unfinished glory

Chapter 116 The second round of the playoffs
In a blink of an eye, on May 5, the Spurs went to an away game to challenge the Mavericks.

Duncan still came to Dallas with the team and appeared on the training ground. The local media in Dallas scolded the Spurs for being shameless and playing with false news.

When the game officially started, they shouted even more fiercely, because Duncan was wearing a suit and sitting on the bench, and it was obvious that he would not play.

The old and cunning Popovich put the Mavericks together and told Avery Johnson that you still have a lot to learn.

The Mavericks were indeed caught off guard in the opening game. The Spurs put Muhammad and Oberto in the paint, two black and hard players, hurting others first.Then shifted all the offensive focus to the outside line, relying on shooting to score.

The Spurs came prepared and frequently used pick-and-rolls and transpositions to hit shots, leading the Mavericks in scoring.

After the Mavericks passed the opening scoring drought, they gradually stabilized their position. After all, their scoring ability is also very strong, and the Spurs cannot lock it up.

After being double-teamed by Muhammad in the opening game, Nowitzki quickly regained his touch and made consecutive hits.

The Mavericks also quickly found a way to deal with the Spurs' lineup, taking advantage of the opponent's weak offensive ability inside and frantically double-teaming the Spurs' outside players.

Popovich didn't expect this lineup to suppress the Mavericks for the entire game. Seeing that the opponent reacted, he began to change his formation again, replacing Horry as a power forward, learning the Suns' small-ball tactics.

The Mavericks were an offensive team before, so of course they were not stage-frightened when it came to confrontation. The two sides came and went, and the game became a shooting contest.

Until the end of the third quarter, the two teams scored more than 90 points and shot more than 55%.

In the second half of the fourth quarter, when the outcome was decided, the Mavericks' advantage was revealed.

Their lineups are all in their prime, with a physical advantage.Moreover, the team's formation and tactics are a continuation of the regular season, and the tacit understanding between players is better.

On the other hand, the Spurs, except for Li Chongxiao and Parker who can withstand the physical strength, the physical strength of the other players is almost bottoming out.

The Spurs' lineup on the court didn't cooperate with many games in the regular season, and they rushed into battle, which was naturally full of loopholes.When the two sides are attacking each other, they can still rely on the high hit rate to maintain cover. When it comes to the real bayonet fight, the Mavericks seize the opportunity to counterattack again and again.

What's more, the Mavericks still have Nowitzki.

The playoffs are the stage for super giants. A team with a super giant means one more tactic that opponents know but can't defend against.

Maybe some teams can defend a super giant in one or two games, but they can't defend a series.There are many so-called superstars who dominate the regular season, but in the playoffs, they can't even play a masterpiece.

But Nowitzki is obviously not such a star. In the several playoff encounters between the bulls and the horses, he played well, and he once scored 42+18 on Duncan.

But the Spurs are superior, the Mavericks were eliminated three times, this year is their best chance for revenge.

In the first game, although Li Chongxiao scored 30 points, Nowitzki's performance of 36 points and 14 rebounds was even better, giving the Spurs a defeat.

……

Before the second game, the league announced the winner of the regular season MVP award for this game.

Nowitzki won this award for his outstanding personal and team performance.He averaged 26.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, leading the Mavericks to a league-leading record of 64 wins and 18 losses, the best record in Mavericks history.

In second place is Nash of the Suns. In the absence of Stoudemire and the departure of Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson, he still led the team to get the second place in the Western Conference.

The third place is "Little Emperor" James, with a comprehensive data of 31.4+7.0+6.6, plus the record of leading the team to fourth in the Eastern Conference.

The fourth place is Yao Ming, who led the team to the playoffs when another superstar of the team played on and off and the team suffered from constant injuries.

He scored 26.3 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in personal data, which is a huge improvement compared to last year, and he also won a considerable number of votes among the most improved players.

The fifth place is Kobe, with an average of 35.4 points per game, which has already explained everything.

Nowitzki, who won the MVP trophy before the game, was very excited. He maintained the good offensive momentum of the previous game and defeated the Spurs inside.

Popovich changed multiple defenders in a row, but he couldn't stop the new MVP from scoring.Li Chongxiao also defended for half a quarter, and Nowitzki was already prepared to use his height to beat him into several.

A single defense can't stop Nowitzki, and double-teaming will give the other players of the Mavericks a chance to shoot. The Spurs lost their second away game in a dilemma.

Although with Duncan's absence, the Spurs are prepared for the two-game losing streak in the away game, but when this result is in front of them, the whole team is still a little frustrated.

Even a strong-willed player like Li Chongxiao couldn't help being affected by his mentality.

He performed well in these two games, 30 in one game and 18 in the other, but when the team needed to chase points, he seemed a little helpless after being taken care of.

When the Mavericks double-teamed him, his shooting percentage dropped to 40%, and sometimes he couldn't even shoot.

But he couldn't solve this problem within a day or two, so he could only take out his small notebook and write it down in anticipation of the summer vacation.

Fortunately, the Spurs back at home ushered in a piece of good news, Duncan was able to come back in the third game, which gave the team a shot in the arm.

Everyone's fighting spirit has risen again, which is probably the role of a good team leader.

Sure enough, in the first game at home, the Spurs were revived.

Although Duncan failed to completely suppress Nowitzki on the defensive end, he did not lose the offensive end.

With the Spurs on the inside, the outside line is more open.The Mavericks didn't dare to double-team like they did in the previous two games. Li Chongxiao, Ginobili and Parker all took advantage of this shareholding style, and quickly suppressed their opponents by scoring high points.

The performance of the Mavericks was very tenacious, and they kept chasing the score, so that the Spurs could not relax, and the two sides entangled until the last moment.

The returning Duncan scored 36 points, overwhelming the audience and leading the Spurs back to a victory.

In the fourth game, the Mavericks took the lead and scored 11:0 in the opening game, which caught the Spurs, who are used to slow progress, by surprise.

Fortunately, Duncan helped the team stabilize their position. He scored 6 points in a row without widening the gap.

Li Chongxiao returned to playing at the rhythm he was used to. After being replaced, he scored two three-pointers in a row, further narrowing the point difference.

But he is not the best player today, Parker stood up today, his jumper and breakthrough is the team's key to victory.

Through the pick-and-roll, Parker got a lot of opportunities, most of which were grasped by him, scoring 33 points and 8 assists.

In the last 2 minutes, he made consecutive layups and finally killed the game.

After Duncan returned, the Spurs played well at home and achieved two consecutive victories, and the two sides returned to the same starting line.

(End of this chapter)