Anthony the Reborn

Chapter 325 The edge of the cliff
The boos of the fans at the scene were overwhelming, but Jefferson's free throws still hit steadily. He personally hit a 5-0 attack wave and brought the score within 20 points. A highlight of the gold team's factory competition.

However, although the Spurs are now on the bench, no matter whether it is the tacit understanding between each other or the grasp of the form on the field, they are still sophisticated. On the defensive end, he started to use the zone defense, and then began to double-team Jefferson without the ball.

And this trick is obviously very forward-thinking. The strength of the Nuggets' bench lineup is not bad, but after falling behind too much, the players are very frizzy. Originally, Jefferson's consecutive scoring boosted the team's morale. But after Jefferson was double-teamed, the team's offensive quality suddenly dropped. After a few rounds, the point difference was widened to more than 20 points.

There were only more than 6 minutes left in the game, and the garbage time continued. Jefferson's performance seemed to be just a flash in the pan. After half a minute of nervousness, the fans then turned their attention to the game.

In the following rounds, the Spurs' defense was slightly lax, and Jefferson also began to kill the Quartet again, but it had little impact on the outcome of the game.

In the end, the Nuggets had a big loss on the road, 86:108, the first time in the playoffs. The Nuggets scored the highest score not by Anthony, but by Jefferson. The rookie made 8 shots in the fourth quarter. In the 6th, he scored 18 points in a single quarter. While scoring 20 points in the game, he set a record for his playoff score and also became the highest score of his career. This is also the only gain for the Nuggets in this game.

The Nuggets players returned to Denver with frustration. The team conducted routine training according to the daily requirements, but there was no trace of joy on the faces of the players, which formed a clear contrast with the end of the second game. contrast.

The divisional finals were played in two days. After a short rest, the Nuggets players flew to San Antonio early in the morning of the second day.

After the training in the morning, Carl accepted an interview with the local TV station. In the interview, Carl talked about the current situation of the team, saying that the team has stood on the edge of the cliff, and this game is imperative.

The actual situation is also the same. The Nuggets are already in a 1:2 backward situation. If they lose again, they will really be on the edge of a cliff. At that time, it is almost impossible to go further.

On the training field before the game, Anthony could clearly feel that the nerves of the players were tense. In the locker room before, Carl gave an impassioned speech before the game, which made the team's morale soar. , but Anthony has a faint worry. In such a critical game, excessive tension may be counterproductive, so he is trying to chat with the players at the moment, trying to ease their nervousness a little.

But until the start of the game, Anthony found that the effect of his attempt was not very good. The nerves of the players were completely tense, and it was far from a simple matter to let them relax.

Just like that, the fourth matchup between the two sides started in the arena in San Antonio.

Nesterovic got the ball for the Spurs' first offense, but the Nuggets started the game with high morale and aggressive defense. The Spurs' continuous pick-and-roll failed to find an offensive opportunity, and finally gave the ball to After Duncan, Duncan also encountered a double-team, and his reluctant shot before the attack time was almost up also jumped out of the basket.

The rebound was caught by Chandler, and then the Nuggets quickly pushed forward. The ball had already reached the frontcourt after two passes. In the hands of Brand on the inside, Anthony and Korver have rushed to the frontcourt at this time.

At this time, it was a 4-on-3 situation, but I have to say the defensive toughness of the Spurs. Two people shrunk to the basket. Brand threw the ball to Korver on the outside. Bowen rushed up immediately. Korver Hall didn't have a chance, so he had to knock the ball back to Brand, and just after a while, the other two players of the Spurs had already returned to their own half, and this fast break was about to fail.

At this moment, Anthony suddenly ran back and cut to the basket, and Brand immediately threw the ball over.

Duncan was close to Brand, with excellent court sense and quick reflexes. He turned around and made up for it. Anthony's air cut was about to be blocked, but what Duncan didn't expect was that, The moment Anthony received the ball, he paused in midair for half a second, then suddenly flicked his hand, and then returned the ball to Brand.

Brand gasped for breath, and jumped straight up. Duncan turned around and was too late to be surprised. Only Nesterovic rushed over, but Brand had already jumped, and he gritted his teeth. With all my might.

With a muffled sound of "bang", the two met in mid-air. Brand squeezed Nesterovic away abruptly and slammed into the basket with both hands.

"Oh!"

With a very explosive muffled sound, Brand dunked with both hands vigorously!
The fans at the scene were in an uproar, but the Nuggets' bench suddenly boiled. The benches jumped up from the bench one by one, and then yelled crazily.

After the dunk, Brand roared wildly at the fans at the scene. It can be seen that he was very excited when the ball was dunked.

Brand dunked the ball, but looking back, the offensive rhythm of the Spurs has not changed. This time Duncan asked in advance, and when the double team came over, it was passed to Ginobili on the outside. Lee made a feint, and after kicking Korver into the air, he dribbled a step to the right, and then hit a three-pointer steadily with no defense.

The Nuggets' offense did not affect the Spurs. In turn, the Spurs' three-pointers did not affect the Nuggets players. Looking back, Anthony hit Bowen hard and made a mid-range hit with a step back.

At the beginning of the game, both sides showed good offensive efficiency.

It was still the Spurs' offensive round. Duncan held the ball at the free throw line. Parker gave the ball in with a single hit. The Nuggets double-teamed. With a flick, the ball went straight into Nesterovic's hands.

Nesterovic was almost facing Konglan, but at this time Brand seemed to have been beaten with chicken blood, and he came back abruptly, jumping up the moment Nesterovich made a shot.

The two jumped up almost at the same time, but Nesterovic's shot was flat, and his height advantage played a crucial role at this time. As a result, Brand had already jumped early enough, But when he blocked the ball, the ball was already in the falling stage.

"beep!"

The referee's whistle sounded very timely, and Brand interfered with the ball.

Brand shook his head a little annoyed, obviously this result made him somewhat uncomfortable.

Looking back, the offense of the Nuggets, Anthony was the pivot, supporting the team's offense at the free throw line. Similar to the Nuggets, the Spurs' double-teaming came up quickly, and Anthony's reaction was also fast. , Hurry up between the double-team formation, hit the ground directly, and give the ball to Chandler on the right.

There was no one in front of Chandler. Maybe it was Brand's dunk that inspired him. He grabbed the ball, dribbled it, jumped up, and wanted to do a double dunk.

But it was just a stroke of luck that Duncan made up for Chandler at the first time. As you can imagine, Chandler threw Duncan to the ground with an elbow.

"beep!"

The referee's whistle blew again, pointing to Chandler's, indicating an offensive foul.

Chandler shook his head in frustration, and the Spurs made quick free throws. While the Nuggets were still in a daze, Ginobili quickly advanced to the frontcourt, and Korver rushed straight up, trying to make a steal. Ginobili made a sharp turn and passed Korver cleanly.

Two steps forward, Ginobili has already reached the Nuggets' half-court three-point line, and he chooses to shoot without hesitation. The ball draws a beautiful arc, and with a "swish", the ball falls steadily into the net.

The fans at the scene cheered excitedly.

"The Nuggets' offense seems very impatient. I wonder if it was affected by the last game." At this time, Ernie Johnson, the commentator on the sidelines, said.

"It's not just the offense in these two rounds, it can be seen from the actions on the court that the Nuggets players want to win this game too much. It would have been helpful for the team to be nervous, but excessive tension and After being excited, it looks very imposing, just like Brand’s dunk, but after all, this is not a conventional way of scoring goals. Playing the game pays attention to tension and relaxation, and it may not be a good thing for the team." As a guest, Stan Van Gundy analyzed logically at this time.

Carl frowned on the sidelines, but he didn't call a timeout.

In the next round of the Nuggets, Anthony tried to create scoring opportunities for the team in singles. What he did not expect was that when Chandler put him on the pick-and-roll, he used too much force and directly overturned Bowen. On the ground, how could Bowen let this rare opportunity slip by, a very exaggerated fall, and the referee called Chandler's second foul.

In just 2 minutes of the opening, Chandler committed 2 fouls.

Anthony frowned. The players played too fraught. If this continues, the last game may be repeated.

Chandler went off, Karl did not replace Mutombo as in the previous game, but replaced Jefferson, who performed well in the previous game.

(End of this chapter)