Chapter 124 Their performance tonight was similar to mine
The timeout ends and the Knicks attack.

He Zhongqiu spared no effort and carried Magloire into the paint area again.

Kurt Thomas pulled to the right corner again, and PJ Brown took two big steps and guarded outside the right side of the paint area.

"Whoosh!"

Seeing Kurt Thomas had a wide-open space, Howard Ellis dribbled one step to the right and then passed the ball.

Byron Davis on the upper side and P.J. Brown in the low post rushed forward at the same time, but after the former saw the latter returning to defense, he only moved one step and then stopped.

At this moment, He Zhongqiu trapped Magloir behind him and got into position on the right front side of the basket.

"Whoosh!"

Kurt Thomas made a jump pass.

"Snapped!"

The ball was going very fast and He Zhongqiu caught it with both hands.

At this time, Magloire elbowed him from behind. He turned right suddenly, blocked the position with his right hand, held the ball with his left hand, and jumped up like a spring.

"boom!"

The shot was too fast, and during the one-handed dunk, Magloire was completely crushed. He had no chance to jump up to block the shot, and was knocked back a step.

"Di!"

The referee's whistle blew, calling a blocking foul and awarding an extra free throw.

"Shet!"

Magloire was very annoyed. When Wolverine turned around, his right arm hit him, which shifted his center of gravity and caused him to lose the chance to jump. He was fouled for nothing and allowed the opponent to get a two-plus-one.

"Beautiful! Zhongqiu jumps really fast, high and fast. Both the height and speed of his jump are top-notch. For the center position, he has a historical talent." Zhang Heli exclaimed.

"Magloire has two fouls. Do we need to make a substitution?" Xu Jicheng asked.

"Someone stood up from the bench." said Sun Zhenping.

The Hornets replaced the backup forward, Jerome Moiso.

Michael Breen said: "Mo Yisuo was the 00th pick in the first round of the Celtics in 11. It turned out to be a wrong draft pick. His performance was worse than many second-round picks that year."

Xiao Fan complained: "So the Hornets' bench lineup is not as good as the Knicks, and they rely entirely on the five main players. Now that Magloire has been beaten, PJ Brown can only defend Wolverine."

Dream said: "Magloire has the same tonnage as Wolverine. PJ Brown is only 108 kilograms, with even less strength. He is as skinny as a bamboo pole. If he doesn't use those little tricks, I'm afraid he will be even more unable to defend against Wolverine."

"Little tricks? Haha, I'm afraid he doesn't dare to use them. Is he really not afraid of being crushed by Wolverine?" Michael Brin said.

"Ha ha……"

"hey-hey……"

Da Meng and Xiao Fan both laughed, and their smiles were a little obscene.

At this time, He Zhongqiu took a free throw. He put his left hand on his waist and threw the ball casually with his right hand. Bang, the ball went in.

"I made two of three free throws, now it's 4:9, and the Knicks are still 5 points behind." Zhang Heli said.

The Hornets' offense failed, and Baron Davis was committed an offensive foul by Kurt Thomas who was switched to defend him. The offense and defense switched and the Knicks attacked.

The madman used Ellis's pick-and-roll to get rid of Mashburn, pulled to the top of the left arc and played against David West, but was double-teamed by Byron Davis and had the ball stolen.

"Compared with the Knicks' perimeter defense, the Hornets' perimeter defense is obviously a level higher." Zhang Heli said helplessly.

Xu Jicheng said: "The madman is still old and his pace is slow."

In the offense-defense transition, Byron Davis made a fast break, got rid of Alan Houston and made a successful layup.

"4:11, 7 points behind again."

Sun Zhenping said: "The Hornets use their perimeter defense to suppress the Knicks' perimeter offense, especially the defense against the ball handler is very tight. If the Knicks can't change this, the situation will be very critical."

Zhang Heli said: "To change this, the best way is to break through with the ball, break through the opponent's double-defense blockade, and cooperate with Zhongqiu, just like Kobe and O'Neal.

Unfortunately, the two players in the OK combination both need to be double-teamed, but no one on the Knicks' perimeter needs to be double-teamed."

Xu Jicheng said: "The current abilities of the CIC King and Madman are not enough to break through the opponent's double team defense with the ball, especially the CIC King's breakthrough ability is average."

Zhang Heli said: "If it was a madman before 00, then there would be no problem, because he was at his peak at that time, in good shape, and played very hard.

In the past two years, the team has aged and its offensive efficiency has obviously dropped. This season, its shooting percentage is only 40.3%, and last season it was only 40.3%. With this efficiency, it is good enough to make the playoffs. It is no wonder that Zhongqiu has repeatedly complained about his own outside line. "

Sun Zhenping said: "Then we can only use three-pointers and long shots to solve the problem. Pull to the wing for singles, and the outside shots will open up. Zhongqiu will have more opportunities inside. If there is a chance to single, the Hornets have no inside player who can defend him."

Although Don Cheney's coaching ability is average, it is not so bad that he cannot see the problem. Unfortunately, he is unable to solve the problem, or he has a solution but no players who can implement it.

If he were given a Kobe, he would definitely be able to solve the Knicks' dilemma of being suppressed in outside offense, but unfortunately he only has the mid-range shooting king and the madman.

The madman's peak has passed, and although the mid-range shooting king is still at the end of his peak, he has no impact and ability to break through.

In this game, the Knicks failed to win away from home, losing 75:92, a 17-point defeat.

连投带罚，阿兰休斯顿15投5中13分，狂人13投4中11分，科特托马斯10投4中10分，霍华德埃利斯7投3中7分，四大主力联手只贡献41分。

在不断的犯规战术和包夹战术下，贺中秋只打了28分钟，出手不多，仅10投6中，8罚5中，拿到17分12篮板2助攻2盖帽4失误5犯规的数据。

Hornets leader Mashburn blew up the madman, scoring only 4 points in the first quarter, but scored 11 points, 14 points and 11 points in the next three quarters respectively, and scored 40 points in the whole game, becoming the best player of the game.

After the game, Xu Jicheng said somewhat depressedly: "The home whistle was a bit obvious today. After several Hornets inside players were fouled twice, many fouls against Zhongqiu were not called. Otherwise, there would not be only 8 free throws."

"This is the home-court advantage. There's nothing much to say. A similar situation happened in the Knicks." Zhang Heli said with a smile.

Sun Zhenping said: "I didn't play much today, but I consumed a lot of energy. I frequently went to the basket to get a position. I don't know how the situation will be in Game 4, but I hope I can hold on."

Zhang Heli said: "If we can win Game 4 the day after tomorrow, then we will have basically won the first round of the series.

If the game ends in a 2-2 tie, it will be troublesome. The Knicks will lose morale after winning two games and then losing two games. They will lose all the way. "

"It's possible, so the outcome is the most crucial." Xu Jicheng said.

"Patrick, where do you think the Knicks lost today?"

As the team returned to the locker room, Ewing was stopped by reporters in the player tunnel.

He grunted and said, "Well, that should be it. It should be because the outside shots were not open, and the inside shots were trapped in double-teams and fouls, and everyone lost their touch.

Yeah, that's right, the Hornets' perimeter defense made everything really bad."

"As the coach of the Wolverines, can you evaluate his performance tonight?" the reporter asked again.

"He started well, but then he got targeted by the Hornets, who kept double-teaming him, fouling him, and cutting off his passing lanes," Ewing said.

He was in foul trouble, turnover trouble, the whistles were a little biased, a lot of whistles were not blown, and there was not enough support from the perimeter for him, so he had to fight alone in the low post, and we didn't solve the problem. "

The reporter felt pleasantly surprised that the silent gorilla actually answered so many questions today. It was really cause for celebration!
He then asked: "So are you satisfied with his performance tonight?"

Ewing shook his head and said: "This is not a regular season game, but a series. We must look at his performance in the entire series and cannot evaluate his performance in a single game. His performance in the series is already good enough, isn't it?

Averaging 26 points and 12 rebounds per game, these are playoff numbers for a rookie, and no one can discount his performance in this series, including me.”

Back in the locker room, the results of the other three games were already known. Another upset, 80:89, the Magic, ranked th in the Eastern Conference, beat the Pistons, ranked st in the Eastern Conference, at home, taking a - lead.

The Pistons' leading scorer Hamilton performed poorly, making 22 of 7 shots, and Ben Wallace made 9 of 2 shots, which was the main reason for the loss.

In the West, 99:86, the Spurs defeated the Suns away from home. After losing the first game at home, they won two games in a row and took a - lead.

The Spurs' main point guard Tony Parker and main small forward Stephen Jackson stood out and both scored 20+.

In another game, 114:100, the Lakers lost at home and the Timberwolves led -.

Garnett and main point guard Troy Hudson scored a total of 60 points, plus five substitutes scored a total of 29 points. The Timberwolves can be said to be a united force.

As for the Lakers, they lost in two aspects.

First, the bench lineup. The four substitutes only scored 17 points, 12 points less than the Timberwolves' bench lineup.

The second is the offensive efficiency of the OK combination. The two fought separately. O'Neal, who scored 30 points, made 26 of 10 shots, with a hit rate of only 38.5%. Kobe made 28 of 10 shots, with a hit rate of only 35.7%.

Thibodeau said: "The Spurs' bench lineup is really good, Ginobili 12 points, Malik Rose 15 points, plus Tony Parker and Stephen Jackson's outstanding performance, for Duncan and David Robinson to have a chance to rest, the two of them added up to only 11 shots."

Don Cheney said: "In other words, the Spurs killed the Suns without their two super centers. This year I am most optimistic about the Spurs making it to the finals."

Thibodeau nodded and said, "Last year the Lakers eliminated the Spurs. This year the Lakers are no longer good. Let's see if the Timberwolves, Mavericks and Kings can stop the Spurs."

He Zhongqiu asked with concern: "Coach Thibodeau, I am most concerned about Stoudemire. Is he doing well?"

Thibodeau rolled his eyes and said, Wolverine, you don’t have to act in front of us, right?
他翻了一下数据，说道：“他打了38分钟，13投6中，46.2%的命中率，加上8罚5中，总共17分2篮板1助攻2抢断1盖帽2失误5犯规的数据。”

"Hahaha……"

He Zhongqiu laughed and said, "Two rebounds. Duncan really gave that rookie face by giving him two rebounds?"

Thibodeau looked through the Spurs' statistics and said, "Duncan grabbed 23 rebounds by himself. This guy is really strong."

"So strong that it makes Xiao Si despair." He Zhongqiu's face was broken with laughter.

At this time, Stoudemire was sitting in the locker room, feeling extremely depressed and indeed a little desperate.

Among the five main players, only Marbury had fewer rebounds than him. He felt a little embarrassed and couldn't face it, so he sat in a chair in a daze after entering the locker room.

"Stoudemire, don't be like this. You're a rookie, it's normal for you to perform poorly." Anfernee Hardaway comforted.

"What are his statistics?" Stoudemire asked in a muffled voice.

Everyone knew who he was referring to. Assistant coach Mike Brown flipped through the stat sheet and said, "Not bad, 17 points..."

"same as me?"

Xiao Si straightened his chest instantly.

“… and 12 rebounds,” Mike Brown continued.

Stoudemire's chest, which had just straightened up, instantly deflated again. He looked at Mike Brown resentfully and said, "Can't you speak without panting?"

An hour later, the Knicks' post-game press conference was held.

Alan Houston, Pusrewell and He Zhongqiu attended the press conference as player representatives.

In fact, none of the three people wanted to come, but they would be fined if they didn't come, so they had to come anyway.

Before entering the media hall, Madman stopped and said to He Zhongqiu, "Let me make it clear first, Wolverine, you are not allowed to make fun of our outside players this time."

"That's right." The CIC King quickly agreed.

"Then someone has to take the blame, right? If you let me take the blame, I'm afraid I'll go crazy and kill you." He Zhongqiu said sincerely.

The madman's eyes twitched, and he glanced at Don Cheney, Thibodeau, and Ewing who had just entered, and whispered to Alan Houston, "How about the coaching staff?"

"what?"

Alan Houston was startled, but the coaching staff was always the scapegoat. If the team didn't play well, they could always blame the coaching staff, so he quickly nodded and said, "OK, that's a good idea."

Tang Cheney, who had just entered, suddenly came out and said angrily: "Do you think we are deaf?"

Thibodeau was behind them, and said with an unhappy look on his face: "Latrell, Alan, you have learned bad things."

The madman and the king of CIC looked at each other, what should they do?
"Coach, who did they learn bad things from?" He Zhongqiu asked curiously.

"you."

Everyone said in unison.

"Nonsense, we must speak and act according to our conscience." He Zhongqiu said with a look of grief and indignation on his face.

The acting was good, and several people immediately smiled awkwardly.

“Being in the NBA really helps hone your acting skills.”

He was secretly pleased with himself, so he began to press on, saying righteously, "I am the locker room instructor, the representative of positive energy, the leader in eradicating bad habits in the locker room, a good young man in society, and a moral model in the NBA. How can I be a bad example for them? I am lucky if they don't lead me astray."

"cut!"

"Just act it out."

The CIC king and the madman raised their middle fingers.

Soon after, the press conference entered the question-and-answer session.

"Alan, who do you think is responsible for tonight's loss?" a reporter asked.

Don Cheney and Thibodeau looked at Alan Houston warningly.

Alan Houston grunted and said, "I think, well, ahem, sorry, I'm just a player, you might as well ask the coaching staff about this question."

"Coach Don Cheney?" The reporter immediately turned his gun around.

Tang Cheney organized his words and said calmly: "The reason is very simple, we were completely defeated by the home whistle tonight.

They didn’t call at least 10 fouls on the Wolverines, otherwise P.J. Brown and Magloire would have both been ejected, and the result would have been completely different.”

Alan Houston and others looked at Don Cheney with admiration. He was indeed worthy of being the head coach. He passed the blame to the referee team, and there was no room for criticism. Apart from the coaching staff, the second biggest scapegoat in the league was the referee team. If not them, who would take the blame?
The next questioner was a local reporter from New Orleans, who asked, "Wolverine, what do you think of the performance of Alan Houston and Sprewell tonight?"

"You want to sow discord between us? You are still a little short of your ability."

He Zhongqiu smiled disdainfully and said, "Their performance tonight was about the same as mine."

"hehe!"

"Ha ha!"

Many people in the audience couldn't help laughing.

The reporter wanted to ask more questions out of desperation, but unfortunately he had no chance as the staff came forward and confiscated the microphone.

"Coach Don Cheney, do you think the Knicks have a chance to win Game 4?" the next reporter asked.

Don Cheney said carefully: "We have 4% confidence in Game . We will put in % effort in the game. And in the end, I believe God will bless us."

(End of this chapter)