Reborn in 96, I started by taking charge of the Dallas Mavericks.

Back to the game, the Warriors had possession of the ball.

Chris Mullin, taking advantage of his hot hand, received a pass from his teammate, took one step, and then stopped abruptly to shoot.

"Bang!"

The ball hit the front of the rim and missed!

The basketball bounced high; it was a long backboard.

Seeing this, Chris Mullin pushed off with both feet the moment he landed, rushing into the paint to grab the rebound.

However, the Mavericks protect the boards very well. They have a rebounding monster in the starting lineup, and a long-armed monster like Shawn Bradley on the bench.

The rebound was secured by Shawn Bradley, who then passed it to Nash.

After receiving the ball, Nash did not immediately launch a fast break. Instead, he dribbled slowly forward, signaling to everyone to stabilize the rhythm and play slowly.

The Mavericks have two standard tactics.

When the starting players are on the field, Chen Fang requires them to speed up the game as much as possible, play a defensive counter-attacking style, and highlight the characteristics of the run-and-gun tactics.

After entering the rotation, due to the limitations of the players' own conditions, Chen Fang required that the focus be on half-court offense, with pick-and-roll plays centered around Nash and Shawn Bradley.

Nash dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and waved for Shawn to come up and set a screen.

Faced with the pick-and-roll from the two players, the Warriors did not choose to switch players but instead opted to double-team Nash and defend Shawn.

Despite being caught in a pincer movement, Nash remained remarkably calm and composed.

Nash tossed the ball toward the basket, and Shawn caught it in mid-air and put it straight into the basket for an alley-oop.

"Beautiful pass, beautiful alley-oop!"

"Nash's passing skills are nothing like those of a rookie; he gives the impression of a passing master. The Mavericks have struck gold."

"Not only that, the Mavericks have also drafted a number of promising rookies this summer. It has to be said that the Mavericks have a very good eye for talent."

With the Mavericks scoring, the gap between the two teams widened further.

43:35

The Warriors are down by 8 points.

In the first quarter, the Warriors relied on Chris Mullin's explosive performance to keep the game close.

However, once both teams rotated their lineups, their strengths became clearly not on the same level, and the point difference naturally widened.

The Mavericks' bench strength is already among the worst in the league, but the Warriors' bench strength is even worse.

This is related to Warriors head coach Adelman's personnel management habits.

Adelman prefers to use an eight-man rotation, which leads to players expending a lot of energy on the field and greatly increasing the risk of injury.

On the other hand, Chen Fang frequently substituted players on the court, ensuring that all five players on the court had plenty of energy.

By the time the second quarter was halfway through and Kobe and several other key players returned, the Mavericks had already taken a 10-point lead over the Warriors.

Taking advantage of the Warriors' free throw opportunity, Chen Fang called a timeout and made a substitution.

On the Mavericks' bench, Chen Fang pointed to the big screen and addressed the crowd.

"With less than 4 minutes left in the first half, we are currently leading by 11 points."

"Kobe, I want you to take over the game for the next three minutes and secure the victory."

Kobe nodded: "Leave it to me!"

After the timeout, Kobe showed his killer instinct, leading the team on a 9-0 run with drives and shots, extending the lead to 20 points.

What made the Warriors even more desperate was that with 3 seconds left in the first half, Kobe Bryant actually sank a super long three-pointer from near the mid-court line.

Finally, the first half ended.

72:49

The Warriors were down by 23 points at halftime!

"The Mavericks' offensive bursts were just too strong; they took the game in one go."

"Who can argue with that? The two sides were evenly matched in the first quarter, but the game took a dramatic turn in the second quarter, and the Warriors were down by 21 points."

"Does Coach Zhang think the Warriors still have a chance in the second half?"

Zhang Weiping shook his head and said, "I think it's unlikely. Kobe hasn't really exerted himself in this game yet. He only scored 25 points by halftime, which is clearly not his usual level!"

During halftime, CCTV Sports Channel switched the broadcast back to the studio, where the two commentators gave their comments on the first half of the match and offered some personal thoughts on the second half.

To be honest, it wouldn't be scary if Kobe scored high points every game.

This would prove that the Mavericks only have Kobe as a scoring option.

If they can solve Kobe's problem, they might be able to beat the Mavericks.

Even if we can't completely contain Kobe, it doesn't matter.

After all, Kobe could win a game single-handedly, but he couldn't do that every game.

But if Kobe doesn't score high, and the Mavericks still manage to lead by more than 20 points, then things will be dangerous.

That's the current situation for the Warriors.

If you defend other players, Kobe can score easily; if you double-team Kobe, the others will step up and score.

It's a real dilemma.

……

The 15-minute halftime break ended quickly, and the second half continued.

Relying on the Mavericks' huge lead, Chen Fang did not field his strongest lineup right away, but continued with a lineup of 2 starters and 3 substitutes.

Ben Wallace, who had three fouls already, also came on at the start of the second half.

He picked up three fouls in the first quarter and sat on the bench for the entire second quarter; Ben Wallace was seething with anger.

With Ben Wallace on the court, the Mavericks' defensive intensity increased instantly, making things even worse for the Warriors, who were already struggling offensively.

Ben Wallace blocked last year's number one draft pick, Joe Smith, three times in a row, leaving Smith feeling utterly defeated.

After that, Joe Smith saw that Ben Wallace didn't dare to attack the paint and could only float outside to shoot.

After three quarters, the Warriors not only failed to seize the opportunity to close the gap, but instead fell further behind.

In the fourth quarter, Chen Fang only symbolically sent five key players onto the court for a brief period before immediately replacing them with five players in and five out.

At this point, the game was effectively over.

……

When the referee blew the final whistle to end the fourth quarter, the Warriors players breathed a sigh of relief.

It's finally over. This torment is finally over.

The score was set at 109-85, and the game ended with the Mavericks defeating the Warriors by 24 points.

In this game, Kobe played only 28 minutes, scoring 32 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals.

Other Mavericks players: Nash 15 points, 11 assists; Ben Wallace 18 points, 23 rebounds; Peja 16 points...

On the other hand, Chris Mullin of the Warriors went silent after scoring 12 points in the first quarter, ultimately finishing with only 18 points.

Sprewell racked up stats when Kobe wasn't on the court, scoring a team-high 20 points.

As for Joe Smith, he was completely outplayed by Ben Wallace, managing only a paltry 8 points and 7 rebounds.

After the game, Ben Wallace looked at Joe Smith's retreating figure and said disdainfully, "The number one draft pick is nothing special."

Hearing this, Chen Fang smiled slightly and affirmed to Da Ben, "He is indeed not as good as you."

Joe Smith only played well during his time with the Warriors; he didn't perform as well after leaving the Warriors.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, for leading the Mavericks to victory over the Warriors and achieving a two-game winning streak! You are rewarded with 100 points!]

As soon as the match ended, Chen Fang immediately heard a system notification in his mind.