Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Hill's Diving Save
After being scored on twice by Duncan, Wade Dong was not about to back down.
Facing Leonard's defense again, Wade Dong didn't try any fancy dribbling. He went straight for a fadeaway jumper.
"Jordan??"
Hill exclaimed in shock when he saw Wade Dong's move.
Hill, once dubbed the "Next Jordan," had encountered Jordan in his prime years and was very familiar with Jordan's signature fadeaway jumper.
Every player has their own shooting habits.
Wade Dong's previous shot, his movements, shooting angle, and timing were identical to Jordan's.
In fact, Jordan's fadeaway was hard to defend against because of his incredible athleticism, hang time, and core strength. Wade Dong was no different in these aspects.
So this shot made Hill feel like he was playing alongside Jordan.
"Swish!!!"
The ball went straight through the net, making the score 2:4.
Wade Dong scored the Suns' first points of the game.
Li Jiajia sat on the sidelines, quietly watching Wade Dong. This shot was beautiful, but unlike the fans who were cheering wildly, Li Jiajia just had a look of joy in her eyes.
The game continued minute by minute.
Wade Dong and Hill effectively contained Leonard and Parker on the perimeter, but Duncan was dominating in the paint.
Gortat had long lost the desire to tell jokes to Duncan.
Gentry replaced Morris with Lopez to help Gortat defend Duncan, but it had little effect.
Duncan not only dominated on offense but also kept grabbing rebounds over Gortat on defense.
Fortunately, Wade Dong suddenly changed his style, using an almost unstoppable Jordan-like fadeaway jumper, which Leonard found hard to adapt to. Thus, the Suns kept the score close.
At halftime, the score was 51:52.
The Suns trailed by one point. Duncan had scored a game-high 29 points in the first half, with Wade Dong close behind at 23 points, the second-highest scorer. However, Duncan also had 11 rebounds.
During the halftime break, the cheerleaders performed, and the players returned to the locker room.
Li Jiajia wasn't interested in the cheerleaders with their big chests and butts. She took out her study materials and started writing and drawing while Wade Dong headed to the players' tunnel.
...
In the Suns' locker room, Gentry said, "Don't focus all your defensive attention on Duncan. Since the Spurs want to play offense with us, let's play offense."
"As long as we score more points than the Spurs, the victory will still be ours."
After saying this, Gentry looked at Wade Dong, "The offensive responsibility in the second half is on you."
"Got it!"
Wade Dong nodded.
In this game, Iverson's performance was average. He played 11 minutes in the first half and scored only 3 points.
Hill asked, "Wade Dong, I feel like your fadeaway jumper today is exactly like Jordan's. When did you learn it?"
"Do I need to learn it?"
Wade Dong smiled, "Can't I just see it once and do it?"
Hill: "..."
Nash also asked, "So, your crossovers, passes, and footwork under the basket in that game against the Rockets, you just saw them once and learned them?"
The crossover referred to Iverson's move, the passing to Nash's style, and the footwork under the basket to Hakeem Olajuwon's. Nash and Iverson had long been curious. Every time Wade Dong organized the offense, Nash saw his own shadow, and Iverson felt the same way. But when Wade Dong made a crossover move, Iverson also saw his own shadow.
"Yes."
Wade Dong nodded with a smile. After all, he had the system, and these moves were indeed something he could learn just by seeing them once, or even without seeing them at all.
Nash sighed, "Genius!!!"
"So everyone, have confidence in the game."
Gentry said, "With a genius like Wade Dong, we must win the championship!"
"Let's go!!!"
Gentry then discussed the tactics for the second half, and the game was about to start.
...
In the second half, Duncan continued his efficient offense.
The Suns no longer double-teamed Duncan. The Spurs had already opened up their offense with Duncan, and they couldn't let other players open up as well, or the Spurs would be unstoppable.
Duncan scored, and Wade Dong responded in kind.
When Wade Dong faced double-teams, Nash would coordinate with his teammates to execute the "Elevator Door Tactic," making it difficult for the Spurs to defend.
With 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the score was 103:101.
The Suns led by 2 points. At this point, Duncan had scored 47 points, and Wade Dong had 41 points.
In the final minutes of the game, the Suns' lineup was Wade Dong, Hill, Gortat, Frye, and Nash.
The Spurs' lineup was Duncan, Leonard, Parker, Ginobili, and Jefferson.
Wade Dong hadn't used any stamina pills. After all, he had maxed out his stamina talent, and unless he played at high intensity for the full 48 minutes, his stamina wouldn't reach its limit.
But not every player was a stamina monster like Wade Dong.
For example, Hill's shooting was affected by fatigue, and he missed two consecutive mid-range shots in the fourth quarter.
However, Hill had to take on more defensive responsibilities.
"Defense! Defense! Defense!"
When the Spurs were on offense, the fans would chant this in unison.
"MVP! MVP! MVP!"
When Wade Dong had the ball, the fans would chant "MVP" in unison.
The game had reached a critical point.
With 2 minutes and 46 seconds left in the game!
Parker drove past Nash's defense with his speed, reminiscent of a French race car. Nash found it difficult to defend against Parker. Parker drove to the basket and went for his signature floater.
But just as the ball left his fingertips, Wade Dong rushed in from the side.
Parker felt like he was enveloped in a shadow, seeing only Wade Dong leap high and swat Parker's shot away with one hand.
"Wow!!!"
The fans erupted in cheers.
Seeing the ball about to go out of bounds, Hill, who was closest to the ball, dove to save it, passing it to Frye. However, Hill also fell heavily into the stands.
"!!!"
The arena fell silent for a moment, all eyes on Hill, worried that he might be injured from the fall.
Fortunately, Hill quickly got up from the stands and returned to the court.
"Hill! Hill! Hill!"
The fans chanted Hill's name again, moved by his effort.
An old veteran, risking injury to save the ball, showed the spirit of a champion.
"One more score, and we can take the lead."
Nash dribbled the ball, signaling his teammates to start moving. The score was 109:110, with the Suns trailing by one point.
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