Chapter 154: Battle for the Spurs
"The 76ers are in some trouble, although we all know that the 76ers are very strong, but the first time we play the Finals, we will always be a little nervous, and the two offensive mistakes just now are a sign of nervousness."
Zhang Weiping's brows tightened, and he was already worried about the 76ers.
"I only hope that Coach Wang will be able to make some arrangements in this pause to solve the current dilemma."
On the field, the players return to their positions.
Iverson stretched out his right hand, and Pau Gasol came out from the baseline to cover Iverson for a pick-and-roll, which was of high quality and blocked Tony Parker on the defense.
This is where the Spurs' and Celtics' very different defensive styles are revealed.
If it was the Celtics, Garnett would definitely grab it early and wrap up Iverson with Rondo.
Duncan took a step away from Iverson and waited for Tony Parker to come around and chase after Iverson, who looked sideways and Gasol spread his arms at the free-throw line.
"Smack!"
Gasol folded his hands and turned his back to Duncan to respond to the attack.
The 76ers' offensive tempo changed abruptly, and then Iguodala moved over as the 76ers' second dominant point to pick up the ball from Gasol.
"Bang!"
Iguodala faced Ginobili and broke through mercilessly.
The little bulldozer hit the basket like a throw, and missed.
Rebound!
Durham Porter stretched out his frighteningly long arm and tapped from behind Oberto to lose to Tim Duncan in another jump-and-drum.
"Good ball, good ball!"
Wang Ming clapped his hands and signaled that the ball was well played.
The 76ers players were encouraged by Wang Mingming, and they were discouraged when they missed the offense again, and they opened their arms to defend, and when Parker began to organize the offense, the 76ers were already in full position.
The Spurs didn't find a good chance either, and after Parker hung Duncan, Duncan jumped a little outside the position.
Deflected, Iguodala rebounds.
Blocking and then attacking, Iverson caused a foul on the Parker.
Then Gasol organized a response, Iguodala received the ball and broke through and passed back to Gasol, Gasol made a jumper from a mid-range position and hit it steadily.
There was applause in the audience.
The 76ers finally hit again, and although the offensive efficiency was low, they finally broke the deadlock.
4 to 6.
More than 1 minute passed.
As the 76ers hit the basket this time, the Spurs also hit the basket in the subsequent game.
Iverson singled out Parker on the wing, one-on-one, shook off the three-point line and shot a long shot, and also hit a long-range two-point shot.
In the first half of the game, the Spurs still led the 76ers by four points at 13-9.
At this point, Popovich called a timeout, and the game was interrupted.
Fans watched with relish, the atmosphere of the finals was naturally different, and the confrontation of fists and fists can make people deeply feel the charm of basketball games, and this intensity has represented the highest level on the planet.
Popovich made changes off the bench as the Spurs began to rotate.
Ginobili was replaced by Popovich and came on by Michael Finley.
Finley is 2.01 meters tall and entered the league in the 95 draft, when he was in the Mavericks, he formed a troika with Nash and Nowitzki, and at his peak, he averaged 22.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game, like an All-Star level.
Today's Finley is 35 years old, time flies, his youth is gone, and his career is nearing the end.
At the Spurs, Finley was able to position himself as a shooting guard with accurate shooting and occasional sharp breakaways, and he and Ginobili shared almost 48 minutes of playing time.
This season, Finley has played in 82 games, averaging 10.1 points per game, including 37 percent from three-point range.
King also rotated tomorrow, with Kyle Korver replacing Safrosa as shooting guard.
Saflosa is the full-time defensive Ginobili player appointed by Wang Ming, and Saflosa can not care about anything else, as long as he defends Ginobili.
The king will also be replaced by Paul Millsap tomorrow, and Damham Porter will be rested.
When Millsap was defending, he was staring at Oberto, and when he was attacking, he was in the number four position.
Re-kick off, Spurs serve from the sideline.
Parker advanced from the backcourt to the frontcourt and handed it to Duncan in the low post.
"Bang!"
Duncan bumped into Gasol, and the strong force pushed Gasol back half a step, and Duncan turned around, raised his arms high, and still held the basketball in his hand.
Gasol raised his arms and did not jump, but his position was somewhat off.
Duncan stepped out with his left foot, retracted the basketball and switched to a right-handed pick.
Hit the board, into the frame.
Everyone was attracted by Ginobili's coquettish play after the opening, but they didn't expect that Duncan had quietly scored 6 points and performed eye-catching.
After Millsap came on the court, the 76ers were a little faster overall.
Up front, Iverson distributed the ball to Iguodala on the flank.
After Millsap and Gasol switched places, Millsap singled out Oberto with three threats.
It's a misalignment!
Millsap's eyes flashed, and his right foot suddenly stepped out, activating in an instant.
His speed was much faster than Oberto's, and in an instant, Oberto could only choose to retreat backwards and keep retreating, but Millsap only dribbled once, and then he made a dry jump shot in the middle range!
"Huh!"
Hit!
Millsap, who often plays as an interior lineman on the court, actually plays more like a small forward.
Especially the jump shooting skills of this half of the basket are becoming more and more proficient.
Greg Popovich frowned, Millsap's defense was indeed tricky, and Oberto's pace was still a little slower, and it was probably difficult to keep up with Millsap's pace.
And young people can run and jump, control the ball, and shoot, and their means are much better than Durham Porter.
Oberto's only good rebounding is not necessarily better than Millsap.
Both teams are looking for weaknesses on the opposite side, the 76ers play a simpler but effective, and the Spurs have a way to score, and the score keeps rising.
With Iverson shaking off Spurs backup guard Jacqui Vaughan and hitting a two-point shot, the 76ers tied the score at 24-24 in the first quarter.
The opening loss did not affect the 76ers at all, and after half a quarter, the 76ers gradually entered the state and tied in the first quarter, which was a great encouragement for the entire 76ers.
At this point, Parker and Duncan were out of the game, and Ginobili was on the court to lead the team.
The 76ers are completely deployed by Paul Millsap, supplemented by Luis Williams, Willie Green and other high-impact backcourts, switching to small-ball tactics, and hanging a fast-break whirlwind on the court.
Popovich waved his hand.
The Spurs were not in a hurry, Ginobili and others retreated quickly, and pinched the ball control points such as Luwe and Millsap, and resolutely did not let the 76ers start the speed.
The scores of the two teams were scorched, alternating leads.
Both teams were not allowed to go out during this period, especially the 76ers, Lu Wei, Saflosa and others were all out of three.
If it's a regular season game, fans may fall asleep watching it.
But this is the finals, and the fans feel that it is very exciting, the score is compact, exciting, every ball is difficult and crucial, the shouts are endless, and the enthusiasm of the game in the stadium has reached the peak.