Chapter 1343 Leading at Halftime

The Lakers attacked, and this time Paul faked a real shot from the top of the arc, used his rhythm control to shake Harden away, and then shot a three-pointer.

There was a chance, but the touch was poor and the ball failed to hit. A Lian entangled Li Ba and Howard grabbed the rebound.

But at this time, Li Ba got rid of the entanglement of the Arab League. When Howard took off and dunked, he gave him a back shot and then got the ball.

The Suns attack.

Butler was left open again, this time he settled on the left wing near the paint and received a pass from Harden.

After he got the ball, he immediately went to the basket, immediately attracting Howard's defense and defeating Li Ba's double team.

At this time, Butler distributed the ball, and Li Ba received the ball and completed a dunk directly from behind Howard. Howard's footing was not stable and he was almost dunked.

The referee blew the whistle at this time and pointed at Howard to block the foul.

Li Ba made an extra free throw, 10:6, and the Suns led by 4 points.

This ball made Lakers head coach Mike Brown change his defensive tactics, and he decided to continue to let Garnett go.

Because Garnett is too old, after getting the ball from the outside, his ability to drive in with the ball is no longer strong. Instead of letting Jimmy Butler drive in, it is better to let Garnett shoot from the outside.

When the Suns attacked, Paul moved toward the top of the key while making tactical gestures.

As he approached the top of the arc, Howard suddenly wrapped around Li Ba, and Ah Lian suddenly moved downwards and stretched out his hand toward the top of the arc.

He didn't have to ask for the ball, Paul's ball had already come in.

At this time, Howard also dropped Li Ba and moved towards the basket.

There was Garnett under the basket, but when Ah Lian received the ball, Howard also came down and formed a two-on-one situation under the basket.

Garnett was guarding the Arab League. At this time, the Arab League passed the ball to Howard. The latter caught the ball and suddenly dunked on Garnett.

But at this moment, Li Ba appeared from behind Howard, slapped the ball into the sky with a slap.

"Beautiful!" Yu Jia shouted excitedly.

Li Ba helped Howard, who was about to fall, and the basketball was taken by the United Arab Emirates.

The Arab League was very calm, knowing that with Li Ba in front of him, and joining forces with Garnett, it would be difficult for him and Howard to force the ball, so he passed the ball out and handed it to Kobe who cut into the wing from the right three-point line.

Kobe caught the ball and made a sudden jump shot, but unfortunately missed. Li Ba grabbed the rebound and the Suns attacked.

Harden took the ball, but Paul suddenly stole it and lost the ball. The Lakers took the opportunity to launch a fast break.

"Harden still doesn't have much experience in the playoffs. Be careful of disappointment. Paul has fast hands and strong stealing ability." Kenny Smith said.

Barkley smiled and said: "Although the Lakers' offense just failed, the Lakers' tactical design is good. They have formed a two-on-one advantage under the basket. However, the Hammers' defense is too strong, which makes this tactic difficult. Didn’t type it out.”

Kenny Smith laughed: "Howard should go down first and then pass the ball to Yi. Yi's shot is good. He can shoot further away from the hammer."

At the eighth minute of the first quarter, the two went through the first round of substitutions.

After the first quarter, 28:26, the Suns led by 2 points.

Li Ba was entangled by Howard and Arab League on both ends of the offense and defense. He did not help much on the outside, but he performed well offensively and defensively in the paint. He made 5 of 6 shots and 3 of 5 free throws. He scored 13 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 5 blocks. The data.

He recorded 5 blocks in a single quarter, destroying the Lakers' offense in the paint.

Even though they were double-teamed throughout, the Lakers' offense was still blocked from the paint. This also greatly reduced the Lakers' offensive efficiency and was unable to improve to a shooting percentage that was enough to ensure victory.

During the break between rounds, Zhang Lili said: "Once the defensive intensity in the playoffs increases, the Lakers' advantage against the Suns in the regular season will not be big. Harden and Hill's defense seems to be stronger, and Kobe and Paul Although the efficiency is still at a high level, it has not been able to take advantage of it. "

Xu Jicheng said: "Kobe and Paul are still stronger on the defensive end. Harden and Hill only scored 9 points together, while Kobe and Paul scored 16 points."

Yu Jia nodded and said: "The Suns score more inside, but are relatively weaker on the outside. Harden and Hill still can't beat Paul and Kobe."

Zhang Lianda said: "The Suns scored 17 points in the paint area and only 11 points from the outside. They obviously focused on inside offense. The Lakers scored 22 points in outside offense and only 4 points in the inside. This difference is huge. In the first quarter, Harden and Hilgar We made 5 turnovers, which is a lot, and we lost a lot of ball rights. Otherwise, the Suns would not only be ahead by two points, but also have such a huge advantage inside.”

Yu Jiadao: "The main reason is that Harden and Hill don't have much playoff experience. Harden played in the first round of the playoffs once with the Grizzlies, and then was defeated by the Hammers with three five-doubles. Hill also didn't have much experience with the Spurs. We only played in the playoffs once last season.”

In the second quarter, the main players + substitutes of both sides came on.

For the Suns, Li Ba led the bench.

In terms of the substitute lineup, the Suns have an advantage. They have the rebounding monster Drummond at the basket, the rookie Parsons on the outside, the two veterans Ginobili and Kidd, and Nick Young and Jason Terry. Two good backups.

For the Lakers, Kobe played first to support the situation.

Li Ba plays the fourth position and has a wider range of activities. The Lakers can no longer double-team him on both ends of the offense and defense, and Howard and Arab League cannot play at the same time. He frequently assists in defense on the outside, and even extends the defense range to beyond the three-point line. , plus Drummond, so the Suns had a greater advantage in the second quarter.

After half a quarter, the Suns' lead expanded to 10 points. The Lakers called a timeout and replaced all the main players.

Barkley shouted: "The Suns let the rookie Drummond sit in the basket and let Hammer play the middle position. This tactic is really strong. Hammer's range of movement has expanded, and the Lakers can't limit him to the paint area, so his defensive ability can't be limited."

"With Hammer's mobility, Hammer at the fourth position can't be double-teamed. And there is another point. Hammer's fast breaks increased in this quarter. He is at the fourth position. When the offense and defense switch, he is closer to the front court and it is easier to make fast breaks." Kenny Smith also nodded.

After all the Lakers' main players came on the court, the situation was still a bit troublesome, because Howard couldn't stand Drummond's weight at the basket, and Yi Jianlian couldn't keep up with Li Ba's movement at the fourth position, so the Lakers' defense against Li Ba at the fourth position was still a bit out of control.

At the end of the half, 60:44, the Suns led by 16 points.

Under Li Ba's strong defense, the Lakers only scored 18 points in the second quarter, 8 points less than the first quarter.

He didn't take many shots in the second quarter, and his main focus was on defense. On the offensive end, he mainly made fast breaks, 4 of 5 shots, three of which were all successful, 1 of 2 shots near the basket, 2 of 4 free throws, and scored 10 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, 4 blocks, 1 turnover, and 1 foul. His strong performance made all the fans watching the game cheer.