Grab Curry at the start

Chapter 213 Second Half

"The hit rate is a bit low, but it's acceptable..." Zhang Sixin stared at the court and said.

The third quarter was actually kind of ugly, more defensive, more physical.

But this is for a layman. Zhang Sixin likes this kind of game very much. Basketball is not only about scoring. He thinks the contest of confrontation and defense is also very interesting.

As a head coach, he doesn't care about how many points he scores, he only pays attention to the score difference between the two sides.

"Our physical strength is better than the Spurs, I don't know what tricks they will have." Zhang Sixin laughed.

In fact, the Spurs don't have any special tricks. Ginobili plays singles with the ball, Duncan plays singles with the ball, and then expect the two to attract defensive attention, and role players can echo blood on three-pointers.

It's a pity that the Timberwolves saw through, and the Spurs' role players couldn't even think about performing in the second half.

Everyone can only rely on the core players to fight head-to-head.

Compared with the Spurs, the Timberwolves still have more choices. After all, the Spurs' GDP and Parker have been abolished.

Parker is younger than the other two core players of the Spurs. In fact, since this season, he has been the strongest point of the Spurs' offensive end.

It's a pity that Parker's mentality has collapsed after being given a three-pointer by the Timberwolves, and he feels uncomfortable when facing the Timberwolves.

He also struggled, but his three-point shooting percentage was really low. He also rushed to the basket and was blocked by Milicic a few times.

Relatively speaking, he really doesn't have Ginobili's mentality.

Ginobili has also been blocked, but he doesn't care about it. Even if his shooting percentage is not good, no matter how bad he is, he will always have amazing performances, but Parker can't.

Somewhat similar to the last game, after the defensive intensity was increased in the second half, the rotation players of both teams performed averagely.

Throughout the rotation time, the court seemed a little dull.

I had this feeling in the third quarter, and I didn't expect that the substitute would not score even more.

This kind of defensive battle will become less and less in the future.

The Spurs seldom did this this season. It was only because the Timberwolves were too strong that they showed the ability to press the bottom of the box.

In a tangled situation, some young players may not be able to stabilize.

But the Timberwolves basically do not have a similar situation. With the help of plug-ins, the Timberwolves can maintain a relatively stable level throughout the game.

Of course, there are also shooting problems, but there will be no confusion and low-level mistakes.

"How will the Spurs play in the last quarter, or will they defend?" Zhang Sixin thought.

At the end of the quarter, the Timberwolves must focus on the outside line on the offensive end. Unless the Spurs are defensively stretching their hips, it will be more difficult to score inside than before.

The inside line is always easier to restrict than the outside line, not to mention the type that Love is not very good at attacking.

But as long as the Timberwolves ensure good inside defense and rebounding, it will be of great help to the team.

Now the Timberwolves are still a little behind, and the fourth quarter will be very important.

At the end of the final quarter, the Spurs did not continue to let Ginobili hold the ball, but resumed their most used offense, that is, Parker and Duncan pick-and-roll.

They are still the leading side, and it's okay if they don't shoot three-pointers.

With Duncan helping to cover, Parker's mid-range feel is still a little more stable than Ginobili.

The Spurs coach Popovich was also afraid that Ginobili would mess up. They didn't need a fairy ball when they were leading, so they chose a conservative tactic.

Both sides were not so anxious to replace the main players in the final quarter. After the core players played one after another, they failed to score for more than a minute. In the end, the old man Duncan took the lead to score two points.

But then Curry made a hit, and the game time entered the last half of the quarter.

At this point in the game, the Spurs fell into a scoring drought again.

If Duncan can't show his power, they are really not so used to it.

When the game time passed the last 4 minutes, Matthews hit a three-pointer, and the Timberwolves caught up with the score.

The Spurs were also stimulated fiercely, and Parker finally hit a mid-range shot.

But then the Timberwolves cooperated exquisitely again, and Love made a high assist to DeRozan and made a hit.

The atmosphere in the stadium is getting more and more tense. If the Spurs lose to the Timberwolves in a row, even if the Spurs keep the first place in the Western Conference, their mentality will not be so relaxed.

At the critical moment, it was still Duncan who pulled out and made a shot.

Veterans are sometimes more stable.

But Duncan is still a bit old after all, and he was killed by Love when he came back.

Fortunately, there were no players who fouled too much in this game, and fouls there will not be a big problem at this time.

Both sides will score if they want to score, or they will not score if they want to score. The time soon came to the last 2 minutes.

"Stay focused, we are in better shape than the other side now." Zhang Sixin encouraged the players.

He is not talking nonsense, the Timberwolves, who played at home and were younger, were in better condition in the second half, otherwise they would not be able to catch up with the game.

The Spurs' offense started again with a duo of Parker and Duncan, but this time neither of them found a chance to make a shot. After the ball fell, Parker passed the ball to Jefferson in the bottom corner.

Jefferson picked up Matthews with a feint, and then walked inside.

He didn't hit the basket directly, and Milicic's deterrence is still great.

Jefferson dribbled the ball in two steps and pulled up a jumper. Unfortunately, he didn't expect Matthews' athletic ability.

Matthews was injured in the back in history, but his athletic ability was still good when he first entered the league.

When Jefferson pulled it up, he had already rushed over from the side. Jefferson didn't notice it, and directly capped Matthews.

The Spurs retreated quickly, and the Timberwolves did not find a fast break time.

But after a slowdown, Curry pulled it up directly under the cover.

With a direct hit, the Timberwolves finally overtook the score.

The Spurs players were a little confused, and Curry's three-pointer was still one step away from the three-point line.

Although Curry often has similar performances, opponents are still not used to it.

Dare to take such a casual three-point shot at a critical moment, it's not that there is no time.

Curry's basketball does not conform to the previous team's understanding of the No. [-] position. Someone who played like this in the past would definitely be scolded to death by the head coach.

The main reason is that Zhang Sixin is very clear, because no one is as accurate as Curry.

The next offense of the Spurs was in stark contrast to the Timberwolves. They just didn't dare to shoot at will.

In the end, Parker was forced to have no choice but to make a shot from the three-point line.

But the ball missed again, and Parker's psychological shadow against the Timberwolves deepened step by step.

It was the last moment, and the Timberwolves still gave him a three-pointer, but he just couldn't make it.

At this time, the Timberwolves have begun to slow down their offensive rhythm.

Their offensive round, after two pick-and-roll cooperation, Curry attracted the attention of the defense and sent the ball to Matthews.

Matthews handled the ball similarly to Jefferson before, but he hit the ball.

It can only be said that physical fitness is really too important for players, and Jefferson, who used to fly into the sky and escape from the ground, is a thing of the past.

(End of this chapter)