Chapter 125: Fight for a full payment, we don't want a mortgage
On the 25th, the media's focus was on the game between the Mavericks and the Trail Blazers.

As we all know, the Trail Blazers have revealed the inside story of rebuilding, and the morale of the players must be unstable. The Mavericks, who have the match point in hand, are likely to make a concerted effort and complete a sweep of the Trail Blazers.

Many media outlets believe that this result is very likely to occur, and they highly praise the Mavericks and the team's core player Nowitzki.

In addition, the Magic, who ranked eighth in the Eastern Conference in the regular season, were praised by the media, while the Pistons, who ranked first in the Eastern Conference, were widely criticized by the media.

"If the Pistons don't catch up, there's a 50% chance they'll be eliminated in the eighth round."

Pistons legend Isaiah Thomas said this in an interview with the media.

"We didn't play well in the series, and I'm sorry," Pistons president Joe Dumars said.

But we will try to equalize the score and then overtake, I promise we will do it and we will definitely make it to the second round."

In the evening, four G4 games started.

He Zhongqiu called Yang Xue, Zhang Heli and other teammates, and everyone watched the game while playing mahjong.

"Let's follow the old rules?" He Zhongqiu asked before playing cards.

"Wolverine, I lost a lot of money to your sister these days. Give me a chance to make it back. I'll bet you one hundred dollars today." said the madman.

"Okay, I'll be merciful and give you a chance to make up for your losses." He agreed immediately. If he didn't accept this opportunity, he would be struck by lightning.

They were watching the game between the Mavericks and the Trail Blazers, and they all wanted to see if the Mavericks could really sweep the Trail Blazers.

"I won! I drew three cards from the side, all the same color."

"Oh, I lost again? I lost again today."

"Wolverine, why doesn't your sister follow the rule of leaving the table if she wins?"

"She is not in the Three Realms and Five Elements."

"Ha ha……"

"What do you mean?"

"It's just that you like to fight, but you don't like to fight on."

"I understand. Come on, let's continue."

Yang Xue is an excellent card player, and he is very popular. Even if he wins, he won't leave the table, which makes everyone very angry.

After the first quarter, the Mavericks were trailing by three points, 23:26.

He Zhongqiu muttered, "Xiao Niu seems to lack the momentum of sweeping! Sweeping, doesn't that mean killing gods and demons when you meet them?"

Half an hour later, at the end of the second quarter, the Mavericks came back, 52:49, from a 3-point deficit to a 3-point lead.

"It looks a bit like that, but it's not enough. There's no murderous look on Nowitzki's face. To sweep the opponent, you need murderous look, like Kobe," said He Zhongqiu.

He looked back and saw Yang Xue collecting money, and asked in a low voice: "Sister Xue, how much did you win?"

Yang Xue said happily, "More than three thousand dollars, plus what I won a few days ago, I can pay 30% of the down payment for a three-bedroom apartment in Haitun District."

"Come on, try to get the full payment before returning home, we don't need a mortgage," he encouraged.

"Okay." Yang Xue said with a smile.

Zhang Heli and a large group of Chinese people were so envious. Why didn't they try this opportunity to make a killing? Even if they couldn't pay the full amount, a 30% down payment would be great!

More than ten minutes later, at the beginning of the third quarter, the Mavericks' style changed and they started to miss shots.

Nowitzki took the lead, making 6 of 2 shots, Michael Finley followed with 3 of 0 shots, and Riv LaFrentz was not to be outdone, making 4 of 0 shots.

Substitute Adrian Griffin fought hard and made 2 of 1 shots, and madman Nick Van Exel made 4 of 1 shots.

Sean Bradley and Nash were so scared that they dared not shoot. The team only made 19 of 4 shots and scored only 10 points in a single quarter, completely ruining the sweep.

The Trail Blazers scored 33 points and at the end of the third quarter, the score was 62:82, overtaking by 20 points.

In the end, the Trail Blazers fought back in their second home game, winning a game and beating the Mavericks by 19 points, avoiding the embarrassing situation of being swept.

After the game, the Internet was filled with mockery of the Mavericks.

Nowitzki was barely able to finish with 20 points on 10 of 26 shots.

但纳什4投0中得了一个鸭蛋，迈克尔芬利12投3中得7分，这两个人成了被媒体和球迷喷得最厉害的人。

After the game, Kuang Ren and his friends ended their card game, as they will have another game tomorrow.

"How much?" He Zhongqiu asked.

Yang Xue said with a smile: "32,510 US dollars. I have won almost 17,000 US dollars in the past few days."

He Zhongqiu said, "A three-bedroom apartment in the Ocean Palace costs at least $60,000 to $70,000. After returning to New York, I'll find an opportunity to invite a few celebrities over and have a bigger game."

"What if we lose? Didn't you say you lost to Jordan last time?" Yang Xue said.

"He lost to Jordan because he was just lucky that day. The bastard won so many times that I even suspected he was cheating." He Zhongqiu said unconvinced.

"No, it's safer to fight them." Yang Xue shook her head.

"That too."

He Zhongqiu glanced at Kuang Ren and his men. They were all guys with developed muscles but shrunken brains. They sat there looking like they were about to be slaughtered. He nodded quickly.

"These two are not good people."

The madman, who had lost more than 720 US dollars, felt a chill in his heart when he saw He Zhongqiu and Yang Xue working together.

"Latrell, how about you bet bigger next time? Otherwise, how are you going to make a comeback?" Kurt Thomas, who lost more than six hundred dollars tonight, whispered.

"I thought so too." The madman nodded.

"Yeah, I thought so too," said Harrington, who lost more than five hundred.

"It's happily decided then. I'll tell Wolverine when the time comes," said Charlie Ward.

His hands were so bad that he didn't win any single hand and lost more than eight hundred dollars, making him the biggest loser of the night.

On the 26th, it is the Game 4 match between the Knicks and the Hornets.

In the morning, He Zhongqiu asked the hotel to prepare a car for him, and he and Yang Xue wandered around New Orleans for more than two hours.

This city is the second largest port city in the United States after New York. It has a good economy and a city population of over one million.

But there is a big flaw. Because it is built on a swamp, the subsidence problem is very serious. The ground often collapses and you will encounter a big pothole from time to time. The corrupt city government is unable to solve this problem, so you have to be careful when driving.

Except for the main road, the rest of the streets are very narrow. It used to be a French colony, so the atmosphere of French culture is everywhere.

The people living on both sides planted a lot of hanging grasses and flowers on their buildings. The whole city looks like an aerial tropical rain forest, gorgeous and very beautiful.

Because the streets are very narrow, when you walk on the streets, you feel surrounded by flowers and plants on both sides, which feels very good.

Yang Xue took a lot of photos and used up all the five rolls of film she brought.

We came to the most famous French Quarter in New Orleans, which is full of low houses, covered with flowers and plants outside, and there are many old vintage clothing stores on the streets.

The two of them hung out here for a while, just wandering around the streets. It felt ordinary, no different from any other street.

Moreover, the drainage system in the entire French Quarter is so poor that there are traces of sewage backflow everywhere.

But they don’t know that behind these low houses, there are many gorgeous Spanish mansions hidden. Any one of them is filled with exotic flowers and plants competing for beauty, but they just can’t get in.

Then the two went to the city's most famous architectural area, a Caribbean-style cemetery.

The cemeteries here are all hanging coffins, because there is a swamp underneath and the water cannot be dug. If you dig a few feet, it may be flooded, so the only options are hanging coffins.

Nearing noon, He Zhongqiu took Yang Xue to try New Orleans red beans and rice and spicy crayfish.

In the afternoon, the team trained for an hour and conducted recovery training.

At 7:30 in the evening, at the New Orleans Arena, the game was about to begin and both sides announced their starting lineups.

Knicks: He Zhongqiu, Kurt Thomas, Sprewell, Alan Houston, Howard Ellis
Hornets: Jamaal Magloire, P.J. Brown, Jamal Mashburn, Baron Davis, David Wesley

At 4:, the G battle officially began.

After the jump ball, the Knicks attacked again.

As soon as he saw the Hornets' defensive position, Zhang Heli quickly said, "The Hornets are still using a three-two zone defense, mainly defending outside breakthroughs and jump shots, suppressing the Knicks' outside offense."

Xu Jicheng continued: "Let Mashburn guard the center, with Byron Davis on the left and David Wesley on the right."

At this time, He Zhongqiu entered the low post on the left wing of the frontcourt, and when he approached the left line of the paint area, he was blocked by Magloire.

This made him immediately understand that the Hornets' defensive strategy against him tonight was still the same as in Game 3. They had to hold on even if they couldn't, and the main goal was to consume his physical energy.

Don Cheney's tactical arrangement for him is still to focus on the basket, because his threat is under the basket. The threat in the two-point area is too small, so he needs to enter the basket to compress the opponent's low-post defense and create opportunities for the outside.

Of course, he controls the scale by himself. Anyway, when he has enough energy, he will go in as long as there is a chance under the basket. Gorilla Ewing gave him an idea to enter the paint area from the left wing low post and then take the ball there to attack.

If he doesn't go directly to the basket and doesn't get close to the basket, Magloire won't try too hard to defend him.

One step into the paint area puts him at the edge of the reasonable collision zone, and then he uses his advantage in footwork and speed to play against Magloire. As long as he can turn around successfully, he can attack the basket directly.

This style of play is also the low-post back-to-the-basket attack that Shaquille O'Neal often uses.

But Ewing may have overestimated his post-up offense. His low-post post-up game is only level 55, which is not passing and has not reached professional standards.

Actual combat is different from training. The defenders behind tried their best to defend, but the Hornets still played a zone defense. After receiving the ball, they were double-teamed immediately. The back-to-the-basket technique was not good and mistakes could be made at any time.

But you still have to try it.

He began to push forward, forcing himself one step forward, facing upward, with his left foot just outside the line of the legal collision zone. Then he used his left shoulder to hold the defender and raised his right hand to ask for the ball.

Just as Ewing said, seeing that he was no longer trying to squeeze in, Magloire no longer spent any effort pushing him out.

Magloire's idea was very clear. He was not as strong as Wolverine and could not push Wolverine at all. Instead of wasting his energy, he would rather hold the current line of defense and prevent Wolverine from entering the reasonable collision zone.

There is no need for him to defend Wolverine alone. As long as he holds this position, his teammates will naturally come to double-team him when the ball is passed.

This kind of mentality is called muddling along, a weak mentality.

At this time, the ball was passed from Ellis at the top of the arc to the madman on the left wing. After the madman passed the ball to He Zhongqiu, he immediately ran to the left corner.

The defensive maniac Byron Davis immediately chased after him.

"The weakness of the 3-2 zone defense is the low-post offense in the left and right corners and near the baseline. Now the defense line of the 3-2 zone defense has been stretched apart due to the madman's running." Sun Zhenping said quickly.

"Triangle attack?" Zhang Heli asked in surprise.

Almost at the same time as the madman passed the ball, Mashburn at the free throw line turned around and pounced, double-teaming He Zhongqiu.

At the same time, Howard Ellis at the top of the arc also ran to the left wing, the original position of the madman. Because Mashburn double-teamed He Zhongqiu, the madman took away Byron Davis and he got an open space.

"Pass the ball!"

When he saw the ball fall into He Zhongqiu's hands, Tang Cheney immediately shouted loudly.

"Whoosh!"

After He Zhongqiu caught the ball, he immediately threw it with one hand, and the ball flew towards Howard Ellis like a meteor.

"Reinforce the defense!"

Hornets coach Paul Silas shouted sharply.

But it was too late. Ellis received the ball at the fifty-degree position on the left wing, with no one defending him within three meters, and he got a wide open space.

"Shh!"

The home fans also became anxious, and huge boos quickly rang out. In the audience seats behind the baseline, countless fans also waved their hands, trying to interfere with Ellis's shot.

"brush!"

Howard Ellis took a three-point shot, the basketball drew a beautiful arc, and then dived into the basket, splashing a pool of white water.

"Hurry up and help with defense, what are you dawdling for?" Paul Silas yelled angrily.

"Pretty!"

Xu Jicheng praised excitedly: "This is indeed a triangle offense. Zhongqiu in the low post, together with Madman and Ellis, formed an offensive triangle. They tore through the Hornets' joint defense through running and passing, and finally got to a wide open space."

The Hornets were on the attack at this time, with Mashburn serving and David Wesley advancing from the left wing.

The pace of advancement was not very fast because Mashburn and Byron Davis were both in the back and had no foundation for fast breaks.

Davis accelerated from behind and when he reached the right wing, David Wesley pulled to the top of the arc, at which time he immediately began to cut quickly to the wing.

The Knicks' zone defense has been set up, which is also a three-two zone defense that focuses on defending the outside line.

Alan Houston guarded the left wing, Howard Ellis guarded the right wing, and the best defensive madman guarded the free throw line, and the three of them formed a line.

When Byron Davis made a cut, Ellis, who was not as fast as others, failed to keep up and chased on the right side. When the former quickly cut into the right elbow area, David Wesley passed the ball down.

Davis received the ball and immediately posed a threat to the penalty area.

But the madman Sprewell at the free throw line immediately rushed over and formed a two-on-one situation with Ellis on Davis.

PJ Brown pulled to the right corner, and Kurt Thomas did not return to defend the basket.

But He Zhongqiu had already returned to the basket. He took a step up and blocked the right front side of the basket, just inside the clearing zone.

As long as Byron Davis dares to break in, he will be trapped by three people.

"squeak!"

So, the moment he caught the ball, Byron Davis slammed on the brakes and then stopped quickly.

Howard Ellis rushed over, but the madman who was rushing towards him jumped up in time and blocked the shot from the left side.

Unfortunately, Byron Davis still completed the shot and the ball flew towards the basket.

"Bang!"

It was a little short, and the basketball bounced off the rim and was caught by He Zhongqiu.

"The Knicks played well today in terms of offense and defense. The quality of their offense and defense was quite high!" Zhang Heli said excitedly.

"The condition is not bad, but it depends on what happens later." Xu Jicheng said with a smile.

Sun Zhenping said: "Both teams play 3-2 zone defense, but their offensive tactics are different and both use their strengths.

The Knicks used the mid-autumn's strong point in the low post to attract defense and play a triangle offense.

The Hornets still have strong ball-handling breakthroughs and quick off-ball cuts to break through the defense, playing pass-cut and break-and-divide tactics. "

At this time, the Knicks advanced to the frontcourt, and He Zhongqiu squeezed into the paint area again, asking for position and the ball.

Ewing said that only when he is close to the reasonable collision zone will he be a threat after receiving the ball, and the Hornets will double-team him and he will get an open opportunity on the outside.

If he receives the ball at the edge of the paint and shoots between the close two-point line and the mid-two-point line, even if Magloire is the only one defending him and doesn't double-team him, his shooting percentage won't be high, barely around 30%, which is really not a threat.

The ball was passed to the madman on the left wing again and then hoisted in.

This time the Hornets still double-teamed the player with the ball, which is also a characteristic of the zone defense.

But this time the Hornets' defense was faster.

When Mashburn went down to double-team, David Wesley on the right wing quickly ran to the top of the arc, and PJ Brown below moved up to defend Alan Houston.

Howard Ellis at the top of the arc ran to the left wing to fill the position of the madman, and the madman ran to the left bottom corner.

At this time, He Zhongqiu passed the ball again, to Ellis who ran to the left wing.

But when Ellis received the ball, David Willis was almost next to him, and his wide open space disappeared, leaving only a small space.

His limited offensive ability made him self-aware, so he did not force a shot, but immediately dribbled back a step after receiving the ball.

"The tactic failed, let's try again." Zhang Heli said.

The three seconds of offense were up, so He Zhongqiu had to go back outside the paint area and start positioning again, wasting his energy in vain.

At the same time, Mashburn also pounced on David Wesley and double-teamed him. Wesley quickly transferred the ball to Alan Houston who was running from the right wing to the top of the arc.

At this moment, He Zhongqiu, who had just left the paint area, suddenly turned around very quickly and slipped back in along the baseline.

"Pass the ball...oh, I shot it myself..." Zhang Heli shouted quickly.

"Bang!"

Mid-range shooting king Alan Houston did not seem to notice He Zhongqiu's slip in time. After receiving the ball, he was double-teamed by PJ Brown and Mashburn, but there was a small open space, so he took a three-point shot, but unfortunately missed.

He Zhongqiu trapped Magloire behind him, then moved to the front of the basket in two steps and grabbed the rebound.

Magloire shook his head, stood on the left side of the basket and watched Wolverine dunk, without any unnecessary defense.

"boom!"

He Zhongqiu's two-handed slam dunk quickly quieted the noisy New Orleans arena.

Zhang Heli said: "The shot of the mid-range jumper was too unreasonable. He should have been able to see Zhongqiu slipping to the bottom at the top of the arc. There was no obstacle in front of his line of sight at that time.

To be honest, he could have even gone downfield after catching the ball, and there was only Magloire in there.”

Sun Zhenping analyzed: "The top scorer in the mid-range shooting game averaged 2.7 assists per game this season. Kobe, who is also a shooting guard, averaged 5.9 assists per game. The top scorer Tracy McGrady also averaged 5.5 assists per game. So Alan Houston's assist ability is really not good and his vision is limited."

Xu Jicheng said: "Madman averaged 4.5 assists per game this season, Ellis 5.4, and Charlie Ward 4.6. The three of them are the top three assists for the Knicks."

(End of this chapter)