It's another opening three-pointer. Horry is ready to defend against the Hawks' opening three-pointer from McGrady, who has the highest three-point shooting percentage in this finals. McGrady averaged 3.2 three-pointers per game in this finals.

, averaging 17.2 points, 4 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. The data is not particularly good. The assists are more than half less than the regular season. They are much less than the 8.3 assists per game in the Eastern Conference playoffs, but 40%

With a three-point shooting percentage of 4, he is the Hawks' most stable outside shooter, much higher than Liu Mang's 38% and Jason Terry's 39% three-point shooting percentage.

In contrast, McGrady's overall shooting percentage was only 43%, but this made McGrady's three-point threat more prominent.

However, this time, Liu Mang came up first and threw a three-pointer very erratically. It was completely different from the previous four games where he mainly attacked the inside!

Liu Mang confidently made a three-pointer and blew his palms. He was a little excited at the beginning. Fortunately, he made the shot. It was a good goal. He immediately retreated when he saw the ball fall into the basket.

The Spurs seem to have seen a microcosm of the first two games of the Finals. In those two games, the Hawks relied on three-point advantages from the beginning.

Fortunately, Duncan clapped his hands and ran forward with an expressionless face, which stabilized the Spurs players' mentality.

They have Duncan!

The hopes of the Spurs players are pinned on Duncan.

However, the first singles play after Duncan came over was unsuccessful! Rasheed Wallace successfully withstood Duncan's strong attack. Nesterovich was on the other side of the basket, and Kwame Brown was under the basket.

He would rather leave Nesterovich open than give Duncan a chance to turn around and attack the basket. Duncan really didn't want to pass to Nesterovich. Nesterovich averaged 13 minutes per game in this finals, only

The statistics of 2.4 points and 3.8 rebounds, with a shooting percentage of 30%, were too miserable.

Duncan's jump shot was interfered by Rasheed Wallace, and Kwame Brown squeezed Nesterovich. He knew what his role was and knew that there was someone who would take his job...

Duncan was so strong in rebounding in the finals. In the original time and space, Duncan, the multiple rebounding champion, would have averaged 14 rebounds per game by Ben Wallace, while Ben Wallace himself only averaged 10 per game.

Kwame Brown only averaged 6.4 rebounds per game in the first five games of this finals, while Liu Mang averaged 7.6 rebounds per game. Of course, this is based on Rasheed Wallace's more rebounds in this series.

Playing center, Mourning's playing time increased in the finals. When Kwame Brown did not perform well against Duncan and only averaged 22 minutes of playing time per game, Liu Mang became the Hawks' leader in rebounding. In terms of overall rebounds, the Hawks ranked

The team averaged 43 rebounds per game in the first five games of this finals, which is not a huge disadvantage compared to the Spurs' average of 46 rebounds per game. The Hawks can steal it as a whole.

As the finals progressed, Kwame Brown found some ways to fight against Duncan - to help block positions. With a teammate like Liu Mang who is physically capable and active, all Kwame Brown had to do was to prevent the opponent from grabbing rebounds inside, and also

It's a kind of rebound protection, which he learned from watching the video of Yao Ming playing against Duncan.

Sure enough, Liu Mang floated in as soon as Duncan threw the ball, jumped high, and collected the rebound.

Liu Mang advanced quickly, and the other four players from the Eagles quickly moved forward. However, the Spurs retreated quickly and did not give the Eagles a chance to easily counterattack.

Liu Mang advanced to the frontcourt, but Ginobili didn't dare to take a step back this time and immediately moved forward.

Liu Mang did not choose to break through directly. Seeing that the opponent had Nesterovich guarding the basket and Duncan assisting in defense, he would be foolish to break through. Although Nesterovich's statistics were poor, Popovich used them well.

The defensive end plays a big role.

Liu Mang waved for a pick-and-roll from the top of the arc. Although the effect of Nash's star card, the Son of the Wind, was gone, the feeling of Liu Mang's style of play was still there. During training, he also focused on this, which can be used to score against the Spurs.

The tactics were trained, and Rasheed Wallace acted as the first pick-and-roll to help Liu Mang block Ginobili.

With the help of Rasheed Wallace's pick and roll, Liu Mang moved to the left at a 45-degree angle. Sure enough, at this time, Ginobili just squeezed in to defend the three-pointer. Kwame Brown had already expected it as the second pick and roll.

At this point, continue to come up to block Ginobili.

The Spurs' defense also gained experience. Parker, who was guarding Prince's open three-pointer from the corner, immediately made up for it.

Liu Mang quickly passed the ball to Prince, who received the ball. Although Duncan quickly moved up to interfere, he was not affected and decisively caught the ball and shot a three-pointer...

Prince's three-pointers are usually not counted on, but in this crucial game, when he is needed, he really steps up!

Prince made a hollow three-pointer from the corner!

6 to 0!

The Spurs attacked, and Duncan successfully hit Rasheed Wallace in a low post this time. He half-turned and made a throw before Kwame Brown was double-teamed, and it hit the backboard and bounced into the basket.

Back to the Eagles offense.

Liu Mang went to the frontcourt and continued to play a double pick-and-roll with Rasheed Wallace and Kwame Brown.

Rasheed Wallace stayed in the top arc after the pick-and-roll. Kwame Brown cut inside. Duncan went back to guard Kwame Brown. Parker let go of Prince, but Prince made a three-pointer in the opening game.

, did not dare to cover up Liu Mang, but Nesterovich moved very quickly this time and blocked the front of Liu Mang. Liu Mang immediately passed the ball to Rasheed Wallace who was on top of the arc.

Rasheed Wallace and Liu Mang stayed in the top arc after the pick-and-roll. After receiving the ball, they raised the ball and took a straight-arm shot with Ginobili's absolute height advantage...

"Snapped……"

Ginobili destroyed Rasheed Wallace's shot, but it wasn't a block, but a foul on the player!

Rasheed Wallace got 3 free throw opportunities!

Rasheed Wallace made two of three free throws, and the Eagles led 8-2!

At the beginning of the game, the Eagles were full of momentum!

At the beginning, under the leadership of Liu Mang, they launched a fierce offensive. They won the battle of Tianwang Mountain and returned to the home court. The Eagles played more passionately.

What the young team wants is passion, to win the match point and return to the home court. The passion of the Eagles players who were suppressed by the Spurs by taking advantage of the home court is back again!

On the other hand, the Spurs, in addition to stability... it seems that there is only stability. In the two games back at home, they were able to use their home court advantage and tactics to defeat the Eagles, but in the fifth game, Liu Mang scored 36

They led the team to win by more than 20 points, which dispelled their fighting spirit of not wanting to lose 3-0.

Especially when it comes to the away game, there is no such extremely loose penalty scale as the Spurs did at home, where even violent actions would not be called a foul. The Spurs players move more aggressively. As long as it reaches the level of a foul, the referee will immediately call him a foul if he sees it.

Give the whistle.

The referee didn't blow the whistle. The Hawks made a big move and called a foul. But the Hawks like this kind of standard, and the Spurs can't adapt to it all of a sudden! It's been their home court for three consecutive games, and they've adapted to that kind of whistle. Now it's tight.

They were so uncomfortable at the beginning of the game.

Such a whistle makes the Spurs, who mainly attack inside, far worse in scoring than the Eagles, who mainly score from the outside with three eagles!

The main reason was that Liu Mang and Prince each scored a three-pointer at the beginning, which laid the foundation for the lead. Although the Spurs gradually adapted to the referee's tighter penalty scale as the game progressed, their damage in the paint was also much greater, especially in the paint.

After replacing Bonzi Wells, both Duncan and Bonzi Wells were very lethal in singles.

But the Hawks' advantage has been established. No matter how Popovich calls a timeout, the Hawks will cling to a five to eight-point lead.

After the first quarter, Liu Mang had 8 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds, Rasheed Wallace had 5 points, Prince had 6 points, Tracy McGrady had 4 points, Kwame Brown had 2 points, and the last three minutes of the first quarter came up

It was Jason Terry who scored a three-pointer in the last 7 seconds, and the Eagles scored 28 points in a single quarter.

The Spurs only scored 22 points in the first quarter, and the Eagles led 28-22 by 6 points in the first quarter!

…

With the lead, the psychological advantage of home court and the whistle, it was finally in their favor. The Eagles played with great momentum in the first quarter!

If it weren't for Prince, Liu Mang, Rasheed Wallace and Kwame Brown each giving the opponent two free throws, the Spurs would have made 5 of 8 free throws, and the Hawks would have been able to open up a bigger point difference!

The eight free throws in the first quarter were the highest number of free throws in a single quarter in the playoffs in more than two years since the Spurs played the Lakers in the second round of the 2002-2003 playoffs!

But even so, they were still 6 points behind. Except for Duncan, who was sullenly adjusting himself mentally, the mentality of the rest of the Spurs team was already exploding.

In the second quarter, the Eagles' lineup of Liu Mang, Jason Terry, Prince, Josh Smith, and Mourning came on stage.

On the Spurs' side, the lineup of Ginobili, Barry, Horry, Bonzi Wells, and Duncan came on the field, and Popovich was forced to step up his offense.

This kind of penalty scale is too detrimental to the Spurs' defense. After three home games and then the Hawks playing away games at home, the discomfort is particularly obvious. Nesterovich committed two fouls in the first quarter, and Duncan also suffered.

A foul was committed.

The Spurs took the lead in the second quarter.

After Ginobili, who was getting angry, pushed forward, his hurried three-point shot missed the shot under Prince's defense.

In the original time and space, Yao Dao's peak performance in the finals was based on the fact that the Spurs and Pistons were evenly matched, and he was the strongest player in the game.

When playing against the Hawks, the first few games were okay, but in the fifth game, Liu Mang scored 36 points in the face of such a defense. Ginobili's mentality was unbalanced, and he did not use the breakthroughs he was good at, but wanted a simple one.

I made a three-pointer, and I already had the idea of ​​​​taking a gamble, but then I missed a three-pointer that was very deflected!

Josh Smith took advantage of Mourning and Liu Mang to get a defensive rebound.

Liu Mang advanced quickly, and the Spurs' retreat was no problem. It was not as big a problem as the offense. Liu Mang reached the frontcourt and handed the ball to Jason Terry. Although Jason Terry made 3 three-pointers in the last three minutes of the first quarter,

He hit 1, but he dared to throw! Moreover, he made a three-pointer at the end of the first quarter, and now he feels it!

Facing Brent Barry's defense that was ten centimeters higher, Jason Terry received a pass from Liu Mang and shot a three-pointer...

Hit again!

From the end of the first quarter to the beginning of the second quarter, Jason Terry scored two three-pointers in a row!

31 to 22, the score difference came to 9 points!

Seeing Jason Terry's three-pointer, Popovich started roaring on the sidelines again and stepped on the court with his feet. After the referee warned Popovich, Popovich returned to the bench angrily.

Sitting.

The same shot, the same height difference, Ginobili didn't make the shot, but Jason Terry immediately made the shot, which caused greater psychological trauma to Ginobili.

Popovich roared, and Ginobili played more honestly. He originally wanted to do something different on his own, that is, his "Demon Sword" mentality and play style that was digitized by the system, but he was also anxious.

After the angry Popovich roared, the demon sword was filled with molten steel before it could be unsheathed, making it impossible to pull it out.

The Spurs' lineup has the best offensive effect. It plays steadily and has improved scoring continuity. After Ginobili played honestly, the Spurs' offense performed pretty well.

But this lineup does not have the defensive speed of Parker to change positions on the outside, and does not have the height of Nesterovich under the basket. Compared with the second to fourth games of the Finals, the Spurs defense is too far behind!
To be continued...