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The break relieved the tension at the United Center, and the Bulls fans cheered in support of their team. Fans near the Bulls' bench stood up, extending their hands to the players coming off the court, shouting cheers and praise. Some Bulls players high-fived them, but most of them went straight back to their seats and sat down.
Rose ignored the fans approaching him. It wasn't that he was putting on a show, but he was simply too tired. He had been on the court for almost 40 minutes by now, and the defensive pressure he had faced was intense. The fierce confrontation throughout the game had physically drained him, and he had no energy left to consider the feelings of the fans.
Thibodeau walked up to the crowd holding a tactical board in his hand, surrounded by loud noise, and had to shout: "Now we have a five-point lead, and the next thing we need to do is defend well. Keith (Bogans), you can replace Kyle, Derek, you'll be in charge of the offense, whether you pass or attack, my only request is to use as much time as possible... The defense will continue to focus on Curry, and besides, Butler has some ball retention ability, so you need to watch him, and everyone else lacks enough offensive threat to be bold, so we can shrink the defense at any time, specifically doing it..."
On the other side of the tactical board, Liam also picked up the tactical board, and all the Warriors players gathered around him, listening attentively to his strategic arrangements for the last three minutes.
Unlike Thibodeau, who was eager to explain every defensive detail clearly, Liam's adjustments were mainly focused on the offensive side:
"Wait for Klay to replace Toney, and then Stephen, you come and play the pick and roll with Draymond. If the Bulls change their defense, Stephen, you attack alone. If Draymond has a chance to dive, you can pass to him, and then Draymond will handle the ball. If not, you can connect with Rose, and everyone else will have to stand and... run like this at the moment."
Liam quickly drew some tactical lines on the board with the marker, then paused and said aloud: "As for the defensive side, Thibodeau should make such an adjustment, so we will do this..."
A minute later, Liam and Thibodeau, who were on opposite sides of the tactical board, looked at each other, but their expressions were completely different.
Thibodeau seemed surprised, his eyes turned to look at Klay on the court, while Liam smiled faintly and looked at Bogans on the court.
...
"Hoo..."
After the timeout, Rose slowly walked back onto the court, lips slightly parted, deliberately slowing his breathing to adjust his condition.
He arrived at the position where the Bulls had stepped outside the three-point line in the half-court, legs slightly apart, hands on his knees, eyes locked on Curry, who stayed near the baseline on the backcourt, ready to receive the ball.
He knew that only he and Curry would decide the outcome of this game.
Chicago and Charlotte were not far apart, in the summer, he and Curry would meet every half month, the two had stood out many times, and they knew each other well. Rose knew very well that the five-point gap in front of Curry was not an advantage at all. He had to pull all his spirit together, with the tightest defense to face his friend, to help the team secure this victory.
Soon, Rose saw the Warriors sending the ball from the baseline. Curry approached head-on, took a deep breath, his eyes instantly sharpened, opened his hands, and took a small step forward.
Come on, let me see how much you've improved in the last two months.
...
Curry dribbled toward the frontcourt, faced with Rose's defense, and didn't hesitate to signal to get covered.
As someone who had practiced with Rose countless times in the summer, Curry knew better than anyone about Rose's strong individual defense, and his excellent athleticism, reach, and speed made it difficult for opponents to deal with him both offensively and defensively, but Rose's escapes were too sharp to mask his defensive strength.
In fact, compared to Rose, Curry was inferior in terms of reach, speed, and confrontation. His only advantage was his quick shooting, precise three-point accuracy, and his better ball-handling skills.
But Curry and Rose had gone head-to-head many times, and Rose knew his technical characteristics very well and was very limited by him in the head-to-head matchups.
Of course, Curry also knew Rose very well, but he still couldn't limit him. Rose used explosiveness, speed, and power to force an advance. Curry was lost by this. Otherwise, Liam would have arranged for someone else to defend Rose.
The good thing was that basketball was a team sport, and in a 1vs1, Curry was no match for Rose, but in a 5vs5, everything was very different.
After Green helped Curry get covered, Gibson immediately stopped in front of Curry, and Rose also slipped through the coverage and lunged at Curry, who immediately passed the ball to Green, who fell.
After Green received the ball, Gibson was still on his way back, there was no defender in front of him, and he took a large step inside the three-point line, but didn't shoot immediately. Instead, he dribbled inward without stopping and went straight to the basket.
Noah, who was protecting the edge of the penalty area, immediately moved up to help defend. At the same time, Bogans, who was defending Klay in the lower corner on the weak side, hesitated, following Thibodeau's instructions. When Noah helped defend, he quickly rotated and stopped in front of Chandler, unable to fill the defensive hole in the Bulls' penalty area.
To avoid an immediate threat to the rim and deny Klay an open three, Bogans opted to protect the area.
He didn't believe Klay, a rookie shooter with average performance, would step up in such a critical moment, and more importantly, his timing was perfect, and he didn't believe Green would make the right decision in such a short period of time.
In the critical moment, giving the ball-handling responsibility to the two rookies was the biggest mistake the Warriors made in this game!
But just as Bogans shrank toward the basket, Green was dribbling the ball, his move suddenly changed, and he quickly passed the ball to Klay, who was wide open. Bogans couldn't reach him, and he could only watch as Klay received the ball, calmly adjusted, and the three-point shot was neatly through the net!
At 96:98, the Warriors were just 2 points behind!
With this three-pointer, the noise at the United Center immediately decreased, and people watched Klay, who finally moved his fist to show an excited look after making the key three-pointer, revealing a silly smile.
Mike Breen says:
"Klay made a crucial three-pointer, and there's no doubt he has a big heart!"
Kerr said with a little regret: "Bogans completely left Klay open, which is a bit too much, although I think he was right to help defend the basket, but Klay shouldn't be given that much space. He's a very accurate shooter, and if they continue to defend like this, the Bulls might pay a heavy price. They're betting that Klay won't shoot, but is it really necessary to pour so much defensive energy into Curry?"
On the sidelines, Thibodeau shook his head, dissatisfied at first, but didn't say anything else. This was the defensive strategy he set up, the first line was strict against Curry, and the others shrank the frame, and now Klay was shooting three-pointers, he couldn't blame Bogans.
He saw Klay's appearance a moment ago, but after a brief hesitation, didn't change the Bulls' defensive setup. Although Liam didn't leave Tony Allen on the court to finish the game, which was very unexpected by Thibodeau, he wouldn't change the established defensive strategy just because Liam added another shooter.
But obviously, giving Klay such a wide-open opportunity wasn't possible, and Thibodeau's mind raced, thinking of countermeasures, preparing to make adjustments.
Just as Thibodeau was still thinking about the Bulls' defense, looking back, the Bulls attacked, and Rose simply dribbled past half-court. Before he had time to make the next move, he encountered the Warriors' pinch defense, only to see Klay and Curry pressing toward him. At the same time, Green covered the free-throw line position, keeping an eye on the defense from Bogans and Gibson, the intensity was high, always ready to defend.
Rose faced a sudden pinch attack, took two steps back, protected the ball, then jumped and passed it to Bogans, 45 degrees on the other side. Green saw this and immediately flew toward him, denying him an open shot.
Green's presence made Bogans hesitate for a moment, and there was no open shot. He hesitated for a moment and passed the ball back to Rose.
Rose didn't dare to delay anymore after receiving the ball and immediately dribbled inside, but the Warriors' defense was very compact. Except for Butler staying with Lore Deng, the other four Warriors were around the paint. Rose took two steps and found the path ahead was completely blocked, and there was no way in. The Warriors executed another joint defense, aimed directly at Rose, almost a four-link joint defense.
The Warriors' bag for Rose quickly reappeared, and in desperation, Rose passed the ball to Bogans, who was open outside the three-point line. He received the ball and shot a three-pointer, but the basketball bounced off the rim, and the rebound was firmly protected by Chandler.
Cole says:
"The spacing in the Bulls' lineup is too poor. There are only two spots for Lore Deng and Bogans, and Bogans isn't allowed in this game, which allows the Warriors to shrink the defense. Rose can't break through at all, and it's completely different from the previous round, where the Bulls' defense shrank the paint. But Klay made a three-pointer in the lower corner. Why didn't Thibodeau go with Korver? With Korver, Rose would feel much more comfortable."
On the sidelines, Silas asked the same question as Cole:
"Liam, why didn't Thibodeau go to Korver? We used joint defense in the third quarter to open the lead!"
During the earlier timeout, Liam stated that the Bulls would adjust their lineup, Thibodeau would replace Korver, replace Bogans, and also adjust the Warriors' defense based on that. But Silas and Ron Adams were skeptical.
But the Bulls' lineup and the Warriors' notable defensive effect reminded both of them that Liam was right.
Liam smiled faintly: "Because he's Thibodeau. His defense is good with Bogans, but it's poor with Korver."
"Just because of defense? Korver's shooting is much better than Bogans'!" Silas asked.
Liam shook his head: "You don't know Thibodeau. Defense is the cornerstone of his basketball philosophy. It's in his blood. He always prioritizes defense. If the spacing isn't good, he'll do anything for the defense."
"Oh..." Silas nodded knowingly.
While it may sound strange for someone to fall into the same spot twice, it's common in the NBA. Many coaches stubbornly cling to their outdated basketball philosophy even after leaving the league, and very few head coaches can keep up with the times like Popovich.
On the court, the Warriors didn't press the fast break after grabbing the rebound. The success rate at this point was critical, and Liam repeatedly emphasized during the timeout that they needed to be extremely careful when holding the ball and not waste opportunities. Every possession was essential.
Curry kept playing pick-and-roll with Green, which others didn't know was the tactic the Warriors practiced most in their training sessions.
After the coverage opened up, Curry didn't dribble the ball inward. This time, the Bulls opted to switch their defense under Thibodeau's instructions. Gibson faced Curry, who made a quick move on Gibson, took a step back, and launched a three-pointer.
Bang!
The basketball hit the rim, and Noah grabbed the rebound. The Bulls attacked, and once again, the Warriors launched their quad pseudo-look against Rose. He had to rise and strike when holding the ball while also collapsing to the basket. Rose couldn't break through at all, so he had to pass the ball to his teammates to handle. Luol Deng's two-point shot also clanged off the rim.
In the next round, the Warriors started their pursuit and block again, but this time Curry didn't stay outside after missing the three-pointer. Instead, he dribbled inward with Green's screen, and Green quickly fell to set up, pulling the Bulls' defense out of formation.
Gibson, following Thibodeau's instructions, blocked Curry's advance. But Rose, also focused on Curry, didn't switch off, leading to a communication error. Green was left open.
Curry immediately tapped the ball to Green, who dribbled it to the restricted area. Noah couldn't keep up with him at the rim, so he had to come closer to help defend and passed off the restricted area defense to his teammates.
Bogans and Luol Deng made a gesture to collapse the basket simultaneously. Green suddenly picked up the ball and started, and at the same time, his eyes scanned outward. His hands moved, signaling to pass to Klay in the bottom corner. Bogans instinctively rushed backward. Green quickly pulled the ball back and launched it into the air. Chandler, who had ambushed behind Noah, leaped and slammed the ball into the basket.
Boom!
After a powerful dunk, Chandler grabbed the rim, shook his legs, and pounded his chest in anger as he landed, letting out a fierce roar. His face was full of rage.
In this game, the Bulls defended the rim with great intensity, and there was little opportunity for the Warriors to score inside. That dunk was their most exciting moment, and Chandler took the chance to vent his frustration.
With the game tied at 98:98, the Warriors had finally caught up.
At this moment, Thibodeau made another mistake. He didn't call a timeout to break the Warriors' momentum. Instead, he shouted from the bench twice, leaving the Bulls' players to face this final crisis on their own.
The Warriors, of course, didn't show mercy. After defending the Bulls' next attack, Curry beat Gibson and nailed a step-back three-pointer, giving the Warriors a 3-point lead at 101:98.
At this point, Thibodeau finally remembered to call a timeout and replaced Korver to chase the score. But it was too late; only 43 seconds were left in the game. Liam replaced Tony Allen, tightening the defense, and the Bulls missed repeatedly. Though the Warriors didn't score again, Curry was sent to the free-throw line, sinking both free throws, sealing the game!
End of this chapter
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