Wei Guo's move couldn't escape the referee's eyes.
"Beep!!!"
The referee immediately blew his whistle and called a foul on Wei Guo.
Wei Guo shoved the back of his hand into the referee's face, saying, "My hand is all red from his slap, why didn't you call it?"
"What you just did was completely unnecessary!"
The referee dodged the question, saying, "This is a move that lacks sportsmanship."
Wei Guo didn't intentionally strike Horry's chin with his elbow. It was just that Wei Guo had completely taken control of the basketball, and Horry insisted on trying to steal the ball. That slap on the arm really hurt, which angered Wei Guo.
Suns players prepare to surround the referee...
Even Nash stepped forward to argue with the referee, saying, "Wei Guo's elbow was just a subconscious movement, Horry's was a very obvious flop, and you didn't call Horry's call but called Wei Guo's, which is very wrong."
The referee handled this situation with ease.
He first tried to explain to Nash, but when Nash wanted to continue arguing, the referee blew his whistle and gave Nash a technical foul.
Fuck you!
Nash responded politely.
Nash was arguably very wronged because he wasn't a player on the court; he was standing on the sidelines arguing with the referee when he was given a technical foul. However, the league has always prioritized the authority of the referees. The game was still going on, so the technical foul was called. If the argument continued, the referee would give Nash a second technical foul, and he would be ejected from the game.
Horry looked smug...
D'Antoni had a bad feeling, however, because the referees' bias towards the Spurs was too obvious.
The Suns, an offensive team, have only had 11 free throw attempts so far in this game, while the Spurs have had 29, 18 more than the Suns, especially against Wei Guo, who has already accumulated four fouls.
Parker takes the free throw for a technical foul.
Wei Guo was standing on the sidelines when D'Antoni asked, "Wei, do you want to take a break?"
"unnecessary..."
Wei Guo shook his head. "I'll try my best to control my fouls. We'll talk about it when I get my fifth foul."
Parker made the free throw after receiving a technical foul, but possession remained with the Spurs. The Suns had already substituted in all their starters, and even the usually mild-mannered Nash received a technical foul, which thoroughly angered the Suns.
......
"Shh~~~"
"Corrupt referee! Corrupt referee! Corrupt referee!"
"Shh~~~"
......
The audience was also putting pressure on the referees, expressing their dissatisfaction.
The Spurs' pass was intercepted by Marion, and Nash ran up the court. Marion passed the ball to Nash, and Nash and Wei Guo charged towards the Spurs' basket from the left and right respectively.
Wei Guo is fast on the run, and Nash is fast on the pass!
As Wei Guo was about to reach the three-second zone, Nash tossed the ball above him. Wei Guo jumped up with his left foot, grabbed the basketball, spun 180 degrees in mid-air, and then delivered a powerful back dunk!
"Bang!!!"
The basketball hoop was bent at a 38.6-degree angle by Wei Guo.
86:82!!
The Suns are leading by four points.
Before the Suns could take control of the situation, Ginobili responded with a three-pointer.
This match was extremely close...
For the next seven or eight minutes, both teams fielded their key players, with Popovich and D'Antoni each calling timeouts, but neither could widen the gap until the final minute.
There are 57 seconds left in the game.
109:107!!
The Suns had a two-point lead, and their players were at their physical limit.
Popovich had just called a timeout to set up tactics, and the players returned to the court. D'Antoni made a very bold decision: in this crucial minute, he substituted the team's key player Nash with young player Barbosa.
The Suns must stop the Spurs' offense.
Parker receives the ball in the backcourt, and Barbosa presses him closely, sticking to him every step of the way. Parker finally manages to dribble the ball across the frontcourt, where Duncan stands outside the three-point line. Ginobili runs around Duncan, dodging Marion's defense, and receives a pass from Parker.
There is approximately 0.7 seconds for the shot to be taken.
Ginobili didn't hesitate to sink a three-pointer. He was the Spurs' leading scorer in the game, making 7 of 11 three-point attempts and scoring 38 points.
Wei Guo was unable to reinforce the defenses in time.
The spectators were all making the sign of the cross, praying that the ball wouldn't go in, but God disappointed them.
"Whoosh!!!"
The sound of the basketball swishing through the net was so crisp.
109:110!!
The Spurs took a one-point lead with 39 seconds remaining in the game.
D'Antoni called another timeout. The Suns still had two timeouts left. He needed to carefully plan this offensive play and also have Nash substitute Barbosa.
......
The players from both sides returned to the sidelines.
Cummings reassured them, "Don't panic, guys... The Spurs were leading by 8 points with 35 seconds left in the last game, and they still got a buzzer-beater. Now they're only leading by 1 point, and we still have 39 seconds left."
"Hahaha..."
That was a clever remark, which made Marion and the others burst into laughter.
"Don't laugh."
D'Antoni patted Cummings on the shoulder and said, "This next possession is very important. You guys have to get that damn ball in the basket."
As he spoke...
D'Antoni gestured on the whiteboard, roughly saying things like, "You do this... you do this... you do this..." which gave Wei Ge a chance to shoot.
......
The timeout has ended, and the game has resumed.
Even if the Suns score just two points, they can still take the lead. The Spurs dare not leave any player unmarked, but their defensive focus remains on Wei Guo.
As Wei Guo ran, the entire Spurs team chased after him, surrounding and blocking him!
Fortunately...
D'Antoni truly deserves his reputation as an offensive mastermind, with Marion and Stoudemire forming a double pick-and-roll.
First, using Stoudemire's screen, Wei Guo received a pass from Nash near the free-throw line. Then, using Marion's screen, Wei Guo retreated to the three-point line and made a standard pull-up three-pointer!
The audience all stood up!
"Whoosh!!!"
The moment the basketball swished through the net, the entire arena erupted in cheers, "Wow~~~ MVP! MVP! MVP!"
112:110!!
The Suns took a 2-point lead, but left the Spurs with 21 seconds to attack.
The Spurs have no timeouts left!
Nesterovic walked to the baseline to inbound the ball, and Wei Guo loudly instructed his teammates, "Full-court press, don't let the Spurs shoot three-pointers!"
Popovich brought Barry in during the Suns' previous timeout, precisely to prepare for this moment.
At this time...
We absolutely cannot let the Spurs shoot three-pointers.
Even if the Spurs make a two-pointer, it will only be overtime at most. But if the Spurs make a three-pointer, they could very well win the game against the Suns.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com