The Timberwolves and Spurs players returned to the court in the fourth quarter. This quarter was a pretty good opportunity for the Spurs.
Because the ball was in the hands of the Spurs, after the basketball was released from the backcourt, the Spurs players quickly approached the Timberwolves half court.
In the stands, the audience uniformly shouted for defense. It was obvious that the fourth quarter had just begun, but the enthusiasm of the Minnesota audience never dropped.
"Shrink the defense line, everyone shrink the defense line."
"Pay attention to defending the inside players!"
On the sidelines of the court, Coach Philip shouted loudly and directed the players to get into position. Marbury, the player who was originally standing at the top of the arc and leading the defense, took the initiative to retreat at this moment, and was one meter away from the three-point line at the top of the arc.
When Spurs guard Avery Johnson came up, Marbury did not immediately defend him.
Avery Johnson, this player can be said to be a player with almost no three-point ability. Throughout his entire career, the average number of three-point field goal attempts was only a pitiful 0.2.
What does this data mean?
That means Avery Johnson may have played five games in a row and only attempted one three-pointer.
This number of three-pointers means that Avery Johnson simply cannot have any strong three-point shooting ability.
In the previous games, the Timberwolves didn't know this player well enough, but after three quarters, this guy never made a three-pointer. Of course, the Timberwolves' players also recognized some of this player's technical characteristics.
Avery Johnson stood at the top of the arc, with plenty of room for shots, but he still carried the ball and observed the situation on the court.
But he remained still, and Marbury couldn't help but smile.
The opponent has no three-point ability. As long as he defends for a while, he can also block Avery Johnson's breakthrough threat.
At the same time, due to his relatively deep position, Marbury can also provide some support to his teammates inside.
Of course, it is impossible to expect Marbury to block David Robinson or Duncan holding the ball in the low post.
But Marbury can still do things like interference and steals.
Avery Johnson hesitated for a while, and Robinson on the inside successfully blocked the Timberwolves' white center and quickly reached for the ball.
At the same time that Avery Johnson passed the ball, Marbury quickly turned around and pressed towards David Robinson, who was in position with his back to the basket.
However, his action was a little early after all. Robinson had just gotten the ball and was still alert to the people around him.
As Marbury stepped up, he quickly passed the ball to Avery Johnson who was approaching the free throw line along the middle.
The latter received the pass, and after a stroke of luck, shot directly towards the basket with a lob.
Garnett's defense came in time, but faced with Avery Johnson's high shot, he still failed to block the shot.
"Snapped!"
The basketball hit the board head-on and rebounded into the basket.
The point difference narrowed to 5 points, and the Minnesota fans who were shouting for defense fell silent.
"Snap, snap, snap!"
"The defense is pretty good, keep up the defense!"
"Stephen, better grasp the timing of double-teaming. You played very well!"
I have to say that coach Philip is still a person with considerable coaching experience. Although the Timberwolves failed defensively in this round, there was no trace of displeasure or anger on his face. Instead, he clapped his hands and loudly encouraged the players on the court.
The defensive strategy adopted by the Timberwolves in this quarter is destined to weaken their defensive power against outside players.
Whether Avery Johnson can score or not is irrelevant to Philip. The defensive effect he wants to see is that the Timberwolves successfully hold down the Spurs' Robinson and Duncan, preventing these two from playing freely.
Between the alternation of offense and defense, the Timberwolves launched a counterattack.
Different from the fast pace when Wu Dao was on the court, in the final quarter, the Timberwolves' players were physically exhausted. In order to ensure the success rate of the team's offense, Marbury deliberately slowed down the pace.
After Marbury entered the frontcourt with the ball, he rarely called a pick-and-roll.
Without waiting for Sam Mitchell on the side to come up, Garnett on the inside quickly pulled out and set a pick-and-roll screen for Marbury one step inside the three-point line.
At the same time, Duncan was also moved away from the basket.
Marbury followed the pick and roll and quickly rushed forward with the ball. Duncan glanced in Marbury's direction and quickly moved his body, blocking Marbury's path directly near the free throw line.
Without any hesitation, Marbury passed the basketball to Garnett not far behind with his backhand.
The latter took the ball, stepped directly inside the three-point line, and shot a cool jumper.
Avery Johnson's defense was completely empty in front of Garnett.
"Dang~~"
With a soft sound, the basketball hit the edge of the basket and bounced out. At the moment when Garnett was shooting, Duncan had already returned to the basket, jumped up and grabbed a handful of rebounds.
"good!!!"
The Spurs substitutes cheered excitedly on the sidelines, while the Minnesota audience also let out some wails.
As the Timberwolves' players began to retreat quickly, the Spurs also pressed forward slowly and slowly.
"Hey, Kevin!"
"You're shooting two-pointers from that high post, why not shoot threes from beyond the arc?"
"It's only one step away from the three-point line. Can't you shoot a three-pointer?"
"You don't have any rebounds anyway, so you can still get back on defense immediately after shooting a three-pointer!"
The Timberwolves' offense failed and the rest area was quiet. Coach Philip didn't say much about it, and of course the other players couldn't say anything to Garnett.
But at this moment, Wu Dao, who was sitting on the bench, stood up and shouted loudly towards Garnett, who was returning to defense.
As for martial arts, it immediately attracted the audience in the front rows of the stands, as well as some media reporters on the sidelines. Several cameras were also pointed directly at martial arts.
Martial Arts seemed unaware of this. In order to prevent Garnett from not hearing what he said and not understanding what he meant, he continued to shout:
"Kevin, just play like this! You don't have to follow the pick-and-roll, and you don't have to think about rebounding!"
"Go to the three-point line and shoot three-pointers! You can do it!"
"How awesome you are!"
"From now on, the team will let you play No. 1/2, and let Stephen play No. 4!"
As Wu Dao finished speaking, the audience in the front row of the stands burst into laughter. Wu Dao's words have already reached this point, and anyone can hear the strange flavor of his words.
Garnett didn't want to pay attention to martial arts, but at this time he had no choice but to respond:
"How can you, a first grader, be qualified to teach me a lesson?"
"I just missed a shot by chance."
"The next goal can be scored!"
"asshole!"
Although Garnett's first words were quite tough, the words that followed made people feel a soft attitude in his words.
When the media heard Garnett's answer, their faces were stunned.
Garnett has been in the NBA for two seasons, and this is his third season. In addition to being slightly "introverted" in the first half of the first season, Garnett later adapted to the intensity of the game and became a starter. His bad temper is famous in the league.
Garnett's mouth can spray anyone he catches.
He is like this on the court and in front of the media's cameras. You can completely imagine how Garnett treats his teammates on a regular basis.
I'm afraid Garnett is completely a Jordan-like person.
Other players use martial arts to yin and yang Garnett, and what they get is definitely Garnett's strongest "counterattack". When he opens his mouth, it is probably words like "female watch" that need to be blocked.
But now, after Garnett's tough words, he just cursed an asshole and focused on the court. This surprised the media.
What surprised the media even more was that when faced with Wu Dao who acted out of character, Timberwolves coach Philip just glanced at Wu Dao and then pretended not to see Wu Dao, and did not stop Wu Dao at all.
This is not the first day for the media reporters at the scene to do this job. With so many NBA games being broadcast live, this was the first time they had seen a rookie standing on the scene and mocking his team's veteran mainstay.
Well.
What does this feel like?
Jeremy Lin put his arm around Kobe's shoulders and taught Kobe how to play tactics.
Of course, the feeling is this, but the essence is different.
In the court, the Spurs had already launched an attack, and Garnett vented his anger on Duncan who was sinking in the low post. He didn't stop from the moment Duncan landed.
But soon, as the basketball entered Duncan's hands, Garnett shut up.
After receiving the ball, Duncan blasted the ball, then stepped into the basket, raised the ball, then quickly raised his arm to sweep the ball, half-turned and hooked the ball towards the basket.
With a soft sound, the basketball fell directly into the net.
Seeing the basketball successfully entering the net, Duncan, who had been silent for the whole game, suddenly showed a kind smile to Garnett and chuckled:
"hey-hey"
"You're so defensive."
One sentence directly caused Garnett's anger to flood his mind.
Garnett's breath froze, and he was actually stunned on the spot.
Although Duncan's words were not unpleasant at all and were even a compliment, when they fell into the ears of Garnett, who had just lost the ball, they were considered naked ridicule and insult.
Garnett stood in the middle of the court for several seconds before coming to his senses at the reminder of his teammates, and then walked toward the frontcourt.
"Oops!"
"This guy Garnett can't stand it any longer! He's going to get mad!"
After Wu Dao saw Duncan whispering a few words to Garnett, he saw Garnett stunned, and then slowly followed the team and ran towards the frontcourt.
Seeing Garnett's state, Wu Dao secretly thought something was wrong.
Sure enough, in this round of the Timberwolves' offense, Garnett sat down low and asked for the ball. Marbury gave the ball to Garnett after thinking for a while.
Their team's lead is only 3 points, and there is still a lot of game time. At this time, Garnett's emotions must be taken care of.
As an excellent No. 1 position, Marbury was certainly aware of Garnett's mood swings.
"Bang!" The basketball came into play, and Garnett's expression became serious.
Testing Duncan's defensive position with his back, Garnett quickly dropped the ball and turned his back to drive to the basket. After a sudden breakthrough, Garnett quickly stopped, then turned over and shot the ball.
Garnett is confident in his jump shot near the basket.
But when he handed the ball to the highest point and prepared to take action, Duncan's palm also blocked Garnett's sight.
"Dang~~"
The basketball was thrown and hit the edge of the basket, collapsing out of the basket.
Robinson flew past Cherokee Parks under the basket and easily picked off the rebound.
The Spurs fought back, and this time, the basketball was in Robinson's hands. Although Marbury consciously intercepted and stole the ball, Robinson quickly turned around after a back-up hit. Withstanding the defensive pressure of Cherokee Parks and Marbury, he shot a jumper from the 0-degree position, and the basketball went directly into the net.
The score difference narrowed to 1 point.
The Spurs bench was already cheering at this moment, and the fans of the players in the center of the target could not hide their disappointment and lamented at this moment.
And at this time, Tom of the Timberwolves finally stood up and broke the scoring drought since the beginning of the fourth quarter with his drift shot from the middle.
The long-awaited sound of the Timberwolves' basketball hitting the net drew cheers from the audience, and Tom also clenched his fists with excitement on his face, very happy.
Listening to the cheers of the fans, Tom finally enjoyed the feeling of being in the spotlight again. Listening to the cheers, Tom couldn't help but feel a little carried away.
However, his elation didn't last long.
As the game progressed, the Spurs and Timberwolves exchanged offense and defense for several rounds.
The Spurs failed to maintain their excellent offensive efficiency and then lost two goals in a row.
However, the Timberwolves failed to seize this opportunity to widen the point difference too much. Tom made a strong pull but was pushed down by Duncan. Although he took advantage of the home whistle to get two free throws, he only made one of the two free throws. .
Then Tom missed the mid-range shot and the rebound was grabbed by his opponent.
After just a few exchanges of goals, more than 3 minutes passed in the fourth quarter, and the point difference remained at 2 points.
After that, the defense of both teams began to improve significantly, and their body movements were also very powerful. In nearly a minute and a half, neither team was able to score points.
The first to break the scoring drought was Duncan of the Spurs.
Duncan pulled up to the high post, set a pick-and-roll for his teammates, involved Garnett's defense, and then went directly to the basket.
When the basketball was passed into his hands, although Garnett had already followed up without losing his position, Duncan resisted Garnett's defense and smashed to the basket, successfully achieving a two plus one.
As Duncan scored the free throw, the stadium was suddenly silent. The Timberwolves fans looked at the scoreboard on the sidelines and were speechless for a while.
On the side of the court, Coach Philip of the Timberwolves also looked ugly.
After taking a look at the game time with more than seven minutes left, he chose to call a timeout.
Sam Mitchell was replaced on the court, and Wu Dao also got up from the rest area and returned to the court with his teammates after the timeout.
(End of chapter)
