Junior Basketball says

Chapter 457

When the Timberwolves swept the Nuggets to advance, another group of Western Conference semifinals was in full swing. The two teams, the Thunder and the Spurs, fought hard. After four games, the two sides tied and each kept their two home games. .

In fact, no matter who advances, they all have deep grievances with the Timberwolves. In comparison, Xu Hao is still more afraid of Thunder.Although the Spurs' GDP combination has won many honors together, and their personal strength is also very good, but for the Timberwolves, the younger and more impactful Thunder Three are more difficult opponents to deal with, even if the game can be played well.

In addition to daily routine training, the Timberwolves players who are free watch the live broadcast of the Thunder VS Spurs game together, and observe the tactics of the two potential opponents by the way.What everyone didn't expect was that the Spurs narrowly beat the Thunder 111-109 in double overtime in the away game of the fifth game, won the battle of Tianwangshan, and took the lead in winning the match point.

You must know that before the start of this game, almost everyone felt that the Thunder could win the game at their home court, but the resilience of the Silver and Black Legion was beyond imagination.At the last moment of regular time and the first overtime, Parker and Ginobili's mid-range shots and three-pointers helped the team tenaciously equalize the score, and finally narrowly beat the opponent by 2 points in the second overtime.

After returning to the AT&T Center, the Spurs showed their championship-level defense. Thunder star Durant performed sluggishly under Leonard's defense. He only made 27 of 8 shots and the Thunder team only scored 92 points. , Lost the sixth game of the series helplessly, and was eliminated by the Spurs 2-4 by the Spurs, watching their opponents reach the Western Conference Finals.

This result was beyond the expectations of many people, but Xu Hao was secretly happy in his heart.No matter how good the Spurs are, they have exhausted a lot of energy after six games with the Thunder. The first game of the Western Conference Finals started on the third day after they advanced, which did not leave enough rest time.When the Timberwolves rush on the court more, won't it be easy to win?

However, in the first game of the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs stunned the Timberwolves at the beginning. Their scoring arrows were neither Duncan nor Parker, but Leonor, who was used by Popovich as a pure defensive spearhead last season. Germany.

The guy's facial expression looks to be in the same vein as Duncan's, with a poker face on both goals and turnovers.However, it is undeniable that Leonard's offensive efficiency is very high. Most of the offensive rounds are completed by cutting layups or mid-range jumpers. Of course, there are occasional three-pointers, but that must be in his Absolutely empty.

The boos of the home fans had no effect on the seasoned Spurs. Amidst the boos and cursing, they ran tactics one by one, sent the ball to the basket in the best way, and by the way restricted the Timberwolves. player of.The Spurs led 30-25 at the end of the first quarter, the first time the Timberwolves trailed at the end of the first quarter.

Although the point difference was only 5 points, McHale was facing a formidable enemy. Taking advantage of the opportunity of the intermission, he seized the time to explain to the players how to play in the second quarter.The Spurs have indeed done a good job on the defensive end. Both single defense and zone defense are excellent. This requires Timberwolves players to run faster on the court, don't begrudge their physical fitness, and create space through passing.

At the same time, Popovich allowed Leonard to score and also developed McHale's brain hole. He planned to let a guy who usually doesn't focus on scoring cover for others, preferably to attract the Spurs' defense.This task naturally fell on Kirilenko. As the head star of the Russian men's basketball team, he is very familiar with singles with the ball.

After the start of the second quarter, the Timberwolves fans on the sidelines saw scenes they had never seen before.The two core players of the team, Xu Hao and Love, completely gave up their shots and began to actively run and stretch the space. The ball was basically concentrated in the hands of Kirilenko. The top starts and hits the Spurs' basket.

Popovich frowned. In his impression, Kirilenko has always been an all-round fighter, and he was still partial to defense. When he played for the Jazz before, his biggest role was to defend the opponent's arrow figures, and at the same time give Deron Fight Boozer.However, this time the Timberwolves used him as a scorer, which is very rare.

But Timberwolves fans don't care who is the team's main scorer, they are just a little surprised, and soon began to cheer for Kirilenko.Amidst the cheers of the fans, Kirilenko scored 8 points with an air cut layup, helping the Timberwolves regain the lead.His strong impact on the basket also created enough shooting opportunities for the Timberwolves' three-point shooters. In addition to Xu Hao, Rubio and Love's three-pointers were also shot.

Kirilenko is indeed very versatile. He is the only player in NBA history other than Olajuwon who has played 5×5 (that is, at least 5 points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks in a single game).Although he can't make a coquettish pass, Kirilenko can always find teammates who are in open positions, and then assists them to make shots, helping the team to increase points crazily.

The Spurs were caught off guard. Their defensive focus was almost on Xu Hao and Love, and they were completely unprepared for Kirilenko's offense. At the end of the half, they trailed by 55 points 63 to 8, and were led by the Timberwolves by two in a single quarter. number.

With Kirilenko taking the lead, the other players of the Timberwolves had a high desire to attack in the second half. They simply gave up defense and fought against the Spurs on the court.This is a heavy burden for the old guys of the Silver and Black Legion. The third quarter was quickly opened up by the Timberwolves, and most of the players looked exhausted, which was obviously dragged down.

For the life-and-death opponents, the Timberwolves will not talk about respecting the old and loving the young. They continued to play a 7-0 spurt in the fourth quarter, which directly killed the suspense of the game.Popovich replaced all the main players with more than 5 minutes left, which means that the Spurs have conceded in this game and focused on the next game.

After the Spurs replaced the main force, McHale also withdrew from the starting lineup and played the rest of the time with substitute players.In the end, the Timberwolves easily won the game 101 to 92 and made a good start to the Western Conference Finals, which undoubtedly made a good start.For the Timberwolves, defeating the opponent in one go and advancing to the finals is what they most hope to see.

(End of this chapter)