Chapter 17 What's Going On! Paul Got Blocked!

"What's going on! Paul got blocked!"

"Unbelievable, that's Chris Paul!"

"But Paul is only 1.83 meters tall, and that rookie is 2 meters tall. It's normal to get blocked."

"Nonsense, Paul is smart and nimble. He gets blocked the least among guards!"

…

The fans in the arena were stunned, their eyes filled with disbelief.

Paul turned his head and saw the block, his expression serious.

It was a chase-down block, with no physical contact, clean as can be. He didn't even have a reason to complain to the referee.

Tang Tian landed and gave Blair a high-five.

After one possession, he knew the gap in speed meant he still had a hard time guarding Paul.

But fortunately, he was on the Spurs, and his teammates' help defense came in time, giving him the chance to chase the block.

Paul was blocked, and his face was a little embarrassed. After receiving the inbound pass from his teammate, he continued to attack Tang Tian.

Tang Tian still used his previous defensive strategy. Paul chose to step back and shoot a three-pointer.

"Clang!"

His three-pointer wasn't consistent. This emotional shot didn't go in.

Blair boxed out Evans, and Bonner grabbed the defensive rebound under the basket.

There was contact under the basket, and Griffin was called for an offensive foul.

Griffin took out his mouthpiece and complained to the referee, but it didn't work. He smiled, shook his head, put his mouthpiece back in, and retreated.

The game went into a dead ball. Duncan had been sitting on the sidelines for a little over two minutes and came on to replace Bonner.

With Duncan on the court, the Spurs' offensive patterns became more diverse.

An Ai hammer tactic, and the ball was passed to Tang Tian.

Tang Tian saw Griffin pouncing on him like a hawk catching a rabbit. He gathered the ball and passed it to Duncan, who was not far away.

Duncan caught the ball, turned around, and shot from mid-range, unguarded.

"Swish!"

Two points, solid, and the point difference returned to 22 points.

Popovich's face instantly relaxed, and he sat back on the bench.

With that offensive and defensive exchange, the Spurs had stabilized the situation on the court.

In the Clippers' offense, Paul didn't force an attack on Tang Tian again, but sent a beautiful pass to Griffin, who caught the ball, turned, and made a layup.

After each experiencing a wave of offense and defense, the two sides began to fall into a stalemate.

After about six minutes into the second quarter, both sides successively substituted their main players back in.

On the Clippers' side, Jordan came on to replace Evans, and on the Spurs' side, Parker and Green came back on.

Tang Tian had some bright spots in both offense and defense, and Popovich kept him on the court.

In the Spurs' offense, Duncan's bank shot missed, and Jordan secured the defensive rebound.

In the Clippers' offense, Paul and Jordan ran a pick-and-roll, and Paul made a no-look pass to Butler in the corner.

This time, Butler seized the opportunity, and his three-pointer went straight through the net.

The Clippers finally broke the 20-point deficit, narrowing it to 19 points.

"Defense! Defense!"

This time, the arena DJ led the fans to cheer, and significantly more fans responded.

With the right timing, location, and support, the Clippers were about to gain momentum.

The Spurs' TD step hammer tactic, Green's shot in the corner, didn't go in.

Griffin flew to grab the defensive rebound, and the Clippers quickly advanced to the frontcourt.

Paul held the ball in the frontcourt and made a bounce pass to Griffin, who was in motion.

Griffin drove past Duncan and faced Blair, made a strong move after contact, and scored, drawing a foul on Blair.

After scoring, Griffin stretched out his right hand to the audience and made a "strong" signature gesture, flexing his biceps.

Griffin couldn't overpower Duncan when he was stationary, but after all, he was young and strong, so he had a great advantage when he got moving.

Griffin made the free throw, and the Clippers had narrowed the deficit to 16 points.

This was already a dangerous point difference for the Spurs. In NBA games of this level, a point difference of less than 15 points could be considered negligible.

The Clippers had chased down a full 12 points in the second quarter, and with the momentum of playing at home, it was likely to catch up in a matter of minutes.

Parker made a zip tactic gesture after reaching the frontcourt.

The Spurs had conceded consecutive points because their own offense had problems. As long as they could score a basket, the situation on the court would remain stable.

Green received the ball at the top of the arc with a screen from Duncan, and then passed it back to Parker, who drove in from the right.

Tang Tian had already circled to the left corner with a screen from Duncan.

Parker's spinning layup after the drive attracted a double-team, and after spinning, he passed the ball to Tang Tian in the corner.

The pass was slightly off, but Duncan completely blocked Butler.

Tang Tian caught the ball, adjusted, and then shot.

The fans in the arena became nervous.

If the shot didn't go in, the Clippers would have a chance to narrow the deficit to within 15 points. If it did go in, it would widen the lead back to 19 points, which was crucial.

Popovich stood up at this moment. These critical shots were a lot of pressure for a rookie.

"Swish!"

With a crisp sound, Tang Tian's three-pointer went in, cleanly.

"Fxck!"

Some fans cursed directly. With that three-pointer, the Clippers' momentum was instantly stifled!

That damn yellow-skinned rookie didn't take many shots, but he seemed to be able to seize opportunities at critical moments every time!

Popovich couldn't help but clench his fist.

His decision to keep Tang Tian on the court was indeed very wise.

The point difference returned to 19 points, which was a very big blow to the Clippers' morale as they were chasing points.

Paul held the ball to the frontcourt and ran a pick-and-roll with Jordan again, making a beautiful pass to Griffin after the screen.

Griffin flew to dunk, and Duncan stood between him and the basket, reaching out but not moving.

"Bang!"

Griffin's arms were short, and the ball flew out directly.

The referee called a boundary ball.

"Foul, he fouled!" Griffin took out his mouthpiece and continued to complain to the referee.

The referee wasn't Crawford, the bald one, and didn't have any prejudice against Duncan.

Spurs' backcourt ball.

Parker dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and continued to run the zip tactic. This time, the Clippers paid attention to guarding the three-point line, and Parker's drive to the basket was also blocked by Jordan, leaving him no chance.

Parker pulled Jordan out to the three-point line, didn't play one-on-one, and continued to signal the tactic.

With Jordan not under the basket, Green and Tang Tian's continuous cuts forced them to shrink their defense inward.

Duncan took the initiative to set a solid screen for Tang Tian again.

Tang Tian was positioned at a forty-five-degree angle, another open three-point opportunity.

Parker passed the ball with a flick of his wrist at the first moment.

Tang Tian caught the ball and shot.

Griffin rushed to contest fiercely. Fortunately, he sped up his release, and the ball was already out of his hand before Griffin could interfere.

"Swish!"

The same sound, Tang Tian's second three-pointer, and it went in!

The point difference returned to 22 points!

The arena was in an uproar. They never thought that after Ginobili's injury, it would be a role player, and a second-round pick at that, who stood up to reverse the situation!

Although many people called him "Godfather," that kind of off-court stuff meant nothing on the court.

These two three-pointers were made entirely on hard power.

Paul made a three-pointer from the outside after a pick-and-roll with Jordan, an answer ball.

But in the next possession, the Spurs ran another TD step hammer tactic. After Green's positioning attracted the defense, Tang Tian, who received the ball, suddenly shot a three-pointer.

It came so suddenly that Butler, who was defending, was like he was frozen in place by Reo Mibuchi's "vanishing" shot.

"Swish!"

With everyone watching in disbelief, Tang Tian hit three three-pointers in a row!