NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 538 Even When Double-teamed, There Are Ways to Score

"Mr. Su, Olynyk and Beverley were really inconsistent today. It seems the Trail Blazers' strategy is working." Wang Zixing said with a worried expression. Clearly, he wanted the Clippers to win and surpass the Heat, but it seemed Jia Fei's teammates weren't performing well!

Su Qun seemed much calmer. As usual, he subconsciously adjusted his glasses: "Zixing, don't be anxious. The game has only been going on for one quarter. It's too early to talk about these things now. The point difference is only 4 points. Now we need to see if Olynyk and the others can get their shooting touch back in the later stages of the game. If not, the Clippers may need to adjust their lineup if they want to win."

In the clash between the two second units, Turkish center Moute unexpectedly unleashed his full potential, dominating Harrell. Meanwhile, Curry's brother, Seth Curry, was in excellent form, sinking three three-pointers against Lou Williams' defense, extending the lead to double digits by the time Jia Fei and his teammates returned.

At this point, even the Clippers fans in the stadium were not calm.

Damn, it's really one misfortune after another! Not only are our own role players having a cold shooting night, but the opposing team's role players are all playing like they're on drugs. Is it really God's will to destroy our team and end our winning streak tonight?

Beverley and Olynyk returned in the second quarter, but their shooting touch still hadn't returned. Beverley fared a bit better, finally hitting a three-pointer, but his overly aggressive defense led to his third foul before halftime, forcing him to slunk off the court.

After Beverley left the court, Lillard seemed to be freed from his constraints and played even more terrifyingly. At halftime, the score was 64-50, and the point difference had already widened to 14 points.

Clippers fans haven't seen their home team get dominated like this in a very long time. The long winning streak has made them forget what it feels like to lose, so they still couldn't accept it after the first half. They couldn't accept that their home team was being so suppressed by a team of the Blazers' caliber.

Lin Ning was also worried. She even forgot to sit down, wondering what Jia Fei was thinking. Was he nervous? Would he get impatient? She didn't know. Was their home winning streak really about to end today? Had her role as a lucky charm come to an end?

The third quarter began quickly.

Judging from the close-up shot on the big screen, Jia Fei showed no signs of impatience; he remained calm. But whether his calmness was genuine or feigned, perhaps only he himself knew.

The Clippers took the initiative on offense. Beverley dribbled the ball over and immediately passed it to Jia Fei.

Jia Fei, holding the ball, faced CJ, and a double team immediately followed.

Jia Fei passed the ball to Olynyk in the high position, and then ran to the bottom corner without the ball.

Paul George went to the top lane and took down the defender!

Jia Fei suddenly cut inside, and Olynyk immediately passed the ball out!

Jia Fei received the ball and, before the opponents could double-team him, turned and jumped to shoot...

The ball bounced on the rim and went in!

64:52, a difference of 12 points!

The Trail Blazers were on offense. Lillard set a screen and attempted a three-pointer—but it didn't go in!

But the ballista under the basket grabbed the offensive rebound!

Nuji made a strong attack under the basket, but Jia Feifei came over and blocked it with a palm strike!

A gasp went up from the crowd as Gallinari secured the ball and passed it to Jia Fei!

Jia Fei dribbled the ball forward, passed it to Pao Jiao before the opponent double-teamed him, and then suddenly made a forward run!

Pao Jiao dribbled the ball forward and saw Jia Fei pointing to the sky!

Pickled Pepper understood immediately and tossed the ball forward...

Jia Fei jumped on one foot, Harkless and CJ also jumped, and the three made physical contact in the air!

But Jia Fei still jumped the highest. In mid-air, his hand reached the ball. He seemed to swing it casually, but the ball seemed to understand human nature and was slammed into the basket!

Just then, the fans at the scene noticed that Harkless and CJ had already landed, but Jia Fei was still in the air. This was definitely a suppression of hang time!

Almost at the same time, the referee blew his whistle, and the defensive player committed a foul!

"2+1!" Su Qun in the Tencent studio couldn't help but shout it out, startling Wang Zixing sitting next to him. It wasn't that Teacher Su wasn't passionate, it's just that his threshold was high, there was nothing he could do about it.

This reminded Wang Zixing of Xiang Ge during the 2006 World Cup match between Italy and Australia. Back then, Xiang Ge was truly a die-hard fan, and his passionate commentary is still circulating on Douyin short videos today—it was absolutely amazing.

Cheers erupted immediately, and shouts of "MVP" echoed throughout the venue.

Clearly, the Clippers, who had been dominated for half the game, were about to regain their morale after two consecutive brilliant offensive plays by Jia Fei.

Just then, the Trail Blazers called a timeout!

Coach Stotts is an experienced coach, a shrewd old fox, and naturally understands the importance of disrupting the opponent's morale. Only former Clippers coach Rivers would openly use timeouts. Most NBA coaches utilize timeouts effectively, but Rivers only uses them to give players rest, or at most, to offer some motivational speeches.

After the timeout, Jia Fei stepped to the free-throw line without interference and made the free throw!

64:55, the score difference has narrowed to single digits!

Although the difference in scores between two-digit numbers and single-digit numbers is very small, the perception is completely different.

Lillard dribbled over, and Beverley fouled him because he was pushing too hard!

This is not good news for the Clippers, Beverley already has 4 fouls!

Coach Buden on the sidelines was reminding Beverley to be careful about fouls. Beverley couldn't do anything about it. His crazy defense was indeed effective, but it had many side effects, and committing a lot of fouls was one of them.

Lillard was double-teamed after a pick-and-roll, and passed to CJ on the weak side!

CJ received the ball and broke through after a triple threat, but his offense was blocked by Jia Fei. His pass to Nurkic under the basket was intercepted by Paul George, who was helping on defense!

Pickled pepper intercepts the ball and launches a counter-attack; quickly pass to Jia Fei in the attacking third!

Jia Fei quickly moves down and passes to Gallinari on the other side!

Gallinari attempted a three-pointer – but missed!

Fortunately, Jia Fei managed a putback dunk after grabbing a rebound!

Jia Fei scored 7 consecutive points, narrowing the gap to 7 points!

The Staples Center erupted in cheers... Everyone saw hope for a comeback, and the source of their hope was Jia Fei!

Even when double-teamed, Jia Fei still managed to score. On the defensive end, he was like a lock, firmly locking down one of the opponent's two sharpshooters, CJ.

"Jia Fei can still score even when double-teamed!" Wang Zixing exclaimed.

Su Qun nodded: "The best way to deal with double teams is of course to pass the ball to an open teammate. But it's not easy for the opponent to double team when there is no ball. The same goes for transitions. Before the opponent can double team, Jia Fei has seized these opportunities."

Led by Jia Fei, the Clippers fought back and by the time they made substitutions in the third quarter, the point difference was only 2 points.