A Bright Future

The Suns passed the ball back and forth, finally tearing open a hole in the Clippers' defense with three seconds left on the shot clock.

Joe Johnson made the shot while being defended tightly by Andre Miller.

13-24, the Clippers led by 11 points.

It had to be admitted that the Suns' tactical arrangements were showing some improvement.

Coach Frank Johnson of the Suns' bench finally relaxed when he saw the tactics were working well.

At the same time, Anthony clenched his right fist, happy that his tactics had paid off.

Alvin Gentry of the Clippers paid no mind to the Suns' tactics, as they were leading by 11 points.

Andre Miller passed the ball again to Elton Brand, who cut inside.

Li Chen continued to orchestrate from beyond the three-point line, but this time Joe Johnson stayed glued to him. Marion was also not far from Li Chen.

It looked like they would double-team Li Chen as soon as he got the ball.

While dribbling, Elton Brand stole a glance at Li Chen's position, knowing it was impossible to pass to him now.

Seeing Odom eagerly beckoning for the ball, Elton Brand passed it to him.

Upon receiving the ball, Odom bumped Stoudemire to create space for his shot, then made a skillful little floater. The series of moves was fluid, but to everyone's dismay, the ball didn't go in.

Elton Brand's face darkened. Damn it, Odom is useless, how could he miss that shot?

Fortunately, Michael Olowokandi grabbed the rebound.

Outlaw and Stoudemire double-teamed Michael Olowokandi, denying him space to shoot or pass.

Seeing this, Li Chen broke away from Joe Johnson and went to receive the pass from Michael Olowokandi.

Joe Johnson gritted his teeth and followed behind Li Chen. How did this guy train? He's so fast! I can't keep up at all!

At the same time, Michael Olowokandi struggled to pass the ball to Li Chen.

After receiving the ball, Li Chen moved towards the perimeter to reorganize the offense.

Joe Johnson stuck to him like a piece of gum again. Li Chen once again displayed his speed, driving past Joe Johnson.

Johnson then hardened his resolve and secretly pulled Li Chen back.

Li Chen's jersey was stretched like a tent, but what drove Joe Johnson crazy was that he still couldn't stop Li Chen.

Damn it, this guy is too strong?

Even more surprising to Joe Johnson was that the referee, for some reason, didn't call a foul.

Joe Johnson wisely retracted his hand.

At the same time, Li Chen was about to draw a foul to get two free throws, but Joe Johnson had already let go.

In a flash, Li Chen didn't try to draw a foul. He drove straight to the basket like a sharp knife.

Li Chen's move drew the attention of the Suns players.

But before they could form a double-team, Li Chen used a Euro step to lob the ball to Michael Olowokandi, the "King of Lobs," under the basket.

Michael Olowokandi leaped high, and the two connected again.

Michael Olowokandi slammed the ball fiercely into the basket.

13-26, the Clippers responded.

The Suns players exchanged glances, seeing helplessness in each other's eyes.

We can't stop him! We really can't stop him, we can't cut off his connection with the other Clippers players.

"As long as our offense is efficient, we don't necessarily have to lose," Marbury said defiantly.

"Marbury is right, our Suns have two All-Star Players," Joe Johnson added.

The Suns' morale picked up considerably.

A moment later, the Suns went on offense. They employed the same strategy as the previous possession, passing the ball widely to tear open the Clippers' defense.

The Suns' outside shooting was on point today. On this offensive possession, Marion made the shot again.

He then clenched his right fist, thinking, We still have a chance.

16-26.

Seeing this, Alvin Gentry was somewhat surprised by the Suns' accurate outside shooting today.

Alvin Gentry hesitated, wondering whether to call a timeout and adjust their strategy.

Andre Miller brought the ball up the court.

Li Chen shook off Joe Johnson and cut out to receive the pass.

Andre Miller quickly passed the ball.

Upon receiving the ball, Li Chen leaned against Joe Johnson. "Johnson, you're sweating a lot."

"You're not much better," Joe Johnson retorted, panting heavily.

Before Joe Johnson could finish speaking, Li Chen half-turned and drove along the baseline.

Joe Johnson gritted his teeth and trailed behind him.

Meanwhile, Marion abandoned Corey Maggette to help defend Li Chen.

Li Chen decisively passed the ball to Corey Maggette, adjusted his stance, and took a jump shot.

At the same time, Stoudemire stepped up to pressure him. Corey Maggette was slightly affected, but the basketball spun around the rim twice before falling in.

After the Clippers scored 2 points, Li Chen and Andre Miller exchanged a few words.

The two began to play defense in the backcourt, aiming to compress the Suns' offensive time. This way, they could waste at least ten seconds of the Suns' offensive time.

Alvin Gentry saw this and was stunned for a moment before smiling with relief. Chen is still as reliable as ever.

As expected, the Suns didn't have enough time to find an opportunity on this offensive possession and could only rush a shot, which missed.

Stoudemire was alone under the basket and couldn't secure the offensive rebound. The Suns' offensive possession ended in failure.

Frank Johnson saw this, his lips curved into a bitter smile, and he looked at D'Antoni beside him.

It was as if he was asking, Do you have any other tricks up your sleeve?

D'Antoni thought for a moment, then shook his head and said with a wry smile, "We can only trust them now." He truly had no other options.

At the end of the second quarter, the Suns were trailing the Clippers by 10 points, with a score of 30 to 40.

During halftime, the Suns re-strategized their offensive tactics. They decided to rely on Marbury and Marion's individual abilities to drive into the paint, creating opportunities for the outside shooters to catch up.

At the start of the third quarter, Coach Alvin Gentry did not substitute Michael Olowokandi, as his rebounding had been noteworthy in this game.

Odom did not earn Alvin Gentry's trust.

The Clippers failed to score on their first possession of the third quarter.

The Suns secured the rebound. Marbury drove towards the basket, consecutively faking out Andre Miller and Corey Maggette.

Li Chen came to help defend. Seeing Li Chen, Marbury's head heated up, and he wanted to get past or even break Li Chen down.

Marbury continuously attempted to break through, but each time he was just a little bit short, making him feel unwilling.

The Suns' head coach, Frank Johnson, saw Marbury constantly tangled up with Li Chen and was almost furious enough to burst.

"Marbury, pass that damn ball!" Frank Johnson finally exploded, shouting from the sidelines while waving his fists like a raging lion.

Hearing his coach's anger, Marbury snapped back to reality. He started looking around for a passing opportunity, but he didn't notice that their time was running out.

Just then, the referee's whistle blew. The Suns were called for a 24-second violation.

Li Chen also let out a long sigh of relief. Thank goodness we defended successfully, he thought to himself.

At this moment, Marbury gave Li Chen a deep look.

Marbury had a feeling that this Eastern man in front of him had gotten stronger again, and it had only been seven days!

How did this bastard train? Why was he so strong? He really didn't understand!