After Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, the Minnesota Timberwolves spent a day reviewing the tapes of the first two games. The players gathered together to analyze the previous problems and try to prepare for the third game.
At the same time, the second game of the Eastern Conference Finals also ended quickly.
It was not much different from the previous game. The Miami Heat were simply vulnerable to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They could barely maintain their scoring in the first half, but were directly defeated in the second half.
Dwyane Wade is no longer in the same state as he was in his prime, and it is not easy to rely on him to support the Heat's backcourt.
Chris Bosh also fought desperately for rebounds in the paint. However, Kevin Love was younger than him and had a greater physical advantage. Coupled with the pressure brought by LeBron James on the wing, Bosh's performance was not as good as his own. It's ideal.
119 to 109.
10 points is the final difference between the two sides.
It seems to be progress for the Heat, but in fact there is still no difference. They have no ability to resist in front of the Cavaliers with the top three Big Three.
After the Eastern Conference finals ended 2-0, the outside world's views on the four teams also changed.
Many professionals believe that the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers are the final winners. The strength of the two teams exceeds their opponents. Therefore, the outside world has begun to speculate on how many games it will take for these two teams to be eliminated. their opponents.
Amid speculation from the outside world, the Minnesota Timberwolves also ushered in the third game of their series.
However, before the official start of the third game, the Timberwolves got good news.
That's why Stephen Curry, the core of the team, chose to sit out this game due to an ankle injury. He had always had an ankle injury before, and it was intermittent and did not seriously affect his performance in the playoffs. Unexpectedly, in the Western Conference Finals, it recurred because of previous games.
Considering Curry's injury, the Warriors chose to let him rest in this game.
As the super core and engine of the Warriors, Curry's absence is undoubtedly very good news for the Timberwolves.
Therefore, after learning that Curry could not play, the Timberwolves' morale immediately rose, and even fans in Minneapolis were looking forward to the team being able to save the defeat.
The fact is indeed as they expected, the Timberwolves played smoothly from the beginning of this game.
Perhaps with the blessing of home court advantage, the Timberwolves performed well in the first quarter. Not only did Zhao Feiyang score frequently, but Kevin Martin also changed from the bad rhythm of the previous game and hit two three-pointers in the first few minutes. .
On the inside, Dwight Howard was at his best this time. He hit Green many times in the penalty area and successfully vented all the anger that Green had previously suppressed.
For the Warriors, without Curry as their engine, they pinned their hopes on Klay Thompson in the first quarter.
But this time Thompson was tightly restrained by Martin. In order to avenge the opponent's 30+ score in the previous game, Martin stuck to Thompson from the beginning.
This kind of defense really worked. Thompson was in a sluggish state in the first quarter and only scored four times in 13 shots.
In the second quarter, the Warriors tried to adjust other lineups to counterattack. However, what they did not expect was that Zhao Feiyang played an explosive performance in this quarter.
He constantly attacked the Warriors' basket with singles, and also used three-pointers to output wildly, so that by the end of the first half, the Warriors were rarely widened by 14 points.
Since the beginning of the series, the Warriors have been leading most of the games between the two teams. This is the first time that the Warriors have been overtaken by the Timberwolves at halftime.
After the point difference widened, the Timberwolves became more and more confident, and the team's condition gradually improved.
In the second half, the Warriors continued to adopt double-teaming measures, specifically targeting Zhao Feiyang.
After experiencing double-teaming in the previous two games, Zhao Feiyang had already figured out a way to deal with it. In addition, Martin has a good touch and can completely help Zhao Feiyang attract defense. Therefore, such defensive measures have no effect at all.
As the game continued, the Warriors fell further and further behind. In the last quarter, Zhao Feiyang continued to score points and beat them.
After losing two games in a row, Zhao Feiyang played his strongest performance in the series.
With less than 3 minutes left in the game, he was moved to the bench to rest. He played more than 36 minutes in the entire game and scored an astonishing 44 points, and the Timberwolves he led also had a 19-point deficit.
Beep.
When the timer sounded, the game between the Timberwolves and the Warriors officially came to an end, with the score tied at 120 to 100.
The Timberwolves defeated their opponents with a 20-point difference and finally regained a victory of their own.
After this game, the Timberwolves undoubtedly avenged their previous defeat, and also tilted the balance of the game back slightly, so that the Warriors would not win the match point and they would no longer have any hope of turning defeat into victory. .
For Minneapolis fans, they are of course happy to see this kind of winning scene. Whether or not they won because Curry did not appear, in short, the fans are very happy.
Their reactions to the team are also quite consistent, and they all hope that the team can continue to win.
But the outside world's reaction to this is completely different.
The Oakland City fans were undoubtedly furious and were dismissive of the Timberwolves' performance in winning the game.
"What's so great? These guys only won the game because Stephen wasn't here! What else can they do once Stephen comes back?"
"Yes, Zhao's 44 points are nothing remarkable! He can only get such data when Stephen does not appear! Just wait! The next game will come soon, and by that time, Stephen will lead the Warriors The team will beat you to pieces..."
"This game is not won by them, but we gave it to them. It's okay. I don't even bother to mock them... Just wait and see! We can get the match point smoothly in the next game. , if we play the fifth game again, we will definitely eliminate them directly..."
"I think there is no doubt about this series. The Warriors will definitely defeat their opponents with a score of 4 to 1..."
"The Warriors are indeed over-reliant on Stephen. If I don't believe that Stephen will come back soon, then the Timberwolves will no longer be able to laugh..."
