one-handed ball

Chapter 274 Christmas Battle
As a popular team in the league, the Timberwolves naturally have a lot of roles in the Christmas game.

The league put the Timberwolves and the Trail Blazers together, making the battle between them the finale of the Christmas game, which is particularly eye-catching.

In the earliest time, it was a game between the Heat and the Knicks.The two teams in the same big city fought in the dusk afternoon.At this time, it was already the early morning of the 26th in Eastern China. Many fans of the two teams got up from their beds to watch the game secretly, or did not fall asleep at all, and kept waiting in front of the TV or computer.

The two teams were not fighting at the same level at all, and the Heat formed a full-court suppression.In the end, he won the game with steady free throws. Wade had 30 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. The Knicks had nothing to do with him.

Then came the Celtics-Magic game, Cavaliers-Lakers, Rockets-Suns.By the time the Timberwolves and the Trail Blazers started playing, BJ's time was already 26:11 am on the 30th.The players of the two teams complained a lot, and Love directly complained about the league's cheating ideas there.

"Why the Christmas game? Wouldn't it be better to go home and eat turkey by the fire? Damn, we're going to Portland for an away game, buy it."

But complaints are complaints. As a member of the league, an ordinary professional player still has this basic quality.Nobody turns down a game because they want to spend the holidays with their families.

Today's attendance in Portland is not high, and even the arrival of the team's mortal enemy can't stimulate the fans.In such a festival, in such cold weather, fans prefer to sit on the sofa at home and watch the game together around the TV.The fans who come to the scene are either nearby or die-hard fans
Players from the two teams fought amidst the complaints.

Roy is in the fourth year of his career, at the age of 25, and his state has reached the peak of his career.Whether it is offensive or defensive, he is impeccable.It's not the first time he and Zheng Ke have fought against each other, and they each have their own victories, but recently, he always loses more than wins.Especially last year's encounter with the Timberwolves in the playoffs, the Timberwolves actually shaved a bald head, which is a very shameful thing.

Roy has always kept it in his heart, he always trains hard, in order to be able to avenge his shame.

But God's will, such a Christmas game, such an important game, the Blazers are short of major generals.Not only Batum and Oden have not yet recovered from serious injuries, but Cunningham, Fernandez and Przybilla are all on the injured list.The team can only use Juwan Howard, a veteran who is about to retire, as the starting center, which is really sad.

On the other hand, on the Timberwolves side, several veterans have returned to health. Iverson and Brad Miller all played with the team. Even Thornton failed to enter the 12-man roster.

One side is old, weak, sick and disabled, and the other side is strong and strong. It seems that the ending has been doomed from the very beginning.

Poor Roy still refused to give up, and the Blazers still played bloody at home, which was what they lacked the most last season.

At the beginning of the first quarter, the Blazers played well under the leadership of Roy. Not only did Andre Miller hit a three-pointer, Roy and Aldridge also hit mid-range jumpers.The score was once ahead of the Timberwolves.

In the middle, after the official suspension.Zheng Ke suddenly started to convulse, and after breaking through twice in a row, he made an emergency stop and hit a jumper, helping the Timberwolves tie the score at 13.Then, relying on his skillful back-up technique, he shook Martel Webster, hit a two-point layup with a low hand, and overtook the score in one fell swoop.

Not to be outdone, Roy faked away from Afflalo and hit consecutive mid-range jumpers.

At the end of the first quarter, the Trail Blazers led the Timberwolves by 26 points 24 to 2. Roy scored 10 points in a single quarter. His state looked surprisingly good.

Billups had a bad hand, and he missed three shots in the first quarter, so that Whitman mentioned to replace him in the first quarter.After the start of the second quarter, Iverson played and partnered with Billups to form a powerful backcourt.Both of them are first-class scorers on the back line, and they began to constantly put pressure on the Blazers' back line after Roy left the field.

Whitman is a complete conspiracy, and McMillan has to be fooled, unless he doesn't want to win the game.Judging from the current situation on the court, the Blazers are still very hopeful of winning.

So not long after, Roy, who had rested for less than 2 minutes, returned to the court again.This is also Whitman's purpose. He hopes to reduce Roy's combat effectiveness through a war of attrition. Once Roy is gone, the Blazers will be equivalent to cutting off their heads. If they want to win again, it will be easy.

Roy really lived up to McMillan's high expectations and hit a three-pointer as soon as he came up, helping the Blazers regain their lead in the score.

Whitman changed players. After 3 minutes, he replaced Billups, Iverson, and new force Lawson and Lowry. The Timberwolves became a super small lineup, but the speed suddenly increased a lot. Brewer , The inside line composed of Gibson can be said to be the smallest and fastest inside line in the NBA.

The Timberwolves' defensive counterattack style instantly turned into a bombardment style. The fast switching speed and smooth switching process made the audience dumbfounded.

With only one player left for the Blazers to rotate inside, such a fast pace is still very exhausting.Despite his youthful vigor, Aldridge was exhausted.At halftime, he felt as if he ran a 5000 with all his strength, and his heart almost jumped out.

"The Blazers are dying. Let's work harder. If we continue to maintain such aggressiveness in the second half, we will be able to win this victory!"

Whitman in the locker room was in high spirits and loudly encouraged the morale of the team.He felt that he was exhausted, so he simply changed his name to "Hui Banxian" in the future.

However, the toughness that has been reflected in the Timberwolves has suddenly been reflected in other teams this time.The Blazers looked almost finished in one breath, but they were still hanging there.Zheng Ke led the Timberwolves soldiers, and finally hit a small climax. Either Roy made a three-pointer to stabilize the situation, or other players stepped forward, so that the seemingly collapsed Kaifeng was able to hang behind the Timberwolves.

On the contrary, Roy's score increased rapidly without knowing it. At the end of the third quarter, he had already scored a high score of 35 points, which greatly boosted the morale of the Blazers and the audience.The audience cheered for the home team, "The Trail Blazers must win, Roy MVP!" "Break record, break record" "40 points~~"

Zheng Ke, on the other hand, seemed a bit tepid, with 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. The flat feeling is another rhythm of getting a triple-double.

Then in the fourth quarter, Billups strained his thigh in a fight and returned to the locker room early.Moreover, seeing the expression on the team doctor's face, Zheng Ke knew that Billups would not play in today's game.It was Lawson who replaced Billups. The reason why Iverson was not used was that Whitman was afraid that he would be injured.The reason for not using Lowry is that Whitman actually appreciates Lawson, who is extremely fast and accurate outside, and thinks that he is more suitable to cooperate with Zheng Ke in positional warfare.

The smell of gunpowder in the fourth quarter of the two teams was a bit strong. Zheng Ke and Roy played the game ahead of schedule, which indicated that the game had entered the decisive stage.When the game was tied at 88, Roy hit a three-pointer from the outside, caused a foul on the inside, and also scored from the basket to assist Aldridge for a dunk, immediately hitting an 8-0 spurt.

"What's going on?"

Whitman was a little flustered, and he was shocked by the resilience of the Blazers.Just like last year's Timberwolves, they have been hanging behind others like this, and then suddenly broke out at the last moment, taking away their opponents.Even if the Lakers and the Rockets fall under this trick, they will also die in the hands of the Timberwolves. Is it true that the Timberwolves will be turned against the generals like this today?
After that, the Blazers Blake made another three-pointer.And once you enter, you enter two in a row.And Zheng Ke finally got excited at the last moment. He hit a three-pointer from the outside and caused damage from the inside, but there was no way to restore the decline.In the end, the Blazers, who were short of major generals, actually won the Timberwolves 105 to 98!

"Young teams just like to be upset." Zheng Ke was not in a particularly bad mood after losing the game. He hugged Roy after the whistle and said jokingly.

"You Timberwolves seem to be very old." Roy scored 43 points, surpassing the 12 points he scored against the Rockets on December 1, becoming his highest score so far this season.

Zheng Ke is not paranoid. Although he has a high desire to win the game, he looks at it rationally.No one wants to lose, but his mood can be adjusted by himself. For him, the top priority now should be to take the Timberwolves special plane and rush back to Minnesota overnight to spend Christmas with his family
(End of this chapter)