NBA: Starting with Jokic template

Chapter 187 Spurs vs. Warriors, unexpected result
May 2013, 5, US time.

Oracle Arena, Oakland.

The atmosphere in the venue was tense.

Prior to this, the San Antonio Spurs were already leading the Golden State Warriors 3:2.

If they can win this game away from home, they will advance directly and meet the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals!
In the Warriors locker room, Mark Jackson gathered everyone together. He was wearing a suit and standing beside them, but his face was not too serious. He spoke to these people,

"Everyone, although we are now far behind the Spurs, I hope you won't be too nervous. Don't forget that our opponent is the second in the Western Conference this year, with two All-Stars and Tim Duncan. They have been in the playoffs for many years and are a top team with 50 wins every year. We didn't have anyone selected for the All-Stars this year, and this is our first time playing in the playoffs. It's great to have made it this far."

Mark Jackson paused and continued,

"This season, our team has two recognized All-Star missed players, one is David Lee, and the other is our point guard, Stephen Curry."

His eyes fell on Curry, and he said meaningfully,
"We have all seen your performance this season. We know better than anyone how you perform compared to the All-Star players from this season's opponents. We are not inferior to them at all!"

"I believe you can show everyone in this game that you are the players who deserve to be in the All-Star Game!"

Mark Jackson looked up at each of them and said with a smile,

"Don't be too nervous, everyone. In our home stadium with so many fans around, they should be the ones who are nervous! You just need to play to your best level!"

He walked behind the crowd and patted their shoulders one by one.

"Okay, let's go, kids! Give your best and leave no regrets!"

Everyone was a little surprised. No one expected that before the game, Mark Jackson did not put too much pressure on them, gave them military orders, and did not say that they must win the game at home.

Originally, because of the big score deficit and the pressure of losing one game, everyone was under great pressure. Even the team leaders David Lee and Stephen Curry felt a little breathless.

But after hearing what Mark Jackson said, I suddenly felt a lot more relieved.

Everyone was inspired by Mark Jackson's encouragement, and the young people excitedly left the locker room and ran towards the stadium along the player tunnel.

"Lets go! Lets go!"

As they entered the stadium, a thunderous cheer swept over everyone like a tsunami.

Most of the players on the team are playing in the playoffs for the first time this year, and Stephen Curry is no exception.

After entering the venue, listening to the cheers and expectations of the audience, the pressure that had just subsided involuntarily surged up again.

He suddenly felt some difficulty breathing.

Seeing this, Mark Jackson reminded on the sidelines,
"Take a deep breath, Stephen, and don't think too much!"

Hearing this, Stephen Curry quickly did as he was told, closed his eyes, and began to empty himself.

Among them, many fans were giving the home team their greatest support and encouragement, and more than ten thousand people were putting the greatest pressure on the Spurs players who flew from San Antonio.

"BEAT SA!"

"Kill them!"

Not only that, the overwhelming boos overwhelmed a lot of other voices and pressed towards the Spurs.

Hearing such horrible boos, Stephen Curry couldn't help but tremble in his heart.

Even though the boos were directed at the opponents, he couldn't help but think that if it was him or the Warriors team being pressured by such an atmosphere in the stadium, how much strength could they exert.

Curry looked in the direction of the Spurs, wondering how the Spurs players would react to this terrible pressure.

However, the battle-hardened Spurs players did not make any major changes under such extreme pressure.

Tim Duncan, known as the "Stone Buddha", didn't even have the slightest change in expression, but was busy doing his final warm-up before the game.

Even though the fans on the sidelines not far away spoke rudely and expressed their warmest greetings to him, Duncan remained expressionless.

This scene made Stephen Curry deeply feel the terrible psychological quality of the Spurs and their leader, Tim Duncan.

"As expected of Tim Duncan, the four-time champion and the greatest power forward in history..."

Curry murmured inwardly.

Suddenly, he seemed to hear the words of coach Mark Jackson again.
"Remember what I told you before the game, Steph!"

He suddenly remembered that he was not selected for the All-Stars during the voting and subsequent substitute selection phase because of his lack of popularity.

Curry looked up and saw that the person standing opposite him was this year's substitute All-Star, three-time champion, and FMVP point guard, Tony Parker.

Seeing him, Curry's eyes couldn't help but change a little.

This was also captured by the sharp Parker.

Before he could step forward to talk, the game was about to begin and the referee stood in the center circle ready to serve, so Parker gave up.

The ball was run, and under the gaze of nearly 20,000 people in the stadium, the aging Tim Duncan, who switched to the center position this season, overpowered Andrew Bogut, successfully grabbed the jump ball, and sent the ball back to his own half.

Tony Parker received the basketball and dribbled slowly toward the front court.

Before Parker could fully position himself, the Spurs had already started their familiar running moves.

Tony Parker glanced at his teammates, then stared at Curry who was concentrating on defending him, with a smile on his face.
"Why? I saw you staring at me just now. If I'm not mistaken, you must be thinking about the All-Stars."

Curry was shocked. He didn't expect that the man in front of him could see through his thoughts. He couldn't help but ask,
"How did you know?"

Parker smiled with some disdain.

"I've seen that look in your eyes too many times from guards who weren't selected for the All-Star Game."

Parker said, straightening up to observe whether his teammates were in place, while taking a little time to continue,
"But you don't have to be too envious. After playing for a few more years, you will realize that with your level, you shouldn't aspire to be an All-Star. That's not the place for a player of your level."

"Too much nonsense."

Curry ignored the sarcasm in Parker's words, fixed his eyes, and suddenly stabbed towards Parker's hand!
"Um?!"

Parker was a little annoyed because he was interrupted, but in a blink of an eye, he suddenly found that the basketball he was about to pass was intercepted.

And the perpetrator was none other than the skinny point guard whom he looked down upon and mocked, Stephen Curry!
"Be bold!"

After being intercepted in the first offensive round, Parker couldn't imagine how Popovich would angrily scold him later. He suddenly felt a chill, then flew into a rage, and immediately turned around to chase Stephen Curry.

"Fuck you, you attacked me when I wasn't paying attention!"

Tony Parker chased back, talking all the same.

Curry just thought he was farting and rushed towards the basket.

Just at the three-point line, Curry suddenly stopped. Tony Parker, who was chasing him from behind, was startled, but he couldn't stop and almost hit Curry.

He knew that Curry's three-point shooting level was very good in the entire league, but he didn't expect that the opponent would choose a three-pointer instead of a layup during a fast break.

Due to his wrong judgment, he no longer had the chance to defend Curry and could only watch helplessly as the opponent was about to shoot.

Just when Parker passed him, Curry raised his hand and made a three-pointer. The ball drew a beautiful arc in the air and went into the net accurately.

Hearing the sound of "swish", Curry put down his right hand for shooting and slowly retreated.

Listening to the cheers from the audience, he stared at Tony Parker not far away and said in a voice that the other party could hear,

"Well, it seems that what everyone has said this season is correct. You really don't deserve to be in the All-Star Game. You stole my spot. You should be ashamed."

Tony Parker's face grew colder.

At the same time, Popovich on the sidelines also scolded him in a bad tone.
"As a champion defender, what are you doing, Tony Parker! Stop wasting your time on such nonsense and get out of here! Joseph and Gabriel are ready to replace you last time!"

He was scolded by the head coach at the start of the game, and even he didn't dare to say a word in rebuttal.

Because he knew that if he dared to say a word in reply, Popovich would immediately pin him to the bench and give him a beating.

He didn't dare to challenge the head coach's authority.

But as for Curry...

Tony Parker stared at Curry who retreated to the half-court position, and decided to teach the skinny point guard a lesson later to let him know how big the gap is between him as an All-Star and championship point guard and himself as a fragile ordinary starter!
Tony Parker was in the frontcourt, and after being directly intercepted by Curry in the last round, he was much more cautious this time.

The ball protector was also vaguely covering the basketball, not giving Curry any chance to attack.

This time, he successfully found Duncan, and Duncan used his mid-range shot threat to attract Bogut's defense and then passed the ball to Danny Green in the corner. Green raised his hand to deceive the defense and broke through the basket along the baseline again, and at the same time passed the ball to Leonard on the other side.

This time, the defense in front of Leonard was completely distracted by several passes. He shot steadily and the basketball hit the center of the target!

Mark Jackson watched the developments on the court and couldn't help biting his fingernails in annoyance.

The Spurs' everyone-as-a-soldier style of play is too difficult to defend. No one will necessarily take a shot, even role players. As long as they appear in the right position, the boss has to pass the ball to them.

A few passes easily penetrated their defense, making the Warriors players run around in a panic.

In terms of rotation tactics, the Spurs are undoubtedly an NBA master-level team.

"I can only hope for your touch..."

Mark Jackson muttered as he watched Curry advancing the offense on the court.

Before he finished speaking, Curry had already taken advantage of Bogut's cover to take a three-point shot!

"Shh!"

The second three-pointer at the start continued to be scored!
"WTF Curry is awesome!"

"Kill them with three-point shots!!!"

Suddenly, the atmosphere on the field was ignited by Curry's three-pointer, and all the Warriors fans in the stadium were shouting and excited.

Popovich frowned on the sidelines.

He doesn't like opponents with high shooting skills, especially players with extremely high three-point shooting skills.

First, it is really difficult to defend, and it is easy to create a huge space for the opponent to find opportunities.

But it is easy to catch up if you shoot three-pointers accurately.

The usual 10-point advantage is not enough in the face of the three-point rain.

"Danny! Go guard that point guard later!"

Popovich immediately stood up and shouted to the court.

Danny Green nodded, understanding what Popovich meant.

On the Spurs side, Parker also quickly advanced the offense.

Parker squeezed into the basket under Duncan's cover. Facing Curry who came back to defend and David Lee under the basket, he did not slow down his pace at all. At the moment of collision, he pushed the ball forward with force!
At the same time, Parker began to spin like a top. In just a moment, he got out of the defense of the two people and came behind them.

At the same time, the basketball was thrown into the air by Parker, and it spun along the backboard and entered the basket.

Signature move, break away and turn around to layup!
Facing the opponent who had just stolen the ball from him, Parker regained the ball in less than two minutes.

I just wanted to vent and say some trash talk.

Suddenly, Duncan behind him grabbed his jersey.

"Don't forget old man Popovich."

Parker immediately felt like he was poured with a bucket of cold water. The excitement of scoring the goal was completely washed away. Without saying a word, he ran back and defended honestly.

Curry advanced with the ball again.

This time, the Spurs were ready.

Curry had just dribbled across half court when the defense caught up.

"Come and defend me so soon?"

Feeling the pressure of defense, Curry couldn't help but make a joke.

"You are so accurate in three-point shooting. We won't let up."

Danny Green stuck close to Curry and didn't give him space to shoot.

"Why are you the one defending? Where is your team's point guard?"

Curry dribbled the ball with difficulty to get rid of Danny Green's defense on him, and asked his opponent at the same time.

Danny Green is also an honest man. He actually answers whatever Curry asks.
"Switch defense with me. I'm better at defending guards."

"Oh, it seems he is a bad defender."

Curry joked, but inwardly he was thinking about his next move.

Since the defense has been changed, it means there is a high chance...

Curry ignored Danny Green's defense of Tony Parker. Seeing Bogut coming forward to cover, he dribbled the ball behind his back, broke free from the defense and immediately rushed towards the inside.

The moment Curry broke through, the Spurs, this precision-engineered machine, immediately started to operate.

Tony Parker, who was not far away, couldn't help but take two steps forward to provide support for Danny Green.

This is the opportunity!

The moment Curry saw Parker's attention shift from Thompson to himself, his eyes lit up and he immediately passed the ball.

And the direction was exactly one meter away from Parker!
"not good!"

Parker turned around quickly and saw that Thompson, who was behind him before, had thrown the ball to the top of the arc, caught the ball, and was still ready to shoot!
"Shh!"

The hasty defense was completely unable to interfere with the future top off-ball three-point shooter even a little bit. The basketball flew out of his hands, and the next moment, the sound of the basketball hitting the net was heard by everyone in the stadium.

"Fake!"

Parker cursed inwardly.

Both of the Warriors' guards are so accurate in three-point shooting that you can't spare even a little bit of your energy because if there's even the slightest chance, these two guards will use their three-point shots to punish the distracted defender.

At this time, Popovich's brows on the sidelines were completely wrinkled into a "川" shape.

He can tell.

At this moment, the two Warriors guards in front of them have entered an unusual state of three-point shooting.

In this game, they are likely to face a three-point rain!

Popovich called a timeout without saying a word.

The Splash Brothers, who are about to enter their next phase, will definitely not be given more time to maintain their form.

He wants to use this pause to let their hands cool down!
Watching the players leave the court, Popovich's eyes also stayed on Parker.

It gave him the creeps.

Before Popovich could say anything, Parker admitted his mistake first.

"Sorry, Popovich, I missed someone at the end."

Popovich didn't say anything, but instead kept staring at Parker, making him feel creepy.

But he said nothing, instead he planned the next tactics.

Based on the Warriors, Curry and Thompson's situation before the timeout, Popovich opened up.

"Try to limit them more, let them receive the ball less, and defend more closely."

The pause ends quickly and the game resumes!
After the adjustment, the Spurs immediately implemented a tactic.

The ball was passed back and forth between the five players on the court.

It was extremely smooth and at the same time it stretched the Warriors' defense to pieces.

In the end, Dio, who was in an open position, received the ball and made a layup.

Back to the Warriors, their tactics are relatively simple.

Curry just received the ball and Parker immediately stuck to him, not giving him a chance to shoot.

Feeling the tough pressure from Parker, Curry couldn't help but frown and dribbled behind his back several times. When Bogut came up to cover him, he still shook off Tony Parker.

But this time, Dio was not slow at all and immediately caught up with Curry who had left the space.

This forced him to suppress his desire to attack and change his rhythm again.

After dribbling a few times, he finally found the rhythm and broke through.

And Duncan in the interior has been waiting for this young point guard.

He concentrated and held his breath, ready to block the challenge of the point guard!
"Whoosh!"

Duncan's eyes widened slightly. He didn't expect Curry to make a jump shot directly from the free throw line!
He had no time to block the shot due to its extremely high arc and could only watch the ball fall into the net again.

That's it.

Although he failed to defend it, Duncan quickly accepted it.

There is still a long time in the game, and this kind of attack that tests the touch will not always succeed.

And they can always score simple goals through teamwork.

As long as they play slowly, they can still regain the advantage.

Just as Duncan thought.

In the next round, they disrupted the Warriors' defense again through their patient conduction.

Just when the Warriors were in chaos, Leonard on the wing had already rushed to the basket and successfully dunked.

Leonard, who scored the slam dunk, didn't even break a sweat, and jogged back to his own half without any change in expression.

Mark Jackson on the sidelines looked at the situation on the field with both helplessness and distress.

Compared to the Spurs, who used almost no physical energy in their offense, the Warriors had to use Curry's full strength to succeed in several attacks.

Seeing a line of fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead, Mark Jackson didn't know how to change it.

…………

In the blink of an eye.

The first half ended quickly.

The current score is 60:53.

Although the Spurs have not been able to effectively limit Curry's personal offense, they took the lead in the middle of the second quarter through their own tactical play, and expanded their lead to 7 points by halftime.

Even with this small advantage, the Spurs players did not show much emotion.

As if all this is so natural.

Back in the locker room, Popovich motioned for everyone to sit down and rest.

"It's a good performance, just keep it up and beat them."

Everyone nodded, and Popovich continued,
"However, that small point guard, Stephen Curry, is still quite capable of scoring. Let's try that tactic in the second half."

"That? What play is that, coach?"

Duncan didn't quite understand what Popovich was referring to.

"Ahem, it's the naming tactic invented by Lin Chuan earlier."

Popovich replied somewhat awkwardly.

After all, as a tactical master, it is a bit unworthy of his reputation to use a tactic invented by an active player.

But as long as it works, you should still use it.

"Roll-call tactics, that's it..."

Worried that everyone still didn’t understand, Popovich kindly introduced it to everyone again.

After a quick listen, defensive master Duncan immediately understood what this so-called naming tactic was.

"That is, on the offensive end, we need to find a way to keep Curry in the game and use up all his energy on the defensive end." "That's right."

Popovich snapped his fingers and looked at everyone seriously.
"And Stephen Curry on the other side is not a defensive stalwart either, so the offensive success rate against him is not low."

"That's right, Tony."

As he spoke, Popovich glanced at Parker.

Tony Parker couldn't help but shudder and nodded.

He knew that Popovich was pointing out that he underestimated his opponent and was intercepted by Curry at the beginning.

"Okay, take a break and win the game in the second half!"

Popovich clapped his hands and ended his speech.

And the other side.

Inside the Warriors locker room.

Mark Jackson looked at everyone with a smile.

"Very good, everyone!"

Everyone on the Warriors looked at the head coach in surprise.

They were clearly still behind, but why did the coach say that?

"Stop looking at me that weird look, guys."

Mark Jackson smiled, stood up and said,

"You know, our opponent is the Spurs, a team that always wins 50 games. We have been playing until now, and even though they replaced Curry, our best scorer today, with another player defending him, we were able to hold on to the score. Shouldn't we be proud of ourselves?"

Hearing what Mark said, Curry nodded thoughtfully.

That's indeed what happened.

"In the second half, if they continue to limit Curry, then others will have to step up."

Mark Jackson touched his chin and spoke to everyone.

David Lee nodded immediately.

You know, he has been the team leader all this season, but in this game, he was always restricted by Duncan in the interior and could only rely on Curry on the outside to keep the score close.

He felt very guilty.

When Mark asked others to come forward, he immediately stood up with a serious expression.
"In the second half, I will share Curry's pressure."

"What about Duncan?"

Others also have concerns.

"Don't worry, I still have a mid-range shot."

David Lee smiled at everyone with his two rows of white teeth.

“I’m the leader of the team.”

Everyone was inspired by David Lee, and the morale of the Warriors in the locker room couldn't help but boosted.

Klay Thompson, who was sitting not far away, also clenched his fists secretly.

In the first half, although he made two three-pointers, he spent most of the time watching others attack.

In the second half, he can't waste his touch anymore and must stand up and help the team win!

…………

The second half of the game started quickly.

The game has been going on for several minutes.

At this time, the scores of the two teams changed again.

70: 59.

The Spurs lead by 11 points.

After Mark Jackson encouraged everyone and David Lee stood up and expressed his ambitions, the Warriors not only failed to narrow the score, but the Spurs widened the gap again.

David Lee supported his waist with one hand, wiped the sweat from his forehead with the other hand, and breathed heavily.

Not only did he fail to make the shot, but his layup was interfered by Duncan and missed.

Just in the last few minutes of the game.

On the defensive end, the Spurs still used the level of their entire team's defensive players to defend one-on-one, especially targeting Curry, so that he hardly even received the ball in the past few minutes.

On the offensive end, they also implemented strict calling tactics on Curry in accordance with Popovich's request during the halftime break.

This sudden change of tactics also made the Warriors and Curry unable to react for a while.

Curry was also beaten three times in a row by Dio, Parker and Ginobili.

Being targeted and hit by bigger players also consumed a lot of Curry's energy.

The two chances to escape that I finally got were both missed.

After Duncan also stood in front of Curry through the naming tactic, and then continued to sit and shoot, then ran to the inside and turned around to shoot a layup, Mark Jackson finally called a timeout.

At this time, the score on the field was still 11 points behind.

David Lee looked at Mark Jackson with a guilty look on his face.
"Sorry, Coach, I broke my promise..."

Mark Jackson patted him on the shoulder.

"It's not your fault. He is the No. 1 power forward in history, Tim Duncan. It's normal for you to suffer a loss."

Mark Jackson didn't blame him.

He knew very well that with David Lee's strength, it would be too difficult to open up the situation in front of Duncan.

So his words at the beginning were not directed at him.

Instead, it was towards another young man in their team who had a very high three-point shooting level and the ability to catch up quickly.

Klay Thompson.

Seeing Mark Jackson's eyes falling on him, Thompson clenched his fists and said,

"Coach, let me do it, I can do it."

"You? But you can't even hold the ball..."

When David Lee heard that Clay wanted to take the responsibility of catching up, he immediately interrupted him and tried to stop him.

You know, this is the moment when the team fights their last. Thompson is not the star player of the team. If he rashly increases his shots when chasing points, it would be fine if he scores. He can be a hero of the Golden State Warriors and enjoy the cheers of the people and fans of Oakland.

But once the shot is missed, the opponent will seize the opportunity to widen the score and eventually lose the game.

After the game, the team media and local fans are likely to blame the loss on Klay Thompson.

It was believed that the loss was caused by his reckless shooting and failure to give the ball to the team leader.

He was well aware that such public pressure would likely overwhelm this rookie who had only played for two years.

As the team leader, he cannot let the rookie players in the team bear such pressure. This should be borne by him.

But if it was David Lee who played poorly, he would lose the game.

Although he will still be criticized, it won’t be as bad as Klay Thompson who was criticized for causing the loss.

After all, the team leader should carry the team and try to find opportunities even if he is not feeling well.

Seeing Clay trying to stand up, he quickly stopped him.

But he had only said half of his words when Mark Jackson gently raised his hand to stop him.

David Lee gave the coach a strange look.

She didn't seem to understand why he interrupted her.

Mark Jackson chuckled.

"David, don't get too excited."

He patted David Lee on the shoulder and said,

"Clay is capable, trust him."

"But……"

He wanted to say something else, but Mark Jackson quickly interrupted him.

"The timeout is about to end. Let me arrange the tactics, everyone!"

…………

The game begins again.

The Warriors began to attack.

This time, Curry got some breathing time after the timeout.

Continue to hold the ball and advance forward.

Parker also rushed forward without hesitation to defend Curry, just like before.

Just after Curry dribbled through the inside several times.

The Warriors also started the conduction.

This time.

Curry didn't run the offense himself.

David Lee, who had been in control of the shooting right just now, did not choose to shoot.

With 8 seconds left on the shot clock, the ball came into the hands of a player who hadn't taken a shot in a long time.

It's Klay Thompson!

After receiving the basketball, he did not hesitate and immediately lifted the ball up!
Seeing this, Danny Green quickly pressed forward to interfere.

At this distance, he can guarantee that he can put great pressure on the opponent. Thompson must change the arc of his shot before he can shoot, otherwise he will definitely be blocked!

But Thompson in front of him was not at all timid. His eyes remained firm. He slightly adjusted his shooting posture and threw the ball out very steadily.

At the moment when the block failed, Danny Green turned around and stared in the direction of the basketball.

In the interior, Duncan also blocked Bogut and prepared to jump to grab the rebound.

"Shh!"

Under everyone's gaze, the basketball flew into the net.

Hollow!

The whole audience cheered instantly.

They didn't expect it.

When Curry was restricted by his opponents and David Lee was repeatedly defeated by Duncan and could not break the situation.

It was this rookie who had only played for two years who stood up and narrowed the score difference to within 10 points again!
Hearing the audience shouting his name, Thompson also felt the excitement in his heart and gently waved his fist to celebrate.

Seeing Thompson score under this kind of defense, Danny Green couldn't help but feel it was a bit exaggerated.

I thought to myself, it must be just luck, I have already defended myself to the limit.

But then, Thompson's performance immediately slapped Danny Green in the face.

Declared that his guess was wrong.

After Thompson made an extreme three-pointer, the Warriors team began to trust him more and more.

The team passed the ball several times and once again it was passed to Thompson who was running out of position.

This time, he once again seized the opportunity to catch up and shot without any hesitation.

Three-pointer into the net!

The sound of the net also announced that the score difference had reached 5 points.

Thompson then turned into a shooting robot.

On the Spurs side, after Duncan made a 45-degree mid-range shot, Thompson received the ball again and shot a three-pointer.

The fans in the stadium were so scared that they held their breath for a second.

But the next moment.

"Shh!"

Another goal was scored, bringing the score difference to 4 points!
The fans cheered and whistled, and Popovich immediately called a timeout with a serious and cold expression, even so cold that a few drops of water seemed to drip from his face.

"That guy can shoot better than their team's star guard Curry."

Danny Green complained quietly.

Popovich nodded, noting this, too.

"Especially since Klay Thompson is still an off-ball shooter and doesn't need to adjust. Find a way to limit him from receiving the ball, Green, and Parker."

Popovich assigned new tasks to the two guards.

"And me?"

Ginobili on the side silently raised his hand and asked a soul-searching question,

"What are my plans?"

"Your defense is not as good as Green's. Let's take a look at the situation first."

The game started again soon.

Thompson suddenly found it difficult to get rid of the defender in front of him.

Not to mention catching the ball.

He knew that it was his several goals that made his opponents more wary of him and began to limit his chances of catching the ball and shooting.

But after so many rounds, Thompson's offense also allowed Curry to recover a lot of his physical strength.

He broke free from Parker's defense and shot a three-pointer directly from the outside!

"Shh!"

Come in again!

And the referee blew the whistle!
3+1!

Curry also made the free throw.

In the middle of the third quarter, it took them just over three minutes to wipe out the Spurs' 3-point advantage!

Seeing Curry also make another three-pointer, the Spurs had to make some adjustments.

The opponent's offensive range was so great that they were forced to start stretching their defensive formation.

This also gave others an opportunity to take advantage.

Take David Lee, for example.

After holding back for a while, as the Spurs were forced to increase their perimeter defense, the mid-range position became vacant.

David Lee also seized the opportunity and started shooting mid-range shots.

It seemed that the home atmosphere also infected him. David Lee, the team's leader who previously played mainly inside and made 11 of 3 shots in the previous two and a half quarters, scored three consecutive goals near the free throw line.

With the help of three-pointers from Curry and Thompson, the score was widened at the end of the third quarter.

At the end of the third quarter, the score had changed from 70:59 to 81:91.

In Game 6, the Warriors played their dreaded "Warriors Three" strategy that has been terrified in later generations!

The team scored a total of 38 points in the third quarter! Compared to the opponent's 21 points in a single quarter, they opened up a 17-point gap in this quarter! Not only did they even the score difference, but they also led the opponent by 10 points!
Thompson also made his debut in this game, and the image of Thompson in G6 in later years was still displayed in front of everyone.

He scored 20 points in this quarter, which was more than half of the team's score in this quarter. He made 8 of 6 three-pointers in the quarter and also scored a layup.

This was also his only two-point shot in this quarter.

The Spurs were overwhelmed by the wave of attacks in the third quarter. Even after calling two timeouts, they were unable to stop the crazy Thompson and the entire Warriors team.

They didn't breathe a sigh of relief until the whistle blew at the end of the quarter.

Mark Jackson looked at Thompson as if he were a monster.

He knew that the opponent was good at three-point shooting, but Thompson's performance in this quarter simply amazed him.

"Look, who's here? Michael Jordan?"

Draymond Green, who is also a rookie, also made a joke at this time.

Curry looked at Thompson beside him happily and said with a smile,

"What nonsense! Even Michael Jordan wasn't this strong."

Thompson seemed calm on the surface when being teased, but he was actually more excited than anyone else.

He didn't expect that he was the one who saved the team from the brink of the cliff.

Now, with one quarter left in the game, they went from trailing by 11 points to leading by 10 points!
"Come on, everyone. We only have one quarter left. Let's win the game under the watchful eyes of our home fans!"

Mark Jackson gave everyone a boost.

The Spurs hoped that these few brief minutes would allow the Warriors, who were in hot form, to cool down.

However, in this game, the Warriors seemed to have entered an unbeatable state in one quarter.

Amid the enthusiastic cheers from the entire stadium that almost blew the roof of the arena off to the sky, Thompson, who was in great form in the third quarter, continued to fire on despite receiving special attention in the fourth quarter.

He continued to make three three-pointers in the fourth quarter, changing the opposing defender from Danny Green to Manu Ginobili and then to Kawhi Leonard.

After someone shared the offensive pressure, Curry began to perform well in the fourth quarter, scoring 13 points in a single quarter.

Even though the Spurs continued to play steadily, with Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker all shooting, and Leonard and Green also making a few three-pointers and layups in between, they still couldn't stop the score gap from getting bigger and bigger.

Finally, the game is over.

When the final whistle sounded, the score was fixed at 103:110.

The Warriors defeated the Spurs by 7 points, dragging the game into a tiebreaker!

They made 18 three-pointers in the game, using three-point rain to repel the aggressive Spurs and defend ByteDance's home court!

Klay Thompson scored the highest point of the game!

He scored 34 points! At the same time, his nine three-pointers tied the NBA playoff record for three-pointers in a single game!

After the game, the result of this game surprised everyone. No one could have imagined that the Golden State Warriors, who were only ranked sixth in the Western Conference, not only successfully defeated the Denver Nuggets, who were ranked third in the Western Conference, in the first round, but also played the Spurs, who were ranked second in the Western Conference, to the seventh game in the second round, showing a dark horse momentum.

More and more people are looking forward to the result of Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals.

Will the old and strong Spurs have the last laugh, or will the next young Golden State Warriors make it to the Western Conference Finals?
(End of this chapter)