The Eastern European twin stars shine with 63 points to catch the wolf, and the top stage of the playoffs belongs to the superstars after all

Qing Yang said

2024-05-23 14:56Posted in Anhui Sports Creators

In the first game of the Western Conference finals, the Mavericks took the lead 108-105 on the road.

The Eastern European combination combined with 63 points, while the champion combination of Huazi + Tangzi scored a total of 35 points, and the gap is clear at a glance.

In other words, today's Timberwolves' overall tactical layout and role player play are close to perfect, but the team's top-level design level is not enough.

Three-pointers, 18-of-49 for the Timberwolves, 6-of-25 for the Mavericks,

The Timberwolves scored double-doubles with six players, as well as McDaniels, who scored 24 points on 6-of-9 three-point shooting, and Lee Kyle, who scored 7 points in a minute and 11 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

In total, they have conceded just 108 points, and this season they are 48-3 when they limit opponents to under 108 points, including winning all six of their playoff games.

But they still lost today, scoring 36 more points than the Mavericks on the three-point line, but allowing the Mavericks to score 24 more points (62-38) under the basket and even lose 8 rebounds (40-48).

And, most importantly, at this stage of the playoffs, the Eastern Europe side on the other side is still more superstar than Edwards and Downs.

Irving in the first half (24 points on 11-of-14 shooting) and Luka (15-of-8 shooting) in the fourth quarter made them feel the "unreasonable" strength of the superstar.

It was a game where both teams showed why they were able to stand on the stage of the Western Conference Finals.

The size and defense of the Timberwolves, as well as Edwards, the Mavericks' Eastern Europe and the bench where people are always on the bench, as well as the giants in the front court who are second only to the Timberwolves in the West, have proven that they can make it to the Western Conference with more than just the good fortune of the Eastern Pacers.

In particular, the two coaches, Kidd and Finch, showed us their high standard in the pre-match set-up.

How do the Timberwolves' frontcourt giants and Edwards' individual offense break?

Then shrink the wings to block the middle, and even allow the Timberwolves to shoot three-pointers when defending, but resolutely not let the outside line be abused by Edwards like the Nuggets.

So today, McDaniels ate and drank well, shooting 6 of 9 from beyond the three-point line, and even Lee Kyle got a lot of open shots.

The price was that Hua Zi couldn't get in, and today he scored 19 points on 6-of-16 shooting, but 12 shots were from beyond the three-point line (5-of-12), that is, he only scored one two-pointer in the game, handed out eight assists and had three turnovers.

The Timberwolves' most important offensive weapon actually broke down today.

Finch, on his part, is also prepared.

He must have watched the video of how the last round of Thunder was annoyed by Washington and Jones, and knew how disgusting it was for another person to pop up outside Eastern Europe.

Add to that the Mavericks' current No. 1 three-point shot in the West in the playoffs (12.2 of 34.1 shots per game), and he's found the defensive focus of this game.

He chose to trust the outside defensive group led by McDaniels, plus Gobert as a pillar on the inside. The two ruthless men who were both selected to the All-Defensive Team were used against Eastern Europe and their hands of Lively and Gafford in their hands.

The Timberwolves are convinced that they can take on Eastern Europe with their size advantage and rotation speed, while others stand up from the perimeter and make sure to snuff out the Mavericks' three-pointers first.

So today the Mavericks are 6-of-25 from the outside, and 3-of-15 without Doncic.

The Timberwolves also demolished one of the Mavericks' strategic firepower.

Timberwolves: I'll block the rest of you, and if you have the ability to do it, kill my best defensive player duo.

Lone Ranger: Don't think about it on the inside line, you have the ability to shoot us to death on the outside.

Both sides took away some of their opponents' advantages to test the superstars on the opposite side.

Two 边开打,森林狼依然占优。

Doncic really scored points for the first time by pulling out, and his teammates around him were watched very closely. Huazi first assisted Downs and then hit the same shot, but he didn't expect it to be his only two-pointer in the game. When he shot, the Mavericks were almost all under the basket, and the weak side was empty.

The Timberwolves' size advantage makes the Mavericks' offense quite constipated, Doncic can make all kinds of moves on the Thunder, and he has little advantage in front of Edwards and Madan to take advantage of.

But fortunately, there is also Irving, who has proven to be the second leader of the super ball-holding core, Irving, who was once by James's side, is a higher-level existence than Murray next to Jorto's teacher.

He repeatedly took advantage of the Timberwolves' unstable defense to push for transitions, and various beautiful finishes allowed him to maintain the Mavericks' firepower.

McDaniels hit three three-pointers in a row, and Lee Kyle also seized the Mavericks' free time to hit a three-pointer and two shots in one minute. The Mavericks, on their side, relied on Irving's various singles to torment their opponents.

At the end of the first quarter, Irving scored 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting, but the Timberwolves still led 33-27 thanks to Edwards' big three-pointer.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Doncic led the team to gradually find a way to "tease" Gobert. After he pressed up and down the free throw line with his size advantage, he began to use various small ball operations to seduce the baguette and be fooled.

It's either a step-back jumper or a throw-in, and once Gobert makes a save, look for Gafford and Lively.

Small and big fights don't necessarily have to start from outside the three-point line or when the defense is changed indefinitely.

The Timberwolves are still leading with the hot touch of Maidan and Lee Kyle, but Doncic and Irving have gradually found ways to break down the Timberwolves' defense.

With Dongzi hitting a layup, the Mavericks chased it to 41-43.

But the Timberwolves' three-pointers today were really too terrifying, with Towns, Maidan and Reed hitting three-pointers one after another, and the Mavericks were paying the price for their defensive strategy.

Irving took over again to maintain the point difference, and Washington had no chance outside the three-point line, so he could only take the time to steal a little mid-range shot, and Irving scored 2+1 before halftime. The two teams played 59-62.

Irving scored 11 more points on 6-of-6 shooting in the second quarter, and the team was completely carried by him in the first half today.

Even Doncic said in an interview after the game:

"Without Kyrie [Irving], we're going to lose by 20 points at halftime."

The good news is that the Mavericks finally survived the Timberwolves' three-point "blowout period".

After the start of the third quarter, Irving found Gafford to eat cake and scored, and the Timberwolves were hit by a fast-break layup by the Mavericks Jones after a series of three-point misses, and the Mavericks led 67-66 for the first time in the game.

Conley hit a three-pointer to hold the table, but Lively's frontcourt rebound and Irving's jumper helped the Mavericks hold the deficit, and Josh Green, who came off the bench, made a corner three-pointer to put the lead again (80-79).

Although Reed also responded with a three-pointer, the Lone Ranger already felt that the firepower on the opposite side was at the end of his power. Gafford followed Doncic's brilliant pass and hit a dunk, and the Mavericks trailed 82-83 in the third quarter.

With this ball, Doncic even gave up an open three-point opportunity to go in and "tease" Gobert.

In the first three quarters, Doncic only had a total of 18 points and 7 assists, which is a good statistic for most people.

But for the team leader and ball-handling core, he can't always count on Irving to play, and in the final quarter, when the Timberwolves were already silent on Irving, he took a shot.

Three-pointers from Reed and Madan stretched the Timberwolves to 89-84, but Doncic made two mid-range shots and a three-pointer to make it 7-0 for the Mavericks to overtake again.

Then he assisted Jones for a layup, Lively hit his mid-range shot, and then Doncic drew another foul on Madan and hit both free throws, and the Mavericks went on a 13-0 run to take the biggest lead of the game in two and a half minutes.

And Doncic alone contributed 9 points and 1 assist, which is a real superstar.

But the Timberwolves are also tough enough. Edwards immediately responded with a three-pointer, and then Towns' mid-range shot and Gobert's one-arm free pick gave the Timberwolves back their morale.

Then Towns and Edwards hit another three-pointer to make it 102-98, and the Mavericks stuck to their defensive strategy throughout the game, which was about to become a joke.

It was Doncic who stepped up again, and he turned back to Maidan for another step-back three-point shot. He then added a steal to help the team complete the most important defensive wave.

Turning his head to find a three-pointer from Washington crouched in the corner, the Mavericks regained a 104-102 lead with two more three-pointers, and both teams went crazy with sit-ups in the final stages of the game.

Then Doncic completed another steal on Conley, and after taking it to the frontcourt, he made another step-back shot, 106-102, with 48 seconds left, and the Mavericks finally won the victory.

And the Timberwolves' three-point fire was finally dumb, Towns missed two consecutive three-point shots, while Irving hit two free throws, although Conley hit three free throws in the end, but only one of the three free throws, and finally lost to the Mavericks 105-108 at home, temporarily losing home court advantage.

It was a typical game in which the coaches of both sides met and dismantled, and finally tested the superstar's ability to take over.

The Timberwolves took away the Mavericks' three-pointers, and the Mavericks limited Edwards' breakaway and the Timberwolves' size advantage.

In the end, it was the super individual ability of Eastern Europe that overwhelmed the Timberwolves' fierce three-point artillery fire, and took the lead in the Western Conference finals and took the initiative.

On the Timberwolves' side, after relying on Edwards and the interior group to win two consecutive rounds, they have encountered new problems in this round.

Judging from the first game, the Mavericks are already determined to take away Huazi's breakthrough and force him to make mid-to-long-range shots to test his shooting ability.

This is the ultimate bottleneck that LeBron and Alphabet buddies have encountered back then, and as for whether he can cross this hurdle, it is very likely to become the "eye" of this round of the series.

And the Mavericks' victory in this game is their long-awaited "superstar mode", Irving and Doncic each take over the half, Irving simmers slowly, Doncic collects the juice, and the rest only need to do their jobs.

Superstar is always the safest way to win in the playoffs.

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