Chapter 85: Stand Up
The confrontation between Zhang Xiaotian and Klay Thompson didn't last long, and the Warriors replaced backup forward Richard Jefferson.
In fact, Richard Jefferson is also a player with an annual salary of tens of millions, but he has not recovered after the injury, and Zhang Xiaotian is much easier than facing Klay Thompson.
It's just that the Warriors' sixth man, Jarrett Jack, is in good shape, hitting Gary Neal a few times in a row, Gary Neal wants to save face and ends up hitting iron again and again, and was replaced by Popovich angrily.
For other positions, Zhang Xiaotian has no choice.
Fortunately, the main force came back, and the defense and offense were upgraded to a notch, chasing the backward score back.
In the second half, Duncan and David Lee blew each other up, and Parker also made a big splash, but the Warriors played a small lineup, and Carl Landry, who came off the bench, also completed several violent dunks.
The score was tangled, both sides reduced their rotation, and in the first half, Popovich still looked like he was going to practice, and at this time, the players were even tough.
The Spurs only led by 1 point in the third quarter, but at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Zhang Xiaotian and Ginobili teamed up to play a 12:2 small climax, which opened the score gap at once.
The Warriors' defensive system is in shambles, and now it is difficult for either Klay Thompson or Barnes to prevent Zhang Xiaotian from scoring.
But at this time, the Warriors' Curry and Jarrett Jack came into play, and the two made consecutive mid-range shots.
When Zhang Xiaotian went down to rest, the Warriors forced the score back.
Giving up some of the defense's powerful offensive power, the Warriors' shooting is unguardable.
Zhang Xiaotian and Ginobili played again, because in the first few minutes, there were some problems with the Spurs' offense, and Danny Green couldn't take the initiative to create offensive opportunities at all.
When Zhang Xiaotian came on the court, Curry won another free throw, and both free throws reversed the score.
At this time, both sides are one big and four small, and Zhang Xiaotian is still opposite Klay Thompson.
In the face of Zhang Xiaotian's rather savage defense, Klay Thompson was very speechless, but fortunately, Klay Thompson's jokes off the court were in a serious tone, and the two also omitted the trash talk and spoke directly with confrontation.
Klay Thompson's defensive footsteps are still good, but Zhang Xiaotian still hit three points after strongly pushing the opponent, and in the third position, the opponent's confrontation ability is obviously still a little lacking.
Plus the Warriors' only interior right now is David Lee, and as long as they get in, they're pretty much defenseless.
At 88:88, the two sides drew again, and the game came to the final moments.
The Warriors began making frequent personnel moves, using Jack and Landry on offense and Draymond Green and Barnes on defense.
The Spurs don't need to do this, Leonard and Zhang Xiaotian are both defensive, and Duncan is on the inside.
Heading into the final two minutes, the Warriors had only a chance from the outside.
After Curry missed a strong shot from the three-point line, Zhang Xiaotian took the rebound and launched a counterattack.
The speed of the Warriors' lineup is still quite fast, and after Zhang Xiaotian came to the opponent's half, someone was already blocking him, he paused for a moment, made the appearance of waiting for his teammates to play the position, and then suddenly accelerated again to kill it.
Barnes jumped high to block, Zhang Xiaotian pushed the ball back, Ginobili received the ball and started directly, David Lee couldn't keep up and pulled directly.
David Lee's hand was quite ruthless, and Ginobili was pulled directly to the ground.
However, Ginobili, an old fritter, is still quite good at protecting itself in the end.
It's just that the free throws still have some impact, just two free throws and one hit.
In the ensuing offense, Curry hit another two-pointer, which is the disadvantage of using Ginobili, who is now a little unable to keep up with the youngsters.
But with Danny Green, the offense isn't so assured, and Popovich still believes in the old buddy.
Parker's hand feeling in this game is average, and Zhang Xiaotian also has more opportunities on the court.
In the Spurs' attack, Zhang Xiaotian got the ball with his back.
Klay Thompson's strength wasn't bad, but Zhang Xiaotian was even better after using the skill amplification, he sat inside twice, and a standard turnaround jumper scored again.
Klay Thompson is also a little annoyed with his waist crossed, and his defense should be fine.
Neither team hit the next hit, and the game was already in the last tens of seconds.
The Warriors called a timeout and switched to the offensive lineup again.
The ball was in Curry's hands again, and after becoming the team's boss this season, the young shooter also showed the essence of a killer, and Parker did not dare to be careless.
The Spurs' defense was still reliable at key moments, and Curry didn't find a chance for a while.
At this time, the Spurs led by 1 point, and they were about to defend the ball, Curry suddenly burst in, he faced Leonard's help defense and passed the ball in the air, and Jack forced a three-point shot.
Jack's hand was so hot in the game that the Warriors took a two-point lead with just eight seconds left.
The Spurs called a timeout, and the opponent also took the opportunity to change the defensive lineup.
The Spurs' plan is to score two points quickly, and if they can't, they can find opportunities to score three.
The Warriors defended tightly from the moment they received the ball, and the Spurs took a safe approach, with Duncan coming out to catch the ball.
At this time, Zhang Xiaotian in the crowd received a pass from Duncan on a reverse run, and made a shooting move outside the three-point line.
Klay Thompson also reacted quickly, when Zhang Xiaotian received the ball, he had already rushed to the front of Zhang Xiaotian, and when he made a shooting move, not only Klay Thompson made a blocking move, but Draymond Green, who had been staring at Zhang Xiaotian, also jumped up and made the same action.
There is also a choice, Zhang Xiaotian didn't force it, he killed it as soon as he was short, and directly dunked, 93:93, the two sides tied again, and there were 4 seconds left.
However, the Warriors just called a timeout too much, and now there is no chance of a timeout.
Curry dribbled to the frontcourt and hurriedly shot a three-pointer, and the basketball smashed on the edge of the basket and missed the shot, and it went overtime.
In overtime, Parker started to play iron, but fortunately, Leonard fought for a rebound in the front court, handed it to Duncan, and the other party immediately chose to foul, and Duncan made two free throws to help the team take the lead.
But then Curry and Jack both soared, and Zhang Xiaotian was a little anxious.
Klay Thompson followed him to the death, and the Spurs' first few balls were all turned by Parker and Duncan, which didn't work at all at this time.
"Give me, give me!" Zhang Xiaotian shouted to start the ball.
Parker looked at him, his eyes were sharp, and the subtext was that your kid would naturally give him a chance when he ran out, do you want your kid to teach him how to play.
However, this time Parker still passed the ball, if Zhang Xiaotian didn't hit, the big guy would be angry, maybe there would be no second chance.
Zhang Xiaotian turned around and faced Klay Thompson, this ball, of course he will score.