34 to 28. Link once again drove into the restricted area with a live ball. A pause in his rhythm made Adrian Griffin mistakenly think Link was going to shoot again. But in the next instant, Link accelerated a second time, directly blowing past Griffin's right wing, and
The Washington Wizards' lead extended to 6 points.
The Mavericks called a timeout.
"What's wrong with you guys? Link... his matchbox-like vertical leap has already bombed our basket four times tonight," Mark Cuban shouted at the players returning to the bench.
In response, Michael Finley and Adrian Griffin both looked as if they wanted to speak but held back...
That's right.
Link's running and jumping talent isn't outstanding, but it's definitely not bad either.
His first step is super fast, okay? If you're not careful, he'll blow past you.
And...
With his height and exaggerated wingspan, he can easily dunk the ball with just a jump, okay?
Of course, Link himself deep down really loves to dunk.
"You don't need to worry too much about Link's offensive firepower. Currently, the Mavericks only have him as a strong ball-handler, and his Stamina can't last the entire game. Our current task is to make those damn shots," Mavericks head coach Don Nelson interrupted Mark Cuban's complaints and adjusted the offensive strategy.
Don Nelson is an offense-oriented coach with not many achievements on the defensive end.
However, the Washington Wizards' current lineup on the court has a major flaw in offense: insufficient shooting ability. They can completely exploit Gerald Wallace's Three-Point Shot.
The timeout ended, and the game continued.
Nash and the Three-Point Shot threat LaFrentz ran a pick-and-roll. Hamilton, who was guarding him, was disrupted by the screen and fell half a step behind Nash. After Nash drove to the basket, he didn't gather the ball to finish but instead played under the rim.
Although Nash spinning around under the basket, controlling the ball, looked a bit comical, it made Randolph and Laettner's hair stand on end. Especially when Nash went baseline, circling behind the two of them...
As Randolph couldn't help but look back at him, Nash's mouth curved into a smile, and Randolph, fearing a foul, dared not act rashly and watched Nowitzki's layup go in.
"Good shot!"
"Well done!"
"My dear Dirk!"
After Nowitzki scored, Mark Cuban on the bench was excitedly gesticulating, spitting all over the place.
It was clear he truly loved Dirk Nowitzki.
Nash's ball-handling threat was too great. His unpredictable dribbling rhythm and terrifying court vision meant every Passing was like a sharp dagger, capable of piercing directly into the opponent's heart.
Even more terrifyingly...
Nash's offensive firepower was also top-tier among point guards.
The moment Hamilton shifted his defensive attention to Nash's Passing lane, Nash executed a crossover dribble,
The shot went in, and he drew an additional foul for a 2+1!
Nash of the 19 Club stepped to the free-throw line and calmly sank the free throw. Uh... although Nash's preparation at the free-throw line was quite disgusting; he particularly liked to lick his hands after touching the soles of his shoes.
Although Link doesn't have mysophobia, he really doesn't want to shake hands with Nash.
59 to 58, the Mavericks narrowed the lead to just 1 point, with 1 minute and 1 second remaining in the third quarter.
...
...
The game entered the fourth quarter.
Nash created excellent isolation space for Nowitzki on the weak side of the offense through a pick-and-roll. Additionally, if the Pass was in Nowitzki's offensive rhythm, he would choose to shoot directly upon receiving the ball.
At 213cm tall, he could shoot like a guard, and currently, no one on the Wizards could guard him.
"Wow!"
"Well done!"
"Dirk!"
"Go kill these guys!"
Nowitzki received Nash's Pass and made another shot. Mark Cuban once again gesticulated wildly, shouting passionately.
"Brother Steve, your boss really doesn't understand basketball... He seems to completely misunderstand that without your offensive gravity, Dirk would find it hard to receive the ball so comfortably," Link said with a serious expression.
Steve Nash, whose forehead was covered in sweat, just smiled and glanced at Link, saying, "Link... that kind of trick has no effect on me."
Seeing his little scheme exposed, Link showed no embarrassment...
The chemistry between Nash and Nowitzki was too good, and currently, the Washington Wizards were trailing by 4 points.
Sigh...
No choice!
He had to use some special methods.
And the'scheme of alienation' was a trick Link often used with great success.
He had used it against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first half of the season, and it had achieved good results.
"Brother Steve, we are both point guards, hehe, and only point guards can understand how terrifying you are..."
"However, your boss, Mark Cuban, will never know your true value. In his heart, Dirk Nowitzki is the most important, and of course, you agree with that. But besides Dirk, Michael Finley, and the value of blue-collar Centers are all higher than yours..."
Although Nash was selected as an All-Star by fans this season, honestly, Mark Cuban had never been very optimistic about him. In 2004, the Mavericks preferred to spend $73 million over 7 years to sign the blue-collar Center Erick Dampier rather than sign the future two-time MVP Steve Nash for $66 million over 6 years.
"Seriously, Brother Steve, are you truly content?" Link asked a soul-piercing rhetorical question, looking at the seemingly silent Nash.
And this rhetorical question plunged Nash into deep thought...
Nash, with his extremely high EQ and IQ, naturally understood that Mark Cuban deep down didn't respect him at all.
He wasn't even in Dallas' future plans...
Although Nash, whose mind was attacked by Link, didn't make any turnovers in the subsequent time—uh, Nash's ball-handling and fundamentals were truly strong.
But his Passing quality declined, making it difficult to directly create scoring opportunities through passes, and his own shooting percentage plummeted.
On the other hand, the Washington Wizards...
Link actually started imitating Steve Nash face-to-face.
After driving to the basket, he began spinning in circles under the rim to disrupt the Mavericks' defense.
Unlike Nash, Link, when spinning under the rim, could jump up for a powerful dunk at any time.
As Nash missed two consecutive mid-range jump shots with the ball...
The Washington Wizards seized the opportunity, launched two fast breaks, and successfully reversed the score.
98 to 93!
The Washington Wizards, without Michael Jordan, reversed the game by 5 points and secured the final victory.