One Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty-Two. The Beginning of the Fierce Battle

Every mistake could lead to the Warriors' irreparable consequences, but it is obviously impossible to avoid all mistakes.

But it is possible to avoid mistakes, so Steve Kerr called a timeout.

This does not mean that his decision not to call a timeout after Paul George scored a three-pointer was wrong. His decision was correct at the time to avoid disrupting Harden and Curry's excellent performance of helping Curry score 5 points in a row. This decision was correct.

It's just that the Grizzlies' ability to seize the opportunity of their Warriors' mistakes is stronger than their ability to seize the opportunity of the opponent's mistakes. Harden just didn't notice the shrinking of the defensive players on the other side of the baseline.

If it is the same situation, Paul George or Sun Ce breaks into the inside, and it is difficult for a strong defense like Draymond Green to seize such an opportunity.

But this is the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies have been in good shape since the beginning of this season and have maintained it until now. If the Warriors want to win, they can't have any fluke mentality.

Thinking of the offensive mistakes at the critical moment of the last game, and Sun Ce who missed the tip-in on the defensive end at the critical moment, Steve Kerr felt it was a pity. What a good opportunity in the last game, but if the same routine was used against the Grizzlies, with the Grizzlies' lineup, it is entirely possible that they have been prepared to deal with it.

Look, with the regular lineup rotation, when both sides performed well, the Warriors did not fall behind.

Tonight, the Warriors dare not lose and cannot lose! So if there is a problem, they have to adjust immediately.

…

Just as Steve Kerr thought, the Grizzlies were actually prepared for the Warriors to go all out, but the Warriors did not. The Warriors did rely on the play of the last game to affect the Grizzlies' preparations, because they had to have one more preparation goal.

But even if they predicted that the Warriors might not continue the play of the last game, the Grizzlies had to prepare, because it was just a possibility. Who can say it well in the real game?

Moreover, the Warriors played very well in the positional warfare tonight. Harden scored 7 points and 3 assists, Curry scored 5 points and 1 assist, and the Wave combination scored 12 points and 4 assists to help the Warriors get 19 points in the first half.

Thanks to Klay Thompson and Paul George, each with a three-pointer, the Grizzlies took the lead before the official timeout.

In this half of the game, Sun Ce focused on defense. Paul George and Aldridge played very well. Sun Ce called Curry twice. Most of the time,

the offense was supported by Paul George and Aldridge.

However, even if the defense was not good, it does not mean that Sun Ce did not play a role. It can only be said that the Grizzlies team's lineup went all out and did not defend well. If Sun Ce did not work hard and the whole team did not work hard on defense, the opponent might take off again.

The resilience shown by the Warriors in this round of the series is very outstanding.

It's just that Sun Ce and others are very confident. They all think they have to be better.

…

After the official timeout, the Warriors sent out a five-man lineup of Curry, Barbosa, Iguodala, Speights, and Draymond Green, and Harden took a rest first.

The Grizzlies sent out a combination of Livingston, Klay Thompson, Paul George, Larry Sanders, and Randolph, and Sun Ce took a rest first.

This game is likely to be a tug-of-war. Although the Warriors' head coach Steve Kerr knew that this was a game that must be won, he couldn't act in a hurry. Seeing that the opponent replaced Sun Ce to rest, he didn't rush to call a timeout to replace Harden.

This is different from the second game!

The Grizzlies were a little regretful. The tactic of luring the opponent to replace Harden failed. Originally, they planned to lure the opponent to replace Harden in advance, so that they could better consume the opponent's main force.

But the opponent didn't fall for it!

In this case, continue to use Klay Thompson to consume Curry, and look forward to this lineup to keep the score close.

But unexpectedly, Paul George is in great shape tonight!

Paul George, who didn't shoot well in the last game, had a hot hand tonight and hit another three-pointer in the second half of the first quarter! Not only that, Randolph also continued his excellent singles in the last game, and with Livingston, who can play for more than 10 minutes per game, the Grizzlies expanded their lead in the second half of the first quarter!

The Grizzlies used the fast speed of this lineup to try their best to suppress the rhythm of the Warriors. At the same time, they used the singles ability of Livingston, Paul George, and Randolph, plus Klay Thompson's catch-and-shoot three-pointer and Larry Sanders's ability to eat cakes, and played a wave of 14 to 10. At 10 minutes and 44 seconds in the first quarter, the Grizzlies led the Warriors by 16 points with 35 to 29!

This high score was not expected by the Grizzlies themselves, and it is possible to score 40+ in a single quarter!

But just when the Grizzlies were on the rise, Iguodala stepped up and hit a mid-range jumper, then stole Livingston's high-post pass to Larry Sanders who cut in, and passed it to Curry in the counterattack. Curry scored his fourth goal of the quarter and his second three-pointer, helping the Warriors to return a 5-0 wave!

As Paul George's buzzer-beating three-pointer from the Grizzlies was timed out, the hasty shot did not touch the frame, 35-34, the Grizzlies led by 1 point into the intermission.

The situation has changed suddenly! Sun Ce saw Klay Thompson scored 12 points in a single quarter, Randolph scored 4 points, Klay Thompson scored 6 points, plus Aldridge's 8 points before, these four people scored 30 points in a single quarter, and they all thought that they would break the opponent in the first quarter. As a result, Iguodala stood up, scored a goal, a steal and an assist, and the Warriors turned the situation around again!

If it wasn't for the intermission, they might have been hit by a wave of counterattacks from the opponent!

Iguodala opened the coffin!

This reminded Sun Ce of the sixth game of the first round of the series between the Warriors and the Thunder. Seeing that the Warriors were about to be eliminated, Iguodala stood up and scored 30 points to help the Warriors win the sixth game away from home, and then the Warriors returned to the home court to make persistent efforts, win another game, and win the seventh game.

Although the situation is not quite the same, for him, Sun, the situation is similar. If the Warriors win this game, it is really likely that they will play better in the next game, just like in the first round.

After losing three games to the Thunder in the first round, the Warriors won the sixth game. In the seventh game, they regained their confidence and played even better.

For Sun, there is only one more game left, otherwise, there will be no chance to upgrade the "Splash Power" to the maximum level this season!

Another thing is that the longer the series with a team like the Warriors, the more disadvantageous it is! Last season, the Grizzlies felt that this team was too dragging.

Taking advantage of the intermission, Sun Ce communicated with Paul George and Randolph about where the advantages of inside and outside lines were, and then prepared to play.

…

The combination of Sun Ce, Klay Thompson, Carter, Richard Jefferson, and Yi Jianlian was replaced.

On the Warriors side, Harden, Brandon Rush, Iguodala, Gerald Wallace, and Sullinger played.

A surge of offense is what the Grizzlies must do.

However, this time it was the Warriors' turn to change the rhythm first. It can be seen that when Iguodala opened the coffin lid, the Warriors' players' confidence soared! They played more freely, and even the coaching staff's adjustments were more organized.

The Warriors did not blindly hedge against the Grizzlies, but used the same strategy as the Grizzlies in the second half of the first quarter, using a small lineup to suppress the rhythm, and the Warriors' height was not at a disadvantage. Gerald Wallace and Salinger could defend Yi Jianlian.

Falling into a positional battle, it was nothing for Sun Ce. Without Thabit, he could play low-post singles easily, and high-post back-to-backs were also easy to play because there was no Draymond Green to help defend.

The two key goals were at 4 minutes and 11 seconds in the second quarter. Sun Ce hit a three-pointer against Brandon Rush's defense after a pick-and-roll, and then Klay Thompson received the ball and ignored Harden and hit a three-pointer directly, which withstood the fierce attack of the Warriors.

The fierce attack of the Warriors was played by Harden, who returned from a half-quarter break, with the assistance of Iguodala!

In a little over 4 minutes, Harden helped the Warriors score 14 points, 8 of which were scored by Harden alone, and Harden also passed a three-pointer back to Iguodala.

If the Splash Brothers on the Grizzlies had not successfully connected, the Warriors would have opened up the score!

Fortunately, the Splash Brothers successfully connected, giving Sun Ce the opportunity to help Carter and Yi Jianlian cut in and score, and the score was bitten to death. At the official timeout in the second quarter, the Warriors led the Grizzlies by 1 point 49 to 48!

To ​​describe Sun Ce's view of the Warriors' half-quarter game, it is - getting better!

On the Warriors side, after Iguodala played well, it seemed that everything got better. The score of 20 to 12 in half a quarter really caught the Grizzlies off guard.

After the official timeout, Klay Thompson played for one and a half quarters and went down to rest. Sun Ce, Carter, Paul George, Yi Jianlian, and Aldridge came on the court.

On the Warriors side, Curry, Harden, Iguodala, Speights, and Draymond Green came on the court. This lineup is basically the most aggressive lineup of the Warriors.

Moreover, the Warriors continued their previous state!

Fortunately, the Grizzlies also continued their good performance before the official timeout in the second quarter. Sun Ce, Carter, and Yi Jianlian had the highest offensive stability on the Grizzlies. Since Gerald Wallace and Salinger did not continue to play, Aldridge also had singles opportunities, but more often Aldridge followed up in the fast-paced offense to maintain threats.

In the last few minutes of the first half, the competition between the two teams can be described as a fierce battle. Both teams wanted to defend each other, and their movements gradually became bigger and bigger, and the confrontation became more and more rough!