At one o'clock at noon, after lunch, Wang Tiejun drove to the training base with his suitcase.
The Suns' training base and headquarters are together. After parking the car, I happened to bump into Colangelo. He has always respected the team owner who took him out of Chinatown. After seeing it, he quickly
greeted:
"Good afternoon, sir."
"good afternoon."
Colangelo smiled and nodded, then asked: "Old K, how is your physical fatigue?"
"The situation is average."
The smile on his face faded a little because he felt that his physical fitness was not very good. The fatigue after yesterday's game is still there, and he has not fully recovered, and there is still some soreness in the muscles all over his body.
Colangelo has also been mentally prepared for a long time. For a young man who has not engaged in sports training for two years, one can imagine the physical reserves. Old K can persist until now and still perform as he did in 2010. He has worked very hard.
Can be picky.
An hour later, the Suns were on a plane bound for San Antonio.
That night, the Suns gathered together to watch the game between the Knicks and the Hornets in the Eastern Conference. This was the only game tonight.
Barkley said while looking at the TV: "I don't know how the league arranged it. The G2 game between Mosaic and SuperSonics is on the 12th. There will be no G3 game tonight, but it is scheduled for tomorrow."
"We play a back-to-back, and they have to play a back-to-back. This is fair." Kevin Johnson said.
"But there is no one in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls play G3 on the 15th. Why not arrange to play G4 on the 16th? We play back-to-back and they can have a day off. This is too unfair." Dan Marli said.
"Because there is no absolute fairness in this world." Danny Ainge said with a smile.
Wang Tiejun is also worried about the upcoming back-to-back. His physical fitness is not as good as that of his teammates, and his playing style consumes physical energy, for fear of being held back.
In the end, 106:110, the game was won by the Hornets, which tied the score to 1 to 2 and gave the Knicks no chance to sweep.
Super center Ewing did not play very efficiently and took a lot of shots, but he only made 13 of 31 shots, with a shooting percentage of 41.9%. What is even more outrageous is that he did not make a single free throw. It is conceivable that his offense was all about outside jumpers.
Non-lethal.
The Knicks only had 12 free throws in total, while the Hornets got 35 free throw opportunities. Free throws alone were enough to ensure that the Hornets won this home court. Of course, this may be related to the home court advantage.
The Hornets played a suffocating defense, with as many as 17 steals in the game, while the Knicks only had 7, and their shooting percentage was four percentage points higher than the Hornets'.
The next day, the 15th, is game day.
On this day, the four teams in the Western Conference competed in their G3 games at the same time.
At the same time, there is also a G3 game in the East between the Bulls and the Cavaliers. It also starts tonight.
In the home team's locker room, Spurs head coach John Lucas is setting up tactics.
After losing two consecutive away games, if they lose another home game, the Spurs will basically be out of the game, so they are under a lot of pressure.
Under pressure from the outside world and two consecutive losses, he and Robinson reached an agreement to abandon each other's prejudices, put aside each other's opinions, and focus on the game.
In the G3 game, he arranged breakout tactics, pass-and-cut tactics, high-post pick-and-roll tactics, low-post support tactics, etc.
David Robinson was not assigned many low-post singles tactics because Robinson was unable to defend Wang Tiejun alone and was not efficient enough.
Not only against Wang Tiejun, in the first round of the series, Robinson played against the Trail Blazers. The opponent he faced was shorter than him, only 206 centimeters. Their strength was also very different, and his efficiency was still very low.
At 8 o'clock, the G3 game between the Suns and the Spurs started first, and the other two games started half an hour later.
Suns: Wang Tiejun, Barkley, Ceballos, Dan Maley, Kevin Johnson
Spurs: David Robinson, Antoine Kyle, Sean Elliott, Darle Ellis, Avery Johnson
Jump ball, Spurs attack.
"Whoa!"
Antoine Kyle threw in a mid-range shot.
Looking back, Barkley wanted to return one, but failed. The rebound was taken by Darle Ellis who rushed in, and the Spurs attacked.
"Bang!"
Dale Ellis missed a three-pointer.
The Suns were unable to get the backcourt rebound and the ball bounced off the right wing, Antoine Kyle picked the offensive rebound over Barkley and passed it to Dale Ellis, who shook it off
Dan Marley made a two-pointer from far away.
Looking back, Barkley missed the mid-range shot again, and the Spurs protected the backcourt rebound.
David Robinson got the ball one step away from the low post on the left wing, turned over and shot a jumper, and was almost blocked by Wang Tiejun, but the ball naturally missed.
Wang Tiejun turned around to grab a rebound, but the backcourt rebound was lost again. Spurs point guard Avery Johnson rushed in, stole the ball in front of Barkley, and layup, creating a second offense.
In the opening game, the Spurs made 3 of 5 shots and launched a 6-0 offensive wave. Barkley made 0 of 2 shots and the Suns had yet to score.
However, head coach Paul Westphal did not call a timeout in time and the game continued.
This time Danmar took action and threw a three-pointer, but still missed.
"Bang!"
The rebound bounced far and out of the paint, where it was picked up by Antoine Kyle of the Spurs.
"Whoa!"
Sean Canliot took a mid-range shot and hit a ball over the head of Ceballos.
At 0:8, the Spurs made 4 of 6 shots and the Suns missed 3 shots. They were already 8 points behind and fell into a scoring drought.
After two more rounds, Kevin Johnson took his first shot and hit a mid-range shot. But when he turned around, Spurs shooting guard Darle Ellis broke through and made a layup.
At 2:10, the Suns attacked and finally called a timeout.
"The sun feels cold, the G3 game is worrying!" Winston Rollin said at the ESPN live broadcast.
"Let's not talk about fatigue. Both sides played the same game. I think the Suns won two games. Maybe the players were a little careless." Carter Oldman said.
Rollin analyzed: "The Spurs' defense today was better than in the previous two games, especially Antoine Kyle, who was very close to Barkley, and Barkley missed two shots. The Suns, on both ends of the offense and defense,
The quality is so different from g1g2."
"Old K is running around over there, but he hasn't touched the ball yet." Ultraman joked.
After playing four minutes of the game, he didn't touch the ball, and all the statistics were poor. Wang Tiejun sat on the bench a little depressed.
He panted and drank some water. He felt very tired today and his body couldn't get excited at all. It had been more than forty hours since the last game, but he still hadn't recovered from his fatigue.
"Charles, how are you feeling?" he asked Buckley.
Buckley nodded and said, "I'm not bad."
The timeout ends, the game begins, and the Suns attack.
Kevin Johnson broke through with the ball, attracted the defense and then passed the ball to Wang Tiejun, who hit a hook under the basket.
4:10, Spurs attack.
David Robinson pulled up from the low post, set up a high post pick-and-roll for Avery Johnson, and then stayed in the high post, restraining Wang Tiejun in the high post.
The young general Johnson broke through the wall and got rid of Kevin Johnson. After reaching the basket, he encountered Barkley's defense. He immediately passed the ball to Antoine Kyle, who hit a jumper near the basket.
4:12, Suns attack.
Wang Tiejun took the ball again and missed the hook near the basket.
"The Suns are in trouble today." Winston Rollin shook his head.
By the 10th minute of the first quarter, at 18:28, the Spurs had led by 10 points. The Suns called a timeout and replaced the substitute lineup.
Valley
In the ESPN live broadcast, Carter Oldman said: "The Spurs are in full bloom, and their offensive and defensive tactics are very successful.
As for the Suns, their tactics were not clear and they played very poorly. They were fighting on their own. Only Kevin Johnson was in good shape and scored 8 points through breakthroughs."
Winston Rollin said: "Barkley made 1 of 4 shots. He was not excited at all today."
Oldman said: "Old K also made 1 of 4 shots, did not attack the basket once, and moved very little and very slowly."
Rollinda: "If he continues to leave the game, the Suns will have no chance of winning this game."
"This one?"
Oldman smiled and said: "Tomorrow is a back-to-back game. In this state, the Spurs have the home court advantage and the possibility of a tie is very high."
Two hours later, the game ended, 96:111, and the Suns lost their first away game.
Barkley made 9 of 21 shots, a shooting percentage of 42.9%, and scored 22 points on free throws. His condition improved slightly, but he still could not lead the team to victory.
The Suns' scoring leader tonight was Kevin Johnson, who made 9 of 17 shots, 8 of 10 free throws, and scored 26 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 turnovers.
Wang Tiejun played for 30 minutes, making 3 of 9 shots and 1 of 2 free throws. He only scored 7 points, 8 rebounds, 1 block, 3 turnovers and 4 fouls. His performance was far inferior to the previous two games.
Main shooting guard Dan Marley made only 2 of 10 shots, main substitute Tom Chambers made 1 of 7 shots, and important substitute Danny Ainge made 0 of 5 shots.
On the Spurs' side, power forward Antoine Kyle shot 10 of 14, with a shooting percentage of 71.4%. In other words, he mainly focused on jump shots and had little lethality. He scored 21 points with consecutive shots and free throws.
Shooting guard Darle Ellis made 9 of 16 shots, with a shooting percentage of 56.3%, which is very efficient for an outside line.
David Robinson, on the other hand, was still not very good tonight, shooting 4 of 16. Although he didn't play much in the low post, he also shot a lot in the high post. His free throws today were also good, 5 of 7, and he scored 13.
He scored 8 rebounds, but it was not much better than Wang Tiejun, and his performance was still sluggish.
But he did a good job of supporting the ball and got 6 assists, which shows that the Spurs' use of him tonight was successful.
Comparing various statistics between the two teams, the Spurs shot 49.5% while the Suns shot only 40%. The Spurs took 11 more shots, had 8 more rebounds, 6 more steals, and 6 fewer turnovers. From these data, the Spurs
It's hard not to win.
"So tired!"
In the visiting team's locker room, Wang Tiejun was soaking in ice water. He felt that his whole body was tense, even his nerves were the same, and his mind was empty.
He is now worried about tomorrow night's game. He is so tired tonight, and not only is he in poor condition, but all his teammates are in poor condition except Kevin Johnson. How will he play in the back-to-back tomorrow night?
The game was being played on the TV set outside, and the other two games were not finished yet. The channels were switched back and forth, watching this, watching that, but no one said anything.
After soaking for twenty minutes, he left the ice bucket. At this time, the other two games were also finished.
The Bulls won the G3 game on the road at 96:90, becoming the first team to get match point.
The Mosaics, which had lost two games in a row, used their home court advantage to beat the SuperSonics 79:97.
Kevin Johnson said: "Rainman was in bad shape tonight. He only made 4 of 11 shots. He scored 12 points, but he was the top scorer on the team. With the SuperSonics playing like this, it's hard not to lose."
Barkley smiled bitterly and said: "The SuperSonics, like us, won two home games. They were too excited. Once the excitement period passed, everyone's condition dropped one after another. It will be bad next."
Everyone couldn't help but nod their heads.
Dan Marley said: "Dameng made 11 of 18 shots today, with a hit rate of 61%. He broke out!"
Barkley said disdainfully: "I bet that if the three super centers continue to play like this, they will have no chance of reaching the finals."
After everyone looked over, he continued: "Don't just look at Dameng's shooting percentage. He had a good touch today, and he can't be that good every game. Look at his free throws, not even one, they are all
Jump shot outside."
Everyone couldn't help but nodded.
At this time, head coach Paul Westphal said: "In this year's playoffs, the three super centers really focused on jump shots. I remember that Dameng only made three free throws in the last game. This should not be the referee's problem.
, that was his home court, and he took so few free throws, basically just playing outside."
Assistant coach Lewis said: "Dameng had 11 free throws in the second round of G1. I don't know why they changed their style of play in these two games. This one is even more outrageous, not a single free throw."
Barkley said: "I remember Ewing didn't even make a free throw in the last game. Although the three super centers are powerful, their style of play, to be honest, is not dominant enough."
Everyone then talked about the Bulls, which was the team they cared about most.
Dan Malley said with some uneasiness: "Jordan made 12 of 24 shots, a 50% field goal percentage, 8 of 10 free throws, a lot of breakthroughs, very lethal to the inside, and he played very efficiently."
This is the opponent he has to face. Every time he encounters him, he will be beaten to death, so he already has a psychological shadow.
Everyone talked for a while before going to take a shower.
"Old K, you haven't been talking, are you tired?" Buckley asked before entering the bathroom.
"A bit." Wang Tiejun nodded.
Something flashed through Buckley's mind.
If Old K continues to be weak, tomorrow's game will be very bad. If the big score is equalized, the pressure will shift to the Suns, who will be very passive.
On the 16th, two second-round G4 games in the Western Conference started. On the same day, there was also a G4 game between the Knicks and the Hornets in the Eastern Conference, three games in one night.
The Suns' game starts at 8:30, and the other two games start at 8:00.
After the third quarter, 78:88, the Suns were 10 points behind in the away game.
Following his sluggish performance in the previous game, Barkley continued to be sluggish in this game. He made 6 of 18 shots in the three quarters, with a shooting percentage of only 33.3%. In addition, he made 3 of 4 free throws and only scored 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Kevin Johnson is worthy of being one of the top point guards in the league after Magic retired. He still maintains a high efficiency. He made 5 of 10 shots in the three quarters. His breakthrough was extremely sharp. He made 9 of 10 free throws in the third quarter. He has scored 19 points and also sent
6 assists.
Dan Mulley and Tom Chambers are in the same form as Barkley and continue to be sluggish.
Danny Ainge was pretty good, making 5 of 8 shots and 2 of 4 three-pointers, scoring 12 points.
Wang Tiejun, on the other hand, rarely performed in the first three quarters. Although he played for 30 minutes, he only took 5 shots in total, all of which were near-basket hooks. He hit two of them. His hit rate seemed good, reaching 40%, but there was no damage.
Strength, only 4 points.
It's just that his rebounding was good today. He grabbed 13 rebounds in the three quarters, including 10 backcourt rebounds and 3 frontcourt rebounds.
In addition, he also sent 4 blocks and 3 assists, but these data are of no use. He is not excited about playing and has no desire to attack. At the same time, on the defensive end, he is tired and cannot keep up with David Robinson's movement speed. Robinson
I was avoiding him, so there was very little confrontation.
On the Spurs' side, David Robinson exploded. He repeatedly drove to the basket, making 6 of 14 shots and 14 of 18 free throws. He was extremely lethal and scored 26 points in the third quarter.
This was also the result of Wang Tiejun, who had physical problems, passively reducing confrontation. Robinson completely liberated himself through quick movement and restored his vitality.
If the Suns hadn't rebounded well tonight, they would have lost more.
At the beginning of the final quarter of the game, all the main players from both sides took the field.
The Spurs must win this game. If they win 2-2, everyone will return to the starting line. But if they lose 1-3, that would be terrible.
The Suns, on the other hand, want to win this game even more. Once they lose and are tied with a two-game lead, the pressure will be greater than that of the Spurs.
So even if they were ten points behind, the Suns still had all the main players on the board.
However, Ceballos was the only one left out, and Danny Ainge, who was in good form today, was used.
The Suns' main lineup has never had enough three-point shooters, and the effect of the opening tactics is not very good. In this last quarter, Paul Westphal has to take a gamble.
Danny Ainge is a swingman with a height of 193 cm and 80 kg. He has a huge physical disadvantage against Sean Elliott, who is 203 cm and 93 kg.
Paul Westphal was prepared to be beaten defensively at the third position. Ceballos was also beaten anyway, leaving Danny Ainge to step up and have a strong ability to stretch.
Ainge's three-pointer today was very accurate. Sean Elliott would never dare to let him go. This would be very troublesome for the Spurs if they wanted to double-team K.
Of course, Old K was very weak on the offensive end today, and the Spurs had no need to double-team him.
But during the timeout just now, he had already given instructions to Old K to step up the offense. Because Barkley was in poor condition, he could only rely on him to step up the low attack, so he had to be prepared to be double-teamed.