LRAB Chapter 621 The Los Angeles referees step up! The Knicks are put on the defensive.
Chapter 621 The Los Angeles referees step up! The Knicks are put on the defensive.
After a two-day break, Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Lakers and the Knicks finally kicked off at Staples Center!
The level of attention this series has garnered is already well-documented, and that's why the front row of Staples Center tonight was packed with distinguished guests and a veritable constellation of stars!
Celebrities, actors, singers, tycoons, wealthy people, directors, and even local Los Angeles players like the Dodgers all came to the event.
To put it another way, if you put all the celebrities on set together, you could make an all-star cast of something like "The Avengers" or "The Banquet."
With so many celebrities gathered together, the level of attention for this competition naturally skyrocketed to an astonishing degree!
"Mr. President, with 40 minutes to go before the game starts, TNT's preview program has already surpassed 500 million viewers! Add to that NBC and ESPN, and our pre-game viewership has now exceeded 1000 million!"
"Great!" Stern breathed a long sigh of relief. The competition had already reached 1000 million before it even started. How could this competition possibly reach a peak of 5000 million or even 5500 million?
Thinking about this, Stern felt a surge of pride in his decision once again.
This match is sure to be quite exciting!
He believes that tonight's game will most likely go to the final moments, and that the Lakers will definitely win!
For this purpose, Stern has also fielded an All-Star lineup of referees tonight!
The fact that three of the league’s best and most experienced referees—Javi, Bavetta, and Crawford—stood together on the sidelines was enough to show how important this game was!
Sitting on the sidelines, old Nelson frowned when he saw the three referees who usually didn't appear together but were assigned separately. He knew then that tonight's game was going to be quite tough!
Given his understanding of Stern, the league, and the explosive buzz surrounding this series, the referee will likely go all out tonight to give the Lakers a victory!
The league doesn't want a 3-0 score!
Don Nelson seemed quite relaxed about the league's arrangement and didn't take it to heart at all.
An old man like him knows all too well about these unspoken rules!
If the Lakers are currently leading 2-0, then the Knicks will definitely receive preferential treatment!
To put it bluntly, the league wants to extend this kind of influential series as long as possible!
At other times, Don Nelson would probably be too lazy to put too much effort into the game and would simply sit comfortably on the sidelines and watch the whole thing.
In fact, he thought the same thing tonight.
As long as the losses aren't too humiliating, and no player gets suspended due to emotional outbursts caused by dissatisfaction with the referee's decisions, that's fine.
This is his bottom line tonight.
However, just as old Nelson completely relaxed, he saw Lin Tian.
He saw that this guy was talking to the referees, and Lin Tian was also all smiles, looking very relaxed.
Then, an idea suddenly popped into old Nelson's head.
Lin Tian must also know that this competition is unfair.
But he was still so relaxed.
There's only one possibility: this guy thinks the Knicks will win! Even if the Lakers have the whistle to protect them, he still thinks the Knicks will win!
Thinking about this, Old Nelson suddenly felt that he might not necessarily lose this game!
So what if you have a referee? I have Lin!
Soon, everyone on site was ready. All ten starting players and three referees were in place. The head referee, Baveta, stood in the middle, looked at O'Neal and Okur on both sides, signaled them to get ready, and then blew the whistle to start the game!
"Beep beep!!"
*Smack!*
With his physical gifts easily surpassing Okur's, O'Neal secured the first offensive possession for the Lakers. Fisher quickly found his teammates after arriving at the frontcourt and began passing the ball.
The Lakers' spirit was quite good tonight, at least; everyone was moving quickly.
Then the basketball came into Kobe's hands. Facing Lin Tian, he used the same trick again, rising up and trying to shoot a mid-range jump shot.
But Lin Tian reacted quickly, slapping the ball down the instant it was raised!
*Smack!*
With a crisp sound, Lin Tian first turned around to look at the referees and found that they were not actually prepared to blow the whistle.
Of course, Lin Tian only glanced at it once. This did not affect his speed or start at all. He was already charging at full speed and in the blink of an eye, he had the ball inside the Lakers' three-point line. Lin Tian's move was so sudden that none of the Lakers' players could keep up with him. They were all behind him!
Facing an open basket, Lin Tian easily leaped up and slammed the ball into the hoop with both hands!
After easily securing a winning start for the team, Lin Tian looked at Don Nelson with some confusion after his dunk.
He just made a steal, but it wasn't just about stealing; he was also testing the referee's limits!
Lin Tian made a very accurate cut, and he didn't try to avoid the referee's gaze. He wanted the referee to see him cutting the ball and then see if the referee would call a foul.
Normally, these kinds of steals are situations where it's up to you to call a foul or not. No one, including the person involved, knows whether the ball was hit or just touched.
Lin Tian wanted to see what level of leniency the referees would apply tonight, which was why he was looking at Nelson.
Old man, did they not blow this time?
Old Nelson looked at Lin Tian and shook his head slightly, meaning: Don't rush, let's wait and see!
Not long after the two exchanged a perfectly synchronized glance, the referee blew the whistle!
The foul was committed by Okur, who was defending O'Neal under the basket, when he touched O'Neal's arm as O'Neal was shooting.
The hit wasn't very hard; it was more that Oku lost his balance and tripped.
According to the NBA's usual standards, this play would never have been called! But this time, the referee decisively blew the whistle, sending O'Neal to the free-throw line as he scored the two points.
This time, Lin Tian immediately sensed the referee's standards.
With himself, or with key players and box office draws like Stoudemire and Anthony, it's highly unlikely that the referees will target him.
They need to stay on the field so the fans can watch the game and keep the suspense alive!
But the others are likely to have an incredibly difficult and arduous night!
They must be suffering terribly from all the whistles!
"Whoosh!!"
Since the last game, O'Neal's free throw shooting has noticeably improved. You can't really explain why, you can't really explain why he suddenly became accurate.
That's really mysterious!
But Lin Tian didn't care much. Even if O'Neal is accurate, at most he can only make 60% of his free throws. Can you really make all of my free throws?
After O'Neal made the free throw, Lin Tian received the ball from the baseline and began the team's second attack.
His defender was still Kobe! The two had been matched up against each other almost the entire time since the first game.
Jackson didn't really want to wear Kobe down like this, but he really had no other choice.
Aside from Kobe, there really isn't anyone else suitable to match up against Lin Tian.
Prince and Kirilenko are better suited to playing as forwards; they have a size advantage, but they are too slow.
As for Fisher... let's not mention him, let's not mention him.
Therefore, in the Lakers team, apart from Kobe being able to defend Lin Tian somewhat effectively, the rest of the players are really impossible to defend against, and are far too far behind to keep up with him.
Unless Jackson can grit his teeth and watch Lin Tian unleash his full potential, aiming for 60 or 70 points, he really has no choice.
It can only be Kobe.
"Haven't you had enough of being crushed by me, Kobe?" Lin Tian said to Kobe as he entered the frontcourt. "From when you were drafted in 1996 until now, 10 years have passed. How many times have I destroyed you? Why don't you ever give up?"
"One day, I'll beat you. One day, I'll crush you!" Kobe remained unmoved, instead keeping his center of gravity low and staring intently at Lin Tian, wary of any of his moves.
But sometimes, when faced with absolute speed and talent, no matter how focused and all-out you are, it's hard to achieve much.
For example, when Lin Tian changed direction again and suddenly accelerated past Kobe, Kobe could do nothing but stretch out his arm to block Lin Tian.
With a slap, Lin Tian broke into the paint and jumped up to face Kirilenko, who was coming to help defend.
"Bang!!"
Lin Tian first engaged Kirilenko in mid-air, forcing Kirilenko to move backward a distance before quickly launching a high-arcing shot. The basketball soared high, grazed Kirilenko's fingertips, and obediently nestled into the basket!
Then the Lakers' offense continued, and the ball was hit into Prince's hands. Prince took the ball and immediately drove to the basket. Anthony, whose defensive habits are quite bad, failed to keep up with Prince in time and subconsciously stretched out his arm to trip Prince.
"Beep beep!! Obstruction foul, ball in the attacking third!" The referee immediately blew his whistle.
This move, in theory, is almost no different from the one Kobe just did to Lin Tian.
It was definitely a foul, strictly speaking, but given the intensity of the current playoffs, it's not called 99% of the time; it's considered physical contact that the referees can accept.
But the referee just ignored Kobe's foul on Lin Tian, but called a foul on Anthony's foul on Prince.
The disparity in officiating standards is beginning to show!
In the following minutes, the referees stopped making their presence felt and fell silent again. The two sides played back and forth on the field, with neither side gaining the upper hand and the score remaining close.
Halfway through the first quarter, the Lakers' ball hit Kirilenko's hands. After taking possession of the ball and observing the situation, the Russian immediately drove into the paint!
Stoudemire stood in front of him, and the two jumped at the same time, colliding in mid-air.
"Beep beep!! Blocking foul! 2 free throws!"
Then, the referee blew his whistle again!
A rather nonsensical whistle blew, but Stoudemire's defensive stance was still quite good this time! There was indeed contact between the two, but there were quite a few more contactful but uncalled "violent" ones tonight!
But it was precisely this one by Stoudemire that got blown up!
"That's how I defended! I didn't make any move! I jumped vertically!" Stoudemire stood angrily next to the referee, raising his hands to demonstrate his defensive move and protesting angrily.
"Say one more word and I'll give you a technical foul!" Javey showed no mercy to Stoudemire, glancing at him before making a "T" sign with his hands.
His meaning was clear: if they didn't let it go, they'd get a technical foul!
Fortunately, the seasoned veteran Houston ran over at this moment. He pulled Stoudemire aside and told him to get out of the way and stop arguing.
A foul that has already been called will not be overturned by the referee! It's pointless.
This call disrupted the Knicks' rhythm, and young players like Stoudemire and Anthony seemed a bit impatient. The Knicks' offensive efficiency began to decline, while the Lakers, sensing the advantage of home-court advantage, started attacking the paint.
With three minutes remaining in the first quarter, Okur picked up his second foul and had to leave the game early.
Less than 20 seconds into the second quarter, Anthony became the victim. He raised his elbow too high during an offensive play, and the referee immediately called an offensive foul on him!
This was Anthony's second foul!
Then, Anthony, who was extremely unhappy about the offensive foul, shoved Walton in the body during the next defensive possession, expressing his dissatisfaction with a rather rough move.
How could the referee let such a move go unpunished? Baveta rushed in front of Anthony and gave him another defensive foul!
Less than a minute into the second quarter, Anthony committed two fouls, forcing Nelson to substitute him out and bring on Lin Tian.
Lin Tian is also the only Knicks starter with zero fouls.
Clearly, the three referees are quite knowledgeable about the essentials and art of officiating!
They know who has to stay on the field because the fans like it, and who has to go off and sit for a while longer because Stern likes it.
Lin Tian, who was back on the court, no longer suppressed his desire to attack!
He also sensed that the referees would target other Knicks players, but wouldn't easily blow the whistle on him!
Since that's the case, let's do it ourselves!
As soon as Lin Tian entered the game, he started his offensive mode!
He first defended against one of the Lakers' attacks, then dribbled the ball quickly to the frontcourt and pulled up for a three-pointer!
"Whoosh!!"
With a crisp sound, Lin Tian made his first three-pointer of the night!
You dare keep me on the field? Then I'll make you pay the price!
Anyway, this isn't the first time Lin Tian and his team have encountered difficulties because the league wants to extend the series.
Being strong is unavoidable; you're bound to be targeted.
The weak are the ones who won't be targeted, and the weak are the ones who crave extra help!
After that three-pointer, Lin Tian truly exploded!
With his inside drives and outside shots, dunks and throws, every inch of the court, from beyond the three-point line to the mid-range and then to the basket, became a stage for Lin Tian to showcase his omnipotent scoring methods.
The only problem is that despite Lin Tian's aggressive play in this quarter, repeatedly driving in and scoring, he only got two free throw opportunities in the entire second quarter.
Throughout the second quarter, Lin Tian took 16 shots, almost monopolizing all of the team's shot attempts in this quarter. He made 11 of them, efficiently shouldering the offensive burden for the team. Of these 11 shots, there were 3 three-pointers, 4 mid-range shots, and the remaining 4 were all scores from drives to the basket.
Of his five missed shots, four came from drives to the basket!
All those shots and attacks only earned Lin Tian two free throws!
A truly outrageous number!
On the other hand, for the Lakers, Kobe got 4 free throws in this quarter alone, O'Neal had 8 free throws, and Kirilenko and Prince each had 2!
In the second quarter, the free throw ratio was a staggering 18:4!
The Lakers didn't waste their 18 free throw opportunities, making 14 of them, including O'Neal who made 6 of 8!
It was precisely because of this massive number of free throws that the Lakers successfully extended their lead to 10 points by the end of the second quarter!
51: 61!
The Lakers had a commanding lead by halftime!
Actually, the referees didn't want to make such calls, or to make such outrageous calls.
But Lin Tian is too outrageous!
He played so well that he made all seven of his shots in the first five minutes after entering the game in the second quarter, looking like he was going to kill the game in the second quarter.
With 7 minutes left in the second quarter, Lin Tian delivered a no-look pass to Okur, assisting Okur in sinking a three-pointer!
After that three-pointer, the Knicks' lead over the Lakers has reached 10 points!
Lin Tian almost single-handedly gave the Knicks an absolute advantage in the away game!
But then, the referees finally intervened! They knew that if they let things continue like this, it would be too late for them to exert their strength in the second half!
As a result, the referees who were initially trying to be discreet and secretly give preferential treatment to the Lakers began to resort to unscrupulous means!
Lin Tian was clearly hit in the arm by O'Neal while driving to the basket, but no foul was called!
Kobe's pull-up jumper missed. Houston probably only touched his body hair with his fingernail. Foul. Two free throws!
O'Neal was establishing position under the basket, but before he could even get into position, the referee called a foul on Okur.
Lin Tian attacked the basket again, but this time he was squeezed between O'Neal and Kirilenko, like a sandwich, and was fiercely pressured by the two men until he lost his balance. Naturally, the ball missed.
Still no blow!
On the other hand, Mourning, who came off the bench, was called for a foul simply because he touched Prince's arm when he jumped vertically to defend under the basket!
Two more free throws!
……
Such incidents occurred repeatedly in the second quarter. The hot-tempered Mourning picked up three fouls and one technical foul in just four minutes of play. He was extremely dissatisfied with the referee's calls and kept complaining to the referee, which resulted in a technical foul from Bavetta.
It was precisely because of this frenzy of whistles and calls from the referees that the Lakers went on a 25-5 run in the last 5 minutes of the game!
They not only erased the deficit, but also managed to take the lead! (End of Chapter)