Capítulo 28: Chapter 28: The Battle of Deification
Popovich had no choice but to bring back Duncan and Parker, who had not rested for long.
After Duncan came on, Wade Dong attacked the basket again. Facing Duncan's defense, Wade Dong made a fake move, and Duncan jumped!
Duncan wouldn't normally be so easily fooled, but today, Wade Dong had been attacking the basket relentlessly without any fake moves. This made Duncan careless.
"Now is the time."
Wade Dong smirked, leaned into Duncan, and exaggeratedly threw the ball away, accompanied by a loud shout, "Ah!!!"
"Foul! Foul!"
Wade Dong shouted at the referee after the ball was out, indicating that Duncan had committed a foul.
"Beep!"
The referee blew the whistle and made a few gestures to the scorer's table, indicating a foul on white number 21, with two free throws awarded.
"You..."
Duncan looked at Wade Dong in disbelief, "Too cunning!"
"Damn!"
Popovich angrily threw the clipboard to the ground!
Why did Wade Dong deliberately target Duncan for a foul? Because Duncan already had two fouls, and with this one, he had three fouls in less than two quarters, all committed against Wade Dong.
After Wade Dong made both free throws, Popovich signaled for a substitution, and Duncan, who had been on the court for less than twenty seconds, was taken off again.
Without Duncan, the Suns' pressure was greatly reduced. Although Popovich brought Duncan back for the last three minutes of the second quarter, at halftime, the score was 46:51!
The Suns led by five points entering the second half!
Wade Dong had scored 39 points, just 7 points less than the entire Spurs team.
...
The second half began, and the Spurs intensified their offense.
Parker, Duncan, and Leonard scored consecutively, and the Spurs took the lead. Gentry had no choice but to call a timeout.
After the timeout, Hill scored two consecutive baskets, and Frye made a three-pointer, somewhat relieving the pressure on Wade Dong's offense. However, the Suns still struggled against the Spurs' counterattack.
As the third quarter was about to end, the Suns were down by three points.
Wade Dong's constant attacks on the basket consumed a lot of his energy, and Popovich noticed this.
However, he was still shocked because Wade Dong had not rested for a single minute, using the most energy-consuming style of play. Even the NBA's top athletes rarely did this.
Towards the end of the third quarter, due to his energy consumption, Wade Dong chose to use Scola's footwork to attack Duncan twice. However, Duncan had watched Wade Dong's game footage and knew about his Scola footwork, so these two attacks were ineffective.
79:72!
The Suns trailed by seven points entering the fourth quarter.
"Wade Dong, you should rest for a while."
During the break, Gentry said, "After all, we're facing the top team in the West, the Spurs. Don't push yourself too hard."
Wade Dong shook his head, "Coach, I said I would lead the team to the playoffs. We can't lose any of these six games, so I can't rest."
"Alright!"
Gentry was moved by Wade Dong's determination.
The teammates, seeing Wade Dong's resolve, clenched their fists, inspired by him, and shouted, "Let's win the game!"
"Wade Dong's energy is almost at its limit."
Popovich said to his players, "Just play normally. We will definitely win this game."
...
The fourth quarter began, and the Spurs' starters were resting again. However, when the Spurs players saw the Suns players, they noticed a fierce determination in their eyes!
"What are they planning?"
The Spurs players were startled, "It's just a game, why do they look like they want to kill us!"
The Spurs attacked!
Ginobili dribbled to the front, and Dudley, as if injected with adrenaline, used a deadly crossover on Ginobili!
Ginobili's dribbling rhythm was disrupted, and Dudley seized the opportunity to steal the ball from Ginobili's hands, shouting, "Wade Dong!"
Wade Dong had already rushed to the frontcourt, and the Spurs players immediately retreated, but their speed was no match for Wade Dong's.
Dudley used all his strength to throw the ball to the frontcourt, and Wade Dong caught it, took a step from the free-throw line, and jumped, holding the ball with both hands and making a windmill dunk in the air.
"Boom!!!"
The ball was slammed into the basket!
"Damn!!!"
The Suns' bench erupted, shouting and cheering as if they were about to rush onto the court.
The home crowd was silent, stunned by the beautiful dunk. But it was Wade Dong from the Suns who made the dunk, not a Spurs player.
The Suns were already fired up, and this dunk further boosted the team's morale.
Offense relies on skill, defense relies on attitude!
The Suns were not a team known for their defense, but when every player started defending like mad dogs, the Spurs players felt suffocating pressure.
79:74...
79:76...
81:79...
81:81...
81:84...
As Wade Dong hit another three-pointer, the Suns took a three-point lead.
Popovich had no choice but to bring Duncan and Parker back onto the court, but the Suns' momentum had already been established.
Even with Duncan and Parker back on the court!
Even with Leonard effectively limiting Wade Dong's three-pointers!
Even with Duncan's ironclad defense in the paint!
The score continued to be pulled away by the Suns... A Spurs team that was supposed to be a lock for the playoffs faced a Suns team fighting for their playoff lives with everything they had, and the Spurs' momentum was completely crushed.
"Beep!!!"
With the final whistle,
93:102!
The Suns defeated the Spurs.
Wade Dong's stats for the game: 61 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.
And Wade Dong played the full 48 minutes without a single minute of rest.
...
After the game, Yu Jia said, "The Suns won a great victory, and Wade Dong played a crucial role. But we must not overlook the other Suns players, especially in the fourth quarter. Every rebound was fiercely contested, Hill's dives for loose balls, and Dudley's deadly crossovers. I saw the spirit of a championship team in them."
Coach Zhang nodded, "This was Wade Dong's battle of deification! After this game, Wade Dong has shown the potential of a superstar."
"Not just potential,"
Yu Jia said, "In terms of this game alone, I think even if you replaced Wade Dong with Kobe, Kobe couldn't have done better than Wade Dong."
"I can't agree with that..."
Coach Zhang frowned, "Kobe is one of the greatest players in history."
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