Paul 23 minutes 6 fouls, lone ranger 20 three-pointers and next city! Harden scored 16 points in the final quarter, and the 76ers equalized in the final quarter!
Paul scored 5 points and 6 fouls! The Lone Ranger is in the next city
In the last game, the Lone Rangers, who returned home, forcibly pulled back a city after a nine-point victory over the Suns. In that game, Paul was targeted by the Lone Rangers, with as many as 7 turnovers, and the Suns' offense became extremely fragmented. After the bad performance in the last game, if Paul can't rebound this battle, then he will encounter greater doubts.
In the first quarter of the game, the Lone Rangers, under the combination of Doncic and Brunson, played a 17-5 climax to establish a double-digit lead, and the first quarter ended with a 12-point lead. In the second quarter, the Lone Rangers still held the initiative on the court, the point difference was always hovering around 10 points, and the Lone Rangers still led 68:56 at halftime. In the third quarter, although the Suns once chased the point difference to only 5 points, the Lone Rangers made another effort in the final stage, widening the point difference to 9 points. In the final quarter, Paul left the field six times early, and the Suns eventually lost the strength to resist, losing another game 101:111.
In this game, Paul, who was hoped by the fans to be able to welcome a rebound, lost himself again, and under the crazy targeting of the Lone Rangers, Paul encountered a serious foul crisis in this game, and had already worn 5 fouls in the first three quarters of the game, and received the sixth foul in the fourth quarter of the game and left the game. The last two games have been a humiliating battle in Paul's career playoffs, and it's worth mentioning that it's also two games since he's just passed his 37th birthday, and for the first time in his career, there have been 7 turnovers and 4 fouls in the half.
This campaign is also the fourth time in Paul's career playoffs that he has encountered 6 fouls to leave the field, and the referee's repeated whistles have also caused the always calm Paul to lose his due rhythm of the game, and he also clashed with the Lone Rangers fans during the game. And this undoubtedly led to his performance in this game is very bad, in the full 23 minutes of playing time, Paul only got 5 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists, in this situation, the Suns' offense has also been greatly hindered, including Ayton, Bridges and other players have not been able to play at a normal level. The Suns could only rely on Booker's 35 points to support themselves.
For the Lone Rangers, another win in this campaign also pulled them back from the edge of the cliff, and after the big score became 2:2, the Lone Rangers still had the hope of completing the counterattack to win the series. Although Doncic did not feel good, only 9 of 25 shots in the game, including only 1 of 10 three-pointers, the offensive efficiency was very bad, but he created many fouls by Paul, which caused the Suns to encounter huge trouble. The rest of the team hit the 20 three-pointers, including Smith alone, who shot eight three-pointers and scored 24 points.
After losing this game, the pressure came to the Suns. Although the next battle of King's Mountain will return to their home field, if Paul still can't find a way to break the Lone Ranger's targeted defense, then the Suns will still play very passively.
Harden's last quarter exploded! The 76ers equalized on aggregate
In the first two games between the two sides, the Heat took the absolute initiative due to Embiid's absence. After Embiid's return in the last game, not only did the Heat's interior defense encounter great challenges, but the 76ers' outside players had better offensive space, and they also won the game. Embiid also promised after the last game that he would play better in this campaign. If the 76ers go down again in this campaign, they will equalize the overall score of the series.
In the first quarter of the game, Embiid fulfilled his promise to score 15 points as soon as he came up, but the Heat relied on the team's strong overall grip on the score, and the 76ers temporarily led by two points at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, the 76ers began to gradually gain the upper hand, and at one point under Harden's leadership, they took a double-digit lead, temporarily leading by 8 points at halftime. In the second half of the third quarter, the sudden downturn of the 76ers gave the Heat a chance, and Butler slashed 17 points in a single quarter to help the team close the point difference to between millimeters. In the final quarter, Harden ushered in a big outbreak, contributing 16 points in a single quarter while leading the team to play a small climax in a row, and finally defeated the opponent 116:108.
The reason why the 76ers were able to win the match and equalize the total score of the series in this game was that the performance of the two emperors was a very important factor. Embiid shot 7-of-13 from the field and cut a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds on 9-of-13 free throws, including 15 points in the first quarter of the game, and the whole game also caused a big impact on the Heat's interior line. Harden, after almost sluggish playoffs before this game, finally ushered in a big explosion in this game, scoring a team-high 31 points on 8 of 18 shots, including 6 of 10 three-pointers, in addition to 7 rebounds and 9 assists, of which he scored 16 points in the final quarter to help the team regain the initiative.
The Heat, who lost again in this game, are facing a lot of psychological pressure, although Butler still played an excellent performance in this game, shooting 13 of 20 from the field, scoring a game-high 40 points in 13 of 12 free throws, in addition to 3 rebounds and 6 assists. Adebayo, who was almost beaten by Embiid in the last game, also rebounded in this game, cutting down a comprehensive stat of 21 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists on 9-of-12 shooting, but because the team's outside feel in this game was too bad, the three-point shooting rate was only 20%, and in the final quarter they failed to defend Harden's offense well, and they eventually lost the game.
After this game, the 76ers successfully pulled the score to a 2-2 draw, and the effect of Embiid's return was immediate, and the 76ers were like a different team, showing a completely different style inside and outside. Of course, they can't relax here, after all, the Heat are the first in the East this season, and they will undoubtedly develop a new defensive strategy for the duo after this battle, and the battle between the two sides is destined to be exciting.