Chapter 543

In the first quarter of the game, the two sides scored 25:29, and the Blazers led by 4 points and entered the second quarter.

This is the first time in the series that the Blazers have held the lead after the first quarter.

It's really not easy.

After the start of the second quarter, the Blazers played very carefully.

Yes, their offense and defense can be described as cautious.

In fact, when it comes to the playoffs, the game should be cautious. No matter whether it is offensive or defensive, no mistakes can be made.

It's a pity that the Blazers were taken into the pit by the Rockets in the first round, and the frizzy players won anyway.

As a result, the Clippers lost 0:3, and only then did they find some real feeling of playing in the playoffs.

The Blazers reduced excessive screens and unnecessary moves in the offense, and tried to make the team's offensive routines more concise.

In this way, the team can focus more on the defensive end, slow down the pace of the entire game, and allow players to take more initiative on the court.

This is a bit like a strong team in the playoffs, and the Clippers players finally feel resistance on the court.

Originally, the players' touch was mediocre. Although the game was shortened in the second quarter, they were still unable to equalize or overtake.

In the first three games, the Blazers were penetrated by a wave in the second quarter, fell behind by 20 points early, and entered the second half extremely passively.

This time the Blazers have learned a lesson. The two sides have come and gone, and the Blazers have always maintained a lead of more than 3 points.

Li Liang did not take advantage of the Blazers in the second quarter.

His most intuitive feeling is that the Trail Blazers team can finally play.

The defense began to pay attention to details, rather than empty confrontation.

All kinds of floor ball scrambling, desperate backboard protection, finally seemed to defend the home court to the death.

In the offense, the complicated tactical cooperation is reduced, and the personal abilities of the players are used more.

Adelaide went to the basket in several storms, instead of always jumping back, which was obviously much tougher.

The team's overall rhythm is relaxed, and it is no longer led by the Clippers like in the first three games.

Especially Lillard, who is in possession of the ball, has made a lot of progress in offensive options.

Anyway, I played against Paul for three games and was abused for three games. After all, I can learn something.

With Lillard as the point guard, the Blazers' offense was basically not sorted out. They didn't pass the ball well when it was time to pass, and their shots were not accurate enough when it was time to attack.

Lillard played a lot better in this game. At the end of the first half, he scored 15 points and 6 assists, helping the Blazers lead the Clippers by 1 point at 52:53 and enter the second half.

Although they only lead by 1 point, this 1 point is really a huge improvement.

It was not easy to lead this time after falling behind by 25 points at halftime.

Even leading by 1 point is a huge comfort psychologically.

The Clippers team did not perform well in the first half, and the best player was Griffin.

Griffin brought a substitute and took advantage of the disadvantage of the Blazers' second team to get back some points.

At the end of the second quarter, it was also Griffin's mid-range buzzer that made the Clippers trail behind by 1 point.

Both Li Liang and Paul played mediocrely. Li Liang realized that he was not in good shape, so he retreated decisively, concentrated on defending, and accumulated energy to prepare for the second half.

The two sides are finally going to fight and play a good third quarter and the second half.

During the Clippers' halftime break, the locker room was finally no longer so relaxed, but slightly tense.

Rivers spit and pointed out the team's problems on both ends of the floor in the first half.

And repeatedly emphasized, "I don't want to bring the game back to Los Angeles. I hope we go home to go on vacation to prepare for the game, not to prepare for the next game."

Rivers said so, but he has already started planning for the next game in his heart.

He knew that it might not be so easy to really sweep the opponent.

The referee obviously favored the Blazers on the whistle in the first half. Basically, some fouls that could be blown or not were blown to the Clippers, but the Blazers didn't blow them.

As Rivers expected, at the beginning of the third quarter, the situation began to develop in a direction that was not good for the Clippers.

At the beginning of the third quarter, Li Liang was called a foul in defense.

In this way, he fouled three times, and the defense needs to be more careful throughout the third quarter.

Regarding the deployment of Li Liang's offensive and defensive responsibilities, it is still difficult for Rivers to solve.

The main reason is that Li Liang is too active, and what he provides on the defensive end is too important for the Clippers.

The award for the NBA's best defensive player in the past two days has also been released, and the winner of this award is Joakim Noah.

However, Rivers said "without shame" in an interview, "The title of best defensive player should be given to Bruce Lee."

Although Rivers is suspected of flattering when he said this (the ghost knows why he, a champion coach, wants to flatter a second-year rookie), but on the other hand, it is also because Rivers knows the importance of Li Liang in the Clippers' defense.

The basis for the Clippers to win 70 games is not Li Liang's three-pointers, but Li Liang's ability to fill the vacancy of the forward defense after coming to the Clippers, keeping the team's defense in a stable state.

So Carlisle thought of fouling Li Liang before, getting him into foul trouble and destroying the Clippers' defensive foundation.

Stotts played a few games and finally figured it out. In addition to the referee's face, Li Liang faced a foul problem at the beginning of the second half.

Later, the Blazers took advantage of the fact that Li Liang was troubled by fouls, and began to use outside pick-and-rolls to beat Li Liang.

Batum kept coming out to make walls to mobilize Li Liang, and let Li Liang switch defenses after the pick-and-roll.

As soon as Li Liang switches defenses, Matthews or Lillard will rush forward.

Li Liang knew that he couldn't fight with fouls on his back, so he defended twice, but he was beaten several times in a row by Lillard and Matthews.

Five minutes into the third quarter, the Blazers turned the score 64:70, leading the Clippers by 6 points.

There are no tactical changes in the Blazers' defense, only the attitude has changed.

As for defending this thing, the attitude change is the most immediate.

A throw-in, the Clippers made a mistake, Batum asked Li Liang to get the ball, but Li Liang refused to give it.

Batum came up directly to make physical contact with Li Liang, trying to snatch the ball from Li Liang's hands.

Can Li Liang be snatched by you?

He pushed Batum away with an elbow and handed the ball to the referee.

Batum spread his hands innocently and said "technical foul" to the referee.

"Fuck your technical foul." Li Liang scolded Batum unceremoniously.

The referee ignored it, because the throw-in would have given the ball to the referee first.

There is obviously a smell of gunpowder on both sides.

Li Liang's condition is indeed not good tonight, but he is working hard to adjust.

He feels very average in shooting now, and the defensive end is trapped by fouls and dare not go all out.

The other Clippers players were obviously not used to the Blazers' changed defensive attitude, and they played very chaotically.

The game is completely out of the Clippers' control.

Li Liang thought, he must regain the initiative.

How to find it, start with this Batum.

Li Liang silently took out a piece of [Gary Payton's chewing gum] from the exchange center of the system, put it in his mouth and started chewing.

Don't you want to fight with me? Didn't they always cover and mobilize me and let the backcourt come to train me?

Then we will have an all-round duel to see who is stronger.

In the first few games, Li Liang didn't take Batum to heart at all.

And it's true that Batum's game is better than the game.

Batum played very well in this game, and defending Li Liang is getting better and better. He has come to feel it and get bored.

You are dry, let me remove the fire for you.

The Blazers attack with a throw-in.

When Batum and Li Liang faced each other, why did Li Liang's mouth move?

Chewing gum? But he doesn't seem to have the habit of chewing gum.

Then, Batum heard a series of various curse words flowing from Li Liang's mouth.

It really flows out, and it flows very naturally. If you don't care about the content and only listen to the tone, you will feel that he is chatting with you.

But when I heard the content... all kinds of black slang, slang, and swear words were greeting Batum in strings.

The basketball court is actually very, very noisy.

Whistles, spectator noise, shouting between players, racquets hitting the floor, and the sound of shoes rubbing against the floor.

Playing a game, the eardrums of the players will be tested a lot, especially in the playoffs.

But standing next to Li Liang, Batum felt that Li Liang's trash talk was like a magic voice, which could block out other voices, and just let you listen to those trash talks, and your mind would explode.

Batum just wanted to turn around and tell Li Liang to stop talking, but Matthews passed the ball.

Li Liang intercepted the ball without paying attention to Batum. Li Liang took the ball and rushed forward. Lillard had no choice but to stop Li Liang and fouled.

Li Liang rubbed his mouth, thinking, the feeling of cursing is really refreshing.