Chapitre 61: Chapter 61: Déjà Vu (Bonus Chapter)
The first quarter ended.
30:33!
The Clippers trailed the Suns by three points.
Allen Iverson played the entire quarter, making 4 out of 7 shots and scoring 11 points. Hill scored 7 points, Nash scored 7 points, Gortat scored 5 points, and Frye scored 3 points. All of the Suns' starting five had scored.
"Good job, Old Go," Wade Dong patted Gortat on the shoulder. "Defending Griffin must be much easier than defending your brother Dong."
"Yes, it is..." Gortat nodded while wiping his sweat.
During the recent team practice games, Gortat had been matched up against Wade Dong. Although Wade Dong was imitating Griffin's style, he was actually harder to defend than Griffin. So, when Gortat first faced Griffin in the game, he felt a bit disoriented and found the defensive pressure much lighter, which took some getting used to.
"Brother Dong, do you have a split personality?" Varick muttered. "You're like a completely different person on and off the court."
"What are you talking about, Brother Dong?" Wade Dong playfully pretended to hit Varick, scaring him away.
The Suns players were in high spirits but also quite relaxed. They believed the team would definitely win this game.
...
The second quarter began.
Nash and Iverson were both resting on the bench, but the Suns' bench players were defending like mad dogs, making it difficult for the Clippers.
Both teams played for two minutes without scoring a single point.
Two and a half minutes into the second quarter, Nash returned to the court and led the bench players on three consecutive fast breaks, extending the lead to nine points.
Thibodeau couldn't sit still and immediately called a timeout. After the timeout, Paul and Griffin returned to the court, and the Suns also switched to their starting lineup.
The Clippers were younger and more energetic than the Suns, but the Suns had more experience. Nash had been to the Western Conference Finals many times, and Iverson had once led his team to the NBA Finals alone.
The Suns found the Clippers' speed and agility challenging.
At the same time, the Clippers struggled with Nash's pinpoint passing and Iverson's unstoppable crossovers.
At halftime, the score was 56:63!
The Clippers still trailed the Suns by seven points.
In the Clippers' locker room, Thibodeau said, "In the first half, our pressure wasn't strong enough. In the second half, we need to increase our offensive pressure. Hill, Nash, and Iverson are all veterans, and their stamina is the Suns' biggest weakness. So, in the second half, we must play with pace and take control of the game."
Thibodeau was right. In the Suns' locker room, Gentry was analyzing the first half, but Iverson, Nash, and Hill were all resting and conserving their energy.
The intensity of the first half hadn't pushed them to their limits, but the second half was more crucial. Nash and Iverson had to take on more offensive responsibilities.
"In the second half, Billups, you will be assigned to defend Iverson one-on-one," Thibodeau continued with his tactics. "Fans only remember me being crossed over by Iverson, but you should know that when I defended Iverson back then, he had a hard time. Billups, you need to defend Iverson with the same spirit I had."
"Got it, Coach," Billups agreed.
Veterans like Billups didn't get much playing time during the regular season. Their true value was shown in the playoffs.
"Come on, kids," Thibodeau encouraged his players. "We won't accept losing to the Suns without Wade Dong on our home court."
"And not even when Wade Dong returns!" Thibodeau added.
...
The second half began.
Billups and Paul both entered the game. This was Thibodeau's strategy. The Suns had a dual point guard lineup with Nash and Iverson, so he countered with his own dual point guard lineup.
Iverson received the ball at the three-point corner, and Billups came to defend him.
Iverson did a crossover, then another crossover, and prepared to drive to the right. However, Billups kept up with Iverson's movements.
Just then, Iverson pulled the ball back from the same side, stepped back, and made a fadeaway jumper.
Billups desperately tried to block Iverson...
"Swish!!!"
The ball went straight through the net.
Billups lost his balance and fell to the ground, sliding forward and ending up right at Iverson's feet.
Iverson seemed not to notice Billups and stepped right over him, running back to the other end of the court.
This move felt like déjà vu!
Thibodeau's face turned pale with anger as he shouted, "Billups, what are you doing?!!!"
In reality, every player who tries their best to defend deserves respect. Billups fell because of his defensive effort. As a coach, Thibodeau shouldn't blame Billups at this moment, but he couldn't help it because this move brought back unpleasant memories.
"Wow!!!" Wade Dong pretended to be shot, clutching his chest and dramatically falling to the ground.
This was Iverson's magic. The whole world knew his offensive style, but they just couldn't stop him.
After that, Nash executed an elevator door play with Gortat and Frye, resulting in an open three-pointer that went in.
Seeing his teammates struggling, Paul took on the offensive responsibility. This was also a showdown between the new and old point guards, Nash and Paul.
From 2004 to 2010, Nash was undoubtedly the league's top point guard. However, in 2008, Paul was at his peak, finishing second in the regular season MVP voting. Fans hyped him up as if he were about to dethrone the two-time MVP Nash and become the league's top point guard.
Of course, compared to Nash, Paul had better physical attributes. So, Nash found it difficult to defend Paul. Many times, after Paul blew past Nash, a teammate had to come over to help, leaving open shots for Jordan and Griffin to score.
However, Nash and his teammates' pick-and-roll plays also gave the Clippers a hard time.
Both teams engaged in a high-scoring battle, and by the end of the third quarter, the score was 85:97! The Clippers trailed the Suns by 12 points...
During the timeout, Gentry arranged the tactics for the fourth quarter.
Wade Dong stood behind Iverson, casually draping his arms over Iverson's shoulders, and listened attentively.
"Coach," Iverson said when he heard Gentry tell him to rest for a few minutes, "I don't want to rest!"
Gentry said, "You've barely rested for the first three quarters. Rest for a few minutes in the fourth quarter before coming back on."
"I don't need to. I'm not tired," Iverson insisted. "In the past, I could play the whole game, and I can do it now too."
Gentry was still hesitant. He was worried that if the Clippers closed the gap in the final minutes and Iverson ran out of energy, the situation would be dire.
Iverson looked at Gentry with determination. "This is my last playoff run. I don't want any regrets."
"Alright!" Gentry agreed. "Iverson, Dudley, Lopez, Frye, Morris, you five will start the fourth quarter."
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone