Slam Dunk: My Study Abroad Career in Northern Hunan

Game 3 of the Timberwolves and Jazz series.

As the game progressed, the situation on the field became clearer and clearer.

After Wu Dao exploded in the first quarter, the Jazz invested a lot of defensive energy on Wu Dao.

Facing the Jazz's high-pressure defense, Wu Dao also reduced his own shooting rights and began to increase the number of passes to Garnett, Marbury and others.

Sometimes the biggest role of star players on the court is not to score a lot of points, but to attract the opponent's defense and create more scoring opportunities for teammates.

A player's tactical position on the offensive end is not only reflected in his scoring ability.

As many Kobe fans always say, if Kobe didn't have the Lakers in the OK era, they wouldn't have been able to overcome the Spurs. But the reality is.
At that time, when the Lakers faced the Spurs led by Admiral Robinson and Duncan, who was at his peak at the beginning of his career, the Lakers averaged 20 points more than their opponents.

Although Kobe's scoring statistics were quite impressive during his rookie period, he often scored in garbage time.

As the league's top center at the time, Shaquille O'Neal was able to attract enough defensive power from the Spurs on the offensive end, allowing the Lakers' outside players to have comfortable shooting space.

Although O'Neal only scored 20+ points, which was not a particularly explosive performance, the fact is that the restraining force he played on the court was far beyond the reach of other players.

At this time, the Timberwolves' martial arts was like the Big Shark O'Neal outside. Even if he did nothing, just stood there and did the most basic work of taking the ball and passing the ball, he could attract a large number of double-teams from the Jazz.

As the game progressed, the gap between the Timberwolves and the Jazz gradually widened. The Jazz put a lot of effort into defending Wu Dao, leaving the rest of the Timberwolves with ample space to shoot.

With the efforts of Garnett, Marbury, Tom and others, the Timberwolves gradually took control of the situation.

Seeing the gap between the two teams widening, the Jazz were trying to change the current situation. Stockton also tried to use his own means to "invite" Wu Dao off the court. He knew very well that only by getting Wu Dao off the court could the Jazz have a hope of winning.

But unfortunately, Wu Dao had already put in his utmost effort to deal with Stockton's "attack", and Stockton's several attempts were all in vain.

The difference between the two teams exceeded 15 points at the end of the third quarter.

After playing three consecutive quarters of high-intensity games, the Jazz's group of veteran players gradually couldn't hold on any longer, and the players' scoring efficiency on the court showed a significant decline.

On the other hand, the Timberwolves, because Wu Dao was able to attract a lot of Jazz defense, allowed Marbury and others to easily pass the ball during offense. After three quarters, Wu Dao and Marbury consumed the most energy on the Timberwolves' side, while the players in other positions did not consume too much energy.

Moreover, these players of the Timberwolves are young and in much better condition than those of the Jazz.

As the buzzer sounded in the stadium, the third quarter of the Timberwolves and Jazz game came to an end. The score between the two teams was fixed at 67:83, with a difference of 16 points.

The players of both teams returned to the rest area. The Jazz players gathered around coach Jerry Lens, breathing heavily, their eyes looked a little confused, and their mood was very low. A low pressure lingered over the Jazz rest area.

In the stands, the Salt Lake City fans were silent for a while, and the entire stadium seemed a little quiet.

The experienced Jazz players realized that they probably had no hope of winning today's game.

The team's offensive efficiency has dropped, and all the Jazz players have noticed it. The Timberwolves are in high spirits, and they have no way to resist the Timberwolves' offense.

As one side gains strength while the other loses strength, the outcome is no longer in doubt.

Coach Jerry Longs, who was surrounded by the players, was silent for a moment and was at a loss for what to do.

Looking up, his eyes met Stockton's fierce and eager ones.

Stockton hasn't given up yet, he doesn't want it to end like this.

The two looked at each other for a long time. Coach Jerry Longs finally let out a sigh, picked up the tactical board, and waved to the players around him.

Is he completely helpless? Not really.

It's just that his methods may be a bit cruel to some young players.

But now, in order to respond to Stockton's desire for victory, coach Jerry Longs decided that he had to resort to a bad strategy.

"The Timberwolves' most core player is a martial artist, yes, but basketball is a five-person sport. It's a team sport."

"If only one player is good and the rest are bad, the team still cannot win."

"Every team that can win is an excellent team. Such a team is not just made up of excellent individuals."

“You guys are an excellent team.”

"The team that will win this series in the end is us, not the Timberwolves!"

Jerry Longs' words were that of a rookie coach who had no tactics and only knew how to pump up the morale of the players. When Malone and other players heard these words, their faces did not show much emotion.

On the contrary, after hearing what Jerry Longs said, Stockton's eyes lit up and a different look appeared on his face.

“He understood.”

When Jerry Longs saw Stockton's expression, his eyelids twitched slightly and he said something in his heart.

As the buzzer sounded again in the stadium, the short break was over.

At the urging of the referee, players from both teams returned to the court and started the final quarter of the game.

To make matters worse for the Jazz, the fourth quarter was opened by the Timberwolves who were leading.

The basketball was passed from the backcourt to Chris Kyle who came on as a substitute. The Timberwolves had a "slight" lead. Coach Philip also wanted to let Marbury, who had been in charge of the game for three quarters, take a short rest for a few minutes.

He didn't dare to make multiple rotations like in previous games and could only selectively let the main players take turns to rest.

In addition to Marbury who left the game at this time, Coach Philip had actually arranged for Ben Wallace to leave the game and rest for a while in the third quarter.

The Timberwolves' inside group is pretty good. Whether it is Ben Wallace or Cherokee Parks, they are both mid-range players in the league. As long as they are not facing Karl Malone head-on, and just dealing with the Jazz's center and helping Garnett defend Malone, it is not a problem.

In other positions, the Timberwolves' overall depth is actually quite good.

The backcourt includes Marbury and Chris Kyle; the 2.3 position includes players such as Wu Dao, Tom, and Mitchell.

The Timberwolves' overall strength is actually quite outstanding, and their bench depth is even greater than that of the Jazz.

The one defending Chris Kyle was Stockton, who had played for three consecutive quarters. Stockton had long passed his peak and his physical energy was greatly consumed at this time, but the pressure he put on Chris Kyle while defending was still very terrifying.

And unlike ordinary defenders, there was a fierce aura in Stockton's eyes at this time.

When Chris Kyle was approaching the top of the arc with the ball, Wu Dao on the wing quickly ran over to set a pick-and-roll for him. The physical strength of the Jazz's outside players had dropped significantly, and Chris Kyle, who had just come on the court, had a huge physical advantage. If the offense revolved around him, it might have an unexpected effect.

This is what Wu Dao is thinking now, and this is exactly what he is doing.

The pick-and-roll was noticed by Christon in advance. In order to avoid being caught by Wu Dao's pick-and-roll, Stockton quickly closed the gap between himself and Chris Kyle.

The purpose of doing this is that when Wu Dao's pick-and-roll is in place, it will be convenient to squeeze through the pick-and-roll as soon as possible and continue to chase Chris Kyle.

But Chris Kyle is also a smart man. The moment Stockton made a move, Chris Kyle also noticed Stockton's intention. He quickly took a step back with the ball, and then as Wu Dao's pick-and-roll fell into place, Chris Kyle also accelerated and advanced along the pick-and-roll.

With just one step, Chris Kyle passed Wu Dao and Christon and quickly broke into the Jazz's inside line.

Chris Kyle accelerated to break through, but Wu Dao stood at the top of the arc with no intention of moving. After a moment of thought, Brian Russell did not choose to chase Chris Kyle. Instead, he still followed Wu Dao, guarding against Chris's return pass.

With this kind of offensive movement, the Jazz had no way to rely on switching defense to block the Timberwolves.

The height difference between Christon and Wu Dao is quite big. If Brian Russell ignores Wu Dao and instead chases the advancing Chris Kyle, once the opponent passes the ball back, Wu Dao can easily use the height difference to shoot over Chris' head and score.

The same scene actually happened many times in the first three quarters.

As Chris Kyle rushed forward, Malone, who was on the inside of the free throw line, quickly glanced at Wu Dao and then looked at the rushing Chris Kyle.

Just when Chris Kyle was about to challenge Malone's defense head-on, Stockton suddenly appeared from behind Chris Kyle, and at the moment when Chris Kyle was about to make a quick stop jump shot, Stockton pushed Chris Kyle's waist from behind.

"Bang!!"

Chris Kyle, who happened to be in a shooting posture, obviously did not expect this situation to happen. His body suddenly lost balance in mid-air, and he tilted to the side and fell heavily to the ground. The basketball also slipped out of his hands and rolled to the side.

Stockton's pushing action was not actually obvious. In the eyes of others, he just did not control his speed when chasing. He did not expect Chris Kyle to stop suddenly when chasing and accidentally bumped into Chris Kyle.

As Chris Kyle fell heavily to the ground, the referee's whistle sounded at the right time.

It was a common pushing foul, and Stockton was not called for a flagrant foul.

When the referee made such a decision, there was a buzz of discussion. The Timberwolves fans were obviously not satisfied with the decision. In their opinion, Stoke did it on purpose.

However, Jazz fans also have something to say about this penalty, after all, Stock's actions were really secretive enough.

Conflicts of opinion led to quarrels.
Just as everyone was focusing on Stockton, wondering whether the foul was intentional or accidental, the Timberwolves players quickly surrounded Chris Kyle and asked about his situation.

At this time, Chris Kyle was lying on the ground with his head down, unable to get up for a long time.

Chris Kyle slowly raised his head as his teammates asked him about it.

Chris Kyle's face was covered in blood, with blood flowing out of his mouth and nose. Skyler subconsciously touched it with his hand, and his hand was immediately covered with blood.

Seeing Chris Kyle's miserable appearance, the Timberwolves players were horrified and shouted loudly to the team leader on the sidelines.

Christon's shoving foul from behind caught Chris Kyle off guard. He was completely unprepared when he fell and was hit hard.

The Timberwolves team doctor rushed into the court upon hearing the shouts. The referee who had just made the penalty glanced around and saw Chris Kyle's miserable appearance, his expression froze.

The fourth quarter was officially timed out just as the game began, and Chris Kyle was helped back to the dugout by his teammates.

The fall caused Chris Kyle to break two of his teeth and his nose was slightly crooked.

It’s hard to say how serious the injury is, but as long as he can rest and recover well, it won’t have much impact on Chris Kyle’s playing career.

But for the Timberwolves as a whole, Chris Kyle's injury also means they've lost a stable rotation point guard.

Marbury, who had just come off the court to rest for a short time, was called back to the court by Coach Philip.

Stockton's personal fouls have accumulated to his fifth time, but he looks calm as he is about to be ejected for six fouls.

After the official timeout, the players from both teams returned to the court. Stockton's eyes fell on Marbury who had returned to the court.

"We have a chance! We have a chance!"

Stockton thought to himself.

On the Timberwolves side, Chris Kyle no longer had the ability to shoot free throws, so it was Budo who took his place.

With two free throws falling steadily into the basket, the difference between the two teams widened to 18 points.

When returning to the court, Wudao glanced at Stockton coldly. He had realized that this old guy seemed to be desperate.

"Marbury, be careful, that guy might be targeting you."

Wu Dao gave a reminder to Marbury who was back on the court, and his eyes were on the Jazz players who were advancing with the ball.

Stockton dribbled the ball into the front court, and after several passes, the ball was passed to Karl Malone. Malone, holding the ball with his back to the basket, faced Garnett's defense, and a fierce look flashed in his eyes.

Stockton's foul just now also served as a reminder to Karl Malone.

"As long as we can win!"

Malone said in his heart, the basketball in his hand fell quickly, and his back hit Garnett's body hard.

After being hit once, Karl Malone turned around quickly, and at the same time, his left elbow hit Garnett's head hard. His elbow swing was skillful and sharp.

"Oh!"

Karl Malone's elbow was so powerful that it hit Garnett's head directly. Garnett felt his head become heavy, his eyes went dark, and he fell sideways to the ground.

The referee's whistle sounded at the right time.

Malone held the ball in both hands and looked at Garnett who was lying on the ground with an innocent face. However, the next second, a black shadow suddenly rushed out from the side of Karl Malone, and without waiting for Malone to react, it punched him hard in the face.

Immediately afterwards, Ben Wallace's huge body rode directly on Malone, and his fists rained down on Malone's face.

(End of this chapter)