Chapter 2226 - 35: Inevitable (Part 3)

Chapter 2226: Chapter 35: Inevitable (Part 3)

Yao Ming got a chance to catch his breath; in a medium-paced counterattack, he could receive the ball under the basket and attack the rim.

Both sides were going back and forth, scoring one after another, and the fans at Oracle Arena were thrilled.

But as time passed, looking at the scores of both sides, the gap was narrowing little by little.

"Speed up, we need to be a bit faster!" Nielsen shouted from the sideline, dissatisfied with the team’s slow pace.

In fact, the players had already given their all, but the intensity of Glory was truly high.

To maintain the speed and intensity of the offense, the Warriors adopted a short rotation.

So the pressure on the main players in offense and defense was very high.

In comparison, Glory’s rotation was longer.

There were veterans like Holi and Mutombo to stabilize the troops, as well as young players like Hayden and Rondo to bring energy.

Porter didn’t have any special schemes, but he was quite bold in employing players.

Young players would get the opportunity to perform in the playoffs.

Like Rondo, he had a standout performance in the first half of the season, but fell into a rookie slump in the second half.

His poor outside shooting made his performance quite unstable in Glory’s tactical system.

But in the playoffs, Porter would still give Rondo some playing time.

In this game, during the transition between the third and fourth quarters, Porter let Rondo take the field replacing Allen Iverson, instead of the better-shooting Hayden.

Because Hayden’s defense was average, and in the playoffs, his three-point shooting was very unstable and prone to disasters.

Rondo was different; he was very stable, just couldn’t score, and there were no expectations of him.

The purpose was to organize, defend, enhance outer court energy and defensive intensity.

Porter’s substitution and utilization of players was brilliant; Rondo contributed another steal on defense.

In the fourth quarter, with only a 3-point difference between the two sides, he counterattacked and assisted Gerald Wallace for a dunk!

The gap was only 1 point now!

The atmosphere at the scene was tense to the extreme.

Glory didn’t rush to overturn when the score got close in the third quarter.

Instead, they steadily fought back and forth with the Warriors, dragging the real decisive and comeback moment to the fourth quarter.

Baron Davis backed down Rondo, turned around, and hit a mid-range jump shot.

The gap was back to 3 points.

Rondo immediately cooperated with Yao Ming at the top of the arc, cut into the basket after a pick-and-roll.

A fake pass tricked the Warriors defense, and he scored a layup!

As a rookie, Rondo was very bold.

But this was where he showed more potential than Hayden; he had his own ideas and dared to execute them.

At this moment, Gan Guoyang was resting off the court.

He launched a blitz in the early stage of the third quarter, closing the score and bringing the game back to a level playing field.

In the mid-late third quarter, he relaxed, rested in the early fourth quarter, preparing to make a decisive appearance.

The Warriors’ first-half frenzy was long gone, players were sweating and panting heavily.

In a fast-paced, highly contested battle with few rotations, the Warriors were about to face a stamina crisis.

While Glory’s killer was still sitting off the court, Nielsen realized the situation wasn’t good.

But could only make a last-ditch effort.

In the fourth quarter at 3 minutes 57 seconds, Stephen Jackson cut into the basket for a dunk, blocked by Yao Ming.

During the scramble for rebounds, a foul was called against Yao Ming, leading him to exit for a rest while Gan Guoyang took the field.

The Warriors immediately felt a sense of despair — how to deal with this guy?

When Baron Davis missed a strong outside shot, Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebound, everyone sensed trouble.

Gan Guoyang handed the ball over to Rondo, who cooperated with Gan Guoyang at the top of the arc for a pick-and-roll.

Outside cut, passed the ball to Gan Guoyang, received at the top of the arc, Biedrins lunged over.

Shot fake, leaned on Biedrins to move inward, facing the Warriors’ double-team, a quick stop and one-legged fallback jump shot.

Firmly hit two points, overtaking! Everything seemed so natural, so inevitable, so powerless.

The Warriors’ morale was shattered at this moment, and their series time wouldn’t be very long.