The Rest, Only Noise

Chapter 79: white lightning

April 24, 1981

Spectrum Arena, Philadelphia, PA

Two days later, the Eastern Conference finals ushered in the third round of the contest.

Before the game, beloved Sixers home announcer Dave Zinkoff told fans: "Bostons had lost 11 straight games on the spectrum before tonight."

Louis became silent.

Like Auerbach said, he's going to wait.

Wait for Fitch to come to him, if he loses this game, maybe Fitch will come. If he wins, there's a good chance Fitch will follow through on his philosophy.

Louie doesn't want to waste time in the unknown, he wants to make his waiting meaningful.

So he decided to record every 76ers possession in the game.

Especially the shot selection and position of those core players, and the way they take every attack in this game.

Fitch's behavior of humiliating Maxwell in front of the media cost him the respect of the players, but it is the burden of being abused by his own coach that makes the Celtics take the game seriously like a soldier on the battlefield. .

A battle of dragons and tigers ensued.

In the first quarter, 27-31, the 76ers led by 4 points.

It was a bad night as Dr. J found his shooting touch outside of the Celtics' pockets.

The rise of Irving brought something different to the 76ers.

Dawkins and Caldwell Jones stepped up against Sampson.

Finally, the much-anticipated superstar had an extremely underwhelming fight.

In the first half, he lost all 8 shots and was abandoned by Fitch.

The consequence of Fitch's abandonment of Sampson is that the Celtics can no longer have a solid pocket formation, and the Phillies in good shape will have to uproot the Celtics' pockets when they attack the city.

It is the third section again, a key node.

Dr. J and Andrew Tony, one on the flank and one on the front, attacked the Celtics at the same time.

Bobby Jones harassing Bird like a spiderman, Sampson thrown off the court, Laimbeer? Archibald? Maxwell? Neither of them are good enough to come out and save the game at a moment like this.

Maxwell wanted to be a hero, he took the initiative to challenge the Doctor, but failed.

He tried his best to extend the perimeter to defend the 76ers' shots, and failed.

Louie saw his efforts.

35 to 20

In this wave, the 76ers killed the Celtics.

The fourth quarter was frantic, but it was just the dying breath of the Sixers' home announcer.

The game was over when Maxwell slammed to the floor for an irrelevant rebound, but no one was there to help him.

114 to 100

The 76ers beat the Celtics again by 14 points.

2-1 lead in the series.

And, this is the Celtics' twelfth-game losing streak at Spectrum Arena.

This time, it was the 76ers' turn to have home-court advantage, and the pressure fell entirely on the Celtics.

"If the Bostonians can't win the day after tomorrow, I think they're going to be in big trouble," 76ers coach Cunningham told The Philadelphia Inquirer.

"Why?" the reporter asked innocently.

"Oh my God! Are they expecting to win three games in a row with us down 3-1?" Cunningham said frantically.

He was a little joking, and the story of leading the opponent 3-1 and then being overturned by three consecutive wins somewhat touched the unbearable past of this former American school girl's dream lover.

On the other hand, Bill Fitch declined media interviews.

This time, he not only alienated his relationship with the players, but also cut off contact with the media.

The media can only think that he lost quickly.

Louie saw that he ran to the locker room with a face full of anger, and knew that someone was going to suffer.

He had to follow, soothing after Fitch's roar shattered everyone's will. That's what an assistant coach should do.

"You bastards! You played a disgusting game!"

His fire was especially focused on Sampson, who didn't care whether the newcomer was a future Celtics face-to-face player.

"Ralph, do you **** think you're still in school? You're as soft as a piece of shit!"

Then he turned his ire at Maxwell, who was just as underwhelming as Sampson.

"Cedric, you're not just a lazy dog, you're a stupid dog! And I seriously doubt your gender, you're not **** masculine at all, you lie on the field like a stupid **** in heat and let Andrew Tony is supervising you %¥#%”

Unbearable words flew out of his mouth one after another.

His rage lasted nearly 10 minutes.

Finally, Fitch slammed the door.

Louie wanted to comfort them, but he underestimated the level of Zaun's rage in Fitch's rage, and overestimated his ability to organize language.

This room is filled with negative energy.

No matter what you say, nothing can heal the wound.

"Let's all go back to the hotel," Louis said. He couldn't say much, "You guys still have games to play, and the series isn't over yet."

Bird left silently, Sampson disappeared quickly, and the others left one by one, only Maxwell did not move.

"Now, you can laugh at me as much as you want." Maxwell's face was ashen. "You know I can't refute."

Of course, Louis is willing to do the thing that rubs salt on the wound and beats the water dog to make the player who hates him the most in the team directly collapse. But he didn't want to, because no one knew if Maxwell's life would be in danger by driving him crazy.

"I'm not going to do that."

"You may not believe it, but I admire your performance so far."

Louie sat down next to Maxwell, counting his bright moments tonight, "I saw you asking for the ball to fight him after the Doctor broke out, and you succeeded; I saw you eager to defend against Bobby Jones shot, but he was too accurate tonight; I also saw you trying to come out and save the team after Larry was frozen, you failed, but courageous; you know what else I saw?"

Maxwell had no idea that he had so many things to boast about.

He looked at Louis and couldn't help asking what it was, but he didn't say it.

"The moment I admire most about you is when you and Daryl Dawkins fell to the ground from a height of 80 centimeters when you knew there was no hope of winning." Louis laughed jokingly, "If You're a bitch, then you're the toughest **** I've ever seen, enough to wring a Philly's genitals. You have nothing to be ashamed of, I saw the best tonight Cedric Maxwell."

This is ironic.

Maxwell never imagined that when he was the most disheartened, the person who encouraged him would be Louis.

The person he hates the most, the person he most wants to be kicked out of the team.

"You fell hard just now. Now go to Ani (the team doctor) and ask him to check it for you. If there is any problem, go to the hospital for a comprehensive examination."

After all, Louis also left.

Although he doesn't like Maxwell's usual sloppy attitude, after the polishing of this year's playoffs and the baptism of Fitch's "Zuan Poisonous Chicken Soup" that he will remember for the rest of his life, he believes this man subject to change.

Maxwell is the oldest player on the team and the only representative of the Havlicek era. On weekdays, he is a kind, joking guy, and most of his teammates love him, otherwise Fitch wouldn't appreciate him before.

He did not wait for the day when he became the core of the team. After the team selected Bird, he lived under the wing of the opponent, which changed his mentality. Take it away, and it is impossible to have no response.

In the next two years, he couldn't compete with Bird, and he vented his depression on the training ground and on the court. He became a mean trash talker and developed a lazy defensive habit.

Then, it is now.

The Celtics and 76ers series, if they fight to the end, must be the ultimate showdown of talent, body, endurance and faith.

To defeat this monster, they need Maxwell's resuscitation.

Two days later, they were back at Spectrum.

The crowd smelled blood on Friday night. During the pre-game cheers, jazz maestro Grover Washington played the American national anthem on the saxophone, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

With no more variables, the Celtics pushed their system to the limit and tied the Sixers for the entire first half.

In the third quarter, Andrew Toney held a **** butcher knife and became the game-breaker again. His 4-of-6 mid-range shot in a single quarter made the Celtics' defense lose sight of one another.~www.novelmt.com~ Moreover, Tony's goal It was all one-on-one ball-attacking at the top of the arc, which seriously shook the Celtics' defensive confidence.

In the first half that was originally flat, after Tony's explosion, the 76ers led by 17 points into the fourth quarter.

Bird roared, kicked over the bench, and shouted, "I don't want to lose like this!"

Then, the Celtics caught up to a 1-point gap in the fourth quarter.

Sixers' super sixth man, Bobby Jones, became the player who dominated the crunch.

Sampson missed a mid-range shot, Jones grabbed the rebound, and a long pass to Dr. J.

Dr. J's fast break was interrupted by Maxwell, and Dawkins also missed a tip-up. If Bird had a fast enough bounce, he could have won the rebound, but he didn't. So, White Jones flew from behind and grabbed the rebound to complete the tip-up.

"White Lightning drives Boston to a dead end, and the 76ers have a chance to win!"

After that, White Jones flashed again, stealing the Celtics' serve and ending the suspense of the game.

107-105, 3-1, just one game away from the 76ers advancing to the Finals again.

For some reason, Louie didn't see despair on the player's face. It would be unwilling to say that there are other emotions.

They are full of unwillingness.

It's a winnable game, just by a little bit.

They were about to leave when suddenly, Zinkov, the announcer of the 76ers, informed all the fans at the scene through the broadcasting system: "Tickets for the finals will be sold in 10 minutes."

This move was like stepping on a dog's tail. In less than half a second, the Celtics team was furious.

"Gan **** Penn, just wait and see!"

Maxwell roared angrily.

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