The older superstars of the NBA

Chapter 844 Semi-final Game 5 2

Kawhi Leonard's singles really helped the Toronto Raptors continue to score, especially in the second half of the third quarter, when the Raptors once chased the point difference to about 2 points.

If it weren't for DeMarcus Cousins' dunks under the basket, I'm afraid the New York Knicks would have been overtaken by the Raptors.

The situation on the court looked a little critical, but Knicks coach Norman Thomas remained calm. He had been sitting on the team bench watching the game. He never stood up from the beginning to the end of the third quarter. Every move he made was like that of his opponent. Coach Nick Nurse is a stark contrast.

Coach Nurse has been shouting from the sidelines since the third quarter, and until the end of the third quarter, he did not sit down on the team bench to rest.

call out.

The referee's whistle sounded and the third quarter was finally over.

The score between the two sides was 81 to 80.

The Raptors finally caught up with the Knicks in this quarter with Leonard's outstanding performance, narrowing the point difference to only 1 point.

It seems that the two teams are on the same starting line again.

But in fact, on the Knicks' bench at this time, the two core players Zhao Feiyang and Porzingis were finishing their rest.

They are in very good shape now that their physical strength has recovered.

On the other hand, the Raptors, as the core, Leonard and Lowry looked very difficult. Not only were they sweating profusely, but they were also breathing heavily when they walked off the court. They were indeed physically exhausted.

"Kawhi, Kyle, take the time to rest!"

"You still have to go up in the last quarter... Our lineup is not strong enough, so we have to rely on you to support... I know you are tired, but now we have to do this... ..."

Coach Nick Nurse kept shouting from the team bench.

Then he called the other players together, selected three players with relatively balanced physical strength and strength and put them into the team's lineup. After doing all this, he quickly arranged the tactics for the last quarter.

The break passed quickly.

When the referee's whistle sounded again, players from both sides walked onto the court again.

The two teams' lineups look completely different this time around.

Not only is the morale of the Raptors low, but the players also look tired. The morale of the Knicks is high, and the two super core players are in good spirits.

The contrast between the two sides was stark.

call out.

The Knicks serve.

The ball was given to Zhao Feiyang, who held the ball across half court. Lowry continued to guard him as before. Seeing the tired look on his opponent's face, Zhao Feiyang simply changed directions and shook off Lowry.

After passing Lowry, Zhao Feiyang dribbled the ball into the two zones.

He made no extra moves and directly chose to jump up and take a shot in the two zones. Whoops, a mid-range shot hit the basket steadily.

It was the Raptors' turn to fight back.

Lowry advanced with the ball. As soon as he got the ball, Zhao Feiyang kept harassing him. Originally, he just wanted to consume Lowry's physical energy, but he didn't expect that Zhao Feiyang slapped Lowry's dribble away.

The basketball fell out, and Zhao Feiyang, who picked up the ball, accelerated and rushed to the basket.

When he jumped up, Lowry also followed to interfere. The two met each other in mid-air. Zhao Feiyang suddenly pulled the lever to avoid Lowry's block and threw the ball toward the backboard with his left hand.

boom.

The basketball hit the backboard and fell into the basket.

After coming out, Zhao Feiyang's performance was extremely strong. Not only did he forcefully score despite Lowry's interference, but he also began to use long-range shots to control the situation on the court.

Upon seeing this, Coach Nurse quickly signaled other players to come up and assist Lowry in defense. This method seemed to be effective, but soon Zhao Feiyang seized the opportunity to join forces with Porzingis inside.

The two kept playing pick-and-roll tactics. Once Porzingis got the ball, he would get to the basket and dunk. Once Zhao Feiyang deceives the opponent, he will choose a mid-range shot with a more stable hit rate to end the battle.

In short, the cooperation between the two caught the Raptors off guard.

Leonard also tried to reverse the situation in singles. What he didn't expect was that the Knicks not only did not choose the double-team tactic, but also gave him more opportunities to make long shots.

After Leonard made several long-range shots, his physical energy consumption increased and his shooting percentage began to decline. So in the end, even if he ran out of space, he sometimes couldn't throw the ball into the basket.

The score difference between the two sides also gradually widened in the second half of the last quarter.

When there was less than one minute left in the game, the score between the two sides was 1 to 107. The 97-point gap made all chasing points meaningless.

Leonard was a little reluctant. Even though there were only 40 seconds left in the game, he still asked his teammates for the right to pass the ball and personally dribbled the ball through half court for a single.

The Raptors serve.

After dribbling the ball across half court, Leonard looked for an opportunity at the top of the key. After encountering interference from Adrian, he suddenly pulled away and shook twice. Adrian was deceived by him, and Leonard also took advantage of the opportunity to raise the basketball and shoot.

boom.

The first time I took a shot, the basketball bounced out.

The rebound was grabbed by Leonard's teammate Siakam, who once again threw the ball into his hands. Leonard took the basketball and continued to shoot.

boom.

This time he threw a three-pointer, but unfortunately the basketball still hit the rim and bounced out.

The Raptors bench was wailing, and Leonard himself on the court shook his head helplessly.

"Oh! No!"

Snapped.

Marc Gasol picked up the rebound amid the wailing. He did not pass it to Leonard, but took the ball into the basket himself. After turning around, he avoided Porzingis' interference and stretched out his hand to throw the basketball on the backboard, but as soon as he made the move, Jordan, who came up from the wing to defend, slapped him in the face.

Snapped.

Gasol directly received the blood cap sent by Jordan.

The scene was filled with exclamations of surprise.

The Raptors' bench has also turned into despair.

This time, good luck didn't fall into their hands again, and Porzingis grabbed the basketball. After getting the ball, he threw a long pass to Zhao Feiyang on the outside. Zhao Feiyang accelerated the ball and threw it directly into LaVine's hands after halftime.

LaVine accelerated across the half court, and when Lowry rushed forward to interfere, LaVine leaped high with a two-handed dunk and smashed the ball into the basket.

boom.

The score stretched to 12 points.

There are only 13 seconds left.

This time was no longer enough for the Raptors to regain the victory, so the Knicks simply chose to let the Raptors play. This time, Lowry rushed forward with the ball and drove all the way across half court to the basket for a layup.

99:108.

There are only 5 seconds left.

The Knicks sent out the basketball, but instead of executing the offensive plan, Zhao Feiyang took the ball in his hands. When Lowry came to him, Zhao Feiyang's face was very calm.

"Kyle, do you want to fight again?"

"If you want to score, take the ball!"

Of course Lowry wouldn't do that.

Helplessly, he stood there and sighed heavily.

Zhao Feiyang dropped the basketball and took the initiative to give Lowry a hug. Other Knicks players saw this and went over to say hello to the Raptors players.

A moment later, the timer sounded, and the Knicks also defeated the Raptors 4-1 at their home court to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.