NBA: Miracle Workers

Chapter 563 Who is the real tough guy? (Daily chapter)
On the evening of May 2008, 5, the Eastern Conference Finals kicked off again. There were so many exciting scenes during the game that the broadcaster ESPN was "laughing to death."

Perhaps it was Kevin Garnett's pre-game mobilization that worked, coupled with the stimulation from head coach Rivers, the Celtics played hard after the opening.

What was even more outrageous to the sports reporters at the scene was that Rivers once again used a 7-man rotation tonight, and with more than a minute left in the first half, Pierce was still on the court.

The game started at 20:30. Due to frequent free throws by both sides, the rhythm of the game was seriously disrupted by whistles.

"Defense!."

Amid the cheers from the defense, the Celtics had another offensive round. Marbury's physical condition declined significantly, and he began to dribble across half court with his butt sticking out.

The boiling atmosphere in the stadium made the players' movements more obvious. With the help of Perkins' screen near the left baseline, Pierce tried to break free from the defense.

But Artest was chasing closely from behind, and the two reached the three-point line on the left wing almost at the same time.

The referee was on the sideline, and Artest restrained his movements, but when Pierce tried to move forward to set a screen, the latter still stuck to his side.

As the two of them pulled together all the way to the top of the arc, Pierce had to adjust his position to receive the ball. When he got the ball away from the three-point line, Garnett, who was near the baseline on the right, also moved to the upper line to try to set a pick-and-roll.

Marbury began to move to the left corner, but Li You did not stick to his opponent. He stopped near the blocking area, looking ready to assist in defense at any time.

After receiving the ball, Pierce observed the defense and cursed in his heart. If Marbury could find his shooting touch, the offensive space on the court would not become more and more crowded.

"Shh!"

Amid the boos, Artest and Garnett collided with each other while trying to squeeze through the screen. Both of them staggered, but the referee did not make any comment.

Pierce, who pretended to break through on the right side, seized the opportunity and dribbled the ball behind his back. While Artest was still adjusting his center of gravity, he accelerated with all his strength holding the ball in his left hand.

It seemed that he had gotten rid of the defense, but as Li You moved his feet in advance, Pierce, who was moving to the left elbow area, immediately stopped abruptly. He did not pass the ball or force a breakthrough to the basket. When he encountered help defense, he decisively stopped and shot a jump shot!

"Pierce looks a little tired. His two consecutive shots hit the front of the basket. Coach Rivers should probably consider James Posey."

In the commentary booth, Mark Jackson found an excuse for Pierce, whose shooting percentage had dropped. Mike Breen, who was standing nearby, noticed that the rebound was taken by Li You, and smiled and praised again:
"It seems that flying across half the world did not affect Li's physical condition. He looked in great shape tonight and frequently participated in rebounding!"

The Celtics fans who were watching in front of the TV were upset because they were called for a rebound, but they were even more angry because the home team missed the shot. They had obviously rested, so why did they still miss the shot?
Pierce, who was retreating, also had this question. Artest's defense was not completely in place, but he still missed the opportunity to score easily, and a look of regret appeared on his face.

The Knicks' white home jerseys with orange and blue accents are something Marbury had always wanted to wear, but now he finds them an eyesore.

In Marbury's eyes, Li You's showy blue arm guard was just a show, and he didn't feel any respect from his opponent.

"Let's go Knicks!."

Amid the cheers, Marbury started the body-search defense again, stepped forward to confront and then interfered, always maintaining a defensive distance and not giving Li You the opportunity to break through easily.

Amid the booing of fans in the front row, Li You, who was holding the ball in his left hand, simply turned his body sideways, and his ball-protecting hand casually slapped away the opponent's arm. After coming to the left wing, he suddenly stopped, and instantly switched to his right hand after the ball exploded.

Li You in front of him suddenly lowered his center of gravity. Marbury was startled and slid to the left quickly without caring about the movements behind him.

The seemingly successful defense actually suffered a hidden loss. Right in front of the referee, the two collided. Li You twisted his body to protect the ball, and his raised left arm made Marbury gasp.
In the crucial game, Marbury showed his tough guy character. He gritted his teeth and slid to block Li You's lateral movement on the three-point line.

"Damn it!! This is happening right before your eyes!!"

Starting from the first quarter, Rivers complained in almost every round, but the referee still did not respond to the visiting coach who was shouting at the top of his lungs.

Gasol was moving towards the three-point line at this time. When he saw Li You stop, he tacitly did not go for a pick-and-roll, but suddenly turned around and cut into the basket.

Garnett, who was defending, did not react immediately. When he saw the basketball appear from the right side of Li You's body who was facing away from the basket, he instinctively slid and reached out.

The spinning basketball hit the floor and rotated inwards. After bouncing, it fell accurately into Gasol's hands. The latter did not need to adjust and then took advantage of the situation to lay up the ball, which hit the backboard and went into the basket.

39:50, the half-time game entered the last minute, and the Knicks led by double digits again.

"oh!!"

The beautiful assist made the New York fans at the scene cheer loudly. Garnett also showed his tough guy character at this time. He angrily hit the basket frame when serving the ball and stared fiercely at the retreating Spaniard.

"It's time to test the Celtics' willpower! They must hold on to the score in the final moments of the half."

Mark Jackson saw that the "Big Four" were already showing signs of being unable to hold on, and subconsciously encouraged them. Mike Breen saw Ray Allen actively asking for the ball, and immediately exclaimed:
"Determined to break through, Ray Allen responded repeatedly at critical moments tonight."

The simple and crude tactics had a good effect. Ray Allen received a hand-to-hand pass from Perkins in the right elbow area, and immediately drove the ball into the basket with his left hand, causing Chandler to foul.

He directly pulled his opponent down and received his second personal foul before the end of the first half. Chandler was quite satisfied with his performance and handed the ball to the referee with a smile:

"You guys don't have much time! Stop looking at me like that, man."

Garnett glared at Chandler, who responded loudly with his hands on his hips beside the paint area:
"See you in Boston! I've had enough of this."

Garnett was still chattering about the reasons for the lag, and at the same time he was sarcastic about the referee, glaring at him and scolding him. Ray Allen missed the second free throw and Gasol easily protected the rebound.

Li You was very fast from receiving the ball to making a long pass. When the basketball flew across half court and fell into the hands of Raja Bell, the latter had already come to the right wing and quickly made a jump shot after receiving the ball!
"Oh!"

The New York fans at the scene sighed with some regret, the basketball hit the rim and bounced out, and the long rebound was picked up by Pierce who was returning to defense.

The latter wanted to dribble across half court immediately, but Artest blocked the opponent's advancement route, forcing Pierce to stop and dribble behind his back.

Artest, who reacted very quickly, immediately slid sideways. In the scramble, Pierce passed the ball to Marbury who was waiting near the center line.

The slightly hasty pass made Marbury turn around to grab the ball. He had just stretched out his right arm, and the basketball had not yet completely touched his right hand when Li You suddenly accelerated from behind and took the lead to destroy the ball.

Cheers broke out again and the basketball flew towards half court. Marbury tried his best to regain control of the ball before Li You.

But at the same time, Li You started faster, started later but arrived first, and squeezed past the opponent. Marbury still did not give up on defense and continued to chase him. In the blink of an eye, the two were close to the three-point line.

At the top of the arc, Li You did not stop. He ignored the pull from behind and continued to accelerate while leading the ball forward. The two of them moved so fast that Mike Breen in the commentary booth only had time to exclaim:
"God! Marbury made a brave defensive choice!"

"."

Chasing the ball in the paint area, Li You took a step forward, but Marbury, who was defending him, did not give up and tried to hang on him.

He wanted to knock his opponent out of the baseline, but he was a little too slow. Marbury's chin and shoulder collided first, his face instantly deformed, and he completely lost his balance and fell sideways in front of Li You. In a flash, the baseline referee was stunned when he saw the basketball hit the backboard and fell into the net.

Madison Square Garden was boiling again at this moment. The frequent confrontations made the New York fans excited, and everyone was cheering excitedly.

Rivers on the sidelines was so angry that he jumped up and down. Marbury's lip was cut by his teeth after hitting his chin. He was lying on the floor with blood in his mouth. However, the referee was indifferent:
"This is murder! Are you blind?"

The assistant coach failed to stop the furious Rivers, who rushed to the sides referee and yelled loudly, but all he got was a technical foul. The referee made a penalty and the Knicks were awarded another technical foul free throw.

The head coach took the lead in the charge. Garnett saw his teammates surrounded by staff, and he also rushed towards Li You with his eyes wide open.

Unfortunately, the Celtics had a "ghost". Ray Allen stopped the other party, frowned and said loudly:

"Calm down! Do you want to be sent off?"

As the defensive core of the team, the Celtics were protecting Garnett. If he was fouled out, the game would be over. Without defense, no one could be a match for New York in offense.

Ray Allen thought it would take some effort, but he didn't expect Garnett to stop after being pulled, curse angrily, and join in the verbal attack at the top of his voice.

When Li You took the free throw, the verbal battle between Pierce and Artest turned into a shoving match.

The pre-game mobilization still worked. Pierce pulled and yelled at Artest:

"F*ck! Basketball doesn't lie."

"You're going to get the shit beat out of you! You're just a piece of shit that only takes shortcuts!"

Artest, who was pulled away by the referee, continued to shout loudly. He hadn't played such a game for a long time and had no touch. He missed many shots in the first half and was very angry.

The cheers in the arena were getting louder and louder. Even though the game was not smooth and there were always free throws, it was still a good experience to watch it once in a while. Seeing the opponent get into trouble made the New York fans even happier.

40:54, Li You scored the free throw. After scoring 4 points, his personal data became more and more impressive.

There was little time left in the first half, and Li You thought Marbury would choose to rest, but he didn't expect that he put tape on his mouth and continued to play.

"Good job, man! A lot of guys don't get to experience what it's like to be in the playoffs here!"

Near the baseline, Li You took the initiative to talk to Marbury for the first time in this game. He smiled and encouraged him. Seeing that Marbury was glaring at him, he added:

"You should be happy, because tomorrow's newspapers will be full of news about you!"

"Fa! You took everything from me!"

Marbury's swollen lips made it difficult for him to speak clearly. He didn't expect the game to turn out like this. He was so angry that his eyes turned red and he involuntarily increased his strength when dribbling.

Li You failed to understand the opponent's logic for a moment, but when he saw Marbury charging headlong, he immediately cooperated with the opponent's sliding step.

According to the previous tactics, Marbury should have passed the ball immediately after half court, but there was little time left in the half, and coupled with the big loss he had suffered, he completely forgot about the tactics for a moment.

Leaning against the defense, he suddenly stopped and then lowered his center of gravity, quickly in and out with his right hand, Marbury pushed the ball outward, and then instantly completed an early change of direction.

He turned his body sideways, tried to lower his shoulders to speed up, then switched to his left hand and tried to force his way through, but was hit by Li Youhou who adjusted his center of gravity, and the two collided again.

Perkins, who came to the line, watched his teammate crash into Li You's arms. Just as he rushed across the top of the arc and the three-point line, Marbury stopped. After the collision, Li You first cut the ball and then directly grabbed the ball.

Perkins wanted to go over to help, but he didn't expect Li You to pull the ball out of Marbury's arms, causing his teammate to stagger and stop subconsciously.

Perkins vaguely saw that the basketball in Li You's hand seemed to be dented, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his dark face:

"What the hell."

"squeak!!"

The referee blew the whistle continuously, and the three rushed over to separate the two. Only the fans at the scene were still cheering loudly, and some people who were just there for fun even yelled and cursed, complaining that the referee had ruined the show.

Noticing that it was a scramble for the ball, it was D'Antoni's turn to complain. On the Knicks bench, the atmosphere team also followed the head coach in making noises, and the fully engaged mustache also shouted at the top of his voice:

"You ruined a great steal and counterattack!"

The loosened standards of the refereeing were intended to create opportunities for the Celtics and increase ratings, but the referee did not expect it to have the opposite effect. The Knicks' scoring efficiency dropped and their opponents simply fell apart.

Fortunately, the first half of the game was about to end, and several referees discussed it and appeased the coaches of both sides. They did not change the decision and maintained the penalty for the ball dispute.

The players from both sides crowded around the free throw line in the half court, and the arena became relatively quiet. Li You took a stance, and while the referee was about to throw the ball, he praised his opponent again:

“Man, you’re a real tough guy, but you’re not cut out to play in New York!”

“Only winners are welcome here. I helped you and Kevin reunite. Maybe you should thank me.”

Steve Jarvy, who was about to throw the ball, heard something vaguely and almost laughed out loud. Marbury wanted to respond, but Li You suddenly feinted and he jumped up subconsciously.

The laughter got louder, and when the referee threw the ball into the air, Marbury was obviously half a beat slow, and Li You easily passed the ball to his teammate.

Laughter, yelling, cheering, the atmosphere in Madison Square Garden became crazy. The inflated New York fans were more enthusiastic than the Boston fans who had been silent for many years. Unfortunately, most of the players could not feel it.

Marbury, who has thoroughly experienced the atmosphere of the New York playoffs, has completely broken down. At this moment, he feels like a clown, constantly being teased and hurt by Li You, and the referees are all "accomplices."

Without waiting for half court, Marbury pounced on the ball like a hungry tiger. Li You, who reacted very quickly, seemed to have been prepared and also pushed the ball and changed direction.

The referee was still pacing when Marbury was knocked to the ground by Li You again. The whistle sounded again, and the players from both sides rushed over and pushed each other.
Garnett rushed forward the most fiercely, but was gradually pulled back by his teammates. Perhaps his angry shouting worked, and the referee called fouls on both sides, and the head coaches of both sides started to make substitutions at the same time.

Li You walked towards the bench with a smile on his face and clapped his hands repeatedly. Some excited New York fans stood up and shouted loudly:
"MVP! MVP! MVP!"

On the other side, Marbury, who was helped by his teammates to the bench, felt pain all over his body. He had been gradually at a disadvantage since his leg injury, and was "elbowed" to the point of doubting his life.
Marbury took a few painful breaths as he returned to his seat. When the team doctor lifted his jersey, Glen Davis stared at him. There seemed to be some swelling in his ribs:

"God! You're such a tough guy!"

"."

(End of this chapter)