In the fourth quarter, Popovich had no choice but to replace Duncan early.

He knew, and even Spurs fans knew, that the Clippers would definitely replace Ji Guosha in the fourth quarter to continue the offense.

Spurs did not score a single point in the last three minutes.

If Duncan is not on the court, the Spurs will not be able to score, and if they don't fight now, it will be tantamount to being caught, and Popovich and Duncan will not be reconciled.

The Clippers made changes in the fourth quarter: Dragic, Crawford, Jeffries, Ji Guoyi, Jordan Jr.

It's a tall lineup, and Dunleavy Sr. wants to use Jeffries' ability to make offensive fouls.

The Spurs trailed by 12 points, and as soon as the fourth quarter began, they would definitely try to narrow the margin to single digits first, at this time, Jeffries's ability to make fouls came into play, and the Spurs players were inevitably impetuous, and this was the easiest time to make fouls.

Spurs 4th quarter substitution: George. Hill, Roger. Mason, Barry Sr., Matt. Bonner, Duncan.

Barry Sr. is still playing for the first time in this series, the white dunk king of N years ago, has been plagued by injuries in the playoffs this year, and after being injured in the first round, he did not return until the third game of the Western Conference finals.

Popovich has never dared to use Barry Sr., and today there is no choice but to see if the veteran can become a wonder player, and the Spurs now need role players to step up and help the team tide over the difficulties.

The Spurs attacked first in the fourth quarter, and Duncan attacked Jordan Jr. on the inside, but was caught by Jeffries.

Barry Sr. receives the ball, has no chance to shoot, and Crawford rotates.

Mason received the basketball and hit a quick three-point shot. The margin narrowed to 9 points.

Old Dunleavy didn't care too much. This lineup is certainly not going to be too good defensively. Dragic, Crawford, and Jordan Jr. were not as good on defense, and Jeffries could only make offensive fouls and have a mediocre defense. This lineup is for offense, and they have to go into it.

Ji Guozhi received the basketball on the offensive end, and Jordan Jr. came out to block and dismantle, which can be regarded as an inside block.

In the entire league, the Clippers are the only team that will use the center to block the power forward, and then let the power forward dribble and break through. It's kind of weird.

Ji Guosha dribbled and broke through, and the Spurs players didn't feel strange at the moment, but felt tricky.

The fox's speed was too fast, there was no change of direction, and it accelerated directly, breaking through the double delay of Bonner and Duncan in the blink of an eye, and went straight to the inside to complete a one-handed split.

"Give up, let's take a double-digit lead into the final quarter, the game is over, you might as well think about where to go fishing this holiday."

After Ji Guoyi's goal. Continuing to influence opponents with trash talk, the margin came to 11 points again.

Duncan is attacking the low post on the offensive end. The feint shook up little Jordan, and forced a board shot against Jeffries, who was making up for the defense, and actually went in.

"Toot!"

The referee blew the whistle and awarded Jeffries a defensive foul, and Duncan scored two plus one!

"I'm not done yet!"

Duncan leaked domineeringly, stared at Ji Guosha with big eyes, and said categorically.

"What do you want to do with your eyes so wide? I said it's over, it's over! ”

When Ji Guoyi said this, his confidence was inevitably a little insufficient, not enough to be as decisive as Duncan.

He can't be blamed for this, Duncan is no longer stupid today, he has regained the ruthlessness he had when he was in his twenties, and he is full of murderous energy.

Duncan didn't say anything more, walked to the free throw line, added a free throw, and the score gap returned to 8 points.

Popovich waved his hand off the court, a gesture telling his team to change their defensive strategy.

The Spurs had simulated a variety of possible scenarios for this game before the game, and the entire Spurs coaching staff had come up with a number of solutions, including tactics to use when trailing in the final quarter.

There's nothing surprising about it, there's only so much the side behind can do, you just have to play hard and play every ball with equal chances and put in more effort than your opponent.

The physical factor is no longer in Popovich's consideration at the moment, the Spurs are starting to run at full speed, and the game is coming to the decisive moment, at this time, even if you don't have the body, you have to try your best to fight back the victory.

The Spurs changed their tactics, they no longer let Ji Guoyi score, and the defensive intensity increased.

The Clippers also changed in the fourth quarter, they did it more thoroughly, and the defensive end offered a three-two defense, and began to frantically wrap Duncan on the inside, using tight defense, as long as Shi Buddha received the ball, immediately wrapped and forced to grab.

With 7 minutes and 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the score was 98-91, and the Clippers led the Spurs by seven points.

Duncan, under the Clippers' tight defense, has already dished out two assists in the fourth quarter, and the gap between the two teams has also narrowed to seven points.

The Clippers paid the price for Duncan, but Dunleavy Sr. still did not change his tactics, even if there was a gap behind him, they resolutely wrapped the trap and forced it.

Parker had only a two-minute break in the fourth quarter and was already back on the court, receiving Duncan's free throw from the free-throw line and hitting a shot from beyond the three-point line.

Duncan played a long time today, Parker and Jamison played even longer, and the two basically didn't rest much, and they had to go back to the court to catch their breath.

The elder Dunleavy appropriately gave the Spurs some shooting opportunities on the outside, betting that the Spurs' core was not good at the end of the game and couldn't shoot.

"Pick up the speed and run!"

The elder Dunleavy instructed his players on the sidelines to play faster, increase their offensive and defensive rounds, and continue to consume the Spurs.

They still have a 7-point advantage now, even if they lose all of them, they are not afraid, Spurs will definitely not score in the last few minutes, this is the experience he has gained in his more than ten years of coaching career, once a player loses his body, he is a toothless tiger.

The Clippers followed Dunleavy Sr.'s instructions and picked up the pace of the game while keeping the most offensive lineup on the court.

As the minutes ticked by, the Spurs fought their last breath to close the gap to three points in the final five minutes of the game.

However, the offensive lineup composed of Billups, Ji Guoyi, Crawford, and Ji Guoqiu is too luxurious, and the Spurs cannot defend everyone.

In the last 4 minutes and 30 seconds, Ji Guoqiu grabbed the offensive rebound, and Billups received the pass and unexpectedly hit the basket again, using the body of Brother Panda as a cover. Throw the basketball in from close range.

The Clippers' next offense. Ji Guoyi used the off-ball run to shake off Jamison, who was slowing down. He fired decisively from outside the three-point line and made his first three-pointer of the quarter, and the margin was stretched to 8 points.

At this time, discerning people have already seen that the speed of Spurs players on the court is beginning to be unable to keep up with the Clippers, Jamison is a step slower to follow the defense this time, giving Ji Guoyan a chance to shoot in the vacant position, and the fox brother is in such a good state today. Certainly won't miss it.

Not only defense, but also the next offense, Duncan's mid-range shot smashed into the front of the basket, which was obviously not strong enough.

"Haha, they can't do it."

Ji Guoyi saw that the Spurs didn't score two goals in a row, and suddenly came to his senses, bullying you for not being able to stay long.

The arrogant tone of the dead fox was directly transmitted to the TV screen, and many fans scolded him for being a villain, isn't it just that he is young and has a better body than the Spurs veterans. Even if you win, what kind of ability can it be?

In fact, this is really a kind of strength, and young players have an advantage in body. But experience is not as important as a veteran, and sometimes experience is more important than body, otherwise how was James swept away?

The Spurs couldn't beat the Clippers with experience, which left them with no excuse.

The Clippers players felt the change in the Spurs players, and their morale was boosted!

Billups used his body to force Parker, hit the basket to attract Duncan to help defend, and distributed the basketball to Ji Guoqiu, who pulled out.

Brother Panda immediately shot after receiving the ball, hitting a 15-foot mid-range, and the margin widened to 10 points.

That's what's so scary about the Clippers, their explosiveness is far better than the Spurs, and they can hit a wave of attacks in just a few minutes to take their opponents away.

The Spurs chased for most of the quarter and finally chased the difference to 3 points, but it was exactly the same as the third quarter, and the Clippers re-extended the difference to 10 points after only three attacks.

Popovich called a timeout, and the Spurs' problem now is that they can't break the Clippers' pressing, and they can't play on the offensive end, and the consequence is that they are instantly pulled away.

Charles. "The Clippers often used joint defensive pressing against their opponents in the fourth quarter, and the key to the Spurs breaking the tight press was to center the interior players after they reached the free throw line," Barkley said. The Clippers' defense wins by expanding the range and pressing the pack, and is extremely aggressive against offensive players with the ball. In the first three quarters, the Spurs faced the pressure and hit the ball to the center's response point, that is, Duncan, and the others immediately cut in the air, and the more the Clippers expanded outward, the tighter they pressed, the more space behind them, and the more opportunities for the Spurs to cut and run on the outside. As long as a few passes and cuts were successful, the Clippers had to reduce the defensive range because of the space behind them, and the Spurs got the opportunity to calmly organize the offense from the outside. ”

Kenny. Smith laughed: "That's why the Clippers are reluctant to use joint defensive pressing against the Spurs in the first three quarters, and when Duncan and the main team are in good shape, the Clippers' pressing will be broken by Duncan in the middle with his playmaking." However, when the players are down, it will be difficult for the Spurs to continue to play comfortably on the outside, and their air cuts are easily interrupted by the Clippers, and I think the Clippers used the tight time very well, and the Spurs were weak in the final quarter against the Clippers' tight defense. ”

Popovich certainly knows, and he knows even better, that getting up and down the free-throw line is the Clippers' shot to press the defense. If the offensive team has excellent interior skills, as long as they hit the ball into the hands of the center at the free throw line, the others will immediately cut around the center like a marquee, pressing the defense to break.

That's what the Spurs did, and there was no problem tactically, and Popovich's timeout was more of a breather for the players than a way to teach them how to do it.

It was the Spurs' last long timeout, and they also had a 20-second short timeout just in case.

After the game restarted, Duncan responded to the ball at the free throw line, and the two brothers immediately surrounded him.

Parker cut the basket from the wing, Duncan passed the basketball out, but Ji Guoshi relied on his fast steps and flew from behind, forcing Parker to change the shooting angle in the air, and the result was insufficient.

"Calm down, we don't need to rush."

Ji Guoqiu won the rebound, glanced at the time, there were 3 minutes and 20 seconds left in the game, they had a 10-point lead, and there was no need to worry now.

Billups received the basketball and slowly pushed forward, and the Clippers began to drag the clock.

In this offense, the Clippers reversed the ball continuously, and it was not until the last 3 seconds that Ji Guoyi used a breakthrough throw to score two points.

The Spurs players were already panicking at the moment, and the goal was broken through to the inside by Ji Guoyi at the last moment, and the Spurs' defense was already full of holes.

Duncan's next offense finally got a foul, but unfortunately only hit one of the two free throws.

The Clippers turned their heads, Crawford hit a three-point shot from the outside, and the Clippers' nerve knife stabbed the Spurs hard at the last moment, and the difference between the two teams became 14 points, which was the largest point difference in the game, and the Spurs were gone. (To be continued......) R1292