Jordan: I thought he was there to help me!

Chapter 578 1 Star 4 Shots! The Absolutely Rational James Mode!

Popovich ultimately chose to remain silent.

Instead of intervening between James and McGrady, he watched as the two remained silent and engaged in a cold war throughout the timeout.

Popovich decided to wait until the second half, after the game against the Knicks, so that the two of them could forget about their disagreements and focus on winning the game together.

Whether Popovich's approach is right or wrong remains to be seen; time will tell. Perhaps the two can make up in 15 minutes and act as if nothing happened. Perhaps they will confront each other after the game. Or perhaps they will suddenly clash sometime in the future.

That's a story for later.

Now, the important thing is that the second half has begun!

Neither side made any changes to their starting lineups, and the players switched sides to start the game.

After Lin Tian dribbled the ball back to the frontcourt, he first backed down Bibby and then casually said, "Mike, I bet you guys had a fight in the locker room during halftime! Otherwise, why are you all looking so solemn and pained, like you've lost your mothers?"

"Shut up," Bibby cursed, but to be honest, he wasn't really worried. He didn't feel the same sense of belonging to the Spurs as he did to the Kings, and besides, he didn't have any tactical role on the team. Bibby was just a pure tactical finisher here.

This guy even secretly hoped that McGrady and James, those two big shots, would fall out.

Their falling out gave Bibby the opportunity to take on more responsibility, gain more playing time, and better data.

Then he can earn more money.

So, Lin Tian didn't see even a hint of worry or annoyance in his eyes at this moment; instead, he could even faintly detect a trace of smugness.

What happened?

That doesn't make sense.

Lin Tian had calculated everything, but he forgot to take into account Bibby's morale and feelings for the team, which made him think he had guessed wrong and that nothing had happened during halftime.

However, Lin Tian hesitated for a moment before deciding whether he had guessed correctly.

Whether you guys have internal strife or not, I'll just watch it as a joke.

The important thing is that I'm going to beat you all to death tonight!

Then, Lin Tian suddenly made a behind-the-back pass without looking. The basketball bounced on the floor and then flew straight to the basket. After getting the ball, Stoudemire passed it to Okur on the wing without stopping.

This outside-inside-outside triangle play once again broke through the Spurs' defense, giving Okur more space, and he seized the opportunity once more!

"Whoosh!"

After a crisp sound, the Knicks' lead was once again 10 points!

"It's okay! We scored this basket! We have a chance!" James once again took over Bibby's task of dribbling the ball across half-court, received the baseline ball, and began to advance while encouraging his teammates.

In the third quarter, James basically orchestrated the offense and led the team to score. Their performance in this quarter was not affected much, and everyone's shooting touch was still good.

In addition, the Knicks' efficiency also started to decline, so although the Spurs did not close the gap by much, the Knicks did not pull away either!

At the end of the third quarter, the Spurs trailed the Knicks by only 8 points, 98-106. Both teams' scoring efficiency dropped significantly in this quarter, and their scoring numbers were completely different from those in the first half.

While the scoring efficiency on both sides dropped significantly, one statistic is quite interesting.

For the Spurs, James played the entire quarter again, bringing his total playing time to 36 minutes tonight.

But young people, those who are in their prime and have a strong physique, do have the strength to finish the game.

James also performed quite well in this quarter, with a well-rounded stat line of 7 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, single-handedly organizing the Spurs' entire offensive line.

But while he performed exceptionally well and led his team to a slow comeback, McGrady went 0-for-1 in this quarter and scored no points.

This is McGrady, who scored 20+ points in the first half and then scored 10 points in the last two minutes of the second quarter. He's in red-hot form!

He played for 8 minutes in this quarter but failed to score. If you only look at the stats, you would probably just think that he was tired or that he was being countered by the Knicks' targeted defense.

But anyone who watched the game even briefly would know that the Knicks didn't have any specific defensive strategy for this!

McGrady didn't score in the third quarter, and that had absolutely nothing to do with them!

During the break, Lin Tian sat on the bench looking at the third quarter statistics. Then he looked at McGrady, who was resting on the bench opposite him, and James, who was clapping and encouraging the whole team to work harder and quickly close the gap. Lin Tian was completely convinced.

If there's nothing between these two, I'll turn my head down and let Theron kick it like a soccer ball!

In the fourth quarter, McGrady, who had been resting for a long time, took to the court to lead the team, while James, who had played the full three quarters, was finally able to sit on the bench and rest for a while.

For the Knicks, it was still Anthony leading the bench players on the court.

Just by looking at the lineups on both sides, you can tell that this stage will be a head-to-head matchup between the two scorers, McGrady and Anthony!

Now it's up to us to see who can get more points and who can lead their team to gain an advantage during this period!

These two individuals share quite similar characteristics at this stage of their careers.

They all have near-perfect size and textbook-perfect skills, excelling in offense, shooting, and driving, but their passion for defense is negligible.

Of course, McGrady is still a level above Anthony. Besides being slightly better than Anthony in terms of scoring consistency and explosiveness, his playmaking ability and vision are skills that Anthony completely lacks.

In fact, Anthony never developed the kind of playmaking ability that McGrady possessed throughout his entire career.

All I can say is that this skill truly depends on talent; it can't be learned through training.

In comparison, it becomes quite clear who will have the upper hand in the first phase of the fourth quarter.

Yes, it's Carmelo Anthony!

Yes, Anthony.

This guy suddenly found his rhythm early in the fourth quarter, scoring no matter what he did.

He hit a three-pointer from each side, and also made a mid-range pull-up jumper and a forced shot after driving to the basket!

In just 4 minutes, Anthony scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, both inside and outside!

McGrady on the other side, perhaps because he was coasting on the court in the third quarter, lost his touch from the first half. Although he delivered 2 assists, he only made 1 of 3 shots and scored 2 points!

The two leading players performed drastically differently, and the score gap between the two sides naturally widened again!

104: 118!

The gap between the two sides has once again reached 14 points!

Popovich quickly called a timeout; he needed to make a substitution!

If we don't make changes and adjust our strategy, and the Knicks pull ahead by more than 15 points, it will be too late!

"Slow down the pace of the game, everyone calm down, stay calm!" Popovich waved his clipboard and said, "We haven't fallen behind yet, there's still plenty of time! Everyone remember, don't chase after them, now it's our turn to control the game!"

"Slow down! Strengthen our defense! Increase our physicality! We must win this game!"

"LeBron, let's go with your favorite move! It's all up to you!"

"Chris, JR, Mike, and Tracy and LeBron! It's still the five of you! Go for it, let's get this back!"

"We've got this in the bag." Compared to Popovich, Don Nelson was as calm as an ordinary old man taking a stroll in Madison. He leaned back in his chair and said, "I believe in every one of you. In this kind of game, in this kind of situation, we can't possibly lose, can we?"

"Melo, those last four minutes were absolutely perfect! They might be your best four minutes of the season; you completely dominated Tracy McGrady one-on-one!"

"I've said it before, you're the best of the 2003 draft class, and you'll become the best small forward in this league!"

Old Nelson's encouragement and praise made Anthony so excited he was practically snorting smoke.

He pounded his chest with his fist and said, "I'll keep trying!"

"Very good. Based on my understanding of Popovich, he will definitely shrink the lineup next, which will help their two strikers perform better. But at the same time, they will definitely strengthen their defense and physicality, because even if they play a small lineup, their height is still quite high."

"Memet, Amaret, charge into the paint! Crush them! Destroy them completely!"

"Finally, Lin, the adjustments to the details and tactics are up to you. We'll stick with the starting lineup. Go! Crush them!"

After Don Nelson finished speaking, the Knicks players went onto the court, and the two teams' strongest lineups clashed again. The game, with its final eight minutes, resumed!

James received the ball on the sideline, swung his hand twice in the air, and then Lin Tian saw Bibby and JR standing on the left and right corners respectively, while Bosh quickly moved up to screen for James.

As for McGrady, he was standing on the wing far from James, it was unclear whether he was waiting for a one-on-one opportunity or just too lazy to move.

James dribbled the ball at the top of the arc, made a crossover, and used Bosh's screen to drive into the paint. Bosh then turned and ran to the three-point line. At this moment, three Spurs players were outside the three-point line, and McGrady was only a step away from the three-point line. James then strode towards the paint.

Lin Tian understood this positioning immediately.

The famous One Star Radiates Four Directions!

It has to be Popovich. James is only in his third year, and he's already come up with this kind of extreme ball-handling, big-core style of play for him.

Even though James is only in his third year and his skills still need to be refined, he can definitely handle this kind of tactic!

James drove all the way to the Knicks' basket, then looked around and found the open JR Smith and passed him the ball. JR Smith caught the ball and immediately pulled up for a three-pointer from the corner, which went in!

The gap continues to narrow!

"Play like this! Shoot like this! We can do it!" James clapped his hands and shouted, "Save this shot! Let's cut the deficit to under 10 points!"

"What are you thinking!" Lin Tian dribbled the ball, completely relaxed. "If you can narrow the gap to within 10 points, tonight I'll take your whole team to see what the hustle and bustle of New York is all about!"

Before Lin Tian finished speaking, he suddenly accelerated and rushed towards the Spurs' half of the court. This time he did not stop, but charged all the way.

Old Nelson has said he wants to attack the Spurs' interior, so we have to give him face in the first possession and charge in for a shot!

"boom!"

Three seconds later, Lin Tian dashed into the Spurs' paint like lightning, sprang up violently like thunder, and slammed the ball into the basket with all his might!

"Within 10 points?" Lin Tian asked James after scoring, "Let's see you catch up?"

"FUXX!" James cursed. This time, he had everyone spread out for him again, and then he dribbled and charged towards the Knicks' interior!

This time, no one from the Knicks got back on defense; they marked their own players tightly, so the Spurs couldn't get any three-point shooting opportunities.

But for LeBron James, nobody cares!

This time, without any hesitation, he accelerated to the basket and slammed it in with a powerful dunk!

"boom!"

After that loud bang, the gap between the two sides remained at 11 points.

In the following game, both sides continued to trade blows, neither giving an inch, but as Lin Tian said: no matter how hard James tried, he could not narrow the gap further!

Although the Knicks never managed to extend their lead, the Spurs, despite their best efforts, were unable to reduce the deficit to single digits.

The gap between the two sides hovered around 10-15 points, while the game time was rapidly ticking away.

With just two minutes left in the game, the score difference between the two teams was still 10 points!

"How's it going, LeBron?" Before they knew it, the court was once again a two-man matchup between Lin Tian and James. "It's about time you faced reality. Ten points is the hurdle you can't overcome tonight, no matter what!"

"If you miss this shot, I can cut the deficit to single digits in the next possession!" James lowered his center of gravity, his whole body covered in sweat. Although he rested for a while in the fourth quarter, the heavy responsibility of the team continued to fall on his shoulders, coupled with his extremely long playing time.

Even James is exhausted right now.

"Why shouldn't I be able to score?" Lin Tian scoffed, "Because of your defense, which even my grandmother couldn't stop?"

Lin Tian said that this was a sudden acceleration, followed by a rapid change of direction while moving!

When facing opponents like James, who are larger and heavier, Lin Tian's strategy has always been to use quick changes of direction to shake them off and exploit their natural disadvantage in lateral movement speed.

The same thing happened with this play. Lin Tian blew past James in one step, then took two steps forward and suddenly stopped. James, who was just next to Lin Tian, ​​was completely helpless this time.

This sudden change of direction and stop completely shook off James, causing him to stumble forward two more steps before barely regaining control of his body, while Lin Tian had already jumped and completed his shot.

"Whoosh!"

James was unable to interfere with the shot at all; he could only watch Lin Tian score.

The score difference is 12 points!

His height and weight, which he had always been proud of, became his disadvantages at this moment!

Even James can't violate the basic laws of physics, right?

On the offensive end, James called for a pick-and-roll again, then accelerated to attack the paint, drawing Stoudemire's help defense before passing the ball to Bosh behind him.

Bosh took a shot at the basketball, then launched a three-pointer!

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, Bosh's three-point shot missed.

Fortunately, the incredibly cunning Bibby somehow managed to shake off Houston, who was guarding him, grabbed the rebound, and quickly passed it to JR Smith outside the three-point line. JR Smith didn't rush after getting the ball, but instead went to James again.

Reorganize!

But even though it's called a reorganization, with only 1 minute and 40 seconds left in the game, if the Spurs can't score this shot, they won't have much of a chance!

We must score!

"Spread out! Spread out, everyone!" James pointed to both sides, signaling everyone to spread out for him. Then, after a crossover dribble, he started his powerful drive!

He accelerated forcefully, charging towards the inside line while pushing against Lin Tian.

Then, as he rushed to the free-throw line, he suddenly made a bounce pass, throwing the basketball towards the corner.

There's Bibby, who just made it into an open space!

Bibby, who had just secured an offensive rebound and made a significant contribution, received the ball without hesitation, demonstrating his clutch generosity.

"Bang!"

Unfortunately, like Bosh just now, Bibby failed to reciprocate James' trust.

"Give it to me!" But this time, the Knicks still couldn't control the rebounds. Their rebounding went wrong again, and this time it was McGrady who grabbed the rebound!

He elbowed Anthony away, revealing an unusual ferocity, then grabbed the basketball, jumped up, and put the ball into the basket over Anthony who was rushing towards him again!

10 points!

"What the hell are you all doing! Defense! Defense!" After scoring, McGrady suddenly went from his nonchalant and laid-back attitude to a furious mode, yelling at his teammates, "Full-court press! Force them to take that shot! If they miss, we still have a chance!"

With McGrady's roar, the Spurs players finally reacted and charged towards their respective defenders.

Full press!

The final 1 minute and 29 seconds! A true life-or-death moment!

"See that LeBron? That's what a leader should do." Lin Tian, ​​watching the Spurs' renewed intensity, laughed and mocked, "With two minutes left and the team trailing, the most important thing a leader should do isn't to play intelligently, but to make those unreasonable plays!"

"I know how to be a leader!" (End of Chapter)