After three quarters, the Lakers led the Trail Blazers by 16 points, 88-72!

It's really not that the Trail Blazers didn't play well, but that the Lakers were too good.

In the final quarter, Liu Xiu still did not give up and tried to lead the team in a counterattack.

But although the Lakers' offense declined in the final quarter and only scored 20 points in the final quarter, they still steadily limited the Trail Blazers' scoring to 26 points.

In the end, relying on O'Neal's 33 points and 13 rebounds, Malone's 16 points and 9 rebounds, Kobe's 18 points, 3 rebounds and 9 assists, Payton's 6 points and 4 assists, Fisher's 13 points... the Lakers won 108 to 98.

Defeated the Trail Blazers and took away the home court advantage!

After losing the game, the fans at the scene were very depressed, but they were the first to break away from their depression and applauded the players.

The Lakers' performance of 41 of 80 shots tonight was terrible, a 51.2% shooting rate!

Our team members have worked very hard!

Warden once again took 30+ shots and made 14 of 32 shots, including 3 of 9 three-pointers, plus 6 of 6 free throws. He scored a game-high 37 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals.

Fisher hat.

Raheem's 26 points, Randolph's 7 points and 13 rebounds, and the Outlaws' 13 points and 11 rebounds...

The fans saw the hard work of their players!

This generation of Trail Blazers fans, after three seasons of decline and renewal, have become more calm and rational about the strength of their team.

Not to mention the media who say they are the weakest team in the top five in the Western Conference, Trail Blazers fans themselves feel so.

However, the team members did not give up, they supported it.

They like what Warden G1 said in a previous interview: Someone has to win!

…

After G2, the Lakers and Trail Blazers got two days of rest.

On May 10th, the NBA officially held the lottery ceremony for the NBA 2004 Draft at Madison Square Garden in New York.

This time the draft lottery did not involve the Timberwolves. The league only returned the two first-round picks in 2003 and 2005 to the Timberwolves, but they were still missing in 2004.

In the lottery, the Magic, ranked last in the league with 21 wins and 61 losses, lived up to expectations and won the No. 1 pick.

The Clippers got the second pick and the Bulls got the third overall pick.

The new team, the Bobcats, was very lucky and picked the fourth pick, the highest number they could draw according to regulations.

The Wizards got the 5th pick, the Hawks got the 6th pick, the Suns got the 7th pick, the 76ers got the 8th pick, the Cavaliers got the 9th pick, the Toronto Raptors got the 10th pick, the SuperSonics got the 11th pick, and the Warriors got the 12th pick.

No. 13 pick by the Jazz and No. 14 pick by the Rockets.

After the draft was drawn, it was said that the Clippers took the initiative to find the Bobcats and wanted to exchange draft picks. It was said that the Clippers wanted the Bobcats to help them select players from other teams.

According to regulations, newly added teams will have the right to select the players they want from other teams after this season's draft. Each team needs to submit an 8-man protection list. For players outside the list, the Bobcats

Teams can choose whatever they want.

…

The draft lottery is just a sideshow and has nothing to do with the teams currently playing in the playoffs.

On May 11, the Trail Blazers, who had spent two nights in Los Angeles, came to challenge the Lakers away from home.

Liu Xiu discovered that the Lakers team is really special. The players and fans are very special... very proud!

They went to Memphis to play an away game, and every night there were Grizzlies fans at the hotel... making noise nearby and even holding a concert. The local authorities actually agreed that it was a legal concert.

It's a pity that the owner of the Trail Blazers shook his fingers and booked the hotel, but did not let the concertgoers enter the hotel.

But when you come to Los Angeles, you don’t have to worry about this at all.

It's not uncommon for Nobles fans to do things like that.

And when walking on the street, there will be fans from the Clippers next door cheering them on.

This away experience... is really unpleasant.

At 8 o'clock in the evening, the Trail Blazers' away series against the Lakers started in G3.

After the game started, the Trail Blazers chose to increase their defense against O'Neal, but O'Neal did an excellent job in passing the ball tonight!

In singles, he encountered more flanking attacks. O'Neal did not force himself, he passed the ball when he needed to, and used more energy on rebounding and defense.

In the third game against O'Neal in the playoffs, Liu Xiu truly understood what it means to be the most dominant center in history!

This is not the Shark at its peak.

The Trail Blazers made a mistake in their defensive adjustment tonight. There is nothing they can do. As a loser, they can only think of ways. Some methods work, and some methods are more miserable.

Playing from behind, the Blazers' defense was in chaos.

With O'Neal's 22 points, 20 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 blocks, Kobe Bryant had 31 points, Malone had 9 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, and Fisher had 12 points... The Lakers defeated the Trail Blazers 98-89, with a big score of 2-1.

!

Liu Xiu threw the ball 34 times tonight and made 15 of 34 shots, including 2 of 5 three-pointers, plus 4 of 5 free throws. He scored 36 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal.

…

After G3, the initial praise for Liu Xiu's scoring quickly turned into doubts.

When he wins, everything is fine. When he loses, everyone says he took too many shots.

Liu Xiu felt that what people said was reasonable, so he went to discuss it with the coaching staff to see if adjustments should be made.

Because you really can’t beat it! You have to think of a way, right?

Just like G3's double attack on O'Neal was a wrong choice, if you don't know what the result will be, you must give it a try, just in case it succeeds...

So, on May 13th, in Game 4 of the series, the Trail Blazers changed their style of play.

Liu Xiu took fewer shots and focused more on sorting out the offense, coordinating ball distribution, and supporting control.

Liu Xiu is very comfortable playing this style of play, and this is what he is good at.

After the game, Liu Xiu made 7 of 15 shots, including 1 of 2 three-pointers, and 4 of 4 free throws, resulting in 19 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists.

However, his missed shots and active offensive organization did not allow the team to score more points. Instead, he scored the lowest score in the series.

The Flying Squirrel had 17 points, Randolph had 16 points, and Raheem had 11 points... plus Liu Xiu's 19 points, the Trail Blazers only scored 86 points.

86 to 100, the Trail Blazers suffered three consecutive defeats!

…

…

With a big score of 1 to 3, the Trail Blazers returned to Portland.

After two days of preparation, on May 16, the Trail Blazers ushered in the series G5 against the Lakers at home.

After falling behind 1-3, the Trail Blazers players became more relaxed!

After leading 1-0 at the start, even with Liu Xiu pressing down, the impetuosity and expectation still had an impact on the Trail Blazers players.

They were impatient after falling behind 1-1, and panicked after falling behind 1-2. On the contrary, after falling behind 1-3, the Trail Blazers players became completely transparent!

They were sure that their strength was not that strong.

But they did not lose their confidence.

The Lakers, with their Big Four, are a very good opponent for the young players of the Blazers to grow.

This morning's pre-game meeting, tactical training, and afternoon rest time, the Trail Blazers players have never been more relaxed!

In the previous four games, their mentality has never been so relaxed.

At 8 o'clock in the evening, the Trail Blazers started their home series against the Lakers in G5.

Trailing 1 to 3, the support of the fans at the scene for their team has not weakened at all!

They know very well that this is when the team members need them most.

The fans uniformly put on the red, white and black home team jerseys and cheered for the players with the most enthusiastic cheers.

In this game, Liu Xiu put aside his self-doubt and followed his own feelings, playing as he should, throwing as he should, and passing as he should.

In fact, playing like this, although he took more shots, his teammates became more accustomed to it.

Because his teammates had always adjusted with him as the center, suddenly he adjusted for his teammates, breaking the rhythm and balance they were used to.

The Blazers' offense finally returned to the normal level of the first three games.

Relying on Raheem's 7 points, Liu Xiu's 6 points, Harrington's 5 points... the Trail Blazers scored 25 points in the first quarter.

Finally, the Trail Blazers finally waited until the Lakers were not in such good shape. In the past three games, the Lakers players were in really good shape. Not only were they strong, but they were also in good shape!

Tonight, the Lakers made only 8 of 21 shots in the first quarter, including one 3-pointer, plus 3 free throws, and only scored 20 points!

25 to 20, the Trail Blazers lead the Lakers by 5 points entering the second quarter!

In the second quarter, the Lakers' offensive situation did not improve. They only made 7 of 20 shots, missed a single three-pointer, and only scored 20 points by making 6 of 8 free throws.

Three-pointers are indeed not that important these days, but the Lakers made 1 of 8 three-pointers in the half, and the Trail Blazers took advantage of it!
To be continued...