Chapter 58: Catching Up with the Score
After the adjustment, the Spurs are 15 points behind, and now the Spurs are not thinking about winning, but about chasing the score back. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info
Tony Parker controlled the ball steadily outside the three-point line, Anxi made a screen for Tim Duncan in the low post, and then followed the cover to the bottom corner, and Tim Duncan rushed all the way to the high post through the screen, setting up another layer of cover for Tony Parker.
With the cover, Tony Parker rushed directly to the interior and made a throw, but the basketball tragically turned twice on the basket and didn't score!
And because of Tim Duncan's withdrawal, no one grabbed the board on the inside, and the rebound was won by the Thunder, and the Spurs' wave failed again, Tony Parker hurried back to defense in frustration, and Anxi in the bottom corner was the first to return to defense, and the moment Tony Parker shot, Anxi knew that if the ball didn't go in, it might be beaten fast.
Sure enough, the Thunder, who grabbed the rebound, launched a fast attack, Wei Shao, who got the basketball, ran all the way with the ball, and Adu also played the fast attack, and the Spurs were the only ones who responded to the defense in time......
"Thunder's fast attack, two to one in the frontcourt, China An faces the Thunder Twin Stars alone!"
Anxi quickly retreated, until he retreated to the basket, and then waited for Adu and Wei Shao to arrive, Wei Shao rushed into the three-point line and passed the ball to Adu, because Adu had to be one step faster.
Adu received the ball, but stopped directly at the free throw line, a jump shot on the spot, Anxi could only curse secretly, watching the basketball fly into the basket, Adu ended the fast break in an unconventional way, and the Thunder also extended their lead, and before the first quarter was over, they led by 17 points.
That's a huge lead, and if it continues like this, the Spurs are going to have a big hit.
Tony Parker stood on the sidelines and was pulled over by Popovich for a while, obviously he was not in good shape in this game, and Popovich had to adjust the team's style of play.
Tony Parker wasted a little time, the referee had to come and intervene, and the Spurs served on the baseline, and according to Tony Parker's gestures, Anxi found that the Spurs had changed their style of play.
Originally, after the substitution, the Spurs were still Tony Parker's main attack, but now that it looks like they are ready to let Anxi and Manu take the lead.
Sure enough, as soon as the half passed, Boris Diola pulled to the high post, and Tony Parker passed the ball to him, and he went into a state of no ball, obviously if it wasn't for the absolute open opportunity, Tony Parker would not have taken the ball again.
Anxi also quickly started to run, this is his chance, this game has room for him to play.
Ran to the restricted area, with Duncan came to a cross cover, Anxi was very smart and did not go directly to the outside line, but suddenly a turnaround back, again through the cover set by Tim Duncan, just like that, Kevin Durant, who had been guarding Anxi, was stunned, Anxi directly ran back and went around, to the bottom corner, this position is unguarded!
The French magician's pass arrived quickly, and Anxi shot unguarded outside the three-point line!
The difference narrowed to 14 points, and the fans in the stadium began to cheer, and Popovich on the sidelines also applauded, obviously very satisfied.
Anxi played this ball very smartly, and cooperated with Duncan to cover a counterrun there, and directly threw Adu away, this counterrun also reflects Anxi's ball quotient, although the limbs are developed, but Anxi is not a simple-minded person, on the contrary, his ball quotient is very high, but maybe Anxi's skills are a little worse, but he has been improving, isn't it?
The Thunder attacked, they were the leading side, so Wei Shao dribbled the ball unhurriedly on the outside, looking for opportunities, five or six seconds later, Wei Shao began to start, forcibly broke through Parker's defense, and rushed to the three-point line, An Xi did not come over to change the defense, he knew that he had to prevent Adu, and the others had nothing to do with him, even if the Thunder was in the best shape now Westbrook.
Wei Shao rushed all the way to the free throw line, and he was in excellent condition and directly chose to shoot, a stop-and-go jump shot, and the basketball popped out of the frame and did not enter.
Duncan, who had been guarding the inside, grabbed the rebound, ignored the Thunder's pressing, stabilized for a while, and then handed the ball to Parker.
The Spurs' offense started again, Parker advanced to the front court with the ball, and handed the ball to Anxi, which is about to play another set of tactics, because Anxi's ball control has improved a lot, and he now has a certain ball-holding task.
Anxi held the ball through Boris Dio's block, cut in, attracted the defense and then distributed the ball to Manu, Manu cut through another cover, at this time Anxi bypassed, and suddenly ripped open the Thunder's defense, Boris Dio picked up a leak in the middle distance, received Manu's pass, and successfully hit an empty shot.
12-point difference, these two waves of offense and defense, the Spurs performed well, and it can be seen that Anxi, Dior and Manu are in good shape, and now only Parker and Duncan are in poor condition, so Popovich is firm in his idea, just play like this, 12 points will always be chased back.
However, although the Spurs' offense played well, it was difficult for the defense to completely limit the Thunder.
In the face of Tony Parker's defense, Wei Shao forced a breakthrough again, and in the process of breaking through, he forcibly turned around and scored 2 points, and this ball completely showed Wei Shao's personal strength.
Then, the Spurs insisted on their offensive strategy, Anxi, Manu and Dior became a trio on the court, through continuous response and continuous running, the Spurs gradually found a rhythm on the offensive end, and the success rate of hitting the offensive end was actually higher than that of the Thunder, and the point difference was slowly narrowed.
On the Thunder's side, Scott Brooks' adjustment was also very fast, he chose to replace Saboseforosa, who did not have much offensive ability, and replaced James Harden, with three less shots, the power on the offensive end increased at least doubled, and the offensive end barely tied with the Spurs.
In this way, halftime through the game, at halftime, the Spurs narrowed the gap to 2 points, trailing the Thunder by two points at 67:65, which is no longer called a point difference at this time.
And throughout the first half, Anxi was not replaced, he helped the Spurs get a lot of vacant opportunities through his own running, it can be seen that Anxi is in very good shape, usually his running is not so careless, not so sharp.
Anxi, who played the first half, scored 19 points by shooting 7 of 11, 4 of 6 three-point shots, 3 of 5 shots, and 1 of 2 free throws, plus 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.
At the end of the half, the Spurs chased the points well, and Popovich's mood improved, but in the first half, Anxi, Manu and Dio were all full, and there will definitely be physical problems in the second half, so the Spurs will definitely have to make substitutions in the second half, so Popovich began to think about how to maintain the team's performance in the second half.
(This is the second update, asking for votes)