Warriors vs Kings Game 4, 126-125. Oita 2 to 2.
The side that defended stronger and more determined won.
The two sides combined for a high score of 251 points – but it was indeed the defense that determined the victory.
Today's suspension expired and he could have started, but Coach Cole used him as a substitute. Probably want to try it too:
"Would it be more comfortable to separate him and Looney?"
The Warriors started with a surprisingly fast start, with a few counterattacks: 9 seconds, 6 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds... Just three minutes later, he had scored 11 points, almost replicating Dantony's 7-second attack on the Suns.
But there was a mistake in the busy, Wiggins passed the ball out of bounds, Clay missed the pass, and Poole made a mistake. 3 mistakes in the half quarter.
Chasing Dream came out instead of Looney, just came up and played tigers, 6 points and 2 rebounds in 5 minutes, he, Curry and Devine three high-ball merchants played together, and the Kings couldn't cope.
However, that section of the warrior tried the joint defense and did not defeat the king; When Curry took a break early in the second quarter, Poole was too positive. When Poole narrowly missed a split and saved the ball to assist Looney to chase 45 draws, courtside commentator Mark Jones:
"Poole almost kind of... Too much done..."
Wiggins' state has not yet returned, and a fast-attack counterattack dunk was chased by Xiaosa, and the defensive end could not hold Fox; Cole tried Kuminga again against Fox, to no avail. When the Warriors led 60-51, Curry decisively singled out Sa Jr. while returning from dreaming of replacing Poole.
Three minutes later, the Warriors went 14-9: they still lost 69 points in the first half, but saved the game.
So in the second half, Chase Dream replaced Poole and returned to the starting lineup.
It means that Cole said: The trial is temporarily over.
Poole played well on the offensive end of the first half, scoring 12 points, but it was difficult to say anything on the defensive end.
Wiggins' defensive pace was perfectly balanced and shadowy, but he hadn't returned to his peak — he was chased by Sasa for that dunk, which was unimaginable last year — so he couldn't cover Fox's top and bottom set in the first half.
Clay had a great offensive feel today, but his movement on the defensive end, including retreating, was no longer at its peak.
Poole is a bit like the grandpa of an elderly couple in my neighborhood - the old gentleman runs the park by himself at a pace and watches for 6 minutes, occasionally rushing a few times; When running with his wife, he looked at the pace for 8 minutes, running lightly upside down, almost like walking. Poole looks quite fast when attacking, and when defending, it's like walking with his wife, and the high center of gravity follows the opposite ball carrier:
"I didn't let him go, he was too fast..."
The Kings scored 69 points in the first half, a team all-time record of nine three-pointers in the half.
No wonder: The Warriors' defensive resources are suited to a group of wings — like the Celtics in last season's Finals — but headaches when they encounter guards who pierce freely: Fox and Monk in this series, Morant last year.
So in the second half, Chasing Dream starter.
Let's eat the lack of space - you still have to defend.
Insert a sentence: The Knicks won Game 4, 3-1 Cavaliers.
Aces on both sides: Mitchell scored 11 points on 5-of-18 shooting, Brunson 29 points.
Both sides tried to pinch the opposite ball ace.
The Knicks hit Mitchell at no cost: The Cavaliers lacked space for shooters, shooting 6-of-23 from three-point range. They tried Mob's inside the basket (8 points in the first quarter) and Garland blocked (took over the game in the third quarter), but couldn't pull the space. Miró and Hatten sit in the box, and the Knights can't attack.
Mobley this little KG, the question now is:
He partners with Allen, eating space for each other to block attacks (a bit similar to Dream + Looney); If you don't partner with Arun, you can't carry the cross-meat monsters of Milo and Hatten.
This summer, Mobley hangs a flesh or makes a deadly three-pointer, and one of the two must be done.
The Cavaliers caught Brunson and paid a heavy price: Miró had seven frontcourt rebounds in 27 minutes (five in the previous game), Barrett missed none of his three-pointers, but scored 26 points on 13 free throws: back home he was like a left-handed version of Spreville.
And no one for the Cavaliers is worthy of the tonnage of Brunson, only by Garland and Okolo.
Knicks' hidden hero today: Hart has been smiling at Mitchell on the defensive end, optimistic and cheerful to do a good job of blue-collar work, but also stealing frontcourt rebounds, assault layups, and three assaults in the fourth quarter and one frontcourt rebound assists Brunson and kills the game.
Plainly:
The Knicks can afford to hit Mitchell, and the Cavaliers can't afford to hit Brunson.
Back to the Warriors.
When Cole used Kuminga to defend Fox in the second quarter, he clearly had some ideas; The arrangement of the second half shows the continuation of the idea: chasing dreams on the inside and defending the league's fastest guard Fox.
——I wonder if it was the influence of Zen masters? After all, he used to use Jordan to deal with Assassins and KJ, Harper to get Payton, and Kobe to Mark Jackson and Wilson.
- "Use a big guy who is stable and real to play against the opponent's long-range shot and inaccurate ball attacker".
- It's really done.
Dream Fox, there is also a magic use:
Previously, who defended against Fox, Fox called Xiao Sa to cover, and as soon as he changed his defense, the opposite side had to carry Xiao Sa; Chasing dreams + Looney respectively against Fox + Sam, as soon as Fox called to change defense, Sasa faced Chasing Dreams:
"Don't come here..."
Fox scored 21 points in the first half. In the third quarter, he was haunted by dreams and scored only 5 points.
Of course, the Warriors have to pay for it: chasing dreams is useful on the defensive end, killing space on the offensive end, and can't shoot under the basket.
Fortunately, the defense is indeed good: in the third quarter, Chase Dream made a free throw and dunked points, gave Curry a change of defense singles Barnes, turned back to defend Fox, and the Warriors took the lead in the third quarter.
- The Kings scored 69 points in the first half and 23 points in the third quarter.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Curry + Poole led for a while, the king was fierce, and the Warriors went up to Chase Dream to defend: Chase Dream cast an early change defense Fox, and when Fox found Sam, he retreated back to get Sam:
Both Fox and Sam ignored him a little.
Wiggins defended Fox and was eaten again, Chasing Dream's crotch pass to assist Curry with a three-pointer, 114-109.
At that time, the Warriors were at their limit, so Curry personally went into battle. Chasing dreams to death Fox, Curry personally went to face Monk - after all, only his speed can match.
Sister Doris Burke on the sidelines was shocked:
"This scene is not common, is it?"
After all, according to her logic, Coach Mike Brown said between the series, "Never be constrained by your opponent, never do what your opponent wants you to do." "Curry's physical strength is precious, use him to position Monk?
But Curry held on.
When the Warriors led 116-115, the Kings had a chance to lead, and Chasing Dream took the ball from Sa Jr., allowing Clay to counterattack and make a free throw to open the score:
It was his first crucial offensive and defensive first quarter in the fourth quarter.
Fox bypassed the dream chase to find Looney, making a 117-118 shot and Curry also made a three-pointer.
After that, there are two sides wrong in and wrong out:
Poole missed, Fox made a cross error; Wiggins finally covered Fox with a bad breath, but then Mitchell took advantage of the Warriors' mistake for an empty basket - when it was, Wiggins and Curry were running out of strength on the bottom line.
The Kings made many typical youngster mistakes in the fourth quarter to give the Warriors the lead; But whenever the Warriors were about to open the point gap, they stubbornly chased after them.
Cole gave Dream a minute and a half to rest, and then he finished for Poole: As soon as he played, Looney blocked a layup for Sam Jr. and assisted Wiggins to throw a shot: 126-121.
It was his second crucial offense and defense in the fourth quarter.
This should have been the end of it.
But Fox's youthful blood is still unwilling. Previously, his physical strength was exhausted, and his throwing could only wipe the front basket, and the dribbling was almost destroyed by Chasing Dream, but he still braved once:
Chasing dreams to defend him, mainly limiting his breakthrough and mid-range shooting routes, and then saving three-pointers; So in the last 29 seconds of the game, Fox faced the dream chasing three-pointer:
He made the only three-pointer of the second half.
125 to 126.
Curry missed the throw, giving the King 11 seconds left.
— Fox combined for 547 points in the fourth quarter this season, the second-most in the league, shooting 52 percent from the field in the fourth quarter. A true fourth quarter key killer. He was just voted the Most Critical Player of the Year award.
— Just score this killer and give the Kings a 3-1 lead over the defending champion Warriors.
Fox pushes forward and faces the dream.
Barnes came from the left of the dream, and Curry switched to Fox.
Chasing Dream pinched Fox's route to the left, Curry was close, Fox turned to protect the ball, tried to break through Curry, and found that Chasing Dream was blocking in front of him and almost lost the ball; Forced to collect the ball and hand it to Barnes, Curry quickly rotated to fill in the position.
Barnes, as if he were in the Finals seven years ago in a Warriors jersey, routinely missed three-pointers.
At the end of the game, Curry and Dream hugged together.
Curry scored 32 points, but throughout the second half, as well as in the final moments, it was him and Dream's defensive lockdown.
Of course, Curry commented for the first time after the game: Chasing Dream can't shoot at the basket today, but "everything else he did well."
Fox scored 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting in the first half and 5-of-15 in the second half; Especially in the third quarter when the Warriors turned defeat to victory, he scored only 5 points after chasing dreams.
Defense wins.
Prior to this game, Curry was the third-most moved player in each playoff game this season — ahead of Booker and Leonard (Leonard only played two, of course...). ）。 After Fox experienced running with Curry, he said, "JR Smith used to say that Delavedovar defended Curry and almost ran to death?" That's true! ”
Curry, 35, moved 535 feet more per game than 25-year-old Fox in this series.
Both shot 4-of-9 from the field in the fourth quarter, 10 to 12. You take over, I accompany.
The Warriors made a total of eight shots in the fourth quarter, four from Curry.
Today Fox played 39:53 and Curry 42:42.
Curry scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to match Fox and used his precious physical strength to match Monk.
Last-minute defensive lockdown.
The Warriors used to have two sides: light blocking, cutting jumpers, and changing defenses to be tenacious.
Today, lightness and speed, especially in the first half, are Kings' strengths; When the Warriors played brisk in the first half, they were pulled away at one point.
In the final second half, the Warriors won, and indeed relied on tenacity, defense and endless running.
Literally: ran until the last second.