Anthony Mason Jr. was scored a goal in front of Martial Arts as soon as he came on the field, and in the face of Martial Arts' ridicule, he also held his breath in his chest, but there was no way to relax for a while.

A black face with blue muscles jumping, lips trembling slightly, glaring angrily at Wu Dao.

"Calm down!"

"Push the rhythm down."

"Don't fight so fast!"

On the sidelines, Hornets head coach Dave Cowens still smelled something unusual, clapping his hands and shouting at the old Curry, who was advancing quickly with the ball in the middle of the court.

The pace of both sides in these rounds is very fast, although the Timberwolves are in the position, but the offensive ball is concentrated in the hands of the first-year rookie, and the first-year rookie often completes the shot in seconds whenever he gets the ball.

And until now, Dave Cowens has not seen any mistakes in Wudao, and this terrifying offensive efficiency makes him a little jealous.

Coach Dave Cowens wanted to let the team press the rhythm and prolong the transition between offense and defense, hoping to cool down the hot hand of Budo.

At the same time, stretching the offensive tempo would also allow Anthony Mason Jr. more time to influence the rookie.

For those teams with hot hands, it only takes a few switchbacks for the opponent to run with the rhythm of attack and defense empty-handed, which can have a good effect.

The more the head iron tries to disrupt the opponent's position with fast-paced offense and defense, the final result is often that his team is shot by the opponent.

In the middle of the court, Curry Sr., who heard the coach's prompts, also quickly adjusted his rhythm, and after crossing the halfway line with the ball, he slowly walked towards the top of the three-point line with the ball.

Marbury's position was inside the three-point line, the opponent pressed the rhythm, and he didn't take the initiative to grab it, just stood in place and waited for the opponent to get close to the three-point organization to attack.

Anthony Mason Jr., who was placed on the outside, also quickly changed positions after his teammates entered the frontcourt, trying to spare Budo and enter the interior line. In this regard, Wu Dao was only nearly half a meter away from the opponent, faintly stuck in the passing route from the outside to the inside, and did not make any big moves.

And when little Anthony approached the paint area, his steps changed, and he quickly ran back to Takemichi's side, and when Takeshi was about to pursue, he stopped directly, and used his back to resist Takemichi and reach out for the ball.

"It's time to get there!"

Seeing this scene, the old Curry on the outside quickly changed the rhythm of the dribble, and then raised his hand and threw the ball directly towards Anthony Mason Jr.

"Huh?!"

Seeing the old Curry's pass, Marbury let out a soft murmur, slightly turned his head sideways and glanced at Anthony Jr. who received the ball with his peripheral vision, and then noticed the old Curry who was moving quickly towards the side horns, and quickly stepped up to follow.

Anthony Mason Jr., who took the ball, glanced at the old Curry, who was quickly made up by Marbury, and directly glanced sideways at Wudao behind him with his peripheral vision.

After he received the ball, Wu Dao's chest was already attached to his body, one long arm was raised flat, the other was raised high, and the slightly empty place was leaning towards the side of the baseline.

"Come on!"

"Look at your offense!"

Martial Dao's words fell into the ears of little Anthony Mason, who heard this, directly blew the ball on the back and hit Martial Dao's body fiercely. The upper body of the martial arts was leaned over, and his left foot moved back, and he quickly staggered and stood firm.

Feeling the power behind him, Anthony Mason Jr. hit the back of the ball again, and then quickly turned around, the moment he turned around, Anthony Mason's thick left arm quickly stood up, and his elbow smashed towards Wu Dao's chest, and at the same time, the movement of his right hand did not pause at all, grabbed the ball with one hand, and sent the ball directly with a small hook hand.

Two back-to-back hits brought Anthony Jr. close to the paint, a position that was already in his range.

Anthony Jr.'s movements with both hands are carried out at the same time, and the movement of the elbow half-turn hook hand is hidden and smooth, worthy of a veteran who has been crawling and rolling in the NBA iron era for nearly ten years.

However, little Anthony who had a dark elbow only felt that his left arm was empty, and he didn't have the touch of hitting the opponent's chest at all. At the same time, in front of his eyes, a figure wearing the No. 2 jersey also rose directly from the ground, and slapped the basketball directly on the basketball when it just flew to the height of the rebound.

"Get out of the way?!"

"Jumping so high?"

With a loud "bang", the basketball that was slapped by Wu Dao smashed on the rebound, and when it rebounded, it was taken into the arms of Garnett, who was quick-eyed.

Cheers rang out in the arena of the Target Center.

Garnett, who got the ball, didn't look at Takeshi and Anthony Jr., who were opposite behind him, and threw the ball directly towards Marbury, who was fast attacking, and at the same time, Tom on the side also quickly followed.

"Good moves!"

"I don't think playing basketball is suitable for you, your strength to go to the construction site to split bricks should be good, and the trowel is saved."

Wu Dao, who slapped the top hat on the top board, said while "demonstrating" the other party's elbow just now, with a smile on his face.

After hearing this, the linesman of the bottom line also glanced at Anthony Mason Jr. silently.

Wu Dao's words were mocking little Anthony, but they were also reminding them of the referee.

If the ball had been played elsewhere, the referee over there might not have cared about the bickering between Takemichi and Anthony Jr. But the home stadium for this ball is the Target Center Arena, which is Minnesota.

The referee was also secretly concerned after hearing this, and was ready to pay more attention to this aspect of behavior in the following games.

Marbury and Tom, who went on a fast break, played two-on-two in the Hornets' frontcourt.

Marbury made a slow layup directly after quickly entering the opponent's paint area, and the strange rhythm change caught the old Curry who was trying his best to catch up in front of him by surprise, and was directly shaken and watched Marbury score a layup.

Little Anthony Mason stared at Wu Dao, his eyes were bloodshot, and this feeling of not being able to vent his anger made him a little crazy.

Soon, Curry Sr. received Glenn's serve and quickly dribbled the ball into the frontcourt, and Curry Sr.'s shouting also pulled Anthony Jr. back into the game.

"Watch the ball!"

"Let's block it!"

Curry Sr. shouted Anthony Mason Jr., but after holding the ball for a few seconds, he gave the ball to Glen Les, and then Anthony Jr., who was promoted to the position, quickly cut down and cut inside.

Glenn Rice, who received the ball from the outside, made a fumbled pass, quickly dropped the ball from Tom's right side, and then flew along the baseline into the Timberwolves' interior line.

Garnett and the two inside were attracted by the old Curry, and by the time they reacted, it was too late, and Glen Rice made a rebound and sent the ball to the basket along the baseline into the basket.

Between the alternation of offense and defense, Takemichi, who had not yet passed half the court, was already asking Marbury for the ball.

It's just that this time, for the unreasonable request of Wu Dao, Marbury did not accept it again, he quickly entered the front court with the ball, and quickly rushed forward with the ball after approaching the top of the arc, and after several consecutive changes of direction, he passed the old Curry, who couldn't keep up with the pace, and after attracting the opponent's bag, he passed the ball to Garnett, who was slightly away from the basket and vacant.

The latter took the ball, got up and down, and sent it into the net.

In the next few rounds, the Timberwolves began to play "reasonable", and the ball possession of Martial Arts was compressed, and there was almost no chance to shoot with the ball.

With the second quarter of the game, the difference between the two teams was unable to open up, and Coach Philip began to replace the bench lineup one after another at this time.

Guard Chris Kyle (196cm/94kg) replaced Marbury midway through the second quarter, Sam Mitchell replaced Tom at No. 3 and Stanley Roberts replaced Cheloki Parkes at No. 5.

As for Wu Dao and Garnett, they still stayed on the court.

Two outside ball-carriers were replaced, the new Chris Kyle was the No. 24 pick in the second round of '95, and often played with Martial Arts during the team's practice games, unlike Marbury, he was the younger brother who was captured by Martial Arts, although he entered the league earlier than Martial Arts, but he was a licking dog of Martial Arts, and was one of the most loyal supporters of Martial Arts among the Timberwolves.

As soon as he came up, the Timberwolves' ball possession shifted significantly, and the outside goal and basketball basically had to go through a lap in the hands of Wu Dao before it was possible to go out.

And this kind of rhythm is also the most comfortable rhythm of martial arts.

Anthony Mason Jr.'s defensive intensity has decreased compared to the first quarter, and it is clear that his physical strength cannot support his high-intensity pursuit of martial arts.

And after Chris Kyle comes up, he tends to obey Budo's will and give the ball to Budo before Budo is in the front court.

said that it was the No. 1 position, but in fact, he was the leg pendant of Martial Arts, helping Martial Arts to carry the ball from the backcourt into the front court, and then run to the empty space, waiting for the opportunity to pick up the leak.

Facing Wudao, who held the ball at half-time, Anthony Mason Jr. struggled defensively. When defending without the ball, it is not a big problem to have a larger range of movements, because the referee's attention is more on the player with the ball, and when defending without the ball, there is no need to slide at all.

But it's a different story when defending a ball carrier.

On the one hand, the referee is relatively close, and on the other hand, Anthony Mason Jr. must use sliding steps to be able to land with both feet and establish a defensive zone when the martial arts rush, otherwise there is a high chance of a blocking foul when the body collision occurs.

There is no so-called offensive blind spot at all within two meters of Wudao from the basket to the three-point line, and the physical consumption is huge, and the old and slow-paced Anthony Mason cannot play a defensive role at all in front of Wudao.

Either stand in place and watch the martial arts pull out, or be cleaned up by the martial arts after being lit up.

In the second half of the second quarter, Wu Dao or shot or shot, frequently scoring points on the head of Anton Mason Jr., and at the same time, he did not forget to assist Garnett with a few goals.

Because Anton Mason Jr. was trained by the martial arts military at this point, the No. 4 position of the Hornets needed to be supplemented from time to time, which also led to Garnett and Stanley Roberts grabbing rebounds to occupy a huge advantage, and Garnett was also completely liberated.

Wu Dao and his two main attackers, one inside and one outside, played an excellent effect.

On the other hand, on the Hornets' side, they have no advantage on the inside, and they can only rely on Glen Rice and Curry Sr. to maintain their firepower. But the two of them combined for a little more than 30% of their hits, there was no way to help the team turn their lives around.

And as the game progressed, Glen Les's physical consumption was also very huge, and the efficiency of mid-range shots and breakthrough impact decreased significantly.

And at the end of the second quarter, Anthony Mason Jr. reached out and pulled the sideways mid-range dry pull of Takemi, and while sending Takedo two free throws, he also accumulated his fifth foul.

With the two free throws, Wu Dao's personal score also came to 25 points, and on the other hand, Anthony Mason Jr., who was opposite him, scored 4 points, the number of fouls was almost full, and the number of rebounds was only a pitiful 2, and he also scored 4 turnovers.

At the end of the second quarter, the two teams played a 21-31 game.

The score of the two teams also came to 47:60, and the half-time difference reached 13 points.

Glenn Rice played two quarters in a row, and instead of closing the score, the team suffered a tragic Waterloo, which made him feel very bad.

But the game has reached this point, and the Hornets can't just give up.

Dave Cowens and Glen Rice discussed giving him a five-minute rest before going on the court for a final fight with the Timberwolves, and after getting the approval of the star of the house, Dave Cowens put Anthony Mason Jr. on the bench with five fouls and replaced him. Red.

In order to survive the offensive vacuum when Glen Rice was not on the field, coach Dave Cowens brought on the 33-year-old "Short Bandit" Margasy Boggs (160cm/62kg) as a substitute.

Let him go up, not so that Margosie Boggs can score, but let him take the place of Curry Sr. to string the team and assist at the same time. Red is going to influence the Timberwolves, a rookie who likes to hold the ball, and at the same time hopes to use the last bit of gas in his tank to contain the Timberwolves' interior defense with a sharp penetration.

In his prime, Boggs was able to average 10.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 10.1 assists, and 1.7 steals per game in the 93-94 season.

But now, Boggs is clearly old, and he is coming to the end of his career.

There was a slight personnel adjustment on the Hornets' side, while the Timberwolves' side remained unchanged.

At the beginning of the third quarter, Garnett and Takeshi led the Timberwolves bench lineup.

It didn't take long for Boggs to show off his unrivalled on-court senses, cleanly stealing rookie Chris Kyle, not to mention the ball-handling singles in the martial arts. Rhett also suddenly came out of the blind spot of Martial Arts' field of vision, and was so frightened that Martial Arts hurriedly closed the ball and forcibly pulled out his hand.

"Martial arts! You rookie, can you practice your damn mid-pitch again?! ”

"If you can't vote, forget it, you can at least hit an iron and let me brush the board!"

The basketball swept low in front of Garnett, who was stuck, and flew straight out of the bottom line, seeing that Wu Dao actually threw a three-no-stick, Garnett immediately couldn't help but scold angrily.

Martial Dao, who threw three non-sticks, was also embarrassed, but in the face of Garnett's angry scolding, Martial Arts retorted quietly: "I'm a pass for you!" ”

"If I were under this basket, it would be an empty dunk."

Garnett listened to Wu Dao's words, and for a while he also had some doubts about himself.

"Is it really a pass?"

Seeing Garnett start to be confused, Wu Dao also secretly laughed in his heart that this buddy was stupid. However, after returning to defense, Wu Dao was also a little interested in Boggs.

At the beginning of the third quarter, Boggs's activity did have some impact on the Timberwolves, and Wudao's offensive efficiency was greatly reduced after that three-point shot, and he began to hit iron continuously.

When the score difference was chased by the Hornets to 7 points, Martial Arts finally completed the adjustment after continuous iron fighting, and with a dry three-point shot from Martial Arts, the Timberwolves gradually stabilized their position.

Midway through the third quarter, Dave Cowens replaced Glenn Rice when the difference between the two teams reached 9 points, ready to make a last-ditch fight.

But unexpectedly, Glenn Rice had just come on the field, and Boggs encountered Garnett's reinforcement during a breakthrough, and Boggs, who tried to change sharply to pass him, twisted his ankle and fell directly to the ground.

With Boggs leaving, Glen Les was preparing to meet the Timberwolves' sharp rookie for a while, and Philip Saunders replaced Tom and Marbury for more than two quarters of martial arts to give the Hornets the final blow.

At the end of the third quarter, the difference between the two teams came to 15 points.

In the fourth quarter, Takeshi returned to the court and quickly expanded the difference to 20 points, and the Hornets replaced the main player and wrestled the gun. The Timberwolves didn't rush to kill them all, and replaced a group of main players off the court early, leaving only Tom to brush up on the data. No, solid victory.

93:117。

The Timberwolves scored 24 points to beat the Hornets, who were at the top of the Eastern Conference last season, and their first playoff win this season.

Wu Dao played 39 minutes and contributed 41 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks to the team.

The Hornets, who have lost two in a row, got another piece of bad news after the game, with Boggs suffering a sprained ankle and will miss the next week or two.

And the Timberwolves, who have won two consecutive victories, are also cheering on by Minnesota fans and are preparing to go to Portland to face the Trail Blazers away.

(End of chapter)