The first quarter of the game entered the first official timeout. The score on the field was 10 to 9, and the Trail Blazers temporarily led by one point.
From a statistical point of view, the Clippers did not play well, shooting three of nine shots, including one of four three-pointers. In addition, they only made 2 of 4 free throws, a 50% free throw rate. It's indeed a bit bad. In addition, the Clippers had another turnover.
For the Trail Blazers, their performance was not bad. When defending, they limited the Clippers' shooting percentage to 33%, and they also had a very beautiful steal. On offense, the Trail Blazers also played well. With his own tactical cooperation, several gaps appeared that were suitable for shooting.
It's just that the Trail Blazers don't feel very good today, and their own basket seems to be against the Trail Blazers, and their shots are always a little bit behind.
Looking at this score, Trail Blazers coach Terry was filled with dissatisfaction. His idea was to defeat the Clippers at the beginning of the game. For example, a 10-0 or 20-0 would be enough in the first quarter. Many advantages. However, although the Trail Blazers now have an advantage, their 1-point lead can only be regarded as dispensable.
However, Tris couldn't criticize his players. The players' performance was actually not bad. They seriously implemented the tactics that Tris arranged before the game, which showed the style of the Trail Blazers. It's just that the ball was not thrown in at the end.
"The game has just begun, and the players' touch hasn't come yet. Once they get used to it, their shooting percentage will naturally come up. But with a quick wave, we can take the Clippers away." Terrys thought of this and turned to the Clippers. The fleet's bench looked on.
I saw Dai Li holding a water glass and handing it to the players with a smile, without any intention of arranging tactics. The players were also sitting on chairs, drinking water or wiping sweat, and they didn't look like they wanted to listen to the coach's instructions.
"This Li Dai, during this rare official timeout, didn't he say anything to the athletes? Instead, he became the manager of the water fountain. But think about it, this layman has no useful information in his stomach, and he will not be useful to the athletes. Guidance." Tris curled his lips disdainfully.
After the first official timeout, the players returned to the field. Neither side made any adjustments to the lineup, but continued to keep the five starters on the field.
The Blazers' touch began to pick up and they scored goals one after another. The Clippers seemed to be helpless in the face of the Blazers' sharp offense. On the defensive end, the Trail Blazers forced another turnover from the Clippers.
However, the score was still not open. The Clippers' sharpshooter Naismith made consecutive three-pointers, and then broke through with the ball and caused a foul by the Trail Blazers. He used free throws to help the Clippers stabilize the situation.
"If it weren't for Naismith, we would have been ahead by double digits." Terrys thought angrily as he looked at the scoreboard.
In fact, Tris also knows that this kind of neurotic player feels as fierce as a tiger, but not as timid as a dog. They "activated their nerves" and scored unreasonably. It was obviously not a reasonable offensive opportunity and would be converted into points by them.
In the blink of an eye, the first quarter of the game entered the last three minutes. Taking advantage of a dead ball, the referee gave the second official timeout of the first quarter.
Tris was not satisfied with the performance of the five starting players, because they did not achieve enough lead, or the current lead of the Trail Blazers cannot be regarded as an advantage at all. The first quarter of the game lasted more than 9 minutes, but the Trail Blazers were They were not behind, but their lead never exceeded five points. Most of them were just two or three points ahead.
This is not the result that Terrys wants, what he wants is a big win. Not only because the Clippers themselves are a weak team, but also because the head coach of the Clippers is an amateur. Facing a team led by an outsider, Terry would feel it would be too shameful if he only won by three or five points.
"It's time to replace the bench. Our bench is already stronger than the Clippers, and now the Clippers have suffered a large number of injuries. If both sides have to come on the bench, one will be better than the other. , we must be better. What the starting players did not do depends on the substitute players."
Terrys thought of this and began to replace substitute players. He expected that the substitutes could bring more than a double-digit score advantage to the Trail Blazers.
…
With a free throw opportunity, Terrys replaced two players in a row and finally replaced the entire starting lineup.
The Clippers made two free throws, and the score gap became four points again, leaving Terry with a sense of powerlessness.
During the substitute-substitute period, the Trail Blazers did not complete Terry's goal, and the score did not reach double digits. Instead, it continues to hover within five points.
A kind of anger gradually sprouted in Tris's heart. Facing the underdog Clippers and an amateur head coach who was making his first appearance in the NBA, the Trail Blazers were still unable to open the score.
Tris couldn't help but look towards the Clippers' bench, and happened to see Dai Li looking very relaxed, talking and laughing with assistant coach Cassel.
Dai Li is indeed very relaxed now. After he uses the title of "evenly matched", the outcome of the game cannot be decided by him, so Dai Li simply pretends to be watching a show and listens to Cassel next to him from time to time. Explaining the tactics can be regarded as sharpening one's skills before the battle.
Cassell, the assistant coach of the Clippers, felt more and more confused as he watched. From his perspective as a professional basketball coach, the Clippers didn't play well today, and the Trail Blazers didn't play badly either. However, the score between the two sides never opened up. He kept looking at the sidelines. The latest technical statistics, I want to find some clues on them.
Finally, the first half of the game was over. Naismith, the sharpshooter, hit a buzzer-beating two-pointer at the end, leaving the Clippers 49-52, temporarily trailing the Trail Blazers by two points.
The opponent was the Trail Blazers, a strong team in the Western Conference. The Clippers only lost two points at halftime, which was a very satisfactory answer.
For the Trail Blazers, they always maintained the lead in the first half and were never surpassed by their opponents. This seems to be an acceptable result.
…
In the Trail Blazers locker room, head coach Terry looked at his players and roared angrily.
"What on earth are you doing? Your opponent is the Clippers, the second-last team in the Western Conference, but you are playing like this. Are you sleepwalking?"
The Blazers' players looked at each other, and they didn't understand why the head coach was so angry.
"Coach, we have been implementing the tactics you arranged very seriously, and the score has always been ahead. On the whole, we have been suppressing the Clippers in the first half of the game." A player defended.
"Then why are we only leading by three points?" Tris snorted, and then said: "There are several goals. It is obvious that the open shooting opportunities can be made by middle school students, but you can't. There are also some There is no need for low-level mistakes, such as stepping on the line at the beginning of the second quarter!"
Terrys began to detail the Trail Blazers' performance in the first half. He would comment on almost every ball he was dissatisfied with. At this time, he was like a stingy businessman who only counts every penny.
…
Perhaps it was because Terrys was angry at the players in the locker room during halftime that it had an effect. At the beginning of the second half, the Trail Blazers went on an 11-2 spurt, widening the score gap to two. number.
"Coach, we should call a timeout." Assistant coach Cassell suggested.
Under normal circumstances, if the opponent hits an offensive climax, the head coach of the losing team will immediately call a timeout. The first is to adjust tactics, the second is to stabilize the mentality of his players, and the third is to interrupt the opponent's good touch.
So when the Clippers were beaten 11-2 by the Trail Blazers, Cassell immediately suggested that Li Dai call a timeout.
Dai Li looked at the timer, then shook his head: "The official timeout is coming soon, please hold on a little longer."
In Dai Li's view, it really doesn't matter whether a timeout is called or not. Anyway, the two sides of the game are now evenly matched. As long as the game is not over, the points behind can always be recovered.
Cassell looked anxious: "Coach, I'm afraid they won't be able to survive the official timeout. The Blazers' players have already got the feeling. If we don't call the timeout in time, the score difference may be widened quickly. "
"No, don't worry, our players will catch up with the score." Li Dai said with a smile.
…
"The Trail Blazers had an 11-2 spurt. Now they have a 12-point lead. It's time for the Clippers to call a timeout." The commentator said, and then looked at the referee expectantly.
The referee also subconsciously looked at the Clippers bench and Dai Li, only to find that Dai Li had no intention of calling a timeout.
The Clippers players also looked at their bench and saw that Dai Li did not call a timeout, so they served the ball. The guard dribbled the ball across half court and looked at Dai Li, as if asking him if he wanted to time out.
The opposite Trail Blazers players had the same idea. They thought the Clippers would definitely call a timeout, so they ran back to their own half and waited for the referee to blow the timeout whistle.
The Trail Blazers' coaching staff even picked up the tactical board and waited for the timeout to lay out tactics for the players.
It wasn't until the Clippers defender dribbled the ball across half court that he still didn't hear a timeout. Only then did he confirm that Dai Li would not call a timeout.
The expected timeout did not come, which made the Clippers players seem a little at a loss. In this attack, they were defended by the Trail Blazers for 24 seconds, which hurt their morale.
"Why didn't the Clippers call a timeout? They should have enough timeouts now. Or maybe they want to try their hand at a ball?" Trail Blazers coach Terry frowned and thought.
Next, in the Trail Blazers' offensive round, they hit another three-pointer, extending the score to 15 points.
"The score difference is 15 points. You should call a timeout this time!" Tris looked at Dai Li.
…
"Coach, let's call a timeout! In this situation, if we wait until the official timeout, we may be more than 20 points behind." Cassell said anxiously.
"Don't be impatient. This is only the third quarter, and the game is still going on." Li Dai waved his hand. He still firmly believed that the "even match" effect could narrow the point difference between the two teams as quickly as possible.
At this time, both the players and the referee turned their attention to Li Dai again, waiting for Li Dai to call a timeout.
However, Dai Li remained indifferent.
The Clippers only need to put the ball in the hands of the team's core Ronny and let him organize the offense.
Ronnie and his teammates made a breakthrough, and then hit a two-point jump shot, narrowing the point difference to 13 points. This goal was caused by a loophole in the Clippers' defense. The defensive players did not arrive in time, giving the Clippers space for mid-range shots.
Obviously, the previous 14-2 scoring climax also made the Blazers players relax.
In the next Blazers' offensive round, the player relied on his good touch and dribbled to the three-point line and directly shot a three-pointer. As a result, the basketball missed the basket.
The Clippers grabbed the rebound and quickly began to switch offense and defense. They took advantage of the Trail Blazers defensive players' unsteady footing and scored a two-plus-one. The difference between the two sides became 10 points again.
Immediately after the Trail Blazers player broke through, he was sentenced to walk, and the ball returned to the hands of the Clippers. The Clippers missed a three-pointer, but the inside player grabbed an offensive rebound, was fouled by the opponent during the tip-in, and used free throws to get the ball. By two points, the gap narrowed to 8 points.
In the next two rounds, neither side scored a goal until the third round, when a Blazers player's layup was interfered by the Clippers. The Clippers used the offensive and defensive transition to get two free throws again, reducing the score to 6 point.
Immediately afterwards, the Trail Blazers finally responded with a two-pointer that stepped on the three-point line, turning the point difference to 8 points. The Clippers immediately responded with a real three-pointer, reducing the score to 5 points.
"Beep beep..." The referee's whistle sounded, and it was Trail Blazers coach Terrys who called a timeout.
The 15-point lead was reduced to 5 points, and this was even when the opponent's coach did not call a timeout or make any substitutions or tactical adjustments. This can only mean that there is a problem with the Trail Blazers' own players. Tris finally couldn't bear it anymore and signaled a timeout to the referee.
The Trail Blazers players walked to the bench, looking a little frustrated. The Clippers players seemed very excited. They recovered the 10-point difference, but even they themselves didn't know how they recovered the 10-point difference in just a few rounds.
Cassel looked at Dai Li and couldn't help but murmur in his heart: "We didn't call a timeout, didn't change players, and didn't adjust tactics. We just let the players continue to play and actually got the score back. Coach Li is really lucky!" "
…
The game came to the last quarter, and the score became the same as the previous two quarters. The Trail Blazers always led, but the lead was always only three or four points.
As the game drew to a close, the Blazers' players felt the pressure.
A three-four point difference is not a safe advantage. Four points is okay. It will take the opponent two rounds to catch up. If it is three points, the opponent only needs a three-pointer to equalize the score.
Trail Blazers coach Terry's face became increasingly ugly. He didn't expect a weak team like the Clippers to be in such trouble.
After the last official timeout, the game entered the final decisive moment. At this time, the gap between the two sides was only two points, and every attack was particularly important.
The game had just entered the last two minutes, and the core player of the Trail Blazers scored a key three-pointer, stretching the score to 5 points.
"Coach, please call a timeout?" Cassel then advised.
"Don't scream!" Dai Li shook his head.
As soon as Dai Li finished speaking, the Clippers' sharpshooter Naismith showed off his power again and returned a three-pointer.
With just over a minute left in the game, the Trail Blazers still had a two-point lead and the ball in their hands.
The Blazers' point guard began to press the tempo, and he wanted to use up the 24-second attack time as much as possible.
He didn't start this attack until there were five seconds left on the timer. As a result, when the player took action, the 24-second attack time had expired. It can be said that the Blazers wasted this opportunity to attack.
However, the Trail Blazers also successfully consumed 24 seconds, and there were more than 50 seconds left in the game.
"Coach, call a timeout to plan the attack for the next round." Cassel advised again.
In more than fifty seconds, the Clippers fell behind by two points. Theoretically, the Clippers still had two chances to attack, while the Trail Blazers still had one chance to attack. If the Clippers score the next goal and then prevent the Trail Blazers from attacking, the Clippers will have the initiative.
Dai Li thought for a while and shook his head: "Let the players perform on their own."
The ball was handed to Ronnie. Ronnie looked at the Blazers' defense and felt that he didn't have much confidence in attacking. He thought about it and thought that his score today had reached 23 points, which was higher than his usual average per game. Mission accomplished, the ball was passed to Naismith.
Naismith's "nervous knife" didn't care about that. He attacked as soon as he got the ball and broke through directly with the ball. It was a completely unreasonable style of play. As a result, even while dribbling the ball, he was blocked by the Blazers' inside line.
However, Naismith also won two free throws and made both free throws to tie the score.
Now the Trail Blazers couldn't sit still, and Terry immediately called a timeout.
Terrys set up a rush tactic and it worked. After the midfielder served, the Trail Blazers players quickly rushed to the basket and hit a throw. It only took 7 seconds to attack the Trail Blazers with 32 seconds left.
Calculating this way, both teams still have one offensive opportunity, and the last attack will fall in the hands of the Trail Blazers.
"Coach, call a timeout. This is our last attack." Cassel immediately advised. In Cassel's view, the Clippers should call a timeout to arrange for this last attack.
"No pause." Dai Li shook his head.
"Coach, it's really time to call a timeout this time." Cassell continued to advise.
"No need." Dai Li shook his head again, as if he was determined not to call a timeout.
The referee looked at Dai Li again, and the players on the field also looked at Dai Li. The camera even gave a close-up of Dai Li, trying to capture him calling a timeout. The coaching staff of the opposite Trail Blazers also took a close-up of Dai Li. Out of the tactical board.
Dai Li was still sitting there, indifferent.
“Why didn’t the Clippers call a timeout?”
"Isn't there a timeout? No, the Clippers never called a timeout in the entire second half, right?"
"What is the head coach of the Clippers thinking? It's the last attack. Why don't you plan the tactics? And if you can't score, you will be fouled immediately. Who will foul and how to foul? These are all necessary. The one who arranged it first.”
The audience was full of doubts, and even the professional commentators on the scene couldn't understand what Dai Li was going to do.
The Clippers players did not hear the timeout whistle, so they could only serve, then dribble the ball across the frontcourt, and then start running. The ball passed twice and came to Naismith's hands. The "nerve knife" didn't care. Twenty-one, he took the ball and took two steps, then directly made a pull-up jump shot, and the ball really went in.
The score was even again, leaving the Trail Blazers with 13 seconds.
The Trail Blazers used up the last timeout and arranged the tactics for the final attack. However, on the last layup, the ball slipped to the basket and the Clippers protected the rebound. The game time also ran out at this time.
The commentator on the scene breathed a sigh of relief: "105 to 105, in the regular 48 minutes of the game, the two sides were tied, and it was going to overtime. I didn't expect that the powerful Trail Blazers and the underdog Clippers in the Western Conference The team actually gave us a close game.”