The Godfather of Basketball

Chapter 87 Tilting the Balance (Part 1)

Two days later, the Rockets ushered in a fourth game against the Spurs.

To Tang Tian's surprise, Popovich didn't seem to have made any major adjustments.

But this is also a reasonable thing.

At this time, Popovich was far less sophisticated than when he played the Warriors in his previous life, and even at that time, he actually didn't have much to do.

This game is also the same as the previous one. The two teams fell into anxiety from the beginning.

In terms of strength alone, the Spurs are stronger than the Rockets. This has been decided at the beginning of the series. If there is no unexpected situation, they will play until the last moment, and then the stars will decide the outcome of the game.

And at this time, Yao Mai's strength is not lost to "GDP".

The same is true for this game. The two teams went from being anxious to a stalemate at the beginning, and they still haven't decided the winner in the final decisive stage.

At the critical moment, McGrady stood up for the Rockets this time. He scored three difficult three-pointers from the outside line in a row. He dreamed back to the time of 35 seconds and 13 minutes against the Spurs in 2004 and took the game away.

The Rockets won two games in a row. Under the circumstances of being absolutely unfavorable, they abruptly chased the big score to 2-2.

The balance, which was originally tilted towards the Spurs, began to gradually become balanced.

As the balance changed, the trend of the series between the two sides also became confusing.

In the fifth game of the series, the youngest "P" in "GDP" ushered in the explosive night of his career. At the last moment, he blasted the Rockets' Blake, helping the team beat the Rockets 101 to 97, and regained the series leading edge.

In the sixth game of the series, the two teams still played to the final decisive moment. Amidst the cheers of nearly 20,000 fans in the Toyota Center, Yao Mai teamed up to play a wave of 10-2 offensive at the last moment, helping the team win 106-1. 96 regained a victory again.

After the two sides have won each victory at home, they will usher in the final tiebreaker, and this is also the first tiebreaker since this year's playoffs.

In the Western Conference Finals, tie-break, after the Spurs took a 2-0 lead, no one thought that the game would enter this stage.

And really when it all happened, the game was more than just a game.

The league's official website has made more than one announcement about the game, and the major media have also turned this tiebreaker into "the battle of the century" and "the battle of the pinnacle". Discussions on the forum are endless.

Pre-match surveys showed that the number of pre-watchers for this tie-break in the United States reached more than 50 million, which created a record in the past ten years.

From this data alone, you can feel how much attention this game has received.

To paraphrase ESPN commentator Reggie Miller's words: No matter who plays in the Eastern Conference Finals, it is not enough to threaten the Western Conference teams. The tiebreaker in the Western Conference Finals is the final championship.

The whole United States paid attention to TVB, and the fans in China, far away across the ocean, fell into a frenzy. It happened to be the weekend, and CCTV had already made preparations in advance for the ratings to explode.

On June 2, U.S. time, amidst much anticipation, the tiebreaker between the Rockets and the Spurs kicked off at the AT\u0026T Center Arena in San Antonio.

San Antonio is the second largest city in Texas. Although it cannot be compared with Houston in terms of size, the enthusiasm of the fans is not lost at all.

That night, the AT\u0026T Center Arena was full of seats, and the fans held up the KT board with the big head of "GDP" and shook it wildly in the arena.

Since 2002, the Spurs have won 2 championship trophies in 4 years. Fans don't mind turning this data into 3 championships in 5 years. In fact, it seems that they are only this last game away from such an achievement. They have won all the previous three home games.

At the same time, nearly 200 TV stations also immediately started the global live broadcast of the game.

All attention.

After going through the previous six battles, the two sides already know each other well, and there is no change in the starting lineup.

"Kenny, who do you think is more likely to win this game?" Barkley and Kenny Smith from TNT were the commentators for this focus battle. The game hadn't started yet, and Barkley started warming up in advance.

"It's really hard to say. When the Spurs led 2-0 before, I thought it would be a one-sided game, but the Rockets' tactics changed. Tang Tian, ​​that incredible guy, I really don't know how he played at the last moment. What incredible tactics will be used." Smith said with emotion.

"Haha, yes, Tang Tian is indeed unbelievable." Barkley had watched these 6 battles, and like Smith, he was completely convinced by Tang Tian.

"But I think this game is about playing on the spot. The Rockets' new tactics are very effective, and they won't change temporarily." Barkley continued.

Smith nodded, which is quite possible.

After completing the pre-match warm-up, the two sides started to play one after another.

It was Yao Ming and Duncan who jumped the ball.

Amidst the cheers of the fans at the scene, Duncan took the lead in jumping up and turning the ball back to the Spurs' half, giving the home team a chance to attack first.

Parker advanced to the frontcourt with the ball, and the Spurs still created dislocation opportunities through continuous pick-and-rolls.

After some tactical moves, Parker faced Millsap and scored a layup with a beautiful spinning top at the basket.

Throughout the Western Conference Finals, Parker averaged 26.8 points and 8.6 assists per game, which is the most obvious point of matchup advantage in "GDP".

The Rockets' offense, Yao Ming holding the ball at the free throw line, Blake and McGrady, McGrady and Battier, Battier and Millsap, the Rockets still play infinite cut tactics.

From the third game to now, the high-intensity confrontation has made the Rockets' new tactics improve rapidly. In fact, in the sixth game, the two sides can already clearly feel the team's sense of position and proficiency on the field. There has been a huge improvement.

McGrady got a chance, Yao Ming passed the ball immediately, and after McGrady received the ball, he made a light basket and scored.

Even in an away game, the Rockets' performance is not inferior.

The Spurs' offense, the same tactics, Ginobili faced Millsap.

The snake-shaped breakthrough of "Demon Knife" is still extremely sharp, but it seemed a little weak when it was layup, and the basketball slid out of the basket.

The Rockets took the rebound, and Blake stabilized the rhythm and advanced to the frontcourt, continuing to give the ball to Yao Ming.

After consecutive air cuts, Battier got a chance in the corner and Yao Ming passed the ball.

"boom!"

The ball was a little short, and the basketball went out of the basket.

Duncan turned around to grab it, but the moment he started, Yao Ming jumped up and grabbed the ball into his arms.

Grab the rebound and follow it up.

With a sound of "shua", the basketball entered the frame firmly.

4 to 2.

There was a commotion at the scene.

Although the score was not much different, the momentum on the field caused a burst of uneasiness among the fans.

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