who was arranging a conservative defensive strategy.
Coach Sanders turned his head to look at the Hawks. Didn't they just return to the bench one by one? He thought his strategy had worked, and it seemed to have worked just now, so why did the morale suddenly become higher than before? He had tried his best to make adjustments for this first game!
For the weaker side to win the series in the playoffs, the first game is crucial. According to statistics, the team with a good record has an 83% chance of advancing after winning the first win in the series, and the team with a poor record has only a 17% chance of advancing after losing the first win.
After the team with a poor record wins the first win, the chance of advancing has more than doubled, and the chance of advancing has increased to 55%!
It’s just that the chance of a team with a poor record winning the first win is less than a quarter, and Coach Sanders wants to be 55% of that quarter.
The opponent’s morale suddenly rose, which surprised Coach Sanders, but he had to fight!
…
After the official timeout, Alonzo Mourning was substituted. He lasted half a quarter, but his physical condition also came out. Kwame Brown and Rasheed Wallace partnered in the interior, and Liu Mang led Jason Terry and McGrady in the exterior. The two of them had a greater offensive threat.
As for defense, the Pistons almost changed their style of play. The coaching staff had no other choice for the time being, so they chose the most direct way, trying to defend as much as possible, and giving the team's top scorer a hard fight on the offensive end!
On the Pistons side, Coach Saunders never wanted the timeout to end early, but this time he wanted the timeout to end early and continued to replace the five starters.
The Pistons were also in high spirits. They had relied on Ben Wallace, the soul of the team, to offset the pressure of the Hawks' devilish home court. Now there were five and a half minutes left, and they were leading by 5 points. Now their morale was at a high stage.
The Hawks had the ball. McGrady received the serve and advanced to the front court and passed it to Liu Mang. He played singles and defended with all his strength. At this time, he chose to use the remaining energy on defense and fixed-point three-pointers, and ran to the right sideline to open up space.
Liu Mang received the serve and came to the top arc. Billups made fierce physical contact, and the Pistons fought hard.
If it was a regular season, this was the Hawks' home court, and the referee would have whistled directly for such a confrontation, but this was the playoffs, and the referee did not blow the whistle.
Liu Mang dribbled the ball with his left hand, leaned on Billups with his right shoulder, and used the dribbling posture of a left-handed player to prevent Billups from having a chance to steal the ball.
Kwame Brown saw Liu Mang's posture and immediately ran out to block Billups on the left side of Liu Mang.
Liu Mang removed the physical contact with Billups and broke through from the left. Billups squeezed past Kwame Brown's right side frantically, and it was too late to set a pick-and-roll! But it was too late to squeeze past!
Fortunately, Ben Wallace, who came out with Kwame Brown, chose to block Liu Mang directly, and together with Billups, he double-teamed Liu Mang one step inside the free throw line.
Just when Liu Mang and Kwame Brown were doing a pick-and-roll, Jason Terry ran out from the left corner and ran around the three-point line to the top arc. After Kwame Brown helped Liu Mang block Billups, he turned around and blocked Hamilton who was chasing Jason Terry. Liu Mang passed the ball to Jason Terry when he ran to the top arc.
Billups wanted to switch to Jason Terry at this time, but there was no way! Squeezing past Kwame Brown had exhausted him!
Jason Terry's three-pointer from the top arc...
Ben Wallace turned around and pressed Liu Mang behind him, and Bosh also blocked Rasheed Wallace who rushed in to grab the offensive rebound under the basket, but the ball Jason Terry threw from the top arc was not a shot, but a lob!
Kwame Brown cut in immediately after blocking Hamilton, rushed to the inside and jumped high, dunked and scored two points.
Bosh, who was guarding the basket and preparing to grab a defensive rebound, was hit on the back by Kwame Brown and was knocked out of the baseline again. Fortunately, he supported the basket and did not fall.
Bosh wanted to cry: Why me again? I want revenge!
The Hawks trio completed the small cooperation, 106 to 109, and the score difference was narrowed to three points.
The Pistons attacked.
The Pistons' speed became slower. Billups pushed through the center line with an eight-second violation. Hamilton was still running tirelessly and ran to the left side of the basket. He successfully used Delfino's pick-and-roll to get rid of Jason Terry one step outside the free throw line. McGrady, who was defending Delfino, immediately went up to block Hamilton.
Billups immediately passed the ball to Delfino on the left sideline. Delfino made a move to shoot and suddenly heard a voice.
"Hurry up and shoot!" Liu Mang shouted at Delfino at the top arc.
What is this guy doing? This made Delfino hesitate, partly out of anger and partly out of self-doubt.
"Hurry up and shoot! What are you doing!" Liu Mang continued to shout at Delfino.
When Delfino hesitated, Jason Terry had already rushed over. Delfino was shouted at twice by Liu Mang and couldn't help it, so he jumped up and shot.
Jason Terry's rush was one thing, but more importantly, Delfino's rhythm was disrupted, and his three-point shot hit the rim, which was very off!
When Delfino jumped up, Liu Mang immediately rushed back to the inside line, judged the landing point, and jumped high to grab the defensive rebound.
The Pistons retreated quickly, and they are now back to their previous style of play. Whether they can score or not is one thing, but they have to defend!
After Liu Mang grabbed the defensive rebound, he immediately launched a counterattack, but failed to make it. He continued to fall into a positional battle and continued to pick and roll with Kwame Brown.
This time, Billups and Ben Wallace defended more tactically and immediately chose to switch defense. Kwame Brown brought Billups into the inside, and Liu Mang played small against big, and shot a three-pointer after a jump step...
Ben Wallace was short and moved quickly, and his defensive awareness was too good. He was not shaken off by Liu Mang and rushed forward. Liu Mang's sharpshooter failed to trigger. No matter how short the opponent was, he was more than ten centimeters taller than him. Liu Mang's three-pointer missed!
Bosh roared and grabbed the defensive rebound, steady, and didn't rush!
The defense of both teams became direct and rough. For nearly two minutes, neither side scored a point. The action was rough but the referee's whistle was loose, and there were no free throws.
Just when Coach Kruger was about to call a timeout again, the key ball came!
After Liu Mang received the pass from McGrady at the top arc, he used his head to separate himself from Billups. His head was squeezed by Billups and it hurt a little. Liu Mang didn't care about anything and separated a little space, and directly forced a three-pointer!
"Ding... Level 5 of the King of Pull-Ups is triggered. The host will jump normally for this pull-up jumper regardless of physical contact..."
Finally, after three consecutive three-pointers, Liu Mang's top arc pull-up three-pointer finally triggered the King of Pull-Ups!
With such physical contact, he can still jump so high! The speed is so fast!
It was too late for Billups to jump up. When he picked up, Liu Mang had already thrown the ball out...
When he fell down, he looked at the flying ball and whistled.
This feeling, as one of the best three-point shooters in the league, he knew it must have gone in!
"Shua"
Just as Liu Mang expected, the three-pointer hit!
109-109 tie!
After the Hawks came back from the timeout, in three minutes, the Hawks played a wave of 5-0 and tied the score!
Coach Sanders also wanted to call a timeout, but when he saw Billups decisively pushing the ball forward, he held back. If calling a timeout would disperse the players' pent-up energy, the problem would be bigger than physical fitness!
Now, except for the young player Bosh, the physical fitness of the other players on the Pistons is supported by willpower.
Liu Mang immediately retreated after making a three-pointer, and waited for Billups to push forward, and then pressed forward immediately.
Billups' strength is still stronger than Liu Mang's, mainly because Billups' static strength is too strong. In this regard, it is not like most black players who decline in strength as their physical fitness declines. Billups mainly relies on the 89 strength evaluation of muscle and body weight strength, while Liu Mang is very balanced, so Billups' static strength is much greater than Liu Mang's.
Billups sideways to avoid Liu Mang's action of grabbing the ball with both hands, and suddenly, across the three-point line, he took a step and threw the ball to the basket!
If Billups had to shoot, there was no way, his three-point shooting was beyond the sky!
The key is that Billups' touch was really good today!
This shot that even Liu Mang didn't dare to try easily, actually went in again!
112 to 109, the Pistons led by three points again!
Coach Sanders stood up and yelled "Yes", trusting Billups was right!
After Liu Mang broke the deadlock, the Pistons also scored!
"Oh..."
The fans at the scene couldn't help but make a disappointed sound. Liu Mang had defended this ball very well. It was difficult for Billups to break through and there was no good chance to shoot, but this key man made the shot!
It was the Hawks' turn to attack again. There was 1 minute and 47 seconds left. McGrady advanced to the frontcourt and passed to Liu Mang. At this time, McGrady had already turned into a fish.
After receiving the ball outside the three-point line, Liu Mang pretended to pull up, and Billups, like a frightened bird, jumped up immediately.
Finally there was a chance!
Liu Mang moved half a step sideways to get rid of Billups and rushed to the free throw line. Bosh immediately blocked him. Liu Mang leaned sideways against Bosh. After sticking to Bosh, when Billups caught up with him, he turned right and bounced back!
A turnaround jump shot from the free throw line!
Bosh and Billups both rushed over. Liu Mang slid back a long step in the air, leaning back as if leaning against a wall, and shot a fadeaway jump shot!
"Ding... The turnaround jump shot is triggered at level 5. The host's turnaround jump shot is greatly reduced."
"Ding... The high-post back-to-the-basket technique is triggered at level 5. The host's turnaround effect on the mid-range shot after the high-post back-to-the-basket is reduced."
Liu Mang's turnaround fadeaway jump shot hit!
Liu Mang did not lose out in the confrontation with Bosh. His turnaround jump shot triggered the turnaround jump shot master, and his high-post turnaround triggered the high-post back-to-the-basket technique. It was the first time that the two skills were combined together!
It was still such a critical moment!
Only at this critical moment can a person's potential be stimulated!
51 points!
Liu Mang scored 50+ in the second playoffs in his career!
111 to 112, with 1 minute and 32 seconds left! Only 1 point behind, there is still a chance!
The Pistons are attacking, Billups needs to slow down, Hamilton is not good at singles, and the other two are a rookie and have no offensive ability. Billups signaled Bosh to go to the mid-range singles.
Bosh was very excited after receiving the ball. He was going to beat Liu Mang in the playoffs! This is something that none of the five brothers have accomplished, and he is going to accomplish it!
Rasheed Wallace went up to defend Bosh's face-to-face singles. Perhaps Bosh's body shape and the style of play trained by Coach Sanders are too similar to Garnett, so Rasheed Wallace chose to defend closely.
But Bosh's desire to attack the basket was not high, but it was much higher than Garnett's. Bosh chose to break through! After entering the inside, Bosh made a lob shot. Kwame Brown was a step late when he blocked it, and Bosh made a high lob shot!
114 to 111, the Pistons led by three points again!
No timeout! Liu Mang waved to the bench and passed the ball to McGrady, and continued to fight!
Liu Mang received the ball outside the three-point line and made a move to continue shooting. Billups wanted to defend the shot and the breakthrough. Ben Wallace took a step to the upper line and tried to defend Liu Mang's breakthrough earlier.
Liu Mang saw a gap and immediately threw the ball to the basket.
Kwame Brown jumped up in the inside and smashed the ball into the basket!
113 to 114, 57 seconds left!
Ben Wallace wanted to double-team Liu Mang in advance, and Kwame Brown got the chance!
The Pistons did not call a timeout either. Both teams handed the problem over to their best players.
Billups continued to pass the ball to Bosh. Bosh was full of confidence in defeating Liu Mang. He had already scored 21 points, facing the defense of Rasheed Wallace, and took the ball and made a fadeaway jump shot!
He also made it!
116 to 113, the score difference was still three points!
There were 40 seconds left, and they couldn't play one ball at a time.
After Bosh made the shot, Liu Mang immediately asked Kwame Brown for the ball, and immediately advanced to the frontcourt after receiving the ball. He didn't play any cooperation or rely on his teammates, and Liu Mang directly counterattacked!
The Pistons retreated quickly with a breath, and there were only more than 30 seconds left. They wanted to hold on!
Liu Mang quickly advanced to the frontcourt, and none of his teammates could keep up. Now the Hawks lineup has the highest physical fitness. Liu Mang is the second, Kwame Brown, and the other three are too tired.
Liu Mang didn't care so much, and he stopped suddenly when he was one step outside the top arc!
Billups immediately rushed over and said that he would not let Liu Mang make this three-pointer!
But Liu Mang didn't jump immediately after the sudden stop. Instead, he waited for Billups to jump up, and then Liu Mang suddenly bumped into Billups...
"Ding... Level 5 of the Touching Master was triggered..."
This ball must be blown, but Liu Mang's Touching Master made the referee more decisive, a three-point foul!
Billups covered his head in annoyance. He was too concerned about Liu Mang's three-pointer, and Liu Mang knocked him away!
Of course, if Billups did it again, he would still rush over, but if he was calmer, there would be more ways to block Liu Mang, but who could react in the blink of an eye at that time...
Liu Mang caught the ball from his cannon shot, handed it to the referee, and walked to the free throw line.
"MVP...MVP...MVP..."
The long-lost shouts are here again!
These days, fans don't shout "MVP" as casually as they will in the future. It has been almost two months since the last MVP call. Liu Mang walked to the free throw line, and the fans at the scene began to shout MVP in unison!
The court TV station was fine. To maintain the stability of the national TV station, it did not transform into Huang Jianxiang, but ESPN's gold medal commentator Mike Brin was more excited than the Chinese: "See! This is the MVP! It's not the kind of guy who relies on passing tricks!"
Liu Mang walked to the free throw line, patted his chest after receiving the ball, adjusted his breathing, hummed a song to adjust the rhythm, and then threw the ball out amid the urging of the referee and the increasingly uniform "MVP" shouts on the scene.
The first free throw was successful!
The next two free throws were quick, and all three consecutive free throws were successful!
116-116 tie! 36 seconds left!
It only took Liu Mang 4 seconds to counterattack and commit a foul just now!
Coach Sanders still didn't call a timeout! When Liu Mang was shooting free throws just now, he had already said something to Billups.
Let Billups go and play!
The Pistons attacked, Billups pressed the time to advance to the front court and began to waste time. With 8 seconds left in the attack time, Billups felt that his physical strength had recovered a little, so he chose to force a breakthrough, rushed to the mid-range and shot a quick stop jump shot against Liu Mang's defense... another hit!
Billups scored 5 points after the official timeout. Liu Mang had defended very well. Even if Prince came, he couldn't do better, but Billups scored!
The ability of the key killer was fully demonstrated!
The Pistons scored 9 points in a row! Withstood the 12-point scoring impact of the Hawks after the official timeout, and still led by two points! Leading 118 to 116!
Liu Mang rushed into the basket after Billups shot. The ball fell from the basket. Liu Mang immediately picked it up and passed it to Kwame Brown, pushing Kwame Brown out of the baseline. Kwame Brown quickly passed the ball to Liu Mang, and Liu Mang immediately sprinted to the frontcourt!
At this time, they didn't call a timeout! The Pistons players were scared. Fortunately, they were still active in retreating. Larry Brown's belief in defense first was very helpful to them. Liu Mang rushed to the opponent's top arc. Billups was much calmer this time. He didn't jump up immediately after rushing over.
But Liu Mang jumped up! Facing Billups's close defense, he jumped up and shot directly!
This time, his luck was not so good. He couldn't trigger the skill. He had no sense of rhythm and Billups's defensive judgment was accurate. It can be said that Liu Mang's pull-up was completely locked. Liu Mang didn't even have enough jumping height!
Billups jumped up a beat later and interfered with Liu Mang!
Liu Mang leaned back in the air and threw the ball. After throwing the ball, he fell to the ground with his back leaning back...
Did he defend it? Billups turned his head and saw the ball with a very high arc falling down and rubbing against the backboard and falling into the basket!
Billups didn't even have the words to curse in his heart. This ball... went in!
Liu Mang's near buzzer beater!
57 points in a single game!
Liu Mang scored 57 points! At the critical moment, a mid-range shot, a three-point foul, and a forced chase-up three-pointer scored 8 points in a row! And he made a near buzzer beater! With 11 seconds left, the Hawks overtook by one point 119 to 118!
Coach Sanders had to call a timeout this time. With their style of play, it was too difficult to play a full-court offense in 11 seconds.
During the timeout, Coach Sanders of the Pistons was arranging offensive tactics. The Pistons players couldn't give up at this time. They had led the whole quarter and were only 1 point behind now. They wanted to win.
The Hawks changed players. Jason Terry and McGrady were no longer needed to create space. Iguodala, Prince, Josh Smith, Kwame Brown and Liu Mang were replaced.
Defense! Coach Kruger emphasized defense, no fouls, and no letting the opponent score in the paint...
It was not enough to call a timeout. Coach Saunders called two timeouts. There were no timeouts before, but this time they were used.
…
After the timeout, the Hawks replaced a group of strong and fit men to defend, while the Pistons continued to fight the main force.
The Pistons had the ball in the frontcourt. Coach Saunders had already arranged the tactics. The Pistons players were holding back and actively cutting and running. They were holding on to their willpower after using their physical strength to the limit.
The Hawks defended the serve very strictly. Finally, Billups ran out of position, and Delfino, who served the ball, quickly sent it out...
The ball was poked by Josh Smith, who bounced out like a leopard to switch defense!
Liu Mang rushed out to pick up the ball and stole it!
Coach Sanders called two timeouts to let the players recover their strength, and also arranged a fast running tactic after receiving the ball, but it didn't work at all!
After Liu Mang grabbed the ball, he didn't wait for the opponent to foul, and immediately rushed across the center line. Liu Mang wanted to quickly counterattack with a three-pointer to get the score to 60, but when he saw Delfino catching up, he chose to rush to the basket and dunk to widen the score difference to 3 points, so as not to lose.
Liu Mang rushed into the distance of the free throw line, jumped up, grabbed the ball with both hands and smashed it into the basket... Suddenly, Liu Mang was pushed hard from behind in the air. Fortunately, Liu Mang had already jumped completely, and his waist and abdomen were strong. He forced his body to stabilize his body. After smashing the ball into the basket, he hung his hands on the basket with all his strength, and was almost pushed to the ground sideways!
"I fuck you..." Liu Mang swung on the basket and fell down, and a Chinese curse immediately roared out, and the people all over the country heard it...
It was another matter that the court station quickly muted it. After landing, Liu Mang rushed towards Delfino.
When Delfino rushed up to push Liu Mang, the referee knew that the matter was serious. He immediately rushed towards the two and blocked Liu Mang.
The players of both teams did not react. Delfino's action was too scary! Even if the Pistons played dirty, no one else would make such a move. This would ruin a person's career!
Liu Mang cursed and rushed to the referee and was hugged tightly. His characteristic of "cold blood" made him calm down after the most angry moment. He continued to stare at Delfino and made a gesture to hit him.
The referee blew the whistle immediately. There was no need to watch the replay for this action. It was 100% malicious foul.
The level of malicious foul was not determined, but the referee expelled Delfino!
The referee blew the whistle decisively and calmed down the other players who were about to make trouble on both teams, mainly those on the Hawks side.
After Liu Mang received the whistle for malicious foul, he stared at Delfino all the way as he walked into the player channel under the protection of his teammates, and then turned and walked to the free throw line.
If the dunk goal is valid, then the flagrant foul is not two free throws but one free throw plus ball possession!
59 points, Liu Mang had already given up hope for 60 points, but he didn't expect to get one free throw and ball possession!
Considered... seeking wealth in danger? It seems a bit wrong... I have a feeling... should I thank Delfino for his "assist"? I really want to beat him to death! He was almost knocked to the ground! After Liu Mang calmed down, he started to think wildly again...
When Delfino committed a flagrant foul just now, the fans at the scene were about to explode and sprayed Delfino. Fortunately, Liu Mang was not injured, otherwise God knows whether the Phillips Arena incident would happen.
Now Liu Mang is fine and got a free throw. The fans suddenly thought of one thing...
Liu Mang had already scored 57 points before the dunk. If he scored a dunk, he would have scored 59 points. If he scored a free throw for a flagrant foul...
The MVP cheers from the scene rang out again!
Liu Mang's hands were shaking. This might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! If you miss it, there will be no next time!
Liu Mang adjusted for a long time, and the referee did not come to interfere. Since it was a free throw for a flagrant foul, there was no one on both sides of the three-second zone. Liu Mang closed his eyes and took a deep breath for two seconds, feeling the "MVP" cheers from the fans on the scene. He felt that he was the only one left on the court with the fans. After opening his eyes, Liu Mang bent his knees, straightened his body, and shot a free throw...
Hit!
With a stable mentality, the free throws are stable!
The third player in NBA history to score 60 points in the playoffs!
122 to 118, 4 points difference, 4 seconds left, the Pistons did not foul, after the ball was sent out, Iguodala received the ball from the midline and rushed into the center circle, but the long three-pointer did not touch the rebound, the whistle for the end of the game sounded after the ball was thrown out, the game was over!
The Hawks relied on Liu Mang's 60 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, and Liu Mang scored 11 points in the last two minutes, reversed the Pistons and won their first victory!
When the whistle sounded, the fans cheered like crazy. The Hawks players rushed towards Liu Mang, and the whole stadium was celebrating...
The Pistons players were desperate from the moment Liu Mang dunked and Delfino committed a flagrant foul. Billups sat on the sidelines, covered his head with a towel, and began to sob with his shoulders shaking...
Bosh looked at Liu Mang surrounded by the media and teammates, and saw that his face was full of "it's so easy" after Liu Mang scored 60 points. Bosh was excited for a whole quarter. He scored 4 points in a row at the critical moment, but still failed to win. It was a big blow!
Ben Wallace went straight to the player tunnel when he sent the ball out.
The Pistons have tried their best and used all the tactics just to start the game with confidence. Coach Sanders also tried his best to adjust the tactics. They were ahead until there were more than 10 seconds left, but they still failed in the end.
The Pistons have accumulated confidence for a season and prepared sufficient tactics. The final result is like this. Everyone feels that the situation is over, even if they have just finished the first game.
The loneliness of the Pistons players is heartbreaking, but at this time no one cares how hard they work, no one cares how well they played in the first game, and they themselves will not say that they have tried their best. They are losers. No matter how much a loser wins before, he will always be a loser in the end...
It should be a bigger chapter, and it doesn't feel like a running account. . Two thousand words a chapter... I don't know what to write...