Chapter 736: Chapter 497: Coach Who’s Also a Scholar (Part 4) Chapter 736: Chapter 497: Coach Who’s Also a Scholar (Part 4) They tied the game before the end of the first quarter, but by halftime, due to Duncan resting and a gap in their interior defense, as well as Yu Fei and Durant’s strong performance, the Spurs’ defense faced some problems, eventually falling behind by 11 points.

In the first half, Yu Fei played for 20 minutes, averaging a two-minute rest per quarter, dominantly scoring 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Moreover, this comprehensive near-triple-double stat line couldn’t fully reflect the pressure he put on the opposition and the impact he radiated across the court.

“I have a lot of respect for George, but Frye is just too good; he makes me feel as if Jordan is still coaching,” Popovich said during the halftime interview, “In my mind, there isn’t a second player who can do the same thing.”

“Any player? Does that include Michael Jordan?”

Popovich had gotten used to Yu Fei’s questions involving Jordan’s name.

“It includes Michael.” Popovich said, without a doubt.

In the second half, Ginobili showed what fifteen minutes of Jordan-quality play meant.

The Argentinian had an average performance in the first half, which didn’t surprise Spurs fans, because that’s just the kind of enigmatic player Manu is.

His ‘hot-and-cold’ nature meant there was a huge gap between his best and worst performances, but when he was on form, he played fiercely.

As the Spurs struggled to stop Yu Fei and Durant’s offensive, Ginobili suddenly couldn’t miss, hitting step-back threes, doing snake-like layups for 2+1, breaking through the Supersonics’ defense as if crossing the street, and threading the needle to invigorate his teammates. Iguodala’s defense started to take a toll on Durant.

Both teams were neck and neck by the time the fourth quarter started, and then began to tear into each other. Ginobili’s energy dipped, not repeating his third quarter heroics, but Duncan stepped up, followed by Iguodala, then Luol Deng, and even Dragic made contributions.

The Supersonics, lacking a commander on the floor, revealed their issues, unable to adjust their defensive matchups according to the opponents’ performance.

Coach Lu tried different substitutions to no avail; in the end, he could only rely on Yu Fei to freely operate and keep the game within reach through his individual ability.

Coach Lu’s emotions were on the brink of collapse and losing control, he roared continuously, trying all he could to impact the game. If they weren’t playing at home, just his attitude towards the referees might have gotten him ejected much earlier.

The stifling game went on to the last moment, with the Supersonics facing a one-point deficit as they approached the final timeout.

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Coach Lu’s lips turned white, his voice hoarse, looking utterly exhausted.

Yu Fei poured him a glass of water.

What happened next would be remembered.

“Wipe your mouth, take a drink,” Yu Fei said reassuringly, “I won’t let you lose your first game.”

If ABC’s commentator Doug Collins had been there, he would have excitedly told Coach Lu that Jordan had made the same promise to him years ago.

Coach Lu did as instructed.

He was very aware that they managed to make it this far in the game by sticking to the principle of giving the ball to the strongest player.

When the timeout was over, Yu Fei ran down the clock, causing the Spurs discomfort.

Iguodala, who stepped up to defend Yu Fei, became overly aggressive and was sent stumbling to the ground by a crossover move.

For a moment, the cheers in Key Arena were deafening, like a mighty wave sweeping over the land.

Yu Fei took the shot at the last second, and as the light turned red, the ball sank into the net, and the crowd erupted like citizens of an empire in a thunderous roar.

The man who saved his team simply turned to Iguodala and extended his hand, “Andre, maybe next time?”

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Tyronn Lue, celebrating his first win as a head coach, jumped and shouted on the sidelines.

He had an epiphany.

All those complicated tactics, all that coaching philosophy, were bullshit!

Just give the ball to the core player and let him sort out everything; it was simple and brutal. Basketball could be that simple!

As for the so-called complexities of coaching, that was all there was to it.