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Chapter 85 The Color of Miracles (16500 words updated per day, begging for monthly subscription!)
Do the Spurs dare to let Qin Yue shoot three-pointers all the time?
This was the answer. In the next Warriors' offensive round, Robert Horry responded to Qin Yue with his rough action that was called for a foul by Crawford.

It turns out that "Goodnight, Los Angeles" shocked more than just Angelenos.

Because in the process of conquering Los Angeles for the second time, "Mayor of Los Angeles" Qin Yue has fully proved to the world how high his "critical damage" is.

The Spurs of this era have never been afraid of players who score in a very precise manner on the court, or who have to take a few extra steps to get to the basket but are easily exhausted in the game.

They have always been afraid that the superstar in the other team will suddenly deal "high explosive damage" and take them away in one wave.

Before, this player was Qin Yue’s mortal enemy Kobe.

Now, this player may not necessarily be Kobe’s arch-enemy Qin Yue.

As Wade said, Qin Yue often gives people the feeling that he is a bigger version of Kobe.

On the sidelines, on the Spurs bench, Popovich immediately expressed his dissatisfaction to Crawford with his roar about Horry being called for a foul for increasing his defensive intensity.

"That's a fucking foul? Do you want us to tie our hands to defend?"

The next second, looking at Popovich who had turned into a hair dryer, Crawford said calmly: "Shut up. If you do that again, I will give you a technical foul."

On the court, Qin Yue, who had taken advantage of the situation, used his other signature trick, his uneven eyes (0.o), to provoke Popovich before returning to the court to continue the game.

At this moment, Popovich did not choose to argue with Qin Yue.

But he had a vague feeling that the Spurs had already been sanctioned by David Stern.

This made him seem more irritable and uneasy.

Because he has always had a flexible moral bottom line, he knows better than anyone else
David Stern is the general director of the NBA.

However, before Popovich could finish his thoughts,
Horry paid the price for his irrationality by committing his second foul of the night.

When Qin Yue was dribbling the ball on the right side of the court, Horry, who knew that the referee would be particularly strict in his penalties tonight, blatantly hooked Qin Yue's ball-protecting hand with his arm.

To be honest, if it were twenty years in the future, it would not be an exaggeration even if Horry was penalized for a flagrant foul because of this rough defense.

Because "arm clamp" is also a very disgusting move on the basketball court, and it is very easy to cause injuries to the offensive players.

Crawford did not tolerate Horry's behavior.

Qin Yue also did not give face to the veteran Horry.

Instead, as the referee blew the whistle, he used all his strength and used his giant arm to throw Horry several meters away.

There is no doubt that Huo Li's action of being thrown out by Qin Yue just now was definitely acting.

But Qin Yue turned his gaze to him and didn't give him a chance to continue acting. "You are a nomad who fawns on whoever has a chance to win the championship. If you want to start a war, then I don't mind letting your career end tonight."

Hearing this, Horry thought that he could, as he had done in the past, use small tricks to anger the opponent's general and thus get a chance to exchange pieces with the opponent's general.

But the next second, Mike Dunleavy stood up on the Warriors bench carrying a bench.

As the light in his heart, how could Dunleavy let a nobody like Horry compete with Qin Yue?
If Horry really wants to do this, Dunleavy doesn't mind taking another safety education class from the league.

Seeing this, Crawford quickly stood between Qin Yue and Horry, and looked up at Horry and said, "If you don't want to be expelled, you'd better shut up."

Next, Horry "obediently" shut up.

However, when he was replaced by his teammate Nesterovic due to two fouls,
He was seen returning to the Spurs bench while making a "shut up" gesture and shaking his head.

In the first round of the playoffs, the entire Spurs team was very dissatisfied with the referee's penalty standards, so in the eyes of Horry, a veteran, he was just conveying the Spurs' dissatisfaction to the league in his own way.

But tonight, he not only picked the wrong opponent, but also...
His move is tantamount to challenging the authority of the NBA and the referees on the field.

Almost at the same time Qin Yue stepped onto the free throw line, Crawford greeted the other two referees.

well.

Since the people of San Antonio think that Robert Horry's "arm clamping" action just now was a biased call, let us let them take a good look at what their so-called tough defense is all about under the most strict and standard standards.

On the court, Qin Yue made two free throws.

After coming back and successfully squeezing into the basket and scoring two points for the Spurs, Duncan said to Qin Yue: "When you slow down, your impetuousness will retreat."

Qin Yue knew that Duncan wanted to persuade him not to lose his mind and not to be impulsive at this moment.

But, how could Qin Yue get so angry because of Huo Li's provocation just now?
Qin Yue knew very well that the Spurs were such a team.

If you are affected by their way of playing, it only means that your practice is not yet thorough enough.

During the Warriors' offensive round, Qin Yue took the initiative to move to the wing to serve as a wall for Artest who had the ball.

In order to avoid the pick-and-roll in time, Bowen deliberately used his elbow to hit Qin Yue's waist.

This is a small move that is difficult to detect, and the referees usually do not make things difficult for Bowen because of this level of confrontation.

Therefore, despite his average physical fitness, Bowen can always use his small movements and flexible steps to complete circumvention on the court.

However, the referee, who had kept his eyes open tonight, did not let Bowen go.

On the court, Crawford blew the whistle again.

"Hey, Dan, that can't be a foul, I didn't even touch him."

At this moment, if Crawford didn't know what kind of person Bowen was, he might really be fooled by his good appearance.

But how could Crawford be so stupid?

"Put away your hypocrisy, Bruce. I will not tolerate any behavior that crosses the line tonight."

Fuck you for crossing the line. Are you going to let anyone defend you?
At this moment, Bowen thought so in his heart.

just
To defend, do you have to use bad moves and tricks?

It is true that Crawford's whistle was not biased towards the Spurs tonight, but that does not mean he will favor the Warriors.

He simply applied the same strict penalty standards to the defensive actions of both sides of the game.

And this is precisely the key to his continued presence in the NBA as Stern's personal law enforcement officer.

Of course, for the Spurs who rely on defense to win, Crawford's penalty standards will definitely make them hate it.

But is it possible?
Without those little tricks and bad moves, can the Spurs not play basketball?
In the low post, facing Qin Yue, Duncan, who remained calm, displayed a textbook-perfect defense.

Throughout the process of Qin Yue's turnaround jump shot, none of Duncan's movements were redundant.

Not only did he put up enough resistance against Qin Yue, he also exerted strong interference on Qin Yue.

As for Qin Yue's extremely lucky turn and backward move, the ball bounced off the frame several times and finally rolled into the basket?

"Lucky ball!"

In the restricted area, looking at Qin Yue, Duncan commented sharply.

"Luck is also part of strength!"

Qin Yue responded without blushing or beating his heart.

Then, a few more rounds passed.

As Artest and Richardson were also called for fouls for excessive defensive actions, Popovich discovered
David Stern, the NBA general director, is clearly targeting the Spurs!
There's nothing you can do about it. This is how people who are good at double standards are.

As long as the penalty standards are not in my favor, even if the Warriors play under the same penalty standards tonight, Popovich will only think that Stern is messing with the Spurs.

So now the question is, is Stern targeting the Spurs?

The answer to this question.
Yes or no.

The reason is, of course, that Stern really doesn't want to see the Spurs and Pistons meet in the finals for two consecutive years.

The reason is that Crawford's same penalty scale tonight has told Popovich that as long as you can put away those small moves and bad moves, you can still win.
That Stern would never stop the Spurs from winning a championship.

It is true that Stern targeted the Spurs.

But he was not like Xiao Hua in later generations who would knock you out with a club and then send you away.

Only by maintaining a certain level of competitiveness can the NBA continue to attract fans.

Historically, the Lakers and Celtics will use a round of high-quality defensive battles in the future to tell the world that defense can actually be very exciting and can attract the attention of fans.

Can.
Like the Pistons and Spurs last year, defending for the sake of defense made the game fragmented in the finals.

It's something Stern never wants to go through again.

So starting from the first round of the playoffs this year, Stern kept reminding the Spurs and Pistons:

You want to win, you want to win the championship, that's fine.

But please put away those actions that should not appear on the basketball court, and please keep your defense within a normal range that is acceptable to everyone.

Tonight, did Crawford blow the ball very strictly from the start?
If he was really strict, then Horry should not have been left on the court after Horry violated Qin Yue twice in a very rough manner.

Crawford's increasingly strict penalties were only because the Spurs always acted like a nagging woman in the first quarter. Players including Popovich, Horry, and Bowen would constantly complain through their actions every time the referee blew the whistle.

Can Crawford, who was originally sent by Stern to remind the Spurs, still spoil you?
On the court, Qin Yue was seen speeding up from the outside, dribbling past Nesterovic, going straight to the Spurs basket, and scoring the ball against Bruce Bowen's defense.

"Beep——!"

And-One!

The ball goes in and the whistle blows, and there is an additional penalty!
At the ATT Center, Qin Yue, who actually tried out Crawford's penalty standards and pretended to punish the Spurs with a three-pointer at the start, has been charging hard tonight.

At this time, Duncan also saw that Qin Yue had been in the NBA.
That little thought is becoming increasingly dirty.

"Where is my cute, sensible and reasonable junior?" Duncan deliberately asked before Qin Yue took the free throw.

Hearing this, Qin Yue said, "He is already dead. He died in the process of fighting with NBA stars one by one."

Provoked Popovich at the beginning.

And show toughness in front of Horry.

He even went so far as to make himself feel that his behavior on the court was too aggressive.

At this moment, after an evil smile, Duncan suddenly realized that his junior had quietly grown into a real monster.

His burning eyes were filled with victory after victory.

Nothing could stop him.

Duncan was very and quite sure.

The NBA has now entered the post-Jordan era, the most terrifying but also the purest, a winning machine born for victory.

As long as his desires are not satisfied, he will keep trying to win.

"But I didn't win enough, what should I do?"

In the Spurs penalty area, Duncan put away his smile as he watched Qin Yue make the free throw.

Then, during the offense, Duncan replaced Brown in front of him and demonstrated a textbook back-to-the-basket move to Qin Yue step by step.

Lower your center of gravity, lean on someone, turn around, and hit the board.

The top scholar in literature was defeated again by the old top scholar.

There wasn't a single unnecessary movement.

The move was far from graceful, but it perfectly demonstrated Duncan's fundamentals.

In the NBA, not everyone has the opportunity to show their fundamentals.

Because no matter how excellent your basic skills are, you still need the corresponding talent to present them to the world.

The Spurs can’t count on their tough defense tonight to restrain Qin Yue.

So Duncan decisively focused his next game on offense.

Parker in good times, Buddha in bad times.

Seeing this, Spurs assistant coach Mike Budenholzer on the bench quickly reminded Popovich, who was still struggling with the penalty scale, "Pop, stop thinking about how the referee will blow the whistle for this game! We need to adjust our tactics first!"

Hearing this, Popovich showed his few but crucial advantages in the next second.

Turning to look at Budenholzer who had already taken out the tactical board, Popovich said, "Mike, how do you think we should adjust?"

Budenholzer suggested: "Let's turn our defense into a zone first."

波波维奇问道：“1-3-1还是2-3？”

Budenholzer replied: "2-3, we can't let Tim expend too much energy on the defensive end tonight."

Popovich pressed, "2-3 and man-to-man?"

Budenholzer nodded and said, "Also, we have to replace Manu with Michael (Finley) immediately."

Popovich touched his chin and asked, "Do you want to stagger the playing time of the main players to maintain the strength of our lineup?"

Budenholzer said: "Manu needs to go off the court to rest first, and then we have to run and play."

Popovich was surprised and said, "Run? But that's the rhythm the Warriors are better at." Budenholzer said without question, "Listen, Pop, the referee's penalty standards tonight are not conducive to defense at all. We can only hope to win this game by running and gunning. We can't let the Warriors' No. 30 keep shooting free throws like this, understand?"

Good at listening to suggestions.

This is undoubtedly one of Popovich's strengths.

After the first quarter, the score was 35 to 34.

Although there were still many fans at the ATT Center complaining that Crawford gave Qin Yue too many "star whistles", as the Spurs turned to play against the Warriors
This stadium, which originally looked like a "giant coffin", has been gradually awakened to its vitality.

If even the Spurs fans start to think that offensive battles are more exciting, what about the neutral fans who are watching the live broadcast on TV?
In the second quarter, Ginobili, who was substituted in the first quarter, returned to the court for the Spurs.

On the sidelines, Brown, who was kicked at least twice by Ginobili tonight, couldn't help but complain: "Apart from Tim Duncan, is there no good person on this Spurs team?"

nice guy?

Brown was clearly overthinking it.

Because isn't it obvious that all the members of this Spurs team are bad?
Besides, who told Brown that the Warriors can represent "justice" tonight?

On the court, facing Ginobili, whose breakthrough rhythm was extremely strange.
Murphy, knowing that he would not be able to stop this man who would sooner or later become the Pampas Vulture, simply hugged Ginobili and threw him to the ground.

Since the Spurs hope that Ginobili, the magic sword that can always slay gods and demons in desperate situations, can help the team hold on in the first half of the second quarter.

The Warriors naturally had to give him enough intensity, even at the cost of committing fouls, to increase his physical energy consumption when attacking.

Murphy's foul just now was very decisive.

When it was the Warriors' turn to attack, seeing Ginobili taking the initiative to defend him, Dunleavy Jr. ran all over the court with him like crazy.

On the Spurs bench, Popovich was so angry about Dunleavy's running that was not for offense that he stamped his feet and said, "Why doesn't he change his career and run a marathon?"

Fortunately, in the Warriors' next offensive round, Ginobili learned his lesson and gave the responsibility of defending Dunleavy Jr. to his teammates.

But before Ginobili could regulate his breathing, Jack, who was facing him, smiled at him and started running at full speed.

Ginobili chose not to stick with Jack on this defensive possession.

then
"Magic Jarrett" received the pass from Qin Yue and hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc for the Warriors with his 25% three-point shooting percentage in the playoffs.

On the sidelines, Popovich angrily asked Ginobili: "Why the hell didn't you follow him?"

In response, Ginobili chose to ignore Popovich and immediately performed a fadeaway three-pointer in the Spurs' offensive round that almost caused Popovich's heart rate to be unbalanced.

The three-pointer went into the net.

Moreover, when retreating, Ginobili deliberately spread his hands towards Popovich.

Although he didn't say a word, Ginobili's expression and appearance at the time clearly said, "Shut up and stop telling me what to do when I'm playing basketball."

It has to be said that Ginobili is indeed a double-edged sword.

"Don't stop me, I'm going to trade him tomorrow! This Argentine idiot who only knows how to eat barbecue and drink yerba mate tea all day long! I don't want to see him again!" Popovich, who was broken by Ginobili on the Spurs bench, roared.

But Budenholzer and his colleagues, who are used to it, complained: "Pop, there are still two months left in the offseason. We can't trade Manu now."

Trade Ginobili?

That is absolutely impossible.

Because Popovich knows better than anyone that the Spurs simply cannot find another "pseudo-giant" like Ginobili who is as good value for money.

ATT Center, halfway through the second quarter, Duncan and Parker returned to the court one after another.

At this time, it was the Warriors' turn to complain.

Since they failed to widen the score gap in the first half of the second quarter, the Warriors had to keep their star player Qin Yue on the court.

This is the San Antonio Spurs.

When they calm down and start playing seriously with you.
No matter how much you hate them, they are one of the best teams in the NBA in this era.

On the Spurs bench, Popovich, who had already recovered, sneered, "If he plays like this, I don't believe he (Qin Yue) can last until the fourth quarter."

Popovich seemed to like setting flags tonight.

then
In order to prove that Qin Yue could hold on until the fourth quarter, Artest stood up.

Because Artest was unable to play effectively on the defensive end due to Crawford's strict penalty standards, this actually gave Artest more opportunities to perform on offense.

As long as Bruce Bowen can't use his bad moves to limit the opponent's outside star, then in front of Artest's bulldozer, his poor body can only be used
It's horrible to describe.

Bang, bang, bang!

On the court, in order to limit Artest, Duncan and Horry had to choose to narrow the defense zone.

结果
In the Warriors' offensive round, Artest chased Bowen into the penalty area and immediately found Qin Yue who was lurking in the bottom corner.

Swish-!
"I fucking knew you would be there!" Just now, Artest, who was obviously "blindly passing the ball to Qin Yue", patted Qin Yue on the back while retreating.

Hearing this, Qin Yue asked curiously, “how did you know I would be there?”

Artest laughed and said, "Every time you want to be lazy, you will stand in the right corner. And that position is the most accurate shooting point for all your three-point areas."

At this moment, no words are needed.

What is tacit understanding?
This is a tacit understanding.

Qin Yue is not the only one growing in this team of warriors.

In the Warriors' defensive round, due to the interference of No. 1 pick Wen, the old No. 1 pick's strong attack under the basket missed.

It's true that Tim Duncan is very strong.

But in the past season, Brown was also one of Qin Yue's usual sparring partners.

Then, in the Warriors' offensive round, Richardson made a three-pointer from outside!
After scoring the goal, Richardson felt that the three-pointer was too easy and even shook his head while retreating.

"60%."

On the Warriors bench, Dunleavy Jr., who had been substituted, suddenly said.

On the side, Murphy, who was wiping his sweat with a towel, asked, "What 60%?"

The next second, Dunleavy clenched his fist and said, "Jason's three-point shooting percentage in the playoffs so far this year."

Murphy was surprised and said, "Is it that high? Although I also feel that he is very accurate."

Dunleavy Jr. laughed and said, “Didn’t you notice that Jason seemed to have become a different person after entering the playoffs?”

Murphy recalled it in his mind and asked, "What do you mean?"

"He didn't have a single dunk in the playoffs," Dunleavy Jr. said.

After a pause, Dunleavy Jr. said: "He put away those flashy skills in the regular season and controlled his desire to show off. Now he is our Ray Allen!"

On the court, just as Dunleavy Jr. finished speaking, Richardson received an assist from Davis and made another three-pointer!

"6 to 1!"

"What's 6 to 1?"

"Baron's assist-to-turnover ratio in the playoffs this year."

"Is it that high?"

A point guard with excellent physical fitness who can control his emotions, reduce unreasonable shots, and suppress the number of turnovers.

A three-point shooter who no longer pursues flashy things, but constantly runs around the court, looking for the most efficient shooting opportunities.

A star small forward who is good at both offense and defense, although he is sometimes a bully and afraid of the strong, but he always makes the right choice at the right time.

A "fake" No. 1 pick who works diligently and willingly, and whose defensive level has made visibly great progress.

A star player who always stands up at critical moments and is someone you can always trust.

At this moment, turning his head to look at the Warriors' bench, Dunleavy Jr. said with tears in his eyes: "With this bunch of losers like us, this is the Golden State Warriors!"

Although he is currently at the AT&T Center, Dunleavy Jr. believes that more than a thousand kilometers away in Oakland, at the Oracle Arena, the golden wave must have begun to roll along with the Warriors' wave!
In the second half of the second quarter, the Spurs successfully held back the Warriors' offensive in the first half of the second quarter according to their established plan. In Popovich's eyes, Qin Yue's physical fitness was already declining rapidly.
Without any warning, the Warriors suddenly went berserk!
In the final moments of the first half, Qin Yue, who had successfully adjusted his breathing, faced Tim Duncan in a high-post face-to-face match.

After pretending to speed up to divert Duncan's center of gravity, Qin Yue quickly pulled the ball back.

Then, under the watchful eyes of Crawford, who had personally experienced that "last shot".
At this moment, time goes back and we dream back to 1998!

Qin Yue, with a perfect jump shot, set the halftime score between the two teams at 68 to 51 for the Warriors!

The Golden State Warriors are getting closer and closer to conquering the ATT Center!
The referees were unable to help the Warriors hit those difficult, even acrobatic shots tonight.

During the halftime break, Popovich looked livid.

The group of think tanks who always gave him advice also had serious expressions.

Obviously, the Spurs' collapse in the second quarter was related to their previous seven-game battle with the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs.

Although the people of Los Angeles hated Qin Yue very much.

but.
However, in this year's playoffs, they used their actions to assist Qin Yue and the Warriors.

After halftime, the Warriors did not give the Spurs a chance to turn the tables.

108:91.

This was the final score of the night.

In the first quarter, the Spurs, who had turned the tide through offense, lost the game for many reasons.

But that's not the point.

The point is that the Warriors have brought that golden wave to San Antonio.

Qin Yue, who scored 39 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 blocks and 1 steal for the Warriors in the game, said in an interview: "Can we win this series and move on? My answer is that as long as we can work together every night, we can defeat all opponents."

At the scene, the reporter asked: "Since entering the playoffs, your condition has been getting better and better. What role do you think you have played in the Warriors' progress to where they are today?"

Qin Yue replied: "If calculated in percentage, then I should have played a 1% role in this."

The reporter was surprised: "1%?"

Qin Yue nodded and said, "I will give the remaining 99% to my teammates, because without them, I would not be able to lead the Warriors to where they are now. Basketball is a sport for five people."

Now is the time when the Warriors need unity, and Qin Yue can't say anything that is not conducive to unity.

However, his teammates did not agree with Qin Yue’s statement.

Artest said: "1%? That's just the Messiah's humble words. He is our absolute core. With him, we can defeat all opponents. Without him, we can't beat anyone."

Davis said frankly: "I think that's why he can guide us to keep moving forward. He always gives us the credit, but we all know in our hearts that he is the 99%."

Richardson said: "I like playing with him. He always makes winning easy. He deserves all the praise. In fact, in my mind, he is already the most outstanding player in the NBA, no doubt about it."

Because his teammates had already said all the good things, Brown said in an interview: "The Messiah doesn't have to praise me so much. Tell me, how can I deserve that 99%?"

After a pause, Brown laughed and said, "I was just joking. To be honest, I don't know how to describe him. In short, he is the best NBA player I have ever seen."

After the game, because he extremely didn't want to praise Qin Yue, especially his unorthodox playing style in his eyes, Popovich simply gave the task of attending the press conference to Budenholzer.

As a result, Budenholzer praised Qin Yue right away: "He completely defeated us tonight. We can only pray that God will not wear the Warriors' No. 30 jersey again in the next game."

In response, Popovich angrily said afterwards: "I don't object to you praising him, but why do you give him such a high evaluation?"

Hearing this, Budenholzer smiled bitterly and said, "Pop, do you want people to say that the defending champion lost to a team that was unknown last season and a rookie?"

Popovich sighed and said sharply, "We just lost the first game, but those bystanders made it seem like we lost the series.

We have tested the Warriors' strength through this game. As long as the referees are not like Dan Crawford, we will definitely have the last laugh."

Budenholzer nodded and said, "I agree with you. We were too tired in this game and couldn't fully play our strength."

According to the schedule, the Spurs will get two days of precious rest time and will continue to play against the Warriors at home on the evening of the 13th.

In order to give the players enough rest, Popovich accepted the advice of the Spurs staff and canceled the Spurs' training plan for the next two days.

Now, the Warriors must forget the joy that came with capturing the AT&T Center in Game 1.

Because, after two days of rest
The Spurs in Game 2 will gradually get rid of the impact of the seven-game battle with the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs.

Although after the G1 battle, everyone was saying that if miracles must have a color, then why can't it be the golden color of the Warriors?
But before completely ending a series, the Warriors must not take opponents like the Spurs lightly.

"This will be a de facto decisive battle."

Before the G2 battle started, Qin Yue said this to his teammates.

……

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(End of this chapter)