Nowitzki's leadership was full of value, pulling outside the three-point line to cover Terry, receiving a return pass and hitting a three-pointer from the right to face Tony Allen.

It was his 13th personal point in the final quarter, 128-126.

Yang Rui didn't dare to relax his defense at the last moment, allowing Curry to rest off the court, but he still didn't defend it. He didn't call a timeout, he let the players adjust freely on the court, and Paul would control the tempo.

The Clippers' home court became quiet, the home fans held their breath, and the staff did not shout slogans anymore, worried that the noise would affect the performance of the players on the court.

The players all pulled away, and Paul in the middle held the ball to press the time and singled out Terry.

In the last 5 seconds, Paul started with the ball, and the continuous crotch dribble changed to the left side, Terry was not shaken away, and retreated in front of him to form a disturbance, Paul pulled the ball in the corner position, stepped back to the middle, and made a jump shot.

Paul's control and judgment are fine, but as a short guard, his scoring ability is not top-notch. He dodged the block, the ball bounced out of the frame, and Marion grabbed the rebound in the backcourt.

The Mavericks called a timeout, Carlisle arranged his tactics and prepared to play the success rate, and with little time left, every ball could decide the final victory.

Carlisle pays more attention to defense, although Gasol Jr.'s appearance will make the team's offense better, Carlisle did not send him, but arranged small-ball tactics, Nowitzki center, Prince, Marion forward, outside Kidd, Terry.

Yang Rui sent Griffin to play center, No. 4 Guy, outside Korver, Tony Allen, and Paul.

At this time, playing small balls and protecting rebounds is not good enough, but Yang Rui didn't dare to use Little Jordan to strengthen his defense, because his free throws were too bad, and after grabbing the rebound, the opponent immediately used the "shark cutting tactic", Yang Rui was angry.

Although Griffin is poor in defense as a center, he protects backcourt rebounds, has a better chance of being fouled and throws free throws, and he has an excellent offense, making it easier for the Clippers to score on the next offense.

The game continues, the Clippers are marking, and at this time, the Mavericks can't shoot three-pointers, and the change of defense must be fast. After a couple of passes, Kidd gave the ball to Terry, who couldn't get rid of it with Nowitzki.

The Clippers' defense worked, with Guy switching to keep up with Terry, and Tony Allen getting close to Nowitzki.

With 24 seconds to play, Nowitzki received the ball on the right side and turned to shoot in the face of Tony Allen from a position far from the basket.

Tony Allen made good use of the home advantage, knowing that the referee would not easily blow fouls in such a critical round, and looked for confrontation closely, and the small movements in his hands disrupted Nowitzki's rhythm and the ball was deflected.

Griffin grabbed the rebound in the backcourt and passed it to Paul, who received it, and the fans applauded together.

Paul controlled the ball and pressed the time, delayed outside the three-point line, and the most important thing at this time was not to make mistakes, even if he ran out of shots for 24 seconds and led by 2 points, the pressure was on the opponent's side.

In the final five seconds, Paul called for Griffin to cover, broke away from Terry on the left with the ball, and drew Nowitzki into switching defenses to distribute the ball to the middle.

Griffin took the ball and rushed to the basket, ready for a three-step dunk, Terry was experienced and hugged Griffin with all his might.

The Mavericks have committed four fouls in a single quarter, and in the last two minutes, they can't foul people without the ball, and Terry can't stop Griffin's strong attack, but he can give him free throws.

Griffin's weakness of poor mental quality was revealed, and he missed two free throws at a critical moment, and the rebound was grabbed by Marion.

Barkley sighed: "Griffin hit these two shots, and the Clippers could have sealed the win, and he missed two last-minute free throws twice in the regular season, and he couldn't shoot when he needed to score the most." ”

Kenny Smith said: "He's a rookie after all, and even if it's the best rookie, there are times when he is soft. ”

With just 21.2 seconds left, Carlisle called another timeout to arrange his tactics and replaced Marion with Gasol Jr. to add a counterpoint of attack.

As long as this shot misses, the Mavericks must use foul tactics, and the Clippers players must press the tempo, and Gasol Jr. does not have to worry about being counterattacked by the opponent.

A good coach needs to be aware of every detail and use it to create opportunities, and Carlisle also has the quality to win the best coach award.

At the end of the timeout, the Mavericks player completed a quick offense.

Nowitzki and Gasol Jr. double-covered in the middle, helping Terry, who was running back, to receive a pass from Kidd, and the two went together in the middle, blocking Griffin and Paul.

This cooperation is actually the "elevator door block and dismantle" invented by Yang Rui when he was with the Raptors, and when he was with the Lakers, Yang Rui rarely used this kind of block and dismantle, and it was easy to be blown by the referee to cover the foul.

A key attack, the Mavericks fell behind in the score, and if the referee blew a covering foul, it would directly determine the outcome of the game, and there would definitely be a big controversy after the game, so he hesitated and didn't blow it.

Terry half-turned and made a three-point shot, and the opportunity was very good, and the force was a little bigger, and the ball hit the back edge of the basket and bounced out.

Griffinka grabbed the rebound in the backcourt and was just about to find Paul, but Gasol Jr. was fouled and sent to the free throw line.

Griffin listened to the cheers of the fans, took a deep breath to adjust the rhythm, hit the first free throw, the second free throw missed the basket again, and the rebound was grabbed by Gasol Jr. 129 to 126.

Yang Rui's heart also mentioned his throat, the Mavericks still have a chance to tie the score, the Clippers did not play well in the final quarter, if they enter overtime, the pressure on young players will be greater, and the consequences will be unimaginable.

Griffin's performance disappointed him, and with just one more free throw, the Clippers would have won.

In Yang Rui's previous life, Griffin disappointed Clippers fans every year, usually killing all sides in the regular season and going silent in the playoffs. On the offensive end, he played in the low post with average efficiency, and occasionally shot two shots from medium and long distance, and he couldn't shoot at all.

What's worse is that Griffin was injured in the playoffs in his previous life, and the place of injury was different every time. Yang Rui can only pray now that he is more reliable and not as unlucky as in his previous life.

The Mavericks made a substitution when the ball died, with Stojakovic coming on for Prince.

The players pulled away, Nowitzki covered Terry, Guy switched quickly, he didn't have a chance to shoot, and the ball was distributed to Peja at 50 degrees to the right.

Carlisle's substitution was a key shot, Peja took advantage of his height to meet Korver's strong shot, deflected the basket under interference, Griffin grabbed the rebound again, and Marion sent to the free throw line.

The Mavericks really did everything they could, and they had a chance to overtake, but they were a little unlucky. This time, Griffin finally found his senses and hit both free throws.

Kidd missed a three-point shot, the rebound was grabbed by Gay, and the Mavericks gave up the foul, and the final score was 131-126, and the Clippers got off to a good start with difficulty.

At the post-match press conference, many reporters interviewed Yang Rui and asked him to evaluate the game.

Yang Rui rarely kept a low profile. 'I'm happy to win the first game and I'll ask the players to give their full attention to each game and try to qualify for the finals.'

Yang Rui didn't dare to say crazy words that he would definitely eliminate the calf.

In this game, the Clippers' two guards played at their highest level, Paul had 35 points, 4 rebounds and 16 assists, and Curry had 30 points and 4 assists, but the Clippers still had a hard time winning, and the interior was at a disadvantage.

Griffin shot 8-of-17, 0-of-1 from three-point range and 5-of-10 from the free-throw line for 21 points, 14 rebounds and 2 assists. Guy scored only 11 points, and the defense was a bit ugly.

The Mavericks' frontcourt lineup is stronger than the Clippers, Nowitzki and Griffin in the regular season have become an advantageous position in the playoffs, and everyone else has defended and played very methodically, with average personal ability, and winning without messing around.

The Clippers' passion is not steady enough, which is a concern.