Chapter 50 You fell down before I exerted all my strength
The Rockets' starting lineup remains unchanged, with Alston, Zhang Zhiyuan, Battier, Hayes and Yao Ming.
The Spurs' Popovich made some adjustments and moved Ginobili to the starting lineup.
Although Ginobili did not guard Zhang Zhiyuan in the last game, the effect was better than Finley.
Spurs starting lineup, Parker, Ginobili, Bruce Bowen, Duncan, Oberto.
The two teams jumped the ball, Yao Ming gave the ball to his side, Zhang Zhiyuan signaled Alston to run, and he controlled the ball to advance.
Ginobili quickly followed the defense, and from time to time he reached for the ball.
It's a pity that Zhang Zhiyuan dribbled from the hip and changed hands behind the back, and directly passed Ginobili.
This kind of fancy ball control and dribbling made Sun Zhengping exclaim: "Hey, Xiao Zhang's ball control skills are quite good."
Passing Ginobili, Zhang Zhiyuan continued to advance.
Bowen came up to intercept, and Ginobili was about to catch up and form a double-team.
Zhang Zhiyuan threw the ball and Battier caught the ball.
The ball was scored, 0 to 3.
It was only the first ball, and the Spurs didn't realize the problem.
They attacked step by step. Parker tried to Alston, but failed continuously and could only pass the ball to Ginobili.
Parker was very depressed and frustrated. He didn't understand why the movements that he usually did easily became much more difficult now.
He will continue to be depressed because Zhang Zhiyuan decided to hold him back in this series.
Firstly, it's because Parker has the highest hatred towards him, and secondly, Parker's speed is what Zhang Zhiyuan needs most.
After Ginobili took over, he could only take action.
Facing Zhang Zhiyuan's close defense, he had no room to start.
Zhang Zhiyuan interfered with his jump and the ball missed.
In the transition between offense and defense, Alston advanced with the ball first, and then immediately passed the ball to Zhang Zhiyuan after halftime, allowing him to organize.
This was the tactic requested by Zhang Zhiyuan before the game. Van Gundy had no other better way and could only choose to believe in him.
Zhang Zhiyuan was still a few steps away from the three-point line after receiving the ball, so Ginobili was on one-on-one defense for the time being, and Bowen did not double-team.
Then Zhang Zhiyuan started a breakthrough, attracting the attention of Spurs players.
During the march, Zhang Zhiyuan threw the ball towards Yao Ming through the gap between the people.
This is a very bold choice. As long as the Spurs players react quickly, they can reach out and steal.
Unfortunately, they never expected that Zhang Zhiyuan would fight like White Chocolate, so they were not mentally prepared.
Yao Ming caught the ball under the basket and threw it in with a hook. Zhang Zhiyuan assisted 1.
"Charles, are you panic?"
Zhang Zhiyuan didn't score a point, and the Rockets were already leading by five points. O'Neal took the opportunity to tease.
"What's the rush? The game has just begun."
Buckley looked calm on the surface, but actually there was a vague feeling in his heart.
On the court, the Spurs attacked, and Oberto, who was ignored, made a sneak attack and scored two points.
The Rockets attack, Zhang Zhiyuan and Alston pass the ball back and forth, pulling on the Spurs' defense.
Bowen was exhausted running back and forth between Shane Battier and Zhang Zhiyuan.
In the end, because he was a step slower, he lost track of Shane.
Zhang Zhiyuan immediately passed the ball.
Battier catches the ball and throws it. Although this is not a shooting area he is good at, Zhang Zhiyuan told him before the game to shoot more resolutely.
The ball goes in.
Battier laughed and returned to defense. He didn't expect that he would feel so good today.
After a few rounds, Popovich has figured out the Rockets' strategy, which is to rely on Zhang Zhiyuan to attract the defense while others look for shooting opportunities.
Although he saw the Rockets' strategy, Popovich didn't have a good way to deal with it. He couldn't just leave Zhang Zhiyuan alone. Zhang Zhiyuan had already demonstrated his explosive scoring ability in the last game.
Popovich is prepared to wait and see again.
In the next round, the Rockets attacked, and Alston took a shot after receiving the ball, but missed.
Although there is an assist bonus from Zhang Zhiyuan, it does not mean that a goal is guaranteed.
Alston's shot choice was average this time, but it was a pity that he missed an offensive opportunity.
But it doesn't matter, in the next round, Zhang Zhiyuan continues to pass the ball.
Even when he clearly had a one-on-one opportunity, he didn't fight it and instead passed it to Yao Ming.
Yao Ming missed the shot.
"This is a bit too much, Zhang, please calm down, winning is the most important thing."
Barkley said with tears in his eyes, he found that Zhang Zhiyuan was really crazy. In order to win against him, he didn't even shoot a ball.
This made Smith and O'Neal laugh.
Not long after, Zhang Zhiyuan got his fourth assist.
8 to 14, the Rockets lead by 6 points.
"What's going on? Why did you fall down before I even exerted my strength?"
Zhang Zhiyuan said mockingly.
The Spurs ignored him, and Duncan caught the ball under the basket and hit the rebound.
10 to 14.
During the transition between offense and defense, Zhang Zhiyuan was ready to take action. Since he had accumulated four assists, this shot was bound to hit.
However, Zhang Zhiyuan discovered that Bowen did not come again this round, and there was only Ginobili in front of him.
Obviously, Bowen felt that it was inappropriate to double-team after seeing Zhang Zhiyuan's continuous failure to shoot.
Ginobili's shot in isolation is too ordinary to be fake.
Ever since, Zhang Zhiyuan slapped the basketball two steps away from the three-point line and shouted towards Bowen: "Bruce, Bruce, come and double-team me. I'm warning you, if you don't come over, I'll shoot."
The referee who just ran over slipped when he heard this and almost fell down.
He really wanted to remind Zhang Zhiyuan to be serious. This was the Western Conference Finals, not a friendly match on a field court.
Bowen was unmoved, while Zhang Zhiyuan was 'angry'.
Then he took off in front of Ginobili without any fake moves, as if he was telling Ginobili that he was going to shoot.
Of course Ginobili was not polite and immediately jumped up to cover his eyes.
He defended very well, but unfortunately the ball still fell into the basket.
10 to 17.
"You didn't listen when I asked you to come over. Now you know you were wrong."
Zhang Zhiyuan reprimanded him with a reprimand, and immediately received a system prompt that Bowen's hatred towards him had increased.
Zhang Zhiyuan quickly shut up. To be on the safe side, he thought it was best not to anger Bowen. It was not cost-effective.
"Hahaha......"
"Nice job."
"Bruce, do you know you're wrong?"
When the fans saw Zhang Zhiyuan humiliating and mocking his opponent, they immediately started booing in excitement.
The Spurs were caught off guard by the Rockets on the defensive end and lost points one after another.
But on the offensive end, they are still stable and maintain good efficiency.
Ginobili used a teammate's screen to catch the ball and break through. Hayes failed to stop him. Ginobili went to the basket and fouled Yao Ming, making two free throws.
12 to 17.
During the transition between offense and defense, the Spurs players began to have headaches again, not knowing how to make a choice.
Bowen could only stay close to Zhang Zhiyuan, keeping the possibility of double-teaming at any time.
His thoughts are beautiful, but Shane is not stupid either, and he keeps moving around.
Soon, Bowen was left far behind by Battier because of his hesitation.
Although Zhang Zhiyuan was tightly pressed by Ginobili, he still found an angle and passed a difficult pass.
Battier caught the ball and shot the ball again.
12 to 19.
Popovich quickly called a timeout.
It's only been more than 4 minutes. If we continue playing like this, we will lose at least 50 points in a single quarter.
"The Spurs' proud defense was torn to pieces by the Rockets."
Smith said.
"The Rockets' role players performed very well today, and they all scored. Popovich should change his defensive strategy, strictly guard against the role players, and let Zhang score."
Barkley felt that he was extremely unlucky. As soon as he made a bet with Zhang Zhiyuan, the rest of the Rockets exploded. It was as if he was sincerely framed and went too far.
"Are you simply afraid of losing the bet?"
O'Neill laughed.
At the end of the timeout, Popovich did not let Barkley get what he wanted. He still chose to double-team Zhang Zhiyuan. However, he replaced Oberto with Finley and let Duncan play center.
The Spurs attacked, Duncan missed a shot, and Zhang Zhiyuan rushed inside to grab the rebound.
The Rockets attacked, and Zhang Zhiyuan found that his defenders had become Ginobili and Parker.
The other three are constantly rotating, making up defense to defend the other Rockets.
Zhang Zhiyuan caught the ball, Ginobili and Parker were close to each other, and Parker kept reaching for the ball.
In this case, it would be good if Zhang Zhiyuan could pass the ball to his teammates, let alone pass the ball well.
Seeing this, Alston ran over to catch the ball, and Zhang Zhiyuan passed the ball.
After Alston received the ball, Finley stepped in front of him, and his chance was not very good.
So he chose a secondary organization, fake a sudden pass, and passed the ball to Battier.
Battier took a shot and the ball missed.
On the one hand, Bowen's defense was timely, and on the other hand, it was because of the lack of Zhang Zhiyuan's shooting support.
Seeing Battier miss the shot, Popovich was relieved.
If the Rockets' role players continue to be accurate like this, then they can just surrender without having to fight.
After finally preventing the Rockets from attacking, the Spurs failed to seize the opportunity to chase points.
On the offensive end, Parker hit the ground running.
Zhang Zhiyuan continued to "actively" fight for rebounds.
When Yao Ming saw this, he did not take off, but instead helped him to trap Duncan.
Zhang Zhiyuan picked up another board.
When the Rockets attacked, the Spurs players worked hard to interfere with the connection between Zhang Zhiyuan and his teammates. Alston could only cooperate with other teammates and assist Yao Ming to score.
"Zhang Zhiyuan also contributed to this goal. He made a lot of holes in the Spurs' defense."
Zhang Lili said.
Zhang Zhiyuan didn't even touch the ball in the round just now, but the Chinese commentator could still find an angle to praise.
In the next round, Alston missed a shot, Zhang Zhiyuan rushed over and grabbed an offensive rebound.
The incident happened so suddenly that no Spurs players reacted.
Zhang Zhiyuan could only reluctantly throw the ball into the basket. If possible, he would like to exchange this score for an assist, so as to add a "can make teammates better" evaluation.
"Am I dazzled? Zhang looked a little unhappy with his shot this time."
Smith complained, "This is hell."
How can any player not want to score? This is not normal.
"You read that right, he was really not happy with his score this time. Maybe he was worried that he would not be able to beat Charles if he scored too high, hahaha..."
O'Neal laughed, while Barkley was on the verge of crying.
Even to death, he never expected that Zhang Zhiyuan would care so much about this bet.
"Popovich, you idiot, stop the double-teaming."
Later, Barkley even began to complain about Popovich's tactical arrangements, feeling that the double-teaming arranged by Popovich was a stupid decision.
Unfortunately, Popovich couldn't hear his advice and continued to double-team to a limited extent.
Under limited double-teaming, it was not as easy for the Rockets' role players to score points as it was at the beginning.
But it doesn't matter, they are still more efficient than the Spurs.
Halfway through the first quarter, the score was 16 to 26, leading by 10 points.
This made Rockets fans cheer.
They suddenly discovered that it was not impossible for the team to defeat the Spurs.
As long as we win this game, the two sides will be 2 to 2.
And if they maintain their current style of play, the Spurs don't seem to have an advantage.
"Well done, if we fight like this, we can win."
The local station guest in Houston shouted excitedly.
"Thank you Zhang, for the hope he brought to the Rockets. When all of us were in despair, he was the only one who maintained a high fighting spirit, even risking his career..."
Another guest gave an impromptu speech praising Zhang Zhiyuan.
Zhang Zhiyuan would be embarrassed to hear the content.
"No way, are the Rockets really going to make a comeback?"
The Warriors general manager complained.
"Everything is possible, that's why I asked you to watch this game with me. Start taking action, Tiff, we have to get Zhang at all costs. As long as you can sign him, I guarantee to bring two to the Warriors
Overall championship.”
Don Nelson said.
Originally, the Warriors had a plan to sign Zhang Zhiyuan, but because Zhang Zhiyuan was risking his career, Tiff immediately chose to stop the action. He believed that Zhang Zhiyuan could not stay in the league.
But Don Nelson has a different view. He thinks the Rockets may not be out of business.
But now, the situation is beginning to favor Don Nelson.
"Okay, but you should understand, Don, that if he really achieves this feat, then he will be the darling of the league, and any team will want to get him. We have no advantage."
Tiff reminded.
On the court, the Spurs' double-teaming on Zhang Zhiyuan is slowly weakening.
The main reason is that he takes too few shots, only 2 so far.
After the Spurs pulled back their defensive strength, the rest of the Rockets could no longer remain efficient.
Yao Ming, Alston, and Battier missed shots one after another.
The Spurs took the opportunity to recover a few points.
Zhang Zhiyuan saw that this was not going to work, so after getting the fourth rebound, he took action decisively.
Three point hit.
22 to 31.
"Stop struggling, there are only two outcomes in this game, one is to be defeated by me, the other is to be defeated by my teammates."
Zhang Zhiyuan said calmly as he passed by Popovich.
"...."
Popovich.
"Well done. This is a qualified player. You should focus on the overall situation."
Buckley laughed.
After Zhang Zhiyuan hit this ball, he scored 8 points, 4832, exceeding 30 points.
That's why Barkley is so excited.
Zhang Zhiyuan's shot again made the Spurs players extremely uncomfortable. Just be careful. This guy only took three shots, and the rest were thrown by others.
Don't be careful, this guy can really score points.
In this entanglement, the Spurs were hit by another wave of climax.
After the first quarter, the score was beyond everyone's expectations.
26 to 41, the Spurs were 15 points behind, as if they had been beaten.
Battier led the game with 12 points, Yao Ming scored 9 points, Alston scored 8 points, and Hayes scored 2 points.
Zhang Zhiyuan's statistics were even more exaggerated, with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal on 3-of-3 shooting.
Two-thirds of the team's scores are directly related to him.
