unfinished glory

Chapter 143

It took less than 15 minutes to go from leading by nearly 5 points to trailing by 10 points.

The Spurs players felt very bad, like being hit in the head with a stick.

Popovich was very angry, but could not vent his anger.In the third quarter of the game, the players followed his tactics completely on the court. Whether it was offense or defense, although there were some minor flaws, there were no major problems overall.

It can only be said that the offense of the Suns is too powerful. It is as easy to play against the Spurs, the league's No. [-] defense team, as easily as the team with the bottom No. [-] defense.

During the intermission, Popovich can only ask the players to be more patient, to be more active in defense, and to run more.Now he does not require everyone to completely prevent the Suns' offense, but at least it can reduce the opponent's offensive efficiency.

He is very satisfied with the team's several cooperations just now, thinking that the opportunity has come out, but he just missed.Next, the Spurs still have to stick to the style of play just now, but they must have the confidence to invest. They can't afford to waste opportunities and must play efficiently.

After playing, the Spurs' players became more active, and it did reduce the Suns' shooting percentage, allowing them to only make 4 of 9 shots in 3 minutes and score 7 points.

But their offense was just as bad, and the Suns also stepped up their defense, allowing the Spurs to fall to 8 of 1 shots, which was not a good offense.

Popovich called the first timeout of the fourth quarter, but there was nothing he could do.

Over the past few years, whenever the team encountered difficulties on the field, the first solution he thought of was to adjust tactics. At first, he could still think about playing stars, but now I am afraid that he has already forgotten the time when he relied on Duncan.

Seeing the coach's emphasis on "confidence" over and over again, Li Chongxiao felt a little headache. Up to this time, Popovich hadn't realized that no matter how perfect the tactics are, the ones who execute on the field are humans, not machines.

Machines will not have ups and downs, but people will.

The tactics of this game are correct, and the others just can't score. Why not add Duncan or play alone.

In the Spurs, Popovich's ideas are generally no one dares to go against.So the timeout ended, and after playing, the players still played two rounds according to the established tactics.

The Spurs still didn't score, and the point difference was opened by the Suns by two points.

Li Chongxiao didn't want to lose, so he put aside his worries and decided to do it alone.After the Spurs' offensive round, after halftime, he took the initiative to ask Parker for the ball.

When Raja Bell saw the ball in Li Chongxiao's hands, he didn't pay special attention, because Li Chongxiao did the ball transfer and transition many times in this Spurs game.

This time Li Chongxiao did not choose to pass the ball. He calmly observed the defender's positioning and defensive actions, and judged that the opponent did not fully focus on single defense.

Li Chongxiao dribbled the ball, pretending to wait for someone to pick and roll, and taking advantage of Raja Bell's distraction, he suddenly pulled up a three-pointer.

This goal made Popovich frown, but it helped the team pull the point difference within 10 points.

Immediately after the Suns' offensive round was defended, Li Chongxiao took the ball to face Raja Bell. The latter still thought that the ball just now was the Spurs' tactics, and did not realize the opponent's change.

Li Chongxiao used the same method to score another three-pointer. At this time, D'Antoni reacted and called a timeout immediately.

Not to mention the adjustment of the defensive layout of the Suns, Li Chongxiao felt a "thump" in his heart. It's okay for the game to continue. Once it is interrupted to recuperate, I'm afraid Popovich will curse again, and he may have to switch back to the original state.

But the situation that worried him did not happen. Popovich acted as if nothing happened, and emphasized defense as usual, and said to Li Chongxiao when he was about to play: "Beyond tactics, I will give you a certain degree of autonomy, but you don't want to reluctantly."

What Li Chongxiao was waiting for was the first part of this sentence. Facing Raja Bell, who was concentrating on defending him, and the Suns players who were faintly coming to double-team, he ignored the words "pass" written on Popovich's face on the sidelines. A word, take the ball and break into it.

In order to prevent his shot, Raja Bell stood a little forward, and he rushed over with one step.

Li Chongxiao ignored his opponent's pursuit from behind, and was not afraid of Marion's supplementary defense. After taking two steps inside, Li Chongxiao forcibly took off.

He twisted in the air, scored the ball, and drew a foul from Marion.

After scoring 2+1, the Spurs were only three points behind the Suns.

Seeing that the score was getting closer, the Suns players were a little impatient.

Nash passed the backcourt quickly, but the pass was too obvious, and Li Chongxiao hugged him.

After Nash's pass was broken, Li Chongxiao strode forward. Only Barbosa, who retreated in time, was in front of him, and the Suns and Spurs followed behind.

Just when everyone thought that he would either force a breakthrough for a layup, or wait for his teammates to come over and score the ball, he stopped outside the three-point line, raised his hand, and made another three-pointer.

Popovich yelled "No", but watched the ball go in, and said "Yes" unconsciously.

With Li Chongxiao's 34th point, the Spurs tied the score with more than four minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The great situation was reversed by the Spurs, and the Suns felt the pain of the Spurs being reversed in the third quarter.

D'Antoni had to call another timeout to cool down Li Chongxiao's touch and calm down the emotions of his team's players.

One person helped the team even out the 12-point difference, and Li Chongxiao received loud applause from the home fans during this timeout.

But he was not satisfied, but calmly told his teammates that the real decisive battle was next.

Popovich was very satisfied with Li Chongxiao's attitude. After the applause attracted the players' attention, he first said to Li Chongxiao, "When you play later, the Suns will definitely strengthen their defense against you. I want you to be prepared. Don't be reckless, pass the ball to your teammates."

He stared at Li Chongxiao until the other party nodded solemnly, and then said to Duncan in satisfaction: "The next few rounds are up to you, you have to take over the game on the field."

Then he asked other players to continue to maintain the current focus, maintain defensive strength, and try to give the ball to Duncan when they are not sure on the offensive end.

……

After the two sides played, the Suns really focused their defense on Li Chongxiao.As soon as he got the ball, two guys came to double-team him.

Li Chongxiao was not reckless either, he lobbed the ball to Duncan, then took away the defender and let Duncan single-handedly hit Marion.

"Stone Buddha" scored two goals in three rounds, helping the Spurs get 4 points.But the Suns showed no sign of weakness and also scored a three-pointer. The difference between the two teams was only 1 point.

Seeing that the game was about to reach a stalemate again, Li Chongxiao didn't care about it. If he left the victory until the end, the element of luck would increase. He felt that the Spurs couldn't afford to bet.

After the Spurs started to score inside, the Suns' defense opened a big hole.

Li Chongxiao used Duncan's pick-and-roll to make two mid-range shots and assisted Parker for one. The Suns had nothing to do with this simple tactic.They can only desperately find it on the offensive end, trying to gain a scoring advantage.

But at this point, the physical fitness of both sides is declining, and the shooting rate is not so high. After a few rounds, the Suns only scored one goal.

With only 28.9 seconds left in the game, they fell behind by 5 points. After missing a three-pointer, they chose a tactical foul.

Ginobili's two free throws basically extinguished their hope of victory, but the unbelieving Suns tried another three-pointer and gave Li Chongxiao two free throws.

The Suns returned disappointed with a 9-point deficit.

With the last two free throws, Li Chongxiao scored 40 points, creating a career high in the playoffs.

(End of this chapter)