There were 5 turnovers in a single quarter, which was something the Spurs coaching staff could not accept.
Taking advantage of the rotation phase, Duncan continued to play, and the Spurs began to slow down and reduce the number of rounds.
Lee, who also took the rotation lineup, sat on the bench and watched Sprewell miss shots, shaking his head helplessly.
In Game 3, he made 5 of 15 shots.
Although the "madman" did not send a block tonight, his shooting feel was still bad.
Jeff Van Gundy watched Sprewell throw a pick-and-roll after crossing half court, and hurriedly reminded him loudly:
"Patience! Be patient!"
Without switching offense, the Spurs slowed down again, repeatedly scoring in and out, and finally Duncan faced Kurt Thomas' defense in the right blocking area and made a rebound jump shot.
In less than 2 minutes, the Spurs tied the score.
At 24:24, Jeff Van Gundy still did not request a timeout, but the cheers in the Alamodome became louder and louder.
Steve Kerr, who came off the bench, passed the ball too low this time, and Kurt Thomas saw the opportunity and directly completed the steal.
In a rare switching offense, Sprewell rushed after receiving the ball, but when he rushed to the basket, he knocked down Jaren Jackson who was returning to defend.
Although the ball went into the basket, the referee immediately indicated that the goal was invalid and whistled Sprewell for an offensive foul!
"Oh!"
The cheers were getting louder and louder. Sprewell complained to the referee angrily. Jeff Van Gundy also shouted:
"Flop! My player has already dodged the defense!"
Tonight's referee Joe Crawford ignored the bald young coach and the game continued.
The Knicks counterattacked and failed.
Looking back, they pressed 24 seconds again.
Duncan attacked from the left low post, turned quickly towards the baseline, and made a shot that caused Kurt Thomas to foul.
Seeing Duncan make both free throws, Jeff Van Gundy frowned and immediately requested a timeout.
24:26, a wave of 6:0, the Spurs overtook the score.
Everyone on the bench smiled and stood up to celebrate with Duncan who walked to the sidelines.
The players missed the shot, and Jeff Van Gundy didn't have much better solution.
He simply called Lee to come on the court early:
"Pay attention to controlling fouls, Lee, speed up the game!"
Lee nodded and stretched his body.
The opponent was grinding for 24 seconds, and all he had to do was to work hard to increase the number of rounds.
Ewing, who was dressed in a light gray suit, was also clapping and encouraging loudly at this time:
"Give him physical confrontation and foul him harder. The opponent's free throws are not good!"
The gorilla wished he could go on the court and punch Duncan twice himself.
He was very dissatisfied with Kurt's soft fouls.
The team changed to three guards early, with Kurt and Ben in the interior.
Oakley, who played the entire first quarter, had to rest.
Popovich didn't care about physical fitness at this time, and also took back David Robinson and Elliott early.
The twin towers came on the court, and the back line was replaced by Daniels and Steve Kerr.
A quick baseline ball was sent, and Lee faced Kerr's defense and advanced at a fast speed.
Coming to the right wing, Kerr saw Ben Wallace behind him and began to move, and subconsciously blocked Lee's left hand, preparing to squeeze through the screen.
Noticing the opponent's move, Lee, who was holding the ball in his right hand, suddenly accelerated his dribbling speed, and dribbled behind his back twice at a very fast speed.
The moment his body swayed to the left, he immediately leaned forward and accelerated after switching to his right hand.
Kerr hurriedly adjusted his body center of gravity and slid to the left and back desperately.
Lee suddenly pulled back from his crotch on the three-point line, and Kerr's feet stumbled when he stopped suddenly.
He didn't have time to jump up to defend, and watched Lee stop and jump shot from the three-point line!
"Swish!" The three-pointer went into the net!
David Robinson, who was on the defensive, could only pat Kerr on the shoulder to comfort him.
In less than 11 seconds, the Knicks completed their attack, 27:26, and Lee's goal once again reversed the score.
"Boo!"
The boos in the arena could not affect Jeff Van Gundy's good mood.
The bald young coach excitedly punched.
Soon, the second quarter entered two different game rhythms.
Lee, Alan Houston, and Sprewell almost always looked for opportunities to shoot when they passed half court.
Tim Duncan and David Robinson played high and low positions, and each attack was aimed at 24 seconds.
Because the Knicks often missed shots quickly, the Spurs had a high success rate in attack, and the score continued to rise alternately.
Popovich on the sidelines became more and more excited and kept shouting.
With 1 minute and 9 seconds left in the first half, Duncan made two free throws and the score came to 44:40.
A huge defensive cheer erupted again in the Alamodome:
"Defense! Defense! Defense!"
Kurt received three fouls in just over half a quarter.
Oakley, who came off the bench, protected the rebound, and Sprewell quickly dribbled across half court.
After resting for most of the quarter, Avery Johnson returned to the court at the end of the second quarter, but the "little general" seemed particularly weak in these few rounds.
After Lee quickly slipped across the baseline from right to left, he immediately came to the left blocking area and asked for the ball with his back to the basket.
After receiving the pass from Sprewell, all the Knicks players immediately pulled away and cleared one side at the first opportunity.
After receiving the ball and turning around, Lee quickly took a large tentative step forward to the left with his right foot.
While retracting his foot, he immediately exerted force on his feet, leaned back slightly, and made a mid-range jump shot!
"Swish!" Two points hit again!
Avery Johnson looked at the shaking head and retreated to Lee, and was so angry that he slammed the ball, and was furious.
Doug Collins in the commentary booth continued to complain about the Spurs' defensive choices:
"Several blocks didn't work much. The Spurs need tall defenders!"
Kerr, Avery Johnson and Daniels were shot by Lee's tentative step-up jumper in the left and right blocking areas!
The Spurs have changed a circle of defenders, but the Knicks just chased the short guards for a one-on-one challenge.
"Houston and Sprewell's shooting feel is average tonight, otherwise the Knicks would have led by a large score. Their offense is too fast."
Bob Costas also shook his head.
The Spurs' game strategy seemed to have some problems.
Although Sprewell missed the shot, he was in high spirits at this time.
He excitedly bumped fists with Lee and continued to chase Mario Elie on the defensive end.
In the last minute of the half, neither side scored, and Oakley and Ben Wallace did not receive the third foul.
At the end of the first half, the score was still 46:40.
Jeff Van Gundy clapped his hands excitedly, victory was just around the corner!
In the Alamodome, the Spurs fans could no longer hold back, and the noise became louder and louder.
When the game started, several fans were still holding up models of the O'Brien Trophy and shouting, but now there was no sound.
In the commentary booth, Bob Costas looked at the technical statistics and said in surprise:
"In the second quarter, the Knicks took a total of 27 shots! The Spurs only took 17 shots."
"Lee shot 4 of 8, Houston shot 3 of 7, and Sprewell shot 2 of 6. The three of them shot crazily and almost scored all the points for the Knicks in the quarter."
Doug Collins had noticed this a long time ago, but at this time he praised the Spurs' defense:
"In the paint area, it was difficult for the Knicks to score. Several times they went down to the basket, they were interfered by the help defense."
"The Spurs should probably speed up. They can't solve the defensive problem. The right choice is to respond on the offensive end."
The two discussed in the commentary booth, but after the start of the second half, Popovich did not follow, but continued to slow down.
In the first round, Larry Johnson missed a back-to-the-basket single shot near the right baseline, and David Robinson successfully protected the rebound.
After Avery Johnson pressed 8 seconds to cross half court, he immediately passed the ball to David Robinson at the free throw line.
Oakley pushed the ball in the left low post.
The old man certainly knew the Spurs' tactics, but he was immediately called for a foul by the referee for pulling.
Duncan was still expressionless and made a tactical gesture.
The Spurs kicked the ball out of the sideline and played the same tactics again.
After receiving the third foul, Oakley did not dare to take action easily.
As a result, the Spurs completed the high and low post cooperation, and David Robinson assisted Duncan to dunk under the basket.
46:42, the Spurs team quickly retreated to narrow the gap.
The Knicks attacked, and Lee just crossed half court, and Mario Elie immediately came to the left wing to double-team in advance.
At the same time, Elliott immediately rotated his defense, let go of Larry Johnson in the right corner, and moved in front of Alan Houston.
Lee passed the ball quickly, and Alan Houston immediately passed the ball to Larry Johnson in the open space.
The ball was quickly transferred to the line, but Larry Johnson, who was in an open position, was not confident in his shot.
After receiving the ball, he went straight to the basket, but was blocked by Duncan who was helping to defend.
"Oh!"
The Spurs fans cheered loudly.
Avery Johnson did not speed up, but continued to slow down the pace and play positional offense.
Going in and out, repeatedly pulling the defense, and finally with nearly 24 seconds left, Avery Johnson and David Robinson completed a pick-and-roll at the right elbow.
At the free throw line, David Robinson received the ball and made a jump shot!
The score difference was narrowed again, and Tim Duncan also showed his excitement, pumping his fist and shouting.
Jeff Van Gundy saw that the Spurs began to double-team Lee again, and he couldn't help but think of the situation in the previous game.
He hurriedly reminded him loudly on the sidelines:
"Don't hesitate, shoot resolutely when you are open!"
Just after he gave the instructions, Larry Johnson hit another missed shot in the open position in the left corner.
Larry Johnson shook his hands in frustration, but he couldn't make the shot.
The game completely entered the rhythm of the Spurs, who kept double-teaming, quickly rotated on the line defense, left the weak side open, and quickly helped defend when they broke through.
Elliott and Mario Elie were tossed around, and the Knicks moved the ball very quickly.
But the double-team still worked, and the Spurs could clearly feel that the Knicks slowed down.
Every time Lee got the ball again, the offensive time would come to about 18 seconds.
Although he could still make a shot, the weak side that was left open never responded.
In the second half of the third quarter, Sprewell, who was on the bench, missed an open three-pointer and then started to force his way to the basket.
Duncan, who was helping to defend, blocked the shot near the right baseline, and his fingertips brushed the basketball, which eventually made Sprewell's shot miss.
There were not many points for both sides, and the game was slow, but Doug Collins in the commentary booth watched with great interest, and kept praising:
"Tim Duncan's sense of position is too good, Sprewell should not hesitate, maybe he should choose to continue to break through to the basket."
As the game time ran out, David Robinson also missed his shot.
This time, the strong attack under the basket caused Ben Wallace's third foul, and the second free throw was missed.
"Little Ben" grabbed the rebound and quickly passed the ball to Lee.
Near the end of the game, Avery Johnson, who was physically declining, failed to keep up with Lee's offensive rhythm.
On the left wing, facing a sudden explosion, he stepped back, his feet were heavy, and he failed to make a block.
Avery Johnson watched Lee convert a three-point jumper!
"Swish!" The three-pointer went into the net!
64:64, with 34 seconds left in the third quarter, the two sides returned to the same starting line.
Avery Johnson raised his hand in frustration to indicate that it was his problem, while Popovich on the sidelines loudly reminded the players to hold on.
In the last two rounds, neither side was able to score, and the Alamodome was completely boiling.
The Spurs seemed to have regained the initiative.
Jeff Van Gundy was dissatisfied with the referee's whistle and kept complaining, but was soon pulled back by the coaching staff:
"It doesn't matter. When there is an opportunity, believe that you can hit the next shot!"
The bald young coach squatted on the floor and continued to give chicken soup.
Larry Johnson and Sprewell looked depressed.
They almost repeated the performance of G3.
On the other side, the Spurs were also breathing heavily.
If they wanted to quickly rotate the defense, they would have to keep sliding and spend more energy.
Popovich couldn't do anything fancy at this time.
He continued to fight the main players and didn't consider changing players.
He encouraged loudly:
"There are only 12 minutes left. If we win this game, we can get the match point at home. Hang in there!"
"."
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, in the first round, Duncan hit a mid-range jump shot in the left blocking area again.
64:66, the Spurs once again overtook the score!
Quickly serving the baseline ball, Sprewell pushed through half court.
Facing Avery Johnson who was half a step away in front of him, he did not choose to play alone, but passed the ball to Lee on the right wing.
The moment he received the ball, Elliott immediately moved up, defended sideways, and let go of Lee's right hand.
Lee did not hesitate to release the ball with his right hand and immediately accelerated to break through.
Noticing that Duncan in the paint area came up to assist in defense, Lee, who was moving in the blocking area on the right, exerted force on his feet to lean towards Elliott.
The two collided with each other, then quickly stepped back, drifted towards the baseline, and completed a fadeaway jump shot!
"Swish!" A steady mid-range hit!
Duncan had already moved to the edge of the paint area and almost completed the assist defense.
Elliott raised his eyebrows helplessly.
The defensive strategy was changed again, but after the high-intensity defense in the third quarter, the lateral speed dropped significantly.
The two sides fought for several rounds, and soon the Spurs began to miss shots.
Mario Elie immediately found out that something was wrong.
After Alan Houston received the ball and made a jump shot in the right elbow area, he rushed in with the ball in the next round.
Then the referee immediately blew the whistle and called a foul on Oakley who was assisting in defense.
"Hey! I've already fouled in advance!"
Alan Houston hurriedly raised his hand to signal, and kept explaining to the referee that it was his foul, but the referee did not change the penalty.
Oakley was so angry that he almost went up to punch Mario Elie twice, but was quickly pulled back by everyone.
At this time, he was sent off and there was a high probability that he would be beaten inside.
Mario Elie's two free throws seemed to be a signal.
The Spurs suddenly opened up their Creativity.
Everyone rushed to the basket with the ball.
The referee began to blow the whistle continuously, and the cheers in the Alamodome became louder and louder.
Doug Collins, who was in the commentary booth, saw that Oakley and Ben Wallace had received their fifth fouls in 6 minutes, and was speechless for a while.
Bob Costas couldn't comment on the current game, so he simply praised Lee again:
"Lee seems to have found his touch again and started to hit jump shots again!"
The Knicks' breakthroughs didn't sound the whistle at all, which made several people on the court a little irritable, and Jeff Van Gundy on the sidelines didn't stop complaining.
With 1 minute and 12 seconds left in the game, as Mario Elie missed the second free throw, the score came to 80:81.
"Defense! Defense! Defense!"
Sprewell quickly crossed half court, and Elliott on the right wing was already hanging on Lee at this time.
Lee was pulled while running back from the baseline to set a screen.
After a lot of trouble, he finally received the pass on the left wing away from the three-point line.
After Sprewell passed the ball, he immediately moved sideways to open up the offensive space, while Avery Johnson immediately rushed to Lee.
Everyone knew that Lee would not pass the ball at all with 24 seconds left, so the two naturally rushed to him desperately.
After receiving the ball, he immediately let go of the ball with his left hand.
Lee hung on Elliott's defense and quickly came to the three-point line on the left wing.
Suddenly, he stopped and raised the ball to fake it.
Avery Johnson also caught up at this time.
Elliott was deceived.
Seeing Lee take advantage of the time difference to jump up and shoot, he immediately rushed to him from the side!
Lee twisted his body at this time, ignoring the defense on his side, and quickly jumped and shot!
As soon as the basketball left his hand, the three of them fell to the left wing at the same time.
"Swish!" The three-pointer went into the net!
83:81, the Alamodome suddenly became quiet.
Jeff Van Gundy, who had just been scolding the referee, jumped up excitedly and punched continuously.
Lee also quickly stood up from the floor and glared at the referee Joe Crawford who was right beside him.
The bald referee was like a blind man, signaling the game to continue.
There were 49 seconds left in the game.
The Spurs fans could no longer hold back, and the arena became more and more noisy.
Popovich hurriedly signaled the players to calm down.
After Avery Johnson rushed across half court, Oakley also waved his hand, indicating that there was no need for help defense.
At the last moment, the Spurs naturally gave the ball to Tim Duncan.
After receiving the pass, everyone pulled away.
After receiving the ball with his back to the basket, he immediately put the ball in his right hand and hit it.
Duncan squeezed hard to the basket, approaching the paint area, and suddenly turned quickly.
After scooping the ball with his left hand, Duncan passed Oakley and went straight to the basket.
The old guy didn't even think about defending well.
While Duncan was about to swing his arm to dunk, he blocked the shot from the side.
The ball didn't touch at all.
Duncan tried to tilt his head, but still got hit hard by Oakley's neck.
With 30 seconds left in the game, Duncan staggered after being hit by Oakley, and the referee blew the whistle again.
"Boo!"
Bob Costas saw the Knicks replace Chris Dudley and introduced Duncan's free throws:
"Tim Duncan made all of his first 10 free throws! As long as he makes two free throws, the Spurs still have a chance to win the game!"
As if he was stunned by Oakley, Duncan aimed for a long time on the first free throw, but still missed.
"Oh!!"
Spurs fans exclaimed, but Duncan still missed the second free throw.
Ben Wallace grabbed the rebound and Jeff Van Gundy immediately requested a timeout.
"."
Watching the atmosphere group on the Knicks bench jumping and shouting wildly, the Alamodome fell completely silent.
Duncan also showed annoyance after missing two free throws.
Popovich was a little confused at this time.
The coaching staff hurriedly arranged the defense.
They still had a chance.
After the timeout, the Spurs continued to double-team Clay Lee.
The moment Sprewell received the ball, they immediately fouled and called for free throws.
Popovich chose to let Sprewell, who made 2 of 4 free throws in this game, stand on the free throw line.
Doug Collins saw Sprewell's first free throw hit steadily, and immediately said:
"This doesn't seem to be a very good choice!"
As soon as the voice fell, Sprewell made almost no adjustments and made the second free throw.
85:81, the Knicks led by 4 points!
"Ah!!"
Pumping their fists and roaring, Sprewell and Lee bumped their chests to celebrate.
Requesting a timeout again, the Spurs looked at Popovich with frustration in their eyes.
In the last 25 seconds of the game, Elliott received the ball and was fouled by Lee, and continued to shoot free throws.
In the Alamodome, the Spurs fans who stood up to watch the game were praying.
As a result, Elliott missed two free throws.
Jeff Van Gundy saw Ben Wallace grabbing the rebound, raised his hands and celebrated wildly.
Although "Little Ben" made one of two free throws, the 5-point difference was enough to ensure the Knicks' victory.
In the end, the Spurs missed a three-pointer, and the buzzer sounded at the end of the game, and the long fourth quarter finally ended.
86:81, the Knicks successfully got the match point away from home!
Lee couldn't hold it back at this time.
Although he still remained calm, he immediately turned his head and walked towards the player tunnel, shouting:
"MOTHERFUCK!! Bullshit calls, keep shooting free throws! Damn game!"
Tim Duncan squatted on the free throw line for a long time after the game and was unwilling to get up.
David Robinson stood beside his little brother, with his hands on his hips, silently looking at the scoreboard.
In the NBC commentary booth, Bob Costas did not comment on the game, but praised Lee's performance:
"13 of 27, 3 of 7 three-pointers, 5 of 6 free throws, 34 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, Lee's last three-pointer changed the game."
Seeing the technical statistics, the Spurs made another 18 free throws in the fourth quarter.
Doug Collins glanced at his partner, raised his eyebrows and said,
"Maybe the Knicks will protest to the league after the game. Of course, I think coach Popovich's final choice is debatable."
"."
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