Unlike other games, this game was the quietest before the game, because the two teams really had too many entanglements.

Whether it was Tang Shuai who played for one season with the Clippers, the relationship between the head coaches of both sides, or the two teams in the same city, in short, there is no grudge in this round of the series, there is only competition, and fans choose more neutrality. They just want to see who can enter the Western Conference Finals after a pure showdown.

After the teams of both sides entered the stadium, Tang Shuai went over to say hello to the members of the Clippers.

Another highlight of this game is that this is a showdown between Paul and Tang Shuai, the former Clippers and the substitute.

"Don't hold back, play well. I don't want others to say that I won indistinguishable." Paul and Tang Shuai said with a smile after hugging.

"So too." Tang Shuai responded with a smile.

After the two of them greeted each other, they returned to their respective halfs and the game was about to begin.

After returning to halftime, Tang Shuai and other teammates surrounded Billups and listened to the final tactical deployment before the game.

Although he had a lot of entanglements with the Clippers, he still had a clear distinction between the two sides. He never thought of showing mercy. In fact, the Clippers could eliminate the Rockets, and their strength and condition were not weak. Playing with all their strength was the greatest respect for their opponents.

Just as the coaches of both sides started the final arrangement before the game started, the game was released on the LED screen on the scene.

The Lakers' lineup has not changed much from the previous games. Cousins ​​and Yi Jianlian are in the interior, the small forward is Mike Dermott, and the outside is a two-star combination of Tang Shuai and Westbrook.

On the Clippers, Paul and Booker played together on the outside, and Ingram, the second pick of last year's appearance, and the inside was a combination of Randall and Jordan Jr.

In terms of book strength alone, the Clippers are also much weaker than the Lakers.

The ones who jumped the ball were Cousins ​​and Jordan Jr. The confrontation between the two top centers in this game was also particularly eye-catching.

Cousins ​​is still more physically compatible, and he uses his wingspan advantage to push the ball back to the Lakers' half.

A burst of excited cheers broke out on the scene, and the Lakers gained the right to take the lead in attacking.

Shuai Tang carried the ball to the frontcourt, and the person who defended him was Paul.

Paul didn't say much, but just posed and stared at his shoulders.

It can be seen that like Tang Shuai, he had no intention of keeping his power.

However, Tang Shuai did not mean to attack from the beginning.

Whether in the Clippers or the Lakers before, because the team's offense was dominated by him alone, he needed to charge in almost every game.

But now with Westbrook and Cousins, he obviously doesn't have to over-expend his energy from the beginning.

He called Yi Jianlian out to make a pick-and-roll, used the breakthrough to restrain the defense and then passed the ball to Cousins ​​on the side. Cousins ​​hit Randall with his back, and then turned around and shot the ball.

Randall plays on his body. He was originally tall and looked like a small inside player in front of Cousins, and he had no room for interference by raising his hands.

"Bang!"

Cousins ​​made a slam, but he squeezed past Randall and grabbed the offensive rebound, then forced a slam dunk.

An excited cheer sounded at the scene, this is really a super insider.

Although Noel was excellent before, compared with Cousins, the domineering attitude on both offense and defense is not on the same level.

After scoring, Cousins ​​was also very excited and yelled at Randle.

His first playoff journey entered the Western Conference semifinals, and his virginity, became more and more excited.

The Lakers chose to attack inward at the beginning, while the Clippers just turned the other way around. After using Randall to restrain Cousins, Ingram from the outside made a pick-and-roll for Booker, Paul's second pass came over, and Booker made a three-pointer with his hand.

After Tang Shuai was traded, Booker has now grown into a first-class outside line. His offensive strength and role are very close to that of the Warriors' Klay Thompson.

The Lakers are playing. This time, Shuai Tang chose to make a sudden pass to Westbrook, who cut the basket and directly pressed Booker to score a tough layup.

Booker's offense is already excellent enough, but his defense is still a little poor.

Looking back, Booker made another three-pointer from the outside. This time he lacked some luck and jumped out of the basket, and Cousins ​​grabbed the rebound.

In the two rounds at the beginning, you can see the strategies of both sides at the opening, one mainly attacks the inside and the other mainly attacks the outside.

The offensive centers of gravity on both sides do not affect each other, and the success rate is also good. What fans see is the lively play between the two sides, but there are not many confrontations.

This process lasted for three full quarters. After the third quarter, the Lakers led the score 98-89 with Cousins' outstanding performance of 20 points and 12 rebounds.

After seeing that the performance of the outside line alone is not enough to ensure the team's victory, Kassel adjusted his tactical focus.

During the time he came to the bench in the fourth quarter, he deliberately left Randall on the field and cooperated with Dabai Aldridge and continued to cause damage in the inside.

This move worked quickly. The Lakers' substitute inside players Gasol and Hackles were both strong offense and weak defense. The Clippers took the opportunity to catch up with the score in the first few minutes of the fourth quarter.

Seeing that the momentum was wrong, Billups replaced Cousins ​​on the court.

With such an adjustment, the confrontation between the two sides quickly escalated.

Randall's attack broke out from the inside and prepared to dunk, but Cousins ​​pulled it down.

Randall pushed Cousins ​​after being pulled down, and Cousins ​​pushed back without showing any weakness. Although a fine of 500,000 yuan was hanging high above his head, it would be Cousins ​​if he didn't get it at this time.

Fortunately, the referee was on the sidelines at this time and quickly separated the two. The final penalty was only for Cousins' foul.

Although there was no technical foul, this also reflected the changes in the situation on the field. As the game got closer and closer to the critical moment, the intensity of the confrontation between the two sides also increased.

After two more minutes of the game, the two sides were still in a stalemate and no one could break the score.

At this moment, the coaches of both sides changed into the main force in advance.

The game has entered the final battle.

As soon as he got up, Tang Shuai was cashing out differently than the first three quarters. After he got up, he performed more actively on the offensive end.

In the Lakers' offense, after Shuai Tang took the ball to the frontcourt, he passed the ball to Westbrook, and then cut in. Westbrook returned the ball. After receiving the ball, he faced Jordan's defense, and a sudden stop shot hit.

Looking back, the Clippers played tactical cooperation, Randall received Paul's pass at the free throw line and made a jump shot. However, Yi Jianlian's defense was in place, and his shot eventually returned in vain.

When he returned to the frontcourt, Tang Shuai successfully tricked Paul with a fake pass, and then started with a three-pointer and suddenly shot a cold arrow.

Paul's interference was slower after he reacted.

"Swish!"

Tang Shuai scored another three-pointer.

In the Clippers' offensive round, Paul got an empty cut opportunity with a beautiful counter-run, and Booker passed the ball with a swing.

"Bang!"

Unexpectedly, Tang Shuai successfully judged the ball from the ball and broke it.

After the break, Tang Shuai made a quick attack. The Clippers' players couldn't keep up and could only watch him rush to the frontcourt.

Tang Shuai intends to improve the team's morale and jumps at one step within the free throw line. The jump is a 360-degree turn and dunk.

With the flash of spotlights all over the sky, Tang Shuai was like an eagle spreading his wings, smashing the ball into the basket with one hand, and the man followed him and shook the basket.

Kassel reached out and called for a pause.

"Ship Tang! Ship Tang!"

The audience cheered excitedly.

After leaving the performance opportunities to teammates in the first three quarters, in the anxious fourth quarter between both sides, Tang Shuai personally played a 7-0 offensive, helping the home team to instantly widen the gap.

This is the performance of the top superstars that fans are looking forward to seeing.

After returning from the timeout, the Clippers began to use double-team defense against Tang Shuai. Kassel is Tang Shuai's enlightenment coach in the NBA. He has his own understanding of defense.

However, as soon as the Clippers double-team came up, Tang Shuai passed the ball to Mike Dermot on the outside, and the latter made a three-pointer from the outside, instantly helping the team widen the gap to more than ten.

Kassel shook his head helplessly on the sidelines. It was obvious that his understanding of Tang Shuai was a little behind.

Seeing that Tang Shuai put enough pressure on the team on both offense and defense, Paul finally chose to stand up at this time. He hit a difficult backward shot against Tang Shuai's defense.

Tang Shuai showed no mercy, but Paul's experience and attack judgment were both first-class. Even with the death-wrapped defensive bag, he could not block the ball.

This ball is a signal. In the following round, Paul kept trying to shoot on the offensive end, and the success rate was quite good.

However, the Lakers obviously have a better advantage in overall strength, and the score difference has always remained at around 8 to 10 points.

"Swish!"

Paul made another three-pointer to help the Clippers close to 6 points.

But at this time there was no longer enough time. After the Lakers beat the rhythm, they directly won the game.

When the final whistle sounded, Paul watched the score not moving for a long time.

He scored 10 points in the last few minutes of the final quarter, but he still couldn't stop the team's defeat. Perhaps at this moment, he had some experience of the situation facing Tang Shuai at the time.

Seeing that Paul had not moved for a long time, Tang Shuai did not celebrate with other teammates, but went over to take pictures of this old friend.

Paul forced a smile, hugged Tang Shuai, and then left the stadium.

Looking at Paul's slightly lonely figure, Tang Shuai couldn't help but sigh.

After the Lakers got Cousins, they formed a Big Three lineup. The team is in the rising period, while the Clippers' lineup is weak after he and Griffin left, and they inevitably entered a decline period.

It's like two lines in the opposite direction, one up and one another, and at this moment there is an intersection.

Perhaps only he himself knows Paul's mood best. (To be continued.)

...
Chapter completed!