Chapter 310: Mid-Autumn Festival, hotpot is the only dish today?
On the nearby bench, Rick Carlisle changed up the offense.

"Wolverine, you should strengthen your low-post offense and then make a few fast breaks. We need to create our own offensive rhythm and let the Spurs follow our rhythm."

"Everyone else pulls away and waits for an open seat."

"Steve, when you and Wolverine cooperate, use the breakout tactic."

After the timeout, He Zhongqiu made the free throw, 12:4, the Spurs attacked.

Duncan got the ball in the low post on the left wing and then dribbled up and down, but He Zhongqiu was in very good defensive condition today. He kept up with the rhythm in time and squeezed Duncan through physical confrontation.

Under the strong low-post confrontation, Duncan lost his balance and barely made a small left-handed floater, which was directly caught by He Zhongqiu.

"Ha ha!"

Barkley laughed, "Tim Duncan gets blocked by the Wolverines in almost every game."

Kenny Smith said: "Now Duncan is 3 of 1."

Duncan blocked He Zhongqiu's quick pass by stealing the ball on the spot, creating time for his teammates to return to defense.

However, after He Zhongqiu passed the ball to Nash who came over to receive the ball, he still ran quickly to the frontcourt, and Duncan was forced to chase desperately.

When He Zhongqiu rushed to the free throw line in the frontcourt, Nazr came up to stop him. The moment the two came into contact, he was knocked over and he easily entered the penalty area.

At this time, Duncan had just run to the top of the arc and was two steps behind.

When He Zhongqiu knocked over Nazir, Nash, who had not yet crossed the center line, avoided Ginobili and passed the ball to the basket.

"boom!"

In the air relay, He Zhongqiu made a two-handed slam dunk and the ball hung above the basket.

As soon as Duncan ran to the basket, the Knicks' attack was completed, so he had to turn around and run towards the Spurs' frontcourt.

"This is an offensive foul, he hit someone!"

Popovich yelled angrily at the referee on the court.

The referee glanced at Popovich and said to himself, "I'm not blind. When did your Nazir find a defensive position? When the collision happened, one of his feet was still off the ground."

David Stern was also sitting on the sidelines and glanced at Popovich, still smiling.

He hates it most when teams like the Spurs and Pistons win the championship, but he won't interfere.

The last time Bowen tripped over Ray Allen and was bombarded by Wolverine, Popovich's attitude was still stubborn, which made him very annoyed.

Jordan said at this time: "Duncan's physical fitness is very good, but the Spurs' game rhythm has always been very slow and they are used to positional warfare. The Knicks should hope to use fast-paced offense and defense to boost Duncan's physical fitness."

"If the Spurs can't play their own rhythm, Duncan's physical strength will be exhausted sooner or later, and his condition in the final quarter will not be good," Barkley said.

Tony Parker slowly advanced with the ball, trying to give Duncan a chance to catch his breath on his offensive end.

When he came to the frontcourt, he was not in a hurry to attack, but dribbled the ball outside to delay time.

With ten seconds left, he tried to break through Nash on the right wing.

But Battier quickly made up for the defense, and Nash almost stole the ball from him. He quickly pulled out of the three-point line, went to the top of the arc, and passed the ball to Duncan in the low post on the left wing.

"Five seconds left." Yu Jia shouted.

After receiving the ball, Duncan arched his body, but it was ineffective. He then swayed up and down, but he did not slip to the bottom. Instead, he turned around, stepped on his left waist with his right foot, and jumped up to shoot a bank shot at a 45-degree angle.

The continuous shaking did shake He Zhongqiu's center of gravity.

But for him who possessed the Chaos God Step, this level of shaking was not enough to completely shake his center of gravity. He made quick adjustments and barely kept up with Duncan's rhythm.

"predict!"

When Duncan just shot the ball, although he was a little slow, he still quickly moved sideways, stretched out his left hand while jumping, and touched the ball into the sky.

"Another block!" Zhang Heli shouted excitedly.

"Snapped!"

The next moment, He Zhongqiu completed a second jump before Duncan and grabbed the basketball.

Nash was followed by Tony Parker, and Battier immediately came down from the top of the arc to support him.

He Zhongqiu passed the ball to Battier, and then he and Duncan started another round of chasing each other.

When He Zhongqiu passed the ball, Duncan started to return to defense and was two steps ahead, but when he ran to the top of the arc, he had been caught up.

On the left wing, Nash, who was supporting Battier in the backcourt, received the ball and passed it directly towards the basket without any stopping or dribbling.

Tony Parker didn't expect Nash's pass to be so sudden and bold. He didn't try to intercept the ball and just watched it fly over his head.

He Zhongqiu and Duncan pushed each other and ran to the basket together. At this time, the ball arrived and the two jumped with all their strength.

This is the time to demonstrate your physical fitness.

"damn it!"

When Duncan jumped to the highest point, he found that the ball was too high and his hand was still one foot away from the basketball.

"Snapped!"

He Zhongqiu's head was forty centimeters higher than Duncan's. He clasped his hands together and grabbed the basketball in the air.

The next moment, without any tricks or techniques, he just turned around and tried to dunk on Duncan.

With the explosive power of level 100 bursting out instantly, as he turned around, his left elbow hit Duncan's chest. The extremely ferocious force instantly knocked Duncan away, leaving him no chance to jump and block the shot.

"boom!"

The loud slam dunk made the SBC Center silent.

"Di!"

The referee blew the whistle, pointed at Duncan, made a blocking foul gesture, and He Zhongqiu was awarded an additional free throw.

"Okay, Duncan's second foul!" Yu Jia shouted excitedly.

"Beautiful!"

Zhang Heshi laughed and said, "Zhongqiu dunked over Duncan continuously and caused the opponent to commit a blocking foul. The Spurs will have a hard time. Duncan will be replaced."

Popovich's face had turned ashen and looked very ugly.

He had to replace Duncan with Robert Horry.

The Spurs' 12-man playoff roster includes Duncan, Rasul, Nazir, Horry, and Massenborg.

There are five inside players in total, and the only real centers are Rasu and Nazir.

Among them, Rasu was seriously injured and could not play for much time, so Nazr was forced to take the main position.

Power forward Massenborg is a 38-year-old veteran who was a marginal figure during his peak period and was not worthy of being reused.

In other words, he has no one available now, and the only one available in the interior is Horry.

Horry is a man with a big heart and can sometimes make key shots at critical moments, but most of the time, his efficiency on the offensive end is not high.

Because of this reason, he was not reused when he was in the Lakers, and when he came to the Spurs, Popovich only let him play as a substitute.

The Knicks replaced the Postman with rookie Anderson Varejao.

He Zhongqiu made the free throw, 17:4, the Spurs attacked.

"Snapped!"

Ginobili launched a wing attack and broke into the penalty area, but was blocked by He Zhongqiu. Josh Howard grabbed the ball from behind and the Knicks attacked.

"This is the third block, and it's only the first quarter." Yu Jia said excitedly.

With Duncan leaving the game, the Knicks really got into their rhythm.

Of course, without Duncan, He Zhongqiu no longer made fast breaks as frequently, and the Knicks also began to fight more positional battles.

He frequently entered the basket to take position, and in just two minutes, he completed three consecutive dunks, including a two-plus-one.

Without Duncan, the Spurs also lost their low-post offense. After Ginobili was blocked, the Spurs made two shots from outside and scored no points in two minutes. Popovich was forced to call a third timeout and replaced Duncan.

Jordan shook his head and said, "Nazr and Horry have no strength and no height. Even if they are combined, they are not enough for Wolverine to hit with one hand. Without Duncan, the Spurs have no chance at all."

Barkley said: "Duncan was 4-for-1 from the field and was blocked twice by Wolverine. His condition today was much worse than in Game 3."

"I should say that Wolverine was in great shape tonight," said Kenny Smith.

In the following first quarter, the referee still gave the Spurs some home whistles.

Duncan was not called again, Nash was called for a traveling foul, and He Zhongqiu was called for a defensive foul.

But after the first quarter, the score was 30:12, and the Knicks led by 18 points in a single quarter.

Zhang Heli laughed and said, "The Spurs were defeated. If Ginobili and Tony Parker hadn't made a few shots later, the scene would have been even uglier."

Yu Jia laughed and said: "Duncan was in very bad shape today. He made 7 of 2 shots in the first quarter and was blocked three times by Zhongqiu.

"Zhongqiu blocked five shots in the first quarter. Who on the Spurs will dare to rush in with the ball next?"

"Ha ha……"

Zhang Heli laughed so hard that he couldn't close his mouth.

In the second quarter, the Knicks mainly relied on their bench lineup.

Among the five main players, only He Zhongqiu played in the second half, and the other four did not play.

In order to catch up, Popovich had to use up three main players.

When He Zhongqiu was not on the court in the first half, the Spurs broke through and were only 12 points behind at most. But after He Zhongqiu came on the court in the second half, he blocked two shots in a row and the Spurs dared not break through again.

After the second quarter, the Knicks still led by 52 points, 36:16.

The Spurs returned to the locker room and no one spoke.

Popovich stared at Bowen but said nothing.

He really wanted Bowen to deal with Nash. As long as Nash was injured, no matter how powerful Wolverine was, it would be useless. He would be just a tiger without teeth.

Being stared at by the head coach, Bowen felt his scalp tingling.

He knew what the head coach wanted him to do, but he really didn't dare.

If he dared to play dirty tricks on Nash and make Wolverine fail to defend his title, who knows how Wolverine would deal with him? He didn't want to be the second Artest, no, the second Metta World Peace.

Besides, he is 34 years old now. It is not the time when he had no ball to play. If it were the time, he would still dare to give it a try. But there is no need for that now.

Even if he leaves the Spurs, with his defensive ability, I believe there will be teams that want him, so there is no need to anger Wolverine.

Popovich thought for a long time and finally said, "Bruce, come out with me."

He decided to take a gamble. Although David Stern was on the sidelines, he was not worried. The most the league would do was suspend Bowen.

What he was betting on was Wolverine's reaction, but what could Wolverine do?

Injure Bowen in a rage? No problem. As long as Nash is injured, everything will be worth it.

Since I'm going to lose now anyway, I might as well take a gamble.

Bowen's face changed and he looked at Duncan. Duncan didn't react, so he could only follow him out.

Duncan kept wiping his sweat with an expressionless face.

But in his heart, he knew clearly what Popovich wanted Bowen to do.

"Bruce Bowen, there are things you have to do, that's what you're worth, you know what I mean, right?"

"Yes."

"You were only worth a few hundred thousand dollars a year before, but now you are getting over three million dollars a year in the Spurs. You should make your contribution. Now is the time when the team needs you. Play defense like you did before, OK?"

"I see."

Not long after, the halftime break ended.

At the beginning of the third quarter, the Knicks started with all their players, while Horry was on the court for the Spurs.

Before the game started, Bowen walked around the court nervously. When he walked to He Zhongqiu's side, he covered his mouth while wiping his sweat.

He Zhongqiu was startled and his expression suddenly became strange. He glanced at Popovich on the sidelines and a sharp light flashed in his eyes.

Bowen quickly walked away and came over to Nash's side.

"Steve..."

He Zhongqiu walked to Nash's side, leaned over and said, "Be careful, Bowen said he wants to do something bad to you."

Nash was stunned for a moment. He looked at He Zhongqiu, then looked at Bowen who was half a step away, and thought to himself, Boss, are you playing a spy game?

Next, the third quarter began and the Spurs attacked.

Intimidated by He Zhongqiu's seven blocks in the first half, the Spurs' outside players were still a little afraid to break through the restricted area.

Tony Parker broke through with the ball from the right wing and when he reached the middle two-point area, he made a quick stop and jump shot before Battier could make up for the defense.

"Bang!"

The basketball missed the target and bounced out of the rim, right over Duncan's head. He grabbed the ball and immediately jumped up for a layup.

Unfortunately, He Zhongqiu jumped faster and higher, waiting for Duncan in the sky, and slapped him and the ball down with one slap.

He Zhongqiu snatched the ball, passed it immediately, and started to move down quickly.

"Beautiful! The 8th block! Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival and we are having a hotpot feast for the Spurs. This is the only dish." Yu Jia said excitedly.

"Duncan can't catch up, Zhongqiu is leading again." Zhang Heli shouted.

"brush!"

When He Zhongqiu rushed into the restricted area, Nash got rid of Bowen on the left wing with the help of Battier's pick-and-roll, and then shot a three-pointer and made it.

Knowing that Bowen was going to make a move, he was very cautious. He would not take a shot without a pick-and-roll and without getting rid of Bowen.

"55:36, 19 points. Nash is in really good shape today," Barkley said.

"This is Nash's second time playing in the finals. He is no longer a rookie," said Kenny Smith.

"The Spurs don't dare to break through from the outside, so there should be no suspense in this game," said Jordan.

As soon as he finished speaking, Tony Parker, who had advanced to the top of the arc, suddenly shot a three-pointer.

"Bang!"

Unfortunately, although Battier didn't react in time, the ball still missed.

"See, I don't dare to break through," Jordan said.

He Zhongqiu grabbed the rebound, passed it to Battier in the high position, and then quickly ran to the frontcourt.

He entered the basket to take position, and Duncan and Horry immediately double-teamed him. He immediately pulled out from under the basket to receive the ball, and Horry followed him to defend.

Duncan defended on the right side of the basket, and the Mailman was in the low post on the right wing.

Nash passed the ball, He Zhongqiu received the ball at the left waist position, turned around and attacked the penalty area. Horry's little strength could not stop his turning.

Duncan immediately moved from the right side of the basket to the left front side, but He Zhongqiu turned around and took a step and flew up, and Duncan gritted his teeth and dodged to the side.

He had two fouls in the first quarter and one in the second quarter, so he can't foul easily anymore.

"boom!"

With a one-handed slam dunk, the Spurs' basket was blown up.

"Beautiful! 57:36, 21 points." Yu Jia shouted excitedly.

"Duncan was afraid of being called again, so his defense weakened. This is a good thing for Zhongqiu," Zhang Heli said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)