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Chapter 239 The Final Battle ([-])

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, McHale did not let Xu Hao play. After all, he played the entire third quarter, and he and Roy kept entangled with each other on both ends of the offense and defense, which consumed a lot of energy.In order to ensure Xu Hao's efficiency, McHale had to put him on the bench to rest, otherwise it would be embarrassing if he couldn't exert his strength at a critical moment, and might even lay the groundwork for failure.

In fact, Xu Hao felt that he had no problems, and playing the whole game would not put too much pressure on him, but since the head coach said so, he should just take a good rest off the court.Besides, the Timberwolves built a 13-point lead in three quarters, which was enough for them to squander for a while. Xu Hao was also full of confidence in Sessions. He believed that his substitute could solve the problem.

However, what surprised Xu Hao and McHale was that the Trail Blazers seemed to be planning to fight against the odds. McMillan did not rest most of the main players at all, and did not make any changes except replacing Camby with Juwan Howard.You must know that the five main players of the Trail Blazers basically played the entire third quarter, and reappearing after just a few minutes of rest is tantamount to drinking poison to quench their thirst.But in fact, the Blazers had no choice. They could only reverse the score in one go, and they would be finished if they let go.

The Timberwolves' rotation lineup is still good. This season, their scoring average off the bench ranks 12th in the league, but facing the Trail Blazers' starting lineup, they are still under great pressure and are stretched left and right on the court.If it weren't for Pavlovic's dream of returning to the top and hitting consecutive three-pointers from the bottom corner, the point difference between the two sides would have been wiped out long ago. Even so, their lead is only 5 points left.

McHale gritted his teeth and switched to the full lineup with 9:27 left in the game.Originally, he planned to let the main players rest for a while, but now the momentum of the Blazers has risen. If they don’t quickly replace the main players to control the situation, the Timberwolves might be defeated. At that time, it would be useless to replace them. We can only wait for the outcome of failure.

Xu Hao couldn't bear it on the bench for a long time. When Roy scored consecutively on the court, he was so anxious that he frequently looked at McHale aside, thinking only of him quickly replacing himself on the court.Now that he finally got what he wanted, Xu Hao felt that there was a volcano about to erupt hidden in his body, but his eyes became more and more calm, impulsiveness could not solve the problem.

After the Timberwolves made the substitution, the Blazers immediately felt tremendous pressure inside.Xu Hao didn't let his teammates try his hand on the outside. There's no need to play fast at this time. It's better to guarantee the success rate. The best choice is to focus on the basket.That's why he keeps trying to give the ball to the inside for Love to play back-ups, or to attract the defense and let Brewer or Ellington cut layups.

Howard is an experienced veteran, but he is not tall enough. Although his defensive ability is strong, it is difficult to protect the basket. At best, he can only delay the speed of small players.This is very difficult to affect Xu Hao. While playing the ball for his teammates, he also kept hitting the inside with the ball, making Howard and Aldridge deflated again and again, completely unable to stop him from going deep into the basket to score.

In desperation, McMillan also took advantage of a dead ball to replace Camby. As the last barrier of the Blazers inside, his role on the field cannot be reflected by the data.After Ellington slid the baseline to catch the ball and was slapped away by Camby, Xu Hao changed his offensive method in time. Anyway, his teammates' touch has begun to heat up, and it should be possible to switch to the outside.

After the Timberwolves shifted their offensive focus to the outside, Roy also quickly noticed their changes. He and McMillan on the sidelines looked at each other, and they both read the same meaning from each other's eyes: seize the opportunity to cut off Xu Hao's attack. Passing lanes that don't allow him to give the ball to a teammate to finish.There is never a shortage of players in the league who can win by themselves, but they don't believe that Xu Hao can do it, and this is the most critical moment of the most important game in the entire regular season. How can a rookie decide the outcome?

When Xu Hao dribbled the ball past half-court, he immediately discovered that every teammate was surrounded by a Trail Blazers player. Of course, this was not man-to-man defense.It's not so much that they're defending their opponent, but rather that they're targeting themselves, or their own passes.Obviously, the Blazers don't want Xu Hao to connect his teammates and only let him attack with the ball alone.

Xu Hao smiled slightly. It seems that many people have forgotten the feat of scoring 70+ in the NCAA. Even if they remember, they may think that it is due to the relatively loose defense and physical confrontation of college basketball.But in fact, after leaving Arizona State University, Xu Hao has been working hard to improve his scoring ability, usually only making sacrifices for his teammates.

Now the Blazers obviously want to let Xu Hao score alone and not let him organize the offense, so that's all they need to do.

Facing Roy's defense again, Xu Hao felt calm in his heart. After a series of dribbles under the crotch, he suddenly took a step. It seemed that he was about to break through. His further step made Roy subconsciously take a step back.However, before he could react, Xu Hao took a step back and returned to the original place, then took off and shot, the basketball drew a perfect arc and fell into the basket.

Roy was expressionless, but there was already a roar of cheers in the target center. With this three-pointer, the Timberwolves regained an 8-point lead and temporarily got rid of the situation of being overtaken at any time.But this is not the end. The next game has completely become a stage for Xu Hao to perform. Every round, the other players of the Timberwolves will take the initiative to open up space, including the team core Love designated by the management, which represents their respect for Xu Hao. The recognition of Xu Hao's own strength proved even more.

McMillan's face was livid. He found that whether it was Roy, Fernandez or even Batum and Aldridge, it was basically for nothing for anyone to defend Xu Hao.Facing those whose speed was not as fast as his own, Xu Hao directly accelerated and forced a breakthrough. Facing big players, he continuously changed his rhythm to get rid of the defense.

Xu Hao's unrivaled performance caused cracks in the confidence of many Blazers players, but Roy was not included.His expression became more stern, and he, who has always been willing to share the ball with his teammates, began to look like an autocratic tyrant. Every time the Blazers attacked, he took the ball to the inside without hesitation, like carrying a pack of explosives without fear Warriors of death.

Despite this, the Timberwolves are still firmly holding a five-to-six-point lead, and the players are playing more and more confidently. McHale is sitting firmly on the bench. He has a premonition that the Timberwolves may almost win this game. down.

(End of this chapter)