Taking advantage of Xu Yong's free throw line, O'Neal quickly called Budinger and Bayless to his side.
Xu Yong went to the free throw line, adjusted his breathing despite the interference, and then made the extra free throw steadily.
7 to 3.
The pressure is now on the Wildcats' side.
"Come on Wildcats!"
The home fans cheered in unison.
Among the cheers, it was Bayless who stood out for the Wildcats.
After receiving the ball, he went straight to the basket and made a very difficult pull-up layup to avoid Ayers' block and score, breaking the scoring drought for the Wildcats.
And after retreating from defense, he also reached out to direct his teammates to defend in position.
The Wildcats quickly showed their adjustments under his command. Harden broke through with the ball and was directly flanked.
Harden was forced to stop the ball and observe, but was intercepted by McClellan.
The Wildcats counterattacked on a fast break, and Bayless received a long pass from Wise for a layup and then scored!
7 square meters.
In the blink of an eye, the Wildcats had tied the score.
Bayless roared after the goal.
He wants to annihilate the Devils, and it's not just words!
The cheers of the fans at the scene also overwhelmed the waves.
Sandek reacted quickly enough and immediately called a timeout when he saw that the situation was not right.
"Xu, you position yourself in the strong side corner. James, the other side will attack you. You have to be ready to play the ball in advance." After a moment, Sandek adjusted his plan.
As Xu Yong said, Sandek is a level coach, and this adjustment is very timely.
Return from the timeout and the game continues.
Glasser continued to organize with the ball, while Harden and Shipp were playing pick-and-rolls without the ball.
The tactics Sandek deployed during the timeout were very targeted, allowing Harden to hold the ball against Bayless. This would maximize Harden's singles advantage and consume Bayless, killing two birds with one stone.
However, there were some deviations in the execution of the tactics. Bayless chose to grab the ball after encountering the pick-and-roll. Glaser did not grasp the timing of the pass well and was directly intercepted by Bayless.
After Bayless stole the ball, Harden could only choose to foul on the spot to prevent the Wildcats' fast break.
Harden looked very annoyed after the foul, and Glasser also lowered his head in frustration.
This round is crucial for the Devils. If they cannot continue to score, they will probably be overtaken by the Wildcats in the next round, and the momentum on the field will fall to the Wildcats.
They all have a deep understanding of what will happen once the home team gains momentum.
After seeing this, Xu Yong called the players together: "Don't worry, the game lasts for 40 minutes, and we have only arrived at more than 6 minutes. Stay patient, and if you don't succeed in one round, play the next round."
These words are brief but effective.
Returning to the defensive end, Ayers struggled to prevent Bayless's breakthrough layup, and the rebound was also protected by Xu Yong.
When they advanced to the frontcourt, the Devils played obviously much more patiently.
This time, after Harden faced Bayless and pressed the opponent behind him, and everyone else had moved away, Glasser fed the ball to Harden.
Harden holds the ball and directly drives past Bayless' left side.
Although Bayless is stuck in position, the difference in size and weight between the two makes it difficult for him to pose a big threat to Harden, and Harden's movement control skills and rhythm are too good. After a deceleration and acceleration confrontation, , Harden has completely squeezed Bayless away.
However, Harden's path forward was not smooth because Budinger attacked in advance.
The same defense as before, but even better than the last round.
But this time Harden was not forced to stop the ball. He threw the ball out in advance before Budinger's double attack was formed.
The ball flew straight to Xu Yong in the strong side corner.
After receiving the ball, Xu Yong got a completely open shot opportunity.
The Devils showed execution ability, and Sandek's timeout tactics were executed perfectly.
"Rebound!" Bayless saw Xu Yong was about to shoot and immediately rushed to the basket and shouted.
He knows that Xu Yong does not have a three-pointer. If he gets this rebound, the Wildcats can take the lead in the next round, then gain momentum, and then pull away the score and win the game...
Hearing this, Hill blocked Ayers in advance, and Budinger also gave up on returning to defense, but turned and looked towards the backboard.
The Wildcats also showed great execution.
Xu Yong was a little surprised, but he had a rough guess and quickly looked at Bayless happily.
"Comrade Jerry, the organization will remember your efforts!"
After adjusting his posture, Xu Yong took the three-pointer calmly.
His three-point shooting has not only been practiced for two months, but for more than two years. In the past two months, he has only gradually stabilized his shooting level.
Although he does not yet have the ability to shoot three-pointers with the ball due to his ball-handling skills, he is very confident in shooting three-pointers from open spots.
This was one of his thousands of practice shots.
"Uh-huh!"
With a crisp sound of entering the net, the basketball entered the net.
The shouts at the scene were suddenly replaced by cheers, coming from Devils fans!
O'Neal's expression on the sidelines was one of astonishment.
The fifty-year-old head coach then spread his hands and looked at Bayless: Is this what you said about not having three points? !
Bayless stretched out his hand and scratched his head. Xu Yong didn't look like he had a stable three-pointer on the field that day.
And they went to watch the Devils game afterwards, and rarely saw Xu Yong shooting from outside the three-point line.
How come Xu Yong was suddenly able to make the shot and looked so confident?
"Luck ball, that's a luck ball!"
Bayless yelled to his teammates after putting his hands down.
This not only answered O'Neal, but also boosted the team's morale.
O'Neal shook his head when he saw this, but he did not immediately adjust his defensive strategy.
Luck or not, one ball really can't explain much, let alone luck.
Hill held the ball in the low post and hit Ayers with his back. With his beautiful steps, he shook Ayers away and then turned and wiped the board and hit a goal.
The Wildcats were firing on all cylinders, which required the Devils to hit the ball in response, otherwise the momentum would still swing to the home team's side.
And when the Devils advanced to the frontcourt, McClellan also chose to go around and not let Harden catch the ball.
The Wildcats' thinking is also very clear. If they want to gain momentum, they can't just score by themselves, but they must also limit the opponent's offense.
Xu Yong's three-pointer just now was an accident. Rather than an accident, what they need more is to limit Harden's performance.
Upon seeing this, Harden turned around and ran towards Glasser, handing over the ball at the top of the key.
The Wildcats chose to attack directly in place.
Harden quickly gave the ball to Glasser, who was open.
Glasser caught the ball and shot a three-pointer before Budinger helped defend.
This shot had a good chance, but unfortunately Glasser's shot was short and the ball hit the front of the basket and popped out.
Ayers made up for it, struggling to grab the offensive rebound, and then threw it to Xu Yong in the bottom corner.
After Budinger went to help defend, Xu Yong was let go again!
This is not an oversight by the Wildcats, but O'Neal's arrangement before the game. A double attack meant that one person had to be let go, and Xu Yong was the one they chose to let go.
Although Xu Yong made a three-pointer in the last round, O'Neal did not give instructions, and their strategy did not change.
Ever since, Xu Yong got another three-point opportunity.
Budinger returned to defense this time, but couldn't catch up, so he jumped up three meters away and made a blocking gesture.
This is more of a psychological distraction.
Such interference obviously works on Xu Yongyong.
He calmly adjusted, then bent his knees and took off.
Straight arm, move the wrist.
After the basketball is thrown, it flies straight to the basket with beautiful backspin in the air. The trajectory is very positive and the force is just right.
"Uh-huh!"
And then penetrated the net again!
After landing, Xu Yong put away his shooting posture and smoothed his short hair with his hands.
Oh, what a damn luck! !
