On Sunday, January 9, 2022, the Spurs came to Brooklyn in New York to play against the Nets, playing at 12:00 p.m. EST, which is 1:00 a.m. Beijing time.
Although it was most of the night and the next day or Monday, it still attracted many fans of both teams to stay up late to watch. Before the game, everyone generally predicted that the Spurs would not win much, after all, as the tenth reconstructed team in the West (Note: pre-game ranking, currently ranked eleventh), coupled with a wave of epidemics away from home, the Spurs rotation was very tight.
In contrast, the Nets, the second in the East, plus a neat lineup, but despite the huge difference in strength, the two teams contributed a very good game.
Injuries: Spurs: Thaddeus Young, Derrick White, Kelden Johnson, Trey Jones, Devon Vassell, Doug McDermott (all league health and safety agreements, six currently scattered in detroit, Boston, Philadelphia three places quarantined); Zach Collins (recovering from an ankle injury)
Nets: Kyrie Irving (can't play at home), Ramacus Aldridge (sees Bobo's ass hurt and his right foot hurts), Joe Harris (ankle)
Both sides started:
Spurs: Keita Bates-Diop, Jacob Pelter, Dejuntai Murray, Lonnie Walker, Josh Primo
Nets: Kevin Durant, Nick Clexton, David Duke, Patty Mills, James Harden
In the first quarter, before the game started, The Spurs side Walker wanted to open first, and single-handedly received four assists from Murray and scored 12 consecutive points. It's a pity to lose two free throws, otherwise it would have been 14 points.
It wasn't until 5:22 with 5:22 left in the first quarter that Murray hit a 3+1 shot from 45 degrees on the left, becoming the Spurs' second player to score.
Both sides are on the rookie early today, the Nets side of the first quarter is not halfway through the rookie Cameron Thomas, the Spurs side also took the whole village cub Primo at the end of the first quarter, the latter with a three-pointer to make the score 32-32, ending the first quarter.
At the start of the second quarter, the Spurs took the lead, with Peltel and Kacock scoring six consecutive points on the inside, and then starting to come and go. With 4:05 left, Nets player Clarkston hit a free throw, and then it was the Spurs' last lead.
With 3:42 left in the second quarter, the Nets went on a 13-4 run to lead nine points 60-51 into midfield.
After the roster rotation began in the second quarter, the weaknesses of the Spurs' important players were completely exposed. During the Nets' 13-4 run, the Spurs put together a lineup of Forbes + Diop + Randale + Taylor Johnson + Primo, which they had almost never seen before, and in the end, only Diop and Primo scored two points each.
The loss of handling the core of the ball is huge, newcomer Taylor Johnson as a substitute point guard, the performance of this game is decent, although it is very stable and not impatient to handle the ball, but for the team tactics and teammates on the field of control is certainly not as good as the familiar team of Xiaobai or even Little Jones, after watching can not help but sigh that the personnel is the biggest advantage at present.
Yi Bian fought again, and the Spurs starters all returned to the court. At the beginning of the game, the 9-point difference became 11 points, and even widened to 14 points at one point.
This section needs to thank the hedgehogs who went to sleep after watching the second quarter, the Spurs successfully played three crazy, and after the two sides scored 7 three-pointers, the Spurs won 7 points in a single quarter to end the third quarter 89-91.
The high energy of the whole game occurred in the second half of the fourth quarter. After Harden scored two consecutive three-pointers in the early days, the point difference remained around 6 points, and was once stretched to 10 points by Harden's three-point foul.
However, with 4 minutes and 1 second left in the game, Durant's jump shot turned out to be the net's last goal in the regular time, the Spurs relied on the layups of Murray and Walker, plus Walker and Primo to score a three-pointer, and Diop almost won the empty connection in the last 0.8 seconds, and finally the two teams drew 113 into overtime.
Overtime style is a very consistent "shot loss", "shot loss" and "shot loss", one side hit the other side immediately responded, but the Spurs are the side that has been chasing points, the Nets always score first, then the Spurs respond, then score, and then respond, and finally 1.7 seconds Nets rookie Thomas received Durant assists and shots, and the Nets ended the game at 121-119.
Today's game, although the Spurs side of Murray's offensive end is not good, but in terms of organization and defense to maintain the same hot state of the game, with 19 points, 9 rebounds and 12 assists.
Walker, who started today, had a team-high, a season-high 25 points and three rebounds and four assists. Speaking about Walker in an interview after the game, Bobo said he thought he had improved a lot this season and was gradually becoming a better player.
"Like his brothers, he's maturing."
Bonsai made his debut today, shooting inside and out, and repeatedly through physical contact to reach the free throw.
It's clear that Walker is perfectly capable of doing that every game night, and perhaps he's been trapped by his childhood experiences to repulse physical contact, but now he's showing signs of coming out. In this game, he still achieved a new season high despite his declining jump shooting rate, which is the strongest proof of this view.
His aggressive performance not only improved his performance, but also created opportunities for his teammates because of the defensive pressure he exerted on his opponents.
After the game, when everyone is discussing the game and saying goodnight to each other, they may forget one thing, which is actually a game with a large disparity in strength, "less loses is better than win".
Opposite is the second in the East, we are the tenth in the West; opposite there are the top stars in the league, we are a group of ordinary players with little fame; the opposite lineup is neat, our group of main rotation can only watch the game in isolation in the hotel, and the backup point guard only signed a 10-day contract yesterday.
However, it is such a team, in the case of a wave at the end of the second quarter, it is hard to bite the score to the last moment, drag into overtime, and only lose one goal. The team rotated 10 people, seven doubles, assists and steals were better than the opposite, and even forced the Nets out of the season high of 22 turnovers. The resilience in the team culture is probably this.
Murray played 40 minutes and played the level of the All-Star and even the best defensive team (Spurs reporter commented); Wakeley suddenly scored consecutive points and many active physical contact; Kacock fell to the ground several times, got the rebound from the backcourt and rushed down to the fast attack; Diop defended Durant multiple times in the second half of the fourth quarter; Primoga stepped forward to get the opportunity to compete for the ball in the last moments. I didn't watch the entire livestream, so certainly not all of them. But from what I've seen, it's already from top to bottom, from old to young, from old to new.
"I'm proud of them, they've done a great job." Speaking in an interview, Bobo said, "It's their learning experience. In this game, they all stood up and played with all their strength, and that's what I'm most pleased about. ”
Finally, a little digression. On January 8, 2022, I wish little Jones, who is still in quarantine, a happy 22nd birthday. See the love dinner you sent to your daughter-in-law in the "circle of friends", eat more, the new one year old grows tall, and continue to enrich your offensive means.
The captain of Duke University, the beloved disciple of coach K, is coming back to play fast attack.
On January 9, 2022, I wished the Spurs veteran who was training with the Knicks Development League team, the 19th pick in the first round of the 2019 Draft, Luka Shamenic, happy 22nd birthday.
I hope that his new one-year-old can be more cheerful, more courageous, and more fierce. The two sides never adapted to each other, which led to a regrettable separation, but this is definitely not the end.
It is a good thing to wake up to your shortcomings, how many people are confused and unaware, since they understand, then try to step out. I know it's painful, it can subvert your habits, it's going to do things that you never consciously do, but you have to do it.
Know that you are just imprisoned by the high walls you have built yourself, really, that's all.
No fear, no hesitation, no surprise, no doubt.
January 21, 2022, will be the Spurs' last regular season game against the Nets.
At that time, the Spurs will be at home, welcoming Patti Mills and Ramacus Aldridge back to the village.
See you then.