The Suns went on several offensive runs in the first eleven minutes of the fourth quarter.
Whenever the Suns were about to gain momentum, Popovich would call a timeout to set up tactics, and the Spurs would then be able to close the gap.
Popovich is truly a great basketball coach...
However, the excessive use of timeouts in regulation time caused the Spurs to lose their timeout opportunity in the crucial final 19 seconds. The Spurs then inbounded the ball from the baseline, and what followed was a test of the Spurs players' ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
Nash is sticking to Parker!
Both players were nearing their physical limits. Parker nearly lost the ball twice, and Ginobili ran to Parker's side to take the basketball.
"Marion, keep a close watch on Barry!"
Wei Guo waved his hand and directed Marion, abandoning Duncan and instead focusing on guarding Ginobili.
Let them shoot, not throw!
Ginobili's dribbling skills may not be as good as Wei Guo's, nor his speed and explosiveness, but he does have an advantage when matched up against Wei Guo.
Height...weight...
Ginobili is shorter and lighter than Weiguo, which makes him more agile.
The most terrifying thing about Wei Guo's defense is not that you can't get past him, but that his help defense is very fast. Even if you get past Wei Guo, he can turn around and give you a big block.
"No shooting opportunity..."
Where is Barry...?
"Where is Parker...?"
Ginobili was in a dilemma; he simply couldn't shoot a three-pointer under Wei Guo's defense, let alone make it.
Parker wasted 6 seconds when he dribbled the ball across the frontcourt. Now, time is ticking away. Barry is being guarded by Marion, and Nash is also sticking to Parker. It's difficult to pass the ball to either of them, let alone get them to receive the ball and shoot a three-pointer.
If they don't act soon, the Spurs are going to lose!
Nesterovic set a screen for Ginobili, who quickly passed the ball to Duncan in the paint. Johnson was guarding Duncan and couldn't stop him from scoring under the basket.
Duncan drives to the basket against Johnson!
Johnson didn't dare to make any moves on defense; he's not stupid... Even if Duncan scored, it would only tie the game for the Spurs, but if he committed another foul and Duncan completed a 2+1 play, the Suns would be behind.
Time is almost up...
"Whoosh!!!"
Duncan makes a layup.
Time stood still... but time did not end.
0.3 seconds!!!
The Spurs left the Suns with 0.3 seconds on the shot clock.
The referee was clearly frustrated. He desperately wanted to call a defensive foul on Johnson, give Duncan a 2+1 play, and then win the game against the Suns. But Johnson was trying to avoid Duncan on defense, so the referee couldn't call the foul even if he wanted to.
112:112!!
The Spurs tied the game.
......
"Suns request a timeout!"
D'Antoni used his last timeout opportunity.
The audience's hearts were in their throats. It was a very ugly game. The Spurs' efforts cannot be denied, but they relied on the referees' bias to persevere until the last moment of the game. Otherwise, the Suns would have already won the game.
even so...
The Suns still have a chance to win the game.
The more than 10,000 spectators were tense and expectant. What did 0.3 seconds matter? They had Wei Guo... a player with a 100% career game-winning shot percentage!
Everyone looked at Wei Guo, including assistant coach D'Antoni. "Wei, how should we play the last shot?"
"hehe..."
Wei Guo's lips curled into a slight smile. "Old Na, you go serve. Throw the basketball towards the basket, to a height that only I can reach. Can you do that?"
"Of course, no problem!"
Nash's face was full of confidence; if you let him pass the ball, he can get it to any position Wei Guo wants.
The referee had a big problem. Wei Guo was worried that if he received the ball outside the three-point line and then shot, the referee would call it a timeout. Instead, he thought it would be better to just do an alley-oop. Then the referee wouldn't have any complaints. Moreover, Wei Guo had enough confidence in his jumping ability!
Spurs bench!
Popovich said, "The Suns will probably opt for an alley-oop. They must block Weiguo and Stoudemire and prevent them from jumping!"
"good!"
"A 100% success rate on game-winning shots? We're going to break that record today."
perhaps...
Popovich never expected that Wei Guo's record would actually be broken in this game.
......
The timeout is over, the game continues!
Nash walked to the sideline to inbound the ball. The nine players on the court were huddled together. As the referee blew the whistle, the nine players immediately dispersed. Wei Guo and Stoudemire both squeezed under the basket. Nash tossed the ball over the rim.
Nesterovic, Duncan, and Weiguo jumped at the same time!
Wei Guo's speed was faster and he jumped higher, instantly surpassing the height of Duncan and the other player's forearm, and caught the basketball in mid-air.
Too close to the basket...
Wei Guo had absolute confidence in himself; he didn't even bother using the 'shooting rune'.
Just as Wei Guo's fingertips touched the basketball, Nesterovic slapped Wei Guo's forearm. The action was obvious... Wei Guo bent his arm, and the basketball passed through his fingertips.
"Bang!!!"
"Bang!!"
"Bang!"
That's the sound of a basketball falling to the floor and bouncing back up.
The scene was completely silent...
This is a clear hand-to-hand foul. It's up to the referee to call it or not. Over 10,000 eyes are on the referee. The pressure is immense... The head coach clearly doesn't want to bear such pressure.
"Beep!!!"
The referee blew his whistle but did not call a foul on Nesterovic; instead, he signaled the end of the match.
"No foul?!"
Cummings was the first to jump up!
He was also the first to realize the seriousness of the matter. A foul and a missed shot does not count as a shot. More than ten years later, there was a player who was good at drawing fouls. He scored 30+ points in just over ten shots in the whole game, relying on drawing fouls with his shots. But if Wei Guo had not been fouled on this shot, then it would have been considered that Wei Guo missed the shot.
Is the 100% game-winning shot accuracy over?!
"Silence"
"Silence"
"Silence"
The stadium was filled with shouts of cursing at the referee!
Suns players surrounded the referee, and D'Antoni went up to argue with him, indicating that it was a clear foul and Wei Guo should be given two free throws.
Everyone knows that besides his game-winning shots, Wei Guo's free throw percentage is also extremely high. If Wei Guo is given a free throw opportunity, the Spurs will never have a chance to go into overtime.
The referee has already made his decision, and he won't change it no matter what.
The game is about to go into overtime...
The arena was filled with shouts and curses, but Wei Guo was the calmest. He said to Cummings, "Tell Lao Jin that I want some soup."
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