NBA: The God of Basketball Begins with Precise Scoring

Chapter 32 Green's misjudgment gives away a winning opportunity; Golden State narrowly loses to

Fans at Chase Center nearly blew the roof off the arena, and fans back home were equally thrilled watching the game.

Even those who aren't Curry fans or Warriors fans, as long as they aren't extreme haters, are still incredibly excited to see their compatriots perform like this in such a crucial moment of the NBA playoffs. At the very least, they'll think to themselves, "Awesome!"

"My god, Ah Chen is amazing! His defense was flawless, he almost gave the opponent an airball!"

"Pshaw, what's so great about defending Shaq? Didn't you guys see when Xingchen pointed to the right at a 45-degree angle during the Jazz's first possession? It's obvious he figured out their tactics and predicted Mitchell's position! That's what's truly amazing, okay?"

"Hey bro upstairs, I almost drew my sword after reading your first sentence."

"Little Li... oh no, Big Li is truly a master of both offense and defense now. The final attack is just around the corner. Could he be about to deliver another game-winning shot today?"

"These last few games have been so enjoyable to watch! Their offensive and defensive performances are so consistent, even when Curry pulled Ah Chen, he didn't!"

"I'll say it again: at the next Olympics, the person carrying the national flag will definitely be surnamed Li, no doubt about it..."

……

The scene of the game.

The Jazz ran out of their 13-second shot clock, leaving only 6 seconds left in the game.

However, the Warriors can inbound the ball in the frontcourt after a timeout, so they still have plenty of time for an offensive possession.

Kerr was setting up offensive tactics, but there weren't any new tricks. It was just a matter of several shooters setting screens for each other to find gaps in the opponent's defense and create opportunities to shoot.

Of course, the main focus is still on Curry. Even though he had a bad day, he is still the team's star player. In crucial offensive possessions like this, unless there's really no other option, the ball will definitely be given to Curry first.

What's more, he just hit a crucial three-pointer in the last two minutes of the game.

Li Xingchen listened attentively to the tactics. Cole's tactics sounded perfectly fine, but they also lacked any highlights; they were just very conventional.

Can such a common tactic really deliver a game-winning shot against the Jazz's formidable defensive force?

Li Xingchen thought it was going to be tough.

It's no wonder that Kerr has been criticized for his sideline ball tactics in crucial moments. His usual ATO is okay, but he's really not reliable in critical situations.

Li Xingchen shook his head helplessly. It seemed that in the end, they would still have to rely on Curry's individual ability.

Fans might be hoping that Li Xingchen would deliver another game-winning shot in the final moments, just like in the playoffs, but he knows he doesn't have that chance, since he's already used up all sixteen points in this game.

Therefore, all he could do was create space for Curry, and leave the rest to Curry.

The timeout is over, back on the court.

The offensive lineup that comes on during the offensive possession is naturally Curry, Bazemore, Li Xingchen, Wiggins, and Green.

Green inbounds the ball. Since there's still plenty of time, they don't aim to create an offensive opportunity within the five seconds of the inbound pass. Instead, they pass the ball to Curry normally after he has slightly shaken off the defense, allowing him to execute the ball-handling attack.

Royce O'Neal was still responsible for guarding Curry. He mainly defended Curry one-on-one today, which made Curry very uncomfortable. Curry only made 3 of 12 three-pointers and his overall field goal percentage was only 6 of 18, with only 18 points so far.

Curry was dribbling the ball and trying to isolate O'Neal, but he didn't think it was a good opportunity, so he called for Green to set a screen.

The Jazz are currently leading by two points, so at this point, their priority should be to guard against the Warriors' three-point attempts.

If they score two points, it's just a tie and they'll go into overtime; but if they score a three-pointer, it's basically a guaranteed loss.

So when Curry called for Green to set a screen, Gobert did not hesitate to move up to help defend, and instead of delaying his return to position, he directly double-teamed him!

Well, they didn't double-team Curry the whole game, but they still had to use him in the end.

Faced with a double-team, Curry realized he had no chance to shoot, so he passed the ball to Wiggins in the corner.

Because it was a defensive possession after a timeout, the Jazz brought in the defensively stronger Ingles to replace the offensively strong but defensively weak Bojan.

However, at this moment, Ingles was guarding Li Xingchen, and Royce O'Neal needed to chase Curry, so his defense against Wiggins, who was crouching in the corner and posed a relatively weaker threat, had to be left to Mitchell.

Firstly, Mitchell's perimeter defense is decent, at least acceptable; secondly, if there is still time left after the Warriors' offensive possession ends, especially if the Warriors score, the Cavaliers' chance to complete a comeback win depends on Mitchell, so Snyder naturally kept him on the court.

However, Mitchell has a significant disadvantage in height and wingspan when facing Wiggins, so it's impossible for him to lock down Wiggins' outside shooting; at most, he can only provide some interference.

Because Curry's pick-and-roll took up a little time, there were actually only a little over six seconds left in the game when the ball was passed to Wiggins.

He knew that facing Mitchell was a slight mismatch, and it was the best position on the team for a shot, so without any hesitation, he immediately drew his bow and shot decisively for a three-pointer.

Mitchell couldn't block it at all, so he could only jump and stretch out his arms, waving them in front of Wiggins' eyes in an attempt to distract him.

Will it get in?

This is what countless people are thinking right now.

Finally, the expected swishing sound did arrive as expected, but luck seemed to be against the Warriors today. Wiggins' precious three-pointer swished around the rim and then went straight out!

With only about three seconds left, both teams were in the most tense moment.

If the Warriors grab the offensive rebound, or even succeed in a putback while the team is in disarray, then today's game could very well turn into a tie-break overtime scenario; but if the Jazz get the rebound, then they will have secured the victory.

Even before Wiggins' shot was fully airborne, all the forwards and centers from both teams had already rushed to the basket, positioning themselves to fight for that crucial rebound.

In the end, it was Green who reacted quickly and somehow managed to grab the offensive rebound despite being covered by Gobert's long arms.

Logically speaking, Draymond Green, who grabbed the offensive rebound at such a crucial moment, should have made a great contribution to the team.

However, his next choice shocked everyone and completely ruined the Golden State Warriors' chance to turn the game around.

With only two seconds left in the game, Green, who had grabbed the offensive rebound, had no choice but to put it back in for a putback.

If he truly lacks the finesse required for scoring under the basket and is also intimidated by Gobert's long-armed defense, then passing the ball to the perimeter is understandable.

But clearly, Curry was standing in front of Royce O'Neal, the only forward on the court who wasn't under the basket, while Li Xingchen was completely alone.

Green, however, remained oblivious to Li Xingchen's open space and his raised hands, as if this kind of moment, where choices had to be made in the blink of an eye, had long been a path dependency deep within him.

He would just throw the ball in Curry's direction.

However, in the midst of the chaos, the quality of the pass was truly lackluster, making it difficult even for Curry to receive the ball, let alone shoot and make a game-winning shot.

In the end, O'Neal swiftly reached out and swatted the ball high into the air.

Before the basketball could even fall again, the final buzzer sounded...