Reluctant Exit

In the Eastern Conference Finals Game 1, the Knicks finally encountered an opponent who could score consecutive responses.

Compared to the 76ers and the Hawks, the Pacers' offense is much better, and they are very flexible on the defensive end.

Rik Smits, the big man, was tossed back and forth after the opening, but he still spared no effort on the defensive end.

When he encountered a pick-and-roll, he strictly implemented double-teaming.

At the end of the third quarter, Ewing's face was ugly.

His shortcomings had not been completely exposed in the first two rounds of the series, but he was a bit lame tonight.

Seeing that the third quarter was about to end, the Knicks were still behind by 2 points.

The New York fans at the scene shouted again:

"Let's go Knicks! Let's go Knicks! Let's go Knicks!"

The Pacers' starting lineup only rested for 2 minutes in the middle of the third quarter.

Larry Bird also did not dare to be careless and returned to the main force at the end.

Mark Jackson still led the defense throughout the game.

Tonight, they have successfully slowed down the Knicks.

After the number of rounds decreased, the players who received positive feedback became more and more motivated to defend!

Holding the ball in his left hand, Lee came to the left wing.

Ewing quickly pulled up and pulled Rik Smits out.

After a fake screen on the three-point line, he immediately quickly went down.

Rik Smits was half a beat slower this time.

Lee slightly twisted his body, shook his wrist, and directly sent a pocket pass.

"Oh!"

After breaking through the defense, the fans really cheered.

Ewing, who was coming down, received the ball in the paint area, right in front of the basket, and shot the ball in!

66:66, the Knicks tied the score again.

Ewing's face was still very ugly after scoring the goal.

This was his first field goal in the third quarter.

On the NBC commentary stand, seeing that the two sides were tied again, Bob Costas smiled and sighed:

"Compared to last season, the Knicks have actually made great progress this year. In some games where they were behind, the whole team was more patient."

Rik Smits received the ball in the low post on the right side again.

After releasing the ball with his left hand, he shot it with a bang.

All the Pacers players were pulled away.

Approaching the paint area, Rik Smits quickly turned toward the baseline, switched to his right hand, and used his height advantage to complete a hook shot.

Dale Davis tried his best to squeeze under the basket.

Oakley was forced to eat several times by the opponent and had long been impatient.

The two of them pulled and fell to the ground before they could get close to the basket.

The old guy tripped his opponent with a trip rope.

Ewing turned back to the basket to protect the rebound.

The Pacers players did not complain, but instead accelerated their retreat.

Larry Bird on the sidelines showed an angry expression on his face, pointing at Oakley and complaining loudly to the referee:

"This is not the first time, you have to call such a foul!"

"."

Bennett Salvatore did not react at all.

The three referees tonight were particularly lenient in their standards.

Sprewell, who was substituted in early, advanced very quickly.

Chris Mullin delayed his move and immediately passed the ball to Lee who followed up at the top of the arc.

Three-line fast break, Ewing and Oakley were still dragging behind.

Lee immediately shook right and left after receiving the ball.

After releasing the ball with his left hand, he quickly crossed and broke through.

Mark Jackson was very experienced in defense.

He immediately gave his body to his side.

The two collided physically.

Lee took a step back and then suddenly exploded the ball, quickly completing the crotch change.

At the moment of switching to the right hand, Lee took advantage of the situation to break through with his shoulder, losing half of his body position.

Mark Jackson quickly turned around and slid to the left and back.

He made a hidden move and pulled, but Mark Jackson was shaken by Lee's sudden explosion and retreat.

Completely opening up the shooting space, on the right wing, Lee converted a three-pointer and made a quick jump shot!

"Swish!" The three-pointer went into the net!

66:69, with 24.3 seconds left in the third quarter, the Knicks took the lead for the first time in this game.

The three-guard lineup worked, Jeff Van Gundy on the sidelines clapped excitedly, and kept shouting at the players to retreat.

The cheers on the scene became louder and louder, and Larry Bird signaled the players to hold on again.

Mark Jackson protected the ball as soon as he crossed half court, and controlled the time on the right wing.

At the last moment, Reggie Miller, with the help of Rik Smits' cover, suddenly bounced out from the middle after running back.

Coming to the top of the arc, he received the pass, and after a fake, he deceived Alan Houston's defensive center of gravity.

Reggie Miller put the ball in his right hand and broke through again and went straight to the basket.

He suddenly stopped in the paint area, Alan Houston blocked the shot hard on his side, and Reggie Miller quickly jumped!

The basketball hit the rim twice, but eventually slid out.

The four players in the paint huddled together, and after a flurry of scrambles, the third quarter was over.

Oakley clapped his hands with a smile, and even had the mood to provoke the Pacers:

"Fuck, why can't you make the shot?"

Reggie Miller made 4 of 5 shots in the first half, but it became 2 of 5 in the third quarter.

He couldn't get a foul when he broke through the basket, and his emergency stop mid-range shot was still a miss.

Dale Davis was elbowed several times in the first quarter, and he was a little excited at this time, but he was quickly pulled away by the Pacers.

The Pacers' main points in the third quarter came from Dale Davis and Chris Mullin, who would not explode and return to the bench at this time.

Lee still looked calm, and the opponent's defensive intensity was declining.

No one could maintain a big delay for a whole game without making mistakes.

Rik Smits made 1 of 5 shots in a single quarter.

He was tossed on the defensive end, and his offense was lagging.

Jeff Van Gundy was loudly instructing the substitutes on the precautions after they came on the court.

Ewing, who was standing by, took a breath and drank from his water bottle in frustration.

He shot 3 of 12 shots in the three quarters and 4 of 4 free throws, scoring only 10 points in total.

He missed the basket and the dunk.

Noticing that both teams were still rotating a lot, Doug Collins sighed in the commentary booth:

"It seems that both coaches are very confident in the strength of their rotation lineups. Considering that the inside offense was blocked in the three quarters, such a substitution can also allow the big men to adjust their status."

Rik Smits and Ewing both missed shots.

Bob Costas glanced at the technical statistics and didn't say much:

"Sprewell is in good shape. If he can continue the touch in the first three quarters, perhaps the Knicks can further widen the gap."

Although Sprewell was coldly treated again during the halftime break, he would give his all as long as he was on the court.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Antonio Davis missed two shots under the basket, and Sprewell made free throws and immediately helped the Knicks to widen the gap!

"Wow!"

66:73, Sprewell made two free throws, Madison Square Garden was completely boiling.

The Knicks' tactics were not complicated, allowing Sprewell and Larry Johnson to clear one side for singles.

Kurt Thomas and Ben Wallace waited for the ball under the basket, and rushed to grab the rebound together if they missed.

After 3 minutes and 42 seconds in the last quarter, Larry Bird finally requested a timeout.

Sprewell, who walked to the bench, excitedly raised his hands and signaled that the crowd should be louder.

70:78, the rotation lineup widened the gap, and Jeff Van Gundy also kept clapping happily.

After the main lineup returned, the Knicks simply started the singles mode.

Larry Johnson was replaced in the second half of the quarter, and Sprewell continued his highlight performance.

Receiving the ball in the right blocking area, facing the defense of Chris Mullin, Sprewell immediately broke through with a cross step and went straight to the basket after releasing the ball with his right hand.

The Pacers' inside line began to shrink, and Sprewell quickly passed the ball to the left corner when he broke through to the lower right side of the basket.   

With Oakley's screen on the left wing, Lee got rid of Mark Jackson's defense and ran to the left corner.

He immediately faked the ball after receiving it.

Mark Jackson, who was chasing him, flew horizontally in front of Lee and finally watched the three-pointer go into the net!

The cheers on the scene became louder and louder, and Bob Costas in the commentary booth also raised his voice:

"Excellent cooperation, Sprewell's breakthrough can tear apart the Pacers' defense. He played better than Houston tonight."

"Especially when facing Reggie Miller, he showed a strong defensive aggression."

Doug Collins watched the Knicks' simple breakthrough and pass, and Lee had more off-ball offense.

For a while, he sighed again:

"It's impossible to limit it. Sprewell can break through and pass. Lee's off-ball offense is also very good. The three guards of the Knicks successfully turned the game around."

The Pacers still didn't give up.

Reggie Miller kept running back and moving continuously.

This time he bounced to the left wing and hit a three-pointer against Alan Houston's defense!

"Boo!"

Seeing Reggie Miller clapping and cheering, the arena booed again.

Sprewell took the baseline ball, Lee quickly ran to the front court, stood at the free throw line, and made a tactical gesture.

Ewing immediately came to the top of the arc.

Ewing made a fake screen and went down, Sprewell held the ball in his right hand and broke through on the right side.

Lee suddenly bounced out to the left wing after the gorilla screened at the free throw line.

Sprewell quickly passed the ball to Lee after the checkers.

After receiving the ball, Lee did not make any adjustments.

Facing Mark Jackson who was defending, Lee quickly jumped and shot from outside the three-point line!

"Swish!" The three-pointer went into the net!

79:88, with the last 3 minutes and 42 seconds left in the game, the Knicks still maintained the lead.

Lee, who completed the attack, celebrated with Sprewell and then called on his teammates to retreat again.

Unlike other teams, Reggie Miller has the ability to score points suddenly and continuously.

The closer it is to the last moment, the more he cannot be careless.

Sprewell and Alan Houston only had to defend Reggie Miller, and they all defended three-pointers.

After repeatedly missing shots outside the defensive three-point line, Reggie Miller clapped his hands in frustration, and time was running out.

Rik Smits scored points in the basket in the end, but he still couldn't narrow the gap to 5 points.

Watching the game time pass, Larry Bird on the sidelines folded his arms, showing a thoughtful look.

In the end, 88:96, after four quarters of fierce battle, the Knicks successfully protected the home court.

The outstanding performance of the rotation lineup was the key to the team's reversal of the game.

Ben Wallace and Kurt Thomas cheered and celebrated with the atmosphere group.

The two of them ate up a lot of time in the starting lineup tonight.

Sprewell also kept punching at this time to vent his excitement.

He played 33 minutes, 8 of 16 shots, 6 of 7 free throws, 22 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 turnover.

As the team's sixth man, scoring 20+, no one can ask for more.

In 38 minutes, Lee made 8 of 16 shots, 3 of 5 three-pointers, and 5 of 5 free throws, scoring 24 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 turnover.

Clay Lee scored the highest points of the game.

After the game, NBC interviewed him on the sidelines:

"Lee, congratulations on your first victory in the Eastern Conference Finals. Can you talk about Sprewell's performance?"

Many media present knew Sprewell's shouting at midfield, so they naturally would not let go of this hot topic.

Taking the microphone, Lee didn't care about the other party's ridicule, but smiled and said:

"We really need Sprewell to play his own style. No team can refuse the sixth man to contribute 22 points!"

"As long as they keep this performance, the Pacers will be the real headache. They are in big trouble!"

"."

The cheers in Madison Square Garden still didn't stop.

Ewing, who was walking towards the player tunnel, was in a bad mood.

He made 4 of 14 shots, and his efficiency was really poor.

Fortunately, everyone was in a state of winning and smiling, and no one cared about the gorilla's data.

The post-match press conference belonged to Jeff Van Gundy and Larry Bird.

The two young head coaches showed their confidence in the interview.

Larry Bird even boasted in front of the New York media:

"We have found the key to victory, and we will eventually win an away game!"

"."

While the New York media was still mocking Larry Bird's arrogance, the Knicks overturned in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals after a day of rest.

At the end of the third quarter, the team was still leading by 6 points, but as Ewing limped back to the locker room, the Pacers relied on the second rebound to complete the counterattack in the last quarter.

With 36 seconds left, Rik Smits grabbed the frontcourt rebound and Reggie Miller hit a three-pointer to open the score.

In the end, the Pacers won an away game with a score of 90:86.

"Boo!"

Looking at Reggie Miller who raised his hands and cheered to celebrate, the New York fans at the scene booed again.

A large number of media reporters came to the locker room immediately after the game to interview Jeff Van Gundy.

The bald young coach who returned to the locker room early had received the news from the team doctor, and his face looked a little ugly.

"Jeff, can you talk about Pat's physical condition? He didn't play in the fourth quarter. Did he suffer a serious injury?"

Seeing that the reporters handed the microphone to him, Jeff Van Gundy frowned and said seriously:

"At present, we can't confirm the specific injury. Not playing in the fourth quarter is for Pat's health. We have to be responsible for the players' health."

"."

The Knicks team surrounded Ewing at this time.

After a rest, the gorilla was still limping.

"I feel that I have no problem, but I have some pain in my feet. It shouldn't have much impact."

The team doctor did not tell Ewing the specific injury, and the gorilla was still very optimistic at this time.

In the playoffs, players will have some minor injuries.

Seeing Ewing's statement, everyone followed and comforted him.

Lee felt that this scene was familiar.

Seeing Ewing still not caring, he shook his head secretly:

"Maybe this guy will have no choice but to leave the stage."

....

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