There was a dead silence in the ATT Center Arena, and the audience was completely silent. Many spectators covered their faces and looked at all this in shock.
Scoring more than 100 points in a single game is considered to be completely impossible in modern basketball. However, Zhang Guan miraculously achieved this and even surpassed this 100 points!
101 points, this number is like a basin of ice water, instantly extinguishing the blazing heat in the Spurs' hearts. For the Spurs, this 101 points was an unparalleled blow to morale. Even if the Spurs had an extremely tenacious will, facing an opponent with 101 points in a single game, they could not arouse their fighting spirit.
But the game was not over yet. Just like last time, the referee stopped the game again and they started watching the video of the game again. They still have to determine whether time has run out at the moment Zhang Guan scores the goal.
In the end, the referee decided to return the clock again, and the time was 0.5 seconds!
However, this time, the Spurs fans did not cheer, not because 0.5 seconds was not enough for one shot, but because Leonard's foul caused Zhang Guan to add a free throw.
If the ball is served in the frontcourt, 0.5 seconds is enough to throw a ball, but if you grab a rebound after a free throw, 0.5 seconds will not even have a chance to make a shot. So Zhang Guan only needs to deliberately miss the free throw and let the basketball bounce on the rim, and time will run out.
Even with 0.5 seconds left, the Spurs had already lost.
Zhang Guan once again stood on the free throw line, while the Spurs players stood on both sides with frustrated faces.
"It's over!" Zhang Guan took a deep breath and aimed at the place where the basket meets the backboard. This position will make the basketball bounce higher and consume more time.
"Whoosh!" The basketball took action, hit it right there, and then bounced high. The Spurs players didn't even fight for the rebound, because the sound of the end of the game had already sounded before the basketball even hit the ground!
The basketball hit the ground directly, and the game was over!
"We win, we win!" Everyone on the Lakers bench rushed onto the court and hugged each other.
Black Eight Miracle! They gave the Spurs another dark horse miracle!
From being behind 0-3 to coming back 4-3, no team in the league can do it, but now, the Lakers have done it!
At this moment, every Lakers player seems to see that the road leading to the championship has been paved in front of them. Even if you can win four games in a row and come back from 3-0 down, what other difficulties and obstacles does it matter
…
"The Lakers made a comeback! A comeback from a 0-3 deficit! For the first time in history, a comeback from a 0-3 deficit!"
"Oh my God! Zhang Guan scored 101 points. He surpassed Chamberlain's 100 points! How is this possible? In modern basketball, there are still people who can score so many points!"
On May 5, the entire American media was talking about Zhang Guan's 101 points in a single game and the Lakers' comeback after falling behind 0-3. Many media even shouted slogans for the Lakers to win the championship.
If it were placed in February, saying that the Lakers won the championship would definitely be considered crazy. At that time, the Lakers could not even touch the threshold of the playoffs.
When they fell behind 0-3, the whole world knew that the Lakers were finished and they could prepare for next season.
But just over a week later, the Lakers stepped on the powerful Spurs and successfully advanced.
Anyone who has watched this game knows that the Spurs played without any problems, and could even be said to have performed relatively well. Duncan's 0.4-second shot was hailed as a classic in playoff history. But unfortunately, they met a superhuman opponent, a Zhang Guan who could score 101 points.
In modern NBA games, if any player can score a high score of 50 or 60 points in a certain game, the opponent can immediately surrender, let alone a super high score of 101 points! Thanks to the fact that the opponent was the Spurs, and it was the Spurs from the 2013-2014 season. If it had been any other team, they would have been defeated long ago.
The result of this game also affects the selection of the regular season MVP.
Originally, Durant was the biggest favorite for MVP. Other popular candidates included James, Griffin, Noah and Harden. Their teams had very good records and entered the playoffs early. Their average per game The data is also very good. The Lakers only entered the playoffs on the last day of the regular season because of their mediocre record. Therefore, Zhang Guan's call for winning the MVP is not as good as Durant and James, and at most equal to Griffin.
James has won the regular season MVP for two consecutive years. People are optimistic about him for three consecutive years. Moreover, James is one of the most popular among American athletes. In this regard, Zhang Guan, as a "foreign monk", is really not as good as James. .
Durant's performance this season is indeed eye-catching, averaging 32 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. When Westbrook was injured, he led the Thunder to the top of the Western Conference, scoring at least 25 points in 41 consecutive games. points, also surpassing Jordan's 40 consecutive games, ranking third in history only after Chamberlain and Robertson. Compared with Durant, Zhang Guan only led the Lakers to play more than 30 games, which is his biggest weakness.
It is really unreasonable for a player to win the regular season MVP despite not playing even half of the games in the regular season.
However, the appearance of 101 points instantly reversed the situation in the regular season MVP selection.
It seems unlikely that any of Chamberlain's records will be broken by latecomers. The most memorable one is naturally the 100 points in a single game, while Zhang Guan scored 101 points, although it was achieved in the playoffs. , but he has already established his image as the number one basketball player in the hearts of the people.
This year, a total of 124 reporters and hosts from the United States and Canada participated in selecting the regular season MVP. Each judge needs to select the 1st to 5th picks, of which the 1st pick has 10 points, the 2nd pick has 7 points, and the 2nd pick has 7 points. The 3rd pick is worth 5 points, the 4th pick is 3 points, and the 5th pick is 1 point. That’s a total of 125 first-place votes.
On May 6, the NBA officially announced that Zhang Guan was awarded the regular season MVP for the 13-14 season. Among the 125 first-place votes, Zhang Guan received 122, and the remaining 3 were divided between Durant and James. Durant received 2 and James received 1.
Entering the NBA in his first year, he won the regular season MVP in less than half a season. Zhang Guan is the first, and probably the only one.
Zhang Guan just gave an acceptance speech in a hurry, because on May 6, the Lakers will face their second opponent in the playoffs: the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Trail Blazers' regular season ranking is fifth in the Western Conference. They beat the Houston Rockets, fourth in the Western Conference, with a score of 4 to 2, allowing the "Devil" to taste the defeat in the first year of their combination.
Controversial series, Howard averaged 26 points and 13.7 rebounds per game, again playing as the No. 1 center in the NBA; Harden averaged 26.8 points per game, which is not satisfactory. However, Rockets head coach McHale's on-the-spot response level really makes people feel a little anxious. , almost being led by the head coach of the Trail Blazers. In this round of the series, the Rockets scored more points than the Trail Blazers. Among the four losses, three of the games were lost by less than 3 points, a difference of only one goal. If we change to a high-level coach, we can easily make up for this one-goal gap through on-the-spot tactical changes.
Aldridge and Galilard's configuration seems more reasonable than the Thunder's second half. It's just that the Trail Blazers' starting lineup is as strong as a tiger and their substitutes are as weak as a dog. This is something that the entire league knows. When it comes to the playoffs, the focus is often on bench depth. A team like the Trail Blazers without bench depth is destined to not be able to go very far in the playoffs.
In the Western Conference semifinals, although the Trail Blazers were waiting for work, had home court advantage, and were ranked higher than the Lakers in the regular season, everyone felt that the Trail Blazers were the weaker side, including the Blazers themselves. Think so.
Because the opponent is the Lakers who just reversed the Spurs!
Because there is a Zhang Guan in the Lakers who can score 101 points!
Being able to defeat the Spurs in the series is itself a manifestation of strength, and even the Heat may not be able to do this. And a player with 101 points in a single game, even if he only exerts 60-70% of his skills and scores 60-700 points, is enough to make the Trail Blazers surrender.
Although the Lakers only had a day's rest and were playing away games, their morale was at its peak.
From 16 wins and 31 losses to reaching the playoffs, the Lakers have experienced a roller coaster journey; from falling behind 0 to 3 to coming back 4 to 3, the Lakers have once again experienced a roller coaster journey. However, these two roller coasters have forged the Lakers' steely tenacity. Falling behind 3-0 and coming back from the Spurs made every Lakers player become more confident. Even veteran players like Gasol who have won championships have completed their transformation in this round of playoffs.
Victory after despair can make cowardly people fearless and fragile people become tough. On the court, especially in the playoffs, this fearlessness and tenacity are the best weapons.
This is what the playoffs are like, the brave ones win when they meet on a narrow road!
Although the first contest between the two sides was held at the Blazers' home court, the Blazers lost by a full 20 points. In the second round of the playoffs, this kind of score difference is unusual. After all, no team that can reach the second round of the playoffs is an underdog, and they will fight hard in every playoff game. A 20-point difference is indeed relatively rare.
The Blazers' starters performed very well. Aldridge had a massive double-double of 30+15, Lillard also had a near-double-double of 20+10, and Batum and Matthews also performed well. However, after the substitute came on, the score was quickly opened.
In terms of firepower, the Lakers' bench is not weak. As long as it performs normally, it can barely cope with the playoffs. But the Lakers have an additional factor, and that is Nick Young.
When Nick Young doesn't show his power, the Lakers' bench is equivalent to the bench of a normal playoff team. Once Nick Young's nerve knife shows up, I believe many teams' starting lineups will find it difficult to resist.
This season, Nick Young's performance frequency is relatively high, otherwise he would not be able to average 17.9 points per game. In the two consecutive away games against the Trail Blazers, Nick Young performed well, scoring more than 20 points in both games, which was comparable to the total score of the entire Trail Blazers bench.
The bench was not strong, and the Trail Blazers lost again in the second game, but this time they only lost by 9 points, which was a big improvement compared to the first game.
In one series, they lost two consecutive games at home, and the Blazers basically said goodbye to the playoffs.
On May 10, the Lakers finally returned to their home court in Los Angeles.
After a 0-3 comeback and 101 points in a single game, the Lakers returned to Staples like a resurrection. That night, the whole of Los Angeles was excited.
Staples Field has not been this lively for a long time. Not only is the stadium full of seats, but there are also many big-name stars coming to support. After all, this is Los Angeles, the center of American entertainment, and the place with the most stars in the world. And with the Lakers' victory, stars are also willing to appear at the Lakers' home court.
Outside the stadium, there are also crowds of fans who have not bought tickets and are asking for tickets. Even the roads are overcrowded. They cheer for the home team. In order to thank these fans for their support, the Lakers also rented two large screens to broadcast the live game.
It's been a long time since Staples Field has seen such pomp and circumstance.
…
In such a home atmosphere, both Aldridge and Lillard performed abnormally. Aldridge has entered the second round of the playoffs for the first time, so he has not seen this kind of formation; and Lillard is playing in the playoffs for the first time, so his lack of playoff experience is inevitable.
When the Trail Blazers' dual-core team encounters a team like the Lakers that plays in the playoffs every year, the shortcomings of lack of playoff experience are exposed. When the Lakers' home court, this shortcoming is magnified several times. The Lakers have players like Gasol, Farmar, and Ci Shiping who have experienced the Finals, and D'Antoni's playoff experience is far better than that of Trail Blazers coach Stotts. Losing seems to be inevitable.
4-0, the Trail Blazers lost two more games and were swept by the Lakers. The Lakers also successfully advanced to the Western Conference finals. They had to face the winner of the Thunder and Clippers.
The Lakers definitely want to beat the Clippers. The current Lakers are undoubtedly the darlings of Los Angeles. Entering the playoffs and overturning the Spurs 0-3, the Lakers have brought miracles to Los Angeles time and time again, plus there is a 101 The score is overwhelming, and the Lakers' current lineup is probably not much worse than when OK combined with the Lakers Dynasty. In the case of intra-city derbies, every game is the Lakers' home court.
However, the Clippers ultimately lost to the Thunder with a total score of 2-4.
In this round of the series, the Clippers' loss was not unjust. From a statistical point of view, the Clippers take more shots than the Thunder in every game, averaging 10 more shots per game than the Thunder. There is not a big gap between the two sides in terms of shooting percentage, while the Clippers average 10 more shots per game than the Thunder. He sent out 4 more assists, nearly 3 more steals, and made five fewer turnovers than the Thunder.
However, in terms of rebounds, the Clippers lost to the Thunder by an average of 7.2 per game, which was also the main reason for the Clippers' loss. If a team in the playoffs does not have an abnormally accurate shooting percentage, protecting rebounds is an important thing. The Clippers, which has two big insiders, DeAndre Jordan and Griffin, actually lost to the Thunder in terms of rebounding.
The Clippers rely on Jordan and Griffin to grab rebounds, but the two people who grab the most rebounds for the Thunder are not center Perkins and forward Ibaka, but Dewey! Durant averaged 9.5 rebounds per game, which was even the same as Jordan; while Westbrook averaged 6 rebounds per game, 2.2 of which were offensive rebounds, which is equivalent to using himself as an inside post. From this, we can see that Westbrook How hard you play.
With rebounds all over the world, Er Shao used this method to lead the team to the Western Conference Finals. What they faced was the Los Angeles Lakers, who were waiting for work.
The war is about to break out.
(End of chapter)