Jordan: I thought he was there to help me!

Chapter 549 When that time comes, the good days will truly arrive!

In the fourth quarter of the game, the Celtics once narrowed the gap to within 10 points, but that was all they could do.

Lin Tian then took over the game again, scoring a three-pointer, a 2+1 play under the basket, and an assist to Anthony for a three-pointer after a pick-and-roll. In less than two minutes, Lin Tian led the team on a 9-2 run, widening the gap to 18 points!

At this point, there were still 8 minutes left in the game! Given the Celtics' momentum in the second half, they weren't without a chance, but tonight they were facing Lin Tian, ​​who was determined to win and drag the game into a decisive Game 7!

Although Pierce hit a three-pointer to narrow the gap to 15 points, one three-pointer was clearly not enough for Lin Tian, ​​who was already on fire!

The Celtics' subsequent offenses were consistently disjointed, and they were unable to consistently defend against the Knicks' attacks and score themselves within a short period of time.

They couldn't maintain consistency and couldn't score on consecutive possessions. Against other teams, the Celtics could have slowly narrowed the gap by attacking wave after wave.

But as I said before, they encountered Lin Tian who had gone berserk!

What is Lin Tian and the Knicks best at?

That's an attack! A series of attacks!

Led by Lin Tian, ​​the Knicks were locked in a stalemate with the Celtics for a while. Then, with five minutes left in the game, they found another opportunity and capitalized on the Celtics' missed shots to score on several possessions!

In less than two minutes, it was another 8-0 run!

With only 3 minutes left in the game, the point difference between the two sides was widened to 25 points again!

Then, without hesitation, Old Nelson immediately substituted his players off the field to let them rest.

As for whether the Celtics will make any substitutions?

Old Nelson was too lazy to pay them any attention.

Anyway, he thought the other side was a bunch of idiots. Did they really think they could turn the game around?

Don't you guys know your own offensive capabilities?

Wasting energy for no reason.

With your Celtics' limited firepower, you think you can catch up to 25 points in 3 minutes? I, Nelson, will take your head off and use it as a spittoon.

Of course, just by looking at the starkly different states of the opposing team in the first and second halves, Old Nelson could guess what happened during halftime.

It's just a matter of giving the players a few bowls of inspirational platitudes to keep them working hard.

It's nothing more than things like, "We can lose tonight, but we must let the world see our efforts," and "We can lose the game, but we can't lose our spirit. Let New Yorkers see our determination."

Do whatever you want, I can't be bothered with it.

Besides, how much morale can you boost by working yourself to the bone?

I have a more effortless way.

"Sit tight, let's watch them make a fool of themselves." Old Nelson yawned after all the key players were seated around him. "They're hoping to close the gap to boost morale and prepare for the next game."

"Then shouldn't we go up and beat them up again, widen the gap to 30 points, and then we can effectively strike them?" Upon hearing this, Anthony immediately said that he was no longer sleepy, stood up, and wanted to go up and punch the Celtics a couple more times.

There's nothing we can do about it. Tonight was his best game of the entire playoffs this year. He made 11 of 20 shots, his field goal percentage was over 50% for the first time, and he also made 3 three-pointers and 6 free throws. He has already scored 31 points tonight!

This is the first time he has scored 31 points in a playoff game.

Of course he wanted to go up and score a few more points.

"Sit down." Old Nelson certainly wouldn't let Anthony go up again, but calmly said, "The fact that we go up to stop them from narrowing the score and thwart their attempt to regain confidence will give them confidence in itself."

"It will make them think that we are afraid, that we are trying to create difficulties for them in order to defeat them."

"But honestly, we don't need this!"

"Let them find their confidence, let them prove themselves, whatever."

"What we need to do is watch the monkey show, see how they waste their energy when there is no hope, and how they keep padding their stats even when they are sure to lose."

"Ignoring and disdain are the most effective ways to strike at them! You went up and widened the gap to 30 points, but it was useless! You went up and didn't play well, and they narrowed the gap to 15 points, which suited their wishes."

"The best way is to ignore them."

"Don't we need to taunt them a bit more?" Lin Tian asked, craning his neck as soon as Old Nelson finished speaking. "I think it would be even more effective to taunt them a couple more times after the game! Maybe that will cause their morale to collapse again."

"That's what I was just about to say." Old Nelson gave Lin Tian a rather lewd smile and said, "Then it's up to you! You're in charge."

"I love this job!" Lin Tian clapped his hands and casually picked up a real-time technical statistic to look at.

Let's start with the data!

After Don Nelson's words, the Knicks players completely relaxed, and the group sitting on the bench started joking with each other, completely ignoring the 10 players playing on the court.

By doing this, they were clearly slapping the faces of the Celtics players who were desperately trying to prove themselves on the court.

They were angry! They were unhappy!

They felt ignored, and they couldn't wait to prove themselves!

For example, after Howard completed a dunk, he originally wanted to shout and yell at the Knicks' bench players to celebrate, to get their attention, and hopefully force one or two Knicks starters back onto the court.

The problem is, when Howard excitedly rushed over and yelled at the Knicks players, not one of them even looked at him.

He flexed his muscles at the Knicks' bench for ages, but they just ignored him completely. There was no verbal sparring, no physical interaction, and not even eye contact.

Howard was completely ignored.

Ignoring it is one thing.

The problem is that Howard spent too much time in front of the Knicks' bench!

It was so long that even the referee felt it was inappropriate.

You can provoke them, you can celebrate with them.

But there has to be a limit!

The offense has reached your half of the court, the Knicks are about to find a shot, and you, Howard, are still shouting "Hey! Ha! Whoosh! Ya!" endlessly. Is that appropriate?

What if Lin beats you up later?

The referee didn't care whether Lin Tian was making eye contact with Howard or not; that was Lin Tian!

After his outburst, he became a ruthless man who dared to beat up even his coach and Tyson. The referees dared not gamble on how much patience Lin Tian had on the field, for who knows when his patience would run out.

The referee stopped the game, walked up to Howard while cursing, and gave Howard a technical foul without hesitation.

Howard covered his tiny head with his enormous hands, looking utterly incredulous, and said, "Are you kidding me?! Why would I get a technical foul? Doesn't the league rule say you can't celebrate after a basket?"

"I'm saving you." The referee didn't say much to Howard: "Haven't you watched the games of the 90s? That was a real era of iron and blood. The league and games now are like little girls playing in the mud compared to that time."

"If it were 6...7...never mind. If it were many years ago, Lin would have grabbed a chair and punched you on the ground." The referee said, lamenting his declining memory and how fast time flies.

In the blink of an eye, it seems like eight years have passed since Lin Tian crushed the Jazz in the finals.

This also means that Lin Tian hasn't punched anyone on the NBA court for a full eight years.

To be honest, I do miss that passion a bit...

Forget it, I won't reminisce.

Who would miss the era when you had to be constantly vigilant, always ready to stop players from fighting, and risk losing your bonus for a player conflict?

It's better now!

Hmm...maybe things will get better in the future!

Maybe in the future all players will treat each other with respect. When an opponent falls to the ground, instead of kicking them while they're down, they'll lend a hand to help them up. All players will be brothers who have fun together, and all players will be one family.

As for the referee?

The referees will definitely be able to completely control the game in the future, and will be able to blow the whistle at any time, calling any physical contact that could lead to a fight a foul!

At that point, the referee will be God on the field, and the referee will be able to decide the game!

I said you didn't go out of bounds, and you didn't go out of bounds!

I said you didn't walk, and you didn't walk!

I said you touched his body hair, and that's what you mean!

When that time comes, the good days will truly arrive!

"If the NBA doesn't allow players to celebrate, they can just say so, instead of bullying rookies like us here!"

The referee's vision of a bright future was interrupted by Howard's incessant complaining. By this time, the Celtics players had already come over. They pulled Howard back, trying to calm him down and prevent him from getting a second technical foul. But what was that saying again?

When a person is angry, if no one stops him or hinders him, he will just swear a few times and then it will be over. He may even shrink back quickly when facing a tough opponent.

But if someone tries to stop him or try to persuade him, then I'm sorry.

He immediately transformed into a tough war god, declaring, "If you don't give me an explanation today, this matter won't be over!"

There is a specific term to describe this situation.

Impotent rage.

For example, Dwight Howard is very tough and relentless. He fiercely berated the referee, even when several teammates tried to calm him down.

We need an explanation.

Thus, what was originally a rather minor matter became quite troublesome due to Howard's impotent rage.

The referee got fed up with him and crossed his arms, issuing a second technical foul.

Leave now.

With the outcome of the game no longer in doubt and little time remaining, the referee ejected Howard.

Howard snorted, took off his jersey, revealing an expression that said he had suffered the greatest humiliation and injustice in the world. He then snorted again, struck what he considered the coolest, most tragic, and most heroic pose, and turned to walk out of the North Shore Garden.

"A clown jumping around." From beginning to end, no one on the Knicks' bench paid any attention to Howard, and no one stood up to argue with him. It wasn't until Howard was ejected that Lin Tiancai shook his head and said this.

This remark drew laughter from his teammates, a stark contrast to the Celtics' current sullen state.

Thus, the last bit of drama in this match came to an end, and the rest of the game ended in a fairly peaceful and uneventful manner.

The Celtics scored a few more points, making their loss tonight less significant and less embarrassing, but they are still quite far from victory.

As Nelson said: "Desperate effort for no reason, utterly useless effort."

100: 90!

By the end of the game, the score difference between the two teams had been narrowed to exactly 10 points, but anyone who watched the game knows that for half of the fourth quarter, it was the Celtics' full-strength lineup against the Knicks' bench players.

This score has absolutely no merit.

The Celtics were completely outplayed by the Knicks tonight!

But clearly, the night wasn't over yet.

The post-match press conference is still waiting to begin, isn't it?

Lin Tian came here with a mission today!

"You won by more than 30 points in the first half, but lost by 20 points in the second half, especially in the third quarter when both teams were playing with their full strength, and you got blown out. Are you worried about the team's performance?"

"Of course not, there's nothing to worry about." Lin Tian said easily, "We just relaxed a bit in the third quarter. We thought a 30-point lead was enough, but we didn't expect them to put up such a desperate fight."

"So we tightened up a bit in the fourth quarter, and the Celtics couldn't keep up immediately. Tonight, the two teams were on completely different levels in terms of performance and energy."

"So, Lin, do you really think you can win Game 7?"

"Of course, we will definitely win. We're already thinking about our next opponent."

"Donnie has already booked our flights and hotel in Detroit. We'll head to Detroit the night after Game 7 ends, so we can get about two days of rest there."

"Speaking of which, I can't help but want to curse Jason a bit. If they hadn't been so bad and been eliminated in just 5 games, we wouldn't be in such a rush. How many points did he get in the fifth game again?"

「好像是14投2中，拿下7分8篮板10助攻？我只能说，贾森的表现让人失望。」

"Achoo!" Kidd, who was eliminated three days ago, is now in Hawaii. He was lying on the beach looking at the stars when he suddenly sneezed. The sneeze was so loud that the girl kneeling in front of him couldn't react in time and her teeth grazed him.

Kidd's screams echoed along the Hawaiian beach, but at least this time there were no reporters taking pictures of him.

Back on the distant East Coast of the United States, Lin Tian still dealt with the media's questions with ease and arrogance.

"In the fourth quarter, the Celtics were unwilling to take their starters out, and they played almost the entire fourth quarter with their starters. What are your thoughts on that?"

"I didn't watch it. They couldn't possibly catch up, so I didn't watch the match at all. I spent half the time spacing out and the other half chatting with my teammates about the latest Battlefield 2. It's such an awesome game!"

"I recommend this to everyone who likes war games; it's the best first-person shooter I've ever played! I recommend it to everyone who watches this interview!"

"But Lin, we don't want to talk about Battlefield 2 right now, we need to talk about..."

"Perhaps you'd like to talk about Grand Theft Auto? This is another game that I can say is 'the best I've ever seen in my life'! It will become a classic, it will become a god of the free sandbox world! But this game is quite violent and explicit, I don't recommend it to children under 18."

"Lin! What we want to ask is..." The reporter in front of him was clearly affiliated with the Boston camp and was quite angry about Lin Tian's nonsense. He felt that neither he nor his team was valued by Lin Tian.

"You mean do you want me to recommend some Chinese-style games? Well, I do have one. How about Dynasty Warriors? It's super fun to play! But I have to say, although this game is set in China, it's made by a small company. It's only good for the fun aspect; its historical accuracy and seriousness are rather average."

"In comparison, I would recommend..."

"Lin!" The reporter even stood up, somewhat rudely interrupting Lin Tian, ​​and said forcefully, "What we want to ask is, what do you think of the Celtics' performance in the fourth quarter of this game!"

"I already answered, I didn't watch it." Lin Tian spread his hands innocently and said, "I couldn't be bothered to watch how the opponents performed during garbage time. They tried their best but couldn't catch up, could they?"

"But they narrowed the 30-point gap to just 10 points in just half the game!"

"So who was it that extended the lead to 30 points in the first half of the game?"

"Our key players didn't give up until the very last moment! They never let up! They fought to the very end, don't you think they deserve some respect and admiration?"

"Dwight Howard was swaggering around and celebrating arrogantly in front of our bench. Did he give us any respect?" Lin Tian's words also became sharp: "Their behavior in the fourth quarter, in the words of our head coach—"

"It's just insignificant effort, a waste of energy, and ambition without self-awareness."

"Simply put, it's meaningless." (End of Chapter)