Veterans are one of the Spurs' sources of confidence.

Glenn Robinson was the number one overall pick in 1994. He averaged 20+ points per game in his rookie year in the league and averaged 20+ points per game in 8 of his first 9 seasons in the league.

The value of veteran players becomes increasingly apparent in crucial moments...

The Nets won the championship last season with Wei Guo leading a group of veterans.

......

Popovich explained that the Suns could double-team Nash without restraint until all their key players were on the court.

It also stemmed from overconfidence in Weiguo...

Throughout the season, the Suns did not strengthen their roster, which resulted in a lack of bench depth.

Spurs on offense!

Horry one-on-one against the defender...

Wei Guo turned around and intercepted the ball from Horry's hands, then dribbled straight to the frontcourt.

Robinson tried to steal the ball back, but Wei Guo easily dribbled past him with a spin move and brought the ball to the frontcourt... where there was no one under the basket.

"Whoosh!!!"

rare...

After a fast break, Wei Guo chose to go for a layup instead of a dunk.

37:41!!

The Suns are down by 4 points.

Popovich thought to himself, "Wei Guo is conserving his energy; he's up to no good... Just how many points does Wei Guo want to rack up tonight?!"

The Spurs inbound the ball from the baseline.

Before Parker could even dribble past the frontcourt, Barbosa was already marking him closely... Barbosa, nicknamed 'BX Lightning,' caught Parker off guard and had the ball stolen by Barbosa again.

At this time...

The Wei Kingdom hasn't even crossed the halfway line yet!

Barbosa grabbed the basketball and immediately passed it to Weiguo, who scored on another fast break layup.

39:41!!

The Suns are down by 2 points.

"Another layup?!"

Popovich began to panic; Wei Guo had changed.

All he cared about was scoring; he no longer cared about the method. Popovich even thought... that in the second half, Wei Guo might deliberately draw fouls.

There are teams in the league that have specifically studied Wei Guo's scoring methods. Apart from Gentry, other head coaches in the league have all bought this data. One of the points is that Wei Guo's ability to draw fouls is among the best in the league, and is even no worse than his three-point shooting.

Wei Guo's high three-point shooting percentage is due to two factors: his touch and his talent. Wei Guo is tall, has a long wingspan, and a quick release, so his three-point shots are almost uninterrupted by his opponents.

But that document indicates...

Wei Guo's ability to draw fouls surpasses his ability to shoot three-pointers, but Wei Guo has always disdained to draw fouls.

What I feared most came to pass!

Wei Guo touched Robinson under the basket, took a half step forward, and shot.

Robinson's agitated hand accidentally struck Wei Guo's arm...

"Beep!!!"

The referee's whistle blew.

"bass!!!"

The basketball bounced off the backboard and went into the basket.

Popovich stomped his foot in frustration, "Thank him... He could have just dunked, why did he have to make all those unnecessary moves?!"

44:46!!

After making the free throw, the Suns were down by only 2 points.

Three minutes have passed in the second quarter...

The Suns' key players gradually returned to the court, and Gentry was very satisfied with the performance of the substitutes in those three minutes. He even kept Barbosa on the court to relieve some of Nash's defensive pressure.

Popovich discovered...

Although these veterans are very experienced, their physical condition has declined significantly, and it is not difficult for two players to double-team Wei Guo and prevent him from scoring.

......

The second quarter ended in the 7th minute.

51:55!!

The Suns are down by 4 points.

Both teams' key players have returned to the field...

Nash grabbed the defensive rebound, dribbled to the three-point line, and made a long bounce pass. The ball passed between Bowen and Ginobili, and neither of them could intercept it.

"bass!!!"

Wei Guo received the pass and easily scored a layup.

Cummings excitedly pumped his fist, "What a perfect pass!"

This kind of long pass requires extremely high passing ability from the player, not to mention it's a bounce pass. Nash was able to accurately deliver the ball to Wei Guo over Ginobili and Bowen. He truly deserves the title of passing master.

Then...

Duncan received the ball under the basket, backed down Richardson, and easily put the ball into the hoop.

The Spurs couldn't contain Wei Guo's scoring, and the Suns couldn't contain Duncan's scoring inside either. The first half wasn't close, but the Spurs gradually widened the gap.

......

The first half has ended.

63:71!!

The Suns are down by 8 points.

In the final five minutes of the second quarter, the Spurs scored 16 consecutive points to widen the gap.

Away game locker room.

Gentry glanced at the stat sheet, but D'Antoni said, "We're way behind on rebounds."

17:29!!

This is a comparison of rebounds in the first half; the Suns were outrebounded by a full 12.

That's not even the worst part...

3:12!!

This is a comparison of offensive rebounds in the first half; the Suns lost by a full 9 offensive rebounds.

The Spurs had a high second-chance percentage, and those 9 offensive rebounds they lost were equivalent to giving the Spurs 18 points.

Gentry laughed and said, "Brother, don't panic... We often lag behind our opponents in rebounds, but we still win in the end."

"But...but...but..."

D'Antoni couldn't think of anything to say for a long time, and could only sigh heavily, "Sigh!!!"

The Suns played well in the first half, but their weakness was that no one could contain Duncan's performance. Popovich, who had figured out the Suns' tactics, was determined to target Duncan. Even so, Duncan was able to grab offensive rebounds.

D'Antoni wanted Wei Guo to defend the paint in the second half, but that went against his run-and-gun tactics.

Cummings, holding the statistics sheet, said, "Wei-ge...you scored exactly 50 points in the first half. Are you really aiming for 100 points tonight?"

"Yes!"

Wei Guo nodded, "It might not be 100 points, it could be more than 100 points. Tonight... let me be the one who gets the points!"

"It doesn't matter if we lose?"

Nash suddenly asked a question.

The atmosphere in the locker room suddenly turned cold...

Cummings laughed and said, "I think losing one game isn't so bad. Stoudemire is suspended for four games... If we lose this game and win the next two, Stoudemire can play in the Finals with us."

A single word awakens one from a dream!

Cummings makes a good point. The opponent in the Finals is the Heat, a team that the Suns can't match in terms of either starting lineup or bench depth.

Without Wei Guo...

The Heat should be able to easily sweep the Suns.

"I don't care about the other competitions..."

Wei Guo said firmly, "In this match, I not only want to score high, but I also want to win!"

Agent Xiaxia has already gone to J country. Before the match started, Weiguo even had a five-minute phone call with the little boy named Andrew, encouraging Andrew to be strong and that the surgery would definitely go smoothly.

Wei Guo was a bit superstitious...

Since we're dedicating this match to Andrew as a gift, we not only need to get 100 points, but we also need to win!

......

The second half began with the Suns players stepping onto the court with unwavering confidence.

Nash and his team were ready...

In the second half, the team continued to play around one central theme and two basic points: focusing on Wei Guo's scoring, adhering to the basic principle of open-fire offense, and maintaining double-teaming Duncan.

Just as Wei Guo said, this game cannot be lost!

The Spurs are on offense.

Duncan was positioning himself under the basket, and Parker lobbed the ball to Duncan. Joe Johnson then moved up and double-teamed Duncan with Marion.

The threat of being double-teamed is less than that of Wei Guo defending alone.

But...

Squeezed outside the three-second zone and double-teamed, Duncan couldn't shake off the two defenders with his footwork.

Just then, Ginobili cut to the basket, and Duncan faked a pass to Ginobili, who then went for a layup.

*Smack!!!*

The basketball was suddenly slammed onto the backboard.

Ginobili stumbled a couple of steps... He didn't notice at all that when he cut to the basket, Wei Guo, who hadn't been inside all night, followed him.

"Oh..."

A barely perceptible sneer appeared on Wei Guo's lips.

Do you really think he doesn't play defense?

What Wei Guo didn't know was that his block had driven Suns fans all over the world wild, even more so than when Wei Guo made a free throw line dunk in a real game!

Defend the country...

They've finally started playing defense.

Ginobili was incredibly aggrieved. Didn't we agree not to play defense? Why did he suddenly deliver a huge block?

During halftime, the Spurs accepted Horry's assessment that the Suns were very likely to tactically forfeit the game in order to allow Stoudemire to play in the Finals.

But...

The Spurs are no weak team either.

The Suns' tactical decision to forfeit a game shows their disrespect for the Spurs, who also have their own pride... If the Suns dare to forfeit a game, the Spurs can make them lose three or four games in a row... Ultimately, it will be the San Antonio Spurs, not the Phoenix Suns, who will advance to the Finals.

......

Wei Guo got the basketball and made a long pass to Nash!

Nash receives the ball and scores a layup...

53:55!!

The Suns are down by 2 points.

Giving Wei Guo the opportunity to shoot as much as possible doesn't mean other players won't shoot. When Nash receives a pass from Wei Guo, only Bowen comes up to defend. Nash is 90% sure he can make the shot, so he takes the shot decisively.

Before the basketball even hit the ground, Bowen scooped it up, walked to the baseline, and passed the ball to Parker.

Muhammad set a screen for Parker on the right side of the free-throw line... Parker evaded the defender, first observing Wei Guo's position, then launched a floater over Joe Johnson.

"Whoosh!!!"

The basketball went into the net.

The next five minutes...

Wei Guo's interior defense is still lacking. As for offense, if he can't get a fast break, Nash will stabilize the pace and then pass the ball to Wei Guo for one-on-one play.

Although his stamina hadn't declined, Wei Guo's shooting percentage dropped under the double-team of Bowen and Ginobili, and his shooting became inconsistent. Wei Guo switched to drawing fouls under the basket, which didn't affect his scoring... but the Suns seemed to be stuck in a quagmire, with their offense slowing down.

Seven minutes into the third quarter, Gentry called a timeout.

69:75!!

The Suns are down by 6 points.

In seven minutes, the Suns scored 18 points and the Spurs scored 20 points, further widening the gap.

Gentry is under a lot of pressure...

With just over four minutes left in the third quarter, Wei Guo had only scored 14 points, bringing his total to a mere 64 points, far from his goal of 100. The Spurs would continue to double-team Wei Guo, and... even in the fourth quarter, a triple-team might occur.

Thinking back to those days...

Wei Guo walked up to Popovich and boasted that he would get 100 points, and Wei Guo actually did it.

Why does this match feel so difficult?

Gentry certainly understood the reason. Wei Guo first scored 100 points in the regular season. The intensity of the regular season and the playoffs is not the same. Moreover, that game entered garbage time in the fourth quarter, but there will be no garbage time in this game... If the Spurs lose another game, they will be down 3-0.

There has never been a case of a team coming back from a 3-0 deficit, so the Spurs will fight tooth and nail to win this game.

If Wei Guo's first 100-point game was a 5-star difficulty level, then under this pressure... Wei Guo's chances of scoring 100 points would be a 9-star difficulty level.

Popovich is under a lot of pressure...

According to his thinking, at this point in the game, the Spurs should have at least a double-digit lead.

In Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs led by 19 points with 3 minutes left, but after Wei Guo returned, a barrage of three-pointers extinguished the Spurs' small flame of victory. Who dares to say that this kind of thing won't happen again?

"We must surround and encircle Weiguo!"

Popovich's face was icy. "We can't let Wei Guo score anymore."

......

The timeout has ended, and the game has resumed.

Nash leisurely dribbled the ball up the court...

Wei Guo suddenly broke free from the double-team of Ginobili and Bowen and ran to the three-point line. Nash passed the ball behind him to block Bowen and Ginobili who were chasing after him.

With Nash acting as a screen, Wei Guo was three steps away from the three-point line when he took the shot.

"Whoosh!!!"

The basketball went into the net.

72:75!!

A six-point lead was so slim that a single three-pointer halved it.

Popovich, his face stern, shouted, "If Wei Guo wants to shoot like this, then you can let him go... I don't believe it!"

moment...

"oh?!"

Four players on the field looked at Popovich with surprise.

Who gave Popovich this confidence?

He was only three steps from the three-point line, which was within Wei Guo's shooting range.

Everyone knows that Wei Guo's shooting percentage increases the further he is from the basket. However, in the first half of the game, Wei Guo's three-point shooting percentage was close to 100%. Of course, this was a stroke of luck. The fact that Wei Guo only took a few shots in the first half of the game shows that he didn't dare to use this method as a regular scoring method.

otherwise...

Basketball would then lose its meaning.

Imagine if all players, regardless of whether it's the half-court line or the three-point line, just threw the ball at the opposite basket as soon as they got it. The sport would become a shooting contest, and where would the competition be?

The Spurs are on offense.

Duncan made a shot under the basket, drawing a foul from Joe Johnson in the process.

After the penalty was made...

The Spurs still lead by 6 points.

Unbeknownst to many, Duncan has already surpassed the 50-point mark tonight. No one on the Suns can stop Duncan from scoring inside, and he will set a new career high tonight.