But, just like the last ga, Paul Pierce got many one-on-one opportunities against Hamilton, and that was precisely what led to the Pistons’ demise.
In the last ga, Paul Pierce’s performance was very average, failing to produce against Hamilton, even leading to ridicule from Artest.
But you can’t expect soone like Pierce to fail to find his form in two consecutive gas.
Especially after the morale-boosting big win yesterday.
Today, Pierce scored 31 points throughout the ga, completely destroying Richard Hamilton’s defense.
Roger was suppressed by Artest and Big Ben to only 25 points, but he provided 11 assists. And because Pierce took on more offensive responsibilities, Roger could allocate more energy to the defensive end.
So tonight, Roger held Artest to just 5 points, with only one field goal. In the final quarter of the ga, when the team needed soone to step up the most, Artest was held by Roger to just one shot attempt.
Rasheed Wallace scored the highest of the series with 29 points, but it was to no avail.
After Ga 4, Detroit’s naïveté collapsed.
The score of 1 to 3 almost shattered the Detroiters’ championship dream, as if telling them: no more miracles.
The Pistons players originally planned to win two consecutive gas in Detroit, but now they’ve lost two.
At the mont the ga ended, Chaki Atkins couldn’t hold back and fell to his knees on the court.
He was crushed by the intense sense of defeat, fully aware of how much effort everyone on the team had put in to get to this point. But now, their efforts can no longer be rewarded.
Although it was his personal act, it sowhat reflected the mindset of the Pistons players now.
As Roger said, as long as there’s a gap, a solid wall is no longer a solid wall.
The gap will only get bigger, until the solid wall completely collapses.
Now, the cracks in the hearts of the Pistons players are gradually widening.
They are no longer resilient, and they no longer believe they can surely win.
Watching Chaki Atkins’ collapse, comntator Bob Costas sighed: "Perhaps Detroiters finally realize they are just a speck of dust in the Hawks Dynasty, at most a slightly larger speck."
Do the Pistons still have a chance?
They might win one or two more gas, but to win three tis consecutively against the Hawks? That’s an impossible task.
Many Detroit fans shed tears in the stands, hating Roger, hating that he destroyed this beautiful blue-collar myth.
But Roger simply left without looking back, indifferent to the gaze of the defeated.
Pity is not his job, he just focuses on winning.
Michael Gillen kept an eye on Roger and Pierce’s performance, as long as these two continue cooperation, the Hawks will be unstoppable. Although they aren’t as terrifying as "the strongest duo in history," their dominance can last at least seven or eight years.
But right now, there’s a rumor one is going to leave, and the other is slow to accept a contract extension.
If Roger and Pierce really leave Atlanta simultaneously, it would be a devastating blow.
Bruce Levenson’s foolish actions are pushing the Hawks to a cliff, but thankfully, Michael Gillen has made all the preparations.
He will destroy Levenson before Bruce Levenson completely wrecks the Hawks.
This is the mont he’s been preparing for a long ti.
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The Hawks leading the Pistons 3 to 1 should have been the focus of the next day’s sports news.
But no one expected an explosive news story brewing, stealing all the heat from the match.
The day after returning to Atlanta from Detroit, Roger habitually turned on the TV, listening to the news while eating breakfast.
After turning on the TV, ESPN’s report almost choked Roger: "Bruce Levenson is being forced to sell all his shares in the Atlanta Hawks, marking the Hawks’ third ownership change in two years."
Roger’s mind went blank, selling the team again?
And the subsequent news report explained the matter in detail.
"According to sources to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bruce Levenson ntioned controversial remarks about African Arican and Asian fans in an email to the team’s second-largest shareholder, Michael Gillen.
He claid that the team’s ticket pricing cap was affected due to the Hawks attracting a group of African Arican and Asian fans, alienating residents of white communities, and that the team should introduce more white star players like Dirk Nowitzki, while having Roger, to attract wealthy fans and increase ticket revenue.
The authenticity of the news is under investigation, but Bruce Levenson is already selling all his shares to other Hawks shareholders."
This statent exposes the greed of the businessman vividly, as the Hawks are already one of the teams with the most expensive average ticket prices in the League, comparable to teams from New York and Los Angeles.
But Bruce Levenson still wants to raise ticket prices, seemingly never satisfied.
But he couldn’t have imagined that this email would be exposed.
Although Bruce Levenson’s racially related comnts weren’t as extre as later Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s, he didn’t openly insult African Aricans and Asians.
But in the NBA, comnts involving racial factors are a dead line.
Even a slight touch is not permissible.
Larry Bird just joked recently about "too few white players in the League" and was directly relieved of his position by the Pacers.
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