Chương 238: Chapter 238: Winning the Game in One Go
"Brother Dong..."
Whiteside, after coming on the court, was so excited that he rubbed his hands together.
"Don't make that sleazy face."
Wade Dong glared at Whiteside and asked, "Can you just focus on protecting the ball? Can you do that?"
"I can!!!"
Whiteside nodded vigorously.
Swish!!!
Griffin made his first free throw.
On the second free throw, after Griffin's shot, Whiteside positioned himself well, and when the ball bounced off the rim, Whiteside jumped up and grabbed the rebound.
The reason Wade Dong prevented Tucker from coming on the court earlier was because Tucker also had two fouls.
Coach Gentry was cautious in his player usage. Although Whiteside had performed well, it was during garbage time, which didn't prove his worth. Varick was currently averaging 3.2 assists per game, but this didn't prove that Varick had the ability to be Nash or Curry's backup.
So at this moment, Coach Gentry hadn't considered putting Whiteside on the court.
Whiteside had signed a seven-year contract with the Suns.
He had always wanted a chance to prove himself and repay the Suns for their trust in him.
After grabbing the rebound, Whiteside passed the ball to Nash, who dribbled to the frontcourt and immediately found Wade Dong .
Griffin was tightly guarding Wade Dong .
Wade Dong faked a back-turn, spun, and jumped for a jump shot!
Swish!!!
The seamless move resulted in a swish.
Griffin's expression was painful. He had tried his best to defend Wade Dong , but he just couldn't stop him.
Of course, there were times when Wade Dong didn't perform well, but unfortunately, Griffin didn't take advantage of those moments.
For instance, Wade Dong once had a game in the regular season where he made 11 out of 27 shots, but such situations were rare.
After Wade Dong scored, Paul stood up from the bench and substituted Billups.
...
The game continued.
As soon as Paul came on the court, the Clippers' pace quickened, and Griffin and Jordan completed an alley-oop with Paul's assist.
However, Wade Dong started his one-on-one mode, and with Nash's outside threat, Wade Dong's scoring was like a fish in water.
Five minutes into the second quarter.
Curry replaced Nash, Gortat replaced Frye, and Tucker replaced Whiteside.
Whiteside played for four minutes and grabbed 4 rebounds and 1 block, which was a good performance.
After coming off the court, Coach Gentry patted Whiteside on the shoulder and encouraged him, "You played well, keep it up, and become the person you want to be."
"What if I fail?"
Whiteside looked at Coach Gentry with expectant eyes, hoping for more encouraging words.
"It's okay to fail."
Coach Gentry paused and said, "At least you'll like the hard-working version of yourself."
Whiteside, "..."
Whiteside didn't want to hear this; he wanted to hear the coach say that hard work wouldn't lead to failure. If he had heard that, he would have told the coach that he wanted to become Brother Dong, but why was Coach Gentry's chicken soup getting more and more toxic?
...
The Clippers put their full starting lineup on the court.
The current lineup on the court for the Suns was: Wade Dong, Curry, Gortat, Tucker, and Thompson.
This lineup had maximum offense and defense, but it was essential to have Wade Dong as the centerpiece. If Wade Dong was replaced, the team would instantly become a standard playoff team.
Griffin received the ball in the paint, pushed Tucker's defense aside, and jumped for a powerful dunk!
Bang!!!
The score was now 44:42!!!
The Clippers were about to catch up.
Wade Dong shouted at Tucker, "How the hell are you defending?"
"Brother Dong, I..."
Tucker hesitated and said, "I already have two fouls."
"You're not defending because of two fouls?!"
Wade Dong glared at Tucker and then said, "If you foul out tonight, I'll buy you a drink later!"
The Suns had too many players to use. Green had already picked up three fouls at the start of the second quarter, but now, halfway through the quarter, Tucker was still holding back on defense, which made Wade Dong furious.
When Coach Gentry put Tucker on the court, Wade Dong stopped him to protect him, but if he didn't defend because he was afraid of fouling, then don't blame Brother Dong for scolding him.
Wade Dong's shout was loud enough for the fans in the arena to hear.
Coach Gentry opened his thermos, took a sip of his goji berry water, and ignored the whole situation!
...
Thompson made a three-pointer with Wade Dong's assist.
Paul dribbled past Curry and prepared to make a mid-range shot to finish the offense, but Wade Dong quickly came to help defend, forcing Paul to pass the ball to Griffin.
Griffin used the same move to push Tucker aside and went for a powerful dunk!
At this moment, Tucker also jumped up and slapped the ball, hitting Griffin's arm in the process.
Beep!!!
Griffin fell to the ground, and the referee blew the whistle, indicating a foul by Tucker.
Griffin made one of his two free throws.
The score was now 47:43!!!
Wade Dong dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, praising Tucker, "Well done! That's the kind of toughness I want to see on defense!"
Tucker's aggressive defense also made Griffin suddenly uncomfortable, and his shooting became less decisive.
Beep!!!
As the referee blew the whistle, the first half ended.
The Suns led the Clippers by 8 points, 57:49!!!
In the first half, Wade Dong made 11 out of 17 shots and 4 out of 4 free throws, scoring 27 points.
Griffin also played well, making 6 out of 16 shots and 7 out of 13 free throws, scoring 19 points. Tucker also picked up his fifth foul.
Coach Tyronn Lue was almost furious. The Suns' style of play was too shameless. Tucker wasn't a bench player, and Coach Gentry didn't substitute him out even after four fouls. Tucker's defensive moves were big, which greatly interfered with Griffin's shooting.
...
In the Suns' locker room.
Coach Gentry was explaining the second-half tactics to the players, while Coach Kerr provided some supplementary instructions.
Wade Dong was looking through the first-half technical statistics.
After Coach Gentry finished speaking, all the players looked at Wade Dong, especially Whiteside and Tucker, who were both expecting Wade Dong's praise.
According to the usual practice, Coach Gentry would say a few words after speaking.
"Hmm..."
Wade Dong continued to look at the technical statistics, "Tucker and Whiteside played well, let's give them some applause."
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
Sparse applause... Curry and McGrady were also joking with Tucker.
Tucker had picked up five fouls in the first half, but it was precisely because of this aggressive defense that Griffin became hesitant.
"It's not like we're playing like girls; defense should be tough."
Wade Dong said with a smile. The Suns had plenty of players to use, and even if anyone other than Wade Dong fouled out, it wouldn't cause trouble for the team.
Halftime was almost over.
Wade Dong stood up and said, "Brothers, let's win this game in one go."
"Go, go, go!"
All the Suns players left the locker room and walked towards the court with great confidence.
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