In Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, many commentators who wanted to watch the excitement were disappointed.
After falling behind in the first quarter, the Pacers caught up in the second quarter.
The Pacers took the initiative to speed up the offensive rhythm, which made the Knicks more and more comfortable.
During the rotation phase, Sprewell asked for the ball in the left and right blocking areas for several consecutive rounds, or made a turnaround jump shot in a single-handed back-up, or cut into the basket and asked for free throws.
After Lee and others returned early and turned into three guards again, they broke through the top of the arc with the ball, and Oakley and Kurt also hit mid-range jump shots near the left and right baselines.
Alan Houston also made a strong breakthrough against Reggie Miller and stood on the free throw line.
Mark Jackson's overly obvious pulling defense caused him to receive 2 fouls before the end of the half.
Rik Smits missed a back-to-back throw in the low post on the left, and the Pacers did not rush to grab the frontcourt rebound, but instead quickly retreated at the first time.
Kurt Thomas took advantage of the situation to protect the rebound, and Lee quickly advanced with the ball after receiving it.
Mark Jackson, who had long retreated to the half court, kept calling on his teammates to complete the defensive matchup.
At the top of the arc, Lee first pretended to observe the defensive matchup, and at the same time, his left hand quickly changed direction under his crotch.
The moment he switched to his right hand, he immediately accelerated to break through.
Mark Jackson made an excellent defensive choice, quickly sliding to the left rear, and at the free throw line, Lee suddenly dribbled behind his back, and immediately raised the ball to fake after stopping.
Mark Jackson subconsciously jumped up to block the shot, but found that Lee passed the ball to Oakley near the baseline on the right.
After completing the pass, Lee first pretended to cut into the inside, which made Mark Jackson quickly slide to the right rear.
Just as he moved his feet, he found that Lee was actually running back, and in the blink of an eye, he ran to the right wing again.
Oakley casually passed the ball to Lee outside the three-point line, ignoring Mark Jackson who came to defend again, and quickly jumped outside the three-point line!
"Squeak!"
The basketball just flew out of Lee's hands, and Mark Jackson fiercely defended and both fell to the ground.
"Swish!" The three-pointer went into the net!
"Wow!"
The two-on-two cooperation and extremely smooth offense made the New York fans at the scene shout with joy.
Alan Houston and Sprewell immediately pulled Lee up from the floor, and the Knicks atmosphere group also cheered.
Doug Collins, watching the score difference widen, could not help but complain:
"The Knicks played the same coordination as in the training session. I understand Mark Jackson. It is indeed difficult for him to predict Lee's offensive choice."
"But following the body's instinctive reaction is bound to pay a price. Three fouls in the first half of the game, maybe Mark Jackson will be replaced early."
Bob Costas noticed that coach Larry Bird did not choose to make a substitution, and quickly added:
"Still staying on the court is indeed a bold choice, but considering the height of Best on the bench, this is probably a helpless move."
Mark Jackson, who is not young anymore, lost his temper as the series progressed.
If it were not for the fact that the Knicks' passing quality was average and Lee needed to adjust when receiving the ball, Mark Jackson even felt that he would be shot into a sieve.
Lee stood on the free throw line, and Madison Square Garden immediately rang with a huge voice:
"MVP! MVP! MVP!"
The free throw was hit steadily.
Seeing Lee smiling and retreating, everyone on the Pacers was a little frustrated.
At 37:52, Lee scored 4 points successfully, and the score difference returned to 15 points.
He was 0 out of 4 in the first quarter, but his condition improved in the second quarter. The shouting and cursing on the scene made him upset, and Reggie Miller was no longer in the mood to talk trash.
With 2 minutes and 17 seconds left in the first half, Chris Mullin of the Pacers took up the offense again, and hit a long two-point pull-up jump shot to help the team score.
Looking back, Alan Houston received the ball with his back to the left blocking area, turned around and attacked facing the basket, and succeeded in a pull-up jump shot after a three-threat.
Reggie Miller cursed in a low voice, and he could naturally sense that Alan Houston's condition was getting better and better.
A shooting guard need shooting rights.
Even if he missed in the previous game, Alan Houston's number of shots has remained at around 15.
In the last few rounds, Chris Mullin and Reggie Miller hit long two-point shots in succession.
But Mark Jackson didn't dare to take action easily in the face of Lee's strong breakthrough and throw.
Rik Smits in the interior interfered with the ball once and committed a defensive foul, watching Lee score consecutive responses.
At 42:58, the half ended and the Pacers were 16 points behind.
They scored 28 points in a single quarter, but instead of narrowing the gap, they lost to the Knicks by 30 points.
Perhaps the game did not go as planned, head coach Larry Bird's face was long, and he walked quickly to the player tunnel.
The gorilla in a black suit looked at many New York fans holding "Fight for Ewing" signs, pulled the corners of his mouth, and forced a smile to the fans as he walked to the player tunnel.
"If the Knicks win Game 5, they have a great chance to make it to the finals!"
"Maybe it's a little cruel for the Pacers fans, but the Knicks are getting better and better."
Doug Collins made a straightforward conclusion, but Bob Costas on the side didn't say it for sure:
"There is still a chance. The Pacers have the ability to score high points. As long as they do a good job of defense, the current score difference is still within the reach."
"."
After the second half of the game started, after a few minutes, Bob Costas on the commentary stand said helplessly:
"There is no miracle. The Knicks will win Game 5. They are in such a good state tonight."
Doug Collins was speechless for a while when he saw his partner changing his face so quickly.
After Rik Smits missed the shot, the Pacers lost one of their three tricks.
In addition, Reggie Miller was in average condition, the substitute lineup did not explode, and the mediocre performance on both offense and defense could not narrow the score difference at all.
The score difference widened to 24:26 in the third quarter, but the Pacers still did not give up and started to score again in the fourth quarter.
With 2 minutes and 26 seconds left in the game, the score was 84:98, and Lee once again stood on the free throw line.
The Pacers still did not give up.
They tried hard to score and speed up the offensive rhythm, but it was too late.
After two missed three-pointers, Chris Mullin and Reggie Miller both waved their hands in frustration, and the last chance was gone.
In the end, the Knicks easily defeated their opponents in the decisive battle, 90:103.
After the old opponent lost, the New York fans at the scene still did not forget to give their opponents a try, and the scolding continued.
Reggie Miller followed his teammates to the player tunnel with a blank expression.
On the other side, old Charles and the good boy Dolan also high-fived the Knicks players one by one in the player tunnel.
Winning the decisive battle, the Knicks have a high probability of reaching the finals.
Entering the finals means that the team's influence will be further expanded.
New York is not San Antonio.
The combination of two and two will make a lot of money!
In Madison Square Garden, many fans have not left the stadium.
G6 is an away game, and many people feel very regretful.
After Jeff Van Gundy returned to the locker room, old Charles and the team management also followed him in.
Rashard Lewis from the atmosphere group was following Ben Davis to distribute drinks and towels to everyone, and bumped fists by the way.
Ewing also joined in the fun at this time, clapping his hands continuously, and soon all the Knicks players were clapping together and shouting with joy.
The bald young coach was also a little excited.
He looked around at everyone and then said loudly:
"It was a perfect game. We got the match point. We only have one victory left to the finals."
"The day after tomorrow, don't give the opponent any chance. We must win the series in one go, then have a good rest and prepare for the next finals."
"We have only one goal, the championship. For each other and for the fans, we must win the championship again!"
"."
Jeff Van Gundy talked a lot when he was excited.
Fortunately, everyone was in a state of winning and smiling, so no one cared.
After the head coach finished delivering the chicken soup, old Charles smiled and made his promise:
"The Knicks have never been stingy. This year our championship bonus will be more!"
After all, the motivational speech is not as real as the US dollar.
Everyone cheered loudly, and even the team staff couldn't help but high-five each other to celebrate.
Old Charles patted his eldest son, and James Dolan began to greet everyone cordially.
After whispering to comfort the gorilla, James Dolan turned around and high fived Lee to celebrate:
"Excellent performance! Don't worry, Lee! Those big mouths who question the team will not be able to cooperate with us in the future. No one can slander us!"
James Dolan didn't like to see reporters criticizing the team, but Lee didn't care about it.
He even joked:
"In fact, those articles are quite interesting. Don't worry, everyone treats them as fun!"
Old Charles on the side nodded with relief when he heard Lee's words. MSG is their own TV station.
If they just say good things, many programs will have no ratings.
On June 10, major sports media have begun to warm up for the finals:
"Rookie Showdown" has become a hot topic recently.
No one is optimistic that the Pacers can turn the tide.
In this series, Reggie Miller's performance was mediocre.
Because the Pacers slowed down the offensive rhythm, most of the shots in a game were 76, and Reggie Miller's number of shots was also affected.
TNT's program has a lot of dry goods.
McHale usually summarizes tactics after the game and predicts the results before the game.
But after the score came to 3:2, the legendary star kept praising Clay Lee:
"A third-year rookie, facing the Pacers' frequently adjusted defensive tactics, only averaged 2 turnovers per game in the series."
"This is rare in the history of the NBA. If Lee was in the Trail Blazers, the Spurs would not have won easily. This is the influence of an excellent point guard on the game."
Kenny Smith on the other side secretly pulled the corner of his mouth, adjusted his facial expression, forgot the other party's attribute of facing the wall, and said seriously:
"In 5 games, he averaged 29.2 points per game. The terrifying scoring ability is not an ordinary No. 1 position!"
"Lee is a true combo guard. Mark Jackson relies on personal defense and can't limit him at all."
In the game G5, he played 40 minutes, 11 of 20 shots, 4 of 9 from beyond the three-point line, 8 of 8 free throws, 34 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals, and 2 turnovers.
Lee once again scored the highest score of the game.
In addition to setting some small records, three consecutive 30+ games also further raised Lee's average score in the Eastern Conference Finals.
G6 is about to start, and the three people in the show no longer talk about tactical adjustments.
Seeing that neither of them mentioned the Pacers, Ernie Johnson immediately reminded them:
"Do the Pacers still have a chance? If they win at home, the series will enter the seventh game. In fact, I am looking forward to this trend!"
Still not optimistic about the Pacers, McHale directly gave his own opinion:
"The Knicks are getting better and better. As long as they can hit open shots, it will be difficult for the Pacers to respond in time."
"."
The topic of the show quickly changed from the Eastern Conference Finals to the Finals.
The three began to discuss the problems of the Spurs again, and finally began to warm up for the "Rookie Showdown".
On the evening of the 11th, the desperate Pacers showed a desperate posture after the opening.
As the game progressed, Reggie Miller also played the best performance in the series.
Whether it was Alan Houston or Sprewell, the defense of both of them did not play much of a role.
However, the cheers of the fans at the scene became smaller and smaller.
Alan Houston, who had been silent for several games, also had an explosion.
The two shooting guards competed with each other, making the game rhythm faster and faster.
In the end, the game of Game 6 became
a battle of honor for Reggie Miller.
He played for 42 minutes, 9 of 19 shots, 2 of 4 three-pointers, 10 of 11 free throws, 30 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 turnovers. Reggie Miller has tried his best.
Alan Houston was in a particularly hot state tonight and scored the highest points of the game.
He played for 42 minutes, 12 of 17 shots, 2 of 5 three-pointers, 6 of 6 free throws, 32 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 turnovers, with a hit rate of more than 70%, and explosive efficiency!
At 103:94, the Pacers fans who were present could only watch Reggie Miller shake hands with the Knicks team in a lonely manner, and then quickly returned to the locker room.
At the end of the game, Jeff Van Gundy on the sidelines raised his hands, cheered, and then hugged the coaching staff.
"Boo!"
Boos were heard everywhere in the stadium.
Many fans had already started to leave.
No one was in the mood to see the Knicks receive the award at their home stadium.
This year, the Knicks uniform team specially prepared a division champion hat.
Everyone took the hat handed over by the team staff and put it on their heads.
Alan Houston jumped excitedly on the spot, watching the league staff push out the division champion trophy.
"Yeah!!"
No one cared about the boos at the scene.
Everyone followed up and cheered loudly.
Soon, Bob Costas of NBC temporarily served as the host and immediately handed the trophy to Jeff Van Gundy, who kept clapping.
The bald young coach shouted excitedly, and the Knicks behind him continued to cheer.
"Jeff, tell me how you feel now. This is the second division championship you have won while coaching the Knicks!"
"This is a difficult season. We have overcome many difficulties to achieve such an achievement."
Jeff Van Gundy took the microphone and started the chattering mode again, excitedly recalling the bitterness and sweetness.
The Knicks were preparing to raise their glasses in turn, and Ewing couldn't stop smiling while holding the trophy.
Lee adjusted his hat, and while the gorilla handed the trophy to him, he thought about it, and consumed the division championship on the talent panel, and instantly got feedback:
[Anfernee Hardaway's excellent explosive power]
After getting the talent of the second brother of the hook again, Lee smiled and raised the trophy.
Noticing that Van Gundy was still reminiscing about the good times, he handed the trophy to Alan Houston beside him:
"Soon we will be able to get a bigger trophy!"
Hearing Lee's words, the atmosphere group followed suit.
Alan Houston had just received the golden trophy, and Sprewell beside him also shouted excitedly:
"Champion! We want the championship again!"
....
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