Chapter 134: Losing the game and losing face!
Pierce grabbed the rebound and the Celtics began to fight back.

When Big Bird on the sidelines saw this scene, a hint of pride flashed in his eyes.

Although Bird was often troubled by Artest's personality.

But I still admire Artest's defensive attitude.

It is basically impossible to lock down a player like Lin Yu.

Artest constantly interferes with Lin Yu, which is also a good choice to consume Lin Yu's physical energy.

And this scene is just a microcosm of the second quarter.

The second quarter was filled with large-scale actions such as elbow strikes, takedowns, and collisions.

At the end of the first half, the Celtics led the Pacers by 44 points, 42:2.

The game restarts in the second half.

"The Celtics started to attack, and Dayu succeeded in a low-post back-up. This turnaround and backward move was really beautiful!"

"The Pacers started to attack, and O'Neal helped Artest set a pick-and-roll."

"Dayu stepped forward to help defend Artest. Artest is very fast. Does he want to make a layup?"

"Dayu directly chose to foul! Artest was directly knocked away by Dayu!"

"This is a playoff-level matchup."

Coach Zhang simply chose to ignore Lin Yu's foul and started to protect his player.

on the field.

bump!
Beep!
The sound of Artest being knocked to the ground by Lin Yu and the referee's whistle sounded at the same time.

Lin Yu's trash talk also started at this time.

"Ron, have you resolved your mental issues? If not, we can continue!" Artest was already very angry because of the foul committed by Lin Yu.

After hearing Lin Yu's trash talk, he could no longer suppress the anger in his heart.

"Ron! Calm down!"

"Assistant! Ron! What are you doing!?"

"Lin Yu! Get out of the way!"

"..."

Amid the exclamations of the crowd, Artest stood up and accelerated directly towards Lin Yu.

bump!
Accompanied by the sound of muscles colliding, Lin Yu stood still in the same place.

"Ron, are you tickling me?"

With Lin Yu's height and weight, he can play the 5th position without any problems, let alone the 4th position...

You have to know that Duncan only weighs 113KG, but he can withstand James' tank breakthrough.

Although Artest is very good, he can never compare to James.

When Artest heard Lin Yu's words, the anger in his eyes instantly dissipated a lot.

then……

He felt a huge force coming from the front.

The body involuntarily retreats continuously.

bump!
Artest's retreating body did not stop until he bumped into his teammate O'Neal Jr.

At this time, Artest looked at Lin Yu.

There was no longer any anger, but instead a hint of fear.

At this moment, he deeply realized the gap between him and Lin Yu!

"Are you okay, Ron?" Hearing O'Neal's voice, Artest nodded subconsciously, then shook his head.

O’Neal: ???
This is crazy...

Nodding and shaking his head, what's going on! ?

"Ron Artest is getting anxious! Dayu's lower limbs are really strong! He is as still as a mountain!"

"This Artest is really like a paper man. Dayu pushed him away."

Coach Zhang immediately turned on the taunting mode.

The Dragon Country fans in front of the TV also began to mock at this time.

"Artest didn't win the game, and he didn't even win the fight!"

"Anxious! Artest is anxious! I thought only people playing basketball on the basketball court would get anxious! I didn't expect the same would happen in the NBA!"

"I am dying of laughter! This is the DPOY?"

"..."

The conflict was also being broadcast on the big screen at Conseco Arena.

It's embarrassing to see the Pacers' perimeter core in such a state.

Many Pacers fans were angry and wanted to laugh at the same time. Some Pacers fans simply covered their faces and refused to watch the replay on the big screen.

on the field,
Beep! Beep!
The referee blew the whistle and intervened in the conflict.

Considering that this time it was Artest who committed the foul first, he was given a technical foul.

In addition to committing a foul, Lin Yu also pushed Artest.

And it didn't cause any impact. In addition, Lin Yu was Stern's favorite, so the referee finally gave him a verbal warning.

The game resumed. Artest decisively stopped defending Lin Yu.

Even though he had to defend Lin Yu, he seemed a little timid at this time.

The big bird on the sidelines was confused at this moment.

This is crazy...

Is the man wearing No. 15 jersey on the court really "The Beast" Ron Artest?
The big bird now really wants to ask Lin Yu how he tamed the wild beast.

He also wanted to learn.

Thinking of this, Big Bird also had a headache.

It is no secret in the NBA that O'Neal Jr. and Artest are fighting fiercely for the position of team leader.

After Payton was brought in this season, together with Miller, the two of them managed to maintain peace in the locker room.

But this is still a time bomb!
At this time, the Pacers' head coach Carlisle was extremely anxious.

"Ron! Defend! Don't let Lin Yu catch the ball easily! Be rough! Just like in the second quarter!"

Artest himself is a player who is good at melee defense.

After realizing the gap between the two sides, the attribute of 'bullying the weak and fearing the strong' was directly raised to the maximum, and he did not dare to make any big moves.

I'm afraid I'll die if I try.

The influence on the defensive end has naturally declined significantly.

As for the Martial Saint...

Do you really think Pierce doesn't need someone to defend him?

O'Neal was defended one-on-one, but was beaten by Lin Yu in the low post.

Artest didn't play in the confrontation.

How can the Pacers defend Lin Yu?

林禹全场22投12中，三分球3中1，罚球8中7，砍下32分12篮板6助攻3盖帽2抢断。

Helped the Celtics beat the Pacers 91:84.

After the game, Pierce began to mock Artest as usual.

"Ron, now you should know who is the best small forward in the Eastern Conference, right?"

"Humph! Paul, isn't it just winning a game? And do you think you won it by your own ability? If not..."

Artest, who was arguing with Pierce, noticed Lin Yu walking over.

He stopped trash talking and ran back to the locker room without looking back.

Looking at Artest leaving, Pierce was confused.

This Nima is...

what's going on! ?

Then Pierce didn't think any more and high-fived Lin Yu to celebrate the victory of the game.

Big Bird on the sidelines also stood up at this time. He also wanted to chat with Lin Yu, the future of the Celtics.

At this time, Lin Yu and others were still celebrating their fifth consecutive victory.

Rivers has already begun to wonder whether to pick on the Pacers as a weak target in the playoffs.

Although the Pacers are strong, they are too much suppressed by the Celtics in terms of team lineup.

The team's two core players, Artest and O'Neal, lack the ability to attack, which leads to high-intensity defense once the playoffs begin.

There is a high probability that the performance of both players will decline significantly compared to the regular season.

Once both sides enter the star singles stage...

Thinking of this, Rivers turned his gaze to Lin Yu and Pierce who were celebrating.

We have these two players with strong ball-handling and one-on-one abilities.

Isn't it easy to control the Pacers?
However, Rivers also knows that it is still unknown what the actual playoff encounter will be like.

If Artest hadn't suddenly performed like an undercover agent at the beginning of the third quarter, they might not have been able to easily beat the Pacers today.

The Pistons don’t have a top ball handler, but aren’t they still a championship team?

A championship team doesn’t have to be perfect; it’s enough when its strengths outweigh its weaknesses!

(End of this chapter)