Chapter 1707 Fluctuation? The Ultimate Victory Will Never Be Absent

The January game officially came to an end as the Lakers defeated the Celtics.

The Lakers ended their 35-game winning streak this month and also lost 3 games, but it didn't matter. The Lakers still dominate the entire league with 51 wins and 3 losses.

While the second-place Spurs in the Western Conference are still striving for 40 wins, the Lakers have expanded their advantage to an incredible point. At the same time, the rising star Bulls in the Eastern Conference this season have also been eclipsed. They have only lost 50 games so far. After only losing 10 games, they are firmly ranked first in the Eastern Conference with a record of 40 wins and 10 losses, leaving behind the Heat's 32 wins. This is also the fastest season for the Bulls to reach 40 wins since Jordan retired in the 1998 season. City Rose Rose can be said to have officially bloomed.

But it was a failure compared with the Lakers. The 11-game winning gap almost declared the league's first place this season. Unless the Lakers collectively lost their will in the second half of the season, Rose would not be able to catch up with eight horses.

The Chicago media and Rose himself could only smile bitterly. They now seem to understand the mood of the Hornets, Cavaliers and other teams in previous seasons.

When you have worked hard to perform at a historical level and are feeling complacent, you look up and see that the Lakers are waiting for you in front of you where you can't even smell the exhaust. Sometimes they even look back and greet you cordially, asking you to cheer up...

This feeling is really worse than death.

Therefore, the Chicago media, including Rose himself, have repeatedly emphasized that no matter how good they are this season, the Lakers are still the best, no one.

Of course, being convinced in words does not mean that you are convinced in your heart. Many Chicago media have malicious speculations in their hearts whether the Lakers will suddenly collapse. After all, there is still a gap between the performance in January and the previous months. Not to mention losing a few games, and not being so dominant in many games.

The first game in February further deepened their suspicions.

On February 2, the Lakers played their first game in February at home against the Rockets, a veteran team that was almost out of the playoffs.

The Rockets started off high this season, winning 14 of their first 20 games. However, a six-game losing streak later brought them back to their original form. They currently have 22 wins and 29 losses after 51 games, ranking 11th in the Western Conference and 8th away from the playoffs. A gap of 7 games is a difficult number to catch up with.

After losing McGrady and tearing down Yao Mai, the Rockets, with Dayao returning from injury as the core, lack the ability to shoot two-point shots. As long as they can guard Dayao, they will win two-thirds.

The rest of the players, whether Scola or Battier, are qualified role players and cannot share the offensive pressure. However, Martin is as glassy as ever, playing three games and taking five games, and his state is unsustainable. Brooks and Budinger alone are the best. There is no way to compete with the strong teams in the league.

However, this team has caused a lot of trouble for the Lakers.

At the beginning, Dayao did not play well in the paint. The Lakers shrank very tightly, and the twin towers were almost inseparable. Sometimes three people would surround Dayao and double-team Dayao, which allowed Dayao to only score 2 points in the first quarter.

However, in the second quarter, the Rockets changed their tactics and launched their offense from the outside. After Brooks successfully attacked Fisher several times, the Rockets gradually found their offensive feel. In the second half of the second quarter, they instead played a 12-4 wave. , overtaking the score.

The turning point occurred in the second half of the third quarter. The Lakers relied on Kobe's 9-point performance to take the lead, and then maintained the score at 3 points. At the critical moment, Brooks wanted to repeat his old tricks and overpower the old fish.

However, Ji Feng was well prepared and helped defend an aerial shot, directly catching Brooks' layup in his hand!

Astonishing skills!

Brooks himself was dumbfounded. He had just intentionally increased the arc, but unexpectedly he was still caught by Ji Feng!

This shot directly became the turning point of the game. The Lakers won a great victory, scoring 8 points in a row at the last moment, entering the fourth quarter with an 11-point advantage, and maintained the score until the end.

112-101, the Lakers defeated the Rockets by 11 points and won their fourth consecutive victory.

Winning is a win, but winning is not easy. The Rockets' tactics were appropriate, and tonight's outside shooting rate was extremely high. Brooks scored a season-high 35 points, and Martin also scored 20 points. Although Dayao only had 14 points, the whole team The team's extremely high shooting percentage made the Lakers very uncomfortable.

That's the Lakers. Ji Feng scored a triple-double with 30 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds. Kobe Bryant scored 30 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. JK scored 60 points together before finally winning. It would have been much worse if he had changed teams.

But this still gives many media confidence, and it seems that the Lakers will inevitably enter a period of fluctuation.

The fluctuations seemed to come as promised. Two days later on the 4th, Popovich led the Spurs to Los Angeles. This was the second meeting between the two teams this season. In the first game between the two teams, the Lakers easily defeated the Spurs. In this meeting, the Spurs played their best , it seems that he is here for revenge.

"The direct confrontation between the first in the Western Conference and the second in the Western Conference. This game is related to the ownership of the Western Conference championship this season. If the Spurs can defeat the Lakers once in the regular season, it will be of great significance to their entire playoff journey." Director Zhang said this during pre-game analysis.

The Spurs thought so too, so they didn't hold anything back from the beginning. GDP started, Bonner paired with Hill, this was the Spurs' strongest starting lineup.

Tactically, Popovich changed the way he played offense in the last game, and instead returned to his old habit of playing defense.

From the scrimmage to 4 minutes, the two teams failed to score a point, with a total of 8 strikes, creating the Lakers' strongest start of the season.

The entire game was dragged into the Spurs' defensive rhythm, with a miserable 30-32 at halftime and 66-63 in the third quarter. Although the Spurs' lead has never been much, considering that the two teams averaged 32.5% shooting tonight, this score The difference is still difficult to catch up with.

Sure enough, it took the Lakers 11 and a half minutes to even out the 3-point difference. In the last 40 seconds, Ji Feng tied the score with a free throw!

86-86, both sides stand on the same starting line!

In the last 30 seconds, the Spurs paused, and old Duncan chatted. When the Spurs' sideline ball tactics failed, Bonner and Zhou Qi were possessed, and Parker almost lost his hand, Duncan made a diving leap without caring about life and death, and threw the ball risklessly. After the rescue, he passed the ball to Manu when he fell to the ground, and helped Manu score the key 2 points under the basket, leaving only 4.6 seconds of attack time for the Lakers.

Seeing that the Spurs are about to win, the Lakers have Ji Feng!

A fatal three points!

After the Lakers sideline ball was sent, Ji Feng did not go to the three-point line at all, but took the time to take the shot directly.

An extremely bold decision, Staples did not know how many people's hearts were about to burst out!

However, the results are exciting!

Ji Feng hit the Spurs one meter away from the three-point line, ending his opponent's hope of winning. It was the first time he hit his opponent this season and the 19th time in his career in the regular season.

The Lakers took away the game 89-88, with a one-point advantage, and won their 5th consecutive victory!