TORONTO — Ipinoste ni veteran center Marc Gasol ang kanyang highest-scoring game simula nang mapabilang sa mga Raptors na nangyari sa Game One ng 2019 NBA Finals.
Umiskor siya ng 20 points sa rim, midrange, foul line at three-point line.
Nagawa niya ito dahil wala sa court si Golden State Warriors slotman DeMarcus Cousins.
Maaaring magkaroon ng pagbabago sa Game Two.
Walong minuto lamang nakita sa aksyon si Cousins sa una niyang laro matapos magkaroon ng seryosong quadriceps injury at hindi dapat magulat kung bigyan siya ni head coach Steve Kerr ng mas mahabang playing time sa kabuuan ng title series.
“He did some good things. That was a good first step,” wika ni Kerr sa inilaro ni Cousins sa Game One. “So we have to figure out now as a staff, as a team, where does that leave us? Do we increase the minutes? Do we change the role at all? Those are all things we have been discussing.”
Ang naging susi sa panalo ng Raptors sa Game One ay ang paghahanap ng mga libreng players.
“If the rotation happens and they leave somebody else open, my nature is to make the extra pass,” wika ni Gasol. “If they stay home, it is my job to knock it down.”
Nang hindi siya makapag-ambag ng puntos sa kanilang Eastern Conference finals ng Milwaukee Bucks ay nagpahayag si Toronto coach Nick Nurse ng lineup changes.
Ngunit walang intensyon si Nurse na iupo sa bench si Gasol.
“Doesn’t hurt,” ani Gasol. “I don’t know if it helped or not, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to have your coach say, ‘Hey, it’s OK.’”
Bilib si Nurse sa eksperyensa ni Gasol.
“He’s not only played in a lot of big NBA games, but he’s played on the international stage at the highest level,” sabi ni Nurse. “I think he has a couple silver medals under his belt or something like that.”
Matapos ang Game One at Two sa balwarte ng Raptors ay lalaruin naman ang Game Three at Four sa homecourt ng Warriors.