Legendary star

Chapter 650 Victory
Affected by Tim Duncan's departure, the Spurs were already behind the Pacers by 6 points at the end of the third quarter. Even if Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili performed well enough on the court, it was enough Working hard, but lacking Tim Duncan's Spurs, it was inevitable that the Pacers would increase the score. The inside combination of Rasu Nesterovich and Robert Horry was almost overwhelmed by Jermaine- O'Neill and NN-Hilaryo were blown away.

However, the 6-point advantage is not unacceptable for the Spurs. After all, there is still a whole quarter for the Spurs to catch up. As one of the most stable teams in the entire league, the Spurs have never been patient. None are missing.

After the start of the fourth quarter, Tim Duncan, who was surprisingly rested for a long time, was still sitting on the sidelines. Popovich sent Mike Finley and Nick Van Exel to the bench, and the Pacers Here, the original substitute lineup will continue to be maintained.

"It seems very difficult for the Spurs to rely on the bench lineup to chase points. I don't know what kind of consideration Popovich has been putting Tim Duncan on the bench. Tim Duncan looks very good today. Hot, does Popovich have any other considerations?"

As shrewd as Magic Johnson, I don’t know what kind of consideration Popovich has for keeping Tim Duncan on the bench. Tim Duncan is the only inside pillar of the Spurs. It can be seen from the process of this game that when Tim Duncan is on the court, the two main insiders of the Pacers, Jermaine O'Neal and NN Hilario There is no way to take advantage of Tim Duncan, but when Tim Duncan is off the court, let alone Jermaine O'Neal and NN Hilario, it is the Pacers' two substitute insiders Mutom Beau and Jeff Foster can abuse the inside of the Spurs, so Magic Johnson is really hard to understand. What kind of consideration does Popovich have for Tim Duncan? Pressed on the bench, is there any back trick that he can't see?
Since defense is basically not considered, the battle between the substitute lineups of the two sides is more exciting than when the main lineup is on the field. In the battle between you and me, 6 minutes passed quickly. Amid the cheers of the audience, Tim Duncan, who had been resting for a long time, finally returned to the field with the main lineup.

After the game restarted, the Spurs suddenly increased the intensity of the game. There was no way. After a battle with the substitute lineup, the Spurs were already 8 points behind. It's over, but if you want to complete the reversal and overtake the score, you must not only guarantee the offense, but also strengthen your own defensive strength. Only by suppressing the opponent at both ends of the offense and defense can you reverse the situation on the field in the last 5 minutes .

After Tim Duncan came back on the court, the Spurs' defensive level has been improved by more than one level, and with Tim Duncan on the inside to assist in the defense, the Spurs' double-team defense against Meng Xu is even more unscrupulous. Xu was double-teamed crazily and couldn't open the inside line. In this case, the Pacers' lead was being eroded by the Spurs bit by bit.

Just after the Spurs passed a high pick-and-roll and Tony Parker made a mid-range shot to reduce the score to 4 points, Rick Carlisle on the sidelines quickly called a timeout and adjusted the lineup on the field. After the timeout, Rick- Carlisle replaced NN Hilario with James Posey, Tayshaun Prince with Anfernee Hardaway, and Tony Parker with Sarunas Jascovisius. The signal to strengthen the offense has been very obvious.

Contrary to the Spurs' defense, Rick Carlisle chose to use offense to end the game, with Sarunas Jascovisius, Anfernee Hardaway, Meng Xu, James Posey, and the Pacers on the court Four of the five players on the table have excellent ball-handling and organizational skills, and these four players are also very good at three-pointers. With a group of such players on the court, the Spurs want to continue to double-team Meng Xu. You have to think about it too.

The game restarted. While Rick Carlisle adjusted the team lineup, Popovich also made corresponding adjustments to the Spurs' defensive strategy. It seemed that he had anticipated Rick Carlisle's adjustment. After the timeout ended, the Spurs He gave up the double-teaming of Meng Xu, and at the same time replaced Rasu Nesterovic with Robert Holly, and very tacitly replaced with the same small lineup as the Pacers.

The Pacers took the lead in attacking. Since Sarunas Jaskovicius is now in possession of the ball, Sarunas Jaskovicius did not move to Tony A. Lun directly handed over the basketball to Meng Xu, and Meng Xu organized the offense. Instead, according to the tactics often used in the regular season last season, Sarunas-Jaskovicius organized the offense, and Meng Xu was Go play off the ball.

After the breakthrough was blocked, Sarunas Jascovicius immediately passed the basketball back to James Posey, and James Posey, who was surrounded by Robert Hawley, threw the basketball back Transferred to Anfernee Hardaway on the other side of the court, a very light swaying movement in place, Anfernee Hardaway swayed Manu Ginobili who was defending himself, and then tiptoed lightly Standing on tiptoe, he threw the basketball in his hand.

"Damn it." Anfernee Hardaway hit a 3-pointer, and the point difference between the two sides was once again widened to 7 points. Looking at the basketball that fell from the basket and then bounced on the ground, Popovich on the sidelines He squeezed his fists hard. This is the case in many games. The one who scores a key goal and ends the game is not necessarily the head player of both sides, but the role player who he doesn't care about.

There are more than 3 minutes left in the game, and the point difference ranges from 8 points to 4 points, and then to 7 points. As a team behind, it is easy to have problems in mentality, and the Spurs have problems in this attack. After Tony Parker got rid of the defense of Sarunas-Jaskovicius, he was directly intercepted by Meng Xu who was supplemented by defense. After stealing the ball, Meng Xu succeeded in fast break, and the 9-point difference forced Popovich had to call a timeout to slow down the pace of the game and adjust the mentality of the players by the way.

With a 9-point difference and 3 minutes left in the game, as long as the Pacers don't collapse, it will be difficult for the Spurs to complete the reversal unless there is a miracle moment like 35 points in 13 seconds, or 9 minutes in 8 seconds. Appearing, it cannot be called a miracle.

(End of this chapter)