Chapter 1223: Xiao Si Is Injured and Retired

"In the first quarter, the hammer was under the basket, and Nowitzki played against Ray Allen, and he would definitely attack first." Barkley said.

"Oh, it's not Ray Allen, it's Yi, the Suns switched defense." Kenny Smith exclaimed at this time.

"So Ray Allen defends Stoudemire? Well, Stoudemire's shooting height is not as high as Nowitzki's, so it seems more suitable. Stoudemire is closer to the paint area, so the hammer has a greater chance of assisting defense." Barkley said.

"And Yi defends Nowitzki, the two are the same height, and Yi moves faster, so there should be a certain defensive effect. Overall, this switch is right." Kenny Smith said.

Facing the defense of Yi, Nowitzki can no longer be as easy as playing against Ray Allen. When playing against Ray Allen, he can just jump shot directly facing the basket. When playing against Yi, he has to use the supreme skill and use the Golden Rooster Stand to solve the battle.

Turn around to get the ball first, then turn over, and show the Golden Rooster Stand posture.

Just as Nowitzki turned over and jumped, Al-Alian took a step forward, risking being hit from below by the former, and used his body to slightly squeeze the former.

This time, Nowitzki's balance in the air was destroyed.

But his touch was too soft, and he still forced a three-pointer.

"Swish!"

With Al-Alian's defense in place, this shot was actually empty.

The Suns attacked.

This time the Mavericks did not double-team Li Ba, and Stoudemire was pulled out by Al-Alian.

Li Ba blocked Chandler's ball again, still the simplest old trick. This time the latter barely jumped and was not called for a foul, but was still dunked by Li Ba.

Looking back, Nowitzki singled out Al-Alian again.

But this time, he failed to score again in Al-Alian's desperate defense.

Li Ba grabbed the backcourt rebound and immediately launched a fast break.

Stoudemire tried his best to catch up from the wing, but he had lost the courage and guts to directly collide with Li Ba. After rushing into the paint area with Li Ba, he could only watch Li Ba fly and complete a heavy dunk, but failed to make a strong enough defense.

3:7, the Suns lead.

"Today is different from the last game. The Hammer started the game with full force and scored three goals in a row." Yu Jia shouted excitedly.

Carlisle understood that the tactics of the Suns in this game were not conservative, but on the contrary very strong.

He immediately instructed the court to let Stoudemire let A-Lin go and double-team Li Ba.

Anyway, A-Lin had 1 of 7 shots in the last game, so he was not worried about the consequences of A-Lin being left open.

The Mavericks attacked, and Nowitzki carried Li Ba again and shot a three-pointer.

This time he made it again, 6:7, and the Mavericks were only one point behind.

"Two of three three-point shots, Nowitzki is going to explode in this game!" Xu Jicheng said.

"We need to see more, the base is too small, and we can't judge." Zhang Heli said.

Looking back, A-Lian was left open.

"Ask for the ball, be decisive." Li Ba shouted to A-Lian.

So A-Lian asked for the ball, Nash passed it in immediately, he shot decisively, and the ball brushed the basket.

"Beautiful! The first shot was made, A-Lian should be in better condition this game than the last game." Yu Jia said excitedly.

"He didn't play for long in the last game, and didn't attack much afterwards, so his physical strength should be restored." Zhang Heli said.

The Mavericks attacked, Terry took a three-pointer, but missed, Li Ba protected the backcourt rebound and played another fast break.

"Stop him!"

Seeing Li Ba, who was like a mad tiger in the fast break, Carlisle shouted urgently off the court.

But who dared to go up and block Li Ba? Kidd or Terry?

At this time, Kidd was defending Nash to stop him from passing the ball to Li Ba, and Terry was with Ginobili, neither of them could be let go, even if they could, would they dare to block Li Ba?

Nowitzki and Stoudemire surrounded the middle from the wing, which did form a closed-door situation.

But they were a little scared when they saw Li Ba's fierce charge, and they slowed down the final shot.

At this moment, Li Ba flew up from between the two, slammed the ball into the basket with one arm.

6:11, the Suns led by 5 points.

"Don't dare to defend, don't dare to collide with the Hammer head-on, which will make the Hammer's fast break more unscrupulous."

Barkley couldn't help shaking his head and sighing when he saw the last step of Stoudemire and Nowitzki.

"They didn't even jump, how can they talk about defense? The two of them are not defensive materials at all. If Stoudemire had paid attention to defense at the beginning, Jerry Colangelo would never give up on him and choose Hammer."

Kenny Smith also shook his head and sighed.

"Then Hammer would go to the Lakers, and Kupchak wanted to trade him after playing with the Lakers not long after that." Barkley laughed.

"I dare say that as long as Hammer went to the Lakers in the 0304 season, the Pistons would definitely be defeated by the Lakers, and the Lakers would have won the championship until now."

Kenny Smith laughed.

"7 consecutive championships? Then this year is the 8th consecutive championship. But the question is, who is the boss of the Lakers?" Barkley asked.

"Of course it's the hammer. Kobe, O'Neal and Malone can't beat him together. The Lakers locker room will be a river of blood."

Kenny Smith laughed.

"Haha..." The two laughed after saying that.

Mavericks attack.

Nowitzki got the ball, still turned around and played back, then stood on one leg and hit it.

9:11, the Mavericks were 2 points behind.

"Alian's defense is still not good, but it's not that his defense is bad, but Nowitzki's stand on one leg is too powerful, it's impossible to defend it." Yu Jia sighed.

Looking back, Alian made another open jump shot, but this time he missed.

Li Ba grabbed the offensive rebound while being double-teamed, and turned around and dunked.

The ball went in and the whistle blew, and Stoudemire fell to the basket.

"Ugh!"

Stoudemire looked in pain, holding his left knee with both hands, unable to get up, injured.

He was actually injured in the previous game, and had been carrying it all the time, taking risks, trying to take a chance, betting on his luck, but he lost the bet.

Next, Stoudemire left the court, and the Mavericks replaced Marion, and Nowitzki returned to the fourth position.

Stoudemire's departure was a big blow to the Mavericks, because Marion was in poor condition, his athletic ability was far less than his peak, and Ray Allen defended him very well.

At the same time, Nowitzki's inside defense was similar to Stoudemire's, and he still couldn't guarantee the safety of the basket. His limited ability to protect the basket put him directly under Li Ba's firepower attack.

Next, Li Ba ignored the double-teaming and began to force the Mavericks' inside line.

After the first quarter, 26:28, the Suns were only two points ahead.

The score difference was not big, but the Suns had gradually got the opportunity to win.

Under Li Ba's strong inside attack, Chandler committed three fouls in a single quarter, and Nowitzki also got two fouls later, and the Mavericks' inside defense was weakened.

Li Ba made 7 of 8 shots and 5 of 8 free throws in a single quarter, scoring 19 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 0 steals and 2 blocks.

On the defensive end, there was no contribution except rebounds, because the Mavericks still had no inside attack.

This is in line with the Mavericks' tactics, that is, to have outside attacks and avoid Li Ba's defense to achieve the goal of improving offensive efficiency.