Finley was more than ten centimeters shorter than Weiguo, yet he gave Weiguo a half-step's head.
When Wei Guo made his move...
Finley was simply trying his best to distract and intimidate Wei Guo. Finley even tried to imitate a common tactic used on baseball fields, making similar sounds at Wei Guo:
"Roar~~~"
"Eek!"
Sound interference defense is common on amateur courts, but it is absolutely unacceptable in formal games. If you do it, you will definitely be called for a technical foul by the referee.
Finley is, after all, a professional player and a top-tier star. His defense will interfere with Wei Guo's shots, which is completely different from an open shot. Whether it goes in or not depends on Wei Guo's touch and luck.
54:52!!
Wei Guo made his first shot of the second half, giving the Suns a two-point lead.
Nowitzki received the ball in the mid-range, drawing Wei Guo's defense, and then passed it to Dampier, who made a layup off the backboard.
"Nice!"
Head coach Johnson excitedly said, "Dampier, play like this! The offense must be decisive!"
Dampier, as a center, lacked agile footwork under the basket and had a limited number of scoring methods. His offense relied mainly on dunks or bank shots, and he would occasionally attempt layups over defenders, but he was not very reliable in any of these scoring methods. At his peak, he only averaged 10 points per game, making him only a qualified role player.
The Mavericks started Dampier...
It's simply because they don't have a qualified center, and against the Suns, they need to create an advantage in the paint.
Before this series began, the Suns also conducted a comprehensive analysis of the Mavericks' tactics and players. Knowing your enemy and yourself is the key to victory. As for Dampier, the Suns' strategy was to either let him receive the ball under the basket or simply leave him alone. He was arguably the least threatening player on the Mavericks.
If Dampier starts scoring, the Suns will be on the back foot.
"Old Jin..."
D'Antoni turned his head and asked, "Should we have Stoudemire target Dampier?"
Gentry put down his teacup and said with a smile, "Everyone eats dumplings during the New Year, let him be... It would be great if the Mavericks let Dampier play every single ball."
D'Antoni asked no further questions.
Old Jin is Old Jin...
He was always in control and never showed any sign of panic.
The Suns are on offense.
Stoudemire missed a mid-range shot, Marion grabbed the offensive rebound, and passed the ball to Weiguo outside the three-point line. The Suns players spread out, giving Weiguo space to isolate and attack Finley.
The Mavericks players also got into position!
Once Finley is beaten by Weiguo, Josh and Dampier will step in to prevent Weiguo from attacking the basket.
Wei Guo turned his back to Finley, gripping the basketball with both hands. Suddenly, he lowered his center of gravity and turned around... Finley was shaken off balance by Wei Guo and slipped. Wei Guo gathered the ball and pulled up for a jump shot.
"Whoosh!!!"
The basketball went into the net.
The shot was clean and decisive, and even some of the Mavericks' substitutes secretly remarked, "That was a textbook example of a triple threat. If you could learn this move, you'd benefit immensely."
This is the sentiment of a professional player.
......
Finley really couldn't defend against Wei Guo.
Since that's the case...
Let Wei Guo play one-on-one indefinitely.
The Suns' defensive speed was much faster, which went against D'Antoni's run-and-gun tactics. The offense was left to Wei Guo alone, while the other four players focused their energy on defense.
This tactical change, however, did not yield ideal results.
The pace slowed down, and the Suns only scored 27 points in the third quarter. Wei Guo made 9 of 13 shots and scored 23 points by himself. However, the Mavericks' scoring efficiency was not bad either, and they scored a total of 29 points in the third quarter.
Wei Guo's playing style in this quarter was somewhat like Kobe's, or perhaps a Kobe plus version.
78:75!!
With the game entering the fourth quarter, the Suns' lead had dwindled to just 3 points.
The Suns' third quarter was a nightmare for all teams in the league. The Mavericks outscored the Suns by two points in the third quarter, which gave the Mavericks a huge boost of confidence, making them think that as long as they held on in the fourth quarter, they could win the game.
Nowitzki is the Mavericks' most dangerous player...
He sat on the sidelines for three minutes, during which substitutes Stackhouse and Daniels attempted three-pointers, but missed both.
The Suns extended their lead to 7 points.
"It's up to you guys now..."
General Johnson fielded all his key players, saying, "This game is a must-win; if we lose, we can go home and go fishing."
This is not an exaggeration; it is the truth.
There is no precedent in the history of the NBA playoffs for a team to come back from a 3-0 deficit, not to mention the difference in strength between the Mavericks and the Suns, and Nowitzki being targeted by Wei Guo... If it weren't for Wei Guo, and Nowitzki had been on fire, the Mavericks might not have had no hope of winning.
There are 7 minutes and 51 seconds left in the fourth quarter!
Wei Guo also returned to the field...
Although he switched to one-on-one mode in the third quarter, it didn't take a lot of toll on Wei Guo's stamina. This was mainly because Wei Guo didn't participate much in defense, and his offense was mostly 1v1, which was much easier than facing two or three people double-teaming him.
Dampier faces the basket for a layup, overpowering Stoudemire.
That shot was way off target...
Marion grabbed the defensive rebound and passed the ball to Nash. Johnson had already run to the frontcourt, received the pass from Nash, hesitated for two seconds, and instead of shooting, passed the ball back to Wei Guo.
Why didn't you vote?
With a sullen face, Wei Guo dribbled the ball around Johnson.
Johnson didn't say anything. He had a terrible shooting night and had lost confidence in his shot. If there had been a defender when he received the ball, he might have taken the shot, but when Josh saw Johnson receive the ball, he turned and ran to the basket to grab the rebound.
Finleyman defends the nation!
Wei Guo changed direction several times in advance, his superb sense of rhythm left Finley completely disoriented, spinning around in place.
A great opportunity to make a call...
"Whoosh!!!"
Wei Guo made a pull-up jump shot.
87:78!!
The Mavericks are down by 9 points.
......
The audience had stopped screaming, and their enthusiasm for cheering for the home team had waned.
This is the darkest hour...
The Mavericks are falling further and further behind, and if they lose this game, they might as well not watch the next one. The Suns are very likely to seize the opportunity, slaughter the Mavericks, and sweep the Mavericks.
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