One Thousand Two Hundred and Sixty-Three. All-Star Record Night!
Rose and James were unwilling to give in, and together with their teammates on the rotation field, they fought hard with the opponent's best coordinated and most efficient five-man team.
After Kobe and Sun Ce rested at halftime, they continued to play in the second half.
Curry was not used to death by Popovich, and Harden and Westbrook also got the opportunity to rotate. Duncan played more time in the second half, playing five or six minutes in each quarter. Randolph was about the same, and he also had the opportunity to rest. Aldridge, Griffin, and Nowitzki could make up for it on the offensive end.
With such a group of teammates, Sun Ce's role as a "glue" was brought to the extreme!
Although Popovich was determined to consume the main competitors, even Kobe and Sun Ce rested for 8 minutes in the second quarter. Popovich could not let them continue to play when the players were tired, so he also helped Sun Ce and Kobe allocate playing time...
To be a good head coach, it is not that simple. You must be prepared at all times and have alternative plans at any time.
When we say that the defense is good, we are talking about the kind of balls that should be defended. Most of them were defended, not that they can really defend the opponent. The score was 89 to 86 at halftime and 123 to 127 after three quarters. The score was still very high.
The biggest difference between stars and role players is the ability to seize opportunities.
Role players can grasp the ability to shoot in open positions and the opportunity to finish the ball in tactics, which is considered qualified, but for stars, this is just the basis; turning the situation that role players regard as non-opportunities into opportunities is a star.
After the start of the fourth quarter, Sun Ce and Kobe were under great pressure. They were overtaken by the opponent in the third quarter!
Wade, who came off the bench for the opponent, scored 18 points and 4 assists in the third quarter, helping the Eastern team to score 41 to 34.
This is an X factor. Wade made consecutive Eurostep layups and beat the Eastern team.
But the Western Conference also had an X factor!
Since they were going to fight, the Eastern team coach Spoelstra once again replaced the strongest combination of James, Webber, Rose and Garnett in the fourth quarter.
And Wade played so well in the third quarter, the Eastern team wanted to continue to expand its lead.
However, Harden, who played with Kobe and Sun Ce, played a key role on the defensive end!
Kobe was originally prepared to exert his strength on the defensive end. When he really had to defend, he was still very strong, but he didn't expect that his defense was well prepared at ordinary times.
Harden, who still needs to improve, did not need him to make too many contributions on the offensive end, and it was enough to pull away and pass the ball. He stole Wade twice on the defensive end!
With Aldridge's long two-pointer, Griffin made a dunk in an empty cut, and Sun Ce's assists increased to 20. With this wave of 4 to 0, the Western team tied the score!
These two goals are crucial!
When the Western team temporarily didn't know how to deal with Wade's explosive breakthrough, and Kobe and Sun Ce were ready to defend Wade alone, Harden stood up and saved the two from trouble.
Harden's outbreak was indeed unexpected. In the first half of the fourth quarter, whether it was defending Wade alone or switching to defend James, Bosh, and Garnett in the low post, he did a very good job.
Originally, the Eastern team thought that whoever met Harden would play, but Harden played a very efficient defensive performance!
On the offensive end, Aldridge and Griffin made contributions. At 8 minutes and 22 seconds in the fourth quarter, Sun Ce made a long pass to Kobe for a three-pointer. The Western team played for more than half a quarter and played very well!
After a wave of 27 to 17, the Western team led by 6 points with 150 to 144!
Sun Ce, 18 points, 5 rebounds, 23 assists, 4 steals, and 5 blocks... broke the All-Star Game single-game assist record held by Magic!
Sun Ce had 1 steal and 3 blocks, which were completed with Harden!
Seeing Harden's performance, Sun Ce understood the meaning of the word talent.
If Harden were to lead the team alone, he could go to Jingdezhen and play a game at the MVP level; with excellent teammates like Curry and David Lee, he could become the assist king; when he was not needed for scoring or passing, he could also explode on the defensive end!
Moreover, the Thunder hardly trained Harden, and Harden was trained by himself!
Irving racked his brains to get out of the spot, but Harden was replaced just because he was big enough to carry Wade, and he accomplished what Irving dreamed of doing.
Harden's several defenses made the Dallas fans and other fans who came to watch the game bright!
However, Harden was exhausted by such defense. He was almost always the one charging in front, and Sun Ce filled in the gaps.
There were more than 3 minutes left, and in the final moments, neither team wanted to give up.
The lineup of Sun Ce, Kobe, Curry, Duncan, and Randolph played again.
In the East, Wade couldn't play anymore, and the combination of Rose, Holiday, James, Bosh, and Garnett played.
The Eastern team was obviously unwilling to give up. Rose and James played pick-and-roll and made a layup, but then Curry received a three-pointer from Sun Ce and made a hit!
Sun Ce felt that getting assists was as easy as drinking water. He had only played for 36 minutes and had already made 24 assists!
Moreover, this time it triggered the "Splash Power"!
When it was the Eastern team's turn to attack, Garnett's open three-pointer in the bottom corner was ignored and missed. Sun Ce grabbed the rebound under Randolph's position and did not counterattack. However, in the transition period, relying on Duncan to block James, Sun Ce faced Garnett's switch defense and made a three-pointer!
156 to 146, with another group of "Splash Brothers" three-pointers, the West team expanded its lead to 10 points!
With 2 minutes and 33 seconds left, the West team locked in the victory!
…
Although the East team tried to counterattack at the end, Kobe, who was in good form tonight, plus Curry and Sun Ce, the West team firmly maintained its advantage.
In the end, with Harden's explosive defense in the fourth quarter, Curry and Sun Ce made two consecutive three-pointers, and the West team defeated the East team 164 to 155!
When fighting, I wanted to fight, but after losing, the East team didn't feel frustrated.
Facing the game, it is the instinct of the players to fight for victory with all their strength... The instinct of most players, these players who can become All-Stars, have this instinct.
But if you lose, you lose, it's just the All-Star Game. Now, the players are very curious, how should this year's MVP be issued?
Sun Ce scored 23 points, 26 assists, 6 rebounds, 5 blocks and 5 steals, breaking the All-Star Game single-game assist record held by Magic.
Kobe scored 44 points in a single game, breaking the All-Star single-game scoring record held by Wilt Chamberlain.
In addition to breaking the record, Sun Ce also got 5 times 5 data with the help of Duncan, Randolph, Harden and others.
5 times 5, this is the first time it has appeared in the All-Star Game!