203: The Unbeatable Rival
"Link was very brave to create an offensive foul by Dirk, which was definitely an opening that no one in the Mavericks expected."
"Link is really tough. He was definitely not light when he was knocked away just now, but he got up almost immediately. This is the character of the Memphis Grizzlies. They can be defeated, but they won't be knocked down!"
Both commentators applauded Link's actions just now, because that foul did require courage and wisdom to run in parallel. But the Mavericks fans at the scene didn't think so. When the Grizzlies held the ball, they started to drink wildly.
Link was so embarrassed that the Mavericks were defeated as soon as he came up. Can they be happy?
However, the huge booing did not make Link and other Grizzlies players nervous, but they enjoyed this sound. After all, they are wearing the dark blue "villain robe" now!
Mike Conley met Old Kidd at the three-point line. Kidd didn't look close to her body and looked calm.
Although he did not have any defense, Conley stopped and organized the offense patiently. With the experience of the previous game, Conley no longer fantasized about being able to take Kidd hard.
Although Kidd is old, his defensive judgment is really strong, and he basically doesn't take fake moves. Moreover, Kidd's ability to confront each other during this period is too strong. Conley believes that there should be no problem with that "old monster" to defend against the small forward.
In the last game, the Grizzlies continued to use the inside offense, especially the offensive strategy based on Randolph. But it was obvious that Randolph met Dirk, which made this move not work.
So today, Hollins changed his offensive strategy and planned to start an attack from the outside!
Conley waved and called Randolph to come over to cover, and used the cover to force Kidd and Dirk to replace defense.
Seeing this, Carlisle smiled jokingly. Do you think you can defeat the Mavericks with such a simple pick-and-roll?
Even if Kidd and Nowitzki switched defense, Nowitzki couldn't keep up with Conley. But Conley rushed in and faced Tyson Chandler, it was a dead end.
The Mavericks' inside line is not like the Spurs, short, old, and small.
Tyson Chandler slowly approached the basket. As long as Conley jumped, he would snatch out like a hunting lion! The penalty area is his territory, and he would not allow anyone to trample on it!
Conley entered the three-second zone and then jumped up suddenly! Chandler curled the corners of his mouth slightly and jumped up hard! A point guard dared to challenge his authority? He was seeking death!
But in the air, Conley did not make a layup, but took the ball to his waist and then passed it gently!
"It's not a layup, it's a pass!"
Under Mike Bryn's scream, Link, who cut into the basket at some point, received the basketball.
Since Dirk was dragged outside and Chandler jumped with Conley again, the Mavericks' basket was unprotected at this time!
After receiving the basketball, Link saved even the dribble. He took three steps directly and easily dunked with one hand! The Grizzlies, who were believed to die tragically at the American Airlines Center, actually scored first with dunks in the second game! This unexpectedly many people!
"Beautiful cooperation, from the initial cover to the final pass, the Grizzlies' offense completely turned into a whole, rather than a simple low-post single! It can be seen that the Grizzlies are actively making changes. They are not surrendered yet, and the Grizzlies still want to continue moving forward!"
Mike Brin has to admire the Grizzlies' ambitions. To be honest, there is indeed a gap in strength between the two teams. Just one Nowitzki is enough to make the two teams have a huge gap.
However, the Grizzlies don't care about these things. They don't accept their fate, so they went from eighth to fifth in the West. They don't accept their fate, so they killed two popular teams in the Western Conference Finals, the Thunder and the Spurs. Now they still don't accept their fate and ignore these gaps.
They just played hard, and this is the Memphis basketball team!
"Damn it, my mistake. I thought they were going to take action, so I didn't take it seriously!" Seeing Link cut in and dunked with one hand, Marion quickly admitted his mistake.
This year, the Mavericks' No. 3 position should have been All-Star forward Caron Butler. But he had no choice but to get the season out of 29 games. So, Marion, who just turned 34 a few days ago, had to drive the ducks on the shelves.
However, Marion has performed quite well this season. He averaged 12.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. With his slender arms, he is also a defensive vanguard on the Mavericks' wing. You know, in the Suns, Marion often played in the fourth position with his long arms and defended the opponent's fourth position.
In terms of defense, he is more than one level better than Link's previous opponent Richard Jefferson.
But just now, Link actually cut in easily and successfully dunked, which made Marion very unhappy. He swore that he would not give the undraft any chance!
Finally, it was time for the Mavericks to attack. The boos from Dallas fans immediately turned into cheers.
This time, Kidd made a needle and broke through to the basket, and made a fake move to pass the ball to Dirk, which actually sent the ball to Tyson Chandler. Tyson received the ball at the basket, even if Gasol raised his arms high beside him, it would be useless.
Chandler jumped on the spot and smashed his hands with his hands, returned the Grizzlies to equalize the score!
After scoring the goal, Chandler slammed his chest and thought to himself, the Grizzlies should know that they are amazing now!
However, just 20 seconds later, Gasol Jr. succeeded in revenge.
This time, Link broke through the inside by Gasol Jr., and both Marion and Chandler went after Link. After all, Link's scoring threat was there. In the playoffs, he was the strongest scoring point for the Grizzlies except Randolph.
Seeing that he was surrounded by two people, Link was not panicked, but passed the ball behind him! Gasol received the basketball and took action steadily without anyone being guarded!
The Grizzlies took the lead again with a mid-range shot!
"Hahaha, Gasol Jr. returned Chandler with a response ball, beautiful! The Grizzlies did not lose their chain today, they were always able to fight back hard! Let's see how long the Grizzlies can last!"
In the subsequent game, both sides completely entered the tug-of-war. When the Mavericks scored a goal, the Grizzlies were always able to respond. Whenever the Mavericks thought they could gain an advantage, they would be held back by the Grizzlies.
Before the end of the first quarter, Dirk Nowitzki made a three-pointer, which finally helped the Mavericks widen the gap to 3 points. Since the playoffs this season, many people may not believe Nowitzki's three-point shooting percentage is said, as high as 60%. This is his first attempt to make a three-pointer in the Western Conference Finals, but it still takes one shot.
At this point, there are 4.6 seconds left in the first quarter. Dirk thought, the Grizzlies can't overtake it anymore!
As long as you can enter the second quarter with a lead, the morale of the Grizzlies will no longer be so high.
Link gritted his teeth and bitten the whole quarter of the game. If he fell behind in the end, it would be too frustrating! So before the attack in the last 4.6 seconds began, Link gently said in Conley's ear, "Give me the ball!"
Link was unwilling to give up. He must lead the Mavericks once!
"In the last 4.6 seconds of the game, the Grizzlies still have a chance to attack. Dirk's three-pointer just now finally helped the Mavericks stabilize the situation. As long as the Mavericks play steadily, there will definitely be no problem!"
"Don't talk too early, you just said that the Grizzlies have another chance to attack." Mike Brin immediately refuted his partner. Today's Grizzlies will not easily get the Mavericks as they wish!
Every time the calf thought that after he got up, he would be dragged into the mud again.
The Grizzlies served the bottom line and time began to go in seconds. Kidd pressed Conley across the game, trying not to let him pass the half in 4.6 seconds.
At this moment, Link rudely shook off Marion's hand that was placed on him, and put it outside the three-point line to make the ball catch.
Conley didn't think much about it, and now he can only choose to trust the other party!
So, he passed the ball directly in the backcourt. The basketball turned into an orange-red afterimage and headed straight for Link!
When Link received the basketball, he was one step away from the three-point line. But he didn't have time to hesitate, catch the ball, turn around, take action, and complete the action in one go!
"I think beautifully, little devil!" Marion hurriedly blocked it. Link played 10 minutes in the first quarter, rested for 2 minutes in the middle, and scored a total of 4 points. He dunked and a mid-range shot. Marion thought that his defense was pretty good. Since he became serious, Link's score was not easy.
But don't forget that Link also gave three assists after scoring 4 points. He was not defended by Marion, but the Grizzlies' shots were very even and not concentrated on one person's hands.
Link was sealed by Marion's long arms, but a second before that, he completed the attack. He was extremely confident and his attack felt great!
Because he was too harsh, Marion finally hit Link's shooting hand and suddenly bumped into Link.
Link's center of gravity was unstable and he leaned back. But a second before he fell, Link saw the basketball jump into the net hollow. Then, the sound of the referee's whistle! Finally, the electronic beep appeared.
"I'll fuck you!" Link roared excitedly and then fell to the ground! But he did not frown, but waved his fists on the ground with a ferocious expression, as if a steel body that didn't know what pain was!
"The ball has been made! There will be extra penalty! Four points! Link hit a four-pointer with a buzzer! Look at Dirk's expression, look at Marion's expression, look at the expressions of all the other Mavericks! They were scared! They absolutely could not have imagined that the Grizzlies would not allow them to gain any advantage today! The Grizzlies are like an indestructible tough guy. The Mavericks repeatedly threw heavy punches, but the blue-faced Grizzlies will always stand up again and say to the Mavericks: Continue!"
Mike Bryn stood up excitedly. He was not a fan of the Grizzlies or the Mavericks. But Link's goal just now was really exciting!
Link was pulled up by his teammates, and everyone shouted at Link. The adrenaline of the Grizzlies players has been completely stimulated!
Link reached out to the Mavericks stands full of booing and made a "boosh" gesture, and then stood on the free throw line with a grin. When he passed by Nowitzki, he did not forget to say, "I told you that we are not tired yet, we can continue to move forward!"
Dirk watched Link stand onto the free throw line and hit the free throw. Link scored a four-pointer, and he changed his fate against the will and forced the reversal, giving the Grizzlies an advantage in entering the second quarter with a 1-point advantage!
For some reason, Dirk got goosebumps. He finally knew how the taciturn No. 21 lost.
The Grizzlies' perseverance is so terrible!
"In this league, you have to keep playing until the end of the game. You can be 20 points behind, but you have to fight. You don't know what will happen next, all you can do is play hard!"
Dirk found that his beliefs seemed very practical to Link.
This time, when he saw Link score the goal again, Dirk did not find it interesting or laughed, but felt it was dangerous! He still underestimated this undraft. He did not underestimate his strength, but underestimated his strong heart!
Before the game, when Nowitzki heard Link say "We still have breathing, we are not finished yet", he couldn't believe Link has such a strong determination.
But now, Nowitzki has no doubt about this!
His eyes, his expression, what he does, his strong heart
Chapter completed!