Grab Curry at the start

Chapter 256
The Hornets' second home game, they definitely want to get back the score, but the Timberwolves also want to win the match point.

There are no unique moves in the playoffs, it depends on each player's performance.

"The strategy remains the same, what we have to do is focus." Zhang Sixin said.

It's not that he's cocky, it's the way it is, and as long as they stay focused, the Hornets can't turn the tables.

In this game, the two sides defended the opponent's core players more closely, and Jeremy Lin's start was not as amazing as before.

But Paul didn't score much either. Both teams need someone else to stand up on the offensive end.

The Hornets are Ariza again. Ariza, a 3D player, can sometimes surprise people. It is no wonder that the Rockets have tried to make him a core player.

It's a pity that he is an excellent role player. Sometimes he will explode, and he is still far from a star.

On the Timberwolves side, Matthews took the lead in playing.

In fact, it means that the defensive attention is not on him. This time the Hornets really showed their power on the defensive end, and it was the power of home court advantage.

Jeremy Lin, DeRozan and Love are all temporarily restricted, Milicic is not so easy to face Okafor, but when Ariza needs to focus on other aspects, Matthews has the opportunity to play.

Matthews is actually quite strong in this regard. He can now be said to be able to attack and defend, but he is not at the star level.

With the Timberwolves limiting several strong scoring points, the Hornets are still behind, so there is nothing to do.

However, the Hornets are still very tenacious. After Ariza was restricted by defense, Landry stood up again.

In fact, the Hornets are really a bit of a scene where all the people are soldiers.

The price is that Paul has been playing on top without rest, constantly making the ball for his teammates.

This can be regarded as a last stand, because the Hornets know very well that if the Timberwolves win the match point at their home court, they will not play this round of the series.

As for how much it will cost them to fight the Timberwolves, they can't think about it for the time being.

"The opponent has not lost their fighting spirit, everyone should pay attention." Zhang Sixin reminded the players.

Don't think that they are stable. If you are not careful, not only may the car overturn, but you may also be injured.

The Timberwolves tried their best to protect the players in the regular season so that everyone can go all out in the playoffs, but they did not experience any high-intensity and fast-paced games in the regular season. If the intensity of the playoffs is not paid attention to, problems may indeed occur.

Therefore, everything has advantages and disadvantages. Although the things the Timberwolves do have more benefits, there are also some areas that cannot be scrupled.

So when it comes to the playoffs, Zhang Sixin has to tell the players what to do at any time.

We can't let the team prepare for a season's combat power to have problems because of a moment of carelessness.

At the end of the first half, the Hornets did play better.

Paul caused DeRozan to foul, and then Okafor suppressed Milicic with one offense and one defense, helping the Hornets catch up with the score.

That's why Zhang Sixin kept reminding the players.

They are stronger than the Hornets, but unexpected things can happen on the court.

If the Hornets turn an accident into a victory, there will be some twists and turns in the series.

They may still be able to win the game in the end, but the goal of the Timberwolves is not to break through the first round of the playoffs. If they have too many entanglements with a defensive team like the Hornets and affect the subsequent games, the loss outweighs the gain.

The games that can be won must be won in one go, so as not to have long nights and dreams.

In the third quarter, Paul, who endured a little in the first half, began to attack.

The Hornets are also full of confidence. Although they didn't start well, the second quarter proved that their strategy was correct.

Paul broke out too early in the last game, and he failed in the second half. The Hornets had no choice. This time they really tried to let Paul save some energy in the first half. Although he was on the court, he did not attack.

Now as long as Paul attacks in the third quarter and helps the Hornets take the lead, even if the Timberwolves are stronger, there may not be enough time to counterattack. The Hornets are still very confident in their defense.

They are actually right to plan this way, and Paul did score some points in the third quarter.

It's just that both the Hornets and Paul overestimated themselves.

Paul can score some points by playing a superstar, but with these can help the team lead the Timberwolves, that is overthinking.

Paul played well in the third quarter, but the Hornets fell behind.

It's not that he is too bad, it's just that he lost to four hands with two fists. The Timberwolves' Jeremy Lin and DeRozan both played well, and Love guaranteed rebounds. The Hornets are really no match.

The Timberwolves' defense, even if it was replaced by Kobe, wouldn't dare to say that they would win with all their strength, let alone Paul.

In Paul's strict defense, his personal scoring is at most the All-Star level, which is a bit far from a superstar.

The Hornets are actually not much behind, and their defense did have an impact on the Timberwolves' offense.

The absence of Curry made the Timberwolves less able to make the final decision.

But even so, at the end of the quarter, the Hornets became the chasing party again.

Moreover, their defense didn't come without a price, Okafor fouled too much.

If Okafor goes down, the Hornets will not only have problems with their interior defense, but their overall defense will also decline.

Because it is difficult for them to withstand the impact of the Timberwolves' flanks, and the Timberwolves have several players, and rushing in is extremely lethal.

At this time, Paul also went all out. He not only scored and assisted, but also had the most rebounds in the Hornets. Although there was a strategy of the team, the Hornets did not care about rebounding in order to push Love off, but Paul was definitely able to play like this.

This also helped the Hornets bite the score, so the last quarter had more suspense than the previous game.

Halfway through the last quarter, the Hornets replaced Okafor, planning to make the final decisive battle.

However, Okafor was rushed by DeRozan when he came up.

This is not over yet. After Okafor didn't dare to make such a big defensive move, Landry fouled twice in a row and even committed six fouls.

The Hornets had no choice but to replace the slower-moving No. [-] Gray, and played the Twin Towers at the last moment.

They were a little confused by the Timberwolves' inside line at this time, and they didn't realize that such an inside line could not keep up with the Timberwolves' rhythm.

Next, Love gave the opponent a warning with a three-pointer.

Okafor was not fast, and Gray was even slower.

The Hornets also have Smith inside, but the two substitute insiders have almost no attack power.

But the Hornets still want to play micromanagement. They use Jack as a big and four small players when attacking, and use big men when defending.

It's just that at the last moment, Paul holding the ball on Jack didn't help much, and on the defensive end, using the twin towers still couldn't prevent it.

With Love and Milicic hitting successively, the Hornets ran out of time.

Paul made two [-]-pointers and missed.

The Timberwolves' match point is close at hand.

(End of this chapter)