NBA: Start by torturing Jordan and add points to upgrade

Nobody wanted to leave the court at this moment, but everyone knew that if Anthony didn't leave the court in this situation, then even if he went to guard Gibson, the Spurs would definitely let Gibson isolate him and try to draw his fifth foul!
JR's 3+1 play not only adds 4 points to the team, but its strategic significance is obviously greater!

Taking Anthony out of the game would deprive the Knicks of a key offensive weapon and expose a huge and obvious weakness in their run-and-gun offense.

Anyway, everyone now believes that the scales of victory have tipped slightly in favor of the Spurs!

"Go and rest, Melo. Even without this foul, it's time for you to rest." Lin Tian punched Anthony and said, "Go and get some rest. In the fourth quarter, let them see how tough 'Melo' is when his stamina is fully restored."

"I understand, Lin." Anthony quickly recovered from his frustration, nodded, and said, "There won't be a next time! I won't hold the team back anymore! I'll definitely get my revenge for that 3+1!"

As Anthony spoke, he walked toward the bench without looking back. He is also a well-known player with a big heart. It was just a foul. He might be frustrated, but it would never affect his determination!

On the other hand, Nelson's big men lineup only lasted one round and hadn't even shown their strength and height advantage before being defeated by this unexpected event.

Even without Anthony, if Don Nelson were to bring in Ariza or Wallace again, the two of them could still physically dominate the Spurs' lineup and have an absolute advantage in height and size.

However, neither of these two players can match Anthony in terms of shooting accuracy or individual offensive ability.

They're at least a whole level apart!

Should they continue with their previous strategy of using size to overwhelm the Spurs, but downgrade their roster, or simply ignore it and continue to compete with the Spurs offensively?

After thinking for a moment, Old Nelson patted Nate on the shoulder and said, "Go show them your firepower!"

Old Nelson sent in Nate, who is only 175 cm tall!
At this stage of the game, Nelson still chose to trust Nate, who had a stronger hand and had a history of saving the day in high-level matches.

Ultimately, no matter how many changes Don Nelson has tried to make to this team this season, it is still essentially a pure offensive team!

"You're lucky this time! Although I guessed what you were up to, I didn't target you." Old Nelson looked at his former disciple Popovich from afar, his eyes narrowing: "Since tricks and schemes don't work, let's try a more open approach!"

"I'm going to go head-to-head with you right now in terms of offense, speed, and firepower, Greg, what are you going to do about it?"

On the court, JR stood at the free-throw line. After his signature spin move, he lowered his body slightly and steadily released the ball.

"Shh!"

After another crisp sound, the Spurs extended their lead to 5 points!
This is also the biggest point difference between them tonight, or rather, the biggest point difference between the two sides tonight!
This 3+1 is truly crucial!

Kenny went even further, saying, "The Spurs are definitely in high spirits right now, and we can expect their defensive intensity to continue to rise! They hope to change the course of the game with this 3+1 play and Anthony's departure."

"Let's see if this 3+1 will be the turning point of the game!"

Everyone, including the commentators, agreed that this shot was crucial!
This could become the most crucial point in this game!

Popovich was certainly excited about Anthony's departure, but he didn't lose his composure. After seeing Don Nelson make the substitution, Popovich lowered his head and thought for a while before deciding not to make the substitution!

He could tell what old Nelson meant.

It's just a matter of firepower and mobility.

Then let's have a competition!
My group of people may not be any worse than yours!

The ball was passed from the baseline, and Lin Tian continued dribbling towards the frontcourt.

There's no need to rush.

There's still a lot of suspense in the game and plenty of time left.

Lin Tian was not in a hurry. He slowly dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, while directing his teammates to make runs and passing the ball around to look for opportunities. After several consecutive passes, Nate, who had just entered the game, quickly got an open three-point opportunity.

This short guy, who was ambitious beyond his years, didn't even think before taking a shot, but obviously because he had just come on the court and his body wasn't fully warmed up, he missed the shot.

James grabbed the rebound and sprinted towards the frontcourt. Smith did his best to block him at high speed. The two top-class guys from the neck down went head-to-head!

But compared to Smith, James' biggest advantage is obviously that his top-notch features are not only below the neck, but also above his eyes!
Sudden stop, change direction, accelerate again!
A simple change of rhythm, when executed by a guy with monstrous physical abilities like James, was incredibly powerful. In the blink of an eye, he shook off Smith, who was coming up to defend with all his might and trying to close the gap.

James then drove all the way to the frontcourt. Facing Lin Tian, ​​who had already returned to defend under the basket, James still did not choose to force a shot. Instead, he passed the ball to JR, who was rushing over from the other side.

JR stopped instantly after receiving the ball and immediately launched a mid-range pull-up jumper that went in!

The gap between the two sides has reached 7 points!

JR, who scored 6 consecutive points, also became a surprise weapon.

Tonight, the blade of this double-edged sword has finally pierced his opponent.

Fortunately, Lin Tian finally scored 2 points with a strong layup after a breakthrough, stabilizing the situation for the team and preventing the Spurs from widening the score gap further.

And after Lin Tian's shot, Nate, who had been running for about a minute, finally warmed up. In the third quarter, taking advantage of everyone's assumption that he was going to shoot, he successfully seized the opportunity to attack the basket twice and score!

Of course, the role of Nate as a surprise weapon is ultimately limited. The Knicks still need the firepower of absolute core players like Lin Tian and Stoudemire!

In tonight's situation, only if Lin Tian and Stoudemire maintained their scoring momentum, along with the occasional contributions from the others, could the Knicks catch up and even take the lead.

Of course, the most important thing is to stop the Spurs from scoring.

Otherwise, no matter how many points you score, if the Spurs keep scoring, the point difference will not be able to be narrowed quickly.

Unfortunately, the Spurs were in really good form in this quarter, performing exceptionally well on both offense and defense, and the two teams continued to trade blows throughout the rest of the quarter.

However, unlike the first half where the score was close and the lead changed hands frequently, the Spurs successfully took the lead in the latter part of this quarter, maintaining a lead of about 5 points.

Although it wasn't much, this advantage did indeed last until the end of the third quarter.

85: 89!

At the end of the third quarter, the Spurs had a 4-point lead.

"Next, focus on Messi and Ronaldo!" After being outmaneuvered by Popovich in the third quarter, and with both his schemes and tactics failing for some reason, Old Nelson's temper clearly flared up.

I've spent my whole life playing tactics, when have I ever been so suppressed?
Yeah, I've been suppressed quite a few times, otherwise I would have won the championship long ago, right?
When have I ever lost so humiliatingly in my entire life?

Even though there was still one quarter left in the game, Old Nelson just felt frustrated.

So, in the fourth quarter, Nelson will keep going!

We'll continue targeting you, Spurs.

"Mero, you're the one with the most stamina on our team. I need you to use a misdirection attack on Francis!"

"Given Gregg's cowardly yet fierce temperament, he'll definitely bring Francis, who's also been resting for a long time, into the game early in the fourth quarter, and he'll definitely choose to protect Francis. He'll switch on defense when facing pick-and-rolls!"

"He'll match Francis up against Lin, but he'll also find ways to protect Francis from being attacked by Lin! So use pick-and-rolls! You and Lin run a mismatch pick-and-roll, and if you switch, then you attack Francis!"

"Beat him down! I want him to cramp up again! Understand?"

"Understood, Coach!" Anthony had been holding back his energy for almost half a quarter, and now he was bursting with pent-up energy.

So at this moment, letting him be the main offensive point to exploit mismatches against the opposing guards is exactly what Anthony is looking for!
My buddy was ecstatic!
Beat you to death!
Soon, the break ended. That night, both coaches were unusually cautious, not daring to bring in any role players and continuing to use their starting lineups. "They're back! Both teams' starters are back! This is definitely their strongest lineup! But at the same time, both lineups have weaknesses!" Kenny quickly said, "The Spurs' weakness is Francis's stamina; he still needs to work on Lin!"

"Having already suffered a cramp once, he could easily collapse from exhaustion at any moment! How long Francis can hold on might be the Spurs' Achilles' heel! No matter how many points they won in the third quarter without Francis, their roster will have huge problems without him."

"The team only has two excellent ball-handlers and playmakers, Francis and James. If Francis goes off the court, all the burden will fall on James' shoulders."

"In that case, James must be really exhausted!"

Miller added, "And for the Knicks, their problem is Anthony! With four fouls, Anthony is likely to become the Knicks' main offensive weapon early in the fourth quarter, because he has just rested for a few minutes and his energy is at its peak."

"Let him attack, let him score. At least until he picks up his fifth foul, the Knicks and Don Nelson will definitely let him play like that!"

"As for who will ultimately make the first mistake and who will be able to execute a more targeted and effective tactic, it really depends on who has more stamina and who can withstand the pressure better!"

With the referee's whistle, Lin Tian received the ball from the baseline and dribbled it towards the frontcourt.

Francis stopped pressing the entire field; his physical condition no longer allowed him to continue doing so.

Facing Francis, a ridiculous thought suddenly popped into Lin Tian's mind, a thought he hadn't even realized he had just had.

Damn it, can't I handle Francis myself?

Old Nelson still insisted on setting a screen to create a mismatch for Anthony to bully Francis.

This old man must have been drinking fake alcohol tonight; how come his mind is so twisted?
They insist on making eight turns even when they're trying to be a straight line, just to prove their tactics are effective!
As for why Lin Tian didn't discover this matter and bring it up while he was resting,
Cough cough, Lin Tian also took a sip of Old Nelson's beer tonight and got infected.

The reaction was too slow, wasn't it?

Even Anthony, who was running towards Lin Tian to set a screen, and the rest of the Knicks team, at least for the time being, did not notice anything amiss.

Guys, it looks like you've all caught it.

The screen and play between Lin Tian and Anthony was fleeting.

The two quickly created distance between them, and at the same time, the defenders in front of them changed!

Neither Francis nor James wasted much energy or effort on screens, easily switching on defense and making the screens happen.

"Hmph, I knew you guys would run pick-and-rolls and force Steve to squeeze through screens to wear him down! That's impossible!" Popovich crossed his arms, looking smug, clearly quite satisfied with his strategy of switching on screens.

"Hmph, I knew you'd switch defenses and try to reduce Francis's stamina. That's impossible!" Old Nelson sat on the bench, equally smug.

He had foreseen everything!
"Riley and Jackson are nothing! I'm the real mastermind, the tactical genius!" Popovich and Nelson were both secretly pleased and incredibly proud!
Then?

Then less than 3 seconds later.

When Popovich saw Anthony receive the pass and turn around to back down Francis, and when Don Nelson saw Lin Tian pass the ball and quickly pull James to one side...

The two old men, who were just feeling smug and thought themselves to be brilliant strategists, were completely dumbfounded.

They must have drunk the same fake liquor tonight; what they did was utterly useless and pointless.

"FUXX!" the two cursed simultaneously.

He then shifted his gaze from the field and began scanning the assistant coaches and players around him, wanting to see their expressions.

If any assistant coach dares to laugh, fire him after the game!
If any player dares to laugh, I'll make sure to trade them during the offseason!

I'm so angry!
The two coaches were sulking angrily, worried that their self-righteous tactics, devised while under the influence of fake alcohol, would be discovered and ridiculed. Meanwhile, on the court, Anthony had already turned his back to Francis and moved towards the paint, almost to the three-second zone.

He spun around quickly, pulled up, and made his signature mid-range shot!

The number of fouls clearly did not affect Anthony's mentality. After making the shot steadily, he quickly began to get back on defense.

"Lin, who will Francis guard next, and who will play?" After a few self-criticisms, old Nelson quickly recovered and started to make amends.

There was absolutely no need for Anthony to fight Francis.

Whoever he's guarding against, that's who he'll deal with!

For the Spurs, Bosh hit a mid-range jumper after a pick-and-roll to maintain the team's lead.

When the Knicks were on offense, Popovich still didn't change his matchup. So this time, Lin Tian accelerated directly against Francis, wearing him down while constantly battling with him. After driving all the way to the basket, he suddenly made a low pass to Stoudemire who was following up.

With a loud "Boom!", Stoudemire slammed home a dunk, adding two more points for his team!
Lin Tian then scored on Francis twice more, once by shooting and once by passing to Anthony for an assist on a jump shot.

Popovich only put aside his pride after Lin Tian had beaten Francis three times in a row, plus Anthony once more: "Steve! Go guard Gerald Wallace! Switch, you switch with JR!"

He dared not let Francis play like that anymore. If he continued, not only would the team's defense collapse, but Francis's stamina would also probably give out!
We must keep Francis on the field for as long as possible! We must help him stabilize.

But Popovich wanted to give Francis a break, and the Knicks certainly wouldn't let him have his way!
Lin Tian seized the moment when Francis was about to cross the center line with the ball and suddenly rushed out, putting pressure on the guy who had almost no energy left and applying tight defense.

Francis wanted to pass the ball, but Lin Tian came too fast. He tried his best but couldn't find a teammate to receive the pass. All he could do was protect the ball and slowly advance while looking for support.

Next, the Knicks' defense, which they had worked hard on all season, finally paid off!
The moment Francis finally crossed the center line, Anthony rushed over!
Although James and JR rushed over at the same time as him, the two were there to provide support.

But Anthony still managed to control Francis first, and together with Lin Tian, ​​they locked down his dribbling and passing space and angles.

Then Anthony seized the opportunity and shoved it down.

"Snapped!"

No one could see in an instant whether he hit the ball or his hand with that slap; the speed was too fast!
What everyone is certain of is that the basketball was knocked away, lost control, and then Lin Tian and Francis rushed out one after the other, lunging to grab the basketball.

Lin Tian reacted faster and had better physical fitness. Although Francis and he fell to the ground at the same time, they were much farther away from the basketball. Lin Tian managed to control the basketball without any serious injury.

However, it's not very meaningful.

Because the referee blew the whistle!
"Carmelo Anthony, foul on the hand! Inbounds pass!"

In that split second, the referee finally remembered that this was San Antonio.

I realized that it would be best for both sides to control their actions and the level of intensity in this match.

On the sidelines, old Nelson angrily swore.

It wasn't the referee, it was Anthony!

As a veteran like him, he knew all too well how risky that shot was!
The referee absolutely cannot see clearly, and even other referees, or even the two parties involved, would find it difficult to say whether there was a hand-touching foul on that play.

Everything happened so fast that the whistle was in a state of flux, and it was up to us whether or not to blow it.

Unless you watch the slow-motion replay, no one can really explain what happened with that shot.

However, in the NBA, without the challenge rule in place, referees obviously cannot review the replay before issuing a ruling. (End of Chapter)