Healthy basketball, starting from eating the old Lakers F4

Chapter 170: The more you fight, the stronger you become and take over the game!
Winning is the catalyst that makes talented players better and better.

The Bulls' 1-point victory in G15 in the first round of the playoffs also made the Bulls youth team energetic and confident, making them stronger.

The opponent, the Pacers, did not notice this.

On April 4, G25 between the Bulls and Pacers started again.

Because of the G1 defeat, the Pacers had to start a frenzied attack early in the first quarter to consume Duan.

Unexpectedly, Ben Gordon, who didn't dare to take action in the last game, played with extra confidence this time.

As early as the first quarter, Ben Gordon took advantage of Duenteng's inability to take action, took over the ball and fired unlimitedly.

He made 8 of 5 shots and 4 of 2 three-pointers. No one expected that Ben Gordon could score 12 points in a single quarter just by shooting.

Although Pacers starting point guard Anthony Johnson is not known for his defense, he is in the playoffs and his defensive attitude is definitely no problem.

In particular, seeing that Ben Gordon has a good touch tonight, he will naturally work harder on defense, use small movements, and use physical confrontation to restrict Ben Gordon.

However, the defensive effect cannot be said to be non-existent, it can only be said to be minimal. It feels like facing a trainer.

In other words, it was Ben Gordon who took the lead in opening up the situation and performed as the Bulls' second leader should. The Pacers were forced to adjust their resources to defend Duan.

When Ben Gordon got tired, Duan also started holding the ball and calling pick-and-rolls to rush inside.

Tonight, O'Neal Jr. was on guard and was not easily fouled by Duan.

However, Duan's ability is very comprehensive, and he can not only draw fouls.

The basic breakthrough points and the extremely accurate mid-range all gave the Pacers a headache.

After the first quarter, although Duen only scored 8 points and 3 assists, the Bulls, under the leadership of Duen, had opened the point difference to 9 points, almost reaching double digits.

22 to 31, the Pacers, as a strong defensive team, were actually beaten by the Bulls by 30+ in a single quarter in the playoffs. This is somewhat embarrassing.

The game entered the second quarter, Duan returned to the second position, and Josh Smith got the opportunity to start in the second quarter.

It is also because Duan and Ben Gordon have opened up space on the outside. Josh Smith, who receives Duan's pass, can charge towards the Pacers basket from the wing or the bottom corner.

O'Neal Jr. didn't dare to guard Duan, but as the core of the Pacers' defense, he must play a role on the court.

Faced with Josh Smith's impactful attack on the basket, O'Neal Jr. had to rise to the challenge.

One thing to say, O'Neal's defensive effect is indeed good.

Josh Smith made 6 of 2 shots in the second quarter, one of which was directly blocked by O'Neal.

However, Josh Smith also relied on his personal ability to get 4 free throw opportunities from O'Neal.

It's a pity that Josh Smith's body has not fully grown up yet, and now he is at a disadvantage against O'Neal.

The physical confrontation was followed by shooting, and the arm muscles were relatively stiff. In the end, he only made 4 of 2 free throws.

However, to be honest, Josh Smith's plan to foul O'Neal was executed very well.

There were more than 4 minutes left before the end of the first half. Because O'Neal had accumulated 2 fouls in a single quarter, Carlisle was cautious and removed O'Neal in advance.

Without the defense of O'Neal Jr., Duan confidently and boldly controlled the ball to connect the team, constantly broke into the inside to attract defense, and then created some simple balls for other teammates to mobilize their enthusiasm for the game.

At the end of the first half, the Bulls were already confident of victory.

The courtside scorer showed the score was 46 to 63. The Bulls established a 17-point lead in the first half!

If you look at it from the perspective of the second in the Eastern Conference versus the seventh in the Eastern Conference, it is normal for the Bulls to crush the Pacers.

However, considering that the Pacers were still a championship contending team at the beginning of the regular season, and now they are just because Artest was suspended and were beaten like this by the Bulls, who only had Duan in the lead, it would make people think that the Pacers are a fake team. Team.

It is worth mentioning that in the last game of the regular season, the Pacers took the initiative to admit defeat and chose the Bulls as their opponent, thinking they were being tricked!
Who knew that the Pacers would be unable to stop Du En before he exerted any force?
"We won't stop here because our goal is a championship!"

During the halftime break, Carlisle also knew that the Pacers were in big trouble, but at this time they had to toughen up and withstand the pressure.As pots and pots of chicken soup were freshly baked, the Pacers' morale finally returned.

However, after the second half started, the Bulls youth team still performed very well.

Instead of gaining the upper hand, the Pacers continued to be beaten by the Bulls.

It was not until the second half of the third quarter that the situation on the court changed slightly.

It seems that the Bulls' youth team has become stronger. Frequent fast breaks and desperate defense in the first half consumed a lot of energy.

Now in the third quarter, it seems that they want to take away the Pacers in a wave and clock out in the third quarter.

However, the Pacers withstood the pressure, and then ran out of energy. His offensive status declined rapidly, and there was a "power outage" phenomenon.

"Leave it to me next!"

His teammates missed one after another, and Du En also realized that something was wrong and stepped back to take over the game.

Duen directly asked for the ball in the low post for a post-up single. It was not easy for the Pacers to double-team Duen, otherwise there would be more opportunities for outside shots, so in the end it was O'Neal who came to defend Duen personally.

Unexpectedly, Du En's strength is not bad, and his footsteps are extremely agile.

Although O'Neal Jr. often initiates offense in the low post, he is famously not fond of confrontation.

It is precisely because of this that O'Neal Jr. is quite good in back-up play. When encountering a big center, he often relies on his footsteps and jump shots to finish.

Now defending Du En, O'Neal was leaned against by Du En's Iron Mountain, and he was a little afraid to step forward to cause trouble for Du En.

As a result, Duan turned his back and opened the way with his elbow, squeezing O'Neal out of the way and reaching the basket.

boom--

Dale Davis, who came to help defend, was dunked directly in front of Duan!
O'Neal Jr. wanted to use offense to regain face, but Duan didn't give him a chance. While guarding O'Neal himself, he asked his teammates to double-team him.

O'Neal Jr. made a pass error, and the Bulls immediately started a transition attack after completing the steal. As the Bulls scored again, the point difference was pulled back to more than 15 points.

The key to the Pacers winning is defense, but judging from the last two playoff games, the Pacers can't guard the Bulls at all!

Judging from the personal offense of the bosses of the two teams, Duan easily played 30+, but O'Neal did not have this ability.

After the third quarter, Du En's personal score had reached 26 points.

However, due to Reggie Miller's buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of the third quarter, the difference between the two teams was reduced to 14 points.

When things like this happen, Duen naturally has to be on the safe side and plays again at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Although Scott Skiles was concerned about Duan's status tonight, Duan has a high status in the Bulls and controls his own playing time.

Doane told Scott Skiles not to worry about his physical strength and promised to get the game over as soon as possible, and Scott Skiles was fine with it.

The next game, just as Du En promised before, it only took four or five minutes to complete it.

Du En led the team to widen the point difference to 19 points. Although it did not reach 20, the game time was running out.

Carlisle also knew that there was no chance of tonight's game, so he cut through the mess quickly and withdrew the main force in advance.

85 to 108, the Bulls once again defeated the Pacers with a huge advantage of 23 points!
Two consecutive big wins turned the Pacers, who took the initiative to pick the Bulls, into clowns.

Now the outside world has basically seen clearly the reality of the Bulls and Pacers. Under the leadership of Duan, the Bulls indeed have the second-best strength in the Eastern Conference.

Any team that places too many defensive resources on Duen in order to limit Duen's performance may be beaten to death by the Bulls' rookies.

And once the defense against Duen is relaxed, Duen will step up and take over the game.

Two consecutive 30+ performances are enough to prove that Dune is stronger in the playoffs than in the regular season!

(End of this chapter)