Chapter 843: Duncan’s Trash Talk

Chapter 843: Chapter 843: Duncan’s Trash Talk

Chapter 843: Duncan’s Trash Talk

The 2nd half began quickly.

Neither team made any surprises with its lineup.

Both sides returned with their starters.

San Antonio had the first possession.

Parker crossed half court and initiated a handoff with Ginóbili.

The moment Manu received the ball, he attacked.

Parker turned the handoff into a screen.

It did not completely stop Chen, but it slowed him just enough.

Ginóbili accelerated toward the paint.

Kenyon Martin stepped over.

Manu immediately went into his Euro step.

Martin chose the simplest possible response.

He swung for the ball.

Smack!

Instead, his hand caught Ginóbili on the head.

Beep!

Whistle.

Ginóbili grabbed his head and crouched on the floor for several seconds before finally recovering.

He walked to the free throw line.

First attempt.

Good.

Second.

Miss.

49 to 60.

It was difficult to say the hit had not affected him.

Martin had not intended to strike Ginóbili in the head.

His hand was heavy, but he had been reaching for the ball, or at worst trying to hit Manu’s shooting hand.

Ginóbili’s unusual footwork had simply changed the point of contact at the last moment.

New York came back down.

Chen received the ball in the backcourt.

He advanced slowly.

Then suddenly exploded.

Change of direction.

Change of speed.

Ginóbili was overwhelmed.

Chen reached the paint and forced Duncan to rotate.

Contact.

Whistle.

Foul.

The broadcast booth immediately noticed the contrast with Game 4.

"Chen’s approach tonight is completely different. Last game, he destroyed San Antonio from 3. Tonight he is attacking the rim over and over."

"It is partly his own rhythm and partly the way San Antonio is defending. Their coverage has extended farther toward the perimeter after what happened in Game 4."

"11 made 3 pointers will do that to a defense."

Chen stepped to the line.

First free throw.

Swish.

Second.

Swish.

51 to 60.

San Antonio returned to offense.

This time Parker initiated.

He held the ball at the right wing.

Duncan came up to screen.

Parker turned the corner and shook Curry.

New York recovered quickly.

The lane closed.

Parker immediately dribbled back out.

Forcing himself through multiple defenders was not his style.

He preferred the correct basketball decision.

Pass to Leonard in the corner.

Leonard caught it and moved laterally at speed.

Chen deliberately gave him a little room.

If San Antonio had to choose a shooter, New York was far more comfortable with Leonard taking the shot than Parker, Ginóbili, or Duncan.

Leonard kept moving.

Cross court pass.

Bonner caught it.

Shot fake.

Harrington jumped.

Bonner sidestepped.

3 pointer.

Clang!

Just short.

Duncan was already underneath.

He barely needed to jump.

His rebounding instincts had put him in the correct position before the ball even came off the rim.

Rebound.

The moment Duncan secured it, New York collapsed around him.

He instantly recognized that attempting a shot would be difficult.

Kick out.

There was no need for anything fancy.

San Antonio had shooters waiting everywhere outside.

Parker caught the pass.

Extra pass.

Bonner received another opportunity.

Shot fake.

Once again, Harrington bit.

Apparently, seeing Bonner standing beyond the arc with the ball raised was enough to override whatever lesson Harrington had learned from the previous possession.

This time Bonner did not shoot.

He attacked.

His drive was hardly explosive.

It looked almost leisurely.

But he knew exactly where he was going.

Straight at Kenyon Martin.

Bonner gathered.

Martin reached.

Beep!

Foul.

Hit on the arm.

The broadcast booth immediately pointed out the problem.

"That is Martin’s 4th personal foul."

"And New York cannot afford to lose him tonight. DeAndre Jordan and David West are already unavailable. Martin is their only reliable interior defender left."

Bonner stepped to the line.

First free throw.

Good.

Nelson immediately made a substitution.

Yi Jianlian entered for Martin.

Yi looked tense.

Tonight he was not being asked to play small forward.

Not even power forward.

He was about to play center.

And his defensive assignment was Tim Duncan.

Nelson had no real alternative.

Turiaf was also available on the bench, but he had barely played throughout the season.

Throwing him into such a critical NBA Finals game would be asking a great deal.

Chen noticed Yi’s expression.

"Just do your job."

Yi looked toward him.

"Do not think about everything else."

Chen nodded toward the court.

"We will handle the rest."

Yi nodded.

Before entering, Nelson had given him one simple responsibility.

Secure defensive rebounds.

Do not worry about producing offense.

Swish!

Bonner made the second free throw.

51 to 62.

The AT&T Center roared.

"Defense!"

"Defense!"

New York came down.

Chen attacked from the wing.

San Antonio immediately sent help.

He turned away from the pressure and passed toward Yi in the middle.

Yi caught it.

He did not shoot.

Standing on an NBA Finals floor against Duncan, his hesitation was obvious.

Yi had always played with a more cautious mentality.

Compared with players who immediately attacked whenever an opening appeared, he sometimes needed an extra moment to release himself from that restraint.

On this stage, that moment mattered.

Curry controlled the ball near the top.

Duncan hedged hard before retreating toward the paint.

Curry stepped back and forced Parker to extend.

Hesitation.

Crossover.

Parker’s balance shifted.

Curry attacked with his left hand.

He reached the free throw line.

Pullup.

Swish!

53 to 62.

Chen immediately walked over and gave Curry a high 5.

This was exactly what he needed.

Not just spacing.

Scoring.

San Antonio responded.

Ginóbili came forward and called for the ball.

Once he received it, he gestured toward his teammates.

Clear out.

He wanted isolation.

Manu’s performances through the first 4 games had been inconsistent.

But this was an elimination game.

There was no room left for another quiet night.

He attacked left.

Hard drive.

Pullback.

Crossover.

Then left again.

The rhythm was perfect.

Even Battier, an experienced perimeter defender, fell half a step behind.

Ginóbili reached the restricted area.

No Euro step this time.

Yi stood in front of him.

Manu went straight up.

No hesitation.

He glided forward.

Then hammered the ball through with his left hand.

Boom!

53 to 64.

The AT&T Center shook.

Chen could feel the vibration under his shoes.

Ginóbili’s dunk had ignited the building.

Nelson did not call timeout.

New York played on.

Chen established position at the elbow and called for the ball.

Curry lobbed it toward him.

The moment Chen caught it, San Antonio sent the double.

No extra dribbles.

Pass straight back to Curry.

Then Chen cut behind the defense.

Curry understood immediately.

Catch.

Lob back inside.

The quick 2 man exchange stretched San Antonio’s coverage.

Duncan slid across.

Both arms raised.

Chen caught the pass and collided with him.

He straightened his body.

Hung for a moment.

Shot.

The ball circled the rim.

Out.

Chen landed and spread his arms toward the referee.

He believed Duncan had fouled him.

No whistle.

The broadcast booth reviewed the contact.

"Chen wants the call."

"He felt Duncan came down on him."

"There was some downward contact there, and it looked like Duncan might have caught part of the hand too."

Chen stopped arguing and turned to run back.

As he passed Duncan, a calm voice came from behind him.

"Good try."

Chen glanced back.

Duncan was already moving upcourt with the same blank expression as always.

That was Tim Duncan’s version of trash talk.

He rarely insulted opponents.

He rarely even bothered with complete sentences.

A few words were enough.

"Good try."

"Almost."

"Nice move."

The goal was not necessarily to make someone angry.

It was almost worse than that.

Duncan wanted his opponent to hear the comment, process it, and wonder what exactly they were supposed to say in response.

Chen understood his style perfectly.

Duncan did not trash talk by shouting.

He did it by making you speechless.

....

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