Chapter 726: Center vs. Center?
On Christmas Eve, it snowed heavily. On this day no less solemn than the Chinese New Year, the whole city of Portland is beautifully decorated, and every large mall is packed with people who go on a shopping spree because of the sale. Christmas trees, Christmas stockings and a variety of Santa Claus and elk models poured into the streets of the City of Roses. People are smiling and everyone is looking forward to the new year.
Duncan, who sat in the team bus and saw this scene, sighed, when he was younger, the only thing he wanted to think about was to win more games and win more championships. But now that I'm older, I feel homesick because of this kind of scene.
After debuting for so many years, Duncan has never had a birthday and Christmas. This guy who says every year that his health is no longer good, but he goes to work every year.
He wished he were at home in San Antonio, eating turkey and watching TV. But there is no way, not only will all this not be possible, but what he will play later is the finale of the Christmas War, and it is also the most difficult game to play.
City of Roses, I don't know when the San Antonio Spurs and Duncan have been unable to climb this hill......
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Tonight, the liveliest place in the whole of Portland is the Moda Center. Thousands of fans flocked to the Moda Center, hoping to spend Christmas with the Trail Blazers. They also believe that Anjie and the team will use a victory as a Christmas present for everyone.
Catherine and Anjie's parents and bearded man weave through the crowd, and of course, this time, Catherine has a new family member in her arms who joins the ranks of the Christmas fight.
After the group entered the Moda Center through the VIP passage, they found that the general manager of the Trail Blazers, Nell. Orsi was already waiting inside.
"I've been waiting for a long time, Mrs. An, what's going on?" Orsi politely shook hands with Anjie's family.
"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Orsi, and everything is well." Catherine replied skillfully.
"Come with me, I've left you a luxury private room with the best location. Wine and snacks are ready for you to arrive. Orsi made a gesture of please, and this year, due to An Xiang's young age, Catherine was afraid that he would not be able to stand the noise of the scene.
Therefore, this is also the reason why An Jie's family chose to go to the luxury box to watch the game this time. If it weren't for the tranquility, Catherine would have preferred to go to the stands, after all, it was there that she could better feel the frenetic atmosphere of the game.
Step into the luxury box, and it's just as Orsi said, with everything you need. As the Trail Blazers' results get better and better, more and more celebrities and billionaires come to the Moda Center to watch the game. Because of this, the luxury box of the Moda Center has become much more upscale than before.
Catherine couldn't wait to run to the floor-to-ceiling windows and set her eyes on the court. At this moment, the fans of the entire Moda Center are restless, and the tall 00 has already begun to warm up with shots on the court.
From the beginning of the warm-up, ESPN's camera never left Anjie. Even today there were stars on the sidelines, and even everyone on the Spurs' side was a hot star. But in the period leading up to the game, Mike. Brin and Jeff. Van Gundy's topic has always been Anjie.
Two doubles in a row, consecutive wins. Two years ago, the Miami Heat could compete with the Trail Blazers in the regular season, and last year, the San Antonio Spurs were the closest team to the Trail Blazers. But this year, the Trail Blazers are dominant, and no team seems to be at the same level as them, and the Trail Blazers have become the league leader alone.
"Do you think Ann can still cut two doubles on Duncan's head in this game?" Seeing that the players on both sides have stood around the middle circle, Mike. Brin asked Jeff. Van Gundy's last question.
"It's not that I think, it's that An Jie will definitely be able to cut two doubles in this game!" Van Gundy, who once coached Anjie, is very confident, today is the Christmas game, Anjie will definitely not disappoint the fans!
The referee threw the basketball into the air, and the Moda Center became agitated. Today's finale of the Christmas war has finally taken place!
Ratings from various stations have skyrocketed, and all eyes are on this final Christmas fight. In front of everyone's eyes, Anjie easily put the basketball into Lillard's hand with a distance beyond the palm of Split's hand.
As soon as An Jie slapped the ball, he immediately ran forward. Split didn't notice Anjie's "strangeness" until Duncan felt a gust of wind pass by him, and he finally reacted.
"Retreat, retreat!" Duncan shouted and turned to chase back. By the time the Spurs players reacted, Anjie had already run inside the three-point line, and in front of him, only Leonard was on guard.
Lillard didn't hesitate and threw the basketball high. Duncan jumped halfway through and planned to intercept the ball, but unfortunately he is no longer the "flying devil" he was back then. The basketball went past Duncan's fingers and headed straight for Angel.
"Are you going to relay directly in the air!?" Spurs rising star Kafai. Leonard looked at the basketball flying in disbelief. Lillard actually passed this kind of air relay ball from the midfield, and he was too confident in his pass and Anjie's offense!
The defense of this ball, as long as it can interfere with An Jie's inability to jump comfortably, the basketball will fly out of the bottom line by itself. Thinking of this, Leonard's confidence was lifted. The first performance of the Trail Blazers, he wants to bury it with his own hands!
The basketball began to fall, and An Jie also began to adjust his pace, ready to jump. Leonard, who is known for his defense, immediately posted it, as long as it interfered with Anjie's jump, it was all over!
However, when Leonard came into contact with An Jie, he didn't expect An Jie's impact to be so great! Leonard, who was not prepared, was pressed by An Jie, who jumped high, grabbed the basketball, and because his lower body hit Leonard, An Jie's whole person leaned forward.
With the help of this forward gravity, Anjie straightened his arm and slammed the ball towards the basket! After the ball was scored, Anjie, who had lost his center of gravity, fell off Leonard's shoulder, and it looked like this fall was not light.
"Extremely violent! Oh my God, even in the air relay, Ann can complete a dunk through a defender, it's just terrifying! Top 10 Balls! This aerial relay launched from the midfield is definitely the first place in the top ten goals of this year's Christmas game! "Mike. As soon as Brin finished speaking, An Jie, who fell to the ground heavily, got up violently and ran back to his own half to prepare to defend. It looks like this tough guy has nothing to do!
"This aerial relay is simply shocking, and Griffin and the others are better than the jump height. And An Jie's violent deduction is simply relying on strength to win! Such a dunk often looks more shocking and more ornamental. "Jeff. Van Gundy said as he nodded approvingly. It's a great honor to be able to coach such a guy in my career.
Before the Spurs players could react to what was going on after they fought for the ball, the Trail Blazers pushed the game straight to a climax. After the opening, the center completed the sneak attack, which is incredible just thinking about it.
"It's okay, it's just two points. We play at our own pace, don't mess around! Popovich began shouting from the sidelines to keep the army grounded. Anjie's shot just now not only gave the Trail Blazers two points, but also definitely hit the morale of the Spurs' players.
So now, Popovich is going to use his own yelling to remind the players on the field: "We haven't fucking lost yet!" ”
The Spurs were as calm as ever, and Parker, after composing, skillfully carried the ball through the halfcourt. Duncan didn't fight with Anjie on the inside, because it was almost self-defeating. He roamed around the middle range and instead kept Split in the low post.
Popovich had long known that Ricard would switch positions for Anjie and Aldridge, so Split's positioning was carefully arranged.
Just when everyone was expecting how the Spurs would fight back, Parker made a decision that surprised everyone.
The guy didn't pass the ball to Duncan and didn't even pay attention to Leonard, who raised his hand from beyond the three-point line. Parker hits the ground and passes to Brazilian center Split to catch the ball!
"Parker passes the ball to Split, who will Split transfer the ball to?"
Everyone, didn't think Split would attack on his own. However, the next second after receiving the ball, the Brazilian leaned heavily on Aldridge and then hooked his hand quickly!
Anjie turned and sideways, blocking everyone who tried to enter the box to fight for a rebound. Aldridge is alone under the basket and should not have a problem protecting the rebound.
However, the basketball that people thought would definitely not be able to hit, but under the surprised eyes of everyone, it hollowed into the net! Split, who has always done dirty work on the offensive end, actually scored a goal on Aldridge's head!
Split's sudden attack caught the Trail Blazers off guard. Who would have thought that one of the least threatening people would actually take the lead in opening up the situation for the Spurs.
"It's just a coincidence, and Split can't go without a point in the whole game." Riccard said to himself that he didn't believe Split would be a threat to the team on the defensive end.
However, dozens of seconds later, this seemingly elegant Brazilian defeated Aldridge for the second time in a row!
"Beautiful pull-up layups, Split's backruns and final finishes were wonderful! Oh my God, is the Brazilian possessed by Anjie today!? "Kenny. Smith watched in disbelief at the replay of the goal he had just scored, and Split shook off Aldridge with a counterrun, and instead of going straight to the basket after receiving the pass, he flew over the basket and pulled the rod to shoot. Just when everyone thought Split must be crazy, basketball went into the net again!
"Just kidding, huh!?" This time, instead of holding it in his heart, Riccard shouted out.
Do you want to use Anjie to defend Split and thus free Duncan!? What did that Popovich guy eat for the Brazilians?
Under the surprised eyes of the Trail Blazers fans, Popovich's eyes were also wide-eyed. Split's performance was completely unexpected.
But the state of the people is out, and Popovich can't waste it. Countless tactical ideas began to fly through Popovich's mind.
Sorry for the enthusiastic Portland fans, today, even God wants the Spurs to win the game!
Split and Anjie, two centers with a huge gap, became the focus of the game at the beginning of the game.
After all, who doesn't eat dumplings? The NBA league is most lacking in short-lived people.
Today, the Spurs won't just have three old wagons coming out. The difficulty for the Trail Blazers to win seems to be getting bigger and bigger.