That was indeed a bit hasty; Wei Guo wasn't a fortune teller.
How could he possibly predict who would step up and score...?
Even with the Suns, even if Wei Guo deliberately tailors tactics for a particular teammate, he can't guarantee that teammate will have a breakout performance.
......
The second quarter began with Ginobili returning to the court after a three-minute rest.
"Wow~"
Wei Guo raised an eyebrow. "Could it be that I was right?"
Looking at the Spurs' lineup, since Ginobili is the offensive core, if the Spurs want to catch up, they have to rely on Ginobili.
The Rockets also fielded their reserve players.
The Rockets' three main players, Yao Ming, Gu Tao, and Tracy McGrady, were all on the bench. The team also had a veteran player, Dikembe Mutombo, who was a former teammate of Wei Guo.
Mutombo also came off the bench in the second quarter. Before coming on, he ran over to Wei Guo and shook hands with him, saying he wanted to borrow Wei Guo's shooting touch. Who knows... what use is Wei Guo's shooting touch to a player like Mutombo who isn't good at offense?
The Rockets attacked first.
Taylor overpowered Malik Rose under the basket, but missed the shot, and the Spurs grabbed the rebound.
Ginobili's offense never follows the rules. He first runs up the court, receives a pass from his teammate, and then, without organizing an attack, fakes a move to get the defender off guard.
"Bang!"
The basketball hits the ground!
Ginobili dribbled once, then grabbed the basketball and made a serpentine layup.
Mutombo tried to block Ginobili, but Ginobili twisted his body to dodge and then hooked him with a backhand!
"Whoosh!!!"
The basketball went into the net.
18:14!!
In this defensive battle, it's rare to see such fluid scoring from open play.
However...
This is just the beginning!
Just as Wei Guo predicted, Ginobili stepped up and led the team to catch up. After Parker and Duncan returned to the court, Duncan also started scoring.
More importantly, after Duncan entered the game, the Rockets dared not easily penetrate the paint!
Fortunately...
The Rockets gradually regained their shooting rhythm, with Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, and Gu Tao scoring frequently.
41:38!!
At halftime, the Rockets still held a 3-point lead.
Ginobili scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the second quarter. Although the Spurs failed to take the lead, it was Ginobili who stepped up to score.
Britney looked at Wei Guo with adoration...
She didn't think that this was a player chosen by Wei Guo through careful selection; it must have been Wei Guo's ability to read the game that made him so certain that the Spurs' player who stepped up to score was Ginobili.
......
The players had already returned to the locker room, and Wei Guo finally cheered up.
The Suns employ a run-and-gun offense and a small-ball style of play... They believe in the power of speed, and the Rockets' defensive battle against the Spurs made Wei Guo almost fall asleep.
Relatively speaking...
The upcoming cheerleading performance looks quite interesting.
Britney became wary and secretly compared herself to the cheerleaders. Realizing that she had a clear advantage, she relaxed and even pulled Wei Guo aside to comment on the flaws in the cheerleaders' dance moves.
Dance...
Britney is much more professional than Wei Guo.
The two watched with great interest; Britney appreciated the dance, while Weiguo was simply appreciating the beautiful women.
The Rockets changed their home locker room last season. The locker room from the championship year is sealed away as a memento. Every head coach has a different coaching style. Not every head coach will cook soup at the beginning of the game and give the players a bowl of soup to replenish their energy at halftime.
This seemingly heartwarming behavior is considered heretical by most head coaches, and even if Gentry wins ten Coach of the Year awards, they would not imitate it.
......
After the start of the second half, the Spurs launched an offensive surge.
More importantly, the Spurs increased their defensive intensity, and the Rockets were in a slump, averaging only one shot attempt per minute. Apart from Yao Ming making 2 of 3 shots, the entire Rockets team was in a poor performance.
Even McGrady and Gu Tao failed to score in open play.
The point difference has been caught up...
Duncan finally found his rhythm, scoring several strong points against Yao Ming, and the Spurs gradually widened the score gap.
By the end of the third quarter, the Spurs had taken the lead. Although the fourth quarter became a back-and-forth battle, it might be more accurate to call it a shooting frenzy. With tough defense and a slump in form, both teams only managed 6 points in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter.
The Spurs were more experienced. Brown scored 6 points with a combination of drives and shots, and then Duncan completed a 2+1 play under the basket, extending the Spurs' lead to double digits.
There were 2 minutes and 37 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
83:73!!
The Spurs lead by 10 points.
It was like the game between the Suns and the Lakers. After the Suns took a 10-point lead, the Lakers, except for Kobe and the other players, had already conceded defeat. In addition, the game was extremely dull, and the audience did not think that the Rockets had any hope of catching up.
If Wei Guo hadn't stayed behind, many audience members would have already left!
What happened next...
The audience was grateful for Wei Guo's presence because they didn't leave, thus ensuring they didn't miss an extremely exciting match.
The Spurs are on offense...
Parker was very relaxed, dribbling the ball slowly, but Gu Tao stole the ball from him.
Parker turned around to chase, and he was faster than Gu Tao... but catching up with Gu Tao was useless. He couldn't stop Gu Tao from scoring. As Gu Tao was making a layup, Parker reached out and grabbed him!
Gu Tao is a man of few words, and his refined nature makes people overlook his strength!
"Bang!!!"
Gu Tao scored with a one-handed dunk while being pulled by Parker.
"Beep!!!"
The referee blew his whistle and called a defensive foul on Parker.
Gu Tao stepped to the free-throw line. Actually, his free-throw percentage wasn't high... only 76%, barely acceptable in this league. This can't be blamed on Gu Tao, after all, he only had two and a half years of training time when he entered the league. Fancy moves like the crossover dribble can be learned quickly, but shooting requires accumulated training over time.
Fortunately...
Gu Tao has a strong heart; he becomes more composed, especially in critical moments.
"Whoosh!!!"
After making the free throw, Gu Tao turned and went back to defend.
83:76!!
The Rockets were down by only 7 points, and the audience once again saw hope of winning.
......
Popovich dared not be careless in the slightest, and he called a timeout to arrange tactics.
Pause back...
The Spurs initially controlled the offensive time, and after several passes, Duncan made a mid-range bank shot.
"Bang!!!"
Notice...
This is 'bang!!', not 'bang~~~'. The basketball hits the backboard and bounces into the basket.
85:76!!
Duncan's mid-range jumper stabilized the team's morale.
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