Larry Brown curses when things go wrong. Not only does it fail to ease the emotions of the players, but it also deepens the negative emotions of the players.

At the critical moment, Larry Brown will only provide pressure but not solutions.

That is to say, Billups wandered around in his early years, and his heart was very tough, otherwise he would have been tortured by Larry Brown.

After playing under Larry Brown for two years and being coached by Flip Saunders, the veteran Pistons players seemed to feel surrounded by love... This is how Flip Saunders took over smoothly as soon as he arrived.

Larry Brown’s defensive system and the reason why it was successfully adjusted.

At the end of the halftime break, players from both teams returned to the court.

Although the score was still far behind, the situation changed in the second quarter, and the morale of the Trail Blazers players was restored.

Seeing the opponent clear away the gloom at the end of the first half, Liu Xiu guessed that this would be the case.

This is what Flip Saunders is capable of.

At the beginning of the third quarter, the two teams entered into a bloody defensive battle mode with tacit understanding.

Around Yao Ming, with Ben Wallace as the gatekeeper, plus Billups, Carter, and Prince, the Pistons played the strongest team defense in the league in the first 9 minutes of the third quarter!

In 9 minutes, Yao Ming made 2 of 4 shots, plus 3 of 4 free throws, scoring 7 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 blocks, leading the Pistons to a score of 16-9!

The Trail Blazers know that they cannot compete with the strongest lineup without Randolph, so they have a clear direction, try their best to use up their energy, try their best to limit the Pistons' scoring, and prevent the opponent from soaring like in the first quarter.

When Yao Ming was replaced, the backcourt duo of Liu Xiu and Ray Allen went into attack mode!

In the last 3 minutes of the third quarter, Liu Xiu did not score. He only scored 3 points after being fouled on a three-pointer and had two assists. Ray Allen made 3 of 3 shots and scored 7 points. The two of them scored 10 points together.

beat the Pistons 10 to 5.

After three quarters, 55 to 65, the Trail Blazers trailed the Pistons by 10 points.

…

Entering the last intermission, it was not easy for the Pistons, who were leading by 10 points.

Liu Xiu had 20 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals in the three quarters, and Ray Allen had 15 points and 3 assists in the three quarters. This pair of super backcourts overwhelmed their Billups + Carter backcourt.

Real suppression!

There is also defense. Without Randolph, the Trail Blazers are still good. The defense can be better.

The Pistons really relied on Yao Ming to sustain their scoring in the third quarter, otherwise it would have been very likely that the score would have been reduced to less than 15 points like in the second quarter.

Fortunately, there is Yao Ming!

After three quarters, because of Yao Ming, the Pistons coaches and players felt that even if Randolph was here, they could still play an advantage around Yao Ming.

The inter-section break passed quickly, and the starting players from both teams took the field in the final quarter.

The Pistons sent a combination of Billups, Carter, Prince, Amir Johnson, and Yao Ming to play.

Ben Wallace will take a break at the end of the quarter. Yao Ming, who played 22 minutes in the first three quarters, will play the entire final quarter as expected. The entire playing time is still well controlled. Billups, Carter, and Prince play in the first three quarters.

They were all 33 minutes, with three minutes of rest each, and the last quarter was probably played. Ben Wallace also played 31 minutes in the first three quarters, and may have played 40 minutes...

The five major starters all play a very long time, but this does not make people feel that there is anything wrong. So far this season, except for Prince, who has finally become the main player, the playing time has increased. Compared with last season, the playing time of the other four starters of the Pistons has decreased. Originally, the playing time of the other four starters has decreased.

This is true for the three Pistons players and the newcomer Yao Ming. They usually play slowly just for these important games.

The Trail Blazers sent out a combination of Liu Xiu, Ray Allen, Stevenson, Kwame Brown, and Mourning.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Trail Blazers took the lead.

Liu Xiu and Kwame Brown set a pick-and-roll, Billups and Amir Johnson flanked Liu Xiu, and Liu Xiu passed the ball to Kwame Brown.

Kwame Brown cut in to receive the ball and then ran to Stevenson in the bottom corner on the other side... Rookie Amir Johnson made a great contribution. He seemed to have really grabbed the ball by pounced blindly. Kwame Brown

Bad pass!

Looking back, Yao Ming caught the ball in the low post, turned around and bumped away from Mourning, quickly raised the ball to avoid Kwame Brown's double attack, blocked the shot and hit the basket!

Yao Ming's personal score increased to 19 points, 67 to 55, and the Pistons' lead expanded to 12 points!

When the Trail Blazers attacked, Ray Allen met Liu Xiu's return pass from the top of the arc. Carter was guarding in front of Ray Allen. They all thought that Ray Allen would break through or pass out. Unexpectedly, Ray Allen directly pulled up the ball.

Voted!

Carter pounced on him in time and had an interference effect, but Ray Allen leaned back to avoid Carter's block and threw the ball...it went in! It was purely based on his personal ability!

58 to 67, the point difference narrowed to 9 points.

During the transition between offense and defense, the Pistons continued to play Yao Ming. Stevenson released Carter and put it into the basket. Yao Ming passed the ball and Carter received the ball for a three-pointer...it's iron!

Liu Xiu took it back to grab the defensive rebound before Amir Johnson and started a counterattack!

Billups and Prince successfully retreated and defended well. Liu Xiu went straight to the basket and faced the attack of the two men, causing Billups to foul and go to the free throw line.

Billups and Prince looked at each other. It was unscientific. Such a strong point guard could charge so hard.

Wade, who is the same height and weight, is not so bold.

Liu Xiu made two free throws!

During the transition between offense and defense, seeing the point difference narrow to 7 points, Yao Ming continued to get down low to get the ball. He was a little panicked and couldn't sit still.

Yao Ming did a good job in allocating playing time and physical strength in the first three quarters. Now he is in good condition. Billups did not hesitate. If Yao Ming wanted it, he would give it to him.

Yao Ming played in the low post, encountered Kwame Brown's defense, turned around and used his broad body to avoid Kwame Brown, faced Mourning's defense, and prepared for a one-on-two high shot... He was cut when he raised the ball.

Lost it!

When Yao Ming turned his back to the top arc, Liu Xiu released Billups's gamble-like contraction of the top arc, sprinted around to the baseline, and completed the cut!

Liu Xiu failed to control the ball, and he couldn't squeeze in with three big men. Neither Yao Ming nor Mourning could bend down quickly to grab the ball. The ball was grabbed by Kwame Brown and passed to Ray Allen, who pushed for a counterattack.

A fast break layup... caused Carter to foul and go to the free throw line. He made one of two free throws, 61 to 67, and the point difference was narrowed to 6 points.

The Pistons called a timeout!

Trail Blazers players surrounded Mourning and Ray Allen.

Ray Allen scored 4 points and was the hero on the offensive end in narrowing the point difference, while Mourning was the hero on the defensive end. Even though he had no data, he was able to withstand Yao Ming's first-place performance as his physical strength declined in the final quarter.

Bo's force prevented Yao Ming from going directly to the basket easily! This is something that neither Kwame Brown nor McDyess can do.

Kwame Brown was envious when he saw this, and secretly hated himself for not having the ability in this area.

He thought that gaining some weight would not affect his speed and jumping. During the Wizards stage, before God retired, when he gave up on himself, he had grown to over 125 kilograms, and his running and jumping ability was not affected at all, but he gained weight.

Meat, the body fat rate increases, and it is easier to get tired. When Jordan retired, he worked hard to lose weight... Then he would discuss it with Mr. Butcher and the warden!

…

In two minutes, the Pistons were beaten 6-2, and the point difference was only 6 points. Flip Saunders had to send the strongest starting five onto the court in advance.

The Trail Blazers also replaced Stevenson and Mourning and replaced them with Outlaws and McDyess.

Yao Ming leaves Mourning to handle the two or three most difficult possessions at the beginning of each quarter, and then leaves it to Kwame Brown and McDyess.

Raheem was having difficulty at this time, so Maurice Cheeks gave up the single point inside and sent functional players to their super backcourt at the critical moment.

After the timeout, the Pistons attack.

Billups singled out the lawless maniacs, breaking through and then making a sudden stop and then a step-back long two-point shot...

In!

Outlaws have a feeling of being defensive about large flying squirrels.

Too wasteful!

69 to 61, the Pistons' lead expanded to 8 points.

In the transition between offense and defense, Liu Xiu and McDyess picked and rolled, brought out Ben Wallace, and passed the ball to McDyess who cut in. McDyess cut in and made no mistakes this time. The lawless man received the ball and faced him.

Following Carter's cover, the Outlaw jumped high. With top-notch jumping + bullet speed, coupled with super height + wingspan, even Carter, who rushed to cover the shot, could not interfere with the Outlaw's shooting.

The outsider caught the ball from the baseline and made a mid-range shot!

"When I take off, there is an open space!"

The outlaws roared and retreated, triggering cheers from the fans at the scene.

But Carter, who failed to defend, felt that the high school student was not yelling at him, but at the Trail Blazers bench.

Carter came up with the idea of ​​​​wanting to watch the fun. Is this an internal strife?

But as soon as this thought came to his mind, he felt the look in his coach's eyes, and he felt like his little one was being seen through at a glance.

Putting away his distracting thoughts, Carter ran forward and continued his attack.

Billups continued to attack with the ball. At this time, it was still necessary to watch him. He took advantage of Ben Wallace's cover to shoot a jumper and hit a three-pointer!

72 to 63, the score difference came to 9 points!

During the transition between offense and defense, Liu Xiu slowed down and Ray Allen attacked with the ball. McDyess cut into the attacking frame and hit the neck of the basket with a throw under Yao Ming's interference. He missed! But! One hand bounced the ball out of the basket.

When framing the cylinder, press the ball back.

Liu Xiu sneaked in, caught Yao Ming's blind spot, jumped up from the basket, and dunked to score two points!

65 to 72, the Trail Blazers clenched the score.

This feeling of being stuck on the score is very uncomfortable, especially when facing an opponent like Liu Xiu who can show off his sharp edge but also hide himself in the corner.

Liu Xiu's putback dunk gave the Pistons players the feeling that a poisonous snake in a dark corner suddenly attacked. You couldn't predict where he would attack from.

This is when the role of the coach comes into play again!

Flip Saunders commanded calmly from the sidelines. The Pistons players were calmed down and started a slow-paced positional battle with the Trail Blazers.

After a few more rounds, the score reached 69-75. The Trail Blazers were 6 points behind the Pistons and entered the final official timeout.

14 to 10, the Trail Blazers took advantage in the first half of the final quarter and successfully narrowed the point difference.

But that feeling of grinding and scratching the skin fell on them this time.

With Billups controlling the court and Yao Ming as the core, the Pistons were beaten 6-2 at the beginning of the final quarter. There was no chaos. After calling a timeout, they regained control of the situation.
To be continued...