Curry = Three-pointer

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The break at the end of the third quarter passed in a tense atmosphere, with the crowd enjoying Curry's difficult buzzer-beater three-pointer, cheering as the Warriors' lead gave fans hope of defeating the Heat.

After dropping from first place in the West, the Warriors had been in a rollercoaster state — their dominance was solid, but facing strong teams proved quite challenging. If they could win against the Heat, it would prove that their five-game win streak before the All-Star break was no accident, signaling the Warriors' return.

With the fans cheering, the final quarter began.

Spoelstra sent out a rotation lineup led by Bosh and Wade. When the Warriors extended their lead at the end of the third quarter, Spoelstra didn't panic at all; their transition game was the Heat's most dangerous weapon.

Liam Gonzalez also made adjustments. He used a regular rotation in the second quarter but now had to make a specific move.

He sent out a lineup of Jeremy Lin, Tony Allen, Butler, Kirilenko, and Big Z, letting Tony Allen and Kirilenko block the Heat stars, while the offense was entrusted to Jeremy Lin and Butler.

"The Heat has the ball, Wade and Joel Anthony set a pick-and-roll, but Tony Allen slips through the coverage and stays tight on him. Wade tried to shake him off with a dribble, but Tony Allen didn't budge. Wade pulled back, and... missed!"

With Julya's sharp voice, the Heat missed their first offensive play, and the Warriors successfully countered, with Kirilenko scoring a layup.

The restrictive effect of Tony Allen on Wade was evident. This was his first appearance in the game, and he was full of energy, locking Wade down, which caught Flash off guard.

But Spoelstra made an immediate adjustment, signaling for the ball to be given to Bosh.

The adjustment quickly paid off, and after Boozer left for the Jazz, Kirilenko moved to small forward, playing on the perimeter for several years without playing as a power forward for a long time.

Now, Liam Gonzalez suddenly placed him inside, and Kirilenko had not yet regained his former touch. His skills on defense inside were still rusty, and Bosh scored two quick baskets on him.

Realizing his mistake, Liam Gonzalez didn't hesitate and immediately used a dead-ball opportunity to replace Yi Jianlian. He began an offensive battle with the Heat, reducing defense against Bosh to test the Heat's role players.

What left Spoelstra helpless was that Eddie House, Arroyo, and others simply couldn't make shots in this game. Bosh and Wade missed several wide-open three-pointers, only hitting twice, and couldn't punish the Warriors' defensive strategy, while the Warriors' players were even more relentless.

But it wasn't their fault. They earned a base salary, and one of the three games was a super-value contract. It's impossible to play well in every game.

The Warriors' rotation speed was extremely fast, and they could only get a brief window of opportunity for an open shot. A little slower, and there would be a defender in front of them. They had to shoot quickly or adjust their arc, which affected their accuracy.

Fortunately, Bosh stepped up, turning around twice and hitting a difficult fadeaway to keep the Heat's offense alive.

With 7:45 remaining in the final quarter, the Heat trailed 86:92, down by just six points.

Liam Gonzalez could only smile bitterly. It was too easy for a team with three stars to develop an offense, and it wasn't easy for the Warriors to defend against the Heat like this. This was because the Warriors had many defensive giants, and their defensive discipline was also league-leading. Otherwise, the score would have been surpassed long ago.

And this was just the beginning. In the next minute, Wade scored five consecutive points through drives and mid-range shots, helping the Heat close the gap to two points.

Tony Allen had done everything he could, but he couldn't allow Wade to score, though fortunately, Butler made a shot to keep the Warriors ahead by four, 94-90. However, the situation remained precarious.

Bob Fitzgerald said:

"It's not good to keep going like this. Butler played well, but he can't handle Wade and Bosh alone. Jeremy Lin is still almost having fun in a game of this intensity. Liam Gonzalez had to make a personnel change..."

"Tic-"

As soon as he finished speaking, Liam Gonzalez called a timeout.

The Warriors players returned to the bench looking somewhat frustrated.

Except for Butler, the other players during the transition section were a bit unsatisfactory, especially Jeremy Lin, who made two mistakes under Wade's key defense, didn't score a point, and felt he was not living up to the coach's trust.

But Liam Gonzalez didn't blame them for burying the advantage; instead, he comforted them.

Liam Gonzalez's desperate defensive rotation was observed by him. He didn't expect the transition section to win against the Heat, and the bench lineup only lost by five points, which already made him very satisfied.

He praised the defensive rotation with a few words, then took the tactics board and said in a deep voice:

"When Stephen, Draymond, Klay, and Tyson return to the court, this will be the final battle. Hold on and win! I don't want to play key shots with the Heat, so I ask you to extend the lead as quickly as possible. Stephen, you have unlimited shooting rights. Everyone else should be careful to give the ball to Stephen as much as possible. Let's... play this way."

On the Heat's bench, Spoelstra was also making his final adjustments.

He shortened the rotation and didn't let Wade and Bosh, who had played the first half of the quarter, leave the court as usual. Instead, he kept them on the court, and the Big Three combined to battle the Warriors for the last half of the quarter.

He knew very well that if he could quickly erase the 4-point deficit, the momentum would completely shift to the Heat, significantly increasing their chances of winning this game. If he followed the regular rotation and let James lead the team alone, the Warriors would have the chance to continue expanding the lead.

Julya saw the Heat's lineup on the court and said:

"Wade and Bosh are still in, and the two are playing the last quarter."

Bob Fitzgerald was surprised:

"This is interesting. The Heat played this game like a playoff game, but they are only down by 4 points, and the opponent is still a Western Conference team, not a playoff opponent. Yet they didn't let the Big Three leave the court... Let's see if the Warriors can hold off the Heat's offense."

The two of them could see that Liam Gonzalez naturally knew Spoelstra's thoughts. He turned his head and looked toward the Heat's bench. Spoelstra was standing there with his arms crossed, staring at the court with a serious face.

Liam Gonzalez thought Spoelstra would stick to the regular rotation, but now that Wade and Bosh were staying in the game, the Heat was going all out.

Spoelstra felt Liam Gonzalez's gaze and looked in his direction. Liam smiled at him, walked to his seat, sat down, his eyes scanning the players on the court, and finally stopping at Curry.

Even if the Heat decided to go all out, the Warriors' starting lineup had rested for half the quarter. They were full of energy, and the advantage was still with the Warriors, but Liam Gonzalez also understood that once the Heat got serious, the Warriors' rookies weren't mature enough and lacked the ability to decide the game's outcome. They could only look to Curry in crucial moments, and he could only choose to trust Curry.

The crowd at the arena also knew it was time to decide the winner and quietly cheered "Warriors" to support the players.

...

Curry dribbled the ball across half-court, and Wade stepped up to the three-point line, stopping in front of him, waiting.

Curry had no intention of isolating him. He signaled, and Green moved up to set a screen for him. Bosh loudly reminded Wade behind him, and Wade was on guard but couldn't let Curry get around Green's coverage. He had to tighten the defense or be blocked by Green.

Seeing this, Bosh immediately switched with Wade, not allowing Curry the opportunity to shoot a three-pointer, and Wade followed Green to the weak corner.

Bosh was mobile enough and capable of switching to the perimeter, and Spoelstra had arranged for Curry to be flanked by others when defending him.

But he had obviously underestimated Curry's ability to play both small and big. With only Bosh defending, Curry kept changing directions, dribbling, and after finding his rhythm, he pulled up for a three-pointer!

Bosh reacted immediately, doing everything he could to block Curry's shot, but to defend Curry's drive, he had to leave a step of space. Curry shot extremely fast, and it was that extra step that allowed Bosh to watch the basketball fly over his fingers, arching high and sinking in.

97:90.

Looking back, after a complete break, James displayed his great strength, using his characteristic drive to the basket to push Butler down, knocking Chandler out of the way and finishing with a layup.

This was James, 27 years old, shooting 70% from the field and possessing a higher finishing ability than a top-level center.

97:92.

At the end of the round, the Warriors attacked, Curry once again blocked with Green and made a simple pass to Bosh.

This time, Bosh had learned his lesson from the previous moment and deliberately stepped back a half step to cover Curry's shooting space.

But Curry immediately changed his offensive style, using his dribbling to shift Bosh's center of gravity, then skillfully brushed past him, ran toward the paint, and made a soft hook to avoid Dampier's late help defense and scored a "cricket" shot.

99:92.

On the bench, Spoelstra couldn't help but frown as he watched Curry score back-to-back points, but he hesitated for a moment and still chose to trust Bosh's great defensive ability and did not adjust the Heat's defense.

No mistake, a song, a hair, an interior, a tolerance, a 6, a 9, a book, a glance!

On the court, the Heat sent a ball from the baseline, and this time the Warriors strengthened their defense on James' advance, distributing the ball to Wade, who dribbled and took a long two-pointer.

99:94.

Turning around, Curry sought Green for the third time to block and switch Bosh in front of him.

Bosh looked at Curry with a very serious expression.

In the previous three quarters, Curry had not initiated his own misalignment, but in the last two quick rounds, he had already sensed the trick to defending Curry.

Curry's three-point and driving threats are too big; he doesn't know what choice Curry will make in the next moment, and can only react defensively, but against Curry's unpredictable offensive style, his defense seems so clumsy that he can't even make the slightest impact.

This time, Bosh was fully focused on Curry's moves but was tricked by his fakes. Curry faked a drive, then suddenly pulled back, shook off the shooting space, and stepped back to make a three-point shot.

102:94.

"Tic-"

After Curry made the three-pointer, Spoelstra couldn't stay still and immediately called a timeout.

He believed in Bosh's ability to defend both big and small players but no longer trusted Bosh's ability to defend Curry.

When Bosh returned to the bench, he kept shaking his head. He said to Spoelstra:

"I can't defend him, Eric, I can't keep up with his moves, I can't defend his drive and three-point shooting at the same time!"

Spoelstra nodded, "I see, Chris, we will protect Curry this way later..."

After the timeout, the Heat sent a ball to the sideline at the front court, and Bosh pointed at Green in the face, using his height advantage to take a long two-point shot.

102:96.

Julya said:

"The Heat's offensive points are too scattered, with the Big Three taking turns, and the Warriors can't defend their individuals."

Looking back, Curry played a pick-and-roll with Green for the fourth time, still seeking Bosh's misalignment.

This time, Bosh didn't opt to change defense but instead wanted to step forward and delay a bit, then switch back to Wade.

But just when he delayed Curry's shot, he turned to Green and swapped places with Wade. Curry took the basketball and dribbled it to the ground, the ball passed between the two and bounced into Green's hands, who fell, walked toward the basket, jumped high, and dunked the ball with both hands.

104:96.

After landing, Green pointed at Curry, who put his hands to his eyes like a telescope and laughed.

In addition to shooting and breaking through, Curry also has passing, shooting, bursts, and assists, creating a unique Curry in the world!

In the transition play, the Heat attacked, James controlled the ball personally at half court, glanced at the clock, and at this moment, only 2 minutes were left in the game. The Heat were still 8 points behind, and there wasn't much time left. He had to hurry.

After James reached the front court, he didn't hesitate and went straight inside. Butler interfered with all his might, but James activated full-force mode, pushing Butler and charging toward the three-point line.

Green rushed over just in time to help defend, and James dribbled two steps forward, then passed the ball to Bosh, who received the ball and was about to shoot, but Chandler lunged at him and passed the ball to Dampier under the basket, who received the ball and jumped to dunk.

Slam!

Just then, a big hand came crashing down and hit the ball at the top of the rebound!

Green made an accurate judgment, returned to the basket just in time, and gave Dampier a pin block.

The ball bounced far away and landed in front of Curry. Curry reacted quickly, immediately grabbed the ball, and ran toward the front court.

Wade followed him, chased him with all his might, pursued Curry from the backcourt to the frontcourt, and when he was near the three-point line, Curry suddenly slowed down, adjusted his pace, stopped just outside the three-point line, raised his hand to shoot. Wade unconsciously jumped high, wanting to block Curry's shot.

But Curry then passed the ball and waited for Wade to fly by before slowly taking the shot for a three-pointer.

Swish!

The basketball flew through a graceful arc and swished through the net!

107:96.

Julya said loudly:

"Curry made a three-pointer!" With 1 minute and 34 seconds left, the Warriors led by 11 points, and Curry sealed the game!"

End of this chapter

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