Champions Creed

Chapter 390 389: This night is like this, and every night is like this (ask for monthly tickets!)
No one could have imagined that Matt Barnes would give his best performance of the entire night only after the game.

It's like Biden Sr. gave the best speech of his career in his farewell speech.

Although they all came a little late, they can indeed be regarded as highlight moments.

This is definitely the first time in NBA history that a player jumped into the audience and beat up an executive of the opposing team. Matt Barnes will become famous because of this incident.

In fact, he had already received an advertising invitation - the Mission Bay Police Department invited Barnes to shoot a police promotional video, in which he would play the role of a vicious prisoner.

People are talking about Matt Barnes' "highlights," and he's furious about it.

Twice in a row, that bastard Mike Dunleavy Sr. humiliated him and got away with it.

Twice in a row, his fist was less than five centimeters away from the old bastard's face, but each time he was forced to let the guy go.

This went against his bottom line: never go home crying.

Matt Barnes hated the person who tarnished his efforts so much. He didn't know why someone could be so disgusting.

It seemed that insulting the players' egos allowed Mike Dunleavy Sr. to assert his superiority.

Coupled with that standard Hollywood villain face, old Mike Dunleavy looks even more evil.

Until the next day, Matt Barnes showed up at the training ground with a frown on his face and anger filling his whole body.

In the subsequent shooting training, Matt Barnes' trajectory began to deviate to the left again.

Jeff Hornacek has been correcting his shooting form for a season, and it has paid off recently. At least in training, his jump shot has been getting better and better.

But today, his shooting posture has completely returned to what it was before.

Matt Barnes knows exactly what has been limiting his playing time. His offense is too bad and his shooting is always off target. Once he is on the court, the Warriors' offense will be much worse.

As a sport where a team can only have five players on the field at the same time, you cannot ignore the impact of any individual on the whole.

无论是进攻端4打5还是防守端4打5都会让球队处于劣势，你不能指望所有球队都像20年后的洛杉矶湖人，习惯打着打着场上突然少一个人。

Matt Barnes was quite annoyed when he thought about the fact that he missed all three shots from beyond the three-point line last night, that he was still dragging down the team's offense in the playoffs, and the smug face of old Mike Dunleavy.

Thinking of this, he wanted to make all the damn balls more urgently, like a kid who was eager to get candy.

But the more impatient he became, the less accurate he became, and the more he tried to throw the ball in, the more his movements became distorted.

In the subsequent training game, Matt Barnes was absent-minded on the defensive end, and only wanted to score more goals on the offensive end.

The Kings' hound was completely blinded by anger and impatience. He was too obsessed with his jump shot, but this made him lose more.

At the end of the practice match, Matt Barnes made 5 of 1 shots and allowed Jason Richardson to score 15 points. Moreover, Jason Richardson barely needed to drink water after scoring 15 points in the practice match.

Anyone who has played 2K knows that when you are only focused on scoring, you will not focus on the defensive end at all, and you will just want to start the next offensive round impatiently.

Roger, who was sitting on the sidelines, was a little angry: "He can't put pressure on Kobe by playing like this. No one will play like this. No one will walk across half court just to miss a shot!"

In the last game, Matt Barnes was more enthusiastic on offense than on defense.

He was always thinking about how to get out of position to catch the ball and shoot a jump shot, instead of thinking about how to make Kobe uncomfortable.

He seemed eager to prove to Mike Dunleavy Sr. that he could shoot a jump shot.

So he used all his energy on some meaningless and unnecessary running instead of competing with Kobe.

This ultimately led to him playing an extremely ugly game.

In the next game, according to Roger and Spoelstra's strategy, they must put pressure on Kobe and double-team him for 48 minutes.

Matt Barnes is a key part of this strategy. Coming off the bench, he must lead the defense with full firepower to ensure that the double-team is effective.

But in his current state where he can't even defend against Jason Richardson, it's impossible for him to bring any pressure to Kobe.

Eric Spoelstra could see that Roger was very angry, but he didn't want Roger to conflict with Matt Barnes.

Matt Barnes is a powder keg, a powder keg that has already been ignited. He might even fight with Roger directly.

So, Spoelster decided to appease Roger first: "I know Matt played well in the regular season, but he is obviously not ready for the playoffs. In the final analysis, he is just a second-round pick, a second-round pick who is playing in the playoffs for the first time."

"No, he must be ready!" Roger said, standing up and walking onto the stage.

Yes, the Warriors still have a lot of forwards available.

But there was no one on the bench better suited to defend Kobe than Matt Barnes.

Stephen Jackson has been gaining weight in order to play the power forward position, which has greatly slowed down his lateral speed.

Boris Diaw's defense is not aggressive enough, his talent is more reflected in the offensive end.

Only Matt Barnes combines agility, confrontation and ferocity.

If he DNPs, the Warriors will not be able to complete the task of pressuring Kobe.

On the training ground, Matt Barnes was still working tirelessly on his jump shot. After missing countless shots, someone suddenly walked up to him and slapped the ball away from his hand: "That's enough, you might as well not practice anymore."

Matt Barnes couldn't stand hearing this. This was the third time in his career that someone told him "you might as well not practice."

If even the effort becomes worthless, it will be the most humiliating moment for a man.

Matt Barnes angrily threw the ball to the floor and yelled, "Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

His emotions had completely exploded. He was not angry at Roger, but angry at his own powerlessness.

He really wanted to perform well in the next game and make that bastard Mike Dunleavy completely lose his temper.

But his shooting is just like a shorter version of Ben Wallace.

He bet that even if the Olsen sisters sat on Roger's shoulders and carried the youngest, Elizabeth Olsen, on his back, Roger's shooting would still be more accurate than his.

"Persistence" is a word that appears frequently in competitive sports and has been overused by commentators, professional writers and fans.

But it is not easy to actually implement this clichéd term.

Matt Barnes persisted in practicing his jump shot for an entire season, patiently correcting his shooting posture.

But until now, he has not been considered a qualified three-point response point.

His three-point shooting percentage this season is only 28%, which does not meet the standard no matter what era it is in.

He persisted for so long but got nothing, he persisted for so long but still couldn't shut up old Mike Dunleavy. These are the reasons why Matt Barnes is so angry.

When you keep working hard but get no rewards, you will understand the weight of the word "persistence".

Now, he felt that he could no longer hold on. The weight of "persistence" was suffocating him and he began to doubt his efforts.

It seems that old Mike Dunleavy was right and practicing shooting by yourself is a waste of time.

Seeing Matt Barnes losing control of his emotions, Roger just looked at him indifferently: "Forget it, this won't solve the problem. Want to make old Mike shut up? Then let him lose, let him struggle in failure. Haven't you noticed? That old bastard is never a winner. Wherever he goes, failure will always exist. He thinks he can win in Los Angeles? Tell him that's wishful thinking."

"There's only one thing that will make old Mike Dunleavy's comments about you look absolutely correct," Roger continued, "and that's if you don't do anything in the game. If you're going to let that old bastard succeed, if you keep playing like this and taking shots like this, then you don't need to play. The Golden State Gang doesn't need softies."

After Roger finished speaking, he asked the team to continue training.

He hopes that the impact of last night's loss and conflict on the team will end here.

Matt Barnes' mind was filled with two words: no need to play, not needed.

Year after year, he was abandoned by the teams he joined.

The Warriors are the team he has spent the longest time with, but he finally got to this point.

Matt Barnes looked at Roger and muttered softly, "It's easy for you to say that. You are not the one being humiliated. Even if we win, it will be your credit. What about me? I will still be humiliated by Old Mike, and he can still tell the world that I am a loser who can't score any points."

He wants to shoot, he wants to score, he is not willing to be just a blue-collar wing.

Roger was very disappointed. He didn't expect Matt Barnes to want to play a bigger role when the team hadn't even won the championship.

The king's hounds no longer seem loyal.

"I don't need you anymore, whatever you want."

The last person to hear Roger say this was Alan Houston, and then he left.

Matt Barnes thinks he might be next.

This is his destiny, this is part of his career.

In the afternoon, Eric Spoelstra conveyed the adjustments for G2 to everyone at the tactical meeting.

Simply put, the strategy was to increase the intensity on Kobe Bryant. As Roger said, he was actively double-teaming Kobe from the beginning of the game.

Roger also admitted that during the regular season, the scoring gap between Kobe and himself was very small, less than 0.5 points.

Of course, this is due to the Lakers' fast offensive tempo, but the ones who really benefited from the tempo bonus were Nash and Shawn Marion.

Even in this Showtime 2.0 Lakers team, Kobe still took on a lot of one-on-one duels in positional offense, and he always took the most difficult offenses.

Kobe's points per game average is genuine, which is enough to illustrate his current scoring ability.

It is not possible to deal with such an opponent without double-teaming, and it is also not possible without excellent defense.

But Matt Barnes didn't react in the tactical meeting room.

He didn't say "I'm sure I'll beat Kobe" or "I'm going to perform differently in the next game."

He just sat in the video, and he had been silent since he was taught a lesson by Roger.

After the meeting, Eric Spoelstra shrugged at Roger: "I will still give Matt playing time tomorrow, but if he still can't find his form tomorrow, I will put Steph in."

"No," Roger refused directly, "If Matt can't do it, I will lead the defense of Kobe myself."

"Very good, then whose abilities should we rely on to attack?"

"I can get the job done on both ends of the floor. Did you forget that? That's how we beat the Lakers last season."

"Yes, you are a superstar, you are a savior. But even if you are a savior, you cannot attack and defend for at least four consecutive games! Last season, I let you play a similar role, letting you attack and assist in defense at the same time, beating the Los Angeles Lakers and making Karl Malone win no championship for life. But that could only last for one game, and you know how much it consumes!

You can’t play like that in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. It’s meaningless to play like that and only win Game 2.”

Precisely because of their many years of cooperation and their harmonious personal relationship, Spoelstra is not afraid of arguing with Roger.

Roger did not answer again. It was difficult for him to refute the young commander chosen by himself and Hubie Brown.

Both sides were silent for a while, and finally Spoelstra straightened his messy hair and said: "I will let you match up with Kobe for two minutes in each quarter."

"At least three minutes."

"That's enough. Do you think you and Kobe are in love on the court?"

"Eric, I don't know how you, who has no metaphors at all, managed to pick up so many cheerleaders."

“They admired my appearance.”

"Then I don't understand even more. I'm a little hungry. Let's have dinner together."

"you please."

"Of course, Shaq gave me my money back, so I'll give you whatever you want to eat."

"what?"

"Don't be so surprised. This is what he should pay back. No one in this world can owe money to the savior."

On the other side, Matt Barnes did not go home after training.

As an out-and-out villain, he does something very contrasting every day - driving to accompany his mother who was diagnosed with kidney cancer a year ago.

During the chat, Matt Barnes talked about everything that happened today.

"I don't know if there will be a place for me in the next game. Roger has given me an ultimatum. I thought I would stay with the Warriors for a long time. I thought I would win a guaranteed contract. But Roger seems to have lost his patience. Don't blame him. It's my fault. My progress is too slow. I just can't score efficiently. I just can't make old Mike shut up. Damn it!"

Seeing this rebellious child hanging his head, Ann Barnes did not comfort him, but became very angry: "Matt, go back to your team!"

"Mother?"

"I taught you to be grateful since you were young, but this is how you repay Coach Eric and Roger? You can't just think about yourself! You can't just think about how many shots you can make in front of Mike! Your team is down 0-1, Roger and Coach Eric need you, now is the time for you to step up!
Who has been paying the fines for your immature behavior this season?
After what happened last night, who supported you in public and said it wouldn't affect your playing time?

They're helping you all the time, and when they need help, you treat the game like this? You're thinking about how many points you can score on Mike?
Remember when Danielle was 15 and someone spat in her hair? What do you do?

Barnes was stunned by his mother's yelling and answered honestly: "I beat the guy who spitted so hard that he almost went to hell."

"You have to do the same now! Treat this team that treats you like family as your own family, guard them, protect them, and give everything for this big family! Matt, don't let me down!"

The next day, Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals continued at Mission Bay.

Before the game started, the live camera was focused on Lakers No. 15 who was warming up.

The live commentator Al Michaels began to warm up for the game with the camera.

"Last season, the Lakers dragged the Warriors into a Game 7, and they are one of the few teams that can force Roger into a Game 7 in a series.

Although the Lakers lost miserably due to Roger's abnormal performance of attacking and assisting defense, that Game 7 also became one of Roger's masterpieces in his career. But in any case, the Lakers did push the Warriors to the edge of the cliff.

So, since last season, Kobe Bryant has been Roger's biggest rival.

This season he went one step further. He changed his jersey number to No. 15. His average points per game were only 0.4 points less than Roger's. His Lakers record was better than the Warriors, and he led 1-0 in the playoffs.

Everything he did was for one goal only, to beat Roger.

If Kobe Bryant wins again tonight, he will achieve 50% of his goal.

We rarely have to worry about his status because he knows that the work is not yet done.”

At this time, the Warriors players also came out to warm up.

Sean Marion took the initiative to greet his former leader Roger: "How is your cold?"

"get well."

“I don’t know if this is good news or bad news for us.”

"Sean, you know I love you, but from the moment I step on the field, you won't be able to get any good news."

That being said, the situation remains grim for the Warriors.

Today, Roger still didn't speak to Matt Barnes, and Matt Barnes didn't say anything either.

Eric Spoelstra doesn't know what Barnes' condition is.

The game started quickly, and in the first round, the Warriors' double-team strategy worked.

As soon as Kobe crossed half court, he was double-teamed by Roger and Tayshaun Prince, and he passed the ball to Nash.

The moment Nash received the ball, Roger had already rotated into position, giving the Canadians no chance to score.

He didn't even choose to challenge Roger, but directly passed the ball to Caron Butler who was left open by Roger.

Butler during this period was a more classic wing. He was good at mid-range shots and breakthroughs, but his three-point shooting was very unstable. You can think of him as a poor version of DeMar DeRozan.

Therefore, when receiving the ball, Caron Butler did not shoot directly, but chose to break through.

But he had just taken two steps when Tayshaun Prince, who was involved in the double-teaming of Kobe, came back in front of Caron Butler.

Seeing that there was no hope of a breakthrough, Caron Butler made a quick stop and jump shot. Under the interference of the little prince's long arms, the basketball bounced off the rim, and the Warriors' pressure and double-team strategy was effective in the first round.

The Warriors have a very strong rotation ability, which is enough to ensure that they do not lose their position easily while pressing and double-teaming.

Rudy Tomjanovich saw the changes in the Warriors' defense, and their goal was to put pressure on Kobe.

But how sustainable is this strategy?
The Warriors' starting perimeter rotation ability is indeed very strong, but what about the transition period?

A basketball game is not played from start to finish by the starting five.

In the next few rounds, the Warriors used this strategy to lower the Lakers' offensive efficiency.

They used almost excessive double-teaming to force Kobe to pass the ball, and even though others got some easy scoring opportunities as a result, the Warriors' strategy did not waver.

Because keeping the ball out of the hands of the person who poses the greatest offensive threat is the best defense.

It turned out that this move worked, and after a few rounds, the Warriors led by 7 points. Kobe only took 2 shots, hit 1 goal, and scored only 2 points.

Many people have a misunderstanding about Kobe, thinking that he is a big cancer. But in fact, Kobe is very willing to make passes for the team in a favorable situation.

If you look closely at those scenes where Kobe played irrationally, you will find a common point: those scenes mostly occurred when the Lakers were behind or the score was very close.

His heroism almost always comes from adversity, not prosperity.

This is related to Kobe's experience. In the OK combination era of the Lakers, the Shark's role in critical moments was limited. It was Kobe who controlled the key offense and even took on the responsibility in the entire fourth quarter.

Over time, he developed the habit of taking over the game in adversity.

LeBron is almost a mirror image of Kobe, and you will find that he becomes more of a team player as the fourth quarter approaches.

You can't say which of these two options is right or wrong, but the latter is definitely more efficient.

In previous games, Kobe had been passing the ball to his teammates because he thought the situation was not that bad.

And now, when the team is in adversity, the Black Mamba also appears and takes over Kobe Bryant's body.

After the timeout, Kobe faced double-teaming again and did not pass the ball.

He suddenly accelerated, trying to rush between the little prince and Jason Richardson.

It is generally believed that Kobe's weight has reached 105 kilograms this season, making him a real tank guard.

In comparison, Michael Jordan weighed about 98 kilograms at his heaviest, and Roger has strictly maintained his weight at 97-98 kilograms for many years, and has never reached three digits during the season.

The advantage that this weight brings to Kobe is his unparalleled ability to confront opponents.

He carried the thin little prince away, and then tried to carry Jason Richardson away.

However, no matter how perverted one is, it is difficult to knock two people away at once.

Jason Richardson felt like his ribs were being tested the most in history, but he still stopped Kobe, forced him to die, and stayed close.

It seems that Kobe's defense of the Warriors was still successful in this round.

However, Kobe Bryant is the person in the entire NBA history who likes to shoot dead ball shots while standing still the most.

Under the close defense of Jason Richardson, Kobe leaned back on the spot and forced a shot to make it!

The ball went in, Kobe pumped his fist and yelled at Roger: "You're right, Roger, our gap doesn't come from the scoreboard, it comes from winning and losing!"

Roger was not intimidated, but Jason Richardson and Tayshaun Prince were obviously disappointed.

It's quite frustrating that even a double team can't clamp your opponent.

In fact, this is why Kobe chose to force the shot.

Phil Jackson said in his autobiography that Kobe Bryant knew all the secrets of basketball, but he didn't bother to use them.

That's true. Kobe certainly knew that passing the ball was the best option at that time, but he still liked to solve the problem in his own way.

In his opinion, this kind of goal scored after a forced shot can undermine the opponent's confidence and make the opponent feel extremely frustrated, so this kind of shot is very necessary.

The score difference returned to 5 points and the Warriors attacked.

After Roger attacked, he also found that the Lakers also used excessive double-teaming on him.

Nash and Caron Butler pressed forward and Roger passed the ball to Jason Richardson.

The latter missed a three-point shot as the continuous strenuous defense and fierce confrontation took their toll on his hands.

The Lakers grabbed the rebound, Nash received the ball and made a long pass to Kobe. Facing the pursuit of Stoudemire and Prince, Kobe made a layup under the double-team, and the Lakers once again showed their Showtime.

The score difference is back to 3 points!
"This is Kobe Bryant, Roger's strongest opponent after Michael!" Al Michaels couldn't help but applaud. From last season to this year's Western Conference Finals, he felt like he was watching Roger VS Jordan.

Al Michaels is not a Kobe fan, he would not say that Kobe is the Jordan of the past.

But you have to admit that he is closest to Jordan in the entire league, and he is also closest to beating Roger.

However, the King of the Bay Area did not let his people panic for too long. After just one round, Roger scored a difficult goal for the Lakers.

Facing the double-team of Nash and Caron Butler, Roger slowed down the pace and made a pass before they got close to him, but suddenly changed direction and accelerated, and made a drifting shot while being chased by the two.

"I can do better offensively than Kobe when facing double teams."

Eric Spoelstra said Roger is the only person in the league qualified to say this, and he is not wrong.

"Kobe, you guys really won't lose a Game 7 this year, because the game never reaches a Game 7. Don't worry, I'll let you go on vacation with your old lover Shaq as soon as possible."

"Keep Shaq's old dermatitis for yourself."

"What? Are you afraid he'll take you to court, too? Don't be afraid, Shaq will open his mouth and welcome you."

"Fuck you Roger, fuck you!"

Shaquille O'Neal was watching Kobe and Roger's lip movements in close-up on TV and noticed that they mentioned him.

He was so happy, and Roger must have been sticking up for himself, speaking well of himself, saying to Kobe, "You asshole let Shaq down."

After all, he has paid back the money to Roger, so Roger will definitely be on his side, right?
In the subsequent games, fans really enjoyed the thrill of Roger VS Jordan in the 90s.

The two of them were attacking each other with magical shots, and various difficult operations emerged one after another.

The second game was so exciting that the first game looked like a warm-up.

Roger kept his promise and his efficiency was higher than Kobe's.

The Warriors also led until the seventh minute of the first quarter.

But at this time, the most severe test for the Warriors has just arrived.

Jason Richardson was exhausted by Kobe's impact. Not only did he lose his aim, but he was also much weaker on the defensive end.

Eric Spoelstra did not put Matt Barnes on the field, but instead replaced him with Frenchman Boris Diaw.

Then, when the Lakers attacked again, Roger was responsible for defending Kobe!
Eric Spoelstra said to give Roger two minutes per quarter to defend Kobe.

He executed this strategy and it worked.

The Warriors maintained their lead over the next few possessions as Roger and Kobe were unable to score.

Kobe missed a lot of shots under Roger's defense and the double-teaming of forwards such as Tayshaun Prince and Dio.

However, due to the decline in physical fitness, Roger found it difficult to continue to hit those difficult jump shots.

After the first quarter, the Warriors led by 6 points and Roger was sweating profusely.

Although it was tiring, at least I achieved results.

But in the second quarter, the balance of victory began to tilt.

In the eighth minute of the second quarter, rotation time came again, and the two-minute duel between Kobe and Roger began again.

But this time, Kobe's efficiency surpassed Roger's.

In the first round when Roger defended Kobe, Kobe pushed Roger away, and then made a long two-point shot despite Dio's untimely double-team interference.

One round later, Roger failed to respond to Kobe, as his turnaround jump shot was slightly shorter.

Neither side scored in the next two rounds, but in the third round, Kobe actually passed Roger directly!
His lateral speed was declining, while Kobe had more energy, which led to the final result.

The Lakers 15 changed direction to shake off Roger, and even slipped past Dio, who had average help defense ability, and went straight into the inside to score a layup against Marcus Camby and caused a foul.

At the free throw line, looking at Roger with his hands on his knees, Kobe smiled with gloating: "This is what the former DPOY is like?"

After that, the free throw was made.

In Los Angeles, countless fans cheered.

After being suppressed for nearly half the game, the Lakers finally took the lead!
Jeff Hornacek wanted to yell, "This isn't going to work! Roger's energy is starting to decline!"

Spoelstra stood on the sidelines with his arms folded across his chest.

What makes the situation more difficult this year than last year is that the Lakers have Caron Butler, so Kobe doesn't have to work so hard on the defensive end.

Last season, Roger and Kobe hurt each other physically.

But this season, Kobe doesn't need to consume energy on the defensive end.

In the next round, Roger passed the ball to Stoudemire for a single play.

In last season's playoffs against the Lakers, Stoudemire performed very well, and Karl Malone became a stepping stone for the young overlord.

However, facing Shawn Marion, Stoudemire's performance was mediocre.

As a face-up center, Stoudemire's weakness is actually similar to that of Dirk, KG and the like, which is that it is difficult to punish such a shady defender with his back.

Marion can interfere with shots facing the basket, and can keep up with the ball.

In addition, with Theo Ratliff guarding the basket, Stoudemire is not unable to score. He can still help Roger take on some shots, but his efficiency is not enough to kill.

In this round, Stoudemire's mid-range shot after the triple threat was blocked by Marion's long arms. His shooting percentage tonight was less than 45%, and he was unable to replace Roger to complete the task of killing the game.

Then, Kobe passed the ball to Nash in a double-team, and Roger's rotation was a little slow - in fact, Roger was fast enough, if it was against other people, his rotation would not seem slow at all.

But for an elite jump shooter like Steve Nash, this small step is enough space.

The three-pointer went into the net and the Lakers overtook by 4 points.

Erik Spoelstra suspended the game, and the fatalistic market reached its peak at this moment.

"He can't win the championship in a season without an MVP, and the team that wins one of the first two games in the series has a chance to defeat Roger. Is this really Roger's fate?" Even Al Michaels was saying this.

Roger returned to the bench and took two sips of energy drink.

He can still hold on, but there is still half the game.

Eric Spoelstra decided to adjust: "Matt."

Matt Barnes stood up and took off his training clothes.

Roger glanced at him and was about to say something, but Barnes spoke first: "Don't say anything. It was my fault yesterday."

Matt Barnes thought long and hard about coming off the bench.

His mother's words kept ringing in his ears: "Treat this team that treats you like family as your own family, too."

Is it worth sacrificing for them and paying for them?
When Eric Spoelstra was still willing to give him a chance, he had his answer.

After saying this, he walked up to Roger and took the initiative to give the king a way out: "Maybe you don't need me, but I need you. Let's go, lead us to victory, the Golden State Gang is ready!"

It was a long pause for Oakland fans.

They trusted Roger, but they were also a little worried.

The Los Angeles Lakers are coming on strong and Kobe Bryant is unstoppable.

After the timeout, Rudy Tomjanovich breathed a sigh of relief when the Warriors replaced Matt Barnes.

Good, he's very welcoming to Matt Barnes.

The guy didn't attack and his defense became absent-minded.

Unless he can make a 180-degree turnaround today, the Lakers will continue to lead.

Mike Dunleavy Sr. expressed his disdain directly: "Haha, Mr. Can't Shoot Out!"

Matt Barnes glanced at old Mike Dunleavy, but quickly regained his composure.

Barnes, who was full of energy and fierce in defense, made Kobe very unhappy in the first round. With the help of Tayshaun Prince, Kobe even had difficulty passing the ball.

When Kobe was looking for his teammates, Matt Barnes directly and aggressively hit Kobe and took the opportunity to complete the cut.

Kobe tried to compete with Barnes for the ball that was out of control, but Kobe kicked the basketball out of bounds.

Matt Barnes completed a successful defense right from the start, and on the offensive end, he no longer took those uncertain shots.

When Roger was double-teamed and passed the ball to Barnes, Barnes quickly passed it to Stoudemire who had already left Marion behind in the mid-range.

The latter made a steady mid-range shot and the score difference was reduced to 2 points!
But after an excellent defense and pass, Mike Dunleavy Sr. laughed at Barnes: "What? You don't even dare to shoot today?"

Jeff Hornacek was very angry: "That bastard is the best sixth man of the Lakers! Can't we get him kicked out!?"

Death Ray was worried that this stimulating shouting would make Matt Barnes lost again.

But Matt Barnes didn't even look at Mike Dunleavy. He retreated silently and rushed forward to bite Kobe after he crossed half court.

This time Kobe's strong shot missed under Barnes' close defense, and Roger, who had already taken a timeout and two rounds to catch his breath, passed Caron Butler, carried Nash into the inside, and scored the ball with a magical layup despite Ratliff almost blocking the basket.

Roger was knocked down and the referee blew the whistle.

Kobe sounded the clarion call for a counterattack with a 2+1.

Roger also suppressed this charge with a 2+1!
Go to the line, add penalty, hit.

The Golden State Warriors regained the lead before halftime!
Matt Barnes ran over to Roger and offered his hand: "The King's hound has returned."

Roger high-fived him: "Old Mike is noisy, let's let him perish in failure!"

"Follow you anytime."

In the remaining rounds of the second quarter, Kobe's efficiency was suppressed by Barnes.

Roger, who broke away from the defense, made a long two-pointer after 2+1, and finally helped the Warriors enter the second half with a 3-point advantage.

In the second half of the game, Kobe still made many difficult goals, but Roger, who was able to escape from the defensive end, was always more efficient than Kobe and did everything he promised.

The rotation of Matt Barnes, Tayshaun Prince and Jason Richardson enabled the Warriors' tactics to be implemented, putting Kobe under pressure for 48 minutes.

The Lakers were not far behind, with the score difference fluctuating between 3-8 points.

They could just reach out and catch the Warriors running in front of them, but until the end of the game, the Lakers were unable to catch the Warriors' clothes.

103 to 98, the Golden State Warriors pulled one back at home.

Roger scored 44 points and Kobe scored 36 points. Roger's shooting percentage was 45% and Kobe's was 41%.

The gap is still not big.

But as Roger said in a courtside interview: "The real difference is in wins and losses. Second place is second place."

On the other side, Matt Barnes also became the focus of reporters.

He only took 2 shots today, made 1, and played an excellent performance on the defensive end.

ESPN reporter asked him: "What made you get back in shape today?"

"I found my place, I treat this team like my family, I will die for my family. I am a protector, and I need these guys (teammates) to help me win, so I have to protect them.

I am the King's hound, and I give my life and honor to the King. Tonight, and all night long."

After saying this, Matt Barnes wanted to leave, but he suddenly remembered something and grabbed the microphone again.

"By the way, there is one more thing." Matt Barnes raised his middle finger to Mike Dunleavy Sr. in front of the camera. "I have never seen a management staff as bad and failed as Mike. If he works for a team for more than 24 hours, that team will never have the last laugh in the playoffs. We will see!"

Although Barnes only scored one goal today, Mike Dunleavy had nothing to say. After all, he and the Lakers lost the game, and Barnes was the key to changing the game.

Looking at Mike Dunleavy who was so angry that his face turned red and he couldn't speak, Barnes showed an evil smile.

It feels great. Very great.

Roger was right, letting your opponent struggle in defeat is the most perfect revenge in the world.

Roger saw Matt Barnes raised his middle finger and covered his forehead: "Fuck."

"What's wrong?" Spo asked.

"I have already paid him a $5 fine this season. God knows how much that middle finger will cost!"

"You know," Spo patted Roger on the back, "it's never cheap to keep a good hound."

(Although it’s late, I’ll update it today because it’s almost 10,000 words)
(End of this chapter)