boyutpedia Chapter 278 The highest-scoring night of the game! A double-overtime scoring feast!
Chapter 278 The highest-scoring night of the game! A double-overtime scoring feast!
Chapter 278 The highest-scoring night of the game! A double-overtime scoring feast!
Without Lin Tian's all-around targeting, Stoudemire was like a fish swimming in the sea or a tiger returning to the mountain, completely unleashing his potential. He immediately broke through Buckner's defense, forcefully using his speed to penetrate the paint, and then, over Davis, launched a high-arc bank shot to score the first basket of the fourth quarter!
The score is tied once again!
Buckner was outpaced by Stoudemire's speed, but he wasn't worried at all. He calmly dribbled the ball up the court, then turned his back to Stoudemire. He wasn't trying to force his way in like Lin Tian, but rather, after finding an opportunity, he passed the ball to Carter!
Carter received the ball and faced the still formidable Pippen. After dribbling for a while, he couldn't find a good shooting rhythm and was instead entangled in Pippen's defense, making things difficult for him. In the end, he had no choice but to pass the ball to Miller on the wing.
Miller received the ball but couldn't shake off Wells' defense, and with little time left on the shot clock, he had no choice but to pull up for a shot!
Unfortunately, his performance this season has clearly declined, and he failed to score on that shot!
Rasheed grabbed the rebound, glanced at it, and quickly threw the ball to the frontcourt. Stoudemire received the ball and accelerated wildly all the way to the basket. Despite Buckner's defense, he forced a layup and scored again!
At the same time, the referee's whistle blew, and Buckner lost control of his movements while defending and hit Stoudemire!
The Trail Blazers started the fourth quarter with great momentum, scoring two consecutive baskets!
On the sidelines, Bird remained unhurried, casually watching Webber, who was eager to get on the court, and said, "No rush, it's not time yet, there are still 11 minutes left in the game!"
Upon hearing Bird's words, Weber nodded and sat down next to Lin Tian again. Compared to the anxious Weber, Lin Tian was very relaxed at the moment, drinking his beverage with a carefree expression.
After Stoudemire made his free throw, Carter finally drove into the paint and forced his way into the basket for two points.
But those 2 points are clearly not enough! The Pacers' mixed lineup of starters and substitutes is obviously no match for the Trail Blazers' highly targeted starting lineup!
The Trail Blazers used Pippen, one of the league's top perimeter defenders, to single-handedly contain Carter, preventing him from launching any continuous individual attacks. At the same time, they used Wells, a very heavy tank-like perimeter player, to guard the slender Miller. This not only made Miller very uncomfortable on the perimeter, but Miller also couldn't withstand Wells' bull-like strong attacks on the defensive end.
Stadamel is the same. When facing Lin Tian, he is a cute little hamster, but when facing Buckner, he turns into a Martian rat and chases after Buckner to beat him up!
In addition, the Trail Blazers' two big men, Rasheed and Schrempf, both have excellent shooting abilities, which means that Ben Wallace and Davis cannot stay in the paint and must frequently rush out to defend the opponent's interior.
This caused the Pacers' original advantage in the paint and rim protection to disappear, making it impossible for them to properly protect the rim and grab defensive rebounds!
Under these circumstances, the score naturally widened rapidly. The Trail Blazers' offense was effortless, with a very high success rate and scoring efficiency!
If Miller hadn't found an opportunity to hit a three-pointer, and if Buckner hadn't also scored a layup off a screen, the Pacers would probably have been completely outmatched!
Even so, the Pacers' bench lineup was putting up a very tough fight!
Five minutes into the fourth quarter, the score was 140-131!
The Trail Blazers outscored the Pacers 18-7 in just 5 minutes, demonstrating just how incredible their offensive firepower is and how well they're playing tonight!
Especially at this point in the game, the score has been skyrocketing towards a number that fans have never seen before. There are still 7 minutes left in the fourth quarter, but the two teams have already scored nearly 300 points combined! This number is already more than, if not more than, many All-Star games!
Tonight, these two teams are clearly going to break quite a few records.
At this point, the game finally entered a pause! Both coaches began to reorganize their lineups once again.
"Finally a timeout! Larry's got real patience! He held back until there were only 7 minutes left in the game, and we were down by 9 points, before putting Lin and Chris on the court!" Kenny said immediately after the timeout. "Larry's substitution was incredibly bold! He dared to hold off the team's absolute core players until this point!"
"I really don't know whether to praise him or say he's too arrogant."
"Of course we're criticizing him for being too pretentious!" Barkley was different from Kenny; he didn't give Bird any face and didn't care whether his words were appropriate or not. He said directly, "This guy wants to learn from Phil Jackson, but the 'Zen Master' is not easy to learn. If you don't learn it well, you'll be ridiculed by everyone."
"Honestly, if I weren't a former Pacers player, I'd be really hoping the Pacers lose right now, because I love seeing Larry make a fool of himself! That's a rare sight!"
"I know what Larry is trying to do. He wants to conserve energy and launch a counterattack later, but it's the fourth quarter now, and the Trail Blazers aren't some pushover team. This kind of strategy could easily backfire! In short, no matter what, Larry's substitution strategy is too conservative!"
"So Charles, if we disregard your status as a Pacers player, you think the Pacers are doomed to lose tonight, and that they lost because of Larry Bird, right?" Kenny grinned mischievously, setting a trap for Barkley once again.
"Come on, Kenny, I wouldn't have fallen for your tricks 20 years ago!" Barkley scoffed. "But I'm willing to answer your question."
"If the Pacers lose tonight, the biggest problem will be Larry Bird. But if you ask me who will win tonight, I'll still vote for the Pacers! Because even with that idiot Larry dragging them down, the Pacers still have Lin! He can ignore Larry's poor performance and still lead the team to victory!"
"He's the best player in the league! Without a doubt!"
Barkley was excitedly bashing Bird on TV, his words dripping with personal grudges, while Bird, in front of the coaching bench, remained relaxed: "Lin, Chris, it's your turn. Doug, Chris, damn it, not you, it's another Chris, f***ing! Two Chrises, you two go!"
"Except for Ben, the other four of you come down and rest, understand? Let those damn Portlanders see our real firepower! And, here's our strategy, Doug, you get..."
"Alright, do you all understand?"
"clear!"
After Bird gave the order, the five Pacers players walked onto the court side by side!
On the Trail Blazers' side, they acquired Schrempf and Wells, bringing back their starting lineup!
For the Pacers: Lin Tian, Mullin, Christie, Webber, and Ben Wallace!
For the Trail Blazers: Stoudemire, Smith, Pippen, Rasheed, Sabonis!
The duel between the two sides has escalated once again!
The Pacers had possession of the ball in the first possession. Lin Tian calmly made his way to the frontcourt with the ball. Judging from his expression, he didn't seem anxious at all, given that his team was already down by 9 points. Instead, he seemed extremely relaxed.
Just as Stoudemire, who was defending him, was about to utter a few trash words to provoke Lin Tian, he felt a sudden darkness around him as Webber's screen arrived! Stoudemire collided with Webber with a 'thud.' Webber's arrival was so sudden that Stoudemire not only failed to get around the screen, but he almost bit off his own tongue!
Lin Tian bypassed Webber and was about to launch an attack when he found that Rasheed had already opened his arms and rushed over to stop his attack. But Lin Tian seemed to be completely blind to this 210-centimeter giant. He just stood there and took a shot from beyond the three-point line, directly with Rasheed's defense!
Rashid, tall and long-armed, stared at Lin Tian in disbelief. He couldn't believe that someone would dare to shoot right in front of his block!
Even though this was Lin Tian, whom Rashid respected very much, Rashid wouldn't be polite to him. He jumped up and was about to use all his strength to block Lin Tian's shot!
But just as he jumped up, he saw the basketball go through his legs incredulously!
Then Webber, relentlessly sprinting towards the paint, overpowered Stoudemire, leaving Stoudemire swaying precariously and helpless against the giant's onslaught.
Webber grabbed Lin Tian's pass and was already outside the three-second zone. Before Sabonis could rush up, he pulled up and, with a one-handed floater, threw the ball into the basket!
As for Stadamel...
Who cares?
Anyway, when Webber was on offense, he didn't even look at Stoudemire. The short guy couldn't even hit his head when he jumped, so Webber couldn't be bothered to care where he was when he was on offense!
He can even hide his own secret? Why doesn't he just fly to the moon?
The entire Conseco Arena erupted in gasps of surprise at this moment! Because many people hadn't even seen how Lin Tian passed the ball to Webber.
It wasn't until the big screen at the scene started replaying the footage that they saw Lin Tian's fancy move of waiting for Rashid to jump before bouncing the ball between his legs and passing it to him.
Full of imagination!
Our forest always brings us unexpected surprises!
After suffering a setback, Stoudemire became more steady and cautious when advancing the ball. The arrogance he had shown when chasing Buckner disappeared immediately. He carefully dribbled the ball across the frontcourt and then immediately passed it to Pippen to organize the offense!
Stoudemire has truly been traumatized by Lin Tian over the past two years.
So much so that they've learned from experience that as long as they don't make trouble for themselves, they won't get blown out of control!
At least they won't end up like those idiots who deliberately provoked Lin Tian, getting beaten to a pulp.
The right strategy is to seize the opportunity when Lin Tian is not around, and to keep a low profile when he is around!
After receiving the ball, Pippen quickly moved laterally and then passed it to Sabonis in the paint.
Pippen, being a seasoned veteran, knows all too well which positions on the court have an advantage and which positions should be attacked!
Take Sabonis for example. This old guy is in good form tonight, already scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. He's just come on the court and is at his most energetic. Plus, he's being guarded by Webber, who doesn't know how to defend. Giving him the ball right now is definitely the right thing to do!
Once Sabonis runs out of energy or the Pacers find a way to counter him, this spot will be useless!
Sabonis had just received the basketball and wiggled left and right to test Webber's defense. He was very pleased to find that Webber's defense was the same as it had been in the first three quarters.
It's as soft as baby toilet paper!
It breaks easily!
So Sabonis immediately put down the basketball and prepared to launch a powerful attack!
But he only dribbled the ball once, and then he could never get his own basketball again!
Christie is here!
This cunning guy found Sabonis's blind spot, cut in from the flank, and quietly came to Sabonis's side, just waiting for him to dribble the ball before pouncing on him!
This was also the first key tactic Bird devised: double-team Sabonis!
Bird knew that the Trail Blazers would definitely attack their advantage after the timeout. Although Sabonis's skills, footwork and height were impeccable, he was 36 years old after all, and his whole body, especially his knees, had suffered countless injuries.
Simply put, this big center can't bend over! As long as he dribbles, and as long as Christie chooses the right moment, he can easily cause serious trouble for Sabonis, making it impossible for Sabonis to play one-on-one with ease.
"Snapped!"
With a crisp sound, Christie attacked from below, slapping Sabonis's ball. The big guy seemed incredibly clumsy at this moment, unable to bend down to fight for or grab the basketball.
They could only watch helplessly as Christie took the ball away.
"Lin!" Christie roared after getting the ball and threw it forward without thinking!
He trusts Lin Tian!
Lin Tian certainly wouldn't disappoint Christie. The basketball first bounced on the floor at the center circle. At that moment, Lin Tian and Stoudemire were almost side by side, running parallel to each other from outside the three-point line towards the frontcourt.
When the basketball flew to the Trail Blazers' half-court three-point line, Lin Tian had already rushed past midcourt, while Stoudemire stood about 2 meters behind Lin Tian with a shocked expression.
In just a few steps, Lin Tian completely widened the gap between them!
This is unbelievable for Stoudemire, who has always been proud of his speed and is known as one of the top three fastest players in the NBA!
He knew he wasn't as fast as Lin Tian, but he never imagined that the difference in their speeds would be so great!
By the time Stoudemire unleashed his full speed and sprinted to the three-point line, Lin Tian had already caught the basketball that looked like it was about to go down, and then took a big step and once again glided and slammed it home!
When Lin Tian landed, Stoudemire had just reached the edge of the 3-second zone. The difference in speed between the two was simply enormous!
"You're running too slowly, Damon! Give it your all!" After landing, Lin Tian saw Stoudemire's expression and knew what the guy was thinking, so he immediately offered him a warm and innocent blessing.
This is impossible!
Stoudemire, who had been keeping his head down for most of the game, still couldn't believe that Lin Tian was so much faster than him. Although the two had entered the league in the same year and had faced off many times, he just couldn't believe that Lin Tian could be so much faster this time!
So this time, Stoudemire quickly advanced to the frontcourt, waved his hand, and called for an isolation tactic. He wanted to challenge Lin Tian to a one-on-one duel to see if his speed was fast enough!
Something must have happened just now!
"I thought you weren't planning on being a man tonight," Lin Tian said sarcastically, lowering his weight. "But I have to say, sometimes hiding your tail isn't necessarily wrong! Damon, you'd better remember this round forever. This round was the worst choice you ever made!"
"Shut up!" After all, he was a prodigy who had won Rookie of the Year. After cursing, Stoudemire changed the position of the basketball between his legs. Then, suddenly, the rhythm changed. Stoudemire dribbled the basketball from the left to the right with great effort. This time, he used more force, and the basketball bounced further, which also meant that he dribbled with a wider range of motion!
Then he shot out like a rocket, rushing off to the right!
"Whoosh!"
Many people at the scene even heard a whooshing sound, which shows how fast Stoudemire's ball, filled with grief and indignation, was!
This was absolutely the fastest he had ever gone in his life, since the first time he walked into a room with a girl at a high school dance!
Standamer was full of confidence, feeling that he had definitely left Lin Tian far behind!
He charged toward the basket with all his might, then raised his hand to finish the attack with a layup.
"Snapped!"
But just as he released the ball, someone rushed to his position behind him and slapped it against the backboard!
Lin Tian!
After delivering a powerful block to Stoudemire, Lin Tian quickly regained complete control of the ball with one hand in mid-air. Upon landing, Lin Tian had already turned around and charged towards the frontcourt without even glancing at Stoudemire!
Lin Tian's speed is still terrifyingly fast!
This time, Stoudemire didn't even continue to pursue relentlessly; it was Pippen who stood in front of Lin Tian!
"Come on, Lin! Let me see how much you've improved in the last two years!" Pippen was on high alert, lowering his center of gravity and spreading his long arms, which terrified the entire NBA, wide open, almost like he was covering the sky!
Facing Pippen's defense, Lin Tian suddenly accelerated and charged forward, forcefully breaking through from Pippen's right side!
When Pippen reached a parallel position with Lin Tian, he quickly moved to the side. But before he could even move, Lin Tian suddenly took another step back, pulled the ball back, and stepped back from the three-point line again!
Lin Tian's movement was incredibly fast and the amplitude was astonishing! In addition, Pippen was focused on defense, and he was caught off guard by Lin Tian's faked move!
If he hadn't reacted quickly enough and braced himself on the floor with one hand, he would have really suffered a great loss and been knocked down by Lin Tian on the spot!
Even so, he was just not knocked over!
Lin Tian had already launched his three-pointer, while Pippen was supporting himself on the ground with one hand, looking utterly disheveled!
The reporters on the sidelines snapped photos incessantly, their flashes going off like crazy, before the basketball, spinning wildly, swished and flew into the basket!
7: 0!
After the timeout, the Pacers went on a 7-0 run, narrowing the gap to 2 points!
That's Bird's confidence!
With a group of players like this, especially Lin Tian in the team, a mere 9 points is nothing!
He was confident he could limit Lin Tian and the others' playing time to the last seven minutes! "My roster is deep enough, my scoring ability is strong enough, that's how arrogant I am!"
Dunleavy on the other side quickly called a timeout, wanting to properly plan the next attack.
On the Pacers' side, Bird remained incredibly calm. He brought back Carter and Miller, and removed Ben Wallace and Mullin. The most powerful and terrifying small-ball lineup in the entire league was back in action!
"Dry them to death!"
As for the tactical arrangements, Bird had already given most of the instructions during the last timeout. Now, all he needs to do is encourage the players and get them ready to crush the Trail Blazers!
The Trail Blazers didn't make any substitutions; their starting five remained on the court.
On their first possession after the timeout, the Trail Blazers passed the ball to Pippen, who now seems to be the team's leader. Pippen, holding the basketball, didn't play any tricks against Christie. He relied on his height, wingspan, and strength to force his way into the paint and then scored 2 points with a layup over Webber!
They're using their talent to bully you, Christie, because you're not big enough, and they're using their tough layups to bully you, Webber, because you don't have rim protection!
Pippen's attack this time was very calm and correct!
In the next few minutes, the two sides were once again locked in a fierce battle and a back-and-forth struggle, with the score difference fluctuating within 5 points.
The Pacers narrowed the gap to 2 points or even 1 point several times, but the Trail Blazers always managed to widen the gap again, maintaining a very slight lead.
With two minutes remaining in the game, the Trail Blazers still held a four-point lead!
This time, it was Lin Tian's turn to dribble and advance the ball!
"Lin! That's enough!" Bird finally stood up from the sidelines, yelled at Lin Tian, and then sat back down on the bench.
Upon hearing Bird's roar, Lin Tian immediately turned halfway around to block Stoudemire, and after shoving him twice, he easily gained a shooting space. Then, with a quick turn and shot, the basketball slid into the basket again!
"Steve! Switch!" Dunleavy had anticipated that the Pacers would use Lin Tian's height to bully Stoudemire, so he quickly responded by having the 201cm Smith guard Lin Tian, preventing Lin Tian from taking advantage of his height.
During the Trail Blazers' offense, Smith kept looking for screens from his teammates, running tirelessly, and then grabbing the basketball near the free-throw line and pulling it up to shoot!
With a crisp "swish!", Smith's mid-range shot went in again!
The point difference has become 4 points again!
When Lin Tian saw that Smith had become his defender during the Pacers' offense, he wasn't surprised at all. This was a normal adjustment that any coach would make at the last moment!
But can you, Dunleavy, make any adjustments next?
After Lin Tian arrived at the frontcourt, he slapped his head, and Webber, the center, immediately rushed over to screen for him.
This cover exposed Sabonis directly to Lin Tian!
After Lin Tian glanced at the old guy and realized that he wasn't going to rush to the area above the free throw line, he immediately gathered the ball, jumped, and decisively took another three-point shot!
"Whoosh!!"
The difference is only 1 point!
Lin Tian didn't rush to celebrate. Instead, he looked at Dunleavy on the sidelines with a provocative expression, raised his hands, spread them out at his sides, and gave him a smug look that said, "I'm so accurate, there's nothing I can do about it."
Dunleavy muttered a curse under his breath, but honestly, he didn't know what to do.
Should we send Sabonis out to defend Lin Tian's shot?
What's the difference between that and letting Sabonis die? Lin Tian could easily dribble past Sabonis with just his thighs.
Bringing in Schrempf? That's no different from sending Schrempf to his death. Schrempf's current speed and ability to defend smaller players are only slightly better than Sabonis on the Trail Blazers.
Bring on Grant? What's the difference between that and giving up the game? Grant is not only unlikely to keep up with Lin Tian, but he could also cause the Trail Blazers to lose their chance to compete with the Pacers on offense!
With that thought in mind, Dunleavy had no choice but to yell from the sidelines, "Steve, squeeze through the screen! Be more aggressive! Don't let Lin face Avidas so easily!"
Well, apart from relying on Smith's defensive abilities, Dunleavy found himself with no other choice!
Fortunately, although Sabonis was targeted by Lin Tian on the defensive end, he still made contributions on the offensive end despite being a 221cm tall man!
Rasheed missed his shot, Sabonis stretched out his long arm, grabbed the offensive rebound under Webber's head, and then tipped the ball into the basket!
The Trail Blazers' lead has been reduced to 3 points!
There are 1 minute and 30 seconds left in the game!
Lin Tian continued to push forward!
This time, Lin Tian stopped again outside the three-point line, just like before!
Smith defended him, and he called for a screen. Although Smith went for the rebound very aggressively, Webber, who had just lost a rebound, was not easy to deal with. The collision between the two made a dull thud! But in the end, Smith couldn't get past Webber, giving Lin Tian another chance for a 3-pointer.
"Aren't you coming out, Arvidas?" Lin Tian looked at Sabonis, who was huddled below the free-throw line, and raised his hand to shoot again!
"Whoosh!"
A second consecutive three-pointer hits! The score is tied!
161: 161!
The total score for both teams tonight has reached an astonishing 322 points!
Well... of course, it's still quite a distance from the NBA record.
The Nuggets and Pistons battled to a score of 184-186 in 1982!
Rasheed then made another shot, and Lin Tian once again used a pick-and-roll to target Sabonis during the offensive play.
This time, Sabonis still didn't come out, but Pippen couldn't stand it anymore and rushed over to help defend Lin Tian.
Lin Tian was waiting for this! He made a quick behind-the-back pass, and the basketball landed in Carter's hands, who was left wide open. Carter then made a swift and decisive three-pointer!
"Whoosh!"
Still a tie!
There are only 30 seconds left!
The Trail Blazers' offense pushed the 24-second shot clock to the very end, and with 3 seconds left, Pippen forced a 2-pointer over Carter's defense!
They gave the Pacers nine seconds to attack!
Bird called a timeout and laid out a tactic.
Then, when the Pacers inbounded the ball, Lin Tian quickly rose and caught the basketball.
He didn't rush to attack; his calm demeanor didn't seem like the Pacers were down by two points at all, but rather like the Pacers were in the lead!
As time rapidly passed, in the final 5 seconds, Lin Tian suddenly initiated a breakthrough!
Smith had clearly received a firm order from Dunleavy. He gritted his teeth and stuck close to Lin Tian, preventing him from shooting from beyond the three-point line!
Seeing the Trail Blazers' all-out effort to block the three-point line, Lin Tian immediately changed his tactics. He suddenly lowered his head and accelerated, driving straight into the three-point line. Then, once again, he faced Sabonis and launched a high-arcing shot from the edge of the three-second zone!
The basketball swished through the net and the final whistle blew almost simultaneously!
166: 166!
The two sides tied in regulation time!
The game has gone into overtime!
Lin Tian scored a crucial equalizer, securing the victory for his team and protecting Indiana's Christmas gift tonight!
"That's amazing! Overtime! Overtime!" Barkley roared excitedly. "I think this is absolutely what all the fans have been waiting for! This kind of exciting back-and-forth battle should never end!"
Kenny added with a laugh, "These two teams are not far from the legendary 184-186 score between the Pistons and Nuggets back in the day! Judging by their performance tonight, I think an overtime game might be enough for them to break that record!"
"Tonight, we might just witness the birth of entirely new history!"
No one dislikes witnessing a live record being made! In the few minutes leading up to the start of overtime, Indiana fans erupted in a frenzy of roars! The volume of their shouts didn't sound like they'd already watched the entire game; it was more like they'd just walked onto the court, waiting for the first quarter to begin!
Indiana fans are always passionate and always full of energy!
At this point in the game, no matter how strong their reserves or how deep their rosters are, neither coach will make any rotations. Bird and Dunleavy did not choose to make any substitutions. The Pacers still fielded one big man and four small men, while the Trail Blazers still fielded all five of their main players!
Overtime begins!
This time, Webber beat Sabonis in the jump ball, giving the Pacers their first offensive possession!
Lin Tian saw that Sabonis was exhausted and his legs were weak, so he did the same thing again, setting a pick and roll with Webber. Tonight, Lin Tian was going to chase after Sabonis and beat him to death!
This time, Sabonis finally reluctantly rushed out from the inside to try and stop Lin Tian's shot at the top of the court.
But this time, Lin Tian didn't even bother to break through.
Anyway, with Sabonis out, the Trail Blazers' interior defense was wide open!
At times like these, the Pacers' number 15 would descend from the sky! He'd receive the pass from Lin Tian mid-air, do a fancy move, and then slam it into the basket!
"boom!"
Carter and Lin Tian completed another alley-oop, and Carter's dunk helped the Pacers take the lead in overtime!
Next up was the Trail Blazers. After being quiet for almost half a quarter, Stoudemire finally mustered up his courage and suddenly chose to drive hard to the basket. He then rushed into the paint, drawing the Pacers' defense before suddenly making a pass to Rasheed.
With no one guarding him, Rashid immediately grabbed the ball and shot, hitting another mid-range two-pointer!
Both teams' shooting percentages and form did not decline at all due to the arrival of overtime. Today, both teams seemed tireless, constantly attacking, running, shooting, and making shots!
Their efficiency did not decline at all over time!
In the next four minutes of overtime, both sides continued to trade baskets at an incredibly fast pace and with extremely high shooting percentages. Almost neither side would wait until 15 seconds were up before launching an attack. At this point, both teams opted to play a fast-paced game!
Both teams' scores were rising rapidly, at such a fast pace that it felt like the first quarter of the game, not overtime!
Until 17 seconds before the end of the first overtime, it was Smith's turn this time. He pulled up for the three-point line and shot over Carter!
"Whoosh!"
After a crisp crack, the Trail Blazers took a 3-point lead!
177: 174!
They gave the Pacers 17 seconds again!
This time, Bird didn't even call a timeout; he simply waved his hand, indicating to Lin Tian that he could play however he wanted!
Watch your moves?
I'll keep playing until I, Lord Lin, am wide awake!
After receiving the ball from the baseline, Lin Tian didn't stop to organize an attack or even try to play it safe and increase his chances of success.
He lowered his head and accelerated to overtake, rushing to the Trail Blazers' three-point line in the blink of an eye. The entire Trail Blazers defense was in a state of panic!
Lin Tian didn't wait long outside the three-point line. After a slight pause, he accelerated again and rushed towards the Trail Blazers' interior in the blink of an eye!
This time, Lin Tian faced off against Sabonis again!
This time, however, Lin Tian did not choose to throw or pull up the ball, but instead went head-to-head with Sabonis!
"Bang!"
After a muffled thud, the already exhausted Sabonis completely lost control of his movements and slapped Lin Tian's arm, failing to stop Lin Tian from forcibly retaliating after being violated.
"Whoosh!"
"beep!"
With 10 seconds left and the Pacers down by 3 points, Lin Tian actually made a 2+1 play!
"Stupid foul! So stupid!" Barkley exclaimed without hesitation. "If Sabonis had simply dodged, the Trail Blazers would have won half the game! But he still went for it! And he didn't even play aggressively enough!"
Kenny immediately chimed in, "Maybe Sabonis is really exhausted! He's 36 years old, and he's had several serious knee injuries. He's played 40 minutes tonight at this pace! That's definitely overloaded for him!"
"But anyway," Barkley quickly added, "if Lin makes the free throws, the game will be tied again!"
"Whoosh!"
Barkley had barely finished speaking when Lin Tian made the free throw, tying the game once again!
In the final 10 seconds, the Trail Blazers failed to capitalize on their opportunity. Smith's jump shot missed, and they gave the Pacers no time to react. The moment Webber grabbed the rebound, the game clock had already expired.
This Christmas game between the two teams will go into a second overtime!
177:177!
"I think both teams are definitely going to break records tonight! The record of 370 points combined between the Nuggets and Pistons is going to be broken!" Barkley exclaimed excitedly. "354 points! Only 16 points left, and the Pacers and Trail Blazers can create a brand new record!"
"I really didn't expect that an NBA history record could be broken so suddenly!"
The game had already resumed while Barkley was speaking!
Neither coach made any substitutions!
This time, Sabonis didn't jump during the jump ball.
He was truly exhausted. During the break just now, Sabonis even asked Dunleavy for permission to rest, but Dunleavy patted him on the shoulder and said, "You can do it, I believe in you!"
You believe that nonsense!
Sabonis really wanted to curse Dunleavy in the face. "So you're the one playing on the court, and you're really pushing me to the limit? I'll crush your face and rip your belly open to see if your heart is black!"
Despite his inner turmoil, Sabonis didn't show it and continued playing.
But in the end, he really had no strength left. He was practically a wooden barrel that could only stand on the court and move passively. If the basketball fell in, he would pick it out. If it didn't fall in, he would try his best to prevent the Pacers from getting it!
In the second overtime, both teams' offensive efficiency finally started to drop!
But it was only others who experienced a decline; Lin Tian's efficiency remained completely unchanged!
He's still targeting Sabonis!
Tonight in the fourth quarter, the Pacers' main strategy was to relentlessly attack Sabonis!
Lin Tian kept setting pick-and-rolls with the players defending Sabonis. When he faced Sabonis, if Sabonis came out, Lin Tian would rush in to look for opportunities. If he didn't come out, Lin Tian would shoot three-pointers.
Starting from the second half of the fourth quarter tonight, Lin Tian relentlessly attacked Sabonis with extremely high efficiency!
However, throughout the regular time tonight, and even up until the first overtime, the Trail Blazers consistently responded to Lin Tian with their offense, ensuring the score remained close.
But by the second overtime, the Trail Blazers players were finally exhausted! Keep in mind, aside from Sabonis, the rest of the team hadn't rested at all throughout the fourth quarter, playing right into the second overtime! Rasheed and the others were truly breathless with exhaustion!
Or rather, the Pacers players were already out of breath; they had long since reached their limit.
Of the 10 people on the field, only one is still alive and kicking.
Lin Tian!
He seemed completely unaware of fatigue, while others couldn't run anymore, lacked the strength to break through, and couldn't even stop a screen.
But Lin Tian just doesn't get tired. It's like the game is still at its start. He's running back and forth across the court, constantly scoring points!
He drove into the paint and slammed home a dunk over Sabonis' defense for 2 points!
Sabonis didn't rush up from beyond the three-point line, so Lin Tian jumped and shot!
After the pick-and-roll, Sabonis hesitated at the free-throw line, unsure how to defend, but Lin Tian had already slipped past him and rushed to the basket for another powerful one-handed dunk!
Then, after another screen, Lin Tian rushed to the vicinity of the free throw line and made a mid-range pull-up jump shot!
Then Dunleavy finally couldn't stand it anymore, so he changed the defense again, no longer letting Smith guard Lin Tian, but instead letting Stoudemire, who was faster and more aggressive, go instead.
Upon seeing Stoudemire, Lin Tian immediately abandoned the pick-and-roll strategy, instead turning his back and slamming the ball twice in quick succession, before turning around and shooting again to score another 2 points!
Lin Tian is playing a completely different game of basketball right now compared to everyone else! While everyone else is exhausted, Lin Tian has already scored 11 points in a row!
During this period, the Trail Blazers players did only one thing on offense.
Forging iron! Continuous forging iron!
After the second overtime, they finally lost all their touch and just couldn't make the shot!
Lin Tian single-handedly unleashed an incredible 11-0 run in the first three minutes of the second overtime!
When Lin Tian backed down Stoudemire and scored again, extending the lead to double digits, the suspense of the game was almost completely over!
Looking at his players, Dunleavy knew they were truly exhausted and couldn't run anymore, so he called a timeout and substituted all his key players who were so tired they could barely walk.
The Trail Blazers... have chosen to surrender!
(End of this chapter)