Chapter 2 The Second Game of the Finals

The second game of the Finals was set to tip-off in San Antonio on June 15th, U.S. time.

With the victory of the first game under their belt, the San Antonio fans appeared much more relaxed than they had been before.

Some fans even walked with a lighter step, their backs straighter than usual.

More than forty minutes before the start of the game, the AT&T Center was already packed to the rafters.

Both teams were making their final preparations in the locker room.

"Keep doing what we did in the last game, believe in yourselves, and tonight we will be the winners again."

Popovich gave a pre-game pep talk to the players before they headed out.

After speaking, he glanced at Leonard.

They had found a way to win the series, and now all they had to do was refine the details.

Such as putting more restrictions on James.

After Popovich finished speaking, the players got up one after another, ready to leave the locker room and head to the court.

Leonard, as always, picked up his crucifix and offered a final prayer to God.

But tonight, he seemed more devout than ever.

Half an hour before the game, both teams arrived on the court.

The Spurs players looked relaxed and defensive, while the Heat looked much more serious.

Head coach Spoelstra, in particular, had dark circles under his eyes, indicating he hadn't been sleeping well for the past few days.

The first game was a loss for the Heat, but for him as head coach, the disadvantage in the paint was beyond his imagination.

How to contain Duncan would be a problem he would have to think about for the entire series.

After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups for both sides were announced one after another.

The Heat took the initiative to change, with Haslem replacing Battier in the starting lineup.

The Heat didn't play the defensive counterattack they wanted in the first game, and Spoelstra was preparing to fight the Spurs in positional warfare.

The Spurs also made a starting change, with Leonard replacing Green in the starting lineup.

The old master seemed to have anticipated Spoelstra's substitution.

Duncan and Bosh jump ball.

Duncan continued to suppress Bosh, winning the first offensive opportunity for the Spurs.

Parker got to the frontcourt, and after Duncan sank to the low post, he passed the ball directly to him.

Duncan had an obvious advantage in the paint, and at this time, there was no need for the Spurs to run complicated tactics.

However, as soon as the ball was passed in, Chalmers directly shrunk inside to double-team.

This was Spoelstra's adjustment.

And it was an effective adjustment, targeting Parker's lack of three-pointers.

After the double team, Duncan passed the ball back to Parker, who dribbled to the free throw line and chose to shoot from mid-range.

Chalmers shrunk very deep and didn't have time to pounce out.

"Swish!"

Parker's mid-range shot went in cleanly.

Although he didn't have a three-pointer, his mid-range game was quite stable.

The Spurs scored first!

On the Heat's offense, Wade broke through with a layup using Haslem's screen, but it was interfered with by Duncan and missed.

Duncan grabbed the defensive rebound, the Spurs pushed to the frontcourt, the same low post tactics, Chalmers still shrunk inside.

Parker caught the ball and shot again.

"Swish!"

He made another one!

A burst of whistles sounded at the scene.

Duncan's outstanding performance in the first game caught the Heat off guard, but Parker had been playing well all season!

4 to 0.

Although the scorers were different, the Spurs got off to the same start!

"The Heat haven't found an effective way to limit Tim," Kenny Smith said from the commentary booth.

All the points were scored by Parker, but the opportunity came because of Duncan's traction in the paint.

Spoelstra's defensive adjustment seemed to be a failure.

James posted up Leonard in the high post, then directly reached out for the ball.

After receiving the ball, he directly backed down hard, and after a physical confrontation with Leonard under the basket, he took a shot.

Leonard stretched out his long arms to interfere.

"Bang!"

The ball didn't go in, but James grabbed the offensive rebound after boxing out and scored with a put-back.

Post-up was a new skill that James developed this season, but it wasn't his preferred way of attacking.

But after losing the first game, he couldn't care less.

Parker passed the ball to Duncan again.

Spoelstra waved his hands and shouted from the sidelines.

Chalmers continued to double-team, but the other Heat players also began to help defend and switch.

Duncan passed the ball to Parker, and Parker passed the ball to Leonard.

"Pa!"

James, like a beast released from its cage, pounced out for a steal!

After the steal, he sprinted to the frontcourt.

Parker tried to block him, but was directly knocked away.

James charged to the frontcourt like a tank, and scored with his signature one-handed tomahawk dunk!

James roared after the dunk.

He vented all the frustration from the first game into this one!

4 to 4.

James scored 4 consecutive points, preventing the Heat from falling into the same passive situation as in the first game.

Popovich got up and walked to the sidelines at this time.

Leonard had rarely volunteered before the game, but it seemed that the defensive effect was not good.

It wasn't that Leonard's defense was not as good as that of Diaw, but that James' offensive desire was much stronger in this game than in the first game.

If it really didn't work, the Spurs would have to double-team.

"Kawhi, focus on limiting him from receiving the ball. You can't hold him one-on-one right now."

Tang Tian took the initiative to run to Leonard's side to remind him.

Although James received a lot of criticism, his hard power was definitely that of the number one small forward in history.

One-on-one, even the peak Leonard, at most, could only limit James, let alone now.

So limiting him was the only way.

Leonard nodded, he only listened to Tang Tian now, besides Popovich.

On the Spurs' frontcourt offense, Duncan passed the ball directly to Leonard this time.

Leonard caught the ball and shot a fadeaway, still with some of Kobe's charm.

"Swish!"

However, his shot didn't have the Mamba Mentality, and went directly into the net cleanly.

Although he was beaten by James on the defensive end, he seemed to have a good touch on the offensive end tonight.

"A beautiful shot."

Barkley also said from the commentary booth.

The shot was beautiful, and more importantly, it went in, which would bring greater defensive pressure to the Heat.

Tang Tian took the initiative to find Leonard and gave him a high-five at this time.

Matching up against James was not an easy thing, and Leonard also needed such encouragement.

James continued to post up in the frontcourt.

Leonard chose to half-contest at this time.

Chalmers didn't dare to pass the ball and passed it to Wade.

Wade circled around, glanced at Leonard's position, gave James a look, and then directly threw the ball into the air above the basket.

James understood, turned around and shook off Leonard, jumped up in the air and grabbed the ball with one hand, and directly slammed the ball into the basket!

Alley-oop!

James-Wade connection!

"Boom!"

This dunk caused an uproar among the fans at the scene.

James' physical talent was really heaven-defying!

Popovich rubbed his chin.

It seemed that James was going to be a big problem for the Spurs tonight.

The Heat's bench was in an uproar after the alley-oop was successful.

The worries on Spoelstra's face finally dissipated.

With James playing like this, the Heat could firmly grasp the initiative on the court.

Basketball games are relative. Compared to how the Heat defended Duncan, how the Spurs defended James would be a bigger problem.

After all, Duncan's age was there, and his playing time was limited, but James was a man who could play the entire game!

"My fault."

Tang Tian took the initiative to find Leonard and said at this time.

"I should have controlled Wade's passing better."

Neither of them defended well on that play just now, but Tang Tian took all the responsibility on himself at once.

Whether Leonard could defend James well was most important to the Spurs.

Diaw received a pass from Duncan in the paint but didn't score, and Haslem protected the defensive rebound.

The Heat attacked to the frontcourt, and James continued to post up.

After a successful alley-oop, the Heat were holding on to James and attacking him to death.

They wanted to build up momentum in one wave.

Leonard continued to half-contest.

Tang Tian also gave Wade enough pressure at this time.

Wade chose to throw the ball high into the paint.

James jumped up to catch the ball.

However, Leonard was very smart in this play, giving James contact before he jumped up.

James didn't catch the ball steadily, and it slipped out of bounds.

"It seems LeBron should have rubbed more magnesium powder on his hands before the game, instead of throwing it into the air."

O'Neal said.

Barkley and Smith were already laughing beside him.

O'Neal had previously complained about Kobe, and now he was making fun of James.

It seemed that he didn't accidentally injure his former teammates, but was deliberately attacking them!

Tang Tian went to Leonard's side and gave him a round of applause at this time.

Popovich looked at these details on the court and smiled.

Tang Tian really saved him a lot of worry.

On the Spurs' frontcourt offense, Tang Tian came out with a screen from Leonard, received a pass from Duncan, and shot a three-pointer in the face of James.

"Swish!"

The shot went in cleanly.

The Spurs took the lead again 9 to 6!

A burst of cheers erupted at the scene.

The Little Emperor's defensive deterrence was really useless against Tang Tian!

Spoelstra rubbed his face hard on the sidelines at this time.

He wasn't surprised by Tang Tian's shot, being able to make it was Tang Tian's ability.

As Smith said in the commentary booth, the Heat's old problem was still Duncan.

Although Duncan hadn't scored yet in this game, he had already sent out 3 assists.

He then turned his gaze to James.

If Duncan really couldn't be contained, then it would only be possible to look at James' performance.

As long as James could open up, then as said before, the Heat would still have an advantage.

James switched to holding the ball to attack in the frontcourt.

After taking the ball, he signaled his teammates to spread out at the three-point line, and then continuously dribbled the ball under his legs.

After glancing at the Spurs' inside defensive positioning, he suddenly accelerated and charged inside.

"Pa!"

However, just as he started, Leonard directly stole the ball from his hand!

Death Wrap!

Leonard went on a fast break himself after the steal.

This steal happened at the three-point line, and the other Heat players didn't react.

Leonard rushed to the frontcourt and scored with a dunk before James could chase down for the block.

11 to 6!

A burst of whistles erupted at the scene.

"Ooh, this young man is in very good condition tonight."

Barkley said loudly from the commentary booth.

Causing a turnover from James once, directly stealing from James once.

Leonard's defense in these two possessions was really great.

Tang Tian gave Leonard another high-five as he returned.

He had prepared himself mentally tonight.

He wanted to get a mini-five double, the kind with 5 reminders and 5 high-fives.

James didn't force an attack when he got to the frontcourt again.

He was the kind of player with a very high basketball IQ, and seeing that he didn't have an absolute advantage in the matchup, he began to proactively hand over the shooting to his teammates.

Popovich nodded in satisfaction when he saw this.

Having done this, Leonard had already met his expectations.

Wade broke through and scored a goal in the frontcourt, helping the Heat continue their scoring.

Although he was troubled by some injuries in the regular season, Flash was still in excellent condition this season.

On the Spurs' frontcourt zip hammer play, Tang Tian's movement dragged the Heat's defense.

Duncan passed inside to Diaw, and Diaw passed the ball to Leonard at the bottom corner.

Leonard had an open three-point opportunity.

"Swish!"

The three-pointer went directly into the net cleanly!

Leonard had 7 points in this quarter, with 3 out of 3 shots!

He was not only very present on the defensive end tonight, but also very eye-catching on the offensive end.

Tang Tian was really happy for Leonard at this time.

If Leonard could also grow up, then if they both started together, it would definitely be a big test for the opponent's forwards and guards.

And in the long run, he would definitely become the core of the team, and he would need a strong defensive player around him.

Even Michael Jordan had a Scottie Pippen by his side.

Wade was in good condition tonight, and after James was limited by Leonard, he began to create more opportunities for Wade.

However, the defensive pressure that Wade brought to the Spurs was obviously less than that of James.

In addition, with Tang Tian defending, Wade's scoring efficiency was not particularly high.

The Spurs won a little bit of points in each quarter, entered the final quarter with a double-digit lead, and withstood the Heat's counterattack in the final quarter, steadily winning the game 101 to 93.

In terms of data statistics.

On the Heat's side, James had 22 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists, Wade had 29 points, and Bosh had 21 points and 1 rebound.

On the Spurs' side, Duncan had a triple-double of 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, Parker had 23 points and 5 assists, Ginobili had 14 points, and Diaw had 10 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists.

Tang Tian had 11 points and 3 rebounds, plus 5 reminders, 5 encouragements, 5 towel waves, and 5 high-fives.

Limiting James, limiting the performance of the role players, and establishing an advantage in the paint.

The Spurs had played out everything Popovich wanted in this game.

And they had also gained Leonard as a surprise soldier.

Leonard had 15 points, 10 rebounds and 5 steals in this game, with 6 of 9 shots, and all of his stats set new career highs in the playoffs.

After the game, the Spurs players were shouting and celebrating wildly on the sidelines.

After winning two consecutive home games, they took a 2-0 lead in the series.

Holding on to the two home games allowed them to completely seize the initiative in the series.

Leonard sat there alone wrapped in a towel, his body trembling slightly, as if he was sobbing.

Tang Tian walked over and patted him lightly on the shoulder.

Leonard looked up, his eyes were red, and there were tears in the corners of his eyes.

"He will see it."

Tang Tian pointed his finger to the sky.

Others might have thought that Leonard's tears were tears of excitement after an outstanding performance, but Tang Tian knew why Leonard was crying.

Such devout prayers before the game, such hard work during the game, and this kind of reaction after the game.

It was all because this day was Father's Day.