The outcome of the game in the fourth quarter was no longer in doubt.
The Suns played a defensive game, and with a large enough lead, they were basically set to win the game as long as they didn't make any mistakes.
actually...
With a 16-point lead, even against the Heat, unless Wei Guo (Suns) has an incredible run of luck, the Suns' chances of catching up are slim.
......
"Beep!!!"
The whistle blew, and the game ended.
103:121!!
The Heat lost to the Suns by 18 points at home.
This marks their third loss in the finals, their third consecutive defeat...
1:3!!!
Trailing by a large margin.
......
Match statistics:
Wei Guo: 67 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 7 blocks
Wade: 31 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 1 block
Nash: 17 points, 3 rebounds, 11 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks
Kidd: 13 points, 7 rebounds, 13 assists, 2 steals, 1 block
Stoudemire: 17 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 blocks
O'Neal: 29 points, 17 rebounds, 3 assists, 0 steals, 3 blocks
......
The Heat are truly backed into a corner. In these three games... except for the second game where they were careless, they had a chance to win the other two.
But it always falls just short...
In the post-game interview, Van Gundy couldn't help but say something that hurt the team's morale: he said that the loss was because God wasn't on the Heat's side, because God was on the Suns' side, and they were playing against God.
Because of this sentence, Wei Guo got the nickname "Basketball Emperor". After retiring, Wei Guo would occasionally appear on the amateur basketball court, so he got another nickname, "Amateur Basketball Emperor". But that's another story.
Because it happened in the US, the ice cream incident didn't have much of an impact. When it reached Van Gundy's ears, he quickly forgot about it. Even online writers wouldn't have such a vivid imagination to connect the ice cream incident with Wei Guo's performance tonight.
first...
This incident happened during the game; if the conflict had broken out then, Van Gundy would have known about it.
Secondly...
Wei Guo is not such a petty person.
Perhaps when the girl went to collect her ice cream, there really wasn't any left, and the people who went later got ice cream because they were restocked. In any case, the outcome of this matter was simple: issue a notice stating that the person distributing the free ice cream was a temporary employee who has been fired and will never be hired by the Heat again, and that was the end of it.
......
Three days later, they returned to the Suns' home court.
This was the most exciting match since the start of the finals.
The Suns prepared a lot of things, such as champagne, balloons, and confetti... In short, they were ready to lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy after this game.
Bill Russell also came to the game.
He's here to present the trophy...
Before the game, he held Wei Guo's hand and the two chatted for a long time. He said that he had watched every single one of the Suns' playoff games this year. He congratulated Wei Guo on his consecutive victories against top centers like Duncan and O'Neal, and said that he was too old to take the strain. He hoped that the Suns could end the season tonight.
If Russell loses this game, he'll have to go to Miami.
......
Starting lineup for this match:
Suns: Nash, Richardson, Weiguo, Marion, Stoudemire
Miami Heat: Kidd, Wade, Miller, Mourning, O'Neal
......
The starting lineup has been adjusted.
After the last game, Joe Johnson was walking with a limp. The team doctor examined him and said it was a thigh muscle strain. Tonight, Gentry put him on the observation list.
Joe Johnson said he wouldn't leave the front lines even with minor injuries...
Gentry didn't argue with him, telling him to prepare to play, but not to start.
For the Heat, Mourning replaced Haslem in the starting lineup. It was a must... Mourning is better than Haslem in both offense and defense. Even if you are a veteran, in this do-or-die game, everyone has to fight. In Van Gundy's words, you have to fight as long as you have a breath left.
"Beep!!!"
The whistle blew, and the game began.
Nash got the basketball and made a long pass to Marion, who then drove to the basket, intending to score with a powerful dunk.
Mourning quickly followed and rushed in from the side to block Marion's shot!
Mourning and Marion collided...
"Bang!!!"
Both of them fell to the ground.
The intense competition from the very first basket demonstrates the Heat's determination to win this game.
Van Gundy once said that even if there is only a one percent chance, you have to give it your all... Moreover, the Heat are not without hope. There has never been a case of a team coming back from a 1-3 deficit in the Finals, but that doesn't mean the Heat can't do it.
Mourning and Marion did not fall in the same direction.
Before landing, Mourning reached out and helped Marion up again, so it was just a defensive foul. Mourning's action was big but not dirty. After he got up, he even reached out and helped Marion up.
"So ruthless..."
Richardson shrank back. "If this were in the regular season, wouldn't that be a flagrant foul?"
Marion steps to the free-throw line.
"Whoosh!!!"
"Whoosh!!!"
After making both free throws, Marion rubbed his wrist.
2-0!!!
The Suns took an early lead...that's how it is in 90% of their games.
Wei Guo has a 100% success rate in jump balls. When Nash receives the ball, if there is no fast break opportunity, he will pass the ball to Wei Guo for a one-on-one play. Therefore, the Suns have a very high probability of scoring the first basket.
The Heat are on offense.
Kidd passed the ball to O'Neal as he walked, and O'Neal went up for a layup and slammed it home with one hand.
Stoudemire was knocked back two steps...
There was physical contact on the ball, but the referee didn't blow the whistle. It's already the Finals, so some things can't be taken too seriously. Although Stoudemire was knocked back two steps, to be honest, he was moving close to O'Neal and his body slightly blocked O'Neal's offensive path, so it should be considered a blocking foul by Stoudemire.
Wei Guo received the ball under the basket and was immediately double-teamed by O'Neal and Mourning!
This was no challenge for Wei Guo... He turned halfway around, and the basketball disappeared from his hands. By the time O'Neal noticed, Stoudemire had already caught the ball and launched a mid-range shot.
"Whoosh!!!"
The basketball went into the net.
4:2!!!
The Suns are still in the lead.
......
This match continued to resemble a physical battle; players fell down and got back up without a single complaint.
Mr. Russell sat on the sidelines, looking very pleased.
This is the essence of basketball. If you don't engage in physical contact when playing basketball, you might as well just pass each person a basketball and have them shoot.
but...
Both teams had high offensive efficiency, and the score was very close.
The first quarter has ended.
27:23!!
The Suns are leading by 4 points.
The first turning point of the game came in the second quarter when Van Gundy suddenly changed his strategy and fielded an unconventional lineup of one big man and four small men, with O'Neal leading Miller, Damon Jones, Eddie Jones, and Kidd on the court.
This is called "one star radiating from four directions".
That's how the Magic play, but rookie Howard isn't mature enough yet, which is why they didn't even make the playoffs this year.
There was only O'Neal in the paint.
Miller and his four teammates didn't even go inside the three-point line, constantly moving the ball around the perimeter looking for shooting opportunities!
This tactic is risky...
Bet on a three-pointer; if it misses, let O'Neal grab the rebound.
The reason it's considered risky is because Wei Guo... Wei Guo saw through Van Gundy's intentions at a glance, so he abandoned perimeter defense and squeezed into the paint with O'Neal.
Rebounding?
The single-game rebounding record was set by Wei Guo; even if he had one hand, O'Neal might not have been able to grab it from him.
First basket of the second quarter!
The Heat play a combination of outside-to-inside and inside-to-outside passing.
Kidd lobbed the ball to O'Neal, who caught it and drew Wei Guo's defense before passing it to the three-point line.
Miller takes a three-pointer!
"Whoosh!!!"
The basketball went into the net.
This is just the beginning...
The Heat's three-point shooting was like it was on fire; they made every shot, and with Kidd on the court, the ball moved incredibly fast.
Van Gundy smiled with satisfaction!
It's too late...
If we had used this tactic earlier, we might have won two games by now.
The second quarter lasted 4 minutes and 35 seconds.
35:44!!
The Heat lead by 9 points.
In just over four minutes, the Heat made seven three-pointers, with a three-point shooting percentage of nearly 70%.
Gentry didn't call a timeout either!
The Heat are playing terribly... Their three-point shooting percentage is even higher than Wei Guo's. If they can keep this up, I'll accept the loss.
Even if we don't call a timeout, the lineup still needs to be adjusted!
Gentry glanced at Joe Johnson and decided to keep him on the bench. A thigh muscle strain can be a minor or major issue. This game was very intense, and he could play through it, but if it led to a bigger injury, it could ruin the player's career.
Nash and Stoudemire both returned to the court.
Gentry showed no intention of substituting Barbosa, and Joe Johnson pleaded, "Coach, let me play!"
"It's not the right time yet..."
Gentry comforted him, saying, "Just sit on the bench and remember... your career has just begun, it's not over yet."
This touched Joe Johnson deeply!
Gentry reflected, "That's just Joe Johnson. If it were Wei Guo... would he have had the courage to bench Wei Guo?"
Won't!
Of course...
Wei Ge has immunity to injury, so things like a pulled thigh muscle won't happen to Wei Guo.
The situation in the game has changed again.
It wasn't an open three-pointer...
The Suns wouldn't allow the Heat to shoot like that, and Miller and his teammates couldn't maintain such a high three-point shooting percentage.
With his three-point shooting percentage dropping, Van Gundy immediately put Wade on the court.
Why is this considered an unconventional tactic? Wade is the Heat's star player, and he's been sitting on the sidelines for six minutes... No head coach would dare to do this.
......
The first half has ended.
46:55!!
The Heat lead by 9 points.
They only scored 46 points in the first half, and especially in the second quarter, they only scored 19 points... This score is too low.
You should know...
Wei Guo scored 46 points in the first half alone.
This also shows how intense this game was. The Heat went all out, which was the opposite of the Spurs. In the Western Conference Finals, after the Suns took a 3-0 lead, the Spurs tanked in Game 4, and the Suns blown the game out in just three quarters.
The players dragged their tired bodies toward the locker room.
Joe Johnson kept nagging, "Old King, just let me play... my leg is really okay now."
"Give me a break..."
Cummings made a sarcastic remark, "You didn't see how intense this game is. If you were to play, you'd tear your ligaments."
In the first half, the Suns didn't get a single easy shot.
The Heat's defense was too intense... Cummings even said that if he were officiating this game, he could have blown half of the Heat's players off the court after two quarters.
Wei Guo is going to fight O'Neal for the rebound.
The Heat kept shooting from the outside, which prevented Wei Guo from getting any real playing time.
and...
The Heat's style of play is to minimize the influence of star players on the court, treating every player the same.
The Suns couldn't find a suitable defense.
When faced with difficulties, Gentry first sought Wei Guo's help, asking, "Brother Wei, how should we play in the second half?"
Silence for one minute.
Wei Guo reviewed the first half in his mind and said, "Offense is our best defense. Our specialty is run-and-gun offense. If the Heat want to use shooting to deal with us, then we'll outrun them!"
Cummings nodded vigorously, rubbing the three rings on his hands. "My hands are a bit empty. Even Russell is here, and there are tens of thousands of fans outside the arena... I have to lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy tonight, and then I'll have another ring."
That's a bit like Versailles.
You should know...
In this locker room, Cummings has the most championship rings, a total of three, the same number as Wei Guo.
Gentry only has two!
As for the others, they all came up empty-handed; the combined total of more than a dozen players couldn't even scrape together a championship ring.
Away team locker room!
Van Gundy said, "Everyone played very well. If we keep this momentum, we will definitely win this game."
Kidd said, "The Suns will use their best run-and-gun offense to catch up in the second half, and we need to run with them."
O'Neal said, "Okay!"
One word sums up O'Neal's determination to win.
Shaquille O'Neal is a very lazy player. This laziness is not only reflected in training, but sometimes he is also lazy on the court. In 2000, the Clippers angered O'Neal. In retaliation, O'Neal scored 61 points and 23 rebounds in 44 minutes, shooting 24 of 35, and delivered 11 dunks.
This also demonstrates O'Neal's strength.
When O'Neal gets serious, he's terrifying. His 61 points and 23 rebounds are a stat line that only Wei Guo has achieved in the last thirty years.
......
The second half begins, and the Heat are on offense.
Kidd went one-on-one against Nash, squeezed under the basket while moving, faked a behind-the-back pass to deceive Nash, and then pulled the ball back and took a step to lay it up.
46:57!!
The Heat lead by 11 points.
Van Gundy was so excited he wanted to jump up...
Remember the last game? The Heat went all out to keep the score difference within 10 points before the fourth quarter.
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