Chapter Eighty-Nine: Barnes' Counterattack
The difference is still 15 points.
Walker was caught in the front court and distributed the ball to Smith, who missed an open jumper.
Zeller protected the defensive rebound, Marshall advanced to the frontcourt, Barnes and Bullock made a tactical run around the pick-and-roll, and the ball was given to Barnes, who faced Oriage's defense and made a mid-range shot that changed backwards.
"Huh!"
He swept away the sluggishness of the first half, and came back in the second half and scored two shots in a row!
Such a performance also made North Carolina fans forget about Jordan's departure for a while, and instead sent a warm cheer for Barnes.
Barnes is the "North Carolina Black Hawks" and the absolute core of North Carolina, and this is when he should step up.
Walker divided Smith again in the frontcourt, and Smith faked a shot this time to the basket, but the shot was directly covered by Hansen, who assisted in the defense.
Olland's play was not as expected, and Cajon was forced to go on Smith, which worked in the first half, but Smith's attacking ability was a little worse than Lamb's.
Coming back, after Barnes blocked and dislocated Oriage, a beautiful through ball was given to Zeller, who received the ball and turned around and put it past Smith for a layup.
4 to 0!
The difference is 11 points!
The cheers of the North Carolina fans at the scene exploded instantly.
This is the first sign of momentum!
At the critical moment, Tang Tian ran out of an open opportunity in the front court and received Walker's ball and hit it steadily.
But looking back, Barnes' three-point shot from the outside to catch the ball immediately returned the answerball.
Barnes' performance in both halves was like a two-man performance.
Roy Williams couldn't help but turn his head to look at the right side at this time, where the front row seat was empty, and even if Jordan left, no one dared to sit in that position.
Barnes's play in the first and second halves now seems to have something to do with Jordan.
He's a coach and he knows the players well, Barnes is good in all aspects, but mentality alone is the biggest limiting factor for him.
Jordan was on the floor and he was under a lot of pressure.
Now that Jordan is gone, it is like a dark cloud over his head that has dispersed, and it is finally dawn.
Walker's jumper in the front court was interfered with by Barnes's struggled defense, and Barnes singled Smith and returned the jumper.
After coming up in the second half, he scored 9 points in a row!
North Carolina has brought the margin to single digits!
Cajon called a timeout.
"Coach, they're not going to rush for rebounds." Don walked up to Cajon and reminded him when he got on the field.
Cajon nodded, this point is related to the close score of North Carolina and Barnes's play, and it is also inseparable from North Carolina's tactical adjustment.
Tang Tian's reminder was very timely.
After the timeout, UC made a substitution, with Lamb and Ollander replacing Smith and Napier and returning to the starting lineup.
"Taylor, pay attention to the card slot." Before coming on the pitch, Cajon repeatedly told Olland.
Although North Carolina didn't rush to grab rebounds in this section, if Orlander didn't do a good job, maybe they would continue to rush again.
"Taylor, Hansen is very skinny, very bad against the matchup, you don't have to worry about his reach, you push him out of the three-second zone, unless it's the kind of rebounding that jumps out, otherwise he won't have a long arm span." Tang Tian also pulled Oland to preach before going on the field.
Although Olland's ability is a little worse, after all, his height and weight are there, and the gap between him and Hansen is not so big.
Outland nodded seriously, although his strength was average, his attitude was very good.
After a pause, Walker wrapped it up and distributed it to Lamb, who received the ball and shot directly.
The ball was shot very well, but unfortunately it spun around and rolled out again.
Zeller protects the defensive rebound.
North Carolina attacked the frontcourt, and Tang Tian faced Barnes at this time.
Kangda's lineup adjustment, the biggest change is this.
Previously, in order to resist the crazy rushing board of North Carolina, Tang Tian was forced to play the No. 4 position, resulting in Barnes being unguarded, and the first half was really thanks to Barnes's bad state.
Now that Barnes is back in state, Tang Tian naturally has to go up.
This is also the reason why Cajon and Tang Tian have repeatedly told Orlander.
If Outlander's performance is still the same as at the beginning, then North Carolina continues to rush the board, and with Barnes's hot form, this point difference is really not enough to chase.
Barnes had a hot hand at this time, and got the ball and hit Tang Tian directly.
However, Tang Tian was not Smith, and almost did not give him room to break through, Barnes chose a difficult turnover jumper after stopping the ball, and Tang Tian interfered.
"Huh!"
Barnes hits a difficult shot.
In the second half, he scored in this period, and his hand was raised by Smith.
The cheers of the North Carolina fans exploded, this was already Barnes' 11th point in the second half, and the state was explosive!
Tang Tian didn't care at all, the ball just now was already in place, and the 10% reduction in the hit rate didn't let Barnes hit the iron, which showed that he really felt good at this time, but it couldn't be so accurate all the time.
You must know that even Kobe Bryant can't keep hitting difficult goals under the defense of Tony Allen.
On Cancer's offense, Walker misplaced Barnes and made a series of forward changes to flash layups, causing Barnes' beating foul.
After hitting both free throws, Kangda continued to maintain a nine-point lead.
Looking back, Barnes continued to attack with the ball in front of him, which was to take advantage of the heat to attack more.
Tang Tian directly defended himself at this time.
Barnes holds the ball and hits, turns and then steps back to shoot.
Tang Tian's interference jumped almost at the same time, almost sealing.
"Bang!"
Barnes' shot was badly disrupted and bounced high on the front of the basket.
Scrum for rebounding.
Outlander completely listened to Tang Tian's words this time, and put up his hand to push Hansen's whole person out of the three-second zone.
Hansen's confrontation ability was poor, and he couldn't squeeze in at this moment, and Oriachka took Zeller's defensive rebound.
Cajon exhaled from the sidelines, and this Olland finally got the hang of it.
North Carolina didn't rush to the board and retreated quickly, and Kangda's fast attack didn't start.
After a half-court tactical game, the two sides now began to attack with bayonets.
"Defend! Defend! The scorching situation on the field made the air feel like gunsmoke, and the North Carolina fans shouted and cheered for the team.
Outlander lifted up for Walker, and Walker broke through to draw Barnes from the weak side to wrap up.
Tang Tian took the initiative to make a no-ball block for Lamb at this time, and Lamb ran out of the open opportunity, received Walker's pass and then shot.
"Huh!"
This time he seized his chance and shot hollow into the net from mid-range.
The difference was stretched to 11 points again!
The scene resounded with cheers and whistles from UConn fans.
After the lineup was adjusted, Kangda finally stabilized the situation on the field again!