Chương 329: Chapter 329: The Jelly Layup
The Spurs attacked.
Wade Dong stood at the corner three-point line, not to chat with the little girl but to keep an eye on Bonner.
At the start of the second quarter, the Spurs brought in their bench players, a surprising move by Popovich.
Perhaps he thought the Spurs' bench could bring him a surprise.
The Suns' current lineup was Wade Dong, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, P.J. Tucker, and Hassan Whiteside.
Manu Ginobili drove and dished to Diaw.
Diaw received the ball, but Carter's defense was fierce, forcing Diaw to turn the ball over.
If there was one team in the league that Carter disliked, it was the Spurs. He had been tripped by a Spurs player, not once but twice, and he had even chased that player on the court.
This season, the Suns had lost a game to the Spurs, which left Carter very frustrated!
So, when Carter came in, he was determined to win this game.
After Diaw's turnover, Carter grabbed the ball and passed it to Wade Dong.
Wade Dong dribbled to the frontcourt, crossed over Mills, drove to the basket, and with his back to the basket, flicked the ball towards the rim.
"What kind of move was that?"
This play left everyone stunned, as they rarely saw such a unique layup.
Instead of shooting towards the basket, the ball spun towards the backboard, leading everyone to think it was a pass or a mistake.
But the ball bounced off the backboard and, with its spin, fell into the basket.
The Jelly Layup!
This move was often used by streetballers but rarely seen in official games due to its high degree of randomness.
"Nice shot!"
Alvin Gentry, however, stood up from the bench and said, "No wonder he's a Chinese player; he's using table tennis moves."
Score: 37:23!!!
The Spurs trailed by 14 points.
Then Mills hit a three-pointer, briefly reducing the deficit.
But Carter seemed to be on fire.
He received three consecutive assists from Wade Dong and made three three-pointers.
Score: 46:28!!!
The Spurs were now trailing by 18 points.
Popovich couldn't sit still and immediately called a timeout.
This time, Popovich first held the tactical board and remained silent for a moment before speaking.
"I've thought of a strategy to defend Wade Dong. You guys, don't go and provoke him on the court. Always agree with him. If Wade Dong scores, you can praise him.
If you really can't praise him, then just stay silent."
This was Popovich's sudden inspiration. In the first quarter, he had instructed his players to foul Wade Dong aggressively, but Wade Dong chose to isolate and score.
Although each foul prevented Wade Dong from scoring, his near-95% free-throw percentage meant that sending him to the free-throw line wouldn't stop him from scoring.
Wade Dong's strength was that the more you tried to provoke him, the more he would dominate!
So... Popovich came up with a 'soothing strategy,' choosing to go along with Wade Dong instead of confronting him head-on.
In the game they won against the Suns, the Spurs players, except for Leonard, all smiled at Wade Dong, and in the fourth quarter, when the Suns trailed by over ten points, Wade Dong played normally without showing any aggression.
It seemed that winning that game against the Suns had made the Spurs overconfident, so they started the game by committing hard fouls on Wade Dong.
However... it was uncertain if this last-minute change of strategy would work.
...
After the timeout, the Spurs inbounded the ball from the baseline. Splitter wanted to pass to Parker.
Suddenly, Wade Dong rushed in and stole the ball!
Splitter saw Wade Dong dribbling towards the basket and quickly positioned himself under the basket, intending to draw an offensive foul.
When Wade Dong was one step away from Splitter, he bounced the ball and jumped, lifting himself into the air like a helicopter!
"Bang!!!"
Wade Dong posterized Splitter with a powerful dunk.
"Damn..."
Seeing this play, Popovich couldn't help but curse.
Why couldn't Wade Dong show some respect? He had just told his players to be nice to Wade Dong, and now Wade Dong did this?
Of course, Wade Dong didn't know about Popovich's instructions during the timeout.
If he had known, he might have given Splitter some face and chosen a regular layup instead of such a violent dunk.
...
Because of this play, Popovich's words during the timeout were forgotten by the players.
Both teams were playing with real fire...
The defensive intensity was turned up!
Leonard kept isolating and scoring, and the Spurs' role players also stepped up, with Mills, Bonner, and Diaw all hitting three-pointers.
The second quarter ended.
Score: 67:62!!!
The Spurs trailed the Suns by only 5 points.
Both teams were playing with high intensity, and their defense was like iron buckets. Despite this, both teams had scored over 60 points in the first half, indicating their high shooting percentages.
Judging by the score, one might think the Suns and the Spurs were having an offensive shootout.
...
In the Suns' locker room, Alvin Gentry reviewed the first half's stats and said, "Some of our players still can't adapt to the Spurs' defensive intensity. In the second half, besides Dong Ge, you, Little Handsome, must also step up and score."
"Okay..."
Wade Dong had no objections to this tactical arrangement.
Gentry was right; although Wade Dong played the point guard position, he had been carrying most of the offensive load in the first half.
So, in the first half, Wade Dong had scored 42 points, while the rest of the Suns players combined for only 25 points.
After Wade Dong's poster dunk on Splitter, the Spurs' comeback was too strong... If it weren't for their 20-point lead, the Suns might have been trailing the Spurs at halftime.
In the Spurs' locker room, Popovich was very emotional.
"You guys played great in the first half. Keep up the intensity!"
"We played like this when we beat the Suns last time. As long as we maintain this, we can beat the Suns again."
...
The second half began.
The Spurs played team basketball and preferred a slow-paced game.
In the first half, the Suns' fast-paced style had been disrupted by the Spurs, and if it weren't for Wade Dong's 42 points, the Suns might have lost to the Spurs.
Before the game, Gentry had specifically instructed that if the other players couldn't get going, they should let Wade Dong take over.
The teammates should focus on defense, and the offense should be left to Wade Dong alone!
After all, the Suns had Durant and Thompson, and Carter was also playing well. The Spurs couldn't possibly have five players surrounding Wade Dong to defend him.
The Suns attacked.
Wade Dong stood at the top of the arc and passed to Durant, who immediately passed it back to Wade Dong.
"Swoosh!!!"
Wade Dong raised his hand and made a three-pointer, the ball swishing through the net.
Score: 70:62!!!
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