unfinished glory

Chapter 85

The much-anticipated Western Conference Finals was held at the SBC Arena in San Antonio. Players from both sides were interviewed by reporters before the game.

The sports media are very interested in the keyword of conflicts. For several days in a row, they hyped up the three defensive players of the Spurs and the three best players of the Suns. Various commentary articles continued to conduct multi-angle analysis.

Then, based on the regular season data, playoff performance and so on, it is concluded that the Spurs and the Suns are on the [-]th of June.

On this issue, the reporters interviewed the players of the two teams and asked their opinions.

Duncan and Nash's replies are very official. The opponent is very good and difficult to deal with. They will work hard to play every game well.

Li Chongxiao said that what he has done is not enough, and his achievements largely depend on the team as a whole and the help of his teammates. At the same time, he said that the game against the Suns is a learning process.

Only Stoudemire is an honest boy. He thinks that he was selected for the second team as a matter of course and deserves his name.The loss to the Spurs in the regular season was because the team hadn't run in well. Now that their tactics have improved and they are more mature, they are confident that they can use offense to break through the Spurs' defensive line.

For the Spurs' three defensive players, Stoudemire believes that Li Chongxiao's second defense position belongs to Marion.Marion, as the defensive core of the Suns, does a good job of defending every night and puts a lot of pressure on the opposing players.

"It's just that the Suns are an offense-oriented team, which made Sean lose the impression points of the judges, and under the strong defensive system of the Spurs, Daye Lee took advantage of the loophole."

……

Perhaps Stoudemire encouraged Marion in the locker room. After the Suns successfully jumped the ball, Marion was very active in the Suns' first offensive round, facing Li Chongxiao's defensive breakthrough and layup.

In the second round, he stole Duncan's ball again, handed it to Nash to take it to the frontcourt, and then succeeded in an alley-oop dunk.

On the Spurs' side, Duncan once again played singles and stabilized their position. However, the Suns' offensive continued unabated. Nash, Stoudemire, Joe Johnson and others blossomed. They scored 18 points in the half quarter, leading the Spurs by 8 points. They turned away in San Antonio. .

The Spurs called a timeout first, and Popovich felt that the team's rhythm was brought up by the Suns, and he asked the players to play slower.

In the next half of the game, the Spurs tried their best to control the situation, intending to slow down the pace of the Suns, but the Suns obviously came prepared, taking their time on the defensive end and switching quickly on the offensive end. Interspersed, cast when there is an opportunity.

Relying on their excellent touch, the Suns' offense not only did not stagnate, but also slowly widened the point difference.

Li Chongxiao played 9 minutes in the first quarter and was replaced for a rest. In this quarter, he tried two shots, missed one, and paid for two fouls.

The referees in this game were stricter and whistled for some big defensive moves, and not only Li Chongxiao, but also Marion and Stoudemire each received a foul when defending Duncan. Today's overall The wind direction is to encourage offense.

In the second quarter, the Suns continued to hold high the banner of offense. Joe Johnson and Jim Jackson became the protagonists of the team. They completed an offense every 10 seconds on average, shot 6 consecutive three-pointers and hit 4 of them. .

Fortunately, the Spurs' substitute players did not give up much. Under the leadership of Parker, they played steadily, scored 11 points, and bit the score until the main players of both sides came on the field.

Li Chongxiao also opened up. After coming up, he hit a mid-range shot, and then he grabbed an offensive rebound and made a successful tip-up, which caused a foul by Stoudemire.

When he made a free throw, the sidelines hit a stat of 30-30, which is Li Chongxiao's free throw performance in the playoffs.

In the first two rounds of 9 games, he averaged 3.3 free throws per game and sent every free throw to the basket. He set an NBA record with 30 consecutive free throws.

Li Chongxiao still hit the ball, narrowing the point difference to 7 points.

After that, the two sides fell into a tug-of-war, and the two sides came and went. Until the end of the first half, the Spurs trailed by 8 points at home.

During the intermission, the head coaches of both sides adjusted their tactics slightly in the locker room according to the situation on the field.

The Spurs were not in a hurry to level the score, but instead focused on defense. Marion missed the basket twice in a row, and the rebound was also protected by Duncan.

Then Li Chongxiao faced Joe Johnson, suddenly started to break through to the inside, faced Stoudemire for a layup, and caused the opponent's third foul.

Stoudemire was forced to take a break after only playing for 2 minutes. Li Chongxiao made two free throws.

But the Spurs did not gain an advantage on the court. The Suns replaced Steven Hunter, who was nestled outside the three-point line on the offensive end and hit two consecutive three-pointers.

When the Spurs replaced Muhammad for defense, Nash took over the offensive firepower. He made consecutive shots and scored 7 points. The Suns played a 13:4 offensive climax.

After the Spurs called a timeout, the players came to their senses, and the offensive end recovered somewhat, slowly reducing the score.

At the end of the third quarter, the Suns replaced Stoudemire.

He was aggrieved off the court, and he almost swallowed Muhammad alive as soon as he came up. On the offensive end, he made a mid-range shot, broke through and hit the rebound, made a second attack, and lobbed a dunk.The defense also got consecutive rebounds and blocked Muhammad's shots twice.

One person led the Suns to a 10:0, widening the point difference to 19 points.

The anxious Popovich replaced Duncan with 32 seconds left in the third quarter and scored a goal to help the team stabilize the situation.

The Suns had 11 seconds to attack. Although Barbosa quickly dribbled the ball across the frontcourt, Duncan had already blocked Stoudemire's offensive line.

Stoudemire shook, seeing that Duncan was not fooled, so he had to give the ball to Marion who was outside the three-point line.

In this quarter, Marion was a little quiet, and he failed to make any achievements in several attacks. Li Chongxiao was a little slack, but this time the opponent seized the opportunity and made a lightning shot, widening the point difference to 20 points.

Li Chongxiao clapped his hands, feeling a little annoyed. Today, his state is mediocre, and his offensive efficiency is not high. Although he has already scored 11 points, his shooting percentage is only 40%.

The defensive end's attention was not as concentrated as in the previous round, otherwise, even if Marion could throw the ball, he would not be so calm.

Li Chongxiao, who returned to the bench to rest, tried to cheer himself up, but it was a bit futile. He is not the protagonist of those comics who can boil blood anytime and anywhere, so he can only ask Big Brother for help.

Li Chongxiao touched Duncan with his arm and asked him what he did in such a situation.

Duncan hugged Li Chongxiao and said: "It's very simple, stay focused, set a suitable small goal, such as getting 10 blocks, and then work hard to complete it."

Li Chongxiao gave him a sideways glance, and Duncan continued to smile, glanced at Popovich, and said in a low voice: "When attacking, don't play too well. You outside players, you can't become a superstar if you play the ball one by one. "

Li Chongxiao glanced at him suspiciously, Duncan wiped the smile off his face with his hands, and nodded solemnly.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Spurs, who were behind by a large score, had no choice but to play the entire main lineup.

In the first round, the Spurs gave the ball to Duncan, who was most confident. He used the standard inside player style of play, leaning on Marion, squeezed into the inside, and hit a small hook at the basket.

The Suns also have all the main players on the court. Stoudemire directly made a mid-range shot and also made a hit. The point difference was still 20 points.

In the second round, Li Chongxiao got the ball one step beyond the three-point line, and Stoudemire, who was defending him, stood on the three-point line and failed to keep up. Li Chongxiao thought about what Duncan said, and he didn't dribble the ball, so he directly made a three-pointer.

Popovich said "No, No" twice, and the ball went into the basket.

Li Chongxiao raised his right hand, stretched out his thumb, index finger and middle finger, making a three-point gesture, and the audience cheered loudly.

Back in defense, he took advantage of Nash's unpreparedness to grab the opponent's ball, one-stop dribbled beyond the three-point line for a jump shot, chased Nash and passed by, and watched the ball fall into the basket.

Li Chongxiao scored both of his unconventional goals, and Popovich smiled on the sidelines.

In less than half a minute, the opponent recovered 6 points. Nash quickly sent Marion to make a transition, and then led the frontcourt. It took more than 2 seconds.

Stoudemire wanted to sneak to the bottom line, but Duncan saw through. He simply ran out, took Duncan away, and then made a pick-and-roll for Marion.

Marion quickly dodged Duncan and went inside. Nash hit the ground. Marion received the ball and was about to dunk, but Ginobili cut him straight.

Ginobili evaded Marion's counterattack, gave the ball to Li Chongxiao who was coming to defend, and then rushed to the frontcourt with Parker.

After taking one step, the opponent's Quentin Richardson was delayed in front.At this time, Li Chongxiao looked at the situation in the frontcourt, his mind flashed, and he took a step to the right. Richardson bent over and slid over to stop him.

Then Li Chongxiao passed the ball behind the back, the ball flew past Richardson, crossed an arc, and then fell past Nash and fell into the hands of the fastest runner, Parker.

Parker has reached the three seconds, catches the ball and starts, and puts the ball into the basket.

(End of this chapter)