With the end of the Eastern Conference Finals, Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals came again two days later.
Before the game started, there was also a new situation on the Minnesota Timberwolves side. Kevin Martin, who had suffered a minor finger fracture, announced his return. Although the team doctor did not make a strict diagnosis of his condition, Martin still did so.
Martin's answer to external inquiries was this.
"I have played in this league for 12 years and I am now 33 years old... I don't know how long my career will be. However, the only thing I can be sure of is that if I don't seize this opportunity again... If I work harder, I may have greater regrets in my career..."
"I hope to win a championship ring in the limited time...at least, I have to play in the finals once! So this is the reason for my comeback..."
Martin's remarks have won the support of many veterans in the league.
Even after retiring, Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson stood up to support.
"That guy Kevin was a player of our era, and it's certainly surprising to see him still on the court. This is his opportunity...Chasing championships without any regrets is what a professional player should strive for. To do it..."
McGrady said.
"Don't give up chasing your goals at any time. Only the strong can survive in this league... I regret that I didn't win a championship in my career, but I'm glad that I led the team to the finals. Kevin made the right choice at this most critical moment in his career..."
Allen Iverson said.
Martin's return is certainly great for Minneapolis fans, but also for the Timberwolves.
The team's lineup is really short of defenders. If Martin can come back, the team's strength will naturally be greatly improved.
So, when the second game of the series between the Timberwolves and the Warriors came, Martin appeared with the team in Oracle Arena.
In the evening of game day, Oracle Arena was once again packed.
Players from both sides are making final preparations in the locker room, especially the Timberwolves. After losing the last game, they are determined to get back the loss this time.
However, at the last moment before entering the game, the team received a medical report from the hospital. Regarding Martin's current recovery status from injury, the team suggested taking another one or two games of rest, otherwise it may affect the future. career.
"WTF?"
Martin looked confused when he heard the news, "I will retire after playing for a few more years. How will it affect my career?"
Head coach Norman Thomas thought twice and prepared to persuade Martin, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Martin declined.
"Coach, I know what you want to say... But I have to play today... If I don't perform well, then you can replace me, but as long as I can still score, then I have to Help the team..."
Seeing Martin's persistence, Coach Norman said nothing more.
Soon, the game begins.
In the first quarter of the two sides, the Warriors continued to field their strongest lineup, while the Timberwolves made adjustments and asked Gorgui Dieng to return to the second lineup to lead the bench players to ensure the second place. The lineup has enough fighting power.
Martin, as before, returned to the second position to focus on scoring. Zhao Feiyang went to the No. 1 position to organize the team's offense.
After the game started, this lineup performed pretty well in the first few minutes. Martin's touch was indeed good after his comeback. With the assist of Zhao Feiyang, he threw two three-pointers in succession.
But as the second half of the first quarter came, Martin's condition gradually declined.
Especially his shooting form, not only is it not as accurate as before, but sometimes there are even problems with his shooting posture.
"what's the situation?"
Coach Norman was also confused. It wasn't until he saw a look of pain on Martin's face that Coach Norman realized that it was Martin's injury that was interfering.
call out.
The Timberwolves quickly replaced Martin.
When Martin returned to the bench to rest, Coach Norman also walked over to care about his condition.
"Kevin, are your fingers okay?"
Martin looked depressed, "I don't know why... I still feel some pain... This feeling seriously affects my shooting state..."
"It's okay. Just rest first! Maybe it will be fine after a while..."
Although he said this, considering Martin's injury, coach Norman did not choose to replace him for the rest of the first half.
On the court, without Martin, the Timberwolves once again fell into a state of missing lineup.
The Warriors are also full of confidence because they won the first game. The team feels very stable up and down. Curry is not in good condition because Zhao Feiyang is watching him, but he also gave Thompson several assists and also communicated with the team's insiders. Played a few pick-and-rolls.
By the end of the first quarter, the Timberwolves began to fall behind, with the score tied at 27-33.
6 points is not too much, but a sense of crisis once again hangs over every Timberwolves player.
Fast forward to the second quarter.
This time, Coach Norman did not dare to delay and immediately put Gorgi into the main lineup, and the team once again became the same lineup as in the fourth quarter of the previous game.
Such changes are indeed useful.
Especially after Wiggins personally marked Klay Thompson, Thompson's offensive efficiency showed a significant downward trend.
Therefore, with the persistence of the Timberwolves, they held on to the Warriors during this quarter and did not let the Warriors widen the point difference again.
Beep.
At the end of the first half, the score difference between the two sides remained at 5 points, and the score was 50 to 55.
As the leader of the team, Zhao Feiyang played the first two quarters. His three-point touch was decent, and his breakthrough efficiency was also acceptable. In 24 minutes, he successfully scored 19 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block. data.
Curry, who was guarded by him, still played conservatively, scoring only 11 points, but sent 10 assists.
Beep.
After a break, the second half arrived.
Considering that the main lineup consumed too much energy on the court, Coach Norman had to rotate the substitutes for a while.
After getting some rest, Martin also applied to play again.
"Coach Norman, I can go up and play for a while and let Zhao take a rest! He needs to handle the situation in the last quarter..."
Coach Norman thought for a while and said, "Okay! If anything happens to you, remember to tell me and I will replace you..."
The third quarter begins.
The Timberwolves let Zhao Feiyang take a rest, Martin teamed up with Ricky Rubio, Dwight Howard also temporarily left, and Adrian and Gorgui were on the court to protect the basket.
For the Warriors, Curry also went to rest. Iguodala and Thompson became the only two main lineup players on the court. The others were all selected from the substitute lineup.
However, what is unexpected is that the Warriors' bench lineup, which was originally evenly matched, performed extremely well this time. Especially under the leadership of core Thompson, the Warriors' scoring on the court continued to increase.
As the person with sufficient firing rights in the Timberwolves' second team, Martin also tried to lead the team in a counterattack. Unfortunately, after coming on the scene in the third quarter, his touch was completely gone for some reason. In the matchup with Thompson , his shooting percentage was so low that he couldn't even believe it.
Although his skill in drawing fouls that he was good at before was once again verified in Thompson's defense, what was worse was that he even made free throws one after another due to finger pain.
Over and over again, Martin not only failed to produce results, but also affected the team's offensive efficiency because of too many shots.
This forced the Timberwolves to make urgent adjustments. They quickly replaced Martin before the third quarter was over, allowing Zhao Feiyang, Wiggins and others to come to the rescue.
With Zhao Feiyang's appearance, the Timberwolves' decline changed slightly, but there was not much time left in the third quarter and the game ended quickly.
When the last quarter came, the Timberwolves directly sent out their core lineup to deal with the situation on the court, and they played relatively steadily at first. But unexpectedly, in the second half of the fourth quarter, Gorgui was defeated by Germany while fighting for a rebound. Raymond Green was injured.
The corner of Gorgi's eyebrow was directly hit by Green's elbow and bled. After the bleeding, according to the rules, he had to leave the game and rest.
At this time, Coach Norman had no choice. With the team's lineup so poor, he had no choice but to replace Martin again.
After playing, Martin knew that he was in poor condition, so he deliberately reduced the number of shots he took. However, he didn't take a shot, and Thompson, who was marking him, kept attacking with the ball.
With Curry being targeted by Zhao Feiyang and unable to perform in a better state, Thompson shouldered the team's offensive burden. He relied on Green's pick-and-roll screens to enter the basket and hit two difficult three-pointers from beyond the three-point line. .
In this way, the Warriors' score is directly separated from the Timberwolves.
With less than 1 minute left in the game, there was no suspense about the outcome of the two sides. The score was 100 to 113. The Warriors not only opened up a 13-point gap, but also had the offensive ball at the same time.
After halftime, Iguodala made another contribution this time, throwing a three-pointer against Wiggins' defense, completely extinguishing the Timberwolves' last hope.
Beep.
The live game ends when the sound of the timer stopping sounds.
The Warriors eventually won Game 2 of the series with a double-digit margin.
Although Zhao Feiyang scored 39 points this time, he still could not drive the entire team's decadent state.
Martin's comeback not only failed to help the team at the critical moment, but also became a burden on the team's back line, which indirectly led to Thompson scoring 31 points.
The big score was 2-0.
No matter how the Timberwolves view this game, they lost! Fortunately, they will return to their home city of Minneapolis. As for whether they can stage a beautiful comeback, this is still a big question mark for them!
