Chapter 667: Fighting the Holy City Again Three
The Spurs came up in a much different state than they had when they were at the Warriors' home court, with players running more aggressively, moving faster basketball, and having a high rate of tactical completion.
And when it comes to the Warriors, the players are obviously a lot more restrained.
In the first wave of attack, Yang Di was caught inside and turned out, Danny Granger broke through and stepped on the line directly, got a mistake in vain, and handed over the ball.
Then the Spurs practiced outside and fired, but the Warriors' offense never found its way, and with a layup by Yang Di to break the scoring drought, the Spurs opened a 10-2 lead.
The bad situation made Montgomery even call a timeout, he couldn't say anything, the Spurs' home court, will definitely encounter great difficulties, the Warriors' offense is mired in the quagmire is what he expected, but he didn't expect that this pressure would be so great, and the Spurs in a desperate situation burst out with amazing energy.
Yang Di is the most able to resist pressure, and he is also the most stable in such a situation.
After returning from the timeout, Yang Di first turned inside and hit a jumper, then jumped into the inside, attracted the bag and distributed it to the empty Ray Allen, who stopped the bleeding with three points.
But at the same time, the Spurs were scoring, and Parker hit back-to-back mid-range shots, and crossing Fisher was like crossing the road in the early morning.
For the first time, Montgomery realized that the 33-year-old Derrick Fisher had been a veteran of the league for more than a decade, and that he was gradually struggling defensively against many of the league's speedy point guards.
Young's offense almost extended to the three-point line, forcing the inside to cause fouls on Elson and Duncan.
Popovich's wheel battle, including the sandwich battle, disrupts Yang Di's rhythm in various ways.
At the end of the first quarter, the Warriors trailed the Spurs by six points, 19-25.
After Monta Ellis came on the court, he didn't play much in the first quarter, but in the second quarter, he suddenly exploded and became the X-factor on the Warriors' court without warning.
Monta Ellis first hit a driving layup, and then in a one-on-one defense, he stole the dribble of Spurs guard Jacques Vaughn and rushed to the front court to complete the dunk.
A wave of 4-0 with completely individual ability made Popovich's eyelids jump.
Before he could react, Monta Ellis pushed frantically in the backcourt and completed a layup in the frontcourt, and the entire Spurs defense seemed to be half a beat slower under his super fast speed.
This kind of defense made Popovich very dissatisfied, and immediately called a timeout and scolded all the Spurs players.
"Well done!"
Yang Di was in a good mood, and as soon as Monta Ellis came off the court, he and Monta had a chest-bumping passionate celebration.
"I said a long time ago, I should be able to break out, today is a good day to break out!" Monta-Ellis made a rock 'n' roll gesture with a smug look on his face.
"Don't be exaggerated, be careful of the manager beating you." Yang Di hurriedly grabbed him, and the two walked off the field with their shoulders on their backs.
Monta Ellis was happy too early, and after a timeout, the Spurs stepped up their defense against him, and he immediately didn't break through so easily, trying to miss a long-range two-point jumper.
The Spurs reopened the gap and regained the advantage with a three-pointer from Ginobili and a jumper from Robert Horry.
At halftime, the Spurs led the Warriors by exactly 10 points, 51-41 at home.
"If the Warriors continue to play like this, there is a big problem on the offensive end, and the three-point shot is only 1 of 11 in the entire first half, which is the one that Ray Allen shot shortly after the opening."
When Reggie Miller explains, he will pay more attention to the three-point shot, and it just so happens that the three-point comparison in this game is obvious, the Spurs are 3 of 7 three-pointers in the half, and the Warriors are 1 of 11, which is already very revealing.
"The Warriors threw a lot of land, but they couldn't shoot. The Spurs shot less and actually scored more than they did. ”
Montgomery also found this situation, the Spurs' defense is too layered, and there are only two breakthrough Warriors who can really pose a threat to their formation, one is Yang Di, and the other is Monta Ellis, and the breakthroughs of people like Ray Allen, Danny Granger and others are average and have long been lost.
What Montgomery can do is to arrange more Monta Ellis and Jandy blocking offenses on the offensive end, and then rely on Ray Allen and Danny Granger to open up space on the outside, and also need the outside firepower of these two.
Then on Parker's defense, Montgomery assigned Ray Allen tasks, Ray Allen is brisk and physically strong, and after the offensive end minus the task of attacking with the ball, the defensive end should be able to put more energy, which can be regarded as Montgomery's various tasks readjusted and distributed.
Montgomery said so, and Monta Ellis did replace Fisher as the starting point guard in the second half, but he is not confident in how much execution the players can do in the real game.
The mentality on the offensive end is easy to adjust.
The Warriors' offense was much better, the two major breakers broke inside, the Spurs' overall shrinking defensive line became very shaky, and the Warriors set off a counterattack in the third quarter.
But on the defensive end, after the Spurs made a few tactical runs, Monta Ellis forgot his position and ran to mark Parker, or simply missed people on the outside, and against Finley and Ginobili, he was also very difficult one-on-one, which became a hole in the Warriors' outside line.
You can't see the situation when you play in the second team, and when you pull into the first team, especially when you encounter a team like the Spurs that is good at taking advantage of your weaknesses, it is infinitely magnified.
At the end of the third quarter, the Warriors still trailed the Spurs by as many as eight points at 66-74.
Because there is still hope of equalizing, Yang Di was kept on the field by Montgomery, in the second half, Yang Di is not ready to rest, in the regular season, he played an average of only 36 minutes per game, and his physical reserves are very good.
Duncan can't play with young people like this, and after the start of the fourth quarter, the break will be over.
Yang Di seized the opportunity, shot and slashed 6 points in a row, and the Warriors chased the difference to only 4 points 72-76.
Popovich called a timeout to stabilize the situation, and when he returned, Ginobili hit another three-pointer, which caused cheers from the fans.
Yang Di has already scored 30 points, and with the Warriors' offensive efficiency being so poor, he has almost taken over all of the team's offense, but fortunately he is now skillful, and if he had changed two years ago, he might have been powerless to surrender.
Robert Horry lamented that the young man was too strong, and in a few minutes, he was ravaged back and forth by Yang Di.
After 5 fouls on his back, he was sent off the court to rest, Horry is the key Mr. of the Spurs, in case this game is played at the last critical moment, you have to rely on Horry!
Young hit a free throw, and by the time Duncan came on, he had already scored 33 points, and there were eight minutes left before the end of the game.