On April 21, the Warriors team took a flight back to Auckland.
After returning, head coach Nelson did not let the Warriors players go back to rest. Instead, he asked assistant coach Cole to notify everyone of a meeting.
The Warriors players certainly didn't dare to disobey their head coach's orders and drive to Oracle Arena individually.
After everyone arrived, Nelson clapped his hands to signal everyone to keep quiet, and then spoke at the meeting.
"Although we got off to a perfect 2-0 start, we cannot let down our guard! The Mavericks have rich playoff experience and strong resilience and will not be easily defeated, so we must be fully prepared..."
The Warriors players sat upright and listened carefully.
They also know that a 2-0 lead is not safe, and there are many series that have been reversed.
The Mavericks once fell behind 2-0 and eventually came back to win the series.
The Warriors don't want to be the target of a comeback.
Old Nelson glanced around and observed the expressions of the disciples, feeling very satisfied.
At this stage, the Warriors are mainly composed of young players. They have no thorns in their side and are very easy to manage.
After the serious reminder, Nelson felt that the players would take his words to heart, and the worries in his heart were swept away.
The purpose of this meeting has been achieved.
After the tactical meeting, Sun Yi did not leave the arena. Instead, he walked to the locker room and changed into training clothes for additional training.
At the same time, in the American Airlines Center, Mavericks head coach Carlisle also gathered his players together to analyze and summarize the previous two games.
"Seeing the sad faces on your faces, those who didn't know would have thought that we were eliminated."
"I hope everyone can cheer up. The game is not over yet and everything can happen. Do you want to give up the victory to the Warriors?" Carlisle asked.
The Mavericks players shook their heads.
Seeing that the players were a little dissatisfied, Carlisle continued to arouse the players' emotions and said loudly: "I want to hear your answer!"
"No!" the Mavericks players replied in unison.
"It seems that you have regained your fighting spirit, so let's get to the point, analyze the previous two games, find out the problems, and then solve them."
After Carlisle finished speaking, he turned on the projector behind him and watched the videos of the previous two games with the players.
The head coaches of both sides used their own methods to mobilize the enthusiasm of the players and prepare for the next game.
The Warriors want to win the game in one go and make the series lose suspense.
The Mavericks tried their best to win a game at the Warriors' home court and complete a comeback.
…
…
April 23, Oakland, Oracle Arena.
At this time, the arena was already full, and the atmosphere was extremely high.
In the front row of the audience, there were some very special spectators.
They come from Davidson College and have an inseparable relationship with Curry and Sun Yi.
In the previously concluded NCAA national championship, the Wildcat trident consisting of Leonard, Bledsoe, and Cousins led Davidson College to a narrow victory over dark horse Butler University and retained the NCAA championship.
Davidson College once again won the NCAA championship and became an NCAA powerhouse team in one fell swoop.
And head coach McClop has become a legendary coach and tactician in the NCAA with such excellent coaching results.
It is said that some teams in the NBA have already offered him an olive branch.
But McClop felt that college basketball was the purest, so he did not accept any invitations.
During the warm-up activities, Sun Yi and Curry came to the sidelines, hugged their mentor McClop, and then exchanged a few words with Leonard, Bledsoe, Cousins and other juniors. .
"Congratulations on winning the championship. You are really better than the old." Sun Yi praised.
"Senior Sun is overrated. We are far behind you, seniors." Bledsoe scratched his head and replied shyly.
Xiaoka on the side was not good at communication and responded with a stiff smile.
Cousins excitedly asked Sun Yi and Curry for autographs like a 300-pound child.
After Sun Yi finished signing, Bledsoe bravely asked: "Senior Sun, can I join your training camp during the offseason?"
Leonard and Cousins on the side expressed their desire to join.
This year, all three of them signed up for the 10-year draft, hoping to adapt to the intensity of NBA competition in advance through special offseason training.
Sun Yi thought for a moment, nodded and replied: "Of course, I will inform you when the time comes."
When Bledsoe and others saw Sun Yi agreeing, they cheered happily.
McClop on the side couldn't stand it anymore and interrupted: "Okay, don't delay your seniors' warm-up."
After teaching the three Leonards a lesson, McClop said to Sun Yi and Curry: "Sun, Stephen, come on!"
Sun Yi and Curry nodded, said goodbye to the Davidson College group, and returned to the court to continue warm-up activities.
Not long after, the warm-up activities ended and the players from both sides returned to the bench one after another.
At the same time, the starting lineups of the two teams were displayed on the big screen.
Mavericks starting lineup: Kidd, Terry, Marion, Nowitzki, Haywood.
Warriors starting lineup: Curry, Ellis, Reggie Williams, Sun Yi, Randolph.
Nelson made personnel adjustments to increase outside firepower, hoping to catch the Mavericks off guard and win the third game in one go.
The referee blew the whistle and signaled the starting players from both sides to come to the center circle and prepare for the jump ball.
When everything is ready, the referee throws the ball high into the air.
Haywood jumped up hard, hit the basketball first and moved back to the backcourt, giving the Mavericks the first opportunity to attack.
Kidd took his time dribbling forward while directing his teammates' movements.
Nowitzki and Haywood set up a double screen for Terry.
Terry quickly came out, received Kidd's prejudgment pass, raised the knife with his hand, and shot through the heart.
3:0!
Randolph, who retreated to the basket, picked up the basketball on the floor, quickly exited the baseline, and served the ball.
The Mavericks were well prepared, retreating quickly and delaying whoever was closer to the ball holder.
The Warriors failed to hit the fast break and fell into positional offense.
Curry dribbled to the outside of the three-point line, waved to the inside, and made tactical gestures.
Randolph immediately ran forward to coordinate the pick-and-roll.
Going around the screen, Curry immediately took off and shot.
Haywood, who changed defense, immediately pounced on him and stretched his arms to interfere.
Bang!
The basketball bounced out of the frame and missed!
Under the basket, Nowitzki got stuck to grab the defensive rebound and passed it to Kidd to dribble forward.
Ji did not attack and dribbled to the top of the key. Seeing Curry standing near the free throw line defending, he made a very decisive three-pointer.
"Uh-huh!"
The basketball hits the net hollowly and hits the target steadily!
6:0!
The Mavericks started with a show of force!
On the sidelines, Mavericks coach Carlisle's serious expression softened a little. He clapped his hands and shouted to the court: "Run! Get back on defense!"
On the court, Curry dribbled the ball to the top of the arc to organize the offense.
Ellis quickly ran to the right corner, and Reggie Williams ran to the left three-point line and settled outside.
Randolph, who was standing near the penalty area, immediately started and provided Sun Yi with a ball-free screen.
Sun Yi started quickly, bypassed the screen and cut toward the basket. After receiving Curry's pass, he rushed to the basket and faked a shot.
Heywood, who was pursuing the defense, didn't think much and immediately jumped to interfere, only to find that Sun Yi didn't take action.
"Damn it! I've been fooled!" Heywood cursed in his heart, already guessing his ending.
When Sun Yi saw Haywood pressing towards him, he immediately jumped up and hit Haywood, then threw the ball toward the basket, causing a foul.
It's a pity that it didn't hit, otherwise it would be two plus one.
Amid the cheers and shouts of the fans, Sun Yi stood on the free throw line, took the basketball passed by the referee, and made two free throws steadily.
The ball is in transition and the Mavericks attack.
Kidd dribbled the ball past half court and saw that the Warriors were still guarding him from long shots. He was not polite and jumped up to shoot.
Under the basket, Haywood desperately competed with Randolph to occupy a favorable position.
He knows very well that if he wants to contribute to the team, he can only actively fight for offensive rebounds.
If the Warriors were allowed to grab the rebound and start a fast break, he would have no choice but to make a meaningless retracement run.
Seeing the basketball bounce out, Haywood suddenly used his strength to squeeze Randolph away, occupied a favorable position, grabbed the offensive rebound, and immediately scored a second attack.
8:2!
Immediately afterwards, Ellis used the cover of his teammates to get out of the three-point line, received the pass and shot.
Terry, who quickly bypassed the cover to pursue the defense, immediately pounced on him and stretched his arms to interfere.
"when!"
The basketball hit the front of the basket and bounced out.
Sun Yi saw this scene and knew that the Mavericks were worried about the Warriors' three-point shots, so he formulated a defensive strategy for outside shooting.
"No matter who wins this game, they will lose their skin!" After Sun Yi sighed, he turned around and quickly returned to defense.
The Mavericks attacked, and Kidd dribbled the ball into the frontcourt.
Nowitzki immediately ran to the free throw line to coordinate the pick-and-roll.
In this game, the Mavericks appropriately increased team coordination tactics and reduced singles tactics. They wanted to see the effect.
The quality of King Nuo's pick-and-roll was average, and he still blocked the pursuing Curry.
Kidd bypassed the screen, broke through to the mid-range area on the right, and immediately passed the ball.
He knows Sun Yi's defensive strength and has no confidence that he can succeed in singles.
Nowitzki at the front of the penalty area received the pass, pushed past Curry who was defending, and hit a mid-range jumper.
The Warriors quickly sent a baseline pass. After Curry received the ball, he was intercepted by Kidd and immediately passed the ball.
Ellis, who was on the fast break, received the pass and was also tightly entangled by Terry, who stepped forward to defend, and could only pass the ball out.
Sun Yi received the pass and immediately started to break towards the basket.
He knew that the Mavericks were tightly guarded on the outside and could not open up the situation, so he could only look for a breakthrough point from the inside.
Nowitzki immediately moved sideways to block and defend closely.
Sun Yi didn't stop, resisting Nowitzki to get to the basket, and then suddenly used his strength to squeeze out King Nowitzki, flying for a layup.
Nowitzki's defensive ability can only be regarded as average, and his confrontation ability is not very strong, otherwise he would not be labeled as a "softie".
Looking back, the Mavericks cooperated through passing and cutting. Kidd assisted Marion for a layup and scored 2 points.
It was the Warriors' turn to attack. Curry, Ellis and others ran quickly but failed to get a chance.
Seeing that the perimeter could not be opened, the Warriors immediately adjusted their offensive tactics.
Curry and others attracted defenses from the outside and emptied the Mavericks' penalty area.
Randolph quickly stepped forward to provide Sun Yi with an off-ball screen.
After Sun Yi bypassed the screen, he rushed straight towards the basket, received Curry's pass, and flew for a layup.
It was the Mavericks' turn to attack, and Kidd patiently directed his teammates' movements.
Through multiple passes, the Mavericks ripped open the Warriors' defense. Terry got a chance and hit a pull-up jumper.
The Warriors quickly served the baseline ball and launched a fast break.
Sun Yi, who quickly sprinted towards the frontcourt, received the pass, came to the three-point line, made a fake move, shook off Nowitzki and broke through into the penalty area.
Haywood returned to defend near the penalty area and immediately retreated to the basket to defend.
Sun Yi did not stop and rushed into the penalty area for a layup but was interfered by Haywood.
After the basketball hit the board, it failed to bounce into the frame and bounced out.
Sun Yi did not give up. Zeng jumped up and reached out to put the ball into the basket.
The audience burst into applause, and cheers and shouts resounded throughout the arena.
In the next few rounds, the Mavericks' shooting percentage began to decline, and they were not as accurate as they started.
The Warriors relied on Ellis's breakthrough and Sun Yi's cutback to slowly recover the point difference.
When the game lasted about 7 minutes, the head coaches of both sides began to make substitution adjustments.
The Warriors replaced Sun Yi and Curry and replaced them with Moreau and Biedrins.
The Mavericks replaced Nowitzki and Haywood and replaced Butler and Dampier.
After the substitutions and adjustments, the Mavericks' defense was not as strong as before. The Warriors began to try outside shooting, but the effect was not very good, and there were successive blackouts.
The Mavericks took advantage of the Warriors' scoring drought and played steadily, slowly widening the point difference.
"The Warriors are in trouble. Their offense can't open up, which gives the Mavericks an opportunity." Reggie Miller, who served as the on-site commentator, analyzed.
"I think Mr. Nelson should ask for a timeout to make adjustments." Mike Breen analyzed.
As soon as Brin finished speaking, Nelson asked for a timeout.
When the players on the field returned to the bench, Nelson raced against time to arrange tactics.
"Play regular tactics. If there is no chance, give the ball to Sun and let him handle the ball."
The Warriors players nodded in agreement.
Afterwards, Nelson asked the players to take time to rest and prepare for the game.
When the referee blew the whistle to signal the players from both sides to play, Nelson stepped forward and patted Sun Yi on the shoulder and gave him instructions.
"Sun, give full play to your strength and don't put too much pressure on yourself."
Sun Yi nodded after hearing this and replied: "Coach, don't worry, I won't let you down."
After finishing speaking, Sun Yi followed his teammates towards the court.
The timeout ends and the game continues.
