Jordan: I thought he was there to help me!

Chapter 545 Are you Rivers' biological father or did you save his life?

Marbury finally lost his temper.

Lin Tian's words, "vegetarian dog" and his statement that he was far inferior to Iverson, caused Marbury's already fragile heart to break down.

Before this moment, Marbury had been following the instructions of Duncan, Rivers, and others, restraining his temper and desire to play one-on-one. He suppressed his desires because he knew very well that if he wanted to win, he had to listen to them.

In fact, if Marbury wants to get a big contract in the offseason and stay in the league, he has to do this.

Otherwise, given his current reputation, he might have to leave the league after this contract ends.

But now, all the repression and compromises made for survival collapsed under Lin Tian's words, "Not as good as Iverson."

Damn it, I'll beat you to death!

Marbury's eyes flashed with hatred; he wanted to prove himself!

He wants to prove that he's no worse than Iverson!

Maybe I'm not as good as you, Lin Tian, ​​but I'm definitely not worse than Allen Iverson!

I need to prove myself.

Marbury kept dribbling the ball while thinking to himself.

This time, he ignored Duncan's calls for the ball in the low post and Pierce's constant calls for the ball near the mid-range.

Instead, he drew several circles on his head with his hand.

This was his favorite thing to do in the first half of his career, and it's something he's almost completely given up this season after suppressing his offensive desires.

"Get back in, I want to fight one-on-one."

Ignoring everyone's requests, Marbury decisively called for an isolation play.

Even Rivers, who was on the sidelines, immediately stood up from the bench after seeing the tactical gesture, spreading his hands to indicate that he didn't understand why you were doing that.

Even though Pierce and Duncan continued to reach for the ball, Marbury simply wouldn't pass it to them, instead signaling for everyone to pull him away.

"Not bad, Stephen! You really deserve some respect! At least you're a man, you still have the fighting spirit!"

"Next, we'll see if you have the matching ability. If you only have fighting spirit but no real skill, then you're still a noob! At best, a noob with fighting spirit!"

Seeing that Marbury neither passed the ball nor moved, Pierce and Duncan had no choice but to quickly spread out to the sides, giving him enough offensive space and respect.

However, as Duncan left the paint, he didn't forget to give Howard a hand gesture.

"Ready to hit the backboard at any time!"

He was already preparing to grab the offensive rebound.

At that moment, he couldn't even clearly express his feelings.

He wasn't sure whether he wanted Marbury to score or miss.

But what happened next proved that Duncan was overthinking it.

He's too optimistic.

Goal? Missed shot?

Think more!

Seeing his teammates spread out, Marbury immediately showed off his dribbling and rhythm at the top of the key, constantly changing the position of the basketball between his hands, making crossover dribbles, and looking for a real opportunity to break through.

Suddenly, Marbury executed a crossover dribble with significantly more force than before, transferring the basketball from his left hand to his right. He then shifted his entire upper body to the right before executing another quick, albeit small, change of direction.

The basketball and Marbury's body moved almost simultaneously, both rushing towards the left. His signature speed exploded instantly, and he charged into the paint. At the same time, his left hand was raised to block Lin Tian's body, preventing him from pressing him closely.

After driving all the way to the mid-range area, Marbury suddenly pushed Lin Tian with his ball-handler, then took a step back, gathered the ball, and pulled up to shoot a mid-range jump shot!

His entire movement was fluid and graceful, truly befitting one of the most outstanding offensive point guards of the 1996 draft class.

Marbury pulled out all the stops with this move!

He was confident he could make the shot; he believed Lin Tian couldn't catch him!

Unfortunately, he trusted the wrong person!

Why trust just anyone when facing Lin Tian? Did Marbury trust himself?

Lin Tian took a step forward and jumped almost at the same time as Marbury!

With an arm so long it blotted out the sky, it slapped away at the shot Marbury had just taken.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound rang out as Lin Tian slapped Marbury's shot away.

Jackson grabbed the basketball, which was nearby. He wanted to launch a counterattack, but Pierce appeared in front of him, blocking his dribbling path and preventing him from doing so.

Clearly, Pierce wasn't as optimistic as Duncan. While Duncan waited for the rebound, Pierce had already chosen to block the Knicks' fast break!

"ball!"

Just as Jackson decided to prioritize avoiding mistakes, Lin Tian's shout came from beside him. Jackson didn't hesitate and quickly passed the ball to Lin Tian on the left. After receiving the basketball, Lin Tian immediately burst into speed and rushed towards the frontcourt!

The Celtics' defense remained fast and accurate, with everyone quickly getting into their defensive positions and finding their matchup. Howard, in particular, used his physical gifts to get to the basket early and turn to defend.

Or rather, he wanted to turn around and defend.

However, just as he sprinted to the basket and was about to turn around, he suddenly felt someone turn off the lights.

His world went dark almost immediately.

"Bang!"

After a muffled thud, Howard was struck dumb, completely losing control of his body. The immense impact made it impossible for him to stand, causing him to lose his balance and fly towards the baseline.

"boom!"

Then came a deafening explosion!

Lin Tian, ​​dribbling the ball, knocked Howard over, grabbed the rim with both hands, and completed a powerful dunk over Howard!

"Oh my god!" Barkley exclaimed immediately, "The first possession of the fourth quarter! It's like this!"

"Lin's volleyball-style block followed by a powerful dunk over an opponent! In one possession, Lin took down two of the Knicks' key players!"

"Although it's only 2 points, this is a huge blow to the Celtics' morale!"

Kenny added, "Especially since in that last possession, Marbury ignored his teammates and coach and insisted on going one-on-one with Lin Tian, ​​which led to this situation. This is a huge blow to the Celtics' discipline and teamwork!"

Kenny and Barkley missed saying one thing: besides what they said, this play also dealt a huge blow to Marbury's confidence!

But clearly, for Lin Tian, ​​simply inflicting a major blow on Marbury was not enough, and a single round of attacks was even less sufficient.

To combat this kind of thing, you have to keep going round after round without stopping or interruption!

If you're going to fight, you have to fight to the death.

"Stephen, you really are a noob! The kind that's not worth mentioning."

"I misspoke earlier. If you were a little more timid and passive, if you performed poorly and didn't take the initiative, you might still have a chance to win the game. But if you continue to play like this, you're doomed to lose!"

"Out of respect for the Celtics as a team, I'll give you a very friendly reminder: stop trying to isolate and play, wait for open three-pointers, and you'll have done your job."

"Shut up!"

As I always say: profanity is nothing, but the truth can really break a person's defenses.

Marbury has completely lost his mind at this point.

Lao Tzu wanted to prove himself.

The pain of being completely suppressed by Lin Tian throughout the entire series, the compromises he made for survival throughout the entire season, and all the pride he had in his life erupted at this moment.

Then Marbury dribbled the ball up the court and, with his last shred of sanity, patted his head, signaling Duncan to come up and set a screen for him.

At least this guy knows to cover for him.

Duncan sighed, then quickly stepped forward. For the sake of victory and the team, Duncan still set a screen for Marbury.

"Bang!"

There's no doubt about the quality of Duncan's screens. Even Lin Tian couldn't squeeze past the screen as he used to; instead, he collided heavily with Duncan.

Marbury seized this rare opportunity and charged toward the paint.

Even with Duncan's excellent screens, that's all he can do.

Lin Tian's speed is simply too fast!

Even after being blocked by Duncan, he still quickly caught up with Marbury, and suddenly reached out from behind Marbury, knocking the basketball that Marbury was dribbling away.

In front of Marbury, Stoudemire, who was originally preparing to help defend, grabbed the basketball. Then, with lightning speed, he glanced at it and threw the basketball towards the frontcourt.

Lin Tian immediately accelerated his charge, unleashing his full speed as he rushed towards the basketball!

Several other players started their run at the same time as him, some even sprinting from beyond the three-point line. When they started at the same time, players like Pierce had a lead of about 2-3 meters.

Before they were even halfway across, the group was almost parallel to each other.

Then Pierce stretched out his hands as far as he could, trying to be the first to control the basketball that Stoudemire had thrown out and was now within reach.

But just as he reached out his hand, an arm shot out faster and earlier, and to Pierce's incredulous gaze, Lin Tian's hand touched the basketball first.

"Snapped!"

Lin Tian poked the ball several meters forward, and even if Pierce were to put a fire on his backside this time, he wouldn't be able to catch up with Lin Tian.

Lin Tian broke through the encirclement once again, rushed out from among everyone, grabbed the basketball, and then rushed to the empty frontcourt again, completing another powerful dunk!

"That idiot Rivers, call a timeout! Make a substitution!" Bird, watching on TV, spread his hands in disbelief and shouted, "Is Stephon Marbury his father or did he save his life? Why doesn't he call a timeout or make a substitution?"

"That idiot, why hasn't he made the adjustments yet?"

Bird was furious!

He didn't understand! How could Rivers' reaction be so slow?

Go to hell, you idiot!

Bird was furious, but Barkley was delighted: "Another one! At the start of the fourth quarter, Lin had a block, a steal, and two dunks!"

"The point difference between the two sides has once again reached double digits!"

"Lin completely dominated Marbury! These two are simply not in the same league! Marbury was no match for Lin!"

"He really needs to wake up! He needs to play more as a team player, he needs to pass the ball to his teammates! That's what the Celtics need him to do! If he keeps isolating himself against Lin, the Celtics are doomed to lose!"

"I crushed you, Stephen! You should realize now that we're not in the same league, we're not even in the same class! You're no match for me!"

"You really need to wake up! You need to play more as a team, you need to pass the ball to your teammates! That's what the Celtics need you to do! If you keep trying to isolate me, you're doomed to lose!"

After scoring, Lin Tian continued to mock and ridicule Marbury, his words piercing Marbury's heart.

Especially with Rivers not ordering substitutions or reminding Marbury, but instead constantly yelling from the sidelines to urge everyone to cheer up and give it their all, Marbury's already broken heart was even less likely to calm down.

"One more!" Marbury said to Lin Tian something that could break the hearts of all of Boston; he was determined to keep challenging Lin Tian.

It was only because there were no other Celtics players around him at that moment that no one heard Marbury's words; otherwise, the Celtics players would probably have called a timeout in a heartbeat, rushed over, tied Marbury up, and carried him off the court.

Still challenging me?! Want one more?!

Go to hell!

Since Marbury is going to continue challenging Lin Tian, ​​Lin Tian will certainly not let him down!

Lin Tian rushed to Marbury's side almost immediately and started applying pressure to him from the three-point line in the Celtics' half of the court, using full-court press defense.

This time, Lin Tian truly gave it his all, focusing 120% on defending Marbury and hindering his advance.

But Marbury truly deserves to be called one of the league's top point guards. His problem has never been about ability, but rather about personality.

His ability to control the game is absolutely beyond doubt or question.

7 seconds!

Marbury barely made it across half-court by the edge of an 8-second violation. After crossing half-court, he shoved Lin Tian aside, took a breath, and then dribbled between his legs again. He took a half-step forward with an attack step, followed by two more consecutive crossovers. His moves were absolutely spectacular!

However, just as this guy was getting into showing off and was about to do another crossover dribble... Lin Tian finally found an opportunity!

A decisive strike, a sure chance to steal the ball!

Lin Tian's hand suddenly shot out and slapped the basketball that Marbury was dribbling.

"Snapped!"

It broke again!

"Are you kidding me?!"

As Lin Tian slipped past Marbury again, he left behind a trash talk that Marbury would remember for at least two months.

But apart from that, there was nothing else he could do.

He could only watch as Lin Tian once again made a fast break and completed another 1-on-0 play in the frontcourt.

Then he jumped up with ease and completed another powerful dunk in the fourth quarter!

This was also Lin Tian's third consecutive dunk in the fourth quarter!

2 steals, 1 block, and 3 dunks!

What does it mean to completely crush someone in a one-on-one situation, to totally dominate them?

That's it.

They taught me a lesson in life.

"Come on! Give Stephen some support! Stephen, pass the ball more! Come on, hold on! Get the score back!" Rivers on the sidelines didn't seem to be planning to call a timeout yet, but instead shouted at the players on the court, trying to get them back into the game with his yelling.

"pause!"

Duncan simply couldn't stand it anymore.

He had never seen a coach react so slowly.

Okay, he's met him.

For the past few years, he has also played alongside Rivers on the Magic.

Duncan is now filled with immense regret, to the point of being extremely disappointed.

When he first joined the Celtics, Auerbach asked Duncan, "Do you have any special requests for the head coach?"

"No! I'm confident I can work well with any coach." Duncan maintained his characteristic confidence and humility at the time: "I'm just a player, I don't need to specifically choose a particular coach."

But no matter how much he planned, Duncan never imagined the world was so small.

Rivers: Mr. Deng, all encounters in this world are reunions after a long separation.

You son of a bitch!

Duncan walked off the court grumbling and sat on the bench.

"Tim, what's wrong? Do you need to rest?" Rivers asked with some concern when he saw Duncan call a timeout.

rest?

Why should I rest?

I haven't even touched the ball in the fourth quarter yet, so I'm going to rest?

"Stephen, what's your plan for the next move?"

How do I play?

Marbury was taken aback. Was he being asked to take the lead in the tactics? After I made three consecutive mistakes, was he still willing to trust me?

He believes me!

In that instant, Marbury felt Duncan's head was glowing; he thought it was God!

His confidence, which had been almost completely shattered by Lin Tian, ​​has now been restored and is filling his body once again.

These are teammates! Real teammates! We are a team!

A surge of confidence from Marbury patted his chest and declared, "Next possession, I want to run a high double screen, then find a direction to drive straight to the basket for a layup, breaking the team's scoring drought and proving that I'm no worse than Lin!"

"I can do it!" (End of Chapter)