Champion Creed
Chapter 747 - 747 255 He really can fart in the face to make Shaq doubt his life Ask for a monthly pass!_4

747: 255: He really can “fart” in the face to make Shaq doubt his life (Ask for a monthly pass!)_4 747: 255: He really can “fart” in the face to make Shaq doubt his life (Ask for a monthly pass!)_4 The most crucial thing was that Phil Jackson’s strategy worked.

His approach of not allowing Paul Pierce to get into the rhythm of the game was successful, as Pierce’s offense was not as magical as the last game.

More often, the offensive pressure was on Roger.

Moreover, Pierce also found himself in trouble with fouls today.

Because his outside shooting was not very good, Pierce increased the frequency of his drives.

But Robert Horry craftily drew two offensive fouls on Pierce.

He always managed to appear exactly in Pierce’s driving lane and exaggeratedly fell backward when hit by Pierce.

After all, Pierce was just a sophomore rookie; he lacked sufficient experience in this regard.

By the end of the half, Pierce had already committed three fouls.

The Lakers went into halftime leading by 5 points, with a 54-49 score.

Roger scored 18 points in the half; the Lakers still hadn’t managed to limit him effectively.

Although the Lakers’ double-team on Roger was quick today, he still made many incredible shots.

However, it turned out that limiting Pierce was also a way to win.

After all, the team that was leading was the Lakers.

First off, completely shutting down Roger was simply impossible.

Allowing both Roger and Pierce to catch fire would make winning impossible.

So if that’s the case, start by attacking where Pierce is weaker, at least silence one of the scoring points.

If we can’t get Roger, can’t we deal with you?

During halftime, the Zen Master decided to intensify the focus on handling Pierce.

“Kobe, I allow you to fire at will.

Use your drives to go against Paul Pierce, and hurt him as much as possible!”

Phil Jackson wasn’t worried about Kobe not being able to execute this tactic because Kobe’s eyes were like that of a viper locked onto its target.

He would definitely take down Paul Pierce; the Zen Master had no doubts about this.

As the third quarter started, Kobe immediately sped past Pierce for a drive.

Pierce’s defensive abilities were never on par with Roger’s or Pippen’s; he was aggressive in defense, but feared players who were fast and had good footwork.

Fast players restrained Pierce’s relatively slow lateral movement, and those with good footwork completely crushed Pierce’s basketball IQ.

After Kobe’s drive, Pierce knew he couldn’t afford another foul, so he didn’t dare to contest too hard, effectively giving up his advantage in physical play.

Kobe easily made a mid-range jump shot, extending the lead to 7 points.

Lenny Wilkens began making hand signals from the sideline.

Pierce cursed silently because Wilkens meant to switch defenders.

Letting Pippen deal with Kobe.

This was tantamount to admitting Pierce’s failure in this matchup.

Kobe, figuring out Lenny Wilkens’ intentions, spread out his arms triumphantly towards Pierce and threw the first trash talk of the day, “Look, even your coach has given up on you.”

A trash talk with no real bite, but it struck a chord with Pierce because it was true.

The Lakers were close to widening the lead, but then, in the Hawks’ offensive turn, Roger drove along the baseline and, despite O’Neal’s block attempt, made a successful layup, shattering the Lakers’ attempt.

Today, Roger was in good form on the offense, constantly covering for his team.

Pierce felt guilty, his performance today was nowhere near Kobe’s.

He would not allow this game to turn into another Game 7 of the Eastern Finals.

Since he wasn’t shooting well today, instead of taking poor shots, Pierce devoted more energy to defense.

In the following game, Pierce actively helped his team a lot on the defensive end.

But the Lakers controlled the initiative from start to finish and maintained the lead.

By the fourth quarter, Pierce felt he was on the brink.

Not because he had committed his fourth foul, but because his stomach was aching again!

In the first play of the fourth quarter, Big Ben fouled Shaq early, but Shaq still made both free throws, maintaining the lead at 6 points.

Playing up to now, O’Neal had made 7 out of 10 free throws, quite an excellent percentage for him.

Twice he made both free throws, and once he made one of two, with never two misses.

O’Neal, after making the free throws, continued to taunt Pierce, who was underperforming today: “How about that?

Can you still make me question my life even when you’re holding it in?”

O’Neal constantly trash-talked Pierce; he and the Zen Master shared the same idea, if they couldn’t handle Roger, they’d deal with Pierce.

If Pierce cracked under pressure, Roger alone would find it difficult to support the team.

Whether or not Pierce could make Shaq question life was unknown, but right now, he truly was holding it in.

However, with only the last quarter left, Pierce could only tell himself, “Just endure a little longer!”

The Lakers once again had the chance to extend the lead, but Roger came through with a step-back three-pointer.

Roger was among the few players in the league who preferred to shoot three-pointers off the dribble.

In fact, until Stephen Curry, shooting threes off the dribble was not a regular weapon among the great stars.

So, Roger always considered Curry a game-changing player.

His shooting had changed the offensive play of basketball, and his slam had pushed the limits of the sky.

In this history, the trend might be set by Roger.

Although Harper had slowed down in speed, his defensive experience was rich, and he was aware of Roger’s habits.

When Roger attempted the step-back three-pointer, Harper immediately got in place to contest it.

But it was to no avail, as Roger’s long shot brought the Hawks back within 3 points.

Phil Jackson shook his head in resignation, now in the Lakers, Kobe was the strongest on the perimeter defense, but because of Pierce, he couldn’t reassign Kobe to guard Roger.