Chapter 1049: Come on Lakers!

The referee blew the whistle, Artest blocked the foul, and Li Ba added a free throw.

Li Ba glanced at Artest coldly when he landed, turned back and celebrated with A-Lian, and then walked to the free throw line.

Artest gritted his teeth, clenched his fist, loosened it, and stood on the sideline.

"Swish!"

The free throw was made, leading 3:0, and Li Ba quickly returned to defense.

The Lakers quickly sent the ball, Parker received the ball and quickly advanced.

However, Rondo and Ginobili followed closely, and then Li Ba returned to defense. Kobe and Parker did not find a chance, and the Lakers switched to a positional battle.

"Leave the third position open, double-team the ball holder!"

Li Ba, who was defending Duncan in the low post on the left wing, yelled.

Artest had an open position and immediately asked for the ball on the left wing.

Parker was about to pass the ball, and Rondo was blocking the former's passing route to Artest. The former suddenly turned around...

At this moment, when Parker turned his back to the low post, Li Ba started and rushed from Duncan to Artest, who was three steps away.

After the first step landed, Parker turned around and pushed with his left hand, passing the ball to Artest.

After the second step landed, Artest turned sideways to catch the ball.

After the third step, before landing, at the moment when Artest turned around to face the basket after receiving the ball, Li Ba picked up the basketball between Artest's hands with his right hand, and very accurately picked it up.

With a snap, the basketball flew up.

With a squeak, the third step landed, Li Ba stepped on it, turned around, stuck Artest behind him, and then jumped up to grab the basketball, completing a steal.

"This is a perfect steal!"

Barkley shook his big head in admiration and sighed: "The steal started when he ordered to double-team the ball handler and left Artest open.

Parker is about to face a double-team, he must pass the ball as soon as possible, and Artest, who is left open, is the most suitable receiver, and this is exactly what Hammer wants to see."

Kenny Smith shook his head and laughed: "This is like a script. When Parker faces a double-team, Artest's steal is doomed."

"No, it's a trap. Hammer is the hunter who digs the trap, and Parker and Artest are the prey." Barkley said.

At this time, the Suns advanced to the frontcourt, and Li Ba fell in the high position to ask for the ball, attracting Duncan and Artest to the high position, and then pulled Garnett away through Yi Lian, thus completely emptying the Lakers' basket.

At this time, Rondo passed the ball to Li Ba, then suddenly started, cut into the paint area, and then stopped behind Artest to make an offensive screen.

At the same time, Yi Lian once again left Duncan and cut into the basket.

Garnett turned sideways, holding Li Ba with one hand and trying to stop Alian with the other.

At this time, Li Ba took a step towards the basket, attracting Garnett to come back and hold him, and suddenly jumped up and passed the ball over the latter's head with one hand.

Alian received the ball, rushed up, and dunked with both hands, 5:0, the Suns led.

Zhang Heli said with a smile: "The Suns' tactical coordination is really beautiful. They attract double teams at high positions, and then cut into the basket from the wing. This is the result of Tiechui's high-position shooting.

Tiechui could actually shoot by himself just now. Garnett defended two players at one time, and he definitely couldn't defend Tiechui's high-position jump shot. He shot very quickly."

Yu Jia smiled: "If Garnett or Artest had Tiechui's turn and first step speed, they should also have a chance to defend Yi Lian's cut, but unfortunately they didn't."

Zhang Heli said: "I think Tiechui's turn and first step can make him one beat faster than others. This is the distance of one step, which can determine many things."

The Lakers attacked, Artest was left open again, he didn't ask for the ball, but directly double-teamed Li Ba with Duncan on the offensive end, letting others attack.

The Lakers did the same in the last game, with Garnett and Artest double-teaming Li Ba throughout the game, but Li Ba responded immediately and played a suffocating full-court press. So what about now?

There was no hesitation. The Lakers dared to double-team him at full court, and Li Ba dared to play full-court press.

Defense is the Suns' biggest weapon. No matter how strong a team is, it would be good if it could play half as well as it can against the Suns' strongest defensive tactics.

In the first quarter, the Lakers made 9 turnovers under the full-court pressure of the Suns. Li Ba made 4 steals in a single quarter, 32:12, and the Suns won by 20 points.

However, the Suns' touch was average, and Rondo missed two layups, otherwise the score difference would be even greater.

Kobe was frozen again, and he was double-teamed again.

Li Ba made 3 of 3 shots and 1 of 2 free throws in a single quarter, scoring 7 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks and 1 foul.

In the second quarter, Li Ba continued to play, playing defense and organizing center, and scored 6 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks again.

Although Li Ba defended with all his strength in this quarter, the defense of the substitute lineup was much worse than the main players, and the Lakers' main players were basically on the court, and they pulled back 10 points, 52:42, and still led by 10 points.

"The Lakers are down 0-2, and there is nothing they can do. This is a do-or-die battle. After three games, even Duncan's average playing time has reached 43 minutes, which is too long." Zhang Heli shouted.

"After this series, let alone winning, even if the Lakers beat the Suns, their physical strength will be exhausted." Yu Jia complained.

Xu Jicheng said: "I feel that the Suns are now playing the Lakers at all costs, just to end this series as soon as possible and then take time to rest."

Zhang Heli nodded and said: "That's right, one less game means two more days to rest."

In the third quarter, the main players of both teams played.

In the first half, the Suns did not play a full-court press, and the Lakers were in good condition. Kobe made a strong effort and made three three-pointers in a row, leading the team to narrow the gap to 5 points.

Seeing that Kobe was about to gain momentum, Li Ba immediately led the team to play a full-court press again.

He asked Payton to replace Gasol Jr. and let him pair with Yi Jianlian. He started to play point guard again and switched to defend Kobe.

After the third quarter, 82:70, the Suns once again widened the gap to 12 points.

After three quarters, Li Ba scored 21 points, 20 rebounds, 9 assists, 9 steals, 8 blocks, 1 turnover and 1 foul, and a five-double was in sight.

"The Lakers can't give up in the fourth quarter. From the beginning, all the main players must be on the field." Before the start of the last quarter, Zhang Heli shouted.

"Today, the Suns' hands are actually very cold." Yu Jia complained.

"It's all thanks to the number of shots." Xu Jicheng smiled.

Zhang Heli said: "Hey, this is the advantage of the defensive team. I can't attack, but defense is enough, haha!"

Yu Jia shouted: "Today's data is iron hammer, there is still one quarter left, come on Lakers!"

"Puchi!" Zhang Heli and Xu Jicheng burst into laughter.

At the beginning of the last quarter, the Lakers' five starters all played, and the Suns played Hill at the third position.

The Suns attacked, and the others were partially separated, and Li Ba played Duncan in the basket.

Duncan had already committed four fouls. This is why the Suns played Hill instead of Tony Allen, just to separate the Lakers and let Li Ba play Duncan in the low post.

On the left wing, Artest did not hesitate to follow the tactical requirements and chose a low double team, let Hill go, and rushed to the basket.

Then, Parker threw Rondo to defend Hill.

Rondo passed to Hill, then went to screen and screen, and Hill shot a three-pointer.

The Lakers strengthened the rebounding protection, because the Suns didn't have a touch today, so when Hill shot, the Lakers players immediately rushed in.

Bang, it missed, and the ball hit the rim.

Li Ba hit the ball hard against Duncan behind him, and it was passed to Hill, who shot another three-pointer against Parker.

This time, with Parker's defense, it seemed like there was a reference. The previous shot was missed, but this shot was successful.

"Beautiful! It's a triple-double!" Yu Jia shouted excitedly.