章節 239: Chapter 239: Three Shots, Three Makes
The second half began.
The Suns' lineup: Wade Dong, Curry, McGrady, Green, and Gortat.
The Clippers' lineup: Paul, Griffin, Jordan, Crawford, and Barnes.
Wade Dong had already scored 27 points in the first half, and he was on his way to scoring 50+ points in this game.
So Coach Tyronn Lue adjusted his tactics again. After all, Paul was the team's star player, and they needed him to step up in the playoffs. He put Barnes on the court at the start of the third quarter because Barnes held a grudge against Wade Dong.
Tucker's defense against Griffin had taught Coach Lue a lesson.
Playing tough defense didn't have any drawbacks, even if it resulted in fouls. So he wanted to recreate the scene from the second quarter where Tucker defended Griffin, but this time against Wade Dong.
If they could scare Wade Dong or mess up his mindset... then his shooting and passing decisions would surely be affected.
...
The third quarter began.
Right from the start, Paul relied on his exceptional individual ability and scored 7 points in three consecutive possessions.
On the Suns' side, they missed two shots.
The score was now 57:56!!!
The difference was narrowed down to just one point.
The Suns' offense.
Wade Dong prepared to play one-on-one, facing Barnes' defense. Wade Dong faked a move, then stepped back beyond the three-point line.
He pulled up for a jump shot!
Barnes rushed forward.
Slap!!!
Barnes slapped Wade Dong's arm, causing Wade Dong to lose his balance and fall backward.
This was a very aggressive foul, clearly targeting Wade Dong.
"Damn it!"
Green, seeing this, immediately rushed forward and pushed Barnes.
Barnes didn't back down and wanted to retaliate against Green, but they were quickly pulled apart by their teammates.
Since they were separated quickly, the referee just glanced at them and didn't call a technical foul on Barnes or Green.
Wade Dong stood up, glanced at Barnes, and then calmly walked to the free-throw line.
Just that glance made Barnes' heart pound.
Coach Lue's plan was to use Barnes' aggressive defense to make Wade Dong hesitant, but what he didn't expect was that Barnes became timid because of Wade Dong's glance.
Swish!!!
Swish!!!
After making both free throws, Wade Dong pointed at Barnes and said, "Fouls are the stupidest thing you can do against me!"
After saying this, Wade Dong closed his eyes and threw the ball towards the basket.
Swish!!!
He made all three free throws, and the last one was with his eyes closed.
Barnes: (#▼ヘ▼#)
Wade Dong had a 93.7% free-throw percentage in the regular season, the best in the entire league.
This year, the Suns had two players in the 180 Club: Nash and Wade Dong. If you foul Wade Dong when he's shooting a three-pointer, who knows what Barnes was thinking.
The score was now 60:56!!!
Barnes' foul, which was more of a foul on the person than the ball, had fired up the Suns.
Paul attacked again.
He made two spin moves but couldn't shake off Curry.
With 3 seconds left on the shot clock, Paul forced a shot, but it missed.
Gortat grabbed the rebound and passed it to Wade Dong.
Wade Dong dribbled the ball and smirked at Barnes, "Can you guard me?"
After saying this, he crossed his left foot to the right and broke through Barnes' left side. Barnes immediately shifted to the left, but Wade Dong shook the ball back with a flick of his wrist.
This was a streetball move!
However, Barnes was still off-balance and unconsciously took two steps back.
Swish!!!
Wade Dong looked at Barnes, but the ball flew towards the basket and swished through the net.
"Wow~~~"
The fans immediately cheered.
...
Jack and Helen were a couple who had also come to the US Airways Center to watch the Suns play the Clippers.
Jack was a loyal Suns fan who had been watching since the Barkley era. Last year, when the Suns won the championship, Jack got drunk for three days.
"Wade Dong's dunk is so cool!"
"Wade Dong's three-pointer is so cool!"
"Wade Dong's breakthrough is so cool!"
"Wade Dong's block is so cool!"
"Barnes can't defend Wade Dong!"
"Did you see that? Barnes was faked out!"
All night, Jack kept talking non-stop in Helen's ear. He was now a die-hard fan of Wade Dong.
Helen didn't understand basketball, but she admitted that Jack was right.
Because... Wade Dong's face was so handsome that it captivated her.
...
Both teams' defensive moves were getting bigger.
With 7 minutes left in the second quarter, Green picked up his fifth personal foul and was substituted.
On the Clippers' side, Jordan had 3 fouls, Paul had 3 fouls, Barnes had 4 fouls, and Griffin had 2 fouls.
Except for Green and Tucker, the Suns' other players had a manageable number of fouls, and Wade Dong only had 1 foul.
Whiteside came on the court, followed by McGrady and Nash.
Wade Dong and Thompson remained on the court, and Coach Gentry didn't plan to let Wade Dong rest in this game.
With 27 seconds left in the second quarter, the Suns had their last possession. Barnes already had 5 fouls, all of them against Wade Dong, and he had also sent Wade Dong to the free-throw line 5 times, giving up 12 points.
Barnes was defending Wade Dong at the three-point line, but Wade Dong faked him out and flew past him, and Barnes even lunged towards Wade Dong.
"Do you like committing fouls?"
Wade Dong smirked and leaned towards Barnes, then took an awkward shot.
Slap!!!
The ball hit the backboard and bounced into the basket.
"Oh no~"
Even Wade Dong was surprised that the ball went in, and he didn't use the 'Lucky Potion.' How did the ball go in?
Beep!!!
The referee's whistle sounded, and Barnes picked up his sixth personal foul.
Coach Tyronn Lue was so angry that his gums were itching, but he didn't go to argue with the referee. The previous play was intentional on Wade Dong's part, but Barnes' foul was too obvious.
Swish!!!
After making the free throw, Wade Dong had scored 47 points in three quarters, including 20 points in the third quarter. Of course, 13 of those points came from free throws.
"Hey~ Barnes!"
As Barnes walked off the court, Wade Dong called out to him and taunted, "I made all three of my shots in the third quarter, scoring 20 points."
"Hmph~~~"
Barnes responded with a hmph and sat down on the bench.
In the third quarter, Wade Dong had six shots that were fouled by Barnes, including the last 3+1, but the other five missed shots weren't counted as shot attempts.
So Wade Dong made all three of his shots in the third quarter but scored 20 points.
Paul missed his shot, and the third quarter ended.
The score was 89:78!!!
The Suns were now leading the Clippers by 11 points.
Coach Tyronn Lue's tactics didn't have the desired effect.
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