NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

However, to Jackson's surprise, on the first offensive possession after the timeout, it wasn't the Lakers who drew a foul on the Cavaliers, but rather the Cavaliers who drew a foul on the Lakers.

With the rest of his team struggling against the Lakers' defense, Sessions chose to drive and score himself. He dribbled past the defense to the basket and then forced a jump shot over Bynum!
This attack resulted in a foul by Bynum!
This time, Bynum received his third foul!

Instead of forcing Gasol to commit a new foul, Bynum committed his third foul first.

Jackson hesitated for a moment, glanced at the time, and still did not choose to make a substitution.

There's no need to be too conservative.

With the team leading by 20 points, now is the time to press on and overwhelm the Cavaliers, to extend the lead to 25 or 30 points. There's no need to play conservatively at this point.

Not to mention, he only committed 3 fouls halfway through the third quarter, so there was no need to be too conservative!
Jackson didn't make a substitution, and Sessions didn't hold back either, making both free throws to narrow the gap to 18 points.

Immediately after the Lakers missed an attack, Anthony, playing at the power forward position, took advantage of his mobility, making several runs before receiving the ball beyond the three-point line and shooting, and the ball swished through the net!
15 points!

The gap between the two sides narrowed to 15 points in the blink of an eye.

At this point, the Lakers players didn't think much of it, since they had only failed to score in one possession, and being caught up by a few points was not a problem at all.

But the commentators were in a bit of an awkward situation.

We just beat Brown to a pulp, and now you guys are going on a scoring spree and closing the gap.

That's a slap in the face!

It hurt terribly!

Fortunately, the Lakers' scoring drought didn't last long, and Lin Tian quickly broke through again, driving to the basket and scoring a layup.

This layup immediately drew wild cheers and praise from the entire ESPN commentary booth.

Thank goodness Lin scored!
These are the thoughts of the three people at this moment.

If they get beaten a few more times by the Cavaliers, they'll really have no face left to hide.

The rest of the third quarter saw the Cavaliers enter a period of equilibrium. With an additional ball-handler, their offense finally came alive, and they were no longer completely overwhelmed by the Lakers, unable to execute their tactics. However, their scoring efficiency was not particularly high; at best, it was just average.

The Lakers' height advantage didn't really come into play, mainly because Murphy is a pure shooter and lacks the ability to attack the basket. In one-on-one situations in the low post, Gasol wasn't at a disadvantage either.

After a few back-and-forth exchanges, the two sides reached a complete stalemate in the latter part of the third quarter, with neither side able to gain the upper hand and the score difference hovering between 15 and 20 points.

79: 95!

At the end of the third quarter, the score difference between the two sides was 16 points.

The Lakers have a clear advantage, while the Cavaliers desperately need one last push!
Brown also stopped making substitutions at the start of the fourth quarter.

Continue with the big man and four small men lineup, and keep this best-performing lineup from tonight on the court.

The Lakers, on the other hand, fielded a rotation lineup of three starters and two reserves: Lin Tian, ​​Bynum, Durant, Terry, and Barnes.

The Lakers have an advantage, and they are confident that they can give their core players more rest.

The first offensive possession of the fourth quarter belonged to the Lakers. After Lin Tian arrived at the frontcourt, he immediately passed the ball to Bynum.

Bynum was the first to go to the bench for a rest in the third quarter. He had already rested for about 5 minutes by then, so he had plenty of energy to go one-on-one.

Position yourself with your back to the wall, resist, push backward, turn around, feint, then turn around again.

Bynum's fundamentals were quite solid under Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's one-on-one coaching. Although he didn't learn Abdul-Jabbar's skyhook, Bynum's hook shot was still quite impressive and could be considered a major weapon in the league.

At this moment, Bynum moved to the top lane, faked a shot, and then made a side hook shot. Bynum felt great when he released the shot, thinking that it would definitely go in.

But the basketball didn't quite turn out well, bouncing off the rim.

Anxious Bynum immediately stepped forward again, trying to put the ball in, but Gasol's positioning was quite sophisticated, blocking Bynum completely and making it impossible for him to get around him to grab the rebound.

Bynum was unwilling to give up. Even though Gasol blocked him, he still wanted to grab the rebound. He jumped forward as much as possible and stretched his arms forward to grab the rebound.

Caught!
Bynum was overjoyed, having successfully grabbed the rebound over Gasol's broad frame.

In his excitement, he lost control of his movements. When he shouldered Gasol, Bynum's movement was obviously a bit too big, but the guy didn't realize it at all. He shoved Gasol away with his shoulder, and then jumped up with great power, slamming the ball into the basket with both hands!
"boom!"

With a loud bang, Bynum pulled up the dunk with both hands, displaying an incredibly domineering and powerful presence!
"Offensive foul!"

Unfortunately, he hadn't even landed when the referee blew his whistle.

Offensive foul!

Without hesitation, the referee ruled that Bynum had pushed the opponent first, disallowing the two points and bringing his total number of fouls to four.

"FUXX! I..." Bynum was furious when he saw that his dunk was over. After landing, he opened his arms and was about to go talk to the referee.

"Andrew! Come back here, don't get a technical foul!" But before Bynum could finish his sentence, Lin Tian grabbed him and glared at him, saying, "That was a bit too much of a move, be careful next time!"

"Don't argue with the referees pointlessly; they won't change their rulings or show you any mercy."

"Let them know they're wrong with their performance and goals on the field, not with a few swear words and doubts."

"Understood, boss!" Bynum nodded, quickly suppressing his resentment, and turned to run back to the backcourt to prepare for defense.

"A beast tamer, really!" Miller couldn't help but say. "Back in the day, Lin had the nickname of beast tamer! All kinds of birds and beasts, troublemakers and hooligans, would become obedient and adorable as good babies once they were in Lin's team."

"Artest, Ben Wallace, the Trail Blazers' 'Prison Madness' duo, Barnes, Stoudemire, Jackson, and now Bynum on the Lakers, Lin has worked with almost every troublemaker and jerk in the league, but no one has been able to break free from his control."

"No one dared to cause trouble for Lin; everyone was extremely well-behaved."

"It seems that 40-year-old Lin is still as sharp as ever, his animal taming skills are still as good as ever! He can completely calm Bynum down with just one sentence!"

"A born leader!" Van Gundy, another guy who had worked with Lin Tian, ​​also gave Lin Tian a very high evaluation without hesitation.

The game continued on the court. After Gasol successfully drew an offensive foul from Bynum, the Cavaliers cooperated by giving the ball back to Gasol, allowing him to score another foul on Bynum.

This is one of the unspoken rules of basketball. Since you've gained an advantage, keep playing hard and keep going until you've fully capitalized on it!
Gasol backed down Bynum in the low post, his playing style completely different from Bynum's, which, while not flashy, was incredibly solid.

While Gasol's low-post skills may not be as explosive as some high-flying plays, his refined and comprehensive back-to-the-basket skills and his consistently beautiful footwork always manage to create good space and opportunities for him to shoot.

This is why Gasol, with his average physical attributes and not particularly outstanding running and jumping abilities, was able to establish himself in the NBA, a league full of monsters, and become a core star.

Skill, basketball IQ, and height!
Gasol used his dream footwork under the basket, making a series of spin moves and footwork changes, and in a few moments he successfully created space for himself to shoot. Then he jumped to the side and tried to make a layup off the backboard.

But this time it was Gasol's turn to encounter an accident. Bynum, who had just been shaken off, inexplicably regained his defensive position and successfully anticipated the play, jumping up and slapping the basketball that Gasol had just released.

"Snapped!"

With a loud thud, Bynum slapped the basketball onto the backboard, then jumped again and grabbed the rebounding ball.

Jackson laughed and said, "He got his revenge! Haha, Bynum is really good at getting revenge for himself! I remember in his rookie season he dunked on O'Neal and made O'Neal lose face a lot during his prime."

"This time, after being fouled on offensively by Gasol, he turned around and blocked Gasol's sure-fire layup with a powerful block."

“But Bynum also needs to be careful,” Miller said. “If I remember correctly, three out of his four fouls tonight were offensive fouls! I can’t say whether the referees were targeting him or he just couldn’t control his emotions.”

"But overall, Bynum was in excellent form tonight, scoring 25 points and grabbing 19 rebounds – absolutely phenomenal numbers. If he can control his fouls, he could deliver the most brilliant and exciting game of his career tonight!"

Van Gundy said, "Bynum and Gasol's foul counts will basically become the focus of the next game. These two pillars of their respective teams' interior defense and core players both have four fouls now. Whoever gets their fifth foul first could be the turning point of the game."

"Or rather, if the Cavaliers want to take the lead and reverse the game, getting Bynum out of the game is their top priority right now!"

"Without Bynum, the Lakers' interior defense will be almost completely undefended, and the Cavaliers' perimeter players will be able to fully utilize their penetration skills."

"Let's see what happens next, Gasol or Bynum?"

The game continued, and both players and coaches knew what the focus of the game was. Both sides began to attack the paint more often or engage in one-on-one isolation plays in the paint, and both sides unanimously reduced their mid-range and long-range shots.

Both sides slowed down their offensive pace, and more positional battles and inside battles became the main theme of the rest of the game.

The two sides were once again locked in a stalemate.

As the pace of the game slowed down, the rate at which the score increased naturally also slowed down, and the point difference between the two sides remained relatively stable at around 15 points.

But for the Cavaliers, if the score doesn't narrow, they've lost! They need to catch up, they need to turn the game around, and time is running out for them.

Unfortunately, they just couldn't contain the Lakers, and they couldn't go on a scoring run to close the gap. Either they couldn't score themselves, or even if they defended the Lakers, the Lakers could also defend their offense. In short, time flew by, but the score difference between the two sides remained unchanged.

Even the fouls committed by Bynum and Gasol, who were considered by the commentators to be the key to the game's outcome, remained unchanged at four.

Both players controlled their fouls quite well.

Their foul count didn't increase until there were 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

There's no time!

Wade dribbled the ball up the court and glanced anxiously at the scoreboard, seeing a 14-point deficit. He also checked the time, knowing that at this point in the game, the Cavaliers could only hope for a miracle!

Facing Lin Tian's defense, Wade called for a screen again, and then, with the help of Gasol's screen, he accelerated again and charged towards Bynum without any regard for the consequences!

He's done something similar many times in the fourth quarter; he's thrown himself completely into the air and charged at Bynum multiple times in a row.

It wasn't just about scoring, but also about taking Bynum down. Don't be fooled by Bynum's three offensive fouls tonight, which made him seem like he was playing recklessly and aggressively. In the fourth quarter, he was as calm as a refrigerator, not getting hot at all.

Wade drove in, and Bynum positioned himself with his hands raised, waiting for Wade to crash into him. His defensive stance and positioning were textbook perfect.

This caused Wade to repeatedly attack the paint, resulting in numerous instances of him falling to the floor and contributing to new Wade-themed highlight reels, but he never managed to draw a foul from Bynum.

Wade once again drove into the paint, and Bynum maintained his perfect defensive position. But just as the two were about to collide, Wade suddenly made a lateral pass to Anthony, who was following up on Bynum's side.

Anthony grabbed the basketball and charged straight at Bynum, knowing that what was most important in turning the game around was what they needed to do.

"Oh!"

Bynum quickly moved to the side, maintaining a perfect defensive stance, and collided head-on with Anthony. After a solid head-on collision, Anthony's shot bounced off the rim and missed.

Although Bynum only had 2 blocks tonight, his rim protection performance and effectiveness were truly top-notch in the league!
But this time, Anthony also brought out his own unique skill.

After the ball missed, this guy moved quickly, then jumped again, grabbed the rebound before Bynum, and then shot a putback.

Still not going in.

Jump again, grab again, strike again.

This time it was even more outrageous; the basketball actually hit the bottom edge of the rim, getting completely blocked by the hoop.

It's just that Anthony reacted quickly enough that he was still able to grab the basketball immediately, and then get up and throw it again!
"This is never going to end!" Bynum's patience ran out after being grabbed three offensive rebounds in front of him by a small guy. Feeling humiliated, he finally lost control of his defensive move and hit Anthony's hand.

"Hand foul! Two free throws!"

The referee blew his whistle again, and after grabbing three offensive rebounds in a row, Anthony finally drew a foul from Bynum.

Fifth foul!
What he used was Anthony's own signature move: grabbing the offensive rebound and re-attacking after being blocked by the rim or missing a layup or dunk.

Looking at the entire NBA, Carmelo Anthony ranks among the top in both the number of times he was blocked by the rim and the number of times he missed a dunk!
Who knows if this guy is under some kind of spell? He has amazing skills and top-notch touch, but he just can't seem to put the simplest basket in the paint.

His top-tier offensive rebounding ability among small forwards might have been developed little by little through this training.

While other players grab offensive rebounds from shots their teammates miss, Anthony grabs rebounds from shots he himself has missed.

Of course, the benefit of this is that Anthony's offensive rebounding numbers are also quite high, with his offensive rebounding rate ranking among the top in the entire league.

And now, his move has saved the team.

Not only because of the two free throws he got, but also because Bynum finally picked up his fifth foul!
The Cavaliers' chance has finally arrived!
Now, it remains to be seen whether they can seize the opportunity! (End of Chapter)