Damon received the ball and was about to shoot when Barbosa suddenly stole it from him.

Barbosa moved too fast...

Damon only had time to point and yell at the referee, saying that Barbosa had fouled him by stealing the ball.

Van Gundy shouted, "Go and get the ball back!"

At this point... arguing with the referee is pointless. Barbosa stole the ball and immediately launched a fast break. If they can't get the ball back, the Heat will have lost by 4 points in the back-and-forth.

"This kid is not bad."

D'Antoni secretly thought that if Wei Guo left the team next season, Barbosa must stay.

At first, Barbosa was a little nervous.

But...

The Suns maintained their lead throughout the game, and Barbosa played better and better. He has already played 13 minutes tonight, which is about the same as his regular season playing time.

Barbosa protects the ball!

Damon attempted a steal, but his movement was too aggressive and he was called for a foul... Barbosa's steal was clean, but Damon's attempt was directed at Barbosa, which was clearly a provocation of the referee, and of course, the referee wouldn't tolerate it.

Nash walked to the sidelines, ready to inbound the ball.

Wade and Damon double-teamed Wei Guo, but Nash simply tossed the ball a little too high, allowing Wei Guo to easily catch it.

A half-turn feint...

Wei Guo stepped back and took another three-point shot.

"Whoosh!!!"

The basketball went into the net.

84:65!!

The Suns lead by 19 points.

"It's over..."

Van Gundy slumped back onto the bench, already down by 19 points, with the Heat's hopes of a comeback slim.

They were hoping to take advantage of Stoudemire's absence to unleash a barrage of three-pointers and close the gap... but before the Heat could make a move, Wei Guo hit two consecutive three-pointers.

......

There is 1 minute and 23 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Heat are on offense.

Barbosa's steal was crucial... If the Suns make another successful defensive play, the Heat will be down by 22 points.

Nash pressed the defense throughout the game...

His defensive ability is not good, but that's relative. If he tries his best to defend, even Kidd will have a hard time.

Wade came out to receive the ball!

There were still two steps to the three-point line. That was Wei Guo's shooting range, not Wade's. Marion simply gave Wade a step.

Just this one step...

This made Wade very uncomfortable.

Wade broke through from the left, got close to Marion, faked a drive with a flick of his right shoulder, followed by a behind-the-back dribble, easily shaking off Marion. With his toes touching the three-point line, Wade launched a three-pointer.

This shot is the Heat's hope!

Van Gundy even stood up from the bench. If Wade can make that three-pointer, the Heat still have a chance.

pity...

Lady Luck did not smile upon the Heat.

After Wade took the shot, Wei Guo ran towards the basket. The ball bounced off the rim, and Wei Guo grabbed the rebound over O'Neal.

"We won..."

Gentry breathed a sigh of relief, "As long as the Heat are up by 20 points, they have no chance of a comeback."

Even after securing the rebound, Wei Guo didn't pass the ball.

Despite being double-teamed by five Heat players, Wei Guo still managed to dribble past three players with his butterfly-like dribbling skills. When he reached the three-point line, he used a crossover dribble to shake off Damon and then took a three-pointer from the left!

"Whoosh!!!"

The basketball went into the net.

87:65!!

The Suns lead by 22 points.

Wei Guo raised his right hand, making a three-point gesture, as if to tell the audience that the Suns had to win this game.

......

In the fourth quarter, the Heat began to take wild three-pointers.

This is the prelude to collapse...

The ball almost never reaches O'Neal's hands; O'Neal is no longer the Heat's primary offensive weapon.

In this year's playoffs, O'Neal averaged only 19 points and 8 rebounds per game, a serious decline in form... He also went toe-to-toe with Ben Wallace in the Eastern Conference Finals for seven games. Who is Ben Wallace? He's all about brute force... He has no offensive ability, but he still made it to the All-Star Game based on his defense. His interior defense is among the top five in this era.

Although the Heat won the Eastern Conference Finals, O'Neal also suffered a significant setback.

Now that Stoudemire is plagued by foul trouble, the player guarding O'Neal has become Wei Guo, a four-time DPOY (Defensive Player of the Year) winner. When O'Neal and Wei Guo are matched up, it's truly a case of "the village children bullying my old age and weakness, and I can't stand facing a thief."

"Beep!!!"

The whistle blew, and the game ended.

119:87!!

The Suns defeated the Heat by 32 points.

This result was unexpected by everyone. Everyone knew that the Suns would fight back after Stoudemire's return, but no one expected the counterattack to be so fierce. This has really hurt those who bet on the game.

......

Match statistics:

Wei Guo: 37 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 7 blocks

Nash: 21 points, 3 rebounds, 13 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks

Stoudemire: 27 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks

O'Neal: 17 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 0 steals, 4 blocks

Kidd: 13 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals, 1 block

Wade: 27 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block

......

The Suns were playing too smoothly, and their stats were more impressive than the Heat's. Three of them scored over 20 points, while the Heat only had Wade score over 20. O'Neal had 17 free throw attempts tonight, but only made 6, for a pitiful 35% free throw percentage.

The Heat have a lot of problems...

To sum it up, Van Gundy summed it up in three words: carelessness.

In Game 1 of the Finals, they easily defeated the Suns, making them feel that they were a level above the Suns and that they were not afraid even if Stoudemire returned. However, they forgot that Stoudemire was already in the prime of his career. Without Wei Guo, Stoudemire would have averaged close to 30 points per game this season.

Stoudemire's return...filled many gaps in the Suns' roster.

They were more flexible on offense, which is why Wei Guo hardly participated in the offense in the first half. In fact, if Stoudemire hadn't fouled out, he could have scored 30+ points tonight, while Wei Guo might have only scored 20 points.

"Shaq is getting old. Four years ago in the Finals, he could still dominate Wei Guo in the paint, but now he's not even in the same league as Wei Guo."

"37 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 blocks—that's Wei Guo's stats... Shaq only got 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks tonight... The difference is too big."

"Shaq was matched up against Stoudemire. If Wei Guo had been matched up against him for the entire game, Shaq would have been in even worse shape."

"Yeah... O'Neal is averaging less than 20 points per game in this year's playoffs, while Wei Guo is averaging nearly 60 points per game, which is three times that of O'Neal."

"You can't calculate it like that. It was that 108 points in a single game that raised Wei Guo's average score. Otherwise, Wei Guo's average score would only be in the 50s."

"That's all???"

"Hahaha..."

"We must admit one thing: Wei Guo is a monster, a monster unlike any we've ever seen in the Alliance."

Kobe and his three companions chatted as they went home.

The Suns' strength has further solidified their determination to form a super team; without it, it would be difficult to beat this team.

Everyone has their own assessment. For example, the Kobe Bryant-McGrady quartet: he and McGrady are invincible one-on-one, and if they team up and gel well, they will be a nightmare for opponents. Gasol and Artest are also players who excel on both offense and defense. If they are paired with a few good role players, this lineup is no less impressive than today's Heat team.

But...

Even a team as strong as the Heat lost by more than thirty points tonight.

......

The next game will be back in Miami, the Heat's home arena.

Winning an away game gave the Heat the upper hand, but losing the second game to the Suns by more than 30 points inevitably affected the players' mentality. Back in Miami, Van Gundy's primary task was to provide psychological support to the players and help them regain their confidence and determination to defeat the Suns.

And Shaquille O'Neal...

This guy's free throw shooting is really terrible; he needs to practice it for the next couple of days.

While free throw shooting isn't something you can master overnight, practice makes perfect, and O'Neal needs to get back into the swing of things. You know, after losing to Wei Guo in the Finals for the first time, O'Neal trained hard for a while that summer. Even in the season when Wei Guo had a 100% free throw percentage, O'Neal's free throw percentage was still 60%.

It doesn't matter how accurate O'Neal's free throws are; as long as his shooting percentage is over 60%, the Suns won't dare to foul him recklessly.

......

Miami is a vibrant yet clean city.

Unlike most of the dirty and chaotic cities in the United States, this place has good air, abundant vegetation, and clean streets. It feels good, although it is far inferior to Wei Guo's hometown of China, but it still makes Wei Guo feel comfortable.

The regular season ends at the end of April each year, and the finals begin in early June...

This is Wei Guo's first time playing in the NBA Finals in Miami. Although the city feels comfortable to him, Wei Guo doesn't plan to play all three games here. Winning the two away games and returning to Phoenix to lift the championship trophy would be the best outcome.

......

Starting lineup for this match:

Miami Heat: Kidd, Eddie Jones, Wade, Haslem, O'Neal

Suns: Nash, Joe Johnson, Wei Guo, Marion, Stoudemire

......

The Heat made an adjustment to their starting lineup.

Veteran Miller was benched by Van Gundy, who brought back the slightly younger Eddie Jones to the starting lineup. Eddie Jones entered the league in 1994 and has no major accolades in his career. If you compare him to Miller, he is far inferior.

but...

Eddie Jones performed well in this year's playoffs.

Placing Miller on the bench will not reduce his playing time, but rather allow him to perform in crucial moments. This decision was made after Van Gundy spoke with Miller.

Unless they are legendary coaches, most head coaches still respect the ideas of the team's superstars. Miller was almost a superstar in his prime... he just didn't win a championship because he lived in the Jordan era.

......

Wei Guo and O'Neal jump for the ball.

"Beep!!!"

The whistle blew, the basketball was tossed into the air by the referee, and the game officially began.

Nash got the basketball...

Marion had already run up the court, received a pass from Nash, dodged Haslem, and scored with a layup.

2-0!!!

The Suns scored first.

Marion is a player with explosive athleticism and a tenacious playing style. He has a good scoring ability without dominating the ball, and his scoring mainly comes from fast breaks or catch-and-shoot. More importantly, he is a defensive player. Although there are only two 01s, Marion can defend positions 1 through 5.

When facing guards, Marion will use his body to cover them, disrupting their passing vision, and he can also use his speed, which is comparable to that of guards, to keep up with them. When facing inside players, Marion will also use his speed and jumping ability to make up for his lack of height.

Once, D'Antoni was drinking with Gentry and asked him a question. Gentry told D'Antoni that the team could do without Stoudemire, but it could never do without Marion. Marion was like a puzzle piece that could be reshaped at will, and he could perfectly fit into any team's tactics.

The Heat are on offense.

O'Neal received a pass from Kidd and got up to score with a dunk.

"Beep!!!"

The whistle blew.

Stoudemire grabbed O'Neal's arm and was called for a defensive foul.

O'Neal yelled, "If this happened in the 90s, I would have smashed your head in!"

"Hey..."

Stoudemire shrugged. "If you make that penalty, I won't foul you intentionally."

This was Gentry's idea, a tactic called "testing the waters"... testing O'Neal's shooting touch tonight. If O'Neal's touch is good, then play normal defense. If O'Neal's free throws are as bad as last game, then sorry... continue with the "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy.

"Seriously?"

O'Neal said this while looking at Wei Guo.

He didn't trust anyone, but he trusted Wei Guo. If Wei Guo agreed, even a lie would become the truth, and Stoudemire would never dare to go against Wei Guo.

But...

Wei Guo seemed oblivious to O'Neal's pleading look, instead turning around and putting his arm around Nash, quietly discussing tactics for the next offensive possession.

"Seriously."

Stoudemire replied.

As Wei Ge said yesterday, O'Neal no longer has the dominance he had in the early 21st century. Stoudemire can limit O'Neal's performance even if he tries his best to defend him. Besides... O'Neal and Ben Wallace have been locked in a seven-game battle, and O'Neal is already physically and mentally exhausted.

......

"This free throw is very important..."

O'Neal took a deep breath. "I can't let this kid look down on me."

The first free throw was taken.

"Whoosh!!!"

The basketball went into the net.

Stoudemire: ⊙(?◇?)?

The second free throw was taken.

"Whoosh!!!"

The basketball went into the net.

Stoudemire: (゜-゜)

Both free throws made!!!

O'Neal excitedly clenched his fist, his eyes filled with provocation as he looked at Stoudemire.

Gentry laughed and said, "The day before yesterday I was saying that the kids in the South Village were bullying me because I'm old and weak, and that I could tolerate them being thieves to my face... Tonight, O'Neal is standing up for himself."

This is what a superstar is like.

Even though O'Neal no longer possessed the dominance he had in the early 21st century, Stoudemire's repeated provocations would still ignite O'Neal's anger, and making both free throws was the best way to vent his frustration.

......

Van Gundy wiped the sweat from his brow. Tonight's game was going to be tough!