Basketball Dragon

Chapter 245 Bringing the Breakthrough
The Spurs are particularly strong in odd-numbered annual meetings. Duncan has already won three championships. For the fourth, the Spurs are also full of confidence.

At the beginning of the game, the Spurs did not seem to be affected by the away game, and took the lead in scoring by using their height advantage from the outside.

Then came Duncan's high-efficiency performance, omnipotent in scoring and defense, especially three consecutive blocks in the interior, which directly allowed the Spurs to firmly grasp the lead.

Under Duncan's strong performance, the Knicks' internal problems were completely exposed. When Eddie Curry was unable to fully demonstrate his strength on the offensive end, the team's problems could not be easily made up for by the outside.

Losing more than a dozen rebounds, even if Li Hai hit three three-pointers and scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, he was unable to recover. The Cavaliers lost at home for the first time in the playoffs.

Now the people who saw their displeasure were happy, and said that the Knicks couldn't do it, and they lost the first game.

When we fail, explanations are useless, "We didn't do well in many places, so we lost. It's that simple on the basketball court, and the score will reflect everything, but the finals are not a game that determines the outcome."

The second game will not decide life or death, but it may become the direction of the game, especially against a team like the Spurs, if they can't win at home, they don't need the final victory.

The Knicks need someone to stand up to give their teammates confidence and lead them to play a better game.

It was the Spurs who won the jump ball again. Duncan got the ball in the low post at the beginning, and the Knicks chose to pinch without hesitation.

Duncan passed the ball to the outside, Parker changed the direction of Francis' defensive focus, and then made an emergency stop and hit a jumper. The style of the game is simple and practical, making it difficult to guard against.

After the Knicks attacked, the ball was still passed to Li Hai, but this time he stood in a low position.

Bowen's defense is very tight, and he has been close to him since the last game, with some small movements, which makes people tireless.

Li Hai took the ball in the low post, and if he squeezed inside, he would definitely not be able to pass Duncan's test, so he had fewer choices, but he still did so.

After he got the ball, he just sat inside. Bowen's defense is very annoying, but it is also a fact that Bowen's strength is insufficient. It is impossible for him to resist Li Hai like James.

Li Hai resisted rhythmically for a couple of times, his body firmly blocking the opponent, not giving Bowen a chance to hit the ball. It is not easy to pinch him at this time, unless he is determined when he catches the ball, but the Spurs are not so Do, they are more confident than the Cavaliers.

Li Hai can immediately turn around and shoot a jumper if he is on the flank, and the same is true if he is not on the flank.

Li Hai resisted Bo Wen, turned over and shot a jump shot rhythmically, without even falling back, and hit directly.

This is Li Hai's strength, he can use his own methods to break through the defense, and then throw the ball into the basket like a shooting training.

In terms of offense, the Spurs' choice is very obvious. Parker, Duncan, and Ginobili in the rotation time are not as often able to bloom more, but it is true that these three are hard to defend. Parker's rhythm, Ginobili The pace of Duncan's solidity.

And because of Duncan's existence, Lehi, the Knicks' strongest defensive weapon, couldn't play a key role.

However, after the Knicks played the strongest defense, it was difficult for the rest of the Spurs to score.

Needless to say, Bowen and Oberto, the Spurs didn't need him to score, and when Bowen met Li Hai, he got zero seals.

It was Finley who saw the effect. After all, Finley was getting old. After Marbury strengthened his physical confrontation this time, his height advantage was useless. After several confrontations, his shots were hit with iron.

Only relying on GDP to score, the Spurs can't get very high points, but their defense also limits the Knicks' shooting rate, and the two sides played more intensely than the first game.

Li Hai made a low post, and Channing Freira went beyond the three-point line. The Knicks' tactic was to disrupt the Spurs' defense.

After Li Hai forced Bowen several times, the Spurs also tried zone defense. Duncan defended Li Hai in the low post, but Duncan couldn't go out with Channing Frye.

But soon the Spurs realized that this matter was unreliable. Like Duncan, Li Hai could easily shoot or break through from a distance. His speed made Duncan helpless.

Duncan standing inside and assisting in defense poses a great threat to Li Hai, and if he comes up to defend alone, he will be rewarded with points.

This is also why the Spurs played the Knicks without Li Hai in the two games of the regular season this season, and they have a little impression of Li Hai.

After some tossing, the two sides tied at 20:20 in the first quarter.

At the beginning of this section, Crawford and Ginobili both hit three-pointers neatly.

Ginobili ranked third in the Sixth Man's voting. It's not that his ability is worse than Crawford and Barbosa. It should be said that his overall ability is stronger. It's just that he was almost the main player in the first half of the season. Otherwise, Crawford's defending sixth man may be a little hanging.

Fortunately, the Spurs' bench lineup is not worth worrying about except Ginobili's offense.

The Knicks have a stronger scoring ability off the bench. When the main players of both sides played, the Knicks led by 4 points.

But Duncan came up to attack the inside and caused a foul by Eddie Curry and made two free throws. Then Parker made another mid-range shot to tie the score.

As in the game against the Cavaliers, the defenses on both sides did not give the players many chances to score, so it is still uncomfortable to be overtaken by 4 points easily.

When he was anxious, Li Hai suddenly made a strong shot from outside the three-point line, and the Knicks were in the leading position abruptly.

The Spurs are not in a hurry, it is still Parker's breakthrough and Duncan's inside.

Li Hai's strong three-point shot can only be done when he has a feeling. Not every attack can be shot like this, otherwise it would be to increase the number of strikes.

The Spurs' defense made the Knicks' offense not as smooth as in the regular season. The outside shooting percentages of Marbury and Francis were both affected, which is the reason why they were unable to enter the offensive rhythm. s reason.

The biggest feature of the Knicks' outside line is its strong impact, so it will be affected when it encounters a strong inside line. To break this situation, it means that the individual's performance will be reduced, but this will lose their advantage.

How to achieve the balance between the individual and the team is difficult to get right. This is also a problem that the Knicks will not encounter in the regular season, because the team that can cause them this kind of trouble is probably the Spurs.

That's why they slightly changed the way of attacking. They needed Li Hai to drive them, which was different from before.

And Li Hai, when other teammates were restricted, managed it with his stable scoring.

(End of this chapter)