Reborn in the 96 golden generation

Chapter 437

After a difficult victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, the Lakers will face two back-to-back away games next. The opponents are the Utah Jazz and the Minnesota Timberwolves. A huge challenge.

On November 11, the Lakers challenged the Utah Jazz in an away game. The Jazz's lineup basically did not change much. It still used Karl Malone, Stockton, and Hornacek as the team, and took a seasoned pick-and-roll route.

Zhou Yu knew that the Utah Jazz had grown stronger and stronger. In his previous life, he reached the finals for the second time in a row this season, competing with the Bulls led by Jordan, which showed his strength.

Therefore, Zhou Yu mentioned the high position after the opening, and used his skillful ball handling skills and exquisite passing skills to patiently organize positional battles.

Under his ingenious tandem, Kobe and "Madman" were fully fired, using mid-range shots and air-cut layups to score frequently, and Horry and Van Exel could occasionally succeed in three-point attacks. exuberant.

But the Jazz are not easy to mess with. Malone and Stockton scored steadily with their perfect pick-and-roll. Hornacek's fixed-point three-pointer is still not old. The two sides competed closely in the first quarter. At the end, the score was fixed at "28:26", and the Lakers led the Jazz by only two points.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Harris took the initiative to change his formation and sent a substitute lineup led by O'Neal to fight, and the Jazz also sent a substitute to deal with it.

For the Jazz players who are older and slower, O'Neal, the inside killer, has undoubtedly become an indelible nightmare for them.

One after another, turning and dunking, the Jazz's basket was shaken, and the score was quickly pulled away. I have to admit that it was a wise move for Harris to let O'Neal switch to the bench, especially for the slow team. Speaking of it, it is simply cool and unnecessary.

In desperation, the Jazz had to adopt the "shark-cutting tactic" and frequently fouled O'Neal, and O'Neal's free throw level became another big test.

Fortunately, O'Neal's free throws today were relatively competitive, and his shooting percentage reached 60%, which caused the Jazz's substitutes to complain, and they could only watch helplessly as the Lakers steadily increased their points.

After the second quarter, the Lakers led the Jazz by as much as 57 points with "44:13", and victory was in sight.

O'Neal scored 18 points in the second quarter and became the first contributor to the Lakers' big lead.

In the third quarter, the main players of both sides reappeared. Zhou Yu took advantage of the Jazz's several missed shots and pass errors to lead the team to play a fast-breaking counterattack, and the point difference was further widened.

At the end of the third quarter, the score between the two sides was actually rewritten to "88:65". The Lakers led the Jazz by as much as 23 points, and the game lost suspense early.

In order to ensure the health of the players, Sloan simply replaced Malone and other main players, and put on all substitutes to play in the fourth quarter, which also means that the game entered "garbage time" ahead of schedule.

At the end of the game, the electronic boom sounded, and the score was finally fixed at "109:88". With a huge advantage of 21 points, the Lakers defeated the Jazz without bloodshed and won five consecutive victories!

In this game, Zhou Yu focused on assists and defense. He only scored 11 points, but grabbed 15 rebounds, sent 16 assists, and easily set up a "triple-double" data again; O'Neal scored very explosively. Scored 41 points and grabbed 11 rebounds; Kobe Bryant scored 23 points; "Madman" scored 19 points.

The "Big Four" of the Lakers once again showed their terrifying scoring ability, almost taking over the whole team's scoring.

On November 11, the Lakers will travel to Minnesota to challenge the Timberwolves away.

The Timberwolves are still centered on "Wolf King" Garnett and "Lone Wolf" Marbury. The two complement each other perfectly, causing a lot of trouble for the Lakers in the first quarter.

Garnett's large fadeaway jumper is still difficult to guard against, even the tall and long-armed Zhou Yu can't match it, and Marbury's breakthrough layup and emergency stop jumper are also extremely sharp and full of lethality.

Although Garnett succeeded in many backward jump shots in front of Zhou Yu, Zhou Yu did not panic. He believed that Garnett's super high shooting percentage would not last long, and it was difficult to pose a fatal threat to the Lakers by relying on mid-range shots alone. .

And Kobe also frequently used his good turnaround jumper to give Marbury a powerful counterattack.

The "Madman" was not to be outdone, and only made a quick cut to the basket whenever he had a chance. Regardless of whether he made it or not, he gave the Timberwolves goosebumps.

Compared with Kobe and "Madman", Zhou Yu didn't fully exert his strength in the first quarter. He played tepidly. He took a shot when he had the opportunity, and handed over the ball to his teammates when he had no opportunity. He shrank under the basket to grab the ball. Good rebound.

It is worth mentioning that although Zhou Yu's current rebounding skills are slightly inferior to those of top rebounders, he is still a first-class player. Therefore, not only does the Lakers not suffer in terms of rebounding, but they are still ahead of the Timberwolves.

After the first quarter, the score between the two sides was fixed at "26:23", and the Timberwolves led the Lakers by three points with their home court advantage.

At the start of the second quarter, Harris still kept the main force on the court. At this time, Zhou Yu finally started to exert his strength. With his guard-like breakthrough skills and speed, he frequently tore through Garnett's defense line and went deep to the basket to score points. .

Garnett was also annoyed, first he made a few mid-range fadeaway jumpers, and after hitting the iron frequently, he then fell to the low post and launched a fierce attack on Zhou Yu.

Garnett's inside singles skills are relatively simple and rough. Most of them rely on turning around, stepping small hooks or turning back jump shots to score points. Zhou Yu has already known his routines well. The advantage of height and wingspan gives Garnett effective interference.

Garnett's shooting percentage began to plummet. Marbury couldn't stand it anymore, and bravely took over the banner of offense. Unfortunately, under the interference of Kobe and "Madman" in turn, his shooting percentage was not good.

If it weren't for the other members of the Timberwolves team who scored a few three-pointers from the outside, the Timberwolves would probably be taken away by a "wave".

The two sides fought fiercely until 5 minutes and 03 seconds left before the end of the second quarter, and the score was rewritten to "43:38". The Lakers overtook the Timberwolves by five points and gradually took the initiative.

At this moment, Harris decisively called a timeout, and once again replaced a group of substitutes led by O'Neal. This time, the Timberwolves were completely overwhelmed.

Facing the downhill tiger O'Neal who had been holding back for a long time, no one could stop him. The basket once again became the "punching bag" for O'Neal to wreak havoc. O'Neal scored by dunking whenever he had a chance, and even the Timberwolves didn't give them a chance to use the "shark-cutting tactic". .

Amidst the screams of "ghosts and wolves" from the Timberwolves, the second quarter of the game slowly came to an end. The score between the two sides was fixed at "56:43". The Lakers led the Timberwolves by as much as 13 points and saw the dawn of victory in advance.

Before the start of the third quarter, Harris enjoyed the trouble of "overcapacity". The main lineup led by Zhou Yu and the substitute lineup led by O'Neal challenged Harris passionately, threatening to end the third quarter early. The Timberwolves made the fourth quarter "garbage time".

In desperation, Harris adopted one of the oldest decision-making methods-tossing a coin. In the end, Zhou Yu and other main lineup were lucky to win and won the chance to play.

In order to end the battle as soon as possible, Zhou Yu turned on the three-point mode, using the cover of his teammates, and frequently shot three-pointers from the outside. With his three consecutive three-pointers, the Timberwolves' psychological defense completely collapsed, and the Lakers took the opportunity to hit another one. The climax of the wave of fast break established the victory in one fell swoop.

At the moment when the final electronic long sound sounded, the score between the two sides was finally fixed at "106:81". The Lakers took the Timberwolves by a huge advantage of 25 points and won six consecutive victories!
此战，周宇爆砍23分、15个篮板、9次助攻，差点再次刷出“三双”数据；奥尼尔拿下26分、13个篮板、3次封盖；科比得到21分、5个篮板、5次助攻，算是中规中矩；“狂人”得到16分、3次助攻、2次抢断。

The "Big Four of the Lakers" successively demonstrated terror dominance, which shocked people's jaws.

After the game, various American media were optimistic about the Lakers' defending journey, and regarded the Lakers as one of the biggest favorites to win the championship this season. San Antonio Spurs, they have remained unbeaten since the start of the new season, won seven consecutive victories, and stabilized the Lakers with six wins and one loss.

(End of this chapter)