The way of the center

Chapter 102 Stone Buddha's Final Blow (710)
The fastest way for a player to become known is to let the player lead the team out of the encirclement in a seemingly disparate game.

Back then, Yao Ming proved himself against the mighty Lakers.In the seven games before that, Yao Ming only scored [-] points at most, and his status as the No. [-] pick has been questioned by all walks of life.That's why Barclay's famous bet came about.

Just when Barkley said that Yao Ming could not score 19 points, Yao Ming scored 9 points on 9-of-20 shooting in the face of the Los Angeles Lakers, who were not as strong as O'Neal, and led the Rockets to defeat the Zijin Army.

It was also broadcast live across the United States, the opponent team's main force was also absent, and it was also a duel with a huge gap in strength.The difference is that the audience met not one but three people today!

"Oberto couldn't keep up with Anjie's footsteps at all! He let Anjie pick the basket again! Who else!? The Spurs have all the insiders! Matt Bonner, Drew Gooden, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto, neither of them can stop the attack of the Chinese center, only Duncan can compete with it!"

"As a rookie in the 08 class, this is the difference between the fourth pick and the No. 20 sixth pick! Westbrook broke through George Hill's defense again! Forced layup! Two plus one, good job! "

"Bruce Bowen can't accept his old age. As a second-year rookie, Durant can score so many points on Bowen's head. It's really not easy!"

In the fourth quarter, just as Popovich expected, the Spurs' weak second team this season was completely unable to compete with the Thunder's three players who played smoothly.Even if the Thunder had only two of them, Popovich was confident of winning, but unfortunately, the Thunder had three of them, guards, forwards and centers.

As time went on, the eleven-point difference gradually narrowed.In the case that the Thunder's three young players took a 2-minute break in the middle of the fourth quarter, the advantage established by Duncan and Ginobili in the third quarter is now running out.

"In another five years, the insiders of the NBA will be ruled by the Chinese!" Charles Barkley finally showed his interest in the game after three quarters of silence, and indirectly praised Anjie's performance.

"It seems that Yao Ming really made you learn a lot." Kenny Smith is very proud every time this matter is mentioned.

"No, no, even if there is no precedent for Yao Ming, I will say so. Five years later, Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian and An Jie, my God, I can't imagine what they will be like, and I can't imagine whether they will return. There are other Chinese big men coming to the NBA to develop.” Barkley’s commentary has always been open-mouthed, without considering the consequences.If Howard heard his remarks, he would be half dead with anger.

In any case, it is a fact that Anjie played well in this game. With 20 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, Anjie has already played his worth against the San Antonio Spurs.

Popovich still stabilized the situation and never took Duncan and Ginobili prematurely.When the game was about to end with only 4 minutes left, the Spurs still held a one-point lead.In the first three quarters, the Spurs scored more points in a single quarter than the Thunder, but so far in the fourth quarter, the Thunder finally scored more points in a single quarter.

Seeing that the clock was almost up, Jeff Van Gundy called a timeout after Westbrook pushed the ball into the Spurs' half. 4 minutes, it's time for Anjie and the others to take a break, and then send all the starting five tigers up.

"Tim, Manu! You know what to do! Apart from victory, I don't accept any other results!" Popovich also yelled at his two cores after arranging all the tactics.Even Duncan, known as the "Stone Buddha", was infected by the old man's encouragement.

"Oh? Duncan and Ginobili are on the field! Audience friends, the decisive battle has begun!"

Before going on the court, An Jie unconsciously glanced at Duncan in the opposite half, but Duncan also looked at him.However, unlike Duncan who deliberately smiled before the game, now the No. 21 player's face shows more ruthlessness!
The duel between these two elders will undoubtedly be the focus that will affect the outcome of the entire game.

Anjie's sweat also flowed down his cheeks to the tip of his chin. Popovich just played all the cards in his hand to spend with Anjie in turn, so as to reduce the pressure on Duncan when he played against him.

This trick really worked. The NBA schedule is already dense, and the consumption of this game is still so high. An Jie's footsteps are indeed not as quick as they were in the first three quarters.

But now Duncan has rested for a long time, and his physical strength will not become a stumbling block for him at all!

Turn around and raise your hand.An Jie thought that Duncan would repeat the old tricks, so he rushed to interfere.

Unexpectedly, Duncan's shot was false, he bent down, and rushed past An Jie, who was shifting his center of gravity forward.

"Duncan's feint! Ann was fooled!"

After passing An Jie, facing the unguarded basket, Duncan just put the basketball in gently.Dunk?That will only increase his risk of being blocked and waste his energy.

Duncan still didn't do any celebration for the goal at the critical moment, and his poker face remained the same.

Westbrook advanced the ball, but before he could stand still, Ginobili rushed towards Westbrook with a gambling steal.

But this time Ginobili's adventure was worth it. Westbrook was still observing Anjie's running position at the time, and somewhat ignored the Argentine in front of him.When he reacted, Ginobili had taken the basketball from Westbrook's hands.

However, due to the speed too fast, Ginobili did not control the basketball.After the basketball was taken away, it bounced and rolled on the floor, and it was about to go out of bounds.

Unexpectedly, Ginobili fell to the ground at this time, holding the basketball in his arms.

"Manu Ginobili threw the ball to the ground! The two sides played very fiercely!" Reggie Miller saw his blood boil.

Westbrook didn't even think about it, and immediately threw himself on the floor, fighting with Ginobili.

But before the referee called a faceoff, Ginobili actually passed the ball, and Michael Finley caught the ball and drove it full speed.

Everyone thought that Finley would complete a fast break, only he himself knew how deterrent Durant was chasing back.If he lays up directly, he is likely to be blocked by Durant, who is tall, long and has excellent jumping.

So halfway through the breakthrough, Finley distributed the ball to the outside.In the bottom left corner, the anti-aircraft gun Bonner is already in place.

That weird "shoulder shot" shot appeared, and Matt Bonner still used the shoulder as the shooting point.Although the posture is a bit ugly, Matt Bonner's three-point shooting percentage is the highest in the Spurs.

"A beautiful three-pointer! The Spurs' Jedi counterattack!"

Popovich waved his fist vigorously. Everyone he arranged to play has his uses. Now Bonner has undoubtedly completed his task very well!
After Duncan and Ginobili played just two offenses, they helped the Spurs pull the point difference back to five points!This is why Duncan and Ginobili can be called great!
Jeff Van Gundy did not expect that the burden of physical fitness now falls on the shoulders of the Thunder.Looking at Duncan and Ginobili who were alive and well on the court, Van Gundy also had to admire Popovich's exquisite employment strategy.

However, young people are always full of energy. Even though they feel that their physical strength is very exhausted, the Thunder's third young master still chased the Spurs fiercely, and once narrowed the score to two points!
Duncan and Ginobili accounted for almost all of the Spurs' next shots, and every time they passed through patiently, the basketball would fall into the hands of these two people.

Duncan's defense against Angie also became smoother and smoother. Just like Bonner complained during training, there are almost no big men in this league who can defend Duncan!
Back again!An Jie immediately put his hands on it, so as to feel the changes in Duncan's body, so as to change his center of gravity in advance.

"Post-up singles!" Kenny Smith yelled excitedly. This was the first time Duncan used a back-up against Anjie in the entire game!
Duncan doesn't need to play back-up singles in front of him, it doesn't mean he can't, it's just that in the previous games, he didn't want to play in such an energy-consuming way.And now, it is a good time to expend energy!
Yao Ming, O'Neal, Da Ben, these center forwards with abnormal physical fitness and weight, Duncan can use his back to compete with them, let alone facing this thin Anjie.

"Damn old man!" An Jie gritted his teeth and insisted. Duncan looked a little thin, but his strength was terrifying.Coupled with Anjie's poor physical strength, he failed to exert his full strength, which made Duncan successfully enter the three-second zone after taking three steps.

Duncan raised the ball with his right hand, ready to score with a backboard after a turn.But when he just took off, An Jie suddenly rose from the ground, forced the basketball in Duncan's hand to the backboard, and bounced it out again.

"Terrifying defensive height!" The bullet speed is not fast, but the advantage of height and wingspan coupled with good timing for taking off and blocking shots, all of which allowed Anjie to keep Duncan's offense out of the basket.

Duncan looked a little stunned, and his expressionless face seemed to twitch for a while.Blocking his own shots in post-up singles has been something that no one has been able to do on Duncan's head for a long time.

Fortunately, the smart Ginobili caught the basketball that was blown out from beyond the three-point line, and Westbrook hurriedly raised his hands to block it, but Ginobili deliberately leaned towards Westbrook. Shots are made when there is physical contact between the two sides.

"What!" But to Ginobili's expectation, the referee did not call a defensive foul!He failed to draw a foul on this ball!

"Is this a missed call!? This ball should be a foul!" Kenny Smith yelled. This is a crucial ball. The referee's decision is likely to change the direction of the game!

Seeing that the referee didn't respond, An Jie immediately turned around and got stuck!Looking at the flight trajectory of the basketball and predicting the landing point of the basketball, he took off suddenly, overwhelmed Duncan who was stuck behind him, and caught the rebound in his hands.

"The Thunder's counterattack! Anjie went straight to the backcourt! Westbrook's speed is very fast! Ginobili can't catch up!" The TN.T trio became more and more excited. They did not expect this seemingly disparity in strength. The game will be played to such an extent.

Westbrook received a long pass tailor-made for him by Anjie, but Ginobili and Bowen followed him very much.

"Westbrook relied on Ginobili for a layup! His body has the advantage. I don't know if Bowen can get there in time!"

Westbrook took two big strides and took off. Just when everyone thought he was going to attack the frame by himself, under the attack of Ginobili and Bowen, the basketball suddenly flew out of the penalty area!
It is true that Westbrook has a strong desire to shoot, but this does not mean that he will only be reckless. After seeing Durant's position, Westbrook divided the ball while attracting everyone's attention. out.

Durant received Westbrook's slightly crooked pass. At this moment, Bowen has been tricked into the three-second zone, and there is no Spurs player within two meters of Durant.Some are still chasing back, while others have shrunk to the penalty area, the three-point line?That's never a position that gets noticed on the fast break.

This is a rare opportunity. Durant doesn't want to get the best rookie and be unable to lead the team to victory.He calmly aimed at the basket and adjusted his rhythm. At this moment, Bowen and George Hill had rushed over, but he knew it was useless.

Raise the long arm, shoot the ball, Duncan can't do anything about it, he can only hope that the rookie will fall under the pressure.but.
"Oh! Kevin Durant! This is the strength of the best rookie! A cold-blooded three-pointer! The old Spurs were hit by Durant's goal!" Even Charles Barkley would not Besides, this game is boring.

Only 25 seconds left in the clock, and the Spurs trailed by one point at the last moment.Popovich used up the last timeout in his hands. The Spurs have experienced countless moments of life and death, and this difficulty will not make them mess up.

"Focus! Don't foul! One last defense! Let me take a win from San Antonio!" Defense, that's what Jeff Van Gundy likes.

The sound of cheering at the Att Center continued, and the audience shouted loudly, hoping that Duncan or Ginobili could turn the tide.

The sideline ball was sent out. What everyone didn't expect was that the person in possession of the ball was George Hill, a first-year rookie.

Of course, this is just a smoke bomb. Ginobili has started to run without the ball. Duncan made an off-ball pick-and-roll for him on the correct route. As soon as it was in place, Hill passed the ball.

Westbrook just forcibly accelerated and completed the interference before Ginobili made a shot.

"Ginobili missed the shot! But the ball bounced so far that Duncan and Angie couldn't control the rebound! Bowen! Bowen got the ball from the three-point line, what will he do?"

The tactics failed to work out, and the timeout was exhausted.Bowen looked at the situation and found that Duncan was leaning against the center of the Thunder and raising his hand for the ball.

Without even thinking about it, Bowen dropped the ball into the penalty area, the winner!Will be decided in the restricted area!
There was not much time left, but Duncan was not in a hurry, and he was so steady that Anjie thought that the attack time was 1 minute.

Still hit back, but this time he won't let An Jie block himself easily.

After hitting back into the penalty area, Duncan forcibly turned around and broke through. When An Jie started to move, he suddenly turned back, ready to dodge An Jie and use a hook to solve the problem.

"Impossible!" But what Duncan didn't expect was that An Jie didn't hesitate at all. He still stood in a perfect defensive position and shot at the basketball in Duncan's hand.

Duncan had no choice. Now that it was impossible to pass the ball again, he could only bite the bullet and make a shot.

An Jie seemed to dial the basketball, but he couldn't change the flight trajectory of the basketball.After Duncan took the shot, he stared at the ball tightly, and Duncan, who was usually expressionless, also opened his mouth wide at this moment.

"Beep!" The red light on the backboard came on, and the piercing sound filled the entire ATT center, but the basketball bounced off the rim and finally fell to the wooden floor.

(End of this chapter)