Chapter 240: ups and downs
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The Magic team also increased the speed of defense, which also put a lot of pressure on the Knicks' outside players.
The two teams suddenly strengthened their defense in G3, which led to a defensive battle between players from both sides.
In the opening minutes, except for one or two goals from the Knicks, the other time the two sides were basically in a state of iron.
When the game time of the first quarter came to 5 minutes and 56 seconds, Lian Dao took the lead. Using Millsap's pick-and-roll, he took the lead in firing from the outside, hit a three-pointer, and then hit a fadeaway jumper.
When the other members of the Knicks were not shooting well, Lian Dao stood up and took over the Knicks' offense. In the first half, Lian Dao scored 37 points.
And halftime is over, 40:57.
The Knicks led by 17 points.
And Lian Dao's scoring almost caught up with the Magic's entire team.
However, Lian Dao was also sweating profusely and out of breath by the end of half of the game due to the exhaustion of energy on both ends of the offense and defense.
At the beginning of the third quarter, Lian Dao sat on the sidelines to rest.
The Knicks replaced David Lee.
The Magic also took advantage of the time when Lian Dao was off the court, still sending Howard, and they used the advantage of the inside to continue chasing points.
Without the shackles of Lian Dao, Howard was completely crazy at the basket.
David Lee and Millsap couldn't hold Howard down.
Finally, with the two double-teaming, Howard's state finally declined.
However, today's Magic's outside line is too strong. Howard faced a double-team state, and the Magic missed one after another outside shots.
This made Stan Van Gundy very anxious off the court.
However, the same is true for the Knicks. Gallinari's three-pointers have not been shot so far. His 1-of-6 three-pointers are really touching.
However, because Howard was double-teamed, the Magic had a lot of opportunities on the outside. Carter, Lewis and Jameer Nelson also used a lot of shots to gradually regain their touch.
Especially the two three-pointers of Carter and Lewis directly narrowed the gap to three points.
Lian Dao also stood up at this time, indicating to D'Antoni to play.
Seeing that Lian Dao has almost recovered now, D'Antoni did not hesitate.
In the third quarter, at 6 minutes and 32 seconds, Lian Dao replaced David Lee.
After coming up, Lian Dao hit the iron with the first ball from the outside line. On the contrary, the Magic team, who made a wide shot, scored another three-pointer from the outside line during the offense.
69:69.
The Magic completely tied the score.
After coming back, Lian Dao no longer chose outside shots, but a fadeaway jumper with a higher success rate. His physical fitness has recovered, and he has the bonus of the "God's Backward" badge. Even if he is double-teamed, Lian Dao is not afraid .
Facing Lewis' defense, Lian Dao made a mid-range fadeaway jumper.
Lian Dao's offense is very determined, he just wants to use himself to destroy the Magic's defense, so as to create opportunities for his teammates.
What the Magic have been implementing in this game is to resolutely not double-team Lian Dao.
Therefore, Lian Dao needs to output crazily, thus forcing the Magic to double-team themselves.
Looking back, Carter on the Magic side missed an outside shot under the defense of Larry Hughes.
Lian Dao and Lewis hit a misplaced singles with a mid-range fadeaway jumper.
69:73.
After Lian Dao came back, he used two mid-range shots to stabilize the Knicks' game rhythm.
Van Gundy called a timeout.
Van Gundy was on the visiting team's bench, and he kept yelling.
Van Gundy knew Lian Dao's intentions in doing this, and he knew that Lian Dao was waiting for him to issue an order to double-team him.
Both Lewis and Howard were silent.
It is too difficult to defend Lian Dao one-on-one. The most important thing is that Lian Dao has too many scoring methods.
Moreover, in this game, as long as Lian Dao is on the court, Howard's offensive efficiency is very low. Lian Dao and Millsap can always cause various troubles for Howard.
If Lian Dao defends Howard, Howard's physical talent will be greatly reduced, and the reason why Howard can gain a foothold in the paint is due to his physical talent.
Van Gundy was also a little helpless at this time. With Howard restricted, Van Gundy made a decisive decision.
They're going to play the perimeter offense.
He turned his attention to Vince Carter.
Many people's impression of Vince Carter is that this is a dunk, or a flying escape after a rapid breakthrough.
In fact, Carter's shooting is also very accurate, especially Carter's three-point shooting rate, which is quite good. At the same time, he can also open up space for his teammates and pass the ball.
However, injuries this season have greatly shortened Carter's playing time.
"Vince, we need you on the outside to help the team open the situation with three-pointers!" Van Gundy said.
"Jamil strengthens the conduction of the ball from the outside. Others remember to move more and create shooting space for Vince at the same time!"
Van Gundy kept arranging team tactics at this time!
Pause back, Magic's offense.
Jameer Nelson advances with the ball.
Holiday has been staring at Jameer Nelson, the heavy point guard of the Magic, who is good at shooting with the ball, and in many cases, the first choice is not to pass the ball, but to score, so Holiday is very important for defending Jameer Nelson Don't dare to relax in the slightest.
However, this time Jamil Nelson's task is not to score, but to organize passes.
Jameer Nelson observers teammate's runs.
On the other side, Lewis set the no-demand pick-and-roll for Vince Carter.
Carter came out through the pick-and-roll, and Larry Hughes kept chasing Carter, but his footsteps were delayed by Lewis.
Vince Carter was wide open on the perimeter when Jameer Nelson dribbled the ball just in time.
Carter catches and shoots.
"brush!"
The Magic finally stopped the decline by using outside shots like the previous game.
The boos of the fans at the scene also came one after another.
D'Antoni didn't take it seriously. He didn't believe that the Magic could still have such a good touch like the last game.
However, the same situation did repeat itself once again.
On the Knicks side, Millsap attacked under the basket, but was interfered by Howard and missed.
On the Magic side, Lewis got a chance from outside the corner three-point line through Carter and Michael Pietrus' double pick-and-roll.
Lewis made a three-pointer from the bottom corner!
With this three-pointer, the Magic directly overtook the score.
The degree of tacit cooperation of the Magic is better than that of the Knicks.
After two seasons of running-in, plus breaking into the playoffs last season, this makes them surpass the current Knicks in terms of experience and tacit cooperation.
Fans at Madison Square Garden also became nervous.
They don't want to see their team lose at home.
However, the Magic's consecutive three-pointers announced the prelude to their counterattack!
Lian Dao still chooses to use a fadeaway jumper to score, but the opponent starts to foul Lian Dao one after another at this time.
They would rather let Lian Dao stand on the free throw line than see Lian Dao hit a fadeaway jumper.
The Magic once again increased their defensive intensity, and their teammates once again became invisible on the offensive end.
The Magic's outside shots were completely opened, and Carter, Michael Pietrus, Jameer Nelson and Lewis hit three-pointers one after another.
In the final stage of the third quarter, the Knicks were beaten by the Magic 15:6.
The Knicks' 17-point lead at halftime was directly tied by the Magic in the third quarter and overtook the score.
Three quarters are over.
90:79!
In one quarter, the Knicks went from leading by 17 points to trailing by 11 points.
This is the cruelty of the playoffs. From leading to falling behind, there may be a wave of three-point rain from the opponent!
D'Antoni called a timeout consecutively, but it still didn't have much effect. The Magic team, which was thrown away, felt too hot.
In the past, the third quarter should belong to the rhythm of the Knicks. I didn't expect that the opponent would seize the opportunity today!
After the end of the third quarter, all the Knicks players except Lian Dao had almost no confidence. No matter how he defended, the opponent could still hit the shot. This feeling of powerlessness is actually the most damaging to the confidence of the players. .
An initial lead does not mean victory!
However, Lian Dao did not show panic, he is the team's reassurance, and his performance has a great impact on the team.
So, everyone can show lack of confidence, but he alone can't.
Lian Dao remained absolutely calm and rational.