Chapter 52 Flying to save the ball, this is the finals!
The second quarter is 7 minutes and 05 seconds.
Timberwolves (35): (28) Pistons.
Seeing that Lin Fei came back into battle after less than a minute of rest, the Target Center arena once again resounded with loud cheers and screams.
Even though Lin Fei had hindered the team in the past few defenses, the Timberwolves' home fans never complained at all and were looking forward to Lin Fei scoring another three-pointer.
Larry Brown did not replace Richard Hamilton again because Lin Fei left and returned, but continued to keep him on the court.
After all, Hamilton is the team's leading scorer and core player. He must find a solution to Lin Fei's situation to gain confidence.
It would be an insult to Hamilton if he always avoids an undrafted rookie and staggers his playing time.
Charles Barkley said excitedly: "Flip Saunders is finally bold again. It seems that Lin will be at odds with Hamilton in the rest of tonight's game!"
"As the top scorer of the Detroit Pistons, Hamilton's average playing time in this year's playoffs has reached 40.2 minutes. Lin's physical strength may be far behind!"
Kenny Smith praised: "No matter what, Lin will have an important role in this year's finals. This has already created history. You must know that he is only a rookie and undrafted!"
"Looking at the entire history of the NBA, the only player who can shine in the Finals in his rookie season is Magic Johnson!"
"But the magician is a well-deserved No. 79 pick in , and Lin is just a little-known overseas draft pick!"
On the court, the Timberwolves attack.
Hamilton's eyes were cold and he was chasing Lin Fei, knowing his movement clearly.
Darrick Martin handed the ball to Kevin Garnett in the high post against Rasheed Wallace.
Lin Fei rushed up quickly at this time, and with the help of a ball screen from Garnett, he penetrated diagonally from the left side to the right side of the three-point line.
Hamilton had already seen through this cover, so he was prepared to bypass it in advance.
Although the curve is longer than the straight line, Hamilton's speed and agility were displayed at this time, and he caught up with Lin Fei almost instantly, without giving him any chance to catch the ball.
The "Madman" on the other side also accelerated his air-cutting to the basket, trying to create an opportunity to catch the ball and lay up, but "Long-Armed Monster" Prince was also chasing closely, and this air-cutting opportunity also failed to come up.
Garnett had no choice but to play alone. He pushed Wallace sideways twice, followed up with a fake shot, but did not shake the Roaring God. He turned over and forced a jumper.
"Bang!"
not yet.
Although the Wolves have scored 9 points so far, their efficiency is not high. Rasheed Wallace's defense against the new MVP can be said to be very successful.
The defensive rebounds were protected by Big Ben, and the Pistons held steady in their positional battle.
Billups pushed forward with the ball, Hamilton continued his tireless running without the ball, Lin Fei gritted his teeth and chased after him while his physical strength was not exhausted.
Although Hamilton is the league's top running master, his running is also quite sharp and quick, with better speed and agility than Lin Fei.
But Hamilton is better at mid-range jumpers. His outside three-point shooting percentage is not high, only 29% this season, and his average three-point shot is just over one point per game.
Lin Fei also carefully studied Hamilton's game videos a few days before the finals.
The scope of his pursuit can basically be within the three-point line. If the opponent goes beyond the three-point line, he can let it go appropriately and focus on the passing line.
Perhaps Billups also wanted to help Hamilton regain his confidence as soon as possible, so he always deliberately waited until Hamilton had a chance.
Helplessly, Lin Fei had plenty of energy, his defensive attention was highly concentrated, and every nerve was tense, always following the "Masked Man" like a shadow.
Seeing that his teammates did not have a good chance to run, Billups also looked at Lin Fei with admiration in his heart. This guy really has two brushes in chasing players without the ball.
Ben at the basket bypassed Olowokandi during the blocking process and got a good opportunity facing the frame.
Billups's eyes lit up and he quickly threw the ball high to the basket.
Seeing a good opportunity to eat cake, the Wolf King turned over and yelled for a foul. Olowokandi gritted his teeth and jumped up, hitting Ben Wallace hard on the shoulder with his big hand.
"Snapped!"
The basketball flew out, and the referee's whistle sounded.
"Beep!"
Olowokandi's shooting foul was called.
Ben Wallace turned over and cursed Olowokandi in a deep voice, then walked to the free throw line with a cold face.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Ben Wallace, who felt stiff, missed both free throws, and Olowokandi's foul was worth it.
"Snapped!"
The rebound was caught by the Wolf King, and the Timberwolves switched offense.
Ben Wallace's free throw percentage is less than 50% all year round. During the playoffs this season, he only made 42.7% of his free throws, which is worse than O'Neal.
Many people will ask, since Ben's free throw shooting is worse than O'Neal, why hasn't cutting Ben's free throws become as popular as cutting sharks?
This question is actually very simple, because Ben's offensive threat is far inferior to O'Neal.
In addition, the Pistons' overall offensive efficiency is not high, averaging less than 1 point per offensive round.
Of course, Big Ben will also be cut tactically in many games, but not as frequently as O'Neal.
At least using a shooting foul to destroy Ben's dunk at a critical moment is absolutely worth the money.
The offensive end did not get a good opportunity, and Hamilton, who came to the defensive end, chased Lin Fei even more desperately, without giving him any chance to breathe.
Lin Fei was not in a hurry to score, so he retreated two meters away from the three-point line, put his hands on his hips, and calmly watched his teammates play.
Hamilton didn't dare to let Lin Fei have too much space at all, so he could only press forward with his whole body.
Lin Fei's pretentious three-pointer and five-hit combo in the pre-match warmup is still fresh in Hamilton's mind.
From the point of containing defenders and opening up offensive space, Lin Fei said that he was second in the league, and no one dared to say that he was first.
The Wolf King also felt that he didn't feel good in the first half. After the pick-and-roll, he gave the ball to "Madman", and he shook off Rashid and quickly went down.
Olowokandi lowered the center and successfully blocked and delayed Ben's assisting defense. The Wolf King strode into the penalty area and received the "Madman" pass, leaped up and launched an explosive one-arm dunk.
"Boom!"
"Boys, this is my home court!"
After landing a dunk, the Wolf King beat his chest and roared to the sky. This iconic action made the Target Center Arena, which had been silent for a long time, once again boil.
The Timberwolves re-extended their lead to 9 points.
Looking back, Billups played a pick-and-roll with Rasheed Wallace at the top of the arc, and retreated beyond the three-point line in a dislocation.
Two meters away, the Wolf King, who quickly changed defenses, leaped up, his 2.14-meter body was like a mountain, his long arms covered the sky and the sun, and his big hands fell like cattail fans.
"Snapped!"
In Billups' horrified eyes, the wolf king slammed the basketball down with his big hand, and the ball flew past Billups' side face in a high-speed spin, hit the floor and bounced forward.
"Whoosh!"
Lin Fei, who was chasing Hamilton on the right side, felt that this would be a wonderful shot as early as the moment the wolf king jumped up, so he turned over decisively and quickly got down to prepare for a counterattack.
By the time Hamilton reacted and caught up, Lin Fei was already running three meters away.
Wolf King's blood cap was so powerful that the basketball bounced up and flew towards the front court. Even if Lin Fei was at the front, it was still difficult to save the basketball.
"boom!"
The second time the ball hit the top of the frontcourt near the three-point line, it bounced and was about to fly out of bounds.
At this moment, Lin Fei suddenly thought of the scene where Trenton Hassell flew to save the ball in G6 of the Western Conference Finals.
Even though he knew that his defense was poor, at this moment, he absolutely could not just watch the basketball go out of bounds.
Out of instinct in his consciousness, Lin Fei clenched his teeth, stepped on the top of the arc and jumped up, like a fish jumping over a dragon's door, stretched out his big hand, and chased the basketball hard.
Hamilton, who was chasing behind him, and other players from the Pistons and Timberwolves were stunned for a moment.
Is this guy Lin Fei really hardworking?
It's like the finals!
"Snapped!"
The moment before Lin Fei was about to hit the audience outside the baseline, he finally took out the basketball with the palm of his right hand. He turned around and glanced at the positions of his teammates in the frontcourt.
Before he had time to think about it, he exerted his strength quickly and threw the ball back vigorously behind him.
Immediately afterwards, it slammed into the chest of a female fan in the front row of the baseline.
"what!"
In a sexy scream,
Lin Fei instantly felt his face hit two soft objects, and then he lay on the female fan's legs.