"Alright, hurry up and rest." In the first quarter of the game between the two sides, except for the Spurs side after replacing Mario Elie with Sean Etellio, the rest of the starters of both teams did not rest for a minute, and all played a full 12 minutes. After Sean Etrio came on the field, Meng Xu went to the No. 2 position, defending Hardaway was much more tired than Marion, after Meng Xu got off the field, his legs stretched out and leaned on the chair, his eyes were closed, and he was panting heavily.

Marion is in excellent physical condition, although he can run and jump, but his technique is still a little rougher, and his ability to hold the ball is also poor, as long as Meng Xu presses and grabs, Marion will be a little at a loss. But Hardaway is different, although his body is not as good as before because of injuries, his skills and experience are still there, and Meng Xu is not the kind of defensive player with excellent physical fitness, and it is also a little difficult to defend Hardaway alone.

In the first quarter of the game, the Suns were also in a dilemma, they wanted to play fast but couldn't get up at all, and the team lacked the kind of players who could make a decisive decision in the positional battle. Although the current Suns are playing small-ball tactics, the scoring methods are still based on fast break and mid-range shooting. After the end of the first quarter, although both teams did not score much, the Suns actually trailed the Spurs by 9 points at 14-23.

Unlike the Spurs' bench, which was relaxed and happy, the Suns' side was a little gloomy, the players rested without saying a word, and Scott Skels and his assistant coach were racking their brains to figure out a way, obviously the current situation on the court was something he did not expect.

"Damn." The young and vigorous Marion threw the towel to the ground, after the coach arranged to start the game, Marion originally had the idea of being powerful, but who knew that after playing, he was disgraced by Meng Xu, and even the old guy Sean Etlio couldn't do it.

"Okay, we haven't lost yet, hurry up and rest, and in the next game, we have to catch up with each other." As a veteran player and the leader of this team, Hardaway knows that there are too many young players in the Suns, just like the magic team he once had, the weakness of young players is that they have great mood swings and are not good at playing against the wind. As soon as he thought of this, Hardaway was a little nostalgic for the days when he used to fight side by side with that big fat man, if the two hadn't parted ways back then, then they should have won the championship trophy a long time ago.

"Anferne, you are the main attacker in the next game, Robinson, you have to pull out a little bit, Sean, cover for Anfernee more, if we can't move back in the second quarter, this game will be finished." Scott Skells doesn't have much to do, after all, he is still a rookie, and this year is also the first time to coach a team, and his on-the-spot adaptability is far inferior to those old oils.

After 3 minutes of playing in the second game, Scott Skels called a timeout, replaced the main player, and after re-entering the court, Cliff DeRobinson often went to the inside line casually and ran around outside the 3-point line, making Duncan's defense not unguarded, and Hardaway dragged his traumatized body and desperately hit the Spurs' inside.

"Is this kid crazy?" When he saw Hardaway fall heavily to the ground under the attack of Meng Xu and Duncan, George Gewen in the commentary seat couldn't help shaking his head.

Hardaway passed the ball to Cliff D. Robinson, who ran out of space behind him, and Robinson hit a 3-pointer. As a power forward, Cliff has averaged four three-point attempts this season and shot 38 percent from the field.

"Aren't you hurting?" Meng Xu pulled up the grinning Hardaway and asked thoughtlessly.

"For dreams and beliefs." Although Hardaway's voice was small, it was still heard by Meng Xu.

In the second quarter, relying on Hardaway's individual play, the situation on the court was gradually reversed, but the Suns were never able to move the difference back to within 5 points.

After gradually adapting to Hardaway's way of playing, after the official timeout in the second quarter, Meng Xu also changed his defensive strategy against Hardaway, as long as Hardaway crossed the halfway, Meng Xu would stick it. Although Hardaway does not despise every player in his bones, it was not until this time that Hardaway realized why so many people appreciated Meng Xu's defense and supported him to be selected as the best defensive player of the season.

Meng Xu and Hardaway are similar in height, but Meng Xu has an advantage in arm span, and Meng Xu has a very good movement speed and reaction speed, and Hardaway's proud breakthrough cut is now completely unplayable. Even Hardaway wanted to use feints to get rid of Meng Xu, but without exception was recognized by Meng Xu, as the two were entangled for longer and longer, what surprised Hardaway was that he was nervous, you must know that except for Jordan, who faced his idol back then, Hardaway has never been nervous in front of any player.

"The sun is over." The situation on the court is clear, when the Suns can't play the basketball they are good at, and the team's current offensive core is somewhat limited, the outcome of this game is already predictable.

In this game, a group of outside shooters of the Suns did not play at the level they should have, and these players who are good at playing fast, after slowing down, they couldn't even shoot accurately, and several outside shooters of the Suns in this game, 3-point shots have only been 1 of 7 so far.

When the second quarter ended, the Suns had little chance, 38-54, relying on a small 8-0 surge in the final moments, the Spurs had led the Suns by as many as 16 points at the end of the second quarter.

In the end, to the cheers of the fans in the stadium, the Spurs defeated the Suns 91-83 at home, and the Spurs had the advantage in the best-of-five series.

It was originally a close game, but in the end it was a one-sided result, which was also unexpected by everyone. The Suns can't open up the situation on the offensive end, and the defense can't defend against the Spurs' twin towers, if they still can't find a way to crack the Spurs' defense in the next game, then the Suns' playoff journey is basically over.

Hardaway scored a game-high 36 points, in addition to eight assists and six rebounds, but also had four turnovers, basically all of which were made by Meng Xu's tight defense.

Due to the large lead, Meng Xu did not play at all in the fourth quarter, and he shot 0 in the whole game, and he did not score 1 point for the first time in Meng Xu's career, but Meng Xu grabbed an astonishing 14 rebounds in this game, including 5 rebounds in the front court alone.