Chapter 572: 572
The gameplay stopped and the player's left the court for their first official break . The score was 10-9, with the Blazers in the lead .
Looking at the statistics, the Clippers did not appear to be playing well . They had only made three out of their nine shots . On top of that, they scored on only half of their free throws .
The Blazers didn't play badly . While on defense, they limited the Clippers' field goals to 33% . They caused a terrific turnover as well . Regarding their offense, the Blazers created many chances for unblocked shots with their strategy of cooperation .
The problem was that the Blazers' ball-handling was just average . Their shots were always just slightly off .
Looking at this score, the Blazers' coach, Terry, was dissatisfied . His goal was to dominate the Clippers completely . He wanted to the score to be 10-0, or even 20-0 . However, the Blazers were only up by one point now, which didn't make much of a difference .
Terry couldn't blame his own players . The players were not playing badly . They carried out Terry's strategy well . They played in typical Blazers style . The only thing Terry could be upset about was that they missed a basket before the quarter ended .
The game has only just started, the players haven't gotten a handle on this game yet . Once they have gotten used to it, they will naturally score more . Once we get the momentum, we'll sweep this game . Terry looked towards the Clippers' bench .
He saw Dai Li giving a water bottle to one of his players with a smile on his face . It looked like Dai Li was going to stick to the same strategy . The players were either sitting in their chairs, drinking water, or wiping their sweat . They had no intention of listening to their coach .
Dai Li isn't going to say anything to his athletes? He looks like he's their waterboy . Come to think about it, this man wouldn't have any advice to offer anyway . Terry grinned disdainfully .
The break was about to end so the players returned to the court . Both sides kept in their starting lineup .
The Blazers' got a better handle on the game and scored a few consecutive goals . In the face of the Blazers' attacks, the Clippers were powerless . On the defensive end, the Blazers forced the Clippers to make mistakes .
However, it remained a one-point game . The Clippers' inconsistent player, Naismith, scored a three-pointer and the team made a free throw after one of their players was fouled . The free throw helped the Clippers stabilized the situation .
If it weren't for Naismith, who is extremely inconsistent, we would be winning much more decisively, Terry thought as he looked at the scoreboard indignantly .
Terry knew that when an inconsistent player started doing well, there was no stopping them . When they went crazy they could get an unreasonably high number of points . Even when there were no openings for an attack, they would be able to find an opportunity to get points .
In the blink of an eye, the first quarter of the game entered its last three minutes . The referee used a dead ball to begin the second official break .
Terry was not satisfied with the performance of his five starting players because they had not achieved a big enough lead . They didn't even have much of a lead at all . In the first nine minutes of the game their lead had never exceeded five points, and the vast majority of their leads were two or three points .
This was what Terry wanted . He wanted a big win, not only because the Clippers were a weak team, but also because the Clippers' head coach was a layman . If he only defeated such an inexperienced coach by three or five points, it would be embarrassing for Terry .
The substitutes should play . Our substitutes have always been better than the Clippers' . The Clippers have suffered from large-scale injuries so, if both sides put in subs, we will be better off overall . It's up to the substitute players to do what our starting players couldn't .
He started to replace the lineup with substitutes . He was looking forward to the substitutes increasing their lead .
. . .
Terry changed another two players during a free throw and, finally, the starting lineup had been completely replaced .
The Clippers scored two free throws, making them only behind by four . Terry felt powerless .
After the substitutes put in, the team still couldn't get too far ahead . Instead, the gap stayed around five points .
Anger gradually sprouted in Terry's heart . Against such a weak team and a weak coach, the Blazers should have a much higher score .
Terry couldn't help but look at the Clippers' bench and see Dai Li looking very relaxed . He was talking and laughing with his assistant coach, Cassel .
Dai Li was indeed very relaxed . When he had equipped "Evenly Matched," he lost control over the result of the match . Dai Li decided to simply enjoy the show . From time to time, he would listen to Cassel explain their strategy .
The Clippers' assistant coach, Cassel, became more and more confused . From his perspective, the Clippers were not playing well . The Blazers were not playing badly either, but the scores had been close the whole game . He constantly looked at the latest technical statistics . He wanted to find some clues .
Finally, the first half of the game ended . Naismith scored a two-pointer at the buzzer . The Clippers only trailed the Blazers by three points . The score was 49-52 .
The Blazers were a strong team in the Western Conference . It was excellent that the Clippers were only down by three .
For the Blazers, they kept the lead the first half, which was an acceptable result .
. . .
In the Blazers locker room, Terry looked at his players and roared in anger .
"What the hell are you doing? We're playing the second worst team in the Western Conference . Are you guys sleepwalking out there?!"
The Blazers' players faced each other . Some of them didn't understand why the head coach was so angry .
"Coach, we have been playing very seriously and we never lost the lead . Overall, we have been suppressing the Clippers," a player explained .
"So why are we only leading by three points?" Terry said with contempt . "There were several missed opportunities to score that even a middle schooler would know to take . We made too many rookie mistakes, like stepping on the line in the second quarter!"
Terry began to go into detail about the performance of the Blazers in the first half . He talked about every single thing he was unsatisfied with . He was like a stingy businessman, arguing over the smallest little details .
. . .
At the start of the second half, the Blazers were able to score 11 and the Clippers only scored two . This may have been because of Terry's outburst during halftime .
"Coach, we should call a timeout," Cassel said .
Under normal circumstances, when the opponent was on a roll, the head coach on the losing end immediately called a timeout . This was to adjust strategy, let players calm down, and interrupt the opponent's momentum .
When the Clippers were being outscored by the Blazers 11-2, Cassel immediately suggested a timeout .
Dai Li looked at the timer and shook his head . "It's almost time for the official break . We should just hold on a bit longer . "
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From Dai Li's point of view, calling a timeout wouldn't make much of a difference . The two sides were currently under the influence of "Evenly Matched . " As long as the game was not over, they would be able to catch up .
Cassel, however, looked anxious . "Coach, I am afraid that they won't last until the official break . The Blazers are on a roll . If we don't call a timeout soon, they will lead by even more . "
"They won't . You can rest assured that our players will catch up . " Dai Li said with a smile .
. . .
"The Blazers played an impressive start to the half . Now they have a 12-point lead . The Clippers should be calling a timeout soon," the commentator said . He then looked towards to the referee .
The referee subconsciously looked at the Clippers' bench and looked at Dai Li, only to find that Dai Li had no plans to call a timeout .
The Clippers' player looked at their bench and saw that Dai Li did not call a timeout, so they served the ball . The defense dribbled the ball halfway down the court and looked at Dai Li as if asking him to call a timeout .
The Blazers' players across the court were thinking the same thing . They thought the Clippers would call a timeout, so they ran back to their own half of the court and waited for the referee to sound his whistle .
The Blazers' coaching staff even picked up their boards and prepared for the timeout .
It wasn't until the Clippers' defense passed the ball to the other half of the court that they realized Dai Li would not be calling a timeout .
The Clippers' players were somewhat frustrated with this . The Blazers were able to put up a 24-second defense on the Clippers' attack . This affected the morale of the Clippers .
Why don't the Clippers call a timeout? They have enough . Do they want to keep playing and try their chances? Terry thought, frowning .
It was the Blazers turn to make a play . They scored another three-pointer and widened the gap to 15 points .
A difference of 15 points . Surely you call a timeout now! Terry looked at Dai Li .
. . .
"Coach, let's call a timeout! Now that the situation has worsened, if we wait until the official break, we might be behind by more than twenty points," Cassel said anxiously .
"Hold your horses . It's only the third quarter . The end is still far off . " Dai Li waved his hands . He still firmly believed that "Equally Matched" would narrow the difference between the two teams as soon as possible .
At this time, both the players and the referee turned their attention to Dai Li . They were waiting for Dai Li to call a timeout .
However, Dai Li was still indifferent .
As soon as the Clippers handed the ball to the team's key player, Ronny, organized an offense .
Ronny and his teammates made a breakthrough and scored a two-pointer with a pull-up jumper . The lead narrowed to 13 points . This score was due to a hole in the Blazers' defense . The defensive players were not able to get into their positions in time, giving the Clippers a shot from a middle-ranged distance .
The 14-2 run that the Blazers achieved had obviously made them more relaxed .
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As the Blazers attacked, the players took advantage of their confidence . They dribbled to the three-point line and threw a three-pointer . The ball bounced out of the basket .
The Clippers grabbed the rebound and, before the Blazers had time to get into position, they changed from defense into offense . They made a three-point play . The difference between the two sides became 10 points .
The Blazers broke through the Clippers' defense and immediately committed a foul . The ball was back in the hands of the Clippers . The Clippers attempted a three-pointer but missed, but the forward players attempted a rebound . The Blazers committed another foul and the Clippers gained two points of the free throws . The gap narrowed to eight points .
Neither side scored over the next two plays . On a third play, a lay-up by the Blazers was disrupted by the Clippers . The Clippers switched to offense and managed to get two more free throws and narrow the gap to six points .
The Blazers finally recovered and cast a two-pointer while stepping on the three-point line, returning their lead to eight . The Clippers immediately retaliated with a real three-pointer and narrowed the lead to five points .
"Hwee!" The referee sounded his whistle . Terry had called for a timeout .
The Clippers caught up from the 15-point lead . They did it without calling for a timeout, a substitution, or any tactical change . This meant the problem was with the Blazers' own players . Terry couldn't wait any longer and told the referee to call a timeout .
The Blazers' walked back to their bench in frustration, but the Clippers were very excited . They reduced the lead by 10 points . However, they didn't even know how they had done it .
Cassel looked at Dai Li and couldn't help but scream internally . No timeout, no substitution, and no adjustments to the strategy . He just allowed the players to continue playing . Coach Li is really lucky!
. . .
The game went into the last quarter and the score stayed close . The Blazers were always leading, but the lead was always by three or four points .
As the game got closer to the end, the Blazers' players started to feel the pressure .
A difference of three or four points was not a secure advantage . A four-point lead was almost acceptable because the opponent would need two plays to catch up . If the lead was three points, the opponent only needed a three-pointer to tie it up .
Terry's face became uglier and uglier . He didn't think that a weak team like the Clippers would be so troublesome .
After the last official break, the game entered its final decisive moment . Now it was a two-point game and each attack was very important .
The game entered its final two minutes, and the Blazers' key player scored a crucial three-pointer, widening the gap to five points .
"Coach . We should call a timeout," Cassel advised .
"No!" Dai Li shook his head .
Just as Dai Li's voice faded away, Naismith scored another three-pointer .
With about a minute left in the game, the Blazers had a two-point lead and the ball was in their hands .
The Blazers' point guard began to apply some pressure and tried to exhaust the 24 seconds of attack time .
It wasn't until the timer had five seconds left that he started to attack . As a result, when the player started to move, the 24 seconds were up . The Blazers had wasted this attack .
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However, the Blazers also successfully wasted 24 seconds, leaving about 50 seconds left in the game .
"Coach, call a timeout so we can plan the next attack," Cassel advised .
The Clippers were two points behind with about fifty seconds left on the clock . In theory, the Clippers had two opportunities to attack and the Blazers had one . If the Clippers scored and then stopped the Blazers' attack, the Clippers would have the initiative .
Dai Li thought for a moment but shook his head . "Let the players play how they will . "
The ball was in Ronny's hands . Ronny looked at the Blazers' defense and lost his confidence . He thought about how he had scored 23 points today, which exceeded his average . He had finished what he needed to do today, so he passed the ball to Naismith .
The inconsistent Naismith did not care about such things, he took the ball and attacked . His style of play was unconventional . His shot was blocked by the Blazers' defense .
However, Naismith won two free throws and he scored both .
The Blazers were uneasy and Terry immediately called a timeout .
Terry arranged an attack which succeeded . After the jump ball in the middle of the court, the Blazers quickly rushed underneath the rim, took a shot, and scored . The offensive only took 7 seconds and there were 32 seconds left .
From this calculation, the two teams would each have one more opportunity, and the last attack would be the Blazers' .
"Coach, call a timeout . This is our last attack," Cassel immediately advised .
"No timeout . " Dai Li shook his head .
"Coach, we should really call a timeout this time," Cassel urged .
"There is no need," Dai Li shook his head again . It seemed he wouldn't call a timeout even if he were beaten to death .
The referee once again looked at Dai Li . The players on the court also looked at Dai Li . Even the camera lens zoomed in on Dai Li to give him a close-up . They wanted to capture the scene where he called for a timeout . The Blazers' coach took out his tactics board .
Dai Li was still sitting there, completely indifferent .
"Why don't the Clippers call a timeout?"
"Are they out of timeouts? No . The Clippers have not called a single timeout for the entirety of the second half, right?"
"What is the Clippers head coach thinking? Surely he'll make a plan for the last attack? If they can't mount a successful attack, they would need to create a foul immediately . Who will be committing the foul? How would he foul? All these require proper tactical planning . "
The audience was doubtful . The professional commentators did not understand what Dai Li wanted to do .
The Clippers players did not hear the timeout whistle, so they served the ball . They then transported the ball to the front of the court . They began to run into their positions . The ball was passed twice, and it landed in the hands of the inconsistent Naismith . Without regard for what was around him, he took the ball, took two steps, and did a jump shot . The ball actually went in .
The score was tied again . There were only 13 seconds left for the Blazers .
The Blazers used the last timeout and laid out their last play . However, in their lay-up, the ball slipped . The Clippers prevented a rebound . The game ended at this time .
The commentator on-site took a breath . "105 to 105 . This game is going into overtime . I really didn't expect the Blazers, a strong team in the Western Conference, and the Clippers to give us such a close match . "Please download our sponsor's game to support us!