Chapter 54: Score Reduction
“I kid you not, we don’t have to watch the second half.

I mean the Mavericks are going to lose this game, they don't deserve to win, they should start figuring out how to avoid being 5 points behind the Kings at halftime in Game 20."

Barkley pounded the table and roared in the TNT studio, while Pippen next to him was timid and didn't dare to respond at all.

"I've watched the Mavericks all season and there has never been a game that has made me so angry.

They played a crap game today, they played a crap game.

They let down the fans who supported them and the fans who came to watch their games, and they should apologize to them.

Are they going to celebrate after they got 2-1? They are just a bunch of idiots. Except for Zheng, everyone else is an idiot.

Hopefully, they can leave the arena with a smile on their face at the end of the game.

Fuck it! Fuck!

Barkley's anger is not fake. He likes Zheng Yang and therefore cares about the Mavericks.

In his usual commentary, he often speaks in a biased way towards the Mavericks.

But in today's game, I really saw that he was about to have high blood pressure. He made a lot of low-level mistakes, his defense was sloppy, he couldn't protect the defensive rebounds, and he couldn't grab the offensive rebounds.

With this mental state, who wouldn't be angry?

I didn’t say you can’t lose. For example, the fans didn’t blame you for losing the second game, but you can’t lose your attitude towards the game.

If they don’t even have an attitude towards the game, then what’s the point of watching this game?

目前球队得分最高的是郑阳，10投7中，砍下了18分，还有8篮板跟2盖帽1抢断。

Since his teammates were not very active in rebounding in the first quarter, he had more rebounds than usual.

The second highest scorer was Nowitzki, who had 13 points, but look at his shooting percentage and turnovers, 13 of 4 and 5 turnovers, 4 of which came in the first quarter.

Based on this data, it is purely an undercover act!

Even if he scored 20 points, his performance is still hurting the team!
Barkley's anger spoke for the Mavericks fans, who felt exactly the same as Barkley.

It really disgusted them to see the team playing with such a casual attitude.

It seemed like Zheng Yang was the only one on the team who wanted to win. Everyone else seemed to have been paid to do so and kept making mistakes!
……

At this moment in the Mavericks locker room, the atmosphere in the team was extremely depressing. Everyone lowered their heads, and no one knew what they were thinking.

Seeing that Nowitzki still didn't stand up to speak, Zheng Yang shrugged helplessly, then stood up and clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention.

“Hey guys.

Maybe it's not appropriate for me, as a rookie on the team, to speak out at this time, but you should know that if I were not a rookie, I would have started kicking your butts.

Please forgive my directness, but I don’t like to see people bowing their heads.

I don't want to lose, I mean, our game is not over yet, we only played half a game, we can lose 20 points in the first half, why can't we win 21 points in the second half.

Our fans are waiting outside and I don't want them to leave here with regrets.

So, with focus, discipline, hard work and unity, everything is possible! ”

Remember the second game between the Mavericks and the Lakers last year? Zheng Yang also gave a speech like a leader before the game.

But at that time he was facing rookies and substitute players, but now, he is starting to play this role in front of the starting players.

Zheng Yang didn't want to take over, but if no one was willing to stand up and say something, then let him stand up!

He still longs for victory.

Zheng Yang's remarks surprised everyone, but they did not feel it was abrupt or offensive. Yes, they subconsciously felt that he was such a person.

He is usually gentle and approachable, but when it comes to competition, he is always so domineering.

He doesn't care whether you are a veteran or not. If you want to make him lose the game, no way!

"Fuck you rookie, whose ass do you want to kick?"

The first one to respond was Fat Monk. This guy stood up from behind and walked towards Zheng Yang.

Although he used swear words, everyone could tell from his tone that he was not angry.

When I looked up, he had a smile on his face.

"You want to kick my ass? Dream on."

After saying that, he turned his head and looked at everyone, his eyes revealing determination.

"The guy standing next to me is a rookie, he has never experienced the feeling of 3-1, let's fulfill his little wish.

Tonight's party goes on as usual. Win this game for me and I'll treat everyone to a nightclub to have a great time.

Come on everybody, let's shout out our slogan."

Fat Monk called out to Nash, Dachou, Nowitzki...

One by one, the players hugged each other's shoulders and formed a circle, then shouted together.

"Everything is possible!"

When old Nelson was about to walk into the locker room angrily, he happened to see this scene. Although he knew nothing, with his understanding of the players and this classic slogan, he had guessed what had just happened.

It seems he doesn't need to waste any more words!

Choosing to coach that young man might be the best decision he has ever made in his life!

……

Coming back in the second half, the Mavericks' spirit and energy were completely different from their dejected look in the first half.

I didn't know and would have thought they were the one leading by 20 points.

The lesson of the Mavericks was right in front of them, so the Kings did not get complacent and maintained a positive attitude in the first half.

"The half-time break is over and the second half is about to begin!
The current score difference between the two teams is as much as 20 points, which has never happened in the previous three games. What is more worrying is the Mavericks' competitive state on the court. Obviously, their performance in the first half was very bad.

From the angry performance of head coach Don Nelson during the previous timeout, it can be seen that he had not imagined the team's current state.

At present, the Mavericks’ first thing to do is not to pursue victory in the game, but to reduce the score as much as possible and keep the suspense of the game until the last moment.

Let's wait and see what kind of performance they will have in the second half!"

Yu Jia's report just ended and the competition started immediately.

The Mavericks had the ball in the third quarter. When Nash carried the ball to half court, all the players were already in position. The Kings players defended them tightly and did not give them any open opportunities.

Doug Christie was still the player guarding Zheng Yang. Perhaps he was angry because Zheng Yang had cramps in the last game, so he followed him very closely in this game. However, with the help of Walker's cover, Zheng Yang still successfully bounced out to the right at a 45-degree angle.

Webber's movement speed cannot be said to be very slow, but after a serious injury, he was facing a player like Zheng Yang who was known for his speed, and it was difficult for him to keep up for a while.

Nash's pass came at a very timely moment. A good point guard has a completely different way of thinking than an ordinary point guard.

The former can sense where opportunities will appear based on the situation on the field, while the latter waits until the opportunity arises and then discovers it.

The difference in the order of the two results in different passing speeds.

Of course, to possess this ability, one needs a broad vision, rich experience and some instinctive talent.

This is why good point guards are so rare!

Zheng Yang's shots are also quite quick. This type of shooting, which creates open opportunities through movement, is his forte.

He rarely wastes opportunities like this, and this time is no exception!
"Shua"!
61: 44!

The score difference comes to 17 points!
"Defend, defend!"

Old Nelson on the sidelines shouted, like Zheng Yang, he was also a coach who would not give up easily.

I've been coaching in the NBA for so many years and I've seen all kinds of storms. It's just a 20-point deficit at halftime!

With so many good scorers in the team, as long as we do a good job of defense, are we afraid that we won’t be able to catch up?
Looking back, the Kings continue to play the Princeton system. It has to be said that the Princeton system with Webber is really completely different from the Princeton system of other teams.

Kings head coach Rick Adelman will coach the Rockets in the future. At that time, the Rockets also often played the Princeton system, but the effect was not as good as that of the Kings.

Webber's guard-like passing ability is really rare.

Like this time, he was holding the ball above his head and looking around, but suddenly he smashed the ball between his legs.

The basketball bounced off the ground and passed through Nowitzki's crotch. Mike Bibby, who cut in, just caught the ball and made a layup to complete the finish.

The whole process went smoothly. No one knew how Webber knew that Mike Bibby would appear in that position, and no one knew how this guy had the confidence to ensure that the ball would not hit Nowitzki.

But people have seen a lot of this kind of pass from Webber.

The Kings widened the gap to 19 points again, and it was not easy for the Mavericks to make up the difference.

But fortunately, there is still plenty of time. After all, the second half has just begun. As long as we seize the period when the Kings' offense is stalled, we may be able to narrow the score to within 10 points.

Of course this requires the Mavericks' defense to be online all the time!
It is not easy to defend on the line all the time, especially when playing against a team like the Kings that runs a lot, it is easy to lose physical strength.

As physical strength declines, people will become lazy, always thinking that there will be people defending behind them in the inside, so their pace will unconsciously slow down.

But what Zheng Yang said during the half-time break really inspired the players, so no matter how hard or tiring it was, they all tried their best to defend.

The turning point came four minutes into the third quarter, when the score was 88:72 and the Mavericks were still 16 points behind.

When Peja missed a three-pointer, Zheng Yang protected the rebound and quickly launched a fast break.

Nash is on the right side, ready to receive the ball.

Doug Christie retreated in time and blocked Zheng Yang, but the latter passed him directly without slowing down or changing direction.

Then he jumped lightly and went straight into the air, doing a windmill dunk.

This move immediately ignited the enthusiasm of the fans, and everyone cheered wildly for Zheng Yang. Although the score difference is still large, at least the fans saw the attitude of the home team.

Losing is not scary, but if they don’t even have the attitude to win, then why did they spend so much money on tickets?

After the dunk, Zheng Yang quickly retreated. In the Kings' next offensive round, Doug Christie was fouled on a shot, but made one of two free throws.

When it was the Mavericks' turn to attack, Fat Toutuo finally made a breakthrough and hit a three-pointer in the bottom corner.

Then he excitedly celebrated with the fans.

When it came to the Kings' offensive round, Webber's attack was blocked by Nowitzki and Walker. The former angrily told the referee on the sidelines that he had been hit.

But the referee ignored him and Weber had to return to defense.

Taking advantage of this gap, Zheng Yang ran to the frontcourt, received a pass from Nash, and made a three-pointer.

Given Zheng Yang's current state, three-pointers are not his strong point, nor are they his commonly used weapon. He prefers to punish his opponents by attacking the basket through jump shots.

A player who can combine shooting and dribbling is very difficult to defend.

But when the team is trailing by a large margin, or is three or four points behind at a critical moment, he often uses this weapon.

Although it’s not a 100% hit rate, as long as it can hit, it’s very satisfying!
Why is the back three-pointer so popular in the league that even big men in the interior need to master this ability?

A player like Towns of the Timberwolves, an inside player, can actually win the All-Star Three-Point Contest Championship.

This is simply unimaginable in this era.

It’s because the three-point shot is so good that others can beat you in three rounds in two rounds.

Otherwise, if we really rely on two or three points, there won't be so many 20-point or even 30-point comebacks.

In the last three rounds, the Kings only scored 1 point through free throws, but the Mavericks have already scored 8 points.

The score immediately came to 89:80, and the difference was reduced to within 10 points.

The Kings immediately requested a timeout. They had to adjust their condition and suppress the Mavericks' momentum.

Zheng Yang was very excited to be able to shorten the time to 10 minutes. He ran to the sidelines and shouted to the little boy who was talking during the half-time break.

"I told you we will win this game! Please believe in us! Please continue to support us!"

"I will! Yeah!"

The little boy was also very excited, jumping up and down excitedly. Other fans also shouted various encouraging words to Zheng Yang.

“Although the game time is almost three quarters over, I still want to say, ‘This game has just begun.’

We don't know what happened in the Mavericks locker room at halftime, but the Mavericks were never the same after halftime.

They played to their strengths and gave the fans a visual feast with their gorgeous and swift offense.

Of course, the Kings also performed well. They still maintained the positive attitude in the first half and they were still thinking about equalizing the score.

This series between the Mavericks and the Kings is the most difficult of the four first-round games in the Western Conference. Their strength is similar, they are both good at offense, and their playing styles are very gorgeous.

From the fans' perspective, we hope to play more games in this series. Of course, for the players, they hope to defeat their opponents as soon as possible.

So that we can have enough physical strength to prepare for the Western Conference semifinals!
Let's see if the Kings' offense will improve after the timeout! "

(End of this chapter)