All-round Athlete

Chapter 796: The Moment of Victory

Westbrook had a depressed expression on his face. In the previous round of competition, he failed to break through Zhang Guan three times, while Zhang Guan succeeded in scoring two points with one breakthrough. Judging from the results, in this round of competition, Westbrook lost to Zhang Guan.

"Damn it!" Westbrook's face was full of anger. Being passed by Zhang Guan was the next best thing. The key is that Zhang Guan also used a streetball move to surpass others. This is equivalent to showing Westbrook's face fiercely. NBA guards will be unhappy when their opponents show off their catches, let alone the young and energetic Westbrook.

"I originally thought that Zhang Guan only relied on speed and strength to make breakthroughs, but I didn't expect that he also knew the techniques of breakthroughs! Why? It's nothing more than my speed and strength, but what skills can still blow me up! I don't accept it!" A trace of unwillingness flickered in Westbrook's eyes.

Westbrook tried to break through again. He wanted to return a ball, but was still hindered by Zhang Guan. In desperation, Westbrook passed the ball to Durant. Durant made a jumper, but the basketball missed the basket.

"Didn't make a shot, Durant has missed the ball three times in a row! It seems that Durant's touch is relatively average during this period of time!"

"If Durant's shooting percentage was better, it wouldn't have reached the fifth overtime at all."

"I think Durant's shooting movements are a little deformed, and it should be affected by lack of physical fitness."

"Should the old coach K replace Durant and take a rest."

"It is estimated that the U.S. team is afraid to replace Durant now. The U.S. team needs a leader on the field. If Billups is still there, he may be able to replace Durant as the leader, but now Billups and Odo Mudu's physical strength has been exhausted, so he can only rely on Durant!"

"What about the rest of the American team? Granger, Iguodala, and Rose are also the bosses of their respective teams, right?"

"Iguodala and Granger cannot be regarded as qualified leaders, otherwise their team's record would be more than that. As for Rose, he is still too young to lead the US team at this critical moment."

On the court, Zhang Guan broke through again with the ball, and it was still the difficult Sam Gould who excelled.

"It's Sam Gold again! Westbrook and Rose were played by Zhang Guan again. Now it is 138 to 134. The Chinese team leads by 4 points. This is a relatively safe score."

Durant's expression was dignified. He knew that he had to score the next goal, otherwise, the Chinese team was likely to open up a six-point lead. Overtime is no better than regular time, and a six-point lead in overtime is much harder to catch than six points in regular time.

"With my current touch, I shouldn't continue to shoot." Durant thought in his mind. If it was in a normal game, he might still choose to shoot to find his touch, but the importance of today's game is self-evident, which makes him not dare to be sloppy in every decision.

This time, Durant chose to break through.

Sudden consumption of more physical energy is a burden for Durant now, but the shooting percentage of breakthroughs is obviously higher. It is really not enough to make a foul, and he can score two points with free throws.

"Durant, break through forcibly! The goal is here, two points!"

I saw Durant throwing off his pace, passing between the two defensive players in the blink of an eye, and then facing Zhang Zhaoxu, who is 2.21 meters tall, with a pull action, he put the ball into the basket.

"As expected of Durant, facing the strict defense of the Chinese team, he can still break through to the basket and complete a layup! Huh? What happened to Durant?"

Surprised shouts erupted from the surrounding audience. Durant landed on the ground after a layup, but instead of running, he grinned and limped.

"Durant is injured!"

The players of the US team immediately gathered around, and the referee also terminated the game.

"Leg cramps!" Durant said through gritted teeth.

...

Leg cramps during a game can be big or small. Some people are fine with a few movements, while others may be sore for several days. However, for a physically strong player like Durant, getting leg cramps really shows that the physical exertion is too great.

Leg cramps are actually not a serious problem. We normal people also have leg cramps. Generally, calcium supplementation is enough. But for athletes, if the leg cramps caused by excessive physical exertion are not rested, the next step is likely to cause muscle strain. This is a much more serious injury than leg cramps, even in the NBA , There are no longer a few players who have sunk because of a small muscle strain.

For example, LeBron James, after leg cramps, he often chooses to go off the field to rest directly, or even exit the field for inspection, the purpose is to prevent muscle strain. Today's Durant, after suffering leg cramps, obviously can't continue to stay on the court. Even if he doesn't leave the court immediately for inspection, it is impossible for him to continue the game.

The US team replaced Durant and replaced Durant by Rudy Gay.

As the leader of the team, Durant's dismissal was a major blow to the US team, and the five people on the court seemed to have lost their backbone for a while. For example, Iguodala, he is indeed a very good player, but he is not suitable to be the leader of a team; another example is Rose, he wants to take on the important task of leader, but he does not have that kind of prestige when he is young. Can convince others.

Durant is also a restriction on Westbrook on the court, so that Westbrook will not shoot blindly. After all, when he was in the Thunder, Durant was the leader and Westbrook was the second leader, so when it came to Mengjiu In the team, as long as Durant is on the court, Westbrook will not play very unrestrained. Now that Durant is off the court, Westbrook immediately started the "fun" mode, regardless of whether the shot is reasonable or not, first score points and then talk.

Westbrook's scoring ability is indeed exaggerated. Purely in terms of scoring ability, Westbrook is worse than Rose, and the reason why Westbrook's statistics are not as good as Rose's is more because of Durant's existence. The ball, but Rose is the boss who does his part in the Bulls. After Durant leaves the Thunder in the future, Westbrook's average of 31 points per game also proves that his scoring ability is not weaker than Durant at all.

...

"Westbrook made a three-pointer, 139 to 140, and the US team caught up with only 1 point. There are 1 minute and 12 seconds left in the game. It seems that the outcome of this game is still unknown!"

After scoring the goal, Westbrook looked very excited. He roared loudly, venting his emotions, and the 1-point difference gave the US team hope.

Deng Huade hesitated for a moment, but chose to call a timeout to cool down the feeling of the American team.

In NBA games, there will be two short timeouts of 20 seconds for each overtime game, but in the rules of the World Championships, there is only one timeout for each overtime game, and the timeout time is 1 minute. So after Deng Huade called this timeout, at least in this overtime game, there was no chance to call a timeout again.

With 1 minute and 12 seconds left in the game, the Chinese team had the ball. Zhang Guan chose to make a breakthrough, and this breakthrough attracted three defensemen from the American team, including Love at the center position. Zhang Guan took the opportunity to pass the ball It was given to Zhang Zhaoxu, who was inserted into the basket, and Zhang Zhaoxu scored two points with a dunk. After all, he has a height of 2.21 meters. Although his muscular strength is a bit inferior to his height, and his offensive skills are also rough, his advantage lies in his excellent mobility and fast jumping speed on the spot.

After the goal, he seemed very excited. This was his first time scoring in this game. As a purely defensive blue-collar player, he basically has no ability to score in singles. Two points, and at such a critical time in overtime, every point is precious, this dunk is enough for him to remember for a lifetime.

"The U.S. team seemed surprised. They probably didn't expect that Zhang Guan would choose to pass the ball. The current score is 139 to 142, with a three-point gap and 52 seconds left in the game. In theory, the U.S. team still has two chances to attack, and The Chinese team has another chance to attack! The next attack of the US team will be very critical. If they can score, they still have a chance to keep the point difference within 3 points, and if they don’t score, maybe the point difference It will be more than 3 points."

A difference of 3 points can be tied with one ball, while a difference of 4 points needs two goals to be tied. This is obviously a world of difference.

Everyone in the US team understands this very well, and their expressions are extremely serious at this time. Although few of them broke into the second round of the NBA playoffs, they have already regarded this game as the NBA championship. The final moments of Game 7 of the final.

Although Westbrook's expression was serious, his eyes shone with confidence.

"Let me save Team USA!"

Westbrook didn't pause after receiving the ball and made a jumper for a three-pointer.

"Scramble to shoot a three-pointer! Westbrook! Oops! Unfortunately, the shot is missed!"

Although Westbrook is good at scoring, his three-point shooting percentage is indeed relatively sloppy. His three-point shooting percentage in his rookie season was only 27%. Last season, his three-point shooting percentage even dropped to 22%. , So it was once regarded as the famous "blacksmith" in the NBA. Throughout Westbrook's career, his average three-point shooting percentage has only just reached 30%, which is obviously unqualified for a top guard.

Although the three-point line in the World Championships is one meter closer than the NBA's three-point line, the three-pointer is still not an offensive method that Westbrook is good at. On the last ball, Westbrook felt good and made the shot. After a one-minute timeout, his feel gradually cooled down, and he naturally missed the shot.

The basketball went wide, and Love rushed over, and it was Zhang Zhaoxu who was fighting with him for this rebound.

"Where did the Chinese team get so many big men!" Le Fu obviously felt that the opponent was more than ten centimeters taller than him. Although the opponent's strength was relatively average and he couldn't stand him at all, this big man could jump up.

"This ball is not easy to grab!" Love knew that he couldn't catch the rebound, so he flicked the ball with one hand to the direction of the bench.

Iguodala jumped up and caught the ball before it went out of bounds. Immediately afterwards, he used a feint to shake away Ding Jinhui who was stepping forward to defend, took a step forward and chose to shoot.

"Swoosh!" The basketball hit the board and bounced into the basket, scoring two points!

"141 to 142, the US team caught up with another point!"

As soon as the commentator finished speaking, the Chinese team had already delivered the ball, and Zhang Guan rushed to the frontcourt at the fastest speed.

"Be careful with fast break!" Iguodala, who had just scored, stepped forward immediately to stop Zhang Guan's advance.

However, Zhang Guan had already sped up completely, and Iguodala couldn't stop Zhang Guan by using conventional methods. He didn't hesitate at all, and stepped forward and rushed to Zhang Guan. The next moment, the two collided together.

An irresistible impact immediately knocked Iguodala to the ground and slid to the billboard next to him.

"Beep!" The referee's whistle sounded, which was obviously a foul by Iguodala.

At the same time as the whistle sounded, Iguodala's head hit the billboard.

"Iguodala fouled, Zhang Guan is about to make a free throw!" the commentator said.

In the rules of the World Championships, overtime is the continuation of the fourth quarter, so the fouls in overtime and the fourth quarter are cumulative, that is to say, if the number of team fouls in the fourth quarter reaches the number of free throws , then even the first foul in overtime will send the opponent to the free throw line. The rule in the NBA is that if the limit of 3 team fouls is not used in the first 3 minutes of any overtime period, the team will be allowed to have a team foul in the last 2 minutes without additional free throws. .

Iguodala got up from the ground in a daze, and saw Zhang Guan standing on the free throw line, and then realized that the rules of the World Championships are different from the rules of the NBA. He is used to playing in the NBA, thinking that the team still has the number of fouls without free throws, so he took the initiative to foul, but he forgot that the World Championships are not like this. In fact, in desperation, Iguodala didn't have time to think so much.

If the foul does not require free throws, it is obviously more worthwhile to use one foul to delay Zhang Guan's action, but if the foul requires free throws, it is equivalent to sending the opponent two points and paying for the last foul.

Zhang Guan scored both free throws, and the score that the U.S. team had worked so hard to catch up was once again pulled away.

The US team played a quick two-pointer to cut the score to one point again, but left the Chinese team with 23 seconds to attack. This is a very embarrassing number. The Chinese team can completely defend the one-point lead and spend the last 23 seconds. Therefore, the US team will inevitably adopt foul tactics.

However, the US team still hoped to be able to steal, and they adopted a full-court tight defense.

Rose stopped in front of Zhang Guan, hoping to prevent him from receiving the ball. However, Zhang Guan made several sudden stops and changed directions, and easily shook off Rose, ran out of the open space, and then successfully received the serve.

Seeing Zhang Guan taking the ball, Ross knew that the pressing was useless. He chose to foul Zhang Guan without hesitation, and then sent Zhang Guan to the free throw line.

At the critical moment, Zhang Guan was not relentless and made two free throws. The score became 143 to 146, and the US team was still three points behind.

At this time, with 21 seconds left before the end of the game, Krzyzewski finally called a timeout.

21 seconds is enough time for the US team to play a tactical coordination. If it was in the NBA, maybe some coaches would ask for a two-pointer first to try their luck, but in the World Championships, there is only one timeout for an overtime game, and there is no frontcourt serve after the timeout, so Krzyzewski decided to arrange the last attack.

Now, only a three-pointer can save the US team. A three-pointer is scored, and the game will enter the sixth overtime. The US team still has a chance, but if it does not score, the US team can only be runner-up.

"Without Billups and Odom, there are two missing three-pointers. Rose and Westbrook's three-pointers are not reliable, and the Chinese team will also target three-pointers. Now , I can only gamble!" Krzyzewski thought of this, and turned his head to look at Stephen Curry, who was standing on the outermost edge.

"Stephen, it's up to you to execute the last shot!" Krzyzewski said.

"Me?" Curry was stunned. In this game, he didn't even get a minute of playing time, and he was not even as good as Guo Dashao, who was at the end of the Chinese team's bench. But now, at the most critical moment of life and death for the US team, Krzyzewski actually chose Curry!

Compared with other teammates, Curry has only played in the NBA for one year, and he is a pink rookie in the Dream Nine team. However, in his rookie season, he made a total of 384 three-pointers and hit 168 of them. The three-pointer percentage reached 43.7%. This percentage is also the highest among the Dream Nine teams.

Krzyzewski said: "For this shot, the Chinese team will definitely focus on defending three-pointers. They will defend Andre (Iguodala), Danny (Granger), I will defend Kevin (Love) and Eric (Gordon), but the Chinese team never imagined that the last attack would be completed by you who did not get a chance to play in the whole game! You appeared on the court, You will definitely not be vigilant by the Chinese team, they will definitely despise you, and even relax their marking on you, and this is precisely our chance to come back!"