The impact of the shortened season finally began to fade in the conference finals.

The semifinals were hurriedly concluded, and the major awards were announced in a hurry.

The commentators often had no time to warm up for the game. After the back-to-back series, the series suddenly ended.

In the conference finals, the four teams all got precious rest time, and the media could calmly warm up for the game.

Before the start of the Eastern Conference Finals, before the Pacers played against the Knicks, Spike Lee, who was interviewed by the New York Times, brought up the old story and made a pre-emptive prediction:

“The Knicks are completely different. In the past two years, we have a slight advantage in the regular season, and Reggie Miller has begun to go downhill.”

“The past situation will not happen again. We are ready to win another championship.”

“I can’t even wait to see Reggie Miller lose. New York fans will welcome him with the loudest boos!”

In Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 1994, facing Spike Lee’s provocation, Reggie Miller finally exploded and sent a “throat-locking gesture.”

In the 1995 Eastern Conference semifinals, the “Miller Moment”, 8 points in 8.9 seconds, Reggie Miller helped the Pacers to counterattack the Knicks.

The above two famous scenes are still fresh in the memory of New York’s old fans.

During the regular season, whenever they met the Pacers, everyone would boo them.

Before the Eastern Conference Finals started, many fans shouted slogans:

“Knicks In Four!”

Reggie Miller, who is about to turn 34, has matured a lot and is about to enter the end of his career.

Naturally, he knows that there is not much time left for him to win the championship.

Last year, they almost overturned the Bulls.

This year, they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals again.

The veterans of the Pacers cherish this opportunity very much.

They don’t want to miss it again.

The starting point guard Mark Jackson is 34 years old, and the No. 3 Chris Mullin is 35 years old;

The inside Dale Davis is 30 years old and Rik Smits is 32 years old.

From the perspective of age structure, the Pacers have more game experience!

Most of the starting five are still in their prime years.

Sweeping the opponents in the first two rounds of the playoffs is also expected by the commentators.

On May 29, in addition to predicting the game between the Trail Blazers and the Spurs that night, TNT also commented on the Eastern Conference Finals matchup between the “old enemies”.

Ever since Duncan blew up the Lakers’ inside line, McHale has been in a good mood.

In the past few days, when he came to the studio, his tone became more and more cheerful:

“The Knicks’ defense has declined this season, and Ewing and Oakley have problems with their lateral speed.”

“The inside combination of Rick Smits and Dale Davis is at its peak, plus Reggie Miller on the outside, the inside and outside are balanced, this is the best time for the Pacers to win the championship!”

Looking at the surface lineup, the Pacers do have a height advantage in the inside line.

After all, Rik Smits is 2.24 meters tall and in his prime, and his condition seems to be better than Ewing.

Kenny Smith was still optimistic about the Knicks and quickly gave his own opinion:

“The regular season can reflect the strength of the team. Don’t forget that the Pacers ranked only 14th in the regular season defense.”

“In the postseason, they didn’t face too many challenges. I don’t think the Pacers can limit the performance of Lee and Alan Houston.”

“They don’t have a very good defensive strategy. When they encounter pick-and-rolls, they can only delay like in the regular season.”

“Lee will completely dismantle the Pacers’ defense. He likes to face big centers with slow lateral movement speed.”

All the famous coaches were eliminated.

TNT’s program did not mention tactical adjustments at this time.

The opinions of both of them started with the technical characteristics of the players.

Ernie Johnson heard that the two people’s argument showed no sign of stopping, and hurriedly reminded them:

“We have to talk about tonight’s game again. The Trail Blazers’ inside strength is also very good!”

“Tim Duncan will give a response.”

“…”

Tim Duncan, who was selected to the double first team, became popular after entering the Western Conference Finals.

The commentators did not hesitate to praise Duncan.

In the Western Conference Finals that night, the Spurs’ twin towers continued their high-profile performance in the previous series, scoring 20+10 double-doubles.

Although Rasheed Wallace scored 28 points with 12 of 20 shots, he was unable to penetrate the Spurs’ defense with frequent positional attacks.

76:80, the Spurs successfully protected their home court.

Lee also watched the final moments of the game in his apartment in Manhattan.

Noting that the two teams had a total of 17 shots from beyond the three-point line and hit 5 goals in the technical statistics, he shook his head secretly for a while.

Krysten Ritter, who has been acting as a shield for Lee these two days, asked curiously while surfing the Internet:

“I think Sanders is also very beautiful! She also won a gold medal in the Olympics. Don’t you like her?”

Sanders, the former Olympic swimming champion who just joined the NBA Inside Stuff program, has become the new female host of the program.

(A/N: Search Summer Sanders if you’re curious.)

Sanders was recently in charge of interviewing the Knicks and had been filming with the team.

Lee played dumb for all the other party’s hints.

“I’m not interested in getting involved with an Olympic champion! In my opinion, you’re much prettier than her!”

Lee hooked his hand on the sofa, and the little follower stuck to him with a smile.

Krysten Ritter, who had completely turned into a big girl, was a lively and beautiful girl except that she was a little flat.

Compared with the Olympic champion who took the independent feminist route, Lee still felt that the little follower was safer.

Ritter, who had combed her long black hair into a bun and was only wearing cool pajamas, leaned close to Lee’s ear and whispered.

The two whispered to each other, and the little follower had a shortness of breath and whispered again:

“Honey, what if I really get pregnant?”

“Of course it’s born, it must be a cute child!”

…

On the evening of May 30, the Eastern Conference Finals officially started.

Although Spike Lee and the New York media kept provoking before the game, no one from the Pacers responded.

In the Eastern Conference semifinals last year, the Pacers shaved their heads to show their determination to win, just to beat the Bulls.

After the regretful loss, the team led by Larry Bird in this year’s playoffs has become more mature, and they only want the championship.

At Madison Square Garden, the boos became louder and louder shortly after the opening.

Alan Houston missed shots in succession under the pursuit of Reggie Miller.

In addition, Ewing missed a shot from an open position.

The game lasted 4 minutes and 42 seconds, and Jeff Van Gundy on the sidelines frowned for a while.

The Pacers attacked, Reggie Miller quickly slipped across the baseline from left to right, bounced out to the right wing, and after receiving the ball, he faked a breakthrough.

Completely getting rid of Alan Houston’s defense, Reggie Miller made a long two-point pull-up jump shot!

4:10, Jeff Van Gundy immediately requested a timeout.

“Boo!”

The game started badly, and Madison Square Garden was booed.

In the NBC commentary booth, Bob Costas began to praise the Pacers’ performance again:

“Both sides have no problem with their physical fitness. On the defensive end, the Pacers performed better after the opening.”

“Reggie Miller used his excellent defensive experience to successfully limit Alan Houston’s performance.”

The hidden little moves can indeed interfere with the shooter.

Doug Collins is more concerned about the defensive strategies of both sides:

“After the opening, both Rik Smits and Dale Davis showed strong defensive flexibility and cooperated with their teammates to delay the game.”

“Lee handled the ball very well, but unfortunately Ewing didn’t have a good touch tonight and made a mistake in the inside pass. I hope they can get back to the game state in time after the timeout.”

After the game started, the Pacers started the double-team mode.

When Lee dribbled close to the three-point line, the defender on the weak side would cooperate with Mark Jackson to double-team.

Chris Mullin cooperated with the double-team the most times, and Larry Johnson, who responded after the opening, failed to respond in time.

The opponent resolutely implemented the double-team strategy and caught the Knicks off guard.

The noise at the scene was very loud.

Jeff Van Gundy sat in front of everyone, holding the tactical board and loudly exhorted:

“Move, transfer the ball to the basket, and then play it again, pull their defense, stay patient, we will seize the opportunity!”

Ewing took a breath.

Rik Smits attacked several times in the low post after the opening, and coupled with a lot of physical confrontation, the gorilla lost his touch at the beginning.

Lee just nodded. The best way at present is to stay patient.

There is really no solution to the problem that his teammates can’t hit open shots.

After the timeout, both sides returned to the court.

Mark Jackson kept clapping his hands to encourage himself, and Reggie Miller also shouted to his teammates to pay attention to the defense.

From the beginning of the game, the Pacers were completely involved in the game.

The enthusiastic greetings on the scene did not affect them at all.

The New York fans continued to cheer loudly.

When Lee received the ball from the baseline, Mark Jackson immediately stepped forward to lead the defense.

Advancing quickly against the defense, Lee first pretended to accelerate after crossing half court, then quickly dribbled the ball behind his back with his left hand, switched to his right hand and shook it for a distance, and immediately made a tactical gesture.

Ewing hurriedly moved to the top of the arc.

Lee was just about to break through on the right side, and Rik Smits raised his hands high, slid quickly, and cooperated with his teammates to double-team him.

Continuing the game strategy at the beginning, Lee, who had been prepared, suddenly dribbled the ball with one hand.

While the basketball passed under his crotch, it also happened to pass between the two defenders.

Lee leaned forward and squeezed through the defense in an instant.

Then he scooped the ball with his left hand and rushed to the basket quickly.

Mark Jackson tried to chase him again, but he bumped into Ewing, and Rik Smits also had no time to retreat.

Dale Davis, who was near the right baseline, immediately came to the basket to help defend.

Lee did not choose to pass the ball.

He rushed up with three steps and jumped quickly.

He grabbed the ball with his left hand, and dodged the block in the air.

Dale Davis noticed something was wrong and simply hit Lee’s left arm.

“Snap!”

“Squeak!”

The whistle sounded and the ball went in.

The crisp sound of the hand hit made the referee blow the whistle immediately.

The New York fans at the scene saw Lee fist-fighting and celebrating after landing, and immediately cheered loudly.

Lee passed three people and sent the ball into the basket.

Dale Davis was a little helpless.

Head coach Larry Bird on the sidelines just made a steady gesture.

7:10, free throws were made, and Lee helped the Knicks narrow the gap.

Bob Costas, who was in the commentary booth, began to praise Lee’s performance:

“Lee broke through to the basket twice after the opening, and the results were very good. He made a free throw once and made a three-pointer this time. His finishing at the basket has improved a lot compared to the previous two seasons.”

Doug Collins, who was standing by, noticed that Mark Jackson passed the ball to Rik Smits, who was back-to-back on the left low post, after passing half court, and immediately commented:

“Slow down the game rhythm, play more inside on the offensive end, the Pacers took advantage of their own advantages at the beginning of the game.”

Rik Smits put the ball in his right hand and hit it hard, trying to use his height advantage.

When he approached the paint area, he immediately completed the lob.

“Bang!”

The basketball hit the rim and Oakley blocked Dale Davis behind him and grabbed the rebound.

The Pacers quickly retreated, and the Knicks failed to complete the transition offense in the first time.

The game was completely in a tense state.

Reggie Miller did not have much role on the offensive end, but on the defensive end, he tightly entangled Alan Houston.

Forced double-teaming is bound to pay a price.

Larry Johnson missed the first shot, but he received a pass from Lee who was double-teamed at the top of the arc and easily hit a three-pointer from the left wing.

“Wow!”

The first three-pointer of the game finally appeared.

New York fans breathed a sigh of relief and then shouted happily.

The Pacers continued to slow down the pace, scoring in and out, pressing 24 seconds.

Reggie Miller broke through after a fake, and suddenly stopped and got a free throw.

Alan Houston, who received his second foul, slapped his thigh in frustration, and then was replaced by Sprewell.

The “madman” was still responsible for chasing Reggie Miller, but the effect was much better than Alan Houston.

Sprewell didn’t care about his fouls at all.

He started a defensive method of pulling and dragging, and the Knicks started the iron-blooded mode in advance.

After the tough defense, Sprewell also showed a good touch on the offensive end, helping the Knicks to score points continuously.

Seeing the Knicks regain their offensive rhythm, Doug Collins changed his tone and began to praise the substitution:

“Sprewell played with better temperament tonight. Although there are rumors that he will leave in the offseason, I think staying with the Knicks is the best choice.”

Bob Costas naturally noticed this news, and noticed that the score between the two sides began to rise slowly, and added:

“Reggie Miller is not an easy opponent to deal with. Sprewell did his job well.”

With the help of the “madman”, the score was fixed at 25:22 at the end of the first quarter, and the Knicks narrowed the gap.

The New York fans at the scene were in a bad mood.

No one expected that the Pacers would take the lead.

Clay Lee played the first quarter, 2 of 4 shots, 3 of 3 free throws, and scored 7 points, 1 rebound, and 2 assists;

Sprewell made 2 of 3 shots, 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 6 points.

The two of them accounted for half of the Knicks’ points.

Back on the bench, Ewing, who was replaced early, felt a little frustrated.

Some stable opportunities to score were wasted.

The score difference was within one round.

Lee was not worried about the situation on the court.

As long as the Pacers continued to play positional offense, they could not really widen the score difference for a while.

Amid the noise at the scene, the rotation lineups of the two teams appeared.

There were no starting players in the Pacers’ second lineup.

The back line was Travis Best, who was 180cm tall, and the forward Jalen Rose, who was sized, and the three inside players were Derrick McKey, Sam Perkins, and Antonio Davis.

The Pacers’ height decreased, but their flexibility increased!

In the second quarter, Sprewell continued his efficient state in the first quarter, constantly hitting response balls, allowing the Knicks to keep the score close.

Alan Houston’s playing time was compressed, and the starting lineup did not return to the court until there were 4 minutes and 24 seconds left in the first half.

The two sides played slower and slower, with the score in a single quarter being 19:20.

At the end of the first half, the score was 44:42.

The Knicks narrowed the gap a little bit.

Madison Square Garden became more and more noisy, and New York fans could see that several starting players were in average condition.

Sprewell efficiently scored 14 points with 5 of 9 shots and 4 of 4 free throws in the first half.

Since the news of his departure was released, no one in the locker room paid attention to him.

The “madman” felt aggrieved, and he proved himself again with such a performance in the first half tonight.

After entering the player tunnel, the excited Sprewell shouted:

“Shit! You need me so much!”

….

By the way, don’t forget to throw power stones and leave a review to motivate me 🙂

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep