Chapter 1020 1019. Hunter and Prey
Liu Mang was like a lingering devil, always keeping close to the score. Whenever Wade exploded and tried to widen the gap, Liu Mang would come back immediately.
Usually, Liu Mang didn't need to hold the ball so many times because of the growth of his teammates, but today when he needed to hold the ball, he still performed well!
During the halftime break, the head coaches of both teams arranged not defense, but offense.
The defense of both teams was good enough, even the defense of the Hawks against Wade or O'Neal, and the defense of the Heat against Liu Mang, they were all good enough.
O'Neal played normally, mainly catching the Hawks' main defense against Wade, playing against Rasheed Wallace to score points.
Liu Mang and Wade were both out of control. Wade scored 22 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists in the first half, and Liu Mang scored 19 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists in the first half. Many superstar shots, that is, fairy shots, the kind that no one dared to shoot.
But both of them made shots.
The two teams played very differently. O'Neal scored 17 points in the first half, and Wade scored 22 points in the first half. Of the Heat's 49 points, 39 were scored by the two.
The Hawks scored much more evenly. Liu Mang scored 19 points, Jason Terry and McGrady scored 6 points each, Josh Smith and Kwame Brown scored 5 points each, and Rasheed Wallace and Iguodala also scored.
The Hawks played so steadily, holding on to the score, and not losing their composure. The reason is that they have more people!
Both teams played very well on defense. If it weren't for Liu Mang and Wade's various magical shots, the scores of the two teams would have been even lower.
So the head coaches of both teams are trying to improve their efficiency on the offensive end.
After the halftime break, the Hawks once again brought up the duo of Liu Mang and Jason Terry, and no longer needed Prince or McGrady to defend Wade, and tried to use Iguodala.
In the interior, Josh Smith and Kwame Brown played. Except for Liu Mang and Jason Terry's three-pointers, no one else could be counted on. Korver made 0 of 4 shots. The opponent defended the three-pointer very well. Except for Liu Mang and Jason Terry, the others shot badly.
On the Heat side, Payton and Wade, Derek Anderson, Haslem, and Mark Jackson played.
…
Liu Mang wiped some magnesium powder, and the two sides changed courts. Liu Mang came to the half court that was just the front court and waited for the Heat to serve the ball.
Looking at the opponent's lineup, it is known that the opponent still wants to be stable to take advantage of Wade's outstanding performance today. Wade plays alone and five people defend.
Liu Mang himself wants to speed up, so he sent three physical fitness men to the front court. Liu Mang and Jason Terry are fast and mobile.
The referee blew the whistle to start the third quarter and gave the ball to Payton, who passed the ball to Wade.
Iguodala started from the midline and followed Wade, actively looking for physical confrontation. Wade was very familiar with Iguodala. The two were in the same company, and the two teams had a good personal relationship. The two had a lot of communication. He did not look down on this sophomore. He protected the ball well. When he came to the top arc, he did not come by himself, but waited for Payton to get the position.
Contrary to Liu Mang's expectations, he defended Payton, and Payton sat in the low post on the right to get the ball!
Haslem opened up space on the left side of the free throw line, Derek Anderson took Jason Terry away in the right corner, and Mark Jackson was outside the left side of the three-second zone to rush for an offensive rebound.
It was really unexpected to see Payton fall to the low post. Liu Mang actively pushed up, and Payton had a solid body and blocked Liu Mang.
Wade passed the ball to Payton, and Payton turned around and made a close-range jump shot in the low post!
Pat Riley's thoughts are really hard to figure out!
This move suddenly came, letting Payton take the lead!
At this time three years ago, Payton was still the top scorer of the Supersonics and the Bucks. Occasionally, he really worked wonders!
51 to 47, the Heat scored the first to break 50.
The power amplifier switched, the Hawks attacked, Jason Terry pushed through half court, saw that Wade was defending him, and immediately passed the ball to Liu Mang.
Liu Mang singled out Payton, and just as Payton was about to stick to him, Liu Mang immediately chose to break through, without the need for space to trigger the strongest first step, and directly accelerated to get rid of it.
Payton's footsteps really couldn't keep up, Liu Mang rushed to the inside, Haslem's double-team came immediately, Liu Mang kicked his feet on the ground before Haslem blocked him in front of him, grabbed the ball and flew towards the basket, Haslem immediately hugged Liu Mang, and slapped Liu Mang's hand with his other hand.
The referee whistled, Haslem's shooting foul!
At the beginning of the third quarter, the score difference reached 4 points, and it seemed that it was about to be widened again.
But Liu Mang stood up again at this time and fought for two free throws.
Iguodala's three-pointer was unstable, Jason Terry was entangled by Wade, and Liu Mang chose to do it himself. When Payton couldn't stick to him, the Heat could only foul.
Liu Mang continued to use his stability that made the opponent feel that his scalp was about to explode to get two free throws, both of which were made, and his personal score increased to 21 points.
It was still a two-point difference.
The Heat attacked, and Wade continued to pass the ball to Payton for a single.
Payton's low post is still impeccable. When he is in good condition, he has the style of his youth, and this kind of veteran is often very stable. After scoring one, the state may come.
When retreating just now, Liu Mang had communicated with his teammates. As soon as Payton received the ball, Iguodala let go of Wade and double-teamed Payton in the low post with Liu Mang.
Kwame Brown received the ball to prevent Wade from cutting. If Kwame Brown double-teamed Payton at this angle, he would have a chance to pass to Mark Jackson, but Kwame Brown was guarding the arc of the reasonable collision zone under the basket, so it was difficult for Payton to pass.
Wade broke through with the ball, and it was difficult for Kwame Brown to block him under the basket, but if it was a frontal catch attack, Kwame Brown could defend well under the basket.
However, Payton and Wade of the Heat were not stupid. When Iguodala double-teamed Wade, he cut in from the middle, saw Kwame Brown occupy a favorable position, stopped, and ran to the left to block Josh Smith. Haslem and Wade had a tacit understanding. When he saw Wade cutting, he started running to help Wade open up space. When he saw Wade blocking him, he immediately took advantage of Wade's pick-and-roll to run one step outside the free throw line. Payton passed the ball to Haslem immediately.
Wade first used the threat brought by his own cut, and then went to pick-and-roll Haslem, allowing Haslem to complete the mid-range shot after the pick-and-roll!
However, the Hawks' defense shrank and expanded very quickly. When Haslem made a jump shot, Iguodala rushed over with his arms waving. In fact, he was still a long distance away, but it looked too scary. Haslem couldn't help but lean back a little bit. It was a good mid-range opportunity, but unfortunately it didn't go in.
This is the difference between role players and stars. Of course, it's not because of this that the defensive strategy of defending strong teams is ineffective. It's to take advantage of the fact that role players are not as stable as stars and conduct selective double-team defense.
If role players have the ability to make stable and continuous shots, they are not role players.
Kwame Brown blocked Mark Jackson, and Liu Mang easily received the defensive rebound.
When the Hawks attacked, Wade didn't dare to defend Liu Mang and went to single out Payton. Posey's physical fitness was average and he could only play more than 20 minutes a game, otherwise the defensive efficiency would be significantly reduced. Pat Riley asked him to rest more and play in the critical moment.
After Liu Mang arrived at the frontcourt, Wade defended him, and Liu Mang immediately passed the ball to Jason Terry.
Payton looked at the offensive choices of Liu Mang and Jason Terry, feeling a little sad.
He actually became a "soft persimmon"!
But compared with Wade, Payton is really a soft persimmon now. He can't defend against breakthroughs or shots. Jason Terry's shooting ability makes Payton afraid. Payton still chooses to stick to defend three-pointers. Last season, Jason Terry played against the Heat, and his three-pointer was more accurate than his two-pointer.
Jason Terry took the opportunity to break through to the mid-range, and shot a long two-point jump shot...
It didn't go in, the ball hit the basket, and Haslem grabbed the defensive rebound.
The score continued to be close, and it was not easy for both teams to score. They could only rely on singles and singles.
The Hawks kept their composure and slowly grinded with the Heat. Liu Mang was defended to death, and others had some opportunities. Even if Wade continued to explode today, the Hawks did not let the score difference be pulled away by the opponent.
By the middle of the third quarter, the Hawks were only 3 points behind, 59 to 62.
In this half quarter, the Hawks mainly relied on Jason Terry to support, and the others did not have much chance.
After the official timeout, the Heat replaced O'Neal with Posey, Antoine Walker, and Jason Williams, preparing to rush in the second half of the third quarter.
The Hawks directly replaced Liu Mang, Jason Terry, and McGrady, and replaced Josh Smith and Rasheed Wallace in the interior. Coach Kruger also had the same mentality.
The two teams quickly played unrestrained. In the first half of the third quarter, the Hawks only scored 11 points and the Heat only scored 12 points.
But in the last six minutes of the third quarter, the Hawks scored 17 points and the Heat scored 16 points.
At the end of the third quarter, the Hawks were 76 to 78, still only two points behind!
…
During the intermission, Liu Mang kept drinking Gatorade. He scored 33 points in three quarters, and 14 points in the third quarter. Whenever the score difference was about to be widened, Liu Mang rushed to the basket with the ball like holding a bomb, forcing the opponent to foul. If the opponent did not foul, he would find a way to make the opponent foul.
Among the 14 points, in addition to a three-pointer and a layup, there was also a mid-range shot, and the other 7 points were free throws. Haslem and Antoine Walker took the initiative to foul in order to avoid O'Neal from committing too many fouls.
Liu Mang only played three quarters today, and he had already made 13 of 14 free throws! 8 of 17 shots, 4 of 10 three-pointers, a total of 33 points.
Wade also scored 30 points in three quarters. Payton helped Wade take some responsibilities. Wade played more easily in the third quarter. Payton was in good condition today and had enough energy to help Wade organize the offense for a few minutes. Payton was tired, and O'Neal came up again. Wade scored 8 points in the third quarter, which was barely a break.
Wade made 11 of 21 shots in the three quarters, 8 of 10 free throws, and scored 30 points.
Looking at the number of free throws, Liu Mang really didn't know whose body hair was more valuable.
It was so difficult! The finals against the Spurs were almost like this. At that time, the Hawks' running-in was not as good as it is now. Liu Mang felt that if they met the Heat this season, it would be really difficult.
Fortunately, the players have made great progress this year, including himself.
Liu Mang was feeling lucky and struggling with the topic of who was more valuable, his own or Wade's body hair, which deserved deep thinking. The Heat now felt a sense of being suffocated.
It was too difficult!
No matter how hard they fought, they couldn't open the score difference.
As long as they have the tendency to widen the score gap, Liu Mang will explode. If you defend Liu Mang on the outside, Liu Mang will break through. When he breaks through, he will find O'Neal to foul early, forcing the other Heat players to stop him with fouls.
Although they are still leading by two points, the Heat players and coaches feel that they are under pressure and can't breathe!
Wade even has an idea to let Liu Mang overtake the score!
It's too uncomfortable to feel tightly bitten by the opponent.
This feeling is like the feeling of hunter and prey. Wade feels like the prey being closely followed by the hunter.
If he relaxes a little, he will be killed by the opponent, which makes Wade stay highly focused throughout the whole process and his spirit will collapse.
If it weren't for Payton's good condition in the third quarter, with 6 points and 2 assists in a single quarter, which helped him hold on for half a quarter, he would have collapsed!
Looking at Liu Mang on the opposite side, Wade gritted his teeth. Today is a rare good opportunity and he must hold on! Can't give up!
There are two more chapters today, and the next chapter will be around nine o'clock~