Chapter 234: The Critical 24 Minutes
Many people wonder how this bite mark on Totoro's neck came from, from the shape of the mouth, this is definitely a girl, is it the blonde girl he brought last time?
However, this small detail was quickly overlooked, because the next game was the most important battle of Tianwang Mountain, and whoever won won the match point, even before the start of this round of the series, many people expected that this was a close battle between the dragon and tiger, but no one expected the two sides to be so anxious.
In the first quarter, Totoro showed his unparalleled offensive talent, emergency stop jump shots, dry three-point shots, backward shots, breakthrough layups, hook hand shots, small throws, Totoro almost used all the moves that can be used to score on a basketball court, the Spurs are helpless against such a crazy Totoro, the players in their lineup are old and young, Ginobili Finley Hori can't hold Totoro's body, Kurt Duncan Oberto can't keep up with Totoro's speed, Anyway, the Spurs took turns to defend all the players on the court in the first quarter, but no one had a good effect, Totoro scored 25 points on 9-of-10 shooting in the first quarter, and easily refreshed his playoff single-quarter scoring record at the same time, but also refreshed the single-quarter scoring record of his personal career, Totoro definitely shined in the first quarter, he is fully qualified to speak to the Spurs with his hands on his waist, who else?
However, despite Totoro's hot hand, the Rockets still didn't lead the Spurs by many points, and even trailed by 3 points, because the Spurs also had one person break out today.
Duncan is at least one of the top five power forwards in league history, but he didn't have any supergiant performances in this series, averaging 23 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks in four games, although this data is good, but it is not enough to offset the damage caused by Totoro's average of 28+9+6+3+3 in three games.
There are many people who say that the stone Buddha is old, Duncan once said to James in 05 that the future is his, and now it seems that it is time for him to exchange the era, but today, the stone Buddha uses the first section of 14+7 data to tell everyone that his time has not passed.
Since no defensive system can limit Totoro, today the Spurs will do the opposite, using offense instead of defense to speak, Duncan made Randolph 2 fouls in the first four minutes of the first quarter, although David Lee came off the bench did not foul, but the defensive end is also like air, Duncan is not enough to describe the idiom of giving and taking, which is simply handy.
In addition to Duncan, Ginobili and Parker also played normally, and on the Rockets' side, on the contrary, because Totoro strengthened his personal offense, everyone else's hand felt dropped, so it was reasonable to fall behind.
As soon as the second quarter came up, without waiting for the coach to tell anything, Totoro strengthened his tandem with his teammates, and today he has not rested for another minute, and it is estimated that he will play the rhythm of the first half again.
But Duncan, the cornerstone of the Spurs, did not end up, and Popovich seemed to be playing with his back to his face today, and this game did not reflect his profound rotation charm at all.
But think about it, if they lose this game, they will go fishing in the summer, and at this time, do they still have the energy to wait for next season?
Shi Fo returned to the light again in this section, as if time had turned back to himself 5 years ago, the offense was extremely resolute, and the defensive end was also very tough, Totoro was thrown to the floor by him in an almost pulled way when he made a layup, although Duncan paid a technical foul, but Totoro entered the restricted area significantly less often.
According to reason, Totoro is not the master who suffers losses and does not gnaw, but this time in the face of Duncan's malicious foul, Totoro really doesn't have much intention of retaliating against the other party, this is not because of respect for Duncan, but the state of the stone Buddha today is really a little wrong, the murderous look seems to eat himself, people often say that the contrast is cute, the stone Buddha is also in such a state today, usually looks honest, but once the fire starts, it makes those who usually adapt to his honest appearance a little unbearable.
However, today's Totoro has an excellent hand, even if he doesn't go inside, his mid-to-long-range shooting percentage is superb enough, and three consecutive three-pointers have refreshed his personal score to more than 40 points, and also helped the Rockets lead the Spurs by 7 points before the end of the second quarter.
When Totoro's three-point shooting rate catches up with Duncan's two-point shooting rate, the Spurs' scoring speed will definitely not catch up with the Rockets, which is why the Warriors can take the small-ball tactics by storm in the league in later generations, Curry Thompson Iguodala Green can shoot three points, and it is too frustrating to rain three points to increase the score.
"His three-point shot can't always be accurate, in the second half we will continue to work hard and continue to defend the penalty area, the victory will definitely be ours!"
At halftime, Popovich roared with his players in the away locker room, and the importance of the battle of Tianwang Mountain is self-evident, and whoever wins this game is equivalent to half a foot in the Western Conference finals.
"In the second half we continued to attack, everybody ran for me, every backcourt rebound and frontcourt rebound for me to fight, every pass for me to try to steal, you are a group of 20-something guys, and they are a group of 30-year-old men, since we are young, we have to use physical strength to exhaust them, keep going, the victory must be ours!"
Coincidentally, in the locker room of the Rockets, Adelman also began to roar with his previous gentle appearance, if the advantage of the Spurs is experience, then the advantage of the Rockets is young, and the game has reached the fifth game, the Spurs have encountered physical problems, and many veterans in the last game have gone to pump the water, and now they are almost to the point of exhaustion, if the Rockets overpower the Spurs, the Spurs will fall into the abyss, but on the other hand, if the Spurs survive, Then they will also turn over and push the Rockets off the cliff with a big boost in confidence, and the brave will win in a narrow meeting, and the next two quarters will be the most critical 24 minutes of this round of Western Conference semifinals.