The third quarter is over.

83:69!!

The Spurs were down by only 14 points.

Without Stoudemire and Weiguo, the Suns' interior defense is left to Marion alone. How can he possibly hold off Duncan?

Fortunately...

The Spurs players were also out of form.

Otherwise, in just over a minute, the Spurs could have narrowed the gap to within 10 points.

......

Spurs bench.

Popovich comforted the players, saying, "Unexpected things happen on the basketball court. Forget about what happened earlier. Our goal is to win, to win the championship... Right now... in short... I don't want to see you all looking so dejected!"

What he wanted to say was that Wei Guo was very likely to be eliminated from this series, and now was the Spurs' best chance to win. But Wei Guo was injured by Kimura Takeru after all. He didn't care how Kimura Takeru would be punished by the league, but saying this would be kicking someone when they're down. Although he was secretly happy, Popovich held back and didn't say it.

Horry chimed in, "The head coach is right. We need to stay focused and not worry about Kimura Takeru's injury right now... We'll confront Stoudemire after the game."

Duncan and the others remained silent. In this situation, keeping quiet and remaining silent was the best way to express themselves.

......

In the fourth quarter, Gentry put Hunter on the court.

Hunter and Weiguo entered the league in the same year, and Hunter was the 15th pick in the first round. In his rookie season with the Magic, he got a few starting opportunities and averaged nearly ten minutes of playing time per game. Unfortunately, this player had average shooting ability and no ability to protect the rim. In his best season, he didn't get more than 3 rebounds.

but...

With the loss of Wei Guo and Stoudemire, the 2.13-meter Hunter must step up and intimidate the Spurs.

Duncan and Parker did not rest.

The Spurs are still down by 14 points, and even with Wei Guo and Stoudemire out of the game, Popovich is not taking any chances.

The Suns took the first possession...

Nash used Hunter's screen to get around Parker and shoot a three-pointer.

"bang~~~"

The basketball bounced off the rim.

A shadow fell over the Suns...

In times like these, players need to step up. Nash's shot was very decisive, which shows... Nash wanted to be the one to step up and lead the team, but Wei Guo's injury had a huge impact on the players' mentality.

They had never felt this way before. Even when Wei Guo was sitting on the bench eating sunflower seeds, the players felt at ease because their leader was there. Unconsciously, the team realized how much they depended on Wei Guo. The whole team was in disarray. Nash missed three shots in a row, but the Spurs seized the opportunity to close the gap to only 6 points.

......

Gentry called a timeout.

......

After being ejected, Stoudemire went straight to the medical room without even returning to the locker room.

Stoudemire no longer cares whether he gets suspended or not...

He was only concerned about Wei Guo's injury. Wei Guo had entered the league earlier than him, and since Wei Guo came to the Suns, he had taught Stoudemire a lot and helped him a great deal. Stoudemire had always regarded Wei Guo as his mentor and his good older brother.

As soon as I arrived at the door, I heard arguing coming from inside. I could hear the voices of the team doctor, Jack, and Weiguo.

"Brother Wei can still speak, so he should be fine."

Stoudemire reassured himself and pushed open the door to the medical room.

The scene before him stunned Stoudemire... Stoudemire's appearance startled Wei Guo even more.

"Holy crap..."

Wei Guo exclaimed in horror, "Little S, how come your jersey is covered in blood?"

The Suns were wearing their home white jerseys today. When Stoudemire beat up Takeru Kimura, he didn't even notice that Kimura's blood had gotten all over his jersey, which then spread out after being soaked with sweat.

Stoudemire looked down at his jersey. "This is Kimura Takeru's blood. Wei-ge... are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

As he spoke, Wei Guo swung his left arm a few times, "I want to go back. These guys really need to take me for a checkup."

Team doctor Jack said, "Brother Wei, even though you've bent your arm back, you still need to get it checked out to make sure everything is alright."

"You don't know..."

Another team doctor, still in shock, held Stoudemire's hand. "Wei Guo almost fainted before he went back to the locker room. The ambulance was already at the door when Wei Guo managed to bend his left arm back on its own, and then he miraculously recovered."

Stoudemire: ヾ(??﹏?)??

Stoudemire: … (⊙＿⊙；) …

Stoudemire: m(⊙▽⊙)m

Stoudemire: (╯⊙ ? ⊙╰ )

Stoudemire: ( *⊙~⊙)

Everyone could see how badly Wei Guo was injured, and how much pain he had to endure to break his left arm back to its original position.

actually...

Wei Guo's arm was indeed broken.

As for the team doctor's claim that he forcibly turned the arm back, that was just Wei Guo putting on a show. Without the 'restoration rune,' Wei Guo wouldn't have done something so stupid. He was just afraid that his arm wouldn't be completely broken.

......

Stoudemire and the team doctor urged Wei Guo to go to the hospital for a check-up.

At this time...

A staff member from the arena came in and, after concealing his shock, said to Wei Guo, who was chatting with the team doctor, "We're already down by 17 points."

"What???"

Wei Guo suddenly stood up. "When I left, we were leading by more than ten points. How did we fall behind by 17 points so quickly?"

Even without Wei Guo and Stoudemire, the Suns shouldn't be this bad, losing to the Spurs by 30 points in just over half a quarter.

"Don't try to persuade me anymore."

Wei Guo shoved Stoudemire aside, "I'm going to kill them!"

......

There are 3 minutes and 17 seconds left in the game.

85:104!!

The Suns are down by 19 points.

The Suns, known for their offense, only managed 2 points in 8 minutes, which is unbelievable, yet true.

Concerned about Wei Guo's injuries...

All the Suns players seemed distracted, missing several open shots.

The commentator, with his sharp eyes, spotted Wei Guo the moment he peeked out from the players' tunnel. "Who did I see? Who did I see? Who did I see? It's Wei-ge! Wei Guo is back!"

That shout...

Everyone in the stadium looked toward the players' tunnel.

"Defend the country!"

"Defend the country!"

"Defend the country!"

A deafening roar of cheers.

Nash had just dribbled the ball across the frontcourt when he saw Wei Guo, and he even forgot to dribble... The basketball fell to the floor, bounced a few times, and then slowly rolled to Ginobili's feet.

Ginobili remained calm, grabbed the ball, and launched a fast break!

......

Wei Guo roared, "Marion, get him!"