Chapter 305: The brave win when they meet on a narrow road

Kobe seemed like a different person. Similarly, under his urging, the Lakers also seemed like a different team. The entire team's spirit was lifted, showing true, terrifying offense and defense.

This was the role of a leader.

Kobe had ten thousand flaws; you could say he was narrow-minded, jealous, selfish, paranoid, and crazy, but no one could deny that he was a good leader.

Kobe played one-on-one on the wing, quickly crushing his old rival Carter's defense. Ten years of discipline made his physical quality even more fierce than the former "Half-Man, Half-Amazing."

Kobe entered the paint. Under his request, Howard quickly and accurately arrived at the tactical position. Kobe feinted, stuffed the ball in, and Howard turned his body to hit the ball in, easy and precise.

Back to the half-court.

The Lakers' defensive intensity reached an extremely strong level under Kobe's encouragement, and the Clippers' tactical interweaving seemed strenuous.

Fan Xi was very excited.

He liked high-intensity confrontation.

He started his breakthrough from the arc, Kwame Brown came up to screen for him. Through Brown's broad body, Fan Xi instantly exploded with powerful torque, breaking through Pau Gasol's defense, straight into the free-throw line. Kobe Bryant indeed came over to help defend.

Fan Xi had an opportunity to pass to Carter at this moment.

He could easily do it; he already possessed Stockton's passing ability.

But he didn't do it. He paused, actively falling into Kobe's defensive ambush... as if he really wasn't good at passing during a pick-and-roll.

Kobe stuck very close. Fan Xi made a move to drill into the trap. When Kobe and Gasol double-teamed him, he turned around and shot a floating fadeaway jump shot... the difficulty was quite high.

Swish!

The ball hit.

If it wasn't difficult, Fan Xi wouldn't even shoot.

"Jack's forced, difficult shot is becoming more and more like Kobe Bryant's," Charles Barkley sighed on TV.

I don't know if it's this kind of sarcasm or that kind of sarcasm.

One sentence offended two people.

Kenny Smith frowned and said: "There's no other way. Jack isn't good at playing pick-and-roll; he's an offense-driven, assist-type point guard."

Their words were what D'Antoni, Magic Johnson, and Jean Bas were thinking.

Magic frowned: How? Did Jack not learn pick-and-roll assists?

D'Antoni also turned to look at Magic; he felt Magic might have mythologized Fan Xi too seriously.

The game continued to move forward. Kobe and Gasol played a subtle coordination; their tacit understanding over the years made the Clippers' defense face great challenges.

Changing sides to fight again, Fan Xi was still playing pick-and-roll, but after being double-teamed in the pick-and-roll, he chose to pass. He passed into the paint, and DeAndre Jordan picked the ball into the basket.

It was very dangerous, just like dancing on the tip of a knife.

The Lakers played more and more methodically, with more and more of a king's aura. Kobe Bryant lived up to his reputation.

The Clippers hadn't put Nowitzki on the court, although they changed players, Grant Hill, Butler, Leonard, and Hamilton took turns.

The Clippers were visibly struggling at every step. Fan Xi fell into a desperate situation almost every play, relying on his personal ability to force shots—his touch was okay tonight. Or, he would pass the ball out from the cracks, letting his teammates isolate.

The point difference was narrowing.

But very slowly.

The third quarter passed quickly.

Without their number one scorer, the Clippers held on.

The Lakers chased the score back to within 1 point.

This was the moment since the opening that the Lakers had trailed by the least.

The fans in the arena were already a bit uneasy.

The TV audience across the ocean was even more nervous. This was the first battle of the New Year; if the Clippers lost, Fan Xi's miracle would be ended.

Everyone was very worried.

The CCTV commentator and host pretended to be strong. "The problem isn't big. Nowitzki hasn't played, and Fan Xi leading the team to this extent already shows how powerful they are. The Lakers have played their main players for three quarters, and they will definitely rest next. Once they rest, the Clippers will have an opportunity."

"This is the Clippers' strategy, don't be impatient."

"Fan Xi looks like he has a plan in his chest. And even if they lose, it's just a regular season game. Didn't we win one on Christmas?"

The commentator was vaguely giving a vaccination.

Everyone had bad guesses.

Jean Bas stood up from behind the bench. She was extremely excited, high-fiving every player with a flowery appearance, and shouting loudly: "Well done, I'm proud of you."

She deliberately wanted everyone to see her; this was the effect she was pursuing.

She wanted everyone to know that the Lakers were invincible.

Even more, she wanted Time Warner to know that the Lakers were their only choice. In the City of Angels, it was impossible for any team to replace the Lakers—not now, and not in the next twenty, thirty, or forty years.

In terms of momentum, the Lakers seemed to have taken the initiative.

But in fact, the Clippers were still leading by 1 point.

Fan Xi returned to the bench, still full of smiles. He told everyone: "You all performed very well; it's me who wasn't hard-working enough and didn't bring out my full strength."

"No!"

Butler stood up immediately and said loudly: "Jack, you've already given your all; it's us who didn't work hard enough. Believe me, next I will charge into their paint like I'm carrying a dynamite pack."

"That's right, boss. I won't let Kobe catch the ball so easily again, and I won't let him do whatever he wants so easily!" Leonard also stood up. This dull guy said firmly: "I won't let you lose the game on such an important day."

Fan Xi raised his eyebrows; he felt a bit strange. Why were these guys being so "sentimental"?

Isn't it better to relax? I still have a killer move that hasn't come out yet.

Little did Fan Xi know, the more relaxed he spoke, the more his teammates felt he was enduring humiliation and carrying all the responsibility on his own shoulders.

They were even more eager to share the burden for Fan Xi.

Even Nowitzki was like this.

He patted Fan Xi on the shoulder: "Jack, next I should show the Los Angeles fans the significance of my coming here."

Hmm?

What did Nowitzki mean by this?

Mike Brown announced the lineup for the fourth quarter: Fan Xi, Leonard, Butler, Nowitzki, Kwame Brown.

This was the lineup with the best chemistry and the most stable offense and defense for the Clippers in positional attacks.

Mike Brown asked everyone: "Start from defense, fight with the Lakers with bayonets. Let them know that we also have an iron-blooded spirit."

Mike Brown clapped to boost morale.

Like Celtics head coach Doc Rivers, he was very good at using passion to drive players.

…

Ron Artest's mental state also lifted with the Lakers' boost in the third quarter, and he even became a bit excited again. He digested the fact that he was shaken to his knees, and now he was thinking about finding Fan Xi to take revenge.

Therefore, he took the initiative to ask Mike D'Antoni: "Coach, I think I'm ready. The team needs me, and I can inject strong muscle power into the team. They won't break free from my iron cage."

Artest was confident.

Mike D'Antoni nodded.

He put Artest on the list and, following Kobe's suggestion, replaced Gasol with Murphy, still playing an iron-blooded positional battle.

Kobe had always believed that the brave win when they meet on a narrow road.

And more coincidentally, Fan Xi also believed in this point.

Beep!

The whistle sounded.

The decisive battle began.

… ===== CHAPTER 306 =====