Entering

During the second free throw, Li Chen whispered something in Odom's ear while encouraging his teammates, patted him on the shoulder, and then returned to his position.

Odom looked at Li Chen with suspicion. Could this really work?

At this point, referee Joey Crawford signaled for Odom to take the penalty.

Odom slammed the basketball hard onto the backboard closest to Li Chen.

This is the tactic that Li Chen and he were discussing earlier.

However, the idea was beautiful, but reality was cruel.

Just then, a figure disrupted Li Chen and Odom's coordinated attack.

The basketball was touched out of bounds by Duncan.

At this moment, Odom walked up to Li Chen and complained, "Look, look, I told you it wouldn't work!" Although Odom complained, there was a look of regret in his eyes.

Li Chen rolled his eyes and then said, "It's not exactly a defeat, we still have possession of the ball, don't we?"

Odom thought about it and agreed; if he made a three-pointer, he'd earn another point.

Then Li Chen looked at Duncan, the guy who ruined their plans, and thought to himself, "Duncan, don't be fooled by his honest and unassuming appearance. I never expected that this guy was secretly spying on me, causing my plan to fail."

A moment later, Odom threw the ball out of bounds.

Li Chen struggled to shake off Bowen, then raised his hand to ask for the ball.

Odom quickly passed the ball, then lurked on the perimeter, waiting for his opportunity.

Li Chen, who had just received the ball, was intercepted by Bowen who had caught up.

Li Chen suddenly stopped, and then his body abruptly straightened.

As a defensive expert, Bowen knew as soon as Li Chen stopped abruptly that the Eastern Kid was about to use that strange fadeaway shot again.

Bowen sneered, "You really think this will stop you, old man Bowen?"

Bowen jumped up immediately.

However, Li Chen's lips curled up, and he immediately turned around with the ball, leaving Bowen behind, and continued to break through to the basket.

Bowen looked grim; he had actually been fooled.

At this moment, Parker and Stephen Jackson double-teamed Li Chen.

Li Chen used a Euro step to break through the double team's defense and leaped high into the air. Just then, a large hand loomed over him.

It was Duncan again; he was like a stabilizing force, ensuring the Spurs' interior defense was secure. With him on the court, the Spurs' interior defense was incredibly stable.

Li Chen didn't force a shot at Duncan; instead, he pulled the ball back and made a clever bounce pass to Odom on the perimeter.

Meanwhile, Bowen immediately rushed to cover Odom.

A confident Odom immediately jumped up, completely disregarding whether Bowen was a member of the All-Defensive Second Team, and took the jump shot.

Swish! The basketball goes through the net cleanly.

The Clippers finally tied the game at 36-36.

At this point, Popovich could no longer sit still and called the first timeout of the second quarter.

At the same time, Odom walked up to Li Chen, winked, and said, "Chen, did you see that? I told you, I'm on fire today."

Li Chen gave a timely thumbs-up.

In the TNT broadcast room.

"Hahaha! Kenny, I have to admit, we were proven wrong. Li Chen and Odom's offensive performance was outstanding today."

Kenny Smith chuckled helplessly, "Yeah, Li Chen's arrival has created a chemical reaction in this Clippers! It's really something to look forward to."

"Yeah! Hopefully they can make the Playoffs."

Kenny Smith nodded; he was also looking forward to it.

After a short while, he added, "Let's take a look at the scores for both teams in the first half."

Duncan had 10 points, 2 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 block, 2 field goals and 2 free throws.

Odom had 13 points, 1 assist, 2-for-2 from three-point range, and 1-for-2 from the free-throw line.

Li Chen had 11 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 field goal, and 1 free throw.

"All of Odom's goals and assists in this game came from Li Chen, and Odom was really accurate from beyond the arc today, making both of his three-point attempts," Kenny Smith said with a smile.

"Yeah! I've noticed that Li Chen has a knack for getting along with everyone," Barkley remarked.

Kenny Smith added, "Li Chen's playing style reminds me of Mavericks Nash from the Mavericks."

"No, no, no! Li Chen's Defensive Ability is far superior to his, so from the current perspective, Li Chen is stronger than Nash," Kenny Smith corrected again.

"Charles, I'm starting to look forward to it."

"Oh? What are you expecting?" Barkley asked, feigning ignorance.

"I'm looking forward to their meeting!"

Haha! I'm looking forward to it too.

The timeout has ended, and the game has resumed.

After the timeout, the Spurs substituted Stephen Jackson with experienced Bulls shooter Steve Kerr.

Steve Kerr's three-point shooting ability is a major weapon in the game.

Back then, he always performed exceptionally well at crucial moments, pulling the Bulls back from the brink of defeat several times.

He is good at finding shooting opportunities and never hesitates to shoot accurate three-pointers.

Popovich intends to use the experienced Steve Kerr to distract the Clippers' defense around the basket, thereby reducing the burden on Duncan.

Steve Kerr truly deserves his reputation as one of the future 75 greatest players. Although he's getting old, his three-point shooting ability is still incredibly accurate when he's at his best.

Popovich lives up to his championship coach reputation; Steve Kerr hit a three-pointer as soon as he entered the game, making the score 39-36.

This Clippers to force Wang Zhizhi to come out from under the basket to defend Kerr.

The Clippers are on offense.

Li Chen continued to move forward, glancing around.

He noticed that the Spurs had started focusing their defense on Odom, with Popovich even assigning the tough Bowen to guard him – a move aimed at eliminating Odom.

In a flash, Li Chen made a breakthrough.

After breaking past Ginobili, he pulled up for a jump shot.

Parker jumped to cover, but Li Chen is 200cm tall while Parker is 188cm. Even without his S-skill, it would be difficult for Parker to defend against Li Chen.

Swish! The basketball goes in cleanly.

39 to 38.

The two teams then traded baskets, with the score difference never exceeding five points.

At the end of the second quarter, the Clippers even led 50-52 by two points.

However, at the very beginning of the third quarter, the Clippers fell into a strange cycle of missing shots.

They were once outscored 15-2 by the Spurs.

Left with no other option, Alvin Gentry had to substitute the offensively ineffective Michael Olowokandi.

Then they brought on Corey Maggette to improve the team's offensive capabilities.

Corey Maggette also played a crucial role, stabilizing the Clippers' offensive struggles in the third quarter.

At the end of the third quarter, the Spurs led the Clippers 89-78, an 11-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Alvin Gentry went into full-on offensive mode.

He replaced center forward Cherokee Parks with Melvin Ely, who had performed well today.

The Clippers' current roster is as follows:

Li Chen (Point Guard), Corey Maggette (forward), Odom (forward), Melvin Ely (forward), Wang Zhizhi (center).

The Clippers' roster is full of players with offensive capabilities.

The Spurs' roster remains largely unchanged.

Parker, Bowen, Ginobili, David Robinson, Duncan.

Popovich had anticipated that the Clippers would go all out, so he brought David Robinson back in, clearly to strengthen rebounding control and launch fast breaks.