Reborn in 96, I started by taking charge of the Dallas Mavericks.

The Eastern Conference Finals began the day after the Western Conference Finals concluded.

After a hard-fought four quarters, the Knicks surprisingly won yet another game on the road.

The Knicks defeated the Pacers 93-90 on the road, winning Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

In this game, Patrick Ewing played 40 minutes and recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Allan Houston led the team with 19 points, Larry Johnson added 15, and Latrell Sprewell, coming off the bench, contributed 16 points, becoming a key contributor to the Knicks' victory.

On the other side, the Pacers.

Reggie Miller also scored a game-high 19 points, along with 5 rebounds and 3 assists.

Rick Schmitz scored 12 points, while Dale Davis contributed 10.

Antonio Davis, who came off the bench, scored the second-highest points for the team with 17.

at the post-match press conference.

Reggie Miller took the blame for the loss upon himself.

"The responsibility for tonight's loss lies with me. If I had made just one more three-pointer, we would have won."

Reggie Miller didn't have a good shooting touch from beyond the arc tonight, and he didn't take many shots.

He only attempted 4 three-pointers throughout the game, making only 1, for a dismal 25% success rate.

Apart from Reggie Miller, the Pacers' other three-point shooters were also ineffective.

The team made only 3 of 9 three-point attempts, for a 33.3% success rate.

The Pacers are a team that relies heavily on three-pointers; if they can't get their three-pointers going, losing becomes inevitable.

On the contrary, the Knicks were incredibly accurate from three-point range tonight, making 6 out of 12 three-point attempts for a 50% success rate.

This was also the key to their victory.

However, the series has only just begun, and the Pacers still have a chance.

……

US time.

5 month 31 day.

Dallas, Eastern Dragons Arena.

Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals between the Kirin and the Spurs was once again held in this arena.

The starting lineups for both teams remained largely unchanged from the previous match.

Yao Ming helped the Qilin team win the jump ball, setting the stage for the game.

After receiving the ball, Nash passed it to Kobe.

Kobe received the ball and immediately launched a fast break without hesitation.

In the last game, the Spurs used the league, but it had little effect.

So in this game, they didn't use zone defense, but instead switched to man-to-man defense.

Championship-winning guard Mario Elie guards Kobe.

This is also an old rival. Kobe faced off against Mario Elie in his first season in the playoffs.

As before, Mario Elie simply couldn't stop Kobe, and he was easily beaten.

Duncan wanted to help defend, but he was powerless to do so.

David Robinson jumped for the ball with Yao Ming today. He was just heading back when Kobe Bryant had already driven into the Spurs' paint.

After Kobe got past Mario Elie, he drove straight up for a layup over Duncan's defense and scored!

2:0

Kobe used his unparalleled speed and dribbling skills to instantly break through the Spurs' defense.

In the last game, the Qilin team defeated the Spurs with a three-pointer.

In this game, the Spurs changed their defensive tactics, but the Kirin team brought out a new weapon.

"Kobe was full of energy from the start, it seems he's in good form tonight, and perhaps we'll witness another high-scoring night!"

"In the last game, the Spurs used what the league wanted to limit the Kirin's offense, but it had little effect. The Kirin broke through their defense with three-pointers. So today they switched to man-to-man defense. Although the adjustment was very timely, I want to say that the Kirin's ability to attack from every position is very strong."

No sooner had ESPN commentator Mike Breen finished speaking than Nash made another steal and immediately sprang into action.

After Kobe scored at the start of the game, Iverson dribbled the ball across half-court, intending to drive to the basket himself.

As a result, the Qilin team actually used a zone defense in this game.

After Iverson drove in, the Qilin team immediately collapsed, with three players ganging up on Iverson.

Iverson made a passing error, which was intercepted by Nash, and the Qilin team immediately launched a fast break.

After Nash dribbled the ball across half-court and attracted Iverson's attention, he made a no-look pass behind his head to Kobe, who was following up.

Kobe took off with the ball and unleashed a tomahawk dunk that ignited the entire arena!

The entire stadium erupted in cheers for MVP!

4:0

The Spurs are on offense.

Iverson dribbled the ball across half-court, and Kobe personally stepped up to closely guard him!

After using a zone defense once, the Qilin team changed their defensive formation again.

This is the kind of change Chen Fang demands: to keep your opponents guessing forever.

Iverson was the Spurs' strongest offensive weapon on the perimeter, while Nash's defense was always a bit lacking.

Therefore, Chen Fang had Kobe Bryant personally guard Iverson.

He did the same thing in the last game, which is why he was able to lock down Iverson.

Of course, it wasn't just Iverson who faced such intense defensive pressure; other positions on the Spurs team also faced significant defensive pressure.

As a shooting guard/swingman, McGrady can not only defend his own defender one-on-one, but also assist his teammates in help defense.

In the paint, Yao Ming has grown rapidly after the series against the Lakers, and now he has completely dominated David Robinson.

If there's one defensive weakness on the Qilin team's court, it's the power forward position, but that's only relative.

Chen Fang was willing to let Duncan handle the ball and attack, because Duncan alone couldn't defeat the Qilin team.

The last game proved this point. He was worried about Duncan and Iverson working together, and worried that Iverson would go on a scoring spree!

Because Iverson was capable of scoring fifty or sixty points in a single game.

After Iverson dribbled the ball up the court, he passed it to Duncan, who then backed down Nowitzki.

Duncan has always been the most consistent player on the Spurs, so giving him the ball is always a safe bet.

Moreover, Duncan's matchup against Nowitzki is one of the Spurs' biggest advantages.

Unfortunately, Duncan missed the shot due to Nowitzki's interference.

After Yao Ming secured the rebound in the backcourt, he immediately passed the ball to Kobe Bryant, who was making a fast break.

Kobe dribbled the ball up the court quickly, with Iverson hot on his heels.

Kobe glanced at Iverson's position out of the corner of his eye as he walked, then suddenly stopped abruptly beyond the three-point line and pulled up for a shot!

"Shh!"

Hand up and down!

Three point hit!

7:0

"Beep beep beep!"

After being down 0-7 at the start, Popovich immediately called a timeout.

Kobe was on fire tonight, scoring 7 points in a row to start the game.

This forced Popovich to take it seriously.

You have to understand that when Kobe gets into a frenzy, he can score 80+ points in a single game, and he has to suppress Kobe's hot streak.

"So what if they changed their defensive strategy? The Kirin team can score too easily. If they can't contain Kobe, the Spurs have absolutely no chance of winning."

"But even if they manage to contain Kobe, so what? The Qilin team still has McGrady, Yao Ming, and Nowitzki. The Spurs can contain one player, but can they contain four at the same time?"

"That's the advantage of having multiple players contributing to the team's offense, because you never know who will step up and score!"

On the sidelines, in the CCTV sports commentary booth, Zhang Heli spoke rapidly, like a machine gun.