The pace of the two sides in the first quarter was very fast, with the Suns leading 40 to 35.

Guo Xu made 6 of 8 shots, 1 of 2 three-pointers, 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 15 points and 3 assists. Nash also felt great against the position, 3 of 4 shots, 2 of 2 of 2 three-pointers, and scored 8 points and 3 assists.

The Mavericks' best performer was Jamison, who made 5 of 6 shots, 1 of 2 free throws, scored 11 points, 6 rebounds and 1 steal, and taught Joe Johnson to be a good person through a one-on-one challenge.

Jamison was filled with anger. He thought he had the ability to be the boss of a team, but after joining the Mavericks, he was positioned as the "sixth man". This was an insult to him by Old Nelson. In terms of personal abilities, he was indeed more reliable than Finley and Walker now.

In the first half of the second quarter, both sides replaced several substitutes, and the offensive battle immediately turned into a blacksmith battle.

After the Mavericks sent Van Exel away, no one led the substitute offense. Old Nelson's adjustment method was to let Jamison play as a substitute, but today he returned to the starting lineup.

Finley and Nowitzki continued to play and lead the substitute, and the others were all silent, only they each scored two points.

After Josh Howard was intercepted by the Suns, the Mavericks chose a swingman named Teres Hansen, who was 198cm tall and weighed 93 kilograms. Guo Xu had no impression of this person at all. In the Mavericks, he averaged 3 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game this season, and his shooting percentage was 35%.

It is a tragedy to lose Howard and the Mavericks choose such a person with the same ranking.

If Guo Xu came up to play a substitute, the Mavericks' lineup depth would be difficult to withstand, but this time D'Antoni chose to let Guo Xu rest. If the opponent was defeated in the Christmas game in three quarters, fans would be very disappointed. It would be better to keep it and make the game more exciting.

The two starting players took a tacit understanding and took a break for a while, and then started the attack again. Finley and Walker made three-pointers and led the team to reverse in the first half. 65 to 67.

Old Nelson's defensive strategy also gave Guo Xu a chance to perform. The Mavericks resolutely defended themselves, blocking his contact with his teammates and preventing him from easily giving assists.

Many teams defend this way when playing against the Suns, hoping to limit others' performance. The sun blooming more points is terrible.

From the perspective of attracting defense, Nash's scoring ability in his previous life was really not very good. He had many opportunities to fight one-on-one, but his scoring in the peak season of his career did not reach 20+. Guo Xu easily had 30+ in the Suns system, and he should be able to do it even if he replaced Westbrook, Curry and other defenders.

When D'Antoni coached the Rockets, the Rockets did not focus on fast breaks, and Harden almost pushed the position to 30+10. I have to say that D'Antoni's tactical system is really a blessing for defenders.

Guo Xu scored 11 points in 6 minutes and scored 26 points and 4 assists in the first half.

In the third quarter, the Mavericks continued to play the starter, while the Suns made adjustments to strengthen the defense.

Haslem plays with the main defense Nowitzki, Marion is at the small forward position and Jamison is at the main defense, and the point guard Bale is entangled with Finley, Sir S, and Guo Xu are responsible for the main attack.

The Mavericks sent five stars, but there were still no defensive experts, and Guo Xu broke out.

Teammates pulled apart, and Guo Xu singled out Nash and scored two three-pointers in a row.

Nash missed a layup after breaking through, Guo Xu fought back in a misplaced position and made a foul and made both free throws.

Guo Xu was passed by double-teamed several times in the position. He seized the opportunity again at 6 minutes and 11 seconds. When he counterattacked, Marion missed a layup but attracted Walker to defend. Guo Xu cut in and grabbed the frontcourt rebound and directly made a one-handed tip-off.

In 6 minutes, Old Nelson substituted the player, allowing substitute point guard Travis Best to appear, and wanted to change his own defense to Guo Xu to try.

This was a substitution mistake. As soon as Best, who was 180cm tall and weighed 83 kilograms, Guo Xu's attack became simple. He shot three-pointers against Best in the counterattack, and he could take action when facing him, making 2 of 3 shots.

Old Nelson hurriedly replaced Best who couldn't jump and exchanged for Nash.

Nash had just left the court and sat for a while, but his physical strength had not recovered much, but his hands were cold. After playing, he missed the basket twice. Guo Xu began to break through again, and fought against Nash in a counterattack.

In the last attack, Guo Xu made another three-pointer, scoring 25 points and 1 assist in a single quarter, 51 points and 5 assists in three quarters, and beat Nash with 17 points and 6 assists.

Nash's performance is not bad, his scoring has exceeded his average game data this season, and his shooting percentage has reached 50%, but he cannot compare with Guo Xu, and he has been disappointed on the defensive end.

The Suns scored 37 to 24, 102 to 91 in a single quarter and entered the final quarter.

D'Antoni replaced Guo Xu and rested for a while. He felt that he took too many shots in the third quarter and would definitely consume a lot of energy.

Taking advantage of Guo Xu's chance to leave, the Mavericks, who continued to send the starting lineup, found the offensive feeling. Nash led the team to overtake the score again 15-2. Walker, Nash, and Delk made three-pointers in a row.

D'Antoni also made a substitution mistake. I don't know what he thought, but he actually asked veteran Gugliotta to play for a few minutes, perhaps because he wanted to show his face in the Christmas game.

Gugliotta was highly expected when he joined the Suns, but unfortunately his injuries ruined him. This was his last season with the Suns. Even if he did not retire after the end, he would not be renewed.

D'Antoni's original intention was good, and he wanted the veteran to enjoy the long-lost applause in the Christmas battle, but he overestimated his strength.

Although Gugliotta has not been injured this season and has accurate mid-range shots during training, he is already playing, and his inside defense with Sir Si is very bad.

It is also difficult for Blake to create misalignment opportunities as a point guard on the offensive end. Blake needs to partner with the star point guard, pass the ball through the half, and then wait for opportunities outside the three-point line to receive the ball and shoot. The offense and defense ends are relatively stable, just like Fisher's type.

Guo Xu was replaced after 4 minutes of rest. The Mavericks began to strictly guard against his three-pointer. After the pick-and-roll, the inside player kept a distance of about two steps from him. He could forcefully break through with speed, but if he chose to shoot a three-pointer, the big man took a step forward and relied on his height to play a distraction effect.

Guo Xu had a way to avoid the cover, but he could not guarantee his hit rate when he was attacking someone much higher than himself.

He scored 6 points in this quarter without assists, so this performance was worse for him. As the Mavericks strictly guarded against Guo Xu, there would be loopholes in other positions, Joe Johnson and Marion barely guaranteed offensive firepower.

The scores of both sides rose alternately. In the last minute, Joe Johnson was not ruthless and made a key three-pointer, and broke through to attract Nowitzki to replace the defense, assisting Sir to cut and dunk.

The hero on the Mavericks was Walker, who made an equaliser three-pointer in the last 1.4 seconds. 126 to 126.

The Suns' last attack time was too short, so the player had to take action when he received the ball. Veteran Kukochi appeared and completed his last shot, hitting the iron under severe interference.

Interestingly, the home team Suns failed to end the battle at regular time and win, but the atmosphere on the scene became even more lively. The fans were very happy, they could watch 5 more minutes of the game, and Guo Xu had the hope of getting better data.

Barkley lamented: "This game was so exciting. Both sides shot more than 50%. And it wasn't too surprising that Jason would score more than 60 points. He only needed to score another three-pointer."

Smith smiled: "The Mavericks retained the chance to win, but this may not be a good thing. Jason scored 57 points in 38 minutes. If the Suns win in the end, the Mavericks' players' efforts throughout the night will not only be in vain, but will also become Jason's background board."
Chapter completed!