novelhk Chapter 477 Jokic's Text Message: I'll be waiting for you in the Finals!
Chapter 477 Jokic's Text Message: I'll be waiting for you in the Finals!
Just as the entire Nets team set off and flew to Philadelphia, the third game between the Nuggets and the Lakers ended.
The Denver Nuggets defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 108-103 at Staples Center.
Interestingly, this score has appeared in three consecutive games, which is unprecedented in NBA history.
This also means that the Nuggets are now leading 3-0.
With just one more game, the Nuggets can advance first, awaiting the final winner between the Nets and Philadelphia.
The next day, after a day of rest in Philadelphia, the Nets finally faced Philadelphia for their third game.
Everyone knows how important this game is for Philadelphia.
If Philadelphia can't win this game, their chances of winning the series are gone.
No team in history has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit to win a game.
For this game, Philadelphia brought in players including Allen Iverson who had reached the NBA Finals in 01.
The team wanted to use this to motivate the Philadelphia players.
At first, Philadelphia did indeed have a very successful run.
Whether it was Harden's passing or Embiid's inside scoring, Philadelphia maintained their lead from the very first basket.
In the first quarter, thanks to the outstanding performance of the Philadelphia duo, even though Wang Xiucheng scored 5 points in a row during "Wang's Time," Philadelphia entered the second quarter with a score of 31-30.
In the second quarter, Wang Xiucheng rested for a few minutes, and Durant and Westbrook led the team to finally take the lead.
When Wang Xiucheng, Harden, Embiid and others all returned, the game once again became a back-and-forth battle.
With a buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of the first half, the Nets finished the first half with a 66-64 lead.
In the third quarter, Philadelphia once again "chopped down Zhao Si," and the game fell apart once more.
Using this tactic, Philadelphia regained the lead in the latter part of the third quarter.
However, when the third quarter entered the final minute, known as "Wang Time," Wang Xiucheng hit two consecutive three-pointers, turning the game around once again.
Those two three-pointers made Coach Li so angry that he punched the scorer's table when he called a timeout.
After receiving a technical foul, Doc Rivers calmed down considerably.
Harden and Durant took over the game in the fourth quarter.
Harden scored 11 points and had 4 assists in the fourth quarter, while Durant scored 15 points.
With two minutes remaining in the game, the score was only one goal apart.
However, with Philadelphia missing two shots, the game entered the final minute.
"Without a 10-point lead, there's no guarantee of winning against the Nets."
O'Neal said this during a timeout.
And then, O'Neal's words came true.
Wang Xiucheng's unreasonable logo three-pointer not only made the shot but also drew another foul from Maxi.
The Nets, having scored 4 points, instantly extended their lead to 6 points.
Philadelphia then began to use fouling tactics, and the Nets kept the ball in the hands of Wang Xiucheng and Durant.
Until the end of the game, the Nets did not give Philadelphia another chance.
The Nets narrowly defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 124-120 at home.
Like the Nuggets, the Nets also lead their opponents 3-0 in the series.
At the beginning, all fans expected both series to be very intense.
But no one expected that both series would end in a 3-0 sweep.
It seems that neither the Lakers nor Philadelphia caused their respective opponents any trouble.
The 3-0 scoreline also means that the Lakers and Philadelphia can only fight for honor now.
At the very least, neither team wants their opponent to finish the round of matches at their home ground.
The day after the Nets and Philadelphia finished their third game.
The four-game series between the Nuggets and the Lakers continues.
Although the Lakers played their best game of the series, they managed to drag the game to the last second.
But the Lakers still lost.
When James' shot was blocked by Gordon, the Nuggets narrowly defeated the Lakers 113-111.
The Lakers were swept by the Nuggets with a score of 0-4 in the series.
James, who is already 39 years old, only rested for 4 seconds throughout the game, playing almost the entire match.
But James, who scored 31 points in the first half, was double-teamed throughout the second half, making it difficult for him to even receive the ball.
Despite scoring 40 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and dishing out 9 assists—a near triple-double—they ultimately lost to Jokic's Nuggets.
Unlike James's "near three-pointers," Jokic recorded a super triple-double with 30 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists, helping the Nuggets reach the NBA Finals for the first time in history.
Wang Xiucheng watched the game live from a hotel in Philadelphia.
The match had just ended when Wang Xiucheng received a text message.
Wang Xiucheng picked up his phone and glanced at it; it was a message from Jokic.
"I'll be waiting for you at the finals."
Looking at Jokic's somewhat cheeky text message, Wang Xiucheng smiled wryly.
This fat guy is obviously here to show off.
Too lazy to even reply to text messages, Wang Xiucheng quickly washed up and went to bed early.
The next day, at 6 p.m.
The fourth game of the series between Philadelphia and the Nets tipped off on time at Philadelphia's home court.
Witnessed by numerous fans and Philadelphia legends, Philadelphia quickly got into the game from the start.
Philadelphia, who made three consecutive shots, also made a contribution on the defensive end, blocking two shots from the Nets in a row.
After persisting for several rounds, Nash had no choice but to call a timeout in the fifth minute of the game.
Philadelphia is now up 12-3, a 9-point lead.
Claxton made the three-pointer inside and then converted the free throw for a three-point play.
Nash didn't take the clipboard; at this point, the team didn't need tactics.
Sitting on a small stool, Nash shouted, "Wake up, everyone! This is Philadelphia, and it's Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. If we win this game, we can end this series!"
"Jokic is sitting on the sofa right now, eating potato chips and watching you guys."
"How many days do you want that fat guy to rest? Three days, or five days?"
"If we win this game, we'll all be on equal footing, and no one will have an advantage over anyone else."
When the timeout ended, Nash pointed at Claxton and said, "Watch the screen."
Claxton nodded, and he and Wang Xiucheng and the others stood up and returned to the field.
Claxton's advantage is its speed.
However, due to his size, his screen quality is definitely not comparable to that of a traditional center.
Nash's intention was also for him to provide better screens so that Wang Xiucheng could be safer when he had the ball and made a breakthrough.
The game resumed soon.
Claxton, standing off the court, passed the ball to Westbrook.
After entering the field, Wang Xiucheng stood in the bottom corner without moving.
Westbrook dribbled the ball past half-court, Claxton entered the paint, and then suddenly veered to the side of Wang Xiucheng.
Wang Xiucheng started moving instantly, entering the paint next to Claxton, and then Wang Xiucheng also turned and ran towards the outside.
Max, who had been following Wang Xiucheng, wanted to bypass Claxton.
But Claxton's thigh suddenly thrust forward, causing Maxi to stumble.
Naturally, Maxi also lost the opportunity to catch up with Wang Xiucheng.
He could only watch as Westbrook easily passed the ball to Wang Xiucheng when Wang Xiucheng was just one step away from the three-point line.
Wang Xiucheng received the ball, dribbled, and turned in one fluid motion. When he jumped, both feet were already outside the three-point line.
Swish!
The basketball, released quickly, finally went into the net.
Three-pointer, in!
Wang Xiucheng finally scored the first point of the match.