Chapter 971 970. Let Me Guard Him!

The Spurs were very clear at the beginning, that is, to use strong points to score singles, while the Hawks had a problem with their tactics and strategy at the beginning. It was not that the tactics and strategy were bad, but that the opponent's defense was too good.

Coach Kruger wanted to use the overall strength of the team, which was correct, but the opponent was the Spurs, so this strategy was problematic.

The finals had a large scale of whistles and a lot of physical contact. After the role players received a lot of physical confrontation through running, pick-and-roll and other procedures, their touch plummeted, so they missed open shots repeatedly.

Those who can still score steadily under such high confrontation are not role players, but stars!

Liu Mang's quick shot around the pick-and-roll continued to drive the rhythm, and the Spurs players felt like they were back to the last round of the series.

Horry picked up the ball and sent it out, and the Spurs continued to attack at a fast pace. Duncan cut in from the middle and made a layup to score two points.

The Spurs' shooting choices were still very stable, focusing on Duncan, Ginobili, and Bonzi Wells. Just like playing against the Suns, although the rhythm was fast, the shooting was very stable! Played very steadily.

But steady is steady, after the tempo is fast, the Hawks also picked up speed.

And compared with the Suns, it is more difficult for the Spurs to defend the Hawks!

When the Spurs played the Suns in a fast-paced offense and defense, they mainly blocked the basket and three-pointers, but Liu Mang and McGrady both liked to hold the ball in the mid-range, forcing the Spurs to block the mid-range, especially after Liu Mang made a mid-range shot around the pick-and-roll, they did not dare to let go of the mid-range space, and the Hawks had the opportunity to cut in on both sides and score continuously.

At this time, it was fortunate that the Spurs played really well on offense, and Duncan performed well, keeping the score close.

At the end of the first quarter, the Hawks scored 31 points in a single quarter, and the Spurs scored 28 points. The Hawks played an efficient scoring performance.

At the intermission, Popovich finally had time to curse well. The official timeout time just now was not enough for him to curse, and the players went up and the rhythm quickly picked up again.

The Spurs only had two days to rest before the last game of the Western Conference Finals on the 25th, and the rhythm of playing against the Suns was still affecting them.

After cursing, Popovich spitted and emphasized the pressure of rhythm.

On the Hawks side, Coach Kruger also understood that when playing against a team like the Spurs, they can only rely on stars and use the simplest and most direct tactics.

This simple tactic... is naturally the triangle offense! Is there a tactic that is simpler and more direct than this and very effective for the Spurs?

…

After the intermission, with a 3-point lead, Liu Mang and McGrady, Jason Terry, Rasheed Wallace, and Kwame Brown came on the court.

On the Spurs side, Bonzi Wells is powerful, but his physical fitness seems to be not very good. This player seems to dislike training and was replaced in the second half of the first quarter.

The reason why Popovich only emphasized the pressure of tempo and defense in the official timeout, and did not mention anything related to offense, is because of this. After the moment when Bonzi Wells played, if the Spurs were in their own rhythm, it would be fine, and they just needed to grind the defense steadily, but they were not in their own rhythm at that time, and they could not suddenly pressure the tempo immediately, otherwise the Spurs players themselves would not be used to it.

Coach Popovich considered stability. High scores with a fast tempo were also considered stable, but in the second quarter, Coach Popovich changed the tempo again, and there was no problem.

This is a psychological thing. Players always have a feeling that after one quarter, there is a feeling of a new game.

The three horses of the Spurs continued to play, and Nesterovic also played to defend the basket and liberate Duncan's defense and help defense ability. The other player is... Bruce Bowen! This guy can play for more than ten minutes in a game, but too much is not good.

When enemies meet, they are particularly jealous. Bowen came up with an expression that he wanted to eat Liu Mang.

The Spurs attacked first in the second quarter.

Liu Mang felt the evil gaze from the bottom corner and ignored him. If you want to be completely reimbursed, then come on.

Bowen was lying that he didn't hate Liu Mang. He was originally a middle-class player. Now he was on a minimum salary. It was impossible for him not to be hostile to Liu Mang.

But now he only dared to show a ferocious expression and didn't dare to do anything. In his opinion, that kid was poisonous! Anyone who wanted to hurt this kid would become even more miserable.

However, the defensive footsteps couldn't keep up. He was worried that his feet would be further injured and he couldn't play the ball. Bowen's defensive awareness was effective except for blocking. Single defense was basically useless, but the open three-pointer became more accurate! He averaged 10.3 points against the Suns. He was the only player on the Spurs who scored in double digits besides the troika and Bonzi Wells. He averaged 2.9 three-pointers per game in the Western Conference Finals. He was very threatening. Jason Terry didn't dare to leave him. Fortunately, this guy mainly used fixed-point shooting and didn't know how to run.

After Parker pushed forward, Duncan leaned against Kwame Brown in the paint to ask for the ball.

In the first quarter, Duncan played like a small forward with 12 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. He was very comfortable with the fast pace and scored easily without consuming much energy.

Bonzi Wells was still resting on the sidelines, so it was Duncan who got the first goal at the beginning of the second quarter.

Duncan leaned against Kwame Brown in the paint, and Parker passed the ball to Duncan.

Duncan took the ball, tilted his head to look at Kwame Brown who was waiting for the ball, and just as he was about to force Kwame Brown, he felt his hand being hit hard and the ball slipped out of his hand!

Duncan reacted very quickly and grabbed the ball back and held it in his arms.

At first glance, it was Liu Mang!

Liu Mang still left Parker open!

The Spurs played slowly in the position, but there was also a problem, that is, Parker's outside shooting was too iron! The reason why Duncan did not slow down the rhythm in the second half of the first quarter was because as long as Parker was there, they were equivalent to 4 vs. 5 on the offensive end. Compared with Ginobili, Parker is too young now. Parker, who just turned 23 in the Western Conference Finals, is a few months older than Liu Mang, but his maturity is not as good as Liu Mang. He can score by speed against other teams, but he was beaten by Liu Mang in singles against the Hawks.

Duncan is Duncan. He was slapped in the face by the double-teamed hand, and ignored Liu Mang expressionlessly and turned around to try to carry Kwame Brown away and shoot high.

However, Duncan underestimated Kwame Brown's fighting spirit and Liu Mang's strength. The two of them stuck to him one after the other, hanging on him like two koalas. Duncan tried to get up... but couldn't...

Duncan could only throw the ball out. Parker received the ball outside the three-point line. Seeing Liu Mang immediately let go of Duncan and stood two meters away from him in the middle distance, Parker did not hesitate and continued to shoot three-pointers...

This time, his luck was not so good. The three-pointer hit the front of the basket and bounced back. McGrady rushed over to get the ball back, turned around and started running towards the Spurs' half court.

The Spurs played a fast-paced game for a while just now, and they were used to it. However, during the intermission, Coach Popovich repeatedly emphasized the pressure of tempo, so Duncan used the pressure of tempo inside back-to-back singles. Now the Spurs were not used to it!

McGrady pushed to the midline, and Liu Mang ran across the midline faster. Parker and Ginobili went to defend Liu Mang.

Liu Mang attracted the defense and passed the ball back to McGrady who was following up in the middle. McGrady rushed to the free throw line and jumped up, and scored two points with a very stretched slam dunk.

33 to 28, the Hawks widened the gap to 5 points for the second time!

Simple and crude, the Hawks continued to use stars to score, at most double-player cooperation, role players can play a role, and it is normal if they can't play a role. Liu Mang made it clear.

The Spurs attacked, Parker didn't dare to hold the ball, and Ginobili pushed forward.

Parker only scored 3 points in the first quarter, 1 of 3 three-pointers, and 3 assists were good, but that was in a fast-paced pass to Ginobili and Duncan. It was not because of his good organizational ability, but because these two people ran well, and it was difficult for him to play his usual breakthrough and pass.

Liu Mang followed Parker's running without the ball and heard the system prompt.

"Ding... Features: Demon Sword Level 5 is triggered, unpredictable weird scorer is dispatched, from Manu Ginobili."

The Spurs... This team with three stars is enough!

Bonzi Wells came first, Duncan scored again with a counterattack, and now it's Ginobili's turn.

The three giants in different positions and willing to sacrifice are like this, one is tired and replaced by another, and one can be replaced if one plays poorly.

Ginobili advanced to the frontcourt and started to play one-on-one. McGrady's defense was very good and did a good job, forcing Ginobili to break into the free throw line. If Ginobili went a little further, he would fall into the double-team of McGrady and Rasheed Wallace. Ginobili could only make a horseback shooting action.

McGrady was afraid of fouls, so when Ginobili made this move, he could only raise his arms and not jump, trying his best to block Ginobili's sight.

But Ginobili was too demonic! He stuck his upper body to McGrady and threw the ball out, and the ball fell into the basket!

This close-range feel is also amazing!

This season, Ginobili's regular season shooting percentage is 47%. As the team's second-highest scorer, it can only be said that it is okay. Kobe and Iverson both have a hit rate of 46%.

But in the future games, Ginobili's hit rate has not dropped but increased to 51%!

Especially the hit rate of 67% under the basket, the first in the outside line!

30 to 33, the Spurs continue to bite the score.

The Spurs retreated steadily, returning to the retreat rhythm at the beginning of the game, bringing the game into the quagmire of positional warfare.

After receiving the serve, Liu Mang advanced to the frontcourt, without running tactics, and began to play singles.

In terms of singles, the strongest player in the Hawks is Liu Mang, and McGrady and Jason Terry have to stand aside.

Ginobili defended against Liu Mang, trying to use a more mature body to defend Liu Mang and suppress Liu Mang's start.

But...

Liu Mang licked his lips at Ginobili and winked at him. When Ginobili's anus tightened, Liu Mang suddenly exerted force and squeezed towards Ginobili!

Liu Mang's strength is now stronger than Ginobili! If Ginobili retreated half a step to defend, it would still be a bit difficult for Liu Mang to hit him. Ginobili is a tall guard weighing 93 kilograms, but it was too difficult for Ginobili to suppress Liu Mang with this close defense.

Liu Mang quickly cut into the three-point line. Duncan had already taken a step to prepare for defense. Ginobili turned around and quickly pressed towards Liu Mang.

Liu Mang suddenly stopped, stepped back, and exited the three-point line. Ginobili reacted quickly and wanted to make up for it, but was blocked by McGrady!

Liu Mang moved sideways and jumped, avoiding Bowen's defense, and shot a long-distance three-pointer across the three-point line...

Finally, Liu Mang hit the first three-pointer of the game!

Liu Mang didn't think about passing the ball, but the Spurs were still on guard against him passing the ball, so Duncan was prepared to make up for the defense in advance, trying to cut off Liu Mang's connection with his teammates. Bowen's defense was also to prevent Liu Mang from having a chance to separate from McGrady.

But Liu Mang is now playing very determinedly, just to shoot. His movements, McGrady's pick-and-roll, and Jason Terry's counter-run are all to create shooting opportunities for Liu Mang!

36 to 30, the score difference was pulled to 6 points by the Hawks!

This is the first time in this game that the score difference has widened to more than 5 points!

Liu Mang made a three-pointer, and the Spurs did not stop scoring. Ginobili began to play!

Ginobili made a close-range shot, so that McGrady did not dare to give Ginobili any offensive space. Ginobili began to break through the basket, using McGrady's defense to make various footwork movements, and Ginobili scored or passed the ball continuously.

Liu Mang did not show weakness and started various singles.

In the positional battle, Liu Mang and Ginobili fought evenly!

Ginobili is a monster, Liu Mang is steady, and the two played evenly!

At the seventh minute of the second quarter, the Spurs called a timeout and entered the official timeout.

When the official timeout came in the second quarter, Liu Mang scored 9 points, Jason Terry scored 4 points, McGrady scored 3 points, Rasheed Wallace made 1 of 2 free throws, and the Hawks scored 17 points in half a quarter.

But on the Spurs side, Ginobili scored 10 points, Bowen made a three-pointer, Duncan made 2 of 4 free throws, and scored 15 points in more than half a quarter!

The Hawks led by 5 points with 48 to 43.

When the running style of play started, the hands of both teams got hot, and they maintained efficient performance in the second quarter.

The head coaches of both teams were very upset. They played well, but they just couldn't defend!

The fans were so happy to see it. They thought it was a defensive battle, but they didn't expect it to be a singles match, and then a quick offense and defense conversion, and then it became a singles match between stars.

In the past finals, the two coaches tried to break the opponent's defense, but in this year's finals, the two coaches tried to defend against each other.

But they just couldn't defend against each other!

Liu Mang and Ginobili both started to fight!

David Stern and the executives of several major American TV stations were speechless: I really can't guess the Hawks! The Spurs were led astray!

Just when Coach Kruger was worried that Prince and McGrady couldn't defend against Ginobili, Liu Mang went up and said, "Let me defend that Argentine!"