Chapter 1949 The Battle Between East and West, a Dream Match
If it is not surprising that the Heat and Celtics were able to successfully win Tianwangshan, the Thunder's ability to overthrow the Spurs in an away game was definitely beyond many people's expectations. After all, this is the Spurs. Since Popovich came to the Spurs, or rather Since the Spurs formed the GDP combination, Popovich has almost never lost in the Battle of Tianwangshan, let alone at the Spurs' home court.
Not to mention that this season, the Spurs' home performance is very good. They are only second to the Lakers in the Western Conference. They also rank third in the league with 28 wins and 5 losses, even better than the Heat. Five games ago, the Spurs had never lost at home in this postseason.
It can be said that the Thunder broke many legendary records of the Spurs with this game!
After the game, Adu, who scored the highest score in the team, seemed very excited. Facing reporters, he also shouted the slogan of reaching the Western Conference Finals: "This is a victory achieved through the hard work of our whole team. Although we have been lagging behind. , but we didn’t give up. The Spurs are a strong team. When I didn’t enter the league, the league was dominated by them. Now it feels great to be able to defeat them in such a crucial Tianwang Mountain.”
"Let's go to the Western Conference Finals, guys!"
"Durant is our MVP. I used to think that we could only go back to the home court and make plans again, but his performance was great. He is already one of the strongest people in the league. Let us Go back and win the game!" - Harden.
"Just do it, man, just do it! We never gave up. Although this is an away game, we did it. Let's go to the Western Conference Finals, brothers! Let us become greater!" - Westbrook.
Westbrook, Harden and others all responded positively to this, and you can see the strong youthful atmosphere in their bodies through the screen.
Yes, this is the power of youth. Compared with the young Thunder, although the Spurs have been committed to rejuvenating the team in recent years, Bowen, Oberto, Horry, Finley and other meritorious veterans have disappeared. The team Young blood led by Leonard has been added, but their core is still GDP.
It's not that GDP is no longer good. To be honest, GDP is really the trio that has the longest longevity and has maintained its form the longest. They are one of the most successful trios in the history of the league. They can maintain this kind of performance at such an age. The state of the Spurs is really incredible. The Spurs can get to where they are today, and GDP deserves the most credit.
But it happens to be this season, this season that was shortened due to the lockout!
This is the biggest reason why the Spurs lost three games in a row after winning two games in a row. Even if Popovich made a very effective rotation in the regular season and allowed GDP to maintain its physical strength to the maximum extent, time is not forgiving. Compared with the Thunder, which is too young, their physical fitness has a very big problem.
In the last three games, you can clearly see that the Spurs had an advantage in the first half and even the third quarter. Their tactics were reasonable and their execution ability was excellent. The Thunder looked a bit immature in front of them. The Spurs had an advantage against Westbrook and Durant. The rand restrictions were also done well and it was obvious that they were very well prepared.
However, in the fourth quarter, when their core strength began to decline significantly, the Thunder's young pace began to be unstoppable.
The tactics of the Cavaliers and Thunder are very simple, consisting of various singles by Durant, Westbrook, and Harden. In the first three quarters, the Spurs relied on smooth rotation to fully limit such boldness, but in the last quarter, you just couldn't hold on, and your physical fitness caused The Spurs couldn't keep up, and then they watched the third youngster perform, and the third youngster still has the physical fitness to play 48 minutes without getting tired in this kind of season.
What is talent? This is it!
What does it mean to beat a master to death with random punches? This is it!
"In any other season, the Thunder would definitely lose. The Spurs are terrible. They have been in decline for just a few seasons and have come back again. Popovich is really an amazing person who can squeeze out 120% of the potential of GDP. It's just a pity for them. Met Thunder."
In the Lakers conference room, Ji Feng, who watched the game together, sighed at the Spurs' strength. Although he thought the Spurs would lose, and this game seemed to confirm Ji Feng's thoughts, compared with the Thunder, which relied on physical strength to bring down the Spurs, Aren't they still able to reach this point by relying on their aging GDP? Isn't it even more terrifying that the Spurs, whose score difference is within 7 points in every game, are even more terrifying.
Every year the Spurs fail, and every year the Spurs get slapped in the face.
Ji Feng can tell from his performance this season that the Spurs will still be a strong force in the league in the next 2-3 years. Anyone who underestimates him will definitely suffer a big loss. Ji Feng is full of vigilance. , he didn’t want old Duncan to say in his ear after the game explanation: The future is yours!
James: Who do you mean there!
Ji Feng: I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense!
However, although Lao Zhan stretched his hips back then, he probably didn't expect that he would stretch his hips even more in the future!
Haha, just kidding, our James is still very prosperous at least now. After winning Tianwangshan, they did not give the Pacers, who lost their core general Granger, a chance, and defeated the Pacers 105-92 in the away game, with a total score of 4 -2 advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Wade made 17 of 25 shots in this battle and sent out 41 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists; James made 12 of 23 shots and had 28 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals. Chalmers and Miller scored 15 points and 12 points respectively.
However, it will still take some time for their Eastern Jazz opponents, because the Celtics who won Tianwangshan lost again. The same script, to be honest, the audience is used to it. They led the 76ers at home for 3 quarters, although at most they were only 7 points, but for this game where the average score was only 81 points per game, 7 points was a lot. But at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Rondo stretched his hips at the free throw line and made 1 of 4 free throws, while Holiday of the 76ers stood After coming out, two three-pointers and a steal helped the 76ers overtake the score. Then with 2 minutes and 38 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Holiday committed another foul and allowed Ray Allen, who had 5 fouls, to leave the field with 6 fouls. The 76ers also finished with 82 -75 defeated the Green Army, and the big score became 3-3.
The fans are already convinced. Another player under Ji Feng's banner, Holiday scored 20 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. He was the biggest contributor to the 76ers' victory in this game.
After the game, Holiday also said: "Everyone is working so hard, I can't fall behind."
Ji Feng's players finally ushered in a period of complete victory.
But Ji Feng hasn't had time to think about playing brother basketball yet, because their opponents in the Western Conference Finals will come out one day later!
"Captain" Jackson hit all of his first six outside shots in yesterday's game, but at the last moment of the game, when the aging Spurs needed a three-pointer to extend their life the most, his seventh shot bounced out of the basket. All the previous shots The passion seems to be paving the way for this ruthless moment. 99:107, the Spurs, one of the most successful teams in the 21st century, just fired the last bullet and fell, which may also be the end of an era. ” -ESPN.
The Thunder reversed the Spurs at home and advanced to the Western Conference Finals 4-2!