Chapter 1198 1197. The Goal Is to Crush Their Basketball Dreams
The Lakers and the Suns, the Heat and the Nets, the two teams were on edge outside the court.
On the contrary, the two leading stars of the Mavericks and the Spurs, Nowitzki and Duncan, who played the most intense games, seemed very calm.
For the first time in his career, Duncan was not selected for the first team, but he went to the award press conference in shorts and slippers as if nothing had happened; as for Nowitzki, he had never been selected for the first team, but the second team was also good, better than Garnett, and Duncan was not selected for the first team, so Nowitzki felt balanced.
The Hawks began to prepare for the Heat. Whether it was the players or the coaches of the Hawks, they were very optimistic about the Heat advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, so the training focus and research focus of the coaching staff were arranged for the Heat, and the Nets were relatively less concerned.
And now the Hawks are no longer afraid of the Nets. After defeating them, the knot has been untied and they have great confidence.
Wade and O'Neal each had a series of games in the playoffs. With the top two shooting guards and the top two centers in the league, the Hawks paid more attention to them.
Sweeping the Heat in the regular season does not mean that they can have such an advantage in the playoffs, and there were two very tense games in the regular season.
While the Hawks are preparing for the upcoming Eastern Conference Finals, the other three series continue to be hot.
…
On May 16, the Lakers returned to their home court to play against the Suns in the fifth game of the series.
The Lakers did not play easily when they returned to their home court. They fell behind by 11 points in the first quarter. Until the third quarter, the Suns still maintained a 10-point lead and entered the fourth quarter with a score of 79 to 69.
However, the Lakers have a more balanced lineup, with strong points inside and outside. With Yao Ming's strong play in the fourth quarter, the Lakers launched a 15-8 offensive in the last four minutes of the final quarter. In the end, Kobe hit a buzzer-beater in regular time, helping the Lakers to enter overtime with a score of 101.
In overtime, Kobe was unstoppable. He scored 6 points with 3 shots and 3 shots, and also gave an assist to Wang Zhizhi and Odom. The most important thing was that Kobe received a pass from Fisher and made a buzzer-beater with two points left in overtime and 109 tied, helping the Lakers to 111-109 and not be dragged into the second overtime by the Suns. If another overtime was dragged, Yao Ming's role on the defensive end would probably not work.
4-1, the Lakers relied on Yao Ming's 10 points in the last 4 minutes of the final quarter and Kobe's double buzzer-beater to enter the Western Conference Finals again after a year.
The series between the Spurs and the Mavericks continued to be tense. In the year when Duncan was at his weakest, Nowitzki was finally able to play on equal terms with Duncan. Nowitzki played one game, Duncan played another, and the two of them played explosive data as if they had discussed it.
The gap between the strength of the Spurs and the Mavericks is very small. Both teams have a superstar. The Spurs have Ginobili, a top star, and Parker, a first-class star. In terms of absolute strength, the Spurs are stronger.
But the Mavericks have a group of quasi-first-class stars, all with a very complete tactical system, and a completely different style.
The home advantage and away disadvantage have almost no effect in this series of similar strengths. In the first two games, the Spurs played at home, and the Spurs and the Mavericks each won one game. In the third and fourth games, the Mavericks played at home, and the two teams also won one game each.
In the fifth decisive game, the Spurs defeated the Mavericks at home, 88 to 87. The Spurs played the best defense in this series, relying on Ginobili's buzzer-beating tip-in to win the match point.
Seeing that the Spurs had already played well, on May 18, the Spurs came to Dallas to kill the Mavericks.
In the sixth game between the two teams, the Spurs still played well on defense, limiting the Mavericks to only 81 points with only 11 seconds left. The Spurs led the Mavericks by two points, 83 to 81. The Spurs were about to eliminate the Mavericks 4 to 2. However, in the Mavericks' last attack, when the ball was passed to Devin Harris, who had a very average three-point ability, Ginobili's head was twitched. With 3 seconds left and Harris had to shoot a three-pointer, he fouled Harris who was shooting, giving Harris three free throws...
Then the Spurs were dragged into a tiebreaker by the Mavericks.
On May 19, the day after the Mavericks and the Spurs dragged into a tiebreaker, the Heat and the Nets decided the series.
After being tied 2-2 by the Nets in the first four games, the Heat did not give the Nets any chance in the third game on May 17, winning the decisive battle at home with a score of 110-95. Wade scored 37 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists, beating Kidd.
On May 19, in the sixth series between the Heat and the Nets, both teams played very well offensively.
Carter scored 43 points, Kidd scored 22 points, 12 assists and 7 rebounds, and Ratliff scored 20 points and 8 rebounds. The Nets' strongest trio scored more than 20 points, even Ratliff scored 20 points, Kidd scored 6 three-pointers and scored 22 points, and the Nets scored 110 points.
But the Heat was better, with Wade, O'Neal, Payton and Walker all scoring more than 20 points.
Although Carter hit a three-pointer with 11 seconds left to narrow the gap to 1 point, after a tactical foul, Carter missed another three-pointer. The Heat defeated the Nets 112-110 and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Nets regrettably lost the opportunity to meet the Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals for the fourth time in six games. In people's eyes, this was a signal of the complete end of an era. In the past five seasons, the Nets and Pistons have , did not reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time, and became an old chapter that was turned over by the Eagles.
Liu Mang has also been unable to face the Nets and Pistons in the playoffs for the first time in the five years since he entered the NBA. In the previous four seasons, in three of the seasons, opponents would face the Nets and Pistons in both rounds of the playoffs. Last season Although they didn't meet the Nets, they also met the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals.
After watching the exciting sixth game between the Heat and the Nets, Liu Mang saw Carter's lonely back. Unfortunately, he had not played against Carter in the playoffs.
In this playoffs, Carter played very hard, averaging 33 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in the six-game series. Seeing the performance of McGrady, Kobe, Iverson, and the performance of young players like Wade and James, Carter also It feels very different from before.
The combination of Carter and Kidd is indeed powerful, but when the best teammate is the aging Ratliff, this pair of guards, regarded as the second best in the league, is unable to go further.
Liu Mang lamented the passing of an era. Although the Pistons were an unpleasant team, they did represent the last afterglow of the iron-blooded era. The Nets also carried a memory of Liu Mang.
But the past has passed, and Liu Mang is looking forward to the next showdown with Wade.
The Heat with Wade, O'Neal, Antoine Walker, Payton, Jason Williams, Mark Jackson, Posey, Haslem..., especially Payton and Jason Williams , Antoine Walker, all came for the championship, representing the pursuit of the championship by a group of veterans in the 1990s, and may also be their last chance to compete for the championship as the main force of the team...
Playing against such an opponent, Liu Mang feels that his pursuit of three consecutive championships has become more meaningful!
Kill them!
Fuck your basketball dreams!
…
…
The Lakers, Heat, and Hawks are already determined to enter the conference finals.
The series between the Hawks and the Heat will start on May 22, leaving only the tiebreaker between the Spurs and the Mavericks on May 20.
The Lakers are anxiously waiting to see who their next opponent will be. The Hawks have entered the last two days of preparation, and the Heat have also begun preparations for the Eastern Conference Finals with the Hawks in Miami.
People's attention has been turned to the final tiebreaker between the Spurs and the Mavericks.
The five teams still in the playoffs are the five strongest teams in the minds of fans.
On the evening of May 20, Liu Mang was watching the game at home with his daughter in his arms.
Originally, Liu Mang thought that like the fifth and sixth games, the Mavericks and the Spurs would play an ugly and anxious game, at least it should be a close game.
but……
Nowitzki went berserk at the beginning of the game!
Nowitzki scored 41 points in three quarters!
Ginobili was super awesome in Game 5 and super weird in Game 6. He seemed to have broken the Spurs' neck and collapsed in the last game!
Relying on Nowitzki's 41 points in the third quarter, the Mavericks led the Spurs by 25 points 81 to 56 in the third quarter!
Duncan averaged 30 points and 14 rebounds in the first six games, and Nowitzki averaged 32 points and 15 rebounds in the first six games. Duncan was not far behind, but in the tiebreaker, Duncan could not hold on and only scored 11 in the first three quarters. With 4 rebounds, Nowitzki scored 41 points and 12 rebounds. Duncan was crushed by Nowitzki.
Nowitzki made 9 mid-range shots in the first three quarters, killing the Spurs!
Trailing by 25 points 56 to 81 in the third quarter, according to the Spurs' style of play, it is almost impossible to have a chance to come back, especially since Duncan, a superstar, rarely performed poorly.
If we change another team, even if it is Jackson's team, in the original time and space, in Game 6 of the 2008 Finals, after falling behind by 29 points in the third quarter, Jackson gave up the game, and finally the Lakers lost in Game 6 of the Finals. The Celtics scored 39 points.
But Popovich is different!
Popovich felt bad about losing. He felt uncomfortable being alone and wanted to drag the opponent down.
In the garbage time of the fourth quarter, Popovich refused to replace the main players. In the last quarter, he continued to send the strongest lineup of the troika, Sprewell, and Nesterovich, and continued to fight.
Just like the 2001 Western Conference Finals, the Spurs trailed by more than 20 points in the fourth half and more than 30 points in the third quarter, but Popovich let the Twin Towers play until the last minute. Although the Spurs finally They were defeated 82-111 and were swept by the Lakers, but they just had to consume the Lakers.
This time, it was the Mavericks' turn to be stumbled by Popovich.
In the fourth quarter, the Mavericks sent out substitutes, but were beaten 6-0, narrowing the point difference to 19 points. Johnson, the young general, had to replace the main force.
Although the Mavericks have many stars, Popovich's small-mindedness basically cannot have an impact on the Mavericks, but Popovich just wants to make the Mavericks players and the Mavericks coaching staff unhappy.
However, this came true for Nowitzki, who scored 9 points in the final quarter, making 16 of 33 shots, 5 of 11 three-pointers, and 15 of 16 free throws, soaring 50 points!
Nowitzki became the fourth active player with 50+ points in a single playoff game after Liu Mang, Iverson, and Carter!
Moreover, he is the second post player in the new century to score 50+ points in a single game in the playoffs since Karl Malone in 2000.
In the history of NBA, only five superstars, Wilt Chamberlain, Bob McAdoo, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone and Bob Pettit, have scored 50 points in a single game in the playoffs. O'Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Duncan have never done it, but Nowitzki has done it!
As strong as O'Neal and Duncan, they have never been close to 50 points in a single game in the playoffs.
O'Neal had two single-game 46 points, but in one of them, when he wanted to score 50 points after scoring 40 points, he changed his hit rate from 16 out of 20 to 17 out of 27. Although it was also terrible, the opponent's double-teaming and his physical exhaustion made him almost unable to walk after scoring 46 points.
The difficulty for inside players to score 50+ is that their offensive range is so large that the opponent can easily disrupt their scoring.
Among the inside players who scored 50+ in a single game, even Chamberlain was a master of mid-range and short-range shooting. Nowitzki became one of the six inside players in NBA history who scored 50+ in the playoffs!
Liu Mang was glad that he didn't turn off the TV at the end of the first half. The Mavericks were leading by 19 points at the end of the first half. According to the current characteristics of the Spurs, it is almost impossible to turn the tables. The first six games were so intense that there was almost no difference of more than 10 points. The Spurs would definitely not be able to catch up with such a big difference.
Unexpectedly, Nowitzki scored 21 points in the second half and scored 50 points in the whole game.
It was the first time that Liu Mang saw another player score 50 points in the playoffs. It was so shocking. Every time the Spurs were about to gain momentum, Nowitzki would stop the opponent's momentum with a mid-range shot.
Liu Mang thought of the next Heat team, and whether he met Kobe and Yao Ming or Nowitzki in the finals, he felt very excited!
The opponents of the Eastern and Western Conference finals have been determined. In one day, Liu Mang will play against Wade for the first time in the playoffs!
There is still one week left, and I will start writing 20,000 words every day~ Ask for recommendation votes~