basketball player

Chapter 398 Chapter 396: A sword to seal the throat

Popovich's timeout didn't play a big role. In order to gain an advantage in the interior, Popovich removed Diao and replaced the Brazilian Splitter.

However, Horford never matched up with Splitter at all. He stayed by Duncan's side from beginning to end.Splitter had to face Leonard, and the Spurs also hit the ball into Splitter's hands on the first offense.

Split also averaged a small ten per game during the regular season, but after entering the playoffs, it was not so conspicuous on the offensive end.Split's offense is a little bit of everything, but not very sure.

The Brazilian is on the court and is more responsible for rebounding and defense.Scoring has never been Splitter's job.

So even in the face of Leonard, who is about to be over two meters tall, Splitter doesn't seem to find much advantage.He squeezed Leonard with his back, and when he got to the basket, he was about to turn around and hook.But at the moment when he turned around and hadn't lifted the basketball, Leonard stretched out his long arms and stabbed the basketball away from Splitter's hands with lightning speed, and the Spurs made another mistake!
"Mistake, this dislocation didn't work! Leonard's defense is always so deadly. This season, we have seen Leonard steal the ball from the guards more than once, let alone the center. It seems that the inside advantage that Coach Popovich wants has not been formed."

"Damn it!" Popovich cursed secretly, of course he didn't blame Split, but just cursed casually.

Kawhi Leonard, if only the Spurs could have him.
Leonard passes the ball to Paul, who passes it to Ray Allen in the corner.Passing the ball with two hands during the fast break, even the Spurs' defense was enough to be torn apart.

Ray Allen has been playing very well since the fourth quarter, and he seems to be competing with Gary Neal.This time, Ray Allen still did not waste the opportunity.As one of the greatest shooters in the league, Ray Allen left the Celtics just to get a ring to retire.In terms of money, the renewal amount given by the Celtics is much larger than that given by the Pacers.

Therefore, Ray Allen does not allow anyone to disrupt his and the team's championship plan!
"brush!"

Ray Allen hit a three-pointer again, and the fast-paced offense allowed Ray Allen to easily get a lot of open shooting opportunities.And Ray Allen's stability in the face of open shots is beyond doubt.

If Gary Neal has a convulsive shot, then Ray Allen is undoubtedly a long-range turret with stable output.

"Single digits! Success, the Pacers succeeded! They narrowed the point difference to single digits! Haha, less than half of the fourth quarter, the Spurs lost a good situation! 7 points difference, under such a fierce offensive by the Pacers, 7 points difference is nothing to worry about!"

"Fast back, fast back, force them to make mistakes, and seize the opportunity of making mistakes to counterattack!" Henson's yelling made the players full of motivation, while the Spurs players were somewhat disappointed.

They are known as the most stable team in the league, but they collapsed in the fourth quarter.The Spurs don't want this, they must regroup!

Soon, Splitter made amends, and Leonard succeeded in the second inside singles.Leonard has always been an outside player, and Splitter, as an NBA-level center, still has the basic ability to protect the ball.This big dislocation, Split beautifully marked.

But now, Henson is not afraid of the Spurs' two points and two points.Now it is the Pacers who are starting from outside the three-point line. The Spurs can't avoid falling behind if they play two points and two points!
In the next few minutes, the two sides fell into a dogfight.The Spurs, who came back to their senses, controlled the mistakes, slowed down the speed as much as possible, and sharpened the position with the Pacers.The Pacers seized every opportunity to fight back quickly.

But with the Pacers' more offensive rounds and more intensive three-point shots, they finally closed the point difference to only 54 points in the last 2 seconds!
"The Pacers were suppressed for the entire game. Since the 8th minute of the first quarter, the Pacers have not taken the lead! At the most time, the Pacers even trailed the Spurs by 21 points! But now, they have a chance to overtake the score! Let's see what Coach Henson will do in the last 54 seconds!"

After the Spurs made two free throws by Ginobili, Henson called a stoppage of the game.The purpose is simple, he needs to regain the lead after the 8th minute of the first quarter!

At such a critical moment, even just getting a 1-point lead is enough to make changes together.So, Henson developed a three-pointer tactic.In the fourth quarter, the Pacers had a very high three-point shooting percentage, and the most accurate shot was Ray Allen.So on the first play back from a timeout, Henson needs Ray Allen to hit a three.

If this attack succeeds in gaining the lead, Henson will deploy a "death defense" to hold the victory and end the game!
After returning from the timeout, Popovich saw the Pacers come up with a regular lineup again, instead of one big and four small.This means that the Spurs will not be able to gain much advantage inside.

Paul, Green, Ray Allen, Anderson and Horford, this lineup sent by Henson is as special as ever.

"Guard your position and your people, don't give them an easy shot!" Popovich immediately put his hands over his mouth and shouted towards the court.Although the Spurs were leading by two points at this time, Popovich felt as nervous as if he was two points behind.

The Spurs sent heavy guards around Ray Allen, and Ray Allen ran a few times but failed to get the tactics out.In desperation, Paul could only implement Plan B that Henson had just arranged.

Seeing Paul gesturing, Green suddenly pushed Manu Ginobili who was defending him, and then popped out of the three-point line, ready to catch the ball and shoot.

However, Ginobili is an old fritter, and Green's small tricks will not make him lose his defensive position.I saw Ginobili running up after Green, and then stretched his arms to interfere with the moment Green made a shot!This time the defense almost completely covered Green's face!
"Damn it!" Seeing this, Henson knew that Green's chances of scoring a goal were low.Originally, Plan B was a helpless move. This tactic was too simple, and it was helpless to be defended by Ginobili.

Sure enough, the basketball knocked out of the frame and hit the side edge of the basket.Popovich raised his arms high, and the defense was done!

"The key shot was missed, and this defense almost killed the Pacers! Wait, Splitter and Chris Anderson are fighting for a defensive rebound. The two point the basketball into the air again. Neither of them can control the basketball!"

Chris Anderson, the guy who is sure to be full of energy as soon as he gets on the court, is more athletic than Splitter.So although Anderson's rebounding position is not as good as Splitter's, he makes up for his positional disadvantage with his bounce.And this is why Henson now sends Anderson on the field!

Although he failed to grab the offensive rebound directly, Anderson interfered with the Brazilian center during the fight and pointed the basketball into the air again!

Anderson noticed that Stephen Jackson was also leaning towards the basketball, as if he wanted to work with Splitter to grab the rebound, so to speak
Then, "Birdman" Anderson spread his wings again and jumped high. Under the attack of Splitter and Stephen Jackson, he didn't try to control the rebound, but slapped the basketball towards the bottom line with one palm in the air!
"This is a."

Before Mike Brin finished speaking, he saw Ray Allen, who was ambushing in the bottom corner, receive the basketball shot by Anderson!Chris Anderson scored a crucial offensive rebound!
Ray Allen took advantage of the situation and retreated after receiving the ball, retreating beyond the three-point line.Then, under the astonished eyes of the Spurs generals and Stephen Jackson's defense like a remedy for the dead, he calmly made a three-pointer!
At that moment, Popovich felt the air freeze.From leading by 21 points to now only leading by 2 points, this guy Henson Joe's bold decision actually revitalized the game.

"brush!"

"boom!"

The basketball hit the net, and the stands were boiling.Popovich's heart tightened and he called a timeout to the referee.On the other side, Henson rushed into the court like a player, jumped up and touched Anderson and Ray Allen in the air.

What a dynamic head coach.

In the last 38 seconds of the game, after controlling the rhythm of the entire game, the San Antonio Spurs fell behind the defending champion Pacers by 1 point at the critical moment because of Chris Anderson's key rebound and Ray Allen's share!Popovich is very clear that the current situation is fully under the control of Henson!
"What a wonderful game, a wonderful three-pointer! Although this is not a lore, the Spurs still have a chance. But Ray Allen's three-pointer almost changed the situation! This is the fifth three-pointer made by Ray Allen in the fourth quarter. It is no exaggeration to say that he saved the Pacers!"

Popovich knew the team had to score now, but he also knew that Henson wasn't going to let himself get his way.

Sure enough, after returning from the timeout, Henson deployed a "death defense" lineup with a high finishing rate.Stephenson, Jimmy Butler, Leonard, David West and Al Horford.

It is very, very difficult to score points above this lineup.

After coming up, Duncan's first offense was resolved by Horford and West's tacit double-teaming.Splitter didn't have the ability to space the floor, so West and Horford were able to boldly double-team.

Subsequently, Leonard forced the inside to make Split foul.Standing on the free throw line, Leonard made two free throws steadily, and did not make the mistake of dropping the free throw chain at a critical moment.

3 points difference, 8.4 seconds left.Duncan used the last timeout and replaced Diaw.But Henson was prepared. He replaced West with George and let Leonard return to the fourth position.A death defense of one big and four small, Leonard has proved that he will not suffer in the matchup with Diaw.

Although this time, Duncan successfully singled Horford in the paint.But now, the initiative is in Henson's hands.Duncan played two points and two points, obviously there was no way to get the situation back.

The Spurs were still 1 point behind, and they had to foul.But under Frazier's training, the Pacers' free throws are quite stable.

George made two free throws and the Pacers still led by three points.Popovich was a little desperate. He didn't expect that one day he would become the background board for Henson's great comeback.

In the last shot of the game, Gary Neal had already scored 24 points. Gary Neal, who made 9 of 6 three-pointers, failed to seize the last chance under the interference of Jimmy Butler.He made a lot of three-pointers today, and once made the Pacers feel desperate.But Neal missed the most critical three-pointer.

The moment the shot hit the iron, the electronic buzzer sounded, and the red light on the backboard was extremely dazzling.

Popovich saw Henson rushing into the court with his arms raised high, and he lowered his head silently like the media who were about to watch Henson's jokes.

Not everyone wants to see Henson's joyful expression after completing a great comeback.

(End of this chapter)