Champions Creed

Chapter 255 Chapter 254: The Eagles have a better duo (asking for a monthly ticket!)

Finally, the long-awaited finals finally took place as scheduled after being delayed for two years.

Ever since Roger and Shark separated in the summer of 1997, fans around the world have been waiting for them to meet in the finals.

Since you guys are making such a big fuss, why don't you just have a real fight and then you'll know who should shut up, right?

But in 1998, when Roger was standing at the top waiting, the Sharks stood everyone up.

Moreover, he stood everyone up in a very humiliating way. After Roger left, he was swept 4-0 by the Utah Jazz.

In 1999, Roger did not make it to the finals.

But the Shark didn't score either, and he even got swept again.

After Roger left, the Sharks were swept out of the playoffs for two consecutive years, which caused a serious decline in their reputation.

But all of this can be reversed through this year's finals!

As long as O'Neal can defeat Roger in the finals and get his fourth ring, no one will be able to say that he is not as good as Roger.

Not only that, he can also make Roger's 72 wins and MVP lose all their value.

O'Neal is full of confidence because the Lakers are getting better and better in the playoffs.

In the first round, they were almost defeated by the Kings.

But in the second round, they swept the Timberwolves.

In the third round, he stopped pretending to be a gentleman and swept the Jazz.

This Lakers team is gradually getting bigger, stronger and tougher as the contact deepens!

All in all, the Lakers have a record of 11 wins and 3 losses in the first three rounds.

Is the gap between us and the Eagles huge? No.

After arriving in Atlanta, O'Neal encountered a lot of media interviews as soon as he got off the plane.

The popularity of this year's finals is several times higher than last year.

In last year's finals, the Spurs and the Heat were not popular teams. Moreover, the defense-oriented style of the two teams was a disaster for the viewing experience.

In fact, in the first decade of the 21st century, the Spurs were box office poison every time they played in the finals.

This year, the situation is completely different.

The Hawks and the Lakers are both teams with huge traffic. The Hawks returned to the finals and are ready to rebuild their dynasty. The Lakers, a powerful team, also returned to the finals after a decade, which whetted everyone's appetite.

Moreover, the war between Roger and the Shark is also the main theme of basketball in the 21st century.

This year's finals are full of expectations for everyone.

So the Lakers players were surrounded by reporters as soon as they arrived in Atlanta.

All media are unwilling to miss the excitement of the finals.

O'Neal enjoys the feeling of being the center of attention. He likes excitement and big scenes.

He greeted every reporter, causing waves of commotion.

"Shaq, after two years, you and Roger are on the stage of the finals together again. How do you feel now?"

"Great! I finally have a chance to prove that bastard isn't that legendary! Hey, if I were Ben Wallace, I'd just fake a groin problem and rest at home instead of humiliating myself!"

"But they have an 11-0 playoff record. Do you still think Roger is not a legend?"

"I won't say stupid things like 11 wins and 0 losses are totally unworthy of mentioning. 11 wins and 0 losses is indeed great, but it is still exaggerated. I know Reebok's habit, they always like to exaggerate one thing. The fact is, we only lost three more games than the Hawks, and the Hawks' 11 wins and 0 losses are not far ahead of us. This is an excellent, but not a great achievement. However, from Reebok's propaganda, the Hawks can even compete for the most dominant team in North American sports history. It's ridiculous!"

O'Neal is a talkative person, while Kobe is relatively quiet.

"Winning and going home with a championship, that's what I want to do. Anything else, I'm not interested."

"So what do you think of the Sports Illustrated cover? They seem to be suggesting that you, too, will get down on your knees before Roger."

"That will never be the case, we will win, no matter what it takes."

At this time, O'Neal walked up and put his arm around Kobe's shoulders.

After being beaten last season, the relationship between Kobe and Shaq has been brought closer.

After Kobe blocked his habit of turning into a wolf in the last round of the series, the Sharks became even more fond of Kobe.

The Shark hugged Kobe and faced the camera, shaking his finger: "That's right, no matter what the cost! Even if that idiot Paul Pierce farted on purpose when he was making a layup, I would block the shot despite the stench, fearless. Hey, here is the latest strongest duo in history!"

The fight last season, the loss this season, all these shames, O'Neal and Kobe remember them.

In the first battle, they must seize the initiative!

In fact, O'Neal has been happy about Roger's 11-0 record in the playoffs.

Because in this way, he can be the first person to end Roger in the playoffs!

During the regular season, Roger became the first player to defeat the Lakers.

Now, it's time to give it all back!

Don't ask why Shark and Roger are so keen on taking each other's first loss, it's something engraved in the men's genes.

In Game 1 of the Finals, the Hawks and the Lakers played quite intensely and did not disappoint the fans.

O'Neal was not bragging this time. In the first attack of the game, he dunked over Ben. Marvin Albert even joked: "The Hawks can't put AI in the penalty area to defend the Shark!"

The shark's casualness makes Ben Wallace, who also has furrowed hair, look like Allen Iverson.

To be honest, Ben has become familiar with the feeling of being under the shark's crotch over the years.

As long as the Shark can catch the ball comfortably, Big Ben is a toy in his hands.

Everything he could do happened before the Shark caught the ball.

After the Shark's performance, Kobe was not to be outdone.

One round later, Kobe shot from beyond the three-point line and the Lakers led 5-0.

Marvin Albert is delighted with the Lakers' form, because it ensures that this year's finals will not be too boring: "Can the best Kobe Bryant and Shaq revive the glory of the strongest duo? Can they give the Hawks their first loss in the playoffs?"

However, the Eagles quickly responded.

Pierce took the first shot and scored a singles goal against Glen Rice.

Then, Roger hit a jump shot under the double-team of Kobe and Harper.

The tone of this game was set from the very beginning: this is a war between the strongest duos!
In the subsequent games, Kobe, Shark, Roger and Pierce all played well. Kobe still controlled his wolf nature and did not shoot randomly.

But as long as he is given the opportunity, he will seize it firmly.

O'Neal attacked frantically in the interior. Today, the Shark had a very good touch near the basket, and his various hook shots and small lobs were extremely efficient.

On the Hawks side, Roger, as usual, took on too many rounds in which he failed to execute tactics.

Pierce did not disappoint. When Roger went off the court to rest, he led the team in the transition period and played brilliantly.

The scores of the two teams were spiraling up alternately, and the performances of the duos were equally matched.

In the first half, the two teams were tied at 53-53, and neither team could gain an advantage.

Although the score was tied, at the end of the first half, Marvin Albert still praised the Lakers: "As of now, the Lakers are indeed the only team that can compete with the Hawks in terms of talent. If anyone can end the Hawks' playoff winning streak, it must be the Los Angeles Lakers!"

This statement is correct, the Lakers' talent is not inferior to that of the Hawks.

This may be the first time in the playoffs so far that the Hawks have been unable to crush their opponents with talent.

Roger can score like crazy, and so can the Shark.

Pierce can attack and defend, and Kobe can do it too.

The third quarter was still tense.

Everything turned around in the fourth quarter, when Paul Pierce, who had been looking forward to the finals for a long time, played the first legendary night of his career.

In the last three minutes of the fourth quarter, the Hawks led by 6 points. Pierce first made a pull-up shot from outside the three-point line to get Glen Rice, widening the gap to 9 points.

One round later, Harper was responsible for defending Pierce, but Pierce still made a shot from beyond the three-point line.

Seeing that Pierce was in hot form, Roger pointed at Pierce on the third attack, signaling Pippen to pass the ball to him.

So, Pierce held the ball for the third time in a row at a critical moment.

This is a privilege that Roger gives to Pierce and a sign of trust in him.

The Lakers dared not take it lightly again, and this time sent out their strongest defensive player on the outside, the number 8.

Pierce saw that it was Kobe defending him alone, so he started to speak uncontrollably: "Wasn't it bad enough that I beat you last year?"

"Weren't those 13 stab wounds in Los Angeles painful enough?" Kobe fired back.

"13 knives can't scare me, let alone you."

"Come on, I'm going to make you covered in bruises."

Pierce started to attack while talking trash to Kobe.

He didn't use too many movements to get rid of it, but just suddenly took a side step after getting close to the three-point line, and then pulled up directly from outside the three-point line!
Kobe's defense was very good. Although he failed to block the ball, he still caused serious interference.

But the basketball finally went into the net, and Pierce made three three-pointers at the critical moment, widening the gap to 13 points!
Paul Pierce excitedly pumped his fist and then opened his arms.

Marvin Albert also applauded with the fans: "We spent a lot of time being disappointed that the player we most expected did not become what we hoped he would be. Clippers fans were disappointed with Sugar Man, former 76ers fans were disappointed with Sean Bradley, and the Celtics were disappointed with Chauncey Billups. But here with Paul, he has become everything we expected!"

That's why Roger told Pierce that there was no need to calm down.

The Eastern Conference Finals is just a stepping stone, he needs to let Pierce continue to fight with this passion!
Pierce's consecutive hits at critical moments helped Roger save a lot of energy, and he could put all this energy on the defensive end.

In the next defense, Pippen and Roger played double pressure.

No matter who has the ball, either Roger or Pippen will cooperate with that person's original position to press forward and force the opponent to pass the ball.

Such defense will leave gaps, but Roger and Pippen use quick movement and excellent judgment to block those gaps again and again.

Big Ben also tried his best to prevent the shark from catching the ball, even though his part was already burning with pain from the shark's knee, he still did not spare any effort.

The Zen Master was very nervous, he always felt that he would miss this shot.

Murphy's Law: When you think you're going to make a mistake, you will.

Under pressure from Pippen and Pierce, Kobe passed the ball to Harper who was left open, but Roger rushed out in time and snatched the ball away.

With Pippen and Roger covering the entire court, any pass was extremely dangerous.

After stealing the ball, Roger ran down the court quickly and ended the game with a slam dunk.

The Zen Master admitted that Roger and Pierce were more mature in their cooperation with each other.

When one side is hot, the other side will focus on defense.

They are a real "combo".

But Kobe's performance was not bad either. He still controlled himself today and did not turn into a werewolf.

Will Pierce be able to play like this every night? No way.

But Kobe performs like he does today every night.

The Lakers will win, the Zen Master still firmly believes so.

At the end of the game, the Lakers lost to the Hawks 98 to 109.

Not only did the Lakers fail to become the first team to defeat the Hawks in the playoffs, they lost to the Hawks by double digits!
The Lakers duo performed very well, with Kobe scoring 21 points and O'Neal scoring 38 points and 15 rebounds.

But the Hawks' duo was better, with Pierce scoring 30 points and Roger scoring 37 points.

After the game, O'Neal was obviously dissatisfied.

"What is this? Roger was completely pushed across the river by his little brother, otherwise he would have drowned here today! Paul's three three-pointers were also outrageous. If you let him shoot again, he would not be able to hit it! Damn the Hawks, they are just lucky!"

But Pierce responded to the shark with that sentence: "Good luck? I can make you doubt your life again even if I'm holding my shit!"

The showdown between top talents came to an end, and at least tonight, Pierce and Roger proved that they are the best duo.

However, it is an indisputable fact that Pierce performed well.

His three consecutive three-pointers in the final moments instantly reduced the difficulty of the game.

But before that, the situation between the two sides had been very tense.

Roger did not take it lightly. The battle was far from over and it would not be easy to deal with the OK combination.

He has to be fully prepared to face the OK combination in the most difficult moment.

A true superstar cannot just play in favorable situations.

(End of this chapter)