Duncan used his excellent play in the first quarter to help the Spurs withstand the Clippers' onslaught.

At the beginning of the second quarter, he and Li Liang were both resting off the court.

Duncan wiped the sweat from his face with a towel, and the TV camera swept to his face, still with that blank and expressionless face.

After all, you can't laugh, and if you laugh, you'll be blown a technical foul.

Duncan's ambition is undoubtedly determined, and he still has confidence in winning the victory.

As long as he's not plagued by injuries and age, Duncan has the ability to help the Spurs win any playoff game when he's in great shape.

It's an ability that a superstar has.

Although among the many superstars in history, Duncan is a player who came to the peak relatively early and fell early.

In the first year of entering the league, he was on the second team, and in the second year, he won the championship and the Finals MVP.

Then he held it up for a whole decade, and then at the age of 32 he began to gradually decline and change his style of play.

In history, people like Olajuwon only started to win their first championship at the age of 32.

Abdul-Jabbar, 32, is just about to meet Magic Johnson and is about to start a glorious '80s.

Not to mention Jordan, who is about to start his second three-game winning dynasty at the age of 32.

And Duncan basically withdrew from the MVP-level star competition after being eliminated by the Lakers in the Western Conference finals in 08.

He started to lose weight, changed his style of play, and couldn't kill as much as before, but the connection between Duncan and the Spurs actually went deeper.

Before '08, Duncan would have been a superstar on any other team.

After 08 years, Duncan is the Spurs, the Spurs are Duncan, and no one can do without anyone.

This makes Duncan somewhat underrated, but he is actually better than many All-Star forwards.

Of course, Li Liang will not underestimate Duncan, in his opinion, if there are any variables in this game, it will definitely happen to Duncan.

He's still the man who can change the course of the game.

……

In the second quarter of the game, the Spurs and Clippers continued to compete fiercely.

The Clippers consistently maintained a four- to five-point lead with a two-goal lead.

The Spurs are chasing closely, and there are not many tactical tricks on both sides, what to see is the state of the players, their hard work and their tacit understanding.

After Popovich suffered a loss in the first quarter, he didn't dare to cut Jordan Jr. again.

Danny Green's three-point shot once helped the Spurs chase the deficit to just one point.

But right away, Barnes scored a layup on an empty cut, and then Griffin forced a foul to go to the free throw line.

The two sides went into the first timeout of the second quarter.

Li Liang and Duncan were both substituted, and Jordan Jr. of the Clippers came off the court to rest, needless to say, Li Liang had to go to the No. 5 position to defend Duncan.

Griffin hit both free throws, and the Clippers made it 41:36 to stretch the margin back to five points.

But Duncan immediately picked up Parker's pass in the low post and turned to the baseline for a light layup.

Li Liang played against Duncan, and before he could prepare for the defense with a heavy heart, Duncan attacked.

At the age of 38, the turning speed is still so fast, and the movements are extremely solid.

Li Liang thought to himself, it seems that he must concentrate more.

In the second quarter, Duncan once again became the core of the Spurs' offense.

His strong attack in the low post, mid-range jumper in the high post, and pick-and-roll cover on the outside slowly revitalized the Spurs' offense.

It's like facing a mess, Duncan will patiently sort through and gradually put the team on the right track.

If it were Kobe Bryant, the choice in the face of chaos would definitely be to directly take out the hammer and hammer it......

When Duncan inserted the ball in the middle, turned over and hit a difficult throw, and caused Li Liang's foul, the score between the two sides has become 44:42, and the Spurs are only 2 points away!

After the timeout, the Clippers only relied on Crawford to shoot a three-pointer.

Duncan hit a free throw, and the difference between the two sides became 1 point.

The AT&T center feels alive again, with the Spurs back in the driver's seat.

At this time, Paul stepped up, and after blocking and dismantling the cover in the high post and Li Liang, he hit a direct mid-range shot near the free throw line as a response to the veteran Wake Forest senior.

With a three-point difference, the Spurs immediately counterattacked.

Danny Green rushed to the frontcourt, Tony Parker passed the ball into place, Green received the ball on the left side and made a 45-degree three-point shot and hit!

Tie!

Li Liang served quickly from the bottom line and gave it to Paul, who handed the ball to Li Liang after half court, and Li Liang made a direct pass at the top of the arc to Griffin, who was stuck in the three-second zone.

Griffin received the ball and turned to press Split, and scored a layup with his right hand to regain the lead.

The two sides began a rapid offensive again.

The Spurs also want to open, so let's attack it.

Anyway, the rhythm couldn't be suppressed, so I just let go of the fight.

To be honest, the rhythm of the Spurs team is relatively versatile, playing offense, fighting defense, fast tempo, slow tempo is no problem.

In the second half of the second quarter, the offense of both teams became faster and faster, and the defense was bound to be much looser.

Li Liang began to soar three points.

But Duncan also kept using the pick-and-roll to cut into the basket and score.

Duncan found that playing Li Liang in the low post of one-on-one did not necessarily work very well.

This cargo seems to have a lot of experience in defending his own low-post offense.

But if Duncan plays high and takes the route of blocking and dismantling, once Jordan Jr. is not on the court, it will be difficult to make up for Li Liang's height disadvantage.

Even if you have [Bill Russell's Fear of the Forbidden Zone], but the level is only level 1, it feels useless.

When Li Liang shot a three-pointer, and then Duncan received Ginobili's second pass under the basket, dunked with one hand, and caused Li Liang to foul, Li Liang finally couldn't help it.

"Lao Li! How long the hell are you going to let me play center! ”

Li Liang roared at the bench, and Rivers was stunned by the roar.

He felt that Li Liang was playing very well......

Rivers hurriedly waved his hand at the bench and motioned for Jordan Jr. to come on and replace Griffin.

"Do you have a command? Are you going to command me to do it? ”

Li Liang was a little depressed by Duncan's beating, and poured his anger on Rivers.

Rivers spread his hands, thinking to himself that this was a normal rotation......

Duncan hit a free throw, and Li Liang's three-pointer was offset again, and the two sides were evenly divided.

At halftime, the Clippers and Spurs were tied at 61:60, and the Clippers led the Spurs by one point.

Duncan scored 21 points in the half and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double in the half!

This is the superstar of the last era, leaving the strongest note of the half.

Since the 1985 season, only five players have ever made it 20+10 in the halftime in the playoffs.

Duncan is one of them, and the last time he did it was back in the 01-02 season, 12 years ago.

At that time, the Spurs were still fighting with the OK group for supremacy in the West.

More than a decade has passed in a blink of an eye, and Duncan has done it again in the Western Conference Finals.

However, the Spurs are still behind.

When Duncan had to step up and carry the Spurs' offensive banner, it was enough to prove that the team's offense and defense were suppressed.

For the 38-year-old Shi Fo, such a performance may only support half the court, and the Spurs still want to rely on Duncan to support in the second half, I am afraid that it is not to make Duncan's leg wasted.

The Clippers are determined not to trap Duncan, old Shifo, you have the ability to kill me!

Duncan was not killed by the Clippers, and almost killed Li Liang.

At halftime, Li Liang was still complaining about Rivers, "Why do you always let me play the No. 5 position, just push it once in a while, I will be beaten to death after half a quarter, you know?" ”

Rivers patted Li Liang on the shoulder, "Your effect on defending him is good, and he is already the best except for Jordan." ”

Li Liang was indifferent to such praise at the time.

Lao Tzu is so delicate, sent to the three-second zone for hand-to-hand combat, isn't it a tyrannical thing?

And the inside confrontation really affects the shooting feel, in the first half, Li Liang's three-point shooting was 3 of 8, and the shooting rate was not very ideal, and there was a danger of science.

Li Liang thought to himself, in the future, I must go to a team that will not let Lao Tzu play the No. 5 center, and playing the No. 4 position is already the limit.

Li Liang silently made this wish in his heart.

And later events proved that the father of the system did not deserve to have a wish.