"We're just well-prepared; we're already the enemy of the alliance."
Gentry saw things clearly: "Our opponents started preparing a week before the match against us."
Wei Guo nodded, "Old Jin is right, but the shooting percentage will drop as physical strength is depleted. Let's just focus on playing our own game well."
sometimes...
Gentry even considered losing a game; the pressure of a winning streak was too much.
I still remember last season, the Nets didn't start well, but after Hill and Mourning returned, the team's performance improved, and in many games they built double-digit leads in the first quarter.
It's common for a game to end in a half-court tie.
But recently, the game has been going on until the fourth quarter before a winner is decided, even against a team like the Raptors who are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
......
In the second quarter, Turkoglu suddenly erupted.
He scored 9 points on 4-of-5 shooting...
Given Turkoglu's exceptional talent, D'Antoni decisively brought Wei Guo and Nash back onto the court to show his respect.
Wei Guo didn't play too well tonight, scoring only 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting in the first quarter. It's impossible for him to continue his explosive scoring performance from the last game. He can only try to get 40 points and not lose the scoring duel with Kobe.
35:39!!
When Wei Guo entered the game, the Suns were down by 4 points.
Marion is taking free throws; he was fouled by Turkoglu during his previous shot and has two free throw opportunities.
"bang~~~"
Marion made his first free throw.
Francis walked up behind Marion and said, "The Suns have the second-best free throw percentage in the league, and you're primarily responsible for that."
Both Wei Guo and Nash have free throw percentages above 90%, but the Suns' free throw percentage is only second in the league this season. This is certainly not Marion's fault; Francis was just deliberately interfering with him.
then...
Pippen's comment that the mailman doesn't work on weekends affected Malone's free throws, and the missed free throw directly led to the Jazz losing the game.
Ma Lian'ang gritted his teeth!
"bang~~~"
Missed the second free throw!
Howard positioned himself in front of Wei Guo, and his positioning was very successful. He grabbed the rebound, which made Howard shout excitedly.
"Brother Francis...catch the ball!"
Howard turned around and threw the ball to Francis.
But...
The ball was thrown too fast and hit Marion on the back of the head.
Then it bounces in the opposite direction...
With a slight arc, it flew towards the top of the basket.
"Gurgle~~~"
The basketball spun around the rim seven or eight times before finally falling into the basket.
"......"
"......"
"......"
The players on the field froze instantly, and even the spectators were at a loss for words.
Marion was hit on the back of the head and fell forward to the floor. Nash was the first to recover from his petrification. He helped Marion up and asked, "Are you alright?"
"What did you just send?"
Marion rubbed the back of his head in pain. "My head hurts so much!"
Nash struggled to find the words, finally managing to squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth: "You just scored two points with a header."
"A header goal???"
Marion was even more confused... This is basketball, not football, how can there be a header goal?
When Howard passed the ball, the players were all running up the court. Marion never expected that Howard, in his excitement after grabbing a rebound while guarding Wei Guo, would misjudge the direction of the pass and hit him directly on the back of the head.
if...
If the ball hadn't rolled into the basket, Marion might have gone after Howard; he definitely did it on purpose.
37:39!!
The Suns inexplicably closed the gap to two points.
The referee didn't call a technical foul on Howard, and his bewildered expression was something even an Oscar holder couldn't fake.
The Magic inbound the ball from the baseline.
Francis complained, "What were you doing just now? Is that how you pass a ball? That mistake was so childish!"
"sorry..."
Howard said in a low voice, "I really didn't expect Marion's head to suddenly appear."
"Damn it!"
Francis rubbed his temples and dribbled the ball across half-court.
What a great game...
Nash was guarding Francis one-on-one. Francis used a series of crossover dribbles to deceive Nash, then stepped back to the left to create shooting space and launched a mid-to-long-range jump shot.
"Whoosh!!!"
The basketball went into the net.
37:41!!
Francis wasn't a player with explosive scoring ability like Wei Guo or Kobe; his career-high single-game score was only in the forties. However, his offensive ability was not to be underestimated.
......
Being a few points behind didn't stop Gentry from sitting on the sidelines chatting with the players.
"Has there ever been a precedent in the league for scoring with a header?"
"I don't know..."
"Who would bother to do such a trivial thing?"
"The only player on our team who can score with a header is Nash, he plays football so well."
"Marion...it must hurt a lot."
That's true. It hurts to be hit by a basketball flying at high speed, let alone to be hit on the head. Anyway, Marion will have to get a CT scan after the game.
......
However, things were not as simple as Gentry had suggested; Marion's condition was not optimistic.
Wei Guo positioned himself high up the pitch and passed the ball to Marion.
This was a shot from just three meters away from the basket, and there was no one guarding it, but Marion made an absurdly airball.
"Um???"
Gentry jumped to his feet. "Marion, are you alright?"
Who called me?
Marion looked around blankly.
Gentry slapped his thigh. "Damn it... Marion's head is really broken!"
Marion was out of sorts, which caught Francis's attention. Regardless of the circumstances, the Magic bore a lot of responsibility for Marion's performance. Out of humanitarian considerations, Francis did not attack but instead signaled to the referee to stop the game.
"Hey buddy..."
Francis asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
This was the second time he'd been asked this, and Marion was puzzled. "You called this pause just to ask me if I'm okay?"
"You don't seem to be in good form. Do you want to go to the sidelines and rest for a while?"
"I'm really fine..."
Marion waved his hand and forced a smile, "Don't pity me just because I threw an air ball."
We can't force ourselves to stay strong!
Wei Guo led Marion to the sidelines, and Cummings handed him a glass of water. Marion took a sip and said, "I just got hit by the basketball, it really doesn't matter. I'm sure I can make the next shot."
"fine..."
Gentry comforted him, saying, "We can win the game even without you. Go to Toronto People's Hospital, get an appointment, have a brain CT scan, and get your body checked out too. Don't worry... the team will cover all the expenses."
There's no health insurance in the US, and medical care is incredibly expensive... This whole set of tests will cost a lot of money, but for Marion's sake, Old Jin doesn't mind.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com