The second half of the game started, and GDP went into battle.
Popovich's label is that he is good at using role players and rarely relies on the main force.
However, now facing this Lakers, he is as helpless as other coaches, and then he has no choice but to control the main force.
The Lakers are also playing with all their main players. They are young and more durable.
The Lakers attacked first and Zhang Zhiyuan ran wildly. Ginobili could only bite the bullet and chase and interfere.
On the other side, Kobe caught the ball and hit Mike Finley in isolation, but missed a jump shot.
Duncan picked off the rebound, but it was a pity that they couldn't counterattack.
Because Zhang Zhiyuan always stays outside the three-point line, he can always retreat first. Unless two players of the Spurs go on a fast break at the same time, there is no chance.
Parker can only advance steadily, continue to play tactics and improve success rate.
He started the breakthrough first, forcing Kobe to help defend, and then casually passed the ball to Finley.
Zhang Zhiyuan stepped in front of Finley, and Finley continued to share the ball.
The Lakers defended very well, and the Spurs players couldn't find a good shot for a while.
The ball finally reached Duncan. Duncan knew that there was no time to pass the ball and he could only rely on his personal ability. He bumped into Odom, then jumped up and shot in the limited space.
The ball goes in.
A mediocre move, but very efficient.
When the Lakers attacked, Kobe didn't act recklessly. He made a few moves under the basket, successfully attracted the opponent's attention, and then passed his backhand to Fisher on the outside.
Fisher's three-point shooting is average, ranking sixth among the Lakers.
But there was a big gap at this time, and Fisher decisively made the shot himself.
He has made more important and critical shots, and this kind of shot is just childish for him.
The ball goes in.
Fisher retreated without feeling happy or sad, appearing very calm.
Fisher was calm, but the Spurs were anxious.
They desperately want to narrow the point difference, and the best way to narrow the point difference is of course to throw three-pointers.
This burden falls on Ginobili. Ginobili actually shoots a lot of three-pointers this season, averaging nearly 6 times per game and averaging 2.4 hits per game, ranking among the top 15 in the league.
Ginobili took advantage of Duncan's screen and made a three-pointer.
The ball was scored, 55 to 67.
Ginobili breathed a sigh of relief.
If this goal is not scored, the Spurs will be in danger.
The Lakers attacked, Zhang Zhiyuan responded with a three-pointer, but the ball missed.
However, the Spurs failed to seize the opportunity, and Ginobili's shot was also interfered with.
In the next round, Zhang Zhiyuan hit.
55 to 70.
The Spurs attacked, and Ginobili faked a shot and hit the basket, causing Odom to foul.
Ginobili made two free throws, but sweat had already soaked his jersey.
Both the offensive and defensive ends are working hard, and Ginobili's physical strength is rapidly draining.
When the Lakers attacked, Kobe passed Finley with the ball. Ginobili glanced at it and ignored it, and he couldn't do it. It is already extremely difficult to take charge of Zhang Zhiyuan.
Duncan added, Kobe sent a pass, and Bynum dunked.
57 to 72.
The Spurs attacked, and Parker broke through to the basket, but was blocked by Odom and Bynum. Parker failed to find a chance to pass the ball and chose to throw.
The ball didn't go in.
Duncan grabbed the rebound, Bynum fouled, Duncan went to the free throw line and made one of two free throws.
The two sides continued to play for several rounds. Compared to the first half, the Spurs played better, at least evenly matched with the Lakers.
But that's meaningless. They dug a 14-point hole in the first half, and they have to play better than the Lakers in the second half to win.
It's not easy to play as well as the Lakers. It's really not easy to play better than the Lakers.
GDP works hard, and the Spurs' role players also work hard. This is the Spurs' style.
They have experienced many storms and waves, won many key games, and lost many important games.
This allows them to maintain a spirit of never giving up.
In the second half of the third quarter, the Spurs took advantage of the Lakers' slack and went on an 8-0 spurt, narrowing the point difference to 9 points.
This made Lakers fans a little worried, but in the fourth quarter, after Zhang Zhiyuan and Kobe Bryant came back on the court, they combined their internal and external skills and launched another 10-3 counterattack.
At this point, the Spurs have no hope.
There were still 7 minutes left in the game, but Popovich replaced the main players very simply and did not waste any time.
In his opinion, losing by 1 point and losing by 31 points are both losses. It is more important to save the physical strength of GDP. There is no need to waste it with the young guys of the Lakers.
Popovich really hoped that Kobe and Zhang Zhiyuan could continue to stay on the court to collect statistics, but Jackson did not let him do so.
Two rounds after the Spurs' main force was replaced, Zhang Zhiyuan and Kobe Bryant also came off the field.
In this game, the two of them only played 28 minutes and 30 minutes respectively. For the Western Conference Finals, this time is pitiful.
Like the Celtics' Big Three, almost no game lasts less than 40 minutes.
The substitutes of both sides played the last bit of time on the court, and the game ended.
99 to 112, the Lakers won the first game by 13 points.
The win was not much, but anyone who has watched the process knows that the Lakers have been suppressing the Spurs. Judging from the scene, the Spurs seem to have no chance, and they are not much different from the Suns and Nuggets.
In terms of statistics, Duncan had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Ginobili had 23 points and 3 assists, Parker had 14 points and 4 assists, and GDP combined for 55 points.
For the Lakers, Kobe Bryant had 27 points and 4 rebounds, and Zhang Zhiyuan had 28 points and 3 assists, which happened to be 55 points.
At the post-game press conference, Popovich complained again about the referee's penalty scale: "We noticed that Bruce would be called for a foul as long as he touched the opponent a little bit, and the referee seemed to be worried that they would be sexually harassed...
.”
Of course, reporters didn't completely buy it. Some people used Zhang Zhiyuan's words to silence Popovich, saying that Bowen had injured many stars.
"This is a basketball game, this is a man's game. Doesn't Kobe do less of this kind of thing?"
Popovich fired back.
Sports Illustrated conducted a survey to list players who play very dirty games, and Kobe was honored to be ranked eighth.
Therefore, it is more difficult for the Lakers to accuse the Spurs of playing dirty.
"You mean Bowen will continue to maintain his previous style? Maybe even last year's situation?"
The reporter asked.
This is a pit. Popovich could have easily bypassed it, but now that he is too resourceful to care, he replied: "In the fierce playoffs, anything can happen. If Zhang is afraid
He can hide and no one will laugh at him."
These words sounded more or less threatening, and reporters were in an uproar. They were already thinking about the possibility that Bowen was behind the scenes.
Theoretically speaking, Zhang Zhiyuan is currently the most popular player in the league, and ordinary players would not dare to risk the world's disapproval to take action against him.
Doing this will definitely offend Stern, and you won't have to hang out in the league in the future.
But the problem is, even if he doesn't offend Stern, Bowen may retire at any time in his current state.
It’s not impossible to make big news before retiring and sacrifice yourself for the team again.
Regardless of whether Bowen has such an intention, reporters are exaggerating this possibility in news reports.
As soon as the news came out, there were various reactions.
Some Spurs players said that this was a slander against the Spurs, but some less shameless Spurs players said that this is what we do, and if you are afraid, just don’t fight.
Lakers fans are relatively unified in their opinions, unanimously demanding that the league protect its stars and increase penalties for malicious injuries.
As for Celtics fans, they are expecting this to happen.
As long as Kobe Bryant and Zhang Zhiyuan are injured, their championship will be secure.
On the 20th, the Eastern Conference Finals began.
79 to 88, the Celtics won the game at home.
However, the outside world does not rate their victory highly, after all, this is their home court.
Many experts now believe that it is meaningless to watch the Celtics' home games. The key is to watch their away performance.
However, there are a few more rational commentators who said that after reaching the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics performed better and played with ease.
Although they only beat the Pistons by 9 points, you must know that both of them are slow-paced teams. A win of 9 points is almost equal to a dozen points of a fast-paced team. It is also a big victory.
Moreover, during the game, the Celtics were suppressing the Pistons. It seemed that the Celtics' running-in had improved significantly.
However, not many people hold this view for the time being.
On the 21st, in the second game of the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers played against the Spurs at home.
The gimmick of this game is whether Bowen will play dirty, but not many people care about the outcome.
It seems that everyone has acquiesced in the view that as long as Bowen does not destroy the Lakers' stars, they will definitely lose.
When the game started, Bowen was still the starter, which worried many timid Lakers fans.
But their worries are unnecessary, the league will not allow Bowen to act recklessly.
During the game, Bowen was stared at hard by the referee.
After playing Bowen, he already committed 4 fouls.
And to be fair, his movements in this game were much smaller than before.
But the referee didn't care, they had to warn Bowen in this way.
Bowen, who had been wronged, wanted to "go all out" more than once, but he could never make up his mind.
First of all, the matter was so big that all tennis fans were discussing it.
In the past, when he hurt people, he could just pretend that he didn't mean it. But if he hurt people now, no one would believe him no matter how he explained.
Secondly, he was also afraid of Zhang Zhiyuan and felt unsure.
If you can successfully injure someone, being scolded is not a big loss. If you fail to injure someone but injure yourself instead, that would be a real joke.
Popovich saw that Bowen could not play a key role and was slow, so he reduced Bowen's playing time.
In the end, the Spurs lost the game without any suspense.
Of course, this cannot be blamed on Bowen, he is just a minor supporting role.
103 to 122.
GDP played quite well in this game, with the three of them scoring 76 points together.
It's a pity that the role players are not strong, and no one except GDP scores in double figures.
For the Lakers, the two stars scored 73 points, which is not much less than GDP.
Under their control, other Lakers role players also performed well.
Odom scored 14 points, Bynum had 11 points, Fisher had 9 points and 9 assists...
Leading 2-0, it seems that only time is left for the Lakers to advance to the Finals.
In contrast, the Celtics are much more tortuous.
In the game on the 22nd, the Celtics lost at home.
103 to 97, the Pistons won by 6 points.
For a time, the Celtics were increasingly looked down upon.
If you can't even defend your home game, won't you be even more exploited by your opponents when you go to the away game?
No one expected that the Celtics, the most promising team at the beginning of the season, would fall to this level.
There are many negative comments on the Internet, and the pressure on the Celtics' Big Three and Rondo is very high.
On the 23rd, the Lakers challenged the Spurs away from home.
With the home court advantage, the Spurs played very well, and Bowen could make moves with confidence. The referee did not dare to be too strict, otherwise the fans at the scene would not agree.
This is the Spurs' home court, and the referees dare not favor the Lakers anymore.
This change in penalty scale also has some impact on the Lakers, making it more difficult to get good shot opportunities.
And because they were dissatisfied with the penalty, the Lakers players were angry. Kobe almost fought with Uduka in the third quarter. Fortunately, Odom hugged Kobe tightly, otherwise the Spurs would have succeeded.
Use a Uduka and Kobe Bryant to make a profit from the Spurs.
In the end, the Lakers lost the game 101 to 107.
After the game, Lakers fans began to curse.
It’s no wonder they were so excited, the referee was really too biased.
The Lakers only took 12 free throws in the entire game, while the Spurs took 32. Ginobili took 13 alone.
As long as he reaches the basket, there will be a whistle. Kobe was hammered and pinched by two big men under the basket and he didn't make a free throw, otherwise he wouldn't have gone berserk and wanted to hit someone.
In fact, if possible, he would rather beat the referee.
At the post-game press conference, Jackson also risked being fined: "Whether it is the regular season or the playoffs, our team has no whistle, and our team's free throw average per game is eighth from the bottom in the league. League points
Among the top 25 players, Zhang averaged the least free throws per game. This is really incredible. In fact, he has made many breakthroughs. He has been discriminated against and unfairly targeted..."
Popovich retorted: "He keeps hiding outside the three-point line and shooting jumpers. Where does the whistle come from? Most of their shots are open shots. We can't touch them. We have no chance to foul. How can we give a whistle?
..."
Both of them told part of the truth and exaggerated part of the situation, which sounded quite reasonable at first glance.
But anyone with a discerning eye can understand it. The most they can do is laugh, hold a watermelon and watch them dog bite dogs.
That is to say, fans of both teams will lose their minds because of this, madly criticizing each other, and unreasonably defending their own side.
Some fanatical fans will also collect statistics that are beneficial to themselves, edit videos that are beneficial to themselves, collect comments that are beneficial to themselves, and then post them on the Internet as evidence.
Those pseudo-fans who watch less football and don't know much about the situation can easily be misled by these one-sided evidence.
By the time they reached the conference finals, the fans had already lost their minds and become extremely crazy. There were countless scoldings on the Internet, and there were even some conflicts in reality.
After 2-1, Spurs fans and Lakers fans could no longer sit together and watch the game, and they could get into scoldings and fights over disagreements every minute.
