Defending champion

Chapter 185 The Scorching Battle
Chapter 5 Scorched War

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The Spurs' offense did not score!
Jack scored the rebound, the Hornets' offense!After Paul broke through Parker's defense, he scored the ball after the breakthrough, and the basketball was handed over to Butler.

Butler's passion was also ignited by Jack's stunning block.Butler's three-pointer shoots up and down, and with a bang, the basketball hits the net!

The Spurs fell into a scoring drought, and the Hornets seized the opportunity and immediately responded with a 12-0 spurt.After this small climax, the Spurs coach Popovich had to call a timeout in advance.If the timeout was not called, how many points would the Hornets have fallen behind after the first quarter.

The Spurs' timeout, they replaced the demon knife Manu Ginobili.Ginobili's offense is really nothing to say, it is a symbolic spirit snake breakthrough, the Hornets' defensive players are passed by him like stakes, and Manu is like no one in the basket He made a layup with a low hand and scored the ball!
"Yeah... oh yes... oh also..." There was a wave of cheers, screams and shouts at the scene.

In the second half of the first quarter, the Spurs relied on Manu Ginobili's outstanding performance to narrow the score to only 6 points.

The Spurs fell behind by 24 points 30 to 6.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Manu continued the terrifying touch in the second half of the first quarter. As soon as he came up, he immediately received a pass from Parker.Facing the defense, Mason made an open three-pointer and hit it!

With a sound of "shabu", the basketball hit the net.The Spurs once again approached the score, with only the last 3 points left.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the second quarter started, and Paul and Jack immediately scored again, and they stood up and prepared to play.

The Hornets' offense failed and was defended by the Spurs for 24 seconds.The Hornets' offense has been greatly hindered.

Taking advantage of this gap, with 10 minutes and 56 seconds left in the second quarter, Jack and other main players were all sent on the field.After Jack and the others came up, their tug-of-war began again between the two sides.

After Jack and Paul made successive hits, the three tanks of the Spurs showed their strength one after another. Parker made a mid-range shot. Pass the ball back and make a mid-range shot.

The second quarter was inextricably played, and the game was extremely anxious.

"Beep..." The whistle sounded at the end of halftime, and the first half ended. The Hornets finally led the Spurs 51 to 50 by one point.

The game has progressed to the present, and both sides are still fighting hard. This situation is completely out of the predictions of some so-called experts and the media.The Hornets didn't have the kind of big rout that the media and pundits claimed.Instead, the Hornets had a one-point lead over the Spurs at halftime.

Leading by one point at halftime does not guarantee the Hornets will win the game in the end, but, after experiencing a disastrous loss in the previous game, the Hornets can quickly become a team capable of competing with the defending champions.This is really not easy!
The second half of the game begins!
Jack's desire to attack in the second half was very strong. As soon as he came up, he asked for the ball in the low post and played Tim Duncan in a post-up single.Leaning back from the low position, he made an ecstasy shot, and with a bang, the basketball hit the net!

Jack's hit directly helped the Hornets expand the score to three points.Seeing Jack's fierce attack momentum, the Spurs began to consciously double-team Jack under the basket.

Jack was really troubled by the Spurs' double-team defense. Jack even had a difficult time catching the ball, but fortunately, the Hornets relied on Paul's strength in the third quarter.Helped the Hornets through the storm.

At the end of the third quarter, the Hornets still held a 3-point lead.The scores of both sides in the third quarter were very low. In the third quarter, the combined score of the Spurs and the Hornets did not exceed 30 points. Does it mean that the Spurs and the Hornets are fighting for defense?
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the defensive strategy of both sides was still resolutely implemented and executed by both sides.Because of this, neither the Spurs nor the Hornets were able to score in the first 4 minutes of the fourth quarter.

However, they had a lot of rebounds. On the Hornets Hornets side, Jack alone got 5 rebounds in the fourth quarter.

Finally, with the last 6 minutes and 55 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Hornets finally broke the scoring shortage with the pick-and-roll cooperation between Paul and Jack.

Paul scored suddenly, Jack caught the ball and made a mid-range shot, and with a bang, the basketball hit the net!The Hornets also extended their lead to 5 points with Jack's score.

Seeing that the Hornets further opened up the score, Kenobili immediately stood up.After an empty-handed run, at the bottom corner of a lateral three-point line, after receiving a pass from partner Parker.

Open three-point shot! With a sound of "shabu", the knife was raised and dropped, and the three-pointer hit the net!
The Spurs narrowed the score to only 2 points, and the final result of the game is still very unpredictable.

Hornets attack!
At a critical moment in the game, the Hornets handed the ball to Jack again.Paul lobs the ball to Jack in the low post.

As soon as Jack received the ball in the low post, Tim Duncan of the Spurs immediately came to help defend and double-teamed Jack.But what surprised the Spurs was that this time Jack only acted as the central hub.As soon as Jack was flanked by the Spurs, Paul on the outside line immediately cut in from a 45-degree outside line.

Jack split the ball in time, and after Paul received the ball, he made a very easy low-handed layup and took two points lightly.It was already too late for Hawley, who was closest to Paul, to defend against him, and the Spurs also paid the price for double-teaming Jack.

The Hornets opened the score to 4 points, 70 to 74.
Switch offense!

In the next possession of the Spurs, their star player Tony Parker relied on his fantastic breakthrough footsteps to get rid of Paul and go straight to the Hornets' penalty area.Immediately afterwards, he made a turn around the basket, made a layup with a low hand, and scored the ball!
The two sides began an anxious tug-of-war again. You scored a goal and I scored a goal. The scores of the two sides continued to rise.But the scores of both sides have always been maintained at 2 points.The Hornets couldn't open the score, and the Spurs also couldn't close the score.This situation was maintained until the last 45 seconds left before the end of the game.

The Spurs' possession of the ball, such a wave of offense is very critical for the Spurs to chase points. If they score, then the Spurs can tie the score or even overtake the score.On the contrary, if the Spurs can't score in this wave of offense, and the rebounds are not guaranteed.With the score still leading the Hornets, it is very bad.

The veteran Popovich realized the importance of this wave of offense early on, and he immediately asked the referee for a timeout to arrange this wave of offense!
"Beep..." The whistle sounded, and the Spurs requested a timeout!

"Bo...bo...bo...letgo! letgo! letgo!..." As soon as the Hornets asked for a timeout, there was a wave of applause and cheers for anyone who could... At this time, the advantage of the home court is was reflected.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Guys cheer up! You are champions, you shouldn't be forced into this by the Hornets... We must win this game, we must win this game no matter what Next." The head coach of the Spurs, Popovich, gathered all the starting players of the Spurs, and yelled at all the Spurs players a few times to encourage them.

Immediately afterwards, he continued to arrange the offensive tactics of waiting, "The Hornets adopt a man-to-man tactical strategy, Tony..."

The Spurs players were listening very carefully, and they didn't even have time to wipe off the sweat on their faces.

Hornets this way!
When Byron saw that the Hornets players returned to the bench, he immediately used tactics!

"Man! You guys did a damn good job just now! But it's not enough to win the game. Defense! Defense! We need super high-quality defense to stop the Spurs' offense , we will have the possibility of winning..." Byron yelled loudly at the Hornets players, and at the same time, he kept gesticulating with his arms.

"For this wave of offense, the Spurs are most likely to hand it over to Tim Duncan, Jack, and Duncan's defense will be handed over to you." After Byron Scott emphasized the importance of defense, he immediately arranged for Jack. road.

Jack nodded. Without Byron's arrangements, Jack would do his best to defend well, because defending Tim Duncan and limiting Duncan's scoring is his task in this game.

"Parker is also an object that we need to focus on. We defend Parker's breakthrough and his mid-range shooting, and... for Tony Parker's defense, Paul we will look at you."

After hearing this, Paul nodded very firmly.

"Russell, keep an eye on Manu Ginobili..."

…………

After Byron arranged all the tactics, seeing that there were still more than ten seconds left, Byron had a very strong concept of time.He didn't want to waste these ten seconds.

He summoned the Hornets players and surrounded them. He stood in the middle, and he shouted loudly to the Hornets players:
"What is our purpose here?"

"victory!"

"What should we do to win?"

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

"Oh, oh, oh! One two three, fight! Oh, oh, oh! One two three fight!"

(End of this chapter)