NBA: The Basketball Miracle

In the national semifinals, a decisive match, Syracuse University head coach Jim Boeheim chose to fight to the death with the main players.

Lee came on as a substitute with 8 minutes and 34 seconds left in the first half, but the opponent showed no intention of making a substitution.

The Syracuse University fans at the scene were a little anxious. They couldn't get into the paint or make shots from the outside, and could only watch Connecticut's big man Knight play better and better.

In his first attack after coming on the court, Lee faced the defense of Lazarus Sims and dribbled across half court steadily.

Syracuse University's inside players are not tall enough, with the starting center only 2.03 meters tall, but except for the point guard, all the other 5 players on the court are around two meters tall.

"Defense! Defense! Defense!"

The fans of the University of Syracuse tried to shout, but their voices were soon drowned out by the cheers of the fans of the University of Connecticut.

It was a simple pick-and-roll at the top of the arc. The big man Knight quickly moved down after a fake screen. The opposing center Audis hesitated for a moment on defense. Lee, holding the ball with his left hand, suddenly lowered his center of gravity and accelerated the breakthrough.

Instantly attracting the defense of two people, center Audis was still sliding back, but found that Lee, who was moving, threw the ball towards the basket with his left hand!

The basketball flew above the basket, and the big man Knight jumped up easily. Without anyone interfering, he scooped the ball in the air and dunked it with both hands!

"oh!!"

It was a beautiful alley-oop dunk, and the University of Connecticut fans at the scene shouted with joy.

The defensive shouts of Syracuse University were completely inaudible, and the fans could only watch the 6-foot-9 big man score points in the paint.

John Wallace used his physical strength to always break through Kirk King's defense, but after missing several quick stop jump shots, he started to rush to the basket again.

This time the referee finally blew the whistle, and head coach Jim Boeheim breathed a sigh of relief, then loudly reminded the players on the court:

"Pay attention to defense!"

According to the game plan made before the game, after Lee comes on the court, we must strictly guard against three-point shots.

But at this time, Knight in the interior was going crazy, and head coach Jim Boeheim immediately made a gesture for assisting defense.

After making one of two free throws, John Wallace cursed inwardly and then hurriedly retreated. They couldn't grab the rebound.

At 11:16, the University of Connecticut had another chance to expand the score.

After receiving the pass, Lee quickly rushed across half court holding the ball in his right hand.

When he approached the three-point line on the right wing, he immediately stopped and dribbled behind his back twice in a row at an extremely fast speed, his body swaying left and right with the rhythm of the dribbling.

Lazarus Sims, who was on the opposite side, had no way of predicting Lee's offensive choice. He followed his body's instinct and subconsciously slid to the left while pulling at the same time.

Lee, who had just switched to his right hand, immediately changed direction with his hips and lowered his shoulders to accelerate the breakthrough.

The two men got into a physical confrontation, and Lazarus Sims's pulling defense only slowed Lee down slightly before he was squeezed through.

At this time, the big man Knight had already rushed to the basket, and everyone at Syracuse University focused their attention on the two of them.

Lee broke into the paint area and made a secret behind-the-back pass. With a flick of his left wrist, the basketball flew straight to the right corner.

Ray Allen, who had just run into an open space with the help of his teammates' cover, did not make any adjustments after receiving the pass. He jumped up and completed the shot with a slight drift.

"Swish!" The three-pointer went into the net!

At 11:19, the score difference suddenly widened, and everyone on the UConn bench jumped up and cheered!

Ray Allen also smiled, made the shot on his first try, and immediately gave Lee a thumbs up.

Lee quickly retreated with his teammates, and then loudly reminded the big man Knight:

"Stay under the basket, no need to defend!"

Without a three-second zone, all the 2.13-meter-tall Knight has to do is protect the basket.

Just as Lee predicted, the opponent began to frequently play pick-and-roll at the 5th position, trying to get Knight away from the basket and thus stretch Connecticut's defensive formation.

But Knight just retreated to defense and kept hanging around the basket, making the Syracuse University players extremely uncomfortable.

With 5 seconds left in the offensive time, center Audis took a step forward from the free throw line and was unguarded, and he made a layup to get 2 points.

This kind of offense is not what head coach Jim Boeheim expected. Core player John Wallace has only scored 3 points so far, and there are problems with the offensive rhythm.

When the University of Connecticut fell into a positional battle, the strategy against the small lineup was very simple. Lee saw Knight successfully position himself in the blocking area on the left and immediately sent a high pass.

Then Lee cut in from the left wing without the ball, taking the defender away while running quickly to the right corner.

Connecticut's players rotated in turn, Ray Allen ran from the top of the arc to the left corner, and Dorent Marshall moved to the left wing.

Kirk King pretended to cut in at this time, but stopped suddenly at the free throw line. The five players on the court completely opened up the offensive space.

Tonight's lineup of one big and four small players made it impossible for the opponent to double-team the inside easily.

Knight, who had the height advantage, pushed into the paint area and threw the ball into the basket despite the opponent's block.

The moment the basketball hit the rim and bounced out, he used his height advantage again to grab the frontcourt rebound.

At this time, the Syracuse University players who retreated to fight for the ball cursed inwardly, and Knight, who grabbed the rebound, threw the ball directly to the right wing outside the three-point line.

Lee received the ball and faked it, and immediately knocked away the forward Todd who was rushing to defend.

Lee took a step sideways on the three-point line, exerted force on his feet while moving, and quickly completed the shot!

Todd, who had just landed, had no time to make a second block and could only watch the basketball fall into the basket.

At 13:22, the score gap widened again.

In the Airways Arena, the University of Connecticut fans who stood up to watch the game jumped and cheered loudly, they were going to make it to the finals!

Commentator Jim Nantz watched Lee's calm expression after scoring the goal, and also sighed:

"Lee doesn't look like a sophomore at all. Connecticut used two point guards in the rotation tonight and completely controlled the rhythm of the game."

Head coach Jim Boeheim had no choice but to request a timeout. He felt a little uncomfortable when he saw the players walking towards the bench with lost expressions.

Syracuse University's current lineup cannot solve the interior defense problem, and compared with the top-seeded team, they do have lineup flaws.

The entire first half of the game almost became a personal performance by the big man Knight. He attacked the basket from the low post, and when he missed the layup, he fought for the rebounds.

Knight also had a strong presence on the defensive end, constantly disrupting the opponent's attacking basket.

At the end of the first half, at 27:38, Connecticut was already leading by 11 points.

In the second half of the game, Lee started the game and continued to partner with Marshall.

John Wallace, who did not rest for a minute in the first half, still couldn't find his touch in the second half.

Although inside player Audis made several consecutive shots, Connecticut was always able to respond quickly.

John Wallace's breakthrough was interfered by Ray Allen who jumped up beside him, and his high-arc lob hit the rim and bounced out. Knight grabbed the rebound, and Marshall immediately sped up after receiving the pass.

The Syracuse University players quickly retreated. Marshall came to the top of the arc and noticed that the opponent had already completed their defensive position, so he passed the ball to Lee who was following up.

Lee received the pass on the right wing outside the three-point line and saw that Lazarus Sims was still inside the three-point line, so he just raised the ball and threw it!

After completing the shot, Lee immediately turned around and returned to defense. In the surprised eyes of everyone at Syracuse University, the basketball went into the net again!

"oh!!"

Lee's pretentious performance of retreating completely ignited the atmosphere on the scene.

The young people from the University of Connecticut screamed and the audience in the front row who were nearby couldn't help but stand up and raise their hands to cheer.

At 31:45, the score difference reached 14 points.

Head coach Jim Boeheim has not given up yet. He stood on the sidelines and kept shouting at his players to pay attention to defense.

However, the inaccurate outside shooting made Connecticut's defense shrink smaller and smaller. Relying on Knight's excellent rim protection ability, Syracuse University's offense was completely silenced.

In the subsequent games, Lee and Marshall firmly controlled the rhythm of the game, and the score gap became larger and larger as the speed was continuously reduced.

At the end of the game, the ecstatic coach Calhoun punched wildly in celebration, and everyone on the bench hugged each other.

The fans of the University of Connecticut at the scene took off their outer white jerseys and threw them into the air, and everyone was shouting excitedly.

51:69, Connecticut defeated Syracuse and crushed their opponent to enter the finals!

Lee laughed and hugged Marshall beside him. The handsome white guy was so excited that his eyes were red:

"We have reached the finals! We have a chance to win the championship!"

This was the highlight of his life, and Marshall shouted with joy.

Commentator Jim Nantz has witnessed many such moments. The veteran sports reporter briefly commented on the game:

"The top-seeded University of Connecticut has lived up to their talent. They are just one step away from winning their first championship in team history!"

"No one cares about the statistics in this game, all they want is victory, this is pure basketball!"

Lee shot 4 of 7, 2 of 4 from beyond the three-point line, and scored 10 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists;

Ray Allen, who had been guarding the opponent's core in the second half, made 4 of 9 shots, 2 of 4 from beyond the three-point line, and scored 14 points; big man Knight scored a team-high 18 points, and also grabbed 12 rebounds and made 2 blocks.

Billy Parker in the commentary booth looked at the technical statistics in his hand, felt the joyful atmosphere on the scene, and also sent his blessings:

"Maybe this year UConn will make new history. Good luck to the boys!"

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