711 Substitutes vs. Substitutes!
711 Substitutes vs. Substitutes!
In that same spot, Curry used the same move again.
He leaped high into the air, the basketball in his hand tracing a graceful arc before soaring over Parker's head.
The audience held their breath, their eyes glued to the basketball as it finally fell steadily into the hoop.
Curry's eyes revealed a hint of confidence and pride after scoring the goal.
He turned his head and looked at Parker behind him.
Meanwhile, Parker looked at Curry with a helpless expression, secretly lamenting how difficult this was.
At this point, half of the third quarter had already passed.
On the court, Curry and Parker engaged in a fierce battle, exchanging blows and refusing to give an inch.
Every offensive and defensive play was intense, and possession of the ball always seemed to be concentrated in their hands.
Despite the intense competition and the best efforts of both players, the score remained close.
Seeing that the situation on the court was not developing in the direction the Spurs had expected, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich made a decisive and important decision.
The team's core player, Duncan, was brought on as a substitute.
This substitution immediately drew cheers from the audience, who were all hoping that Duncan could lead the team to turn the tide.
However, just when fans were fully expecting the Clippers to bring in their star player Su Hao, an unexpected scene unfolded.
Clippers head coach Mike Dunleavy surprisingly chose to substitute Curry, and unexpectedly, he did not bring in Su Hao, but instead substituted in five reserve players at once.
In an instant, the entire stadium erupted in an uproar.
"My God, what are the Clippers doing? The Spurs have already fielded their full starting lineup, but they've put all their starters on the bench to rest? This is unbelievable!" Barkley exclaimed incredulously.
"Oh dear, look at the Clippers, they're still leading by such a large margin! How could they not be confident? You know, they have a super ace like Su Hao! So, you don't need to worry about it!" Miller said with a smile.
Just then, Curry came off the court, and Su Hao quickly reached out and gave Curry a light high five.
"Hey Curry, your performance in this first half was truly outstanding! Look at the score, the opponent hasn't caught up at all!" Su Hao teased Curry with a smile.
Hearing this, Curry couldn't help but laugh: "Haha, stop teasing me! You know how good I am when I'm in form. Once my three-pointers are on point, even I'm afraid of myself! When I'm in the zone, no one can stop me from shooting! The only person who can stop me from scoring is probably our head coach!"
As he spoke, Curry even turned his head to glance at the head coach on the sidelines.
"Oh? Are you blaming the head coach for substituting you when you were on fire?" Su Hao asked with a mischievous grin.
"Hmph, you guessed it! Tell me, I was on fire right now, and he had to choose this moment to make me take a break. Isn't that just ruining my good form?" Curry complained somewhat unhappily.
"You'll have your turn to play later, so just rest on the sidelines!" Su Hao said.
At this point, head coach Popovich chose to send his starting lineup back onto the court.
Among them are Parker and Ginobili.
However, from the first quarter until now, neither of them has had a chance to rest and has remained on the court the entire time.
The physical exertion was considerable, and he was clearly showing signs of fatigue.
Duncan was slightly luckier, having had a valuable rest during the previous half of the quarter before returning to the court. Shortly after entering the game, Parker reacted quickly, delivering a precise pass to Duncan in the paint.
After receiving the ball, Duncan did not hesitate, leaped high, and slammed the basketball into the basket, completing a powerful dunk!
Meanwhile, the Clippers were not to be outdone.
Paul George cleverly passed the ball to Foye, who was already lurking in the bottom corner.
Facing an unmarked defense, Foye decisively took the shot. The basketball drew a beautiful arc in the air and swished through the net, a three-pointer!
As time ticked away, both teams were giving it their all.
Nevertheless, after several minutes of intense competition, the score difference between the two teams remained in double digits.
Seeing that the situation was not optimistic, the usually calm and experienced Coach Popovich had to make adjustments. He first signaled Parker and Ginobili to leave the court for a rest.
After all, these two key players played almost the entire game in the first two quarters, which not only caused them to expend a lot of energy, but also prevented them from performing up to expectations.
Keeping them on the field will likely only exacerbate their fatigue and negatively impact their performance in subsequent matches.
"My God! The Clippers actually fielded this lineup, but even so, we're still managing to gradually close the gap? It's unbelievable!" Parker muttered to himself as he returned to the bench.
His face was filled with disbelief and frustration, while his teammates around him also looked helpless.
"It's definitely not entirely our fault for not trying hard enough! Look at the Clippers today, not only are their starters in top form and shooting hot, but even their bench players are performing amazingly, each shooting with incredible accuracy. Facing such a stellar performance, it's practically impossible for us to take the lead!"
"That's right! Even though Su Hao has been resting on the sidelines for almost a whole quarter, we still can't effectively narrow the gap. It feels like no matter how hard we try to attack, the other side can always easily neutralize and counterattack."
"And Curry, he's been off the court for several minutes now. We fielded our strongest lineup, but the result is utterly disappointing. Not only did we fail to close the gap, but we seem to be falling further behind. At this rate, is this game really going to end in defeat?"
"If we can't even beat the Clippers, how can we even talk about competing for the championship trophy? Even though we've fielded our strongest starting lineup, we're still helpless against the Clippers, which is really frustrating and despairing!"
The Spurs' bench players were whispering amongst themselves.
"Everyone, keep quiet!" came Coach Popovich's voice from the sidelines.
novelaction