"Dirk, how is your stamina?"

In the pause after the end of the third quarter, on the Mavericks' bench, head coach Nelson Sr. was half-squatting in front of Dirk Nowitzki, asking about his physical condition, as the Mavericks' best performance today and the player with the most points, in the unfavorable situation of the team's backwardness, Nelson Sr. can only pin all his hopes on Dirk Nowitzki at the moment, and Dirk Nowitzki is also the only bargaining chip in his hand.

I have to say that Dirk Nowitzki's difficult step-back jumper today made the old Nelson feel bright, if the previous Nowitzki was a first-class power forward with all-round scoring means, then when Nowitzki showed this undefensible scoring method in today's game, Dirk Nowitzki is infinitely close to becoming a player with no offensive means.

At present, there are not many players in this league who have no solution on the offensive end, but every player who has the ability to solve the offense is a well-deserved superstar, O'Neal's basket, Duncan's low post and 45° board, and Meng Xu's all-round scoring ability. Although a player who has no solution on the offensive end does not mean that he cannot be defended, they can minimize the impact of high-intensity defense on themselves, and the only thing that can really stop them is their own touch and fouls.

Dirk Nowitzki was like that today, whether it was Jermaine O'Neal, James Posey, who defended Nowitzki in the previous games and worked very well, and Tyshawn Prince, one of the best wing defenders at the moment, they couldn't contain Nowitzki today. In the third quarter of the game, when Meng Xu leaped over Sean Bradley to complete the dunk, when almost all the players above and below the Mavericks were demoralized and in a sluggish state, it was Nowitzki who used one shot after another to hang a sigh of relief for the Mavericks, otherwise, after the end of the third quarter of the game, the Mavericks would probably have been able to surrender.

Therefore, in the case of an unfavorable situation on the court and a large score behind, the old Nelson planned not to let Nowitzki rest, let him continue to play in the first half of the fourth quarter, recover the score as soon as possible, and reverse the unfavorable situation on the court, but the old Nelson is also a little worried about Nowitzki's physical strength can still last the entire fourth quarter, after all, Nowitzki has played more than 30 minutes today, this is not 30 minutes in the regular season, it is no exaggeration to say that the intensity of the finals and the regular season is a heaven and an underground.

"Don, I don't have any problems, you can arrange it." Everyone knows that Nowitzki is the core of the Mavericks and the leader of the Mavericks, but only Nowitzki himself knows that with Michael Finley and Steve Nash on the left and right, it is simply unrealistic for Nowitzki to cover the sky with one hand on the Mavericks, and it is impossible to cover the sky under the command of Nelson Sr., coupled with personality reasons, Nowitzki does not think that the Mavericks are his team alone, in his cognition, He was willing to share leadership with Nash and Finley, but Nowitzki was discovering that sometimes he was on his own, and that seemed to be the case in this game.

"That's good, Dirk, you played really well in the previous game, I won't say anything else, Michael and Antoine they weren't in good shape today, so we're just going to rely on you now, you're going to play the full 12 minutes in the fourth quarter, remember, don't go to the basket and get tangled with them, try to save some stamina and break them down with your shots, like you did in the previous games."

Looking at the resolute angry Nowitzki, the old Nelson was a little relieved, Nowitzki is now his biggest reliance, as long as Nowitzki can continue to perform in the previous game, there will be a fight in today's game.

"Well, I understand." Nowitzki's state today is indeed very good, so good that Nowitzki himself is a little bit unconvinced, those movements that were barely able to do before, today are all at ease, and after the start of the game, the inspiration of the step-back jumper, also let Nowitzki discover a new world, that is a new world, a new world that he dreamed of, but has never been in contact with.

。。。。。。

"Erwin, do you think there is any hope for the Mavericks to turn around in today's game?" After the timeout, players on both sides began to appear one after another, but Michaels on the commentary bench was a little apprehensive at the moment, it was too "powerful" in the whistle in the first two games, so that Michaels had to start worrying about the Pacers, in case the league wanted to play seven games in this series, then the Pacers' current lead is estimated to be made up for soon.

"The seven-point gap and the whole quarter of the game, so it's not a scoreline that can be determined by life and death, but the situation on the court is clear, from the third quarter, the Pacers have a solid advantage, and if the Mavericks can't turn this decline around in the next few minutes, then the Mavericks are really dangerous in this game." The first half of the fourth quarter is undoubtedly a very critical few minutes, the Pacers side is a semi-main and semi-bench lineup led by Jermaine O'Neal, and on the Mavericks' side, the team's three core Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley and Steve Nash, also played, if in the first few minutes of the opening game, the Mavericks can play a wave of offensive climax to turn the situation on the court, then the suspense of this game is likely to last until the last minute, on the contrary, if the main force against the bench, The Pacers held the lead until the timeout, so when the Pacers' main force reappeared, the Mavericks were going to kneel.

"Jermaine O'Neal singled with the ball, very good foot movement, Danny Fortson didn't fight back at all, beautiful turnaround jumper, and the difference between the two sides has reached 9 points."

"Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash's blocking, Dirk Nowitzki, who went down, received Steve Nash's pass, Dirk Nowitzki singled Nn Hilario with the ball, half-turned and back-to-back jumper, beautiful! Nowitzki's recline is just too great, and with his height and reach, Nn Hilario can't do anything about him! “

"Kenny Anderson shook Steve Nash, Jermaine O'Neal received the ball and prepared to play single, the Mavericks started to wrap up Jermaine O'Neal, Nn Hilario was already empty, Jermaine O'Neal's pass, it was a pity, Nn Hilario's mid-range shot was a little shorter."

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the two sides fell into a white-hot state, but in the back and forth of the anxious game, the Mavericks ate away at the Pacers' lead little by little.

"Nowitzki, a step-back jumper, hit again, the difference between the two sides was only three points, and the Pacers called a timeout, and this kind of shooting was really desperate." Watching Dirk Nowitzki face NN Hilario again, Michaels on the sidelines looked at the expressionless NN Hilario with a sympathetic face, Dirk Nowitzki's shooting is very hurtful to the confidence of the defender, no matter how hard you try, you can't interfere with the opponent's shot, although Michaels has not played professionally, but he can also experience that kind of despair.

"Nowitzki's performance today was amazing, he scored more than 40 points in a single game, right? Jermaine O'Neal, James Posey, Tyshawn Prince, Nn Hilario, all four players are very good defenders, but they have always been helpless against Nowitzki today, and perhaps one day, Dirk Nowitzki can shake up the position of Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett. “

"Is it enough to shake Tim and Kevin's position?" Michaels still admires Dirk Nowitzki, but after hearing what Magic Johnson said about Nowitzki, Michaels still couldn't believe his ears for a while.

After entering the new century, the NBA league has successively launched four big forwards and four scoring back points, trying to use quantitative changes to cause qualitative changes, and use a group of stars to make up for the gap after Jordan's retirement, although they are the four big four, but the ranking between them has an obvious order, from the beginning of the four big forwards, Tim Duncan has been firmly in the first trade until now, and the ranking after it is constantly changing, but no matter how it changes, Dirk Nowitzki is the last, is recognized as the worst one, but now it is only one game, Magic Johnson asserts that Dirk Nowitzki will shake the position of Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan in the future, although Michael admires Nowitzki very much, but Magic Johnson's statement still makes Michaels a little difficult to accept. Needless to say, Tim Duncan is a fierce man who has established his position as the No. 1 forward in history after four seasons in the league, and Kevin Garnett is also very strong now, and has surpassed Ksri Webb in second place, Nowitzki is also performing well now, and he can surpass Chris Webber in a season or two at most, but shaking the status of the two guys in front of him, Michaels still can't believe it anyway.

"El, let's see!" Magic Johnson clearly saw his partner's doubts, but Magic Johnson did not try to convince him, but was ready to let the facts convince him. In the view of Magic Johnson, Nowitzki's performance today is not to eat dumplings for the New Year, and it is unlikely to be a flash in the pan, this kind of performance will become the norm in the future, his personal strength will soon be enough to be comparable to Kevin Garnett, and even Tim Duncan, with Mark Cuban's financial resources, the Mavericks will remain competitive for many years to come, as long as Nowitzki can stay healthy, rely on a little luck, and win one or two championships by the way, then Nowitzki's historical status will not be too low.

Just as Michaels and Magic Johnson were discussing Nowitzki, the timeout was over, and after the margin was forced to close to only three points, Rick Carlisle switched to all the main lineups in advance and prepared for an early showdown with the Mavericks.

At the same time that the Pacers called a timeout to replace the main lineup, the old Nelson also adjusted the Mavericks' lineup, but because Sean Bradley was in a trance and couldn't play after being blocked by Meng Xu first, the Mavericks' current lineup on the court is very strange, Antoine Walker and Antoine Jamison are the big forward and center respectively, and there is not even an orthodox interior line on the court.

"Bastard, I'm not them, it's not that easy to get rid of me and shoot." Because Antoine Jamison and Michael Finley are not good at defending Meng Xu, so after Antoine Walker comes on the field, the responsibility of defending Meng Xu naturally falls on Walker, and it is strange to say, Antoine Walker, who usually does not work hard at all in defense, plays very energetically every time he encounters Meng Xu, just like a kraft candy, if he can't prevent you, he will disgust you, which makes the calves wonder up and down, what is the deep hatred between Meng Xu and Antoine Walker, so that?

Because the Mavericks' defense of Meng Xu's players has to be selected from the forwards, coupled with the Mavericks' current strange lineup, the Mavericks' current defensive position is also a little chaotic, Antoine Jamison is standing alone under the basket, and the object he wants to defend Jermaine O'Neal is entangled with Dirk Nowitzki near the free throw line, Steve Nash is chasing Reggie Miller all over the court, and the remaining Michael Finley is still hesitating between defending James Posey and Tyshawn Prince.

Such a great opportunity, Meng Xu naturally couldn't let it go, so Meng Xu accelerated and ran a distance with Antoine Walker, and lowered the center of gravity of his body, suddenly changed direction, Antoine Walker, who was sticking to Meng Xu, was almost shaken to the ground, although through timely adjustment, Antoine Walker avoided the tragedy of being shaken to the ground by Meng Xu, but in the gap between Antoine Walker's adjustments, Meng Xu had already rushed to the basket, facing Antoine Jamison, who was about the same size as himself, Meng Xu staged a flying body buckle again.

"Meng, your attempt will not succeed." After high-fives with his teammates to celebrate, Meng Xu, who was retreating towards the backcourt, suddenly heard Dirk Nowitzki's voice in his ears.

Nowitzki knows very well that Meng Xu dunked Sean Bradley first and then Antoine Jamison, in fact, he was demonstrating and intimidating the Mavericks, trying to hit the Mavericks' fighting spirit in this way, but Sean Bradley can be knocked down, and Antoine Jamison can also be knocked down, but Nowitzki thinks that he will not be affected by a mere dunk on his fighting spirit, let alone be scared and knocked down.

"I hope so." With a smile, Meng Xu sped away from Nowitzki's side. The effect of this kind of intimidation, who uses it, in the history of the NBA, there are not many players who have lost their fighting spirit because of being ridden and dunked, and even retired in a hurry, and the effect of Meng Xu's dunks is still obvious, first of all, the Mavericks' main center Sean Bradley, after being flown by himself, he directly lost his fighting spirit and ended up in a daze, and his replacement Danny Fortson, Meng Xu can obviously see the fear in his eyes, this guy is very afraid of confronting himself, As for Antoine Jamison, who was blocked by Meng Xu just now, Meng Xu hadn't had time to pay attention to him yet.

"I'm not going to give up!" Looking at Meng Xu's figure retreating quickly, Nowitzki clenched his fists, "The game is only really starting now!" ”