usatvline 519 "Paper Tiger"!
519 "Paper Tiger"!
After Su Hao hit a three-pointer.
The Spurs have ten seconds left to attack.
They no longer have the chance to pause.
Jefferson quickly passed the ball to Quinn.
Gordon led the defense throughout the game, disrupting Quinn's path from the backcourt.
Facing Gordon's full-court defense, Quinn attempted to break through Gordon's defense.
But Gordon stayed close to Quinn, giving him no space.
With time ticking away, Quinn decided to force a jump shot.
The instant he jumped, Gordon also jumped at the same time, stretching out his arm to try and block.
However, Quinn executed a beautiful fadeaway motion in mid-air, avoiding Gordon's block, and then took the shot.
Just when Quinn thought that no one would interfere with his actions this time.
Su Hao burst out from the flank, leaped lightly, and forcefully caught the ball from mid-air with one hand.
The audience was shocked.
"Only Su Hao could pull off a hat like that!"
"Who else?"
"That block deserves a spot in today's top five plays!"
As Su Hao completed the block, there were only four seconds left in the game.
After dribbling with one hand for one step.
Su Hao launched a long-range three-pointer directly from the center circle.
Normally, only Curry would take such a long-range three-pointer.
Unexpectedly, Su Hao also started playing the super long distance game.
Actually, that's not the case; it's because of the time constraints of the attack.
Even someone as strong as Su Hao couldn't possibly dribble all the way from the backcourt to the backcourt and score in four seconds.
After all, the actual attack time is only a little over two seconds.
It took almost a second to land.
As Su Hao made his move, the red light on the timer immediately lit up.
This buzzer-beating, long-range three-pointer drew the attention of all the players and fans watching the game.
Everyone held their breath, their eyes glued to the trajectory of the basketball.
The basketball traced a beautiful arc in the air as it flew towards the basket.
Finally, the basketball landed steadily in the basket.
The audience was silent for a moment, then erupted in thunderous cheers.
His teammates rushed over and hugged Su Hao tightly.
At that moment, the entire stadium erupted in cheers!
Su Hao's long-range three-pointer not only extended the team's lead by three points, but also demonstrated his extraordinary strength and decisive decision-making ability.
The whistle blew to end the second quarter.
The Clippers led the Spurs 78-50 by 28 points.
The huge point difference put unprecedented pressure on the Spurs.
The players from both sides returned to the locker room one after another.
Back in the locker room, the Spurs players all looked dejected.
Seeing his players looking listless, Popovich reluctantly gathered everyone together.
"We can't give up now, that's not how our team should behave. There's still half a game left. They were leading by 28 points at halftime, and I believe we can close that gap to 28 points, or even take the lead and beat them!" Popovich confidently addressed all his players.
"Coach, what do we have to compete with them? Su Hao alone is enough for us, not to mention their Curry hasn't even had a chance to perform yet!" Jefferson sighed.
"Yeah! The Clippers' offense is basically all done by Su Hao now. He's already scored 50 points over us! And that's just in the first half! Who knows how many points he'll get in the whole game!" George Hill chimed in.
"What are you trying to do? Boost the morale of others? Can't you just perform well and make your due contribution to the team?" Popovich became increasingly angry as he spoke.
Seeing this, Duncan quickly stepped forward to smooth things over.
"I'll listen to the coach. We'll give it our all in the second half and try to turn the tide!" Duncan said somewhat nervously.
Popovich then took out his tactics board and began to lay out the next tactics.
In the Clippers' locker room, the players have already begun celebrating.
David Lee was happily dancing in the locker room.
Meanwhile, Su Hao chatted idly with his teammates, including Curry.
"I thought this game would be a bit difficult! I didn't expect the Spurs to be down by almost 30 points by halftime!" Gordon exclaimed.
"It's all because we have a player like Su Hao on our team. You know, he scored fifty points in just one half! That's almost as many points as the entire Spurs team combined!" Rasul Butler said with a smile.
"They were already down before I even had a chance to play, which shows that the Spurs are only so-so! They call themselves a veteran powerhouse! I think they're just a paper tiger!" Curry joked.
"Haha! You guys are really funny. Now that we've already taken so many points, does that mean I can watch the second half from the sidelines as usual?" Su Hao said with a smile, looking at Curry and his teammates.
"You wish! If you don't play, and the Spurs seize the opportunity to catch up, who will be responsible?"
When Curry heard Su Hao say he didn't want to play in the second half, he immediately stood up from his seat.
“Su Hao, you know perfectly well that we’re basically losing every game when you’re not around! You can’t rest so early this time!” Gordon quickly chimed in.
Su Hao was speechless. "Didn't you guys say the Spurs are just a paper tiger? Besides, we're already leading by so many points. Just play with confidence. If it really doesn't work, I'll come back on and beat them!"
As the group chatted, head coach Mike Dunleavy walked over.
"What are you all talking about that's making you happy?"
"No! It's nothing! It's just that Su Hao doesn't want to play in the second half! Coach, can you agree to that?" Curry looked at Mike Dunleavy, trying to emphasize Su Hao's reluctance to play.
“Really? Su Hao really thinks so? I think so too! In that case, let Aldridge replace him in the second half! With the four of you starting players, it’s fine!” Mike Dunleavy said, then left with a smile.
Curry and the others were left standing there dumbfounded!
"What did the coach just mean? Did he agree to let Su Hao not play in the second half? Isn't this creating a problem for us? Last time we played the Spurs, it was because Su Hao didn't play that we squandered our lead in a very short time!" Gordon exclaimed.
Curry and his teammates also shared their opinions.
However, since the head coach has already made the decision.
They had no choice but to obey.