1053: The fig leaf of the puppet powerhouse
At the New Orleans arena on Dec. 3, almost all Pelicans fans were holding their hands to their chests at this time, beware of their hearts beating out.
Because today, they will have a chance to kill the Memphis Grizzlies, who are currently 19-0 and unbeatable in the league!
At this time, the Pelicans who lost the draft in 14 years and are 1.85 meters tall start point guard Tim. Fraser is in possession of the ball.
After moving to the Pelicans late last season, he averaged 13.1 points and 7.5 assists per game in 16 games.
So when Holiday was injured this season, he became the Pelicans' starting point guard of choice.
Last season's excellent performance with the Pelicans gave Fraser confidence gains.
So even at such a critical moment, Fraser didn't get nervous at all.
He calmly controlled the ball and watched the number on the rebound timer keep bouncing.
At this time, the game was already in the final 15 seconds, and the New Orleans Pelicans were only 2 points behind the Grizzlies!
If this offense plays out, the Pelicans will have a chance to drag the game into overtime. Even, win the game directly!
Today, the Pelicans performed by surprise to everyone. With a current record of 7 wins and 14 losses, it stands to reason that they don't have the capital to wrestle with the Grizzlies.
The last time the two sides met, it also ended in a big win for the Grizzlies.
However, the Pelicans, who are still eager to finish in the top eight in the West, showed a strong desire to win today.
Anthony. Davis played very hard, fighting like a blue-collar player for every rebound.
Of course, Anthony alone. Davis alone, and the Pelicans aren't going to cause problems for the Grizzlies.
The reason the Pelicans really put the Grizzlies in a tough battle today is because of their other undrafted pick, Langston. Galloway!
To be honest, Link didn't even know who this guy was before this game started.
Like Fraser, Langston was also a 14-year draft pick. Galloway, who is averaging only about 8 points per game for the Pelicans this season, is an ordinary backup guard.
But today, Galloway suddenly exploded. He stood up from the bench and was stunned today outside the three-point line with 6 of 12 shots and 26 points!
Galloway's sudden outburst was something the Grizzlies didn't expect, and it was precisely because of his 26 points, coupled with the positive performance of others, that the Pelicans kept the score until now.
At this time, it was naturally Link who went to defend Galloway himself. Joggle predicts that the Pelicans' final shot is very likely to be handed over to Galloway to finish!
Indeed, the real core of the Pelicans is Davis. But now, the Pelicans need to make a three-pointer to kill the game. And today, Galloway is far better than Davis from beyond the three-point line.
The local commentators in New Orleans were particularly excited, and in their opinion, it would be extremely embarrassing for a superstar like Link to defend an undrafted pick like Galloway.
But Link doesn't think so, first of all, he himself is a draft loser, not the chosen one. What's wrong with losing the draft and preventing losing the draft?
Second, there's no shame in a superstar going to defend a draft loss. If you lose in the end, that's a real shame.
It was Link's first defense of Galloway today, and Galloway was a little nervous, and he didn't even dare to look at Link.
Although today he has also played against old superstars such as Wade and Carter.
But none of them have a sense of oppression like Link!
Link is like a beast hiding in the shadows, as soon as you make a move, he will pounce and bite through your neck!
The clock ticked by, and when there were 8 seconds left in the game, Fraser started to kick in. Davis immediately made an off-ball screen for Galloway, who would go out to catch the ball.
He was the Pelicans' last offensive choice today!
Galloway trusts Anthony very much. Davis, after all, that guy is the best player on this team. Therefore, he believed that Davis would definitely be able to hold Link in the way.
Davis is omnipotent, and a mere off-ball screen certainly won't be a problem for him.
Outside the three-point line, Galloway receives the basketball. He aims for the basket and as long as he can get the ball in like he did six times before, it's over!
The Pelicans will also be the first team to defeat the Grizzlies this season.
It's an incredibly honorable thing both for Galloway personally and for the Pelicans as a whole!
But just as Galloway was about to make a move, Link, wearing a dark blue away shirt, jumped in front of him.
Moreover, the expression is hideous!
"You think you can kill me!?" Link shouted at Galloway in a low voice, and Galloway instantly felt his legs go limp.
"Damn it!" Seeing that Galloway was entangled by Link, Davis, who had just finished covering, immediately cut inside.
Link is too fast, and his skill at getting out of cover is superb. He didn't give Galloway any chance, and Davis can only lead by example now.
The Pelicans' backup plan is for Davis to storm the basket and equalize the score!
You can't win, but it's better than losing outright.
Galloway didn't think much of it and immediately handed the ball to Davis.
It's not something that anyone can do. In addition to being highly skilled, you also need to have a big heart.
Even against the tightest defenders and the most feared defenders, a big heart allows you to finish the shot calmly.
It was clear that Galloway didn't have what it took to shoot the ball.
Davis, who was inside the cut, received the basketball, and since everyone thought Galloway was going to shoot, the defense against Davis was not so tight.
Davis seized the opportunity to hit the basket next to him. Harris had already struggled to stick to it.
But Davis believes there is no way for Harris to stop him. In this desperate moment, Harris did not dare to foul.
Because if Davis is allowed to play a 2+1 killing game, Harris will have a big back.
As for Gasol, who has just finished his suspension, he is tangling with Asik in the middle distance at this time, and he will definitely not be able to return to the basket in time.
Davis jumped up with all his strength and held on for the whole game, and he will never be defeated here!
"Anthony. Davis dunks and he's going to drag the game into overtime! Wait, that's ...... Link!? ”
As soon as the on-site commentary was finished, he suddenly found that he couldn't make a sound.
As soon as Davis jumped up, he saw Link suddenly rush up from diagonal behind, covering the entire airspace!
"So fast!?" Davis was shocked, he was obviously still in front of Galloway just now, when did he catch up!?
Davis wanted to pass the ball, and if Link made up for it, it would mean Galloway was empty.
But now that Davis has made a dunk move, he can't change it temporarily. Even if you forcibly change the dunk to a pass, the quality of the pass must be very low, and you may just make a mistake.
Now Davis's only choice is to fight hard and Link in the air!
However, Link didn't give Davis a chance to be a hero.
He slapped the basketball out of Davis' hand with a hard blow from the side before he could exert force on his arm.
The cap was clean and there was no suspicion of fouling. Although Davis was eventually knocked to the ground by Link, it was an inevitable collision between the two after the block was completed.
The basketball flew into the audience like a cannonball.
This shows how powerful Link's cap is.
Before the basketball went out of bounds, the electronic buzzer sounded, and Davis, who was sitting on the ground, only saw a red glow above his head.
It's over.
"In the last minute of the block, Link used an impeccable defense to make the Pelicans swallow the defeat! Not only can he score goals, but he can also beat the defense! ”
Even the New Orleans commentators couldn't help but stand up and cheer.
No way, this goal is so exciting!
First locked up Galloway, then chased Davis.
Link's defense in this round is worth a thousand dollars!
Davis sat on the ground, looking lonely. At that moment, a large, familiar hand appeared in front of Davis's eyes.
Davis looked up and saw that it was Link.
"Get up, AD. You played well today, just a little bit of bad luck. ”
Davis smiled wryly, then took Link's hand and stood up.
But just now, it was this hand that slapped him and the pelican into hell......
It wasn't a matter of luck that he lost, it was simply because he simply couldn't beat Link.
It was a great match that the fans were addicted to, and the friendly hug between Davis and Link after the game also illustrated what true sportsmanship is.
"I lost convincingly, Link deserved this win, he was too strong." Davis didn't complain about anything when he faced reporters, and in the end he lost to Link, and he conceded.
"The Pelicans have shown a lot of resilience, and regardless of their record and ranking, they are definitely a strong team in my heart." Link also praised his opponent in a rare way.
Between Link and Davis, there is a feeling of being a hero and cherishing a hero.
Overall, the game was almost a joy from the process to the end.
The Pelicans lost, but not unacceptably. The Grizzlies won, and they played very well.
Meanwhile, in Oakland, the Warriors beat the Suns 138-109! And this is the third time this season that the Warriors have scored more than 130 points in a single game.
After the game, Green, who scored 9 points, 5 rebounds and 14 assists, was interviewed by reporters.
After learning that the Grizzlies were almost knocked over by the Pelicans, Green smiled disdainfully.
"Just one New Orleans Pelican almost made the grizzlies look like they were, hahahaha. To be honest, I expected that. As I said, they just need to meet a slightly stronger team and they will be overwhelmed. ”
"It's a shame that the Pelicans lost, but that's okay, in two days' time, we're going to give the Grizzlies a taste of defeat and do what the Pelicans didn't do. See today's score? This is the style of a real strong team! ”
Green smugly pointed to the big screen and the Warriors' 138 points tonight.
In his eyes, it is a symbol of the strong!
Link didn't expect that such a wonderful game between the Grizzlies and the Pelicans would actually become Green's capital.
He didn't expect that there would be many people who followed suit.
"It's so hard for the Grizzlies to beat the Pelicans, and it's definitely the end of beating the Warriors."
"If Galloway had been replaced by Curry in the last shot, the Grizzlies would have lost a long time ago!"
"Hahaha, the fig leaf of the pseudo-strong team is about to be lifted."
Link looked at the comments on the Internet and what Green said, and Zou frowned.
That guy Green, not only disrespecting himself, but also disrespecting the Pelicans very much, is simply bad.
This time, the warrior had to be beaten.