Beep~

At this time, the Spurs chose to take a timeout, and Popovich knew in his heart that if he wanted to take advantage, he had to limit Ji Liang's play.

When the timeout ended, the Spurs' offense ended with an iron, and Ji Liang easily grabbed the defensive rebound.

Soon, after some passing, Chi Liang received the basketball again at the waist position. It was also at this time that the Spurs sacrificed a 1-2-2 joint defense, although they did not contain Chi Liang, but Popovich could not let Chi Liang beat Duncan in the high post.

The biggest difference between joint defense and man-marking is that marking people to defend people is the ultimate goal, while joint defense is to defend the ball as the ultimate goal.

Positional joint defense is defended in the way of fixed personnel defending a certain area, which is not easy to read and varied, and can become a marker and standing joint defense at any time, but because the requirements for the team's tacit understanding and personal ability are too high, it is not conducive to playing fast-paced games, and is rarely used by NBA coaches who emphasize individual ability and fast-paced.

Popovich was also helpless, Ji Liang's threat was too great, so he had to do it, and now he can only pray that the other players of the Nuggets team are not accurate in their long-range shots.

Johnson and Steve Kerr stood near the free-throw line and would be met with their snipers once Ji Liang hit Duncan with his back.

After a little observation, Ji Liang's ability to read the game was excellent, and he quickly understood that this was a 1-2-2 joint defense, and its weakness was in the two bottom corners.

There was no hurry, Chi Liang waited for his teammates to settle down, and Duncan in the back was very tight, and he didn't try to get rid of it.

Soon, John Taylor and Washington each ran outside the bottom corner three-point line.

Although he is a power forward, just like Lafrentz, Taylor also has a three-point shot and is not low in shooting percentage.

It was also at this time that Chi Liang moved, using the Sikma step to change from the back basket to the face frame, wanting to force a breakthrough.

At the same time, the Spurs' defensive formation changed, with Johnson and Kerr stepping forward to block Ji Liang's breakthrough space.

Before they came up, Ji Liang flicked the basketball with his right hand, like a scalpel, and Taylor, who was in the bottom left corner, received the basketball. There was no one in front of him, and after adjusting a bit, he shot a three-pointer.

Swish~

The basketball hollowed into the net and scored three points for the Nuggets.

On the Spurs bench, Popovich frowned, but he didn't change his tactics and continued to use the joint defense.

In the following time, Chi Liang stayed in a high position, mainly connecting the whole team.

Under his tandem, Taylor and Washington shot three points again and again, shooting 3 of 5, and while ensuring the shooting percentage, they also began to open up the gap with the Spurs.

With ten seconds left in the second quarter, the Spurs' possession of the ball, after some diversion, was passed to Duncan again.

When Duncan got the ball in the low post, he subconsciously squeezed it, and by the way, he felt Ji Liang's center of gravity.

After a few dribbles, Duncan wanted to repeat his old trick, turning inside to face the basket and ending the fight with a hook hand.

This time, Ji Liang did not jump to block, but played a trick and hit Duncan below, causing Duncan's right hand to shake and the basketball thrown was slightly offset.

Boom~

Under the interference of Ji Liang, the basketball finally smashed in front of the basket, and at the same time, the buzz at the end of the second quarter sounded.

For Chi Liang's small actions, the referee did not blow the penalty, and the penalty for fouls in this period was very light, and there was also a relationship between the Nuggets team's home court.

So, no matter how Popovich shouted, the referee had no idea of changing the decision.

In the second quarter, Ji Liang scored 10 points and 5 assists again, and it only took the first half to complete 20+10 data.

In addition, led by Ji Liang, the Nuggets scored 28-23 in a single quarter, leading the Spurs by a total of 8 points to end the first half.

At the beginning of the third quarter, the Nuggets went into a collapse with a poor offense, Alexander and Stich had a poor hand, and only McDice scored two points.

On the contrary, the Spurs resolutely played inside, taking advantage of the inside line and chasing points quickly.

When Robinson scored another dunk, the Spurs unleashed a 10-2 shockwave to erase the deficit in one fell swoop.

D'Antoni was slow to react and only now called a timeout to adjust his tactics.

"Since we can't shoot well, let's play more inside, and it's better to combine inside and outside. There is also a need to strengthen the cut from the top of the arc to the inside, and we need to strengthen the impact on the front court. Also, after what I've observed, their fitness seems to be affected, especially David Robinson, who is hard to run like he did in the first half, so we have to pick up the tempo and bring them down in one fell swoop! ”

After adjusting the tactics, D'Antoni replaced Ji Liang again, with him as the power forward, and McDyess as the center to speed up the team's offensive and defensive transitions.

On the other side, the Spurs did not make substitutions, and Duncan and Ji Liang were once again opposed.

Outside the three-point line in the top corner, Ji Liang made a cover for Alexander, who went around to the right and began to attack the box with the ball.

Duncan was taken aback and had to choose to switch defenses, Alexander did not break through, but passed the ball to Ji Liang, who ran outside the three-point line on the left side.

Facing the 178-centimeter Johnson, Chi Liang chose to shoot, Johnson jumped up and slapped Ji Liang's arm hard.

Swish~

Beep~

At the same time as he scored three points, the referee's whistle sounded, and Ji Liang got the opportunity to score four points.

Rushing~

Cheers echoed at the Pepsi Center, and fans were delighted with Ji Liang's stunning performance.

Swish~

There was no surprise, and Ji Liang hit a free throw to regain the lead for the Nuggets.

The Spurs' offense, they used the hammer tactic again, this time by Johnson to shoot a three-pointer, but unfortunately the iron was beaten.

"Attack!" Ji Liang grabbed the rebound and immediately passed it to Alexander, and the Nuggets got a chance to break fast.

The Spurs dropped back quickly, and Johnson wanted to delay Alexander's advance, but before he could get forward, Alexander hoisted the ball to Stich.

Without hesitation, Stich picked up the basketball, rushed to the basket as fast as he could, and made a layup.

It didn't take long for Ji Liang to grab the defensive rebound again, and under Duncan's harassment, Ji Liang passed the basketball again, this time his pass ran through most of the court, and finally Alexander scored a layup.

Seeing the Nuggets' consecutive fast-break successes, Popovich finally frowned, and there was no doubt that the Spurs would struggle to cope with the Nuggets' fast-break.

The Nuggets advanced too fast, coupled with Ji Liang's accurate passing, but Robinson's fitness was problematic again, which was difficult to stop.

In order to cope with the Nuggets' fast break, Popovich took steps to replace the physically exhausted Robinson with Duncan as the center.