Kangda's resilience exceeded the expectations of most people at the scene.

Kangda switched back to man-to-man defense. Curry didn't have many good opportunities, but Smith and Singler started playing pick-and-rolls again. Singler scored 4 consecutive points. After Tang Tian switched to defend Singler, Kelly received a pass from Smith and made a three-pointer from outside.

The point difference that had just been narrowed was suddenly widened to 13 points again.

Coach K is more capable than Calhoun, and his adjustments are always one step ahead of his opponents.

The crisis came again, but Kangda continued to show their resilience. This time it was Lamb. He finally found his touch from outside and made a three-pointer. Tang Tian returned to the defensive end and successfully forced Curry into a turnover. Walker made a fast break 2+1, and Kangda once again narrowed the point difference to 7 points.

Twice in a row, when the situation was about to collapse, someone from Kangda was always able to step forward to continue scoring and save the situation for the team.

This Kangda team was able to reach the Final Four. Their paper strength may not be as good as Duke's, but their mental strength is definitely not inferior, and may even be better.

The game reached about 13 minutes into the first half, and the score on the field was 30 to 23. Although Duke was leading, they still couldn't widen the score.

Coach K's expression at this time was not as relaxed as it was at the beginning.

Kangda is now like a tough bone to chew, stuck in his throat. If he can't gain an advantage early, he will never be able to ensure victory. He knows that his cross-town rival North Carolina was dragged to the end and defeated by this team with a buzzer-beater.

"Kyrie." He turned around and called Irving up again.

"Go up and attack freely, create more fouls. Their inside strength is average." Before entering the court, he pulled Irving aside and told him.

Irving nodded, his expression slightly excited.

He is talented, but he is not very adapted to the college basketball atmosphere. Compared to playing tactics rigidly, he prefers to let go and go solo.

Now that Coach K is asking him to attack freely, he couldn't ask for more.

The game entered a dead ball, and both sides successively switched back to their main players.

The 7-point difference was deadlocked for four or five minutes, and it depended on who could widen the difference.

Duke had possession, and after Irving held the ball at the top of the arc, his teammates all spread out.

This was even more thorough than at the beginning, and even Plumlee didn't come up to pick and roll.

A one-on-one between Irving and Walker.

Dribbling, between the legs, crossover, Irving's crossover technique is really outstanding.

Walker tried his best to keep up with Irving's rhythm.

But at this moment, Irving suddenly stepped forward, leaned on Walker's body and made a turn. When Walker pounced, he made another crossover and directly passed Walker!

There was a burst of exclamation at the scene.

The ball seemed to be really glued to Irving's hand!

After Irving passed Walker, he broke into the inside. Oriakhi was worried about Irving's pass and didn't dare to leave the restricted area, but Irving didn't shoot from mid-range either. When he broke into the restricted area and saw Oriakhi pouncing, he accelerated, jumped up, and made a big reverse layup in the air to score.

This series of dribbling and layup had an explosive visual effect, and the Duke fans at the scene were climaxing one after another.

Tang Tian felt a pain in his ankles. Irving's dribbling skills were beyond doubt, the best guard after Iverson, but is it really okay to play like this when he has just recovered from injury?

In Kangda's offense, Lamb's shot to the basket went wide, and Plumlee grabbed the defensive rebound.

Duke advanced to the frontcourt and still let Irving hold the ball for a one-on-one.

This time Walker pressed harder, and Irving's continuous between-the-legs and crossover didn't work.

But at this moment, Plumlee moved from the inside to the high post for a pick and roll, and Walker squeezed past.

After Irving saw it, he dribbled with his left hand and his whole body leaned to the left, pretending to break through from the left, but in the next second he suddenly switched to his right hand, pulled the ball back to the right side, and then turned his body upright.

Shammgod!

A top dribbling technique that usually only appears on street courts.

Tang Tian had also seen this technique on the street court in New York before, but compared to the fancy moves of those people, Irving's moves are more practical.

Walker and Oriakhi were completely fooled. Irving accelerated and broke directly into the restricted area.

Tang Tian was forced to come over to help defend. After Irving saw it, he made a direct pass to Singler. Singler caught the ball and scored an unguarded layup.

"Oh my God! His dribbling is really saucy!" Barkley was a little wet from watching Irving's ball-handling skills.

"After Allen Iverson, I have never seen anyone in college basketball who can control the ball so well. Irving is really extraordinary!" Miller also exclaimed.

Even Kenny Smith applauded Irving at this time. Although he supported Kangda, Irving's dribbling was really beautiful.

In Kangda's offense, Walker had an opening after breaking through, but his shot was a complete air ball.

After being tricked by Irving one after another, his mentality also fluctuated.

In Duke's offense, it was still Irving. This time, the person defending him was Lamb.

Continuous crossovers, Lamb focused on defending and kept up, but in the next second, Irving dribbled with his right hand to the left and then suddenly dribbled to the right, using an inside-out dribble to completely get rid of Lamb.

In the next second, he accelerated into the inside, and in the defensive gap between Oriakhi and Tang Tian, he pulled up and scored the ball again.

The point difference was instantly widened to 13 points again.

Irving was simply unstoppable.

Calhoun quickly called a timeout. This time the widening of the score was different from before. It was completely Irving who forcibly widened it with his personal ability.

"Coach, let me defend Irving." Tang Tian volunteered to Calhoun.

"No, you are a power forward, and you are at a disadvantage in terms of speed." Calhoun rejected Tang Tian's proposal this time.

Kangda's previous opponents were all strong forwards. He would use Tang Tian to defend them at the beginning, which allowed Kangda to gain the upper hand every time at the beginning, but this time it was different. Irving was a point guard, and Tang Tian was a power forward. The two positions were too far apart.

"I can try." Tang Tian wasn't absolutely sure, but he still wanted to try.

"No, Singler is also in good shape in the first half. You should still defend him." Calhoun said.

What Calhoun said was also true. Irving scored 6 points and 1 assist in this period, but Singler also scored 10 points in the first half.

Letting Tang Tian defend Irving would mean that Singler would be liberated to a greater extent, which Kangda couldn't stand, not to mention that Tang Tian was very likely to be unable to defend him.

"We switch to a 2-3 zone defense to limit Irving from entering the restricted area. We should try to open up on the offensive end. Just like I said at the beginning, their touch won't continue to be so good. We should try to control the point difference within 10 points. Don't worry, the game isn't even halfway over." Calhoun encouraged his players.

After the timeout, Lamb's breakthrough caused Plumlee to foul. After making both free throws, he finally helped Kangda stabilize the situation.