NBA: The Basketball Miracle

After entering college, Allen Iverson hated three-pointers very much, which was indeed related to Clay Lee and Ray Allen.

In the several games we played against each other during our freshman year, we were often inexplicably reversed in the second half.

60:52, after Clay Lee made the transition three-pointer, the fans of the University of Connecticut cheered loudly in Madison Square Garden.

With painful memories flooding back to his mind, Iverson took the ball from the baseline and tried to speed up, but head coach John Thompson on the sidelines yelled at everyone to hold on.

There were 3 minutes and 40 seconds left in the game and Georgetown was still leading by 8 points. As long as they could score 2 points in this round, the score difference would return to double digits.

"Defense! Defense! Defense!"

It was the turn of the University of Connecticut fans to cheer loudly, and everyone saw hope of tying the score.

Iverson controlled the tempo and dribbled the ball steadily across half court with his right hand.

At this time, Connecticut's junior guards Dorent Marshall and Lee pressed the opponent's backcourt together, while the other three controlled their positions and stood in the lower line of defense.

Ray Allen was still a little anxious and kept loudly reminding his teammates in the interior to pay attention to Iverson's breakthrough. They had not been able to solve this problem tonight.

Lee, who had been guarding against Iverson's right hand, maintained his body center of gravity and did not rush to steal the ball. He just reached out to interfere from time to time, trying to disrupt the opponent's dribbling rhythm.

Seeing that his teammate was tightly guarded and unable to receive the ball, Iverson turned sideways on the right wing to protect the ball and signaled Jerome Williams in the inside to come out and receive the ball.

Lee immediately realized that the opponent was going to use the high-low post tactics again, trying to let the center attack from the low post.

When Jerome Williams received the pass at the free throw line, Lee turned his head and loudly reminded his teammates:

"Double-team the inside!"

He sent a high pass, and Georgetown center Osta Tiger just received the ball. Kirk King, who was defending at the free throw line, heard the reminder and immediately gave up the defender and rushed to the inside.

Under the double-team of Travis Knight and Kirk King, the fat black man Osta Tiger could only try his best to protect the ball.

Although Travis Knight, who is 2.13 meters tall, is a big white man and a little thin, he showed a tough defensive attitude at this time. He is eager for the championship!

The double-team almost caused the opponent to make a mistake. When the basketball returned to Jerome Williams, the fans of the University of Connecticut at the scene let out a disappointed cry.

Georgetown scored and shot, and passed the ball several times to waste time. When the offensive time was close to 30 seconds, Iverson took the ball again at the top of the arc.

There was no extra shaking after catching the ball. Iverson slightly raised his body center of gravity after releasing the ball with his right hand, and then suddenly lowered his shoulder to force a breakthrough.

Faced with this powerful attack in a flying posture close to the ground, Clay Lee could only curse his damn talent inwardly, and then slid desperately to the left rear.

Iverson passed Lee in one step and broke into the paint area, where he was immediately assisted by center Travis Knight.

After forcing a jump with two people hanging on him, Iverson faked a pass and almost handed the ball hand-to-hand to the fat black man Osta-Tiger under the basket.

The latter received the pass and shot the ball, but he didn't expect that Ray Allen had already rushed into the paint, jumped high, and blocked the shot from behind his head!

"Oh!"

The Georgetown fans who were still cheering exclaimed, and after the basketball bounced, Ray Allen took control of the ball and immediately threw it forward.

Lee rushed to the opponent's half of the court as soon as possible. While he was scooping the ball with his left hand, Iverson had already caught up to him with his extraordinary speed.

Iverson continued to engage in physical confrontation and at the same time there were pulling movements with his hands. The two men entangled and rushed towards the basket, and the players from the two teams behind them also rushed forward with their heads down.

Coming to the paint area, Lee first used his body to push Iverson away, then quickly jumped, grabbed the ball with his left hand, and leaned forward to make a layup.

Iverson, who lost his defensive position, relied on his excellent jumping speed to arrive first, crashed into Lee, and made a blocking action with his right hand.

In the aerial confrontation, both of them lost their balance and fell together at the lower right side of the basket. The basketball bounced twice on the basket and finally hit the rim and bounced out.

Lee, who was lying on the floor, cursed his damn talent again, and then saw Ray Allen, who was following up with a fast break, grab the rebound and was surrounded by everyone in Georgetown.

Lee quickly stood up, pushed Iverson away, and ran quickly to the left wing outside the three-point line.

Iverson, who had just stood up, staggered and almost fell again. Without even complaining, he tried his best to chase and defend again.

Ray Allen saw Lee running toward the three-point line and immediately threw the ball hard. Iverson already sensed something was wrong and jumped high without even getting close to the three-point line.

At the same time, Lee, who received the pass, quickly turned around outside the three-point line, without making any adjustments, and threw the ball!

"Swish!"

The three-pointer went into the net!

The moment the basketball fell into the basket, Madison Square Garden completely exploded. The fans of the University of Connecticut shouted excitedly, and the fans of Lee also cheered.

"Champion? Dream on!"

Iverson, with an ugly look on his face, could no longer hold back when he heard Lee's loud ridicule. The two began to use civilized language and kept arguing with each other.

Head coach John Thompson requested the last timeout. The curly-haired black coach looked extremely unhappy. The score was 60:55, and the difference was only 5 points.

With 2 minutes and 56 seconds left in the game, head coach Jim Calhoun squatted on the sidelines and shouted to his players:

"Shoot decisively, time is not on our side. We need to score quickly and believe in our shots!"

Noticing the head coach's gaze, Ray Allen nodded vigorously after only a two-minute break in the game.

Before going on the court, head coach Jim Calhoun patted Clay Lee on the shoulder and said, "Just throw it!"

The noisy sound in Madison Square Garden indicated that Georgetown University fans had begun to panic.

Back on the court, under the control of Iverson, Georgetown strictly implemented the tactical arrangements and lasted another 30 seconds.

The defense was constantly stretched, but no good opportunities emerged.

Finally, the fat black man Osta Tiger made a strong move from the low post on the left side, but was interfered by Travis Knight, and the basketball hit the rim and bounced out again.

Taking advantage of the situation to protect the rebound, Travis Knight quickly passed the ball to Lee.

2 minutes and 21 seconds, time is running out.

Iverson, who was anxious, tried his best to interfere.

Under the body-search defense, Lee first changed direction under his hips, then immediately accelerated after switching to his right hand, turned quickly while moving, and then crossed the center line with his butt sticking out.

Coming to the left wing outside the three-point line, Lee once again turned sideways to protect the ball, and Ray Allen quickly shot out near the baseline on the right side.

At the right elbow of the free throw line, center Travis Knight's screen successfully delayed Victor Page's pursuit.

Ray Allen received the cross pass from Lee at the top of the arc, and without any hesitation, he quickly jumped and shot!

"Swish!"

Another three-pointer went in!

The fans of the University of Connecticut at the scene were already going crazy, and everyone was shouting along. Head coach Jim Calhoun on the sidelines even jumped up and punched the air in celebration.

60:58, 2 minutes and 7 seconds left in the game.

Everyone in Georgetown was a little confused, looking at the roaring Ray Allen and Lee high-fiving in celebration, and for a moment they all looked at the head coach.

John Thompson finally stopped sticking to those rigid tactics at this time. He made a tactical gesture, indicating to give the ball to Iverson.

In the next three rounds, Iverson missed a quick stop jump shot, Ray Allen missed a breakthrough layup, and Iverson took the blame and made a breakthrough layup, but the ball hit the rim and went out.

Everyone was scrambling for the ball under the basket, and finally Kirk King managed to protect the backcourt rebound with great difficulty.

With 46 seconds left in the game and UConn still trailing by two points, Georgetown fans all stood up and roared:

"Defense! Defense! Defense!"

Madison Square Garden was in a state of excitement. Iverson, who was retreating, kept high-fiving his teammates to encourage them.

Lee quickly crossed half court and did not press the time, as he hoped to score as soon as possible.

It was the same zipper screen tactic, allowing Ray Allen to receive the ball. The screen in the right elbow area of ​​the free throw line was squeezed through and Ray Allen was double-teamed.

Lee received the ball again at the top of the arc and used the left elbow area of ​​the free throw line to screen. Ray Allen, who bounced out again, finally got his chance.

The moment he received the pass, he immediately let go of the ball with his left hand and broke through, Ray Allen passed Victor Page who was chasing him with one step.

At this time, guard George Butler immediately assisted in defending the basket, and the fat black man Osta Tiger also slid quickly.

Under double-teaming, Ray Allen, who was close to the paint area, immediately passed the ball to Dorrent Marshall who was unguarded in the left corner.

The moment he received the pass, the junior guard, who was named to the Big East All-Star team last season, hesitated.

As a result, George Butler rushed out to defend again, and the open space disappeared in a flash.

After a round of struggle, there were only 5 seconds left for the offense, and Lee took the blame again on the left wing.

The moment he received the ball, Iverson immediately came up to defend him. Under the body search, Lee lowered his center of gravity, released the ball with his left hand and dribbled quickly behind his back.

After switching to his right hand, he immediately stepped back, twisted his body, hung on Iverson's arm, and forced a jump shot from outside the three-point line!

The timer sounded, and the basketball drew a huge arc and finally went into the net!

"Oh!!"

The fans of the University of Connecticut at the scene jumped up and shouted, and the cheerleaders under the basketball stand also huddled together and cheered loudly.

The Georgetown fans who had been celebrating just a second ago all held their heads in their hands, and head coach Jim Calhoun, who was on the sidelines, almost rushed into the court in excitement, but he calmed down and yelled at everyone to retreat quickly.

60:61, with 11 seconds left in the game, the University of Connecticut finally took the lead.

Lee and Iverson, who lost their balance, got up from the floor at the same time. After Iverson took the ball from the baseline, Lee immediately stepped forward to take the defense.

There was no smile on his face at all. Iverson gritted his teeth and kept accelerating while holding the ball in his right hand. At the last moment of the game, he was still full of energy and crossed half court in less than 6 seconds, quickly approaching the right wing outside the three-point line.

Iverson immediately stopped and suddenly dribbled the ball between his legs on the three-point line while Lee was guarding his right hand.

After switching to his left hand, Iverson immediately accelerated laterally, then suddenly stopped and started, causing Lee, who was defending, to lose half of his body position.

In Madison Square Garden, all the spectators stood up and shouted excitedly unconsciously. Many people were expecting the famous Iverson to save the team at the last moment.

When he came to the free throw line, the offensive time was running out. Iverson immediately stopped, then drifted to the left and shot a graceful backward jump shot!

At the moment of shooting, Iverson smiled, but when the basketball slipped out of his hand, it was scratched by the right fingertips of Lee who jumped up from the side to block it.

After landing, Iverson's smile froze. The buzzer of the final game sounded, and the basketball hit the front of the basket and bounced for a while, and finally fell out of the basket.

"Ah!!"

The University of Connecticut fans at the scene roared and everyone jumped up and down in their seats.

On the other side, Georgetown fans were dumbfounded, staring at the scoreboard with wide eyes. The championship that was in their hands actually flew away?

"Fuck, where's your champion?"

Lee, who had been feeling frustrated throughout the game, laughed and mocked Iverson in front of him.

Iverson, who missed the winning shot, had just come to his senses when he heard Lee's shout and instantly broke through the defense, cursing and rushing forward.

"Fuck!"

As the two men wrestled, Iverson, who was at a height disadvantage, was immediately hit twice in the face by Lee. His head felt a little dizzy, and he stepped back and fell to the ground.

When the fat black man Osta Tiger saw Iverson fall, he immediately rushed up from under the basket.

At the same time, the people in Connecticut who were still cheering and celebrating with their hands raised high also realized that something was wrong and they all rushed to Lee.

Before some fans could react, players from both teams had already started fighting.

The New York fans were going crazy at this time, shouting and throwing their drinks into the center of the field.

Shouts, cheers, and the referee's hasty whistle echoed throughout Madison Square Garden.

This highly anticipated Big East Conference championship game ended with players from both teams leaving the court in a somewhat embarrassed manner.

The difference is that the UConn players were all smiling smugly as they bounced off the court, while the Georgetown players had long faces, and star player Allen Iverson was cursing and even raised his middle finger in the direction of UConn as he walked toward the player tunnel.

"This was a really wonderful championship game. I wonder how far UConn can go this year."

"I like Lee's performance tonight. He played 24 minutes, shot 5 of 9, 3 of 5 from beyond the three-point line, 13 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 turnover. Those scouts with prejudice should watch this game. Basketball has nothing to do with skin color."

Sean McDonald didn't watch Lee's games very often, but he still expressed his support as soon as possible.

As a senior college basketball commentator, Dill Vital knows the difference between the NCAA and the NBA. The bald commentator sighed and said,

"Basketball requires more than just talent. I hope that all outstanding players can get a fair chance to compete."

".."

At this time, Clay Lee returned to the locker room and was receiving cheers from his teammates.

Dorent Marshall, who was the last one to throw the blame, had tears in his eyes. The handsome white junior hugged Lee and kept apologizing:

"Lee! It's all my fault! We almost lost the championship!"

Lee didn't care about it. Taking the blame would affect the statistics, but the statistics were meaningless if they lost the game.

"Hey, don't worry about it. We won the championship! That's the most important thing!"

When everyone heard what Lee said, there was another commotion. While they were applying ice and packing their luggage, Lee

returned to his seat and couldn't wait to call out the control panel.

After loading the system for many years, this is the first championship of some significance that he has won, and Lee has high expectations for it.

Unable to see what was written on the crude disc on the panel, Lee moved his mind and the disc began to spin, and soon a prompt popped up:

"Allen Iverson's excellent ball sense."

Lee had a puzzled look on his face, trying hard to control his expression. The reward was impressive, but it seemed no different from before. He couldn't help but complain in his heart:

"That's it?!"