Hold On for the Final 50 Seconds
Van Exel looked at Li Chen with some surprise. He had clearly been out of position, so how was he able to block his shot?
"Not convinced? You can come again."
Hearing this, Van Exel's face turned ugly. He understood; Li Chen was clearly looking down on him. He gritted his teeth, "I refuse to believe it."
Nash throws the ball inbounds.
Van Exel raised his hand to ask for the ball, but Nash Van Exel it.
"Looks like you're not very popular!" Li Chen continued his trash talk.
Van Exel's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He hadn't expected that his trash talk would have no effect. Instead, Li Chen had driven him to the brink of a mental breakdown.
Nash passed the ball to Nowitzki.
German War Machine Nowitzki, the German machine, scored a mid-range jump shot over Odom.
The Dallas Mavericks' offense remained sharp, trailing 89-92.
The Clippers were on offense. Li Chen mismatched against Nash, drew a foul on Nash, and completed a 2+1 play.
Don Nelson slapped his forehead; he was speechless at Nash's defense. He thought to himself, "You might as well not defend at all."
The Clippers tied the game at 92-92.
Dallas Mavericks) on offense.
Van Exel regained possession, and this time he was determined to teach that damn Yellow Monkey a lesson.
Just then, Li Chen made another suicidal steal.
Van Exel scoffed. Did he really think he was a fool? Trying to pull that stunt again? The same method wouldn't work on me.
Van Exel easily dodged Li Chen's suicidal steal once again; this time, he was determined to...
But before he could finish his thought, he realized that the ball in his hands had been stolen.
He looked completely bewildered. What was going on? This time was different from last time.
After stealing the ball, Li Chen sprinted towards the frontcourt, but his fast break momentum was quickly contained by the Dallas Mavericks' swift retreat defense.
Li Chen no longer focused on fast breaks. The basketball bounced off the floor with a crisp, pleasant thud. His eyes were sharp as Eagle Eye's, constantly observing the movements of both his own and the opposing players in order to find the best scoring opportunity.
At that moment, Li Chen moved.
Seeing this, Adrian felt a chill. The coach had told him to stop this Eastern Kid at all costs, but he really couldn't! Was he supposed to just hug him?
Although he was inwardly complaining, he had to go for it. He stuck to it like a leech, which was the last defensive strategy he could think of.
Li Chen held the ball with his back to the goal.
At this moment, Corey Maggette came to receive the pass, and Li Chen bounced the ball to Corey Maggette.
At the same time, he cut inside towards the basket.
At this moment, two defenders had already gathered around Li Chen.
Corey Maggette passed the ball to Li Chen, who was cutting inside, and then positioned himself on the outside.
Li Chen received the ball, used the Euro step to bypass the defense of Nahura and LaFrentz, and forced a layup against Nowitzki, drawing a foul from Nowitzki.
At the same time, the basketball slammed heavily onto the backboard, bounced, and went into the basket, 2+1, Li Chen scored a 2+1 against Nowitzki.
Nowitzki put his hands on his hips and shook his head helplessly.
Li Chen stepped up to the free-throw line.
Bang! Li Chen's free throw didn't go in cleanly this time, but the basketball still managed to roll in with difficulty.
The Clippers regained the lead at 95-92.
Li Chen was a bit tired. He played for 40 minutes in this game, and he was the one who broke through and disrupted the Dallas Mavericks') defense, creating opportunities for his teammates.
Nash's layup attempt missed, and Wang Zhizhi, Odom, and three Dallas Mavericks battled for the rebound.
LaFrentz finally grabbed the rebound, and Li Chen's attempt to steal the ball failed, but he managed to poke it out of bounds.
The Mavericks' ball.
The Mavericks then continued to pass the ball around, looking for the best shooting opportunity.
With six seconds left on the attack, they finally got a golden opportunity.
Odom was seen helping to defend Nash's drive, while Andre Miller didn't have time to help defend Nowitzki.
Nash passed the ball to Nowitzki.
Nowitzki took a jump shot, but the ball hit the edge of the rim and bounced away.
Nowitzki was also tired; after all, he was the Clippers' primary defensive target.
Another scramble for the rebound erupted under the basket, and in the end, Wang Zhizhi knocked the ball out of bounds.
The Clippers' Defensive Ability was evident to the Dallas Mavericks) players after two unsuccessful offensive attempts.
Van Eriksley drove to the basket for a layup, but was blocked by Li Chen again, and the ball flew out of bounds once more.
He was somewhat frustrated, as he hadn't scored a single point since Li Chen started guarding him, which made him feel like crying.
Adrian.
He received a pass from Nash and drove to the basket, drawing a foul from Corey Maggette.
Adrian went to the free-throw line, swish! thud! Adrian made one of two shots.
Wang Zhizhi gets the rebound.
With the score at 95-93, the team maintained its two-point lead.
The Dallas Mavericks took about 40 seconds to score a single point on this possession, which frustrated them, as time was precious for a team trailing behind.
With a two-point lead, the Clippers' strategy now is to play steadily and try to convert every offensive opportunity.
Li Chen looked at the remaining time.
The game ended with 5 minutes and 59 seconds remaining.
Li Chen thought to himself, hoping the Clippers could hold on for the rest of the time.
At this moment, Andre Miller passed the ball to Li Chen, then cut inside, drawing the defender away and preventing Li Chen from being double-teamed.
At that moment, Alvin Gentry put his hands to his mouth, forming a megaphone shape, and shouted loudly to the Clippers players, "Protect the rebounds!"
Upon hearing Coach Alvin Gentry's words, the Clippers players consciously or unconsciously moved closer to the basket.
Li Chen called for Wang Zhizhi to set a screen and cut inside to cooperate.
When Wang Zhizhi passed the basketball back, Li Chen quickly passed it to Odom had just made a successful cut.
Odom made a jump shot from beyond the three-point line.
The Clippers lead 98-93, a five-point advantage.
For the next five minutes, the Mavericks launched a furious offensive.
But the Clippers are not to be outdone.
With 50 seconds remaining in the game, the Clippers led the Dallas Mavericks 113-108 by 5 points.
If the Clippers can successfully execute this offensive play, they will have the victory firmly in their grasp.
The Dallas Mavericks players knew this, so their defense was very tight.
Andre Miller kept looking for passing opportunities; he wanted to pass the ball to Li Chen, but he simply didn't have a chance.
Just then, Nash suddenly stepped forward to steal the ball, and Andre Miller accidentally poked the ball away.
Fortunately, Corey Maggette got to the ball before Adrian.
However, Corey Maggette's situation was not much better at this point; he was surrounded by two opponents and was in imminent danger.
Li Chen went to receive the pass, Corey Maggette managed to pass the ball to Li Chen with difficulty.
Li Chen was double-teamed the moment he received the ball.
The Mavericks' current tactic is to double-team the ball handler.
Li Chen, prioritizing stability, didn't force any shots. He believed that with a 20% increase in shooting accuracy, his teammates were generally more reliable shooters than he was.