Chapter eight hundred and forty seventh: the grinding purgatory
The result of this game surprised everyone. People had thought that the Cavaliers would lose, but never thought that the Cavaliers would lose so badly.
The Cavaliers made 40 three-pointers in the whole game, but only hit 14 of them. Most of them came from Korver who was replaced in the second half.
Maybe Tyron Lu forgot that his outside players were not Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry, two perverted guys. If you want to win the game with three-pointers, Tyron Lu also needs some luck in addition to his strength.
But it is obvious that today, God is not on the side of the Clevelanders.
With the victory, Anjie dragged his tired body back to the locker room. Although the Trail Blazers completed a big victory today, Anjie, as the main attack point, did not play easily.
On both sides of the offense and defense, Anjie needs to work harder than others to ensure that the team remains in the lead.
After this guy returned to the locker room, the reporters immediately set up the camera in front of Anjie's locker.
In the past, the team's locker room was definitely a forbidden place for journalists. But in recent years, in order to better promote itself, the nBa League has also allowed journalists to enter the locker room for some limited shooting in an orderly manner.
Although there were cameras with lights on in front of him, An Jie did not feel uncomfortable. After all, An Jie had long been accustomed to life in the spotlight.
The tall oo number did not celebrate the victory, nor did it pay attention to the reporters in front of him. He just took out his cell phone, called a video call, and then raised the phone.
"Hey, your performance is amazing. Say to daddy love you, Xiao Ke." Catherine's voice came from the phone.
"Dad, you are so awesome! I love you!" Then An Xiang shouted tenderly.
"Hehe, how are you doing?" An Jie showed a warm smile. This expression was something that the reporters couldn't see on the basketball court.
"Today, my mother took me to the zoo! Then, we also went to my father's restaurant to have steak!" An Xiang's expression was very excited, obviously he still remembered his happy life today.
"Really!? Have you seen an elephant in the zoo?"
"See it!"
......
The chat between Anjie and his family made the reporters feel a little unbearable to disturb him. The group simply removed the camera and targeted the current Trail Blazers No. 2 character Iguodala.
Yes, An Jie is no longer the frivolous young man he used to be. His life is no longer just basketball.
At the post-match press conference, An Jie looked particularly good. Wu Hua believes that in addition to the victory of the game, the safety of his family is also one of the reasons why An Jie is so happy.
The first game in Cleveland came to an end in this relaxed and cheerful atmosphere.
The Trail Blazers won, and Anjie also cut the dazzling data. Katherine and Anxiang also had a happy day for them.
Anjie slept very early today. As soon as Morris returned to his room, he found that Anjie was already asleep in bed.
Morris smiled and put down the two game controllers and a PS4 game console he snatched from Nurkic. He originally wanted to have a one-on-one bullfight with Anjie in the game, but now... let this tough guy who has worked hard all night and have a good rest.
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The biggest difference between the playoffs and the regular season is that to finally stand out, you need not just one game of victory, but a whole four games.
The rules of nBa's seven-game and four-win system make the playoffs a battlefield that extremely hones the will of players. Some people may suddenly break out and lead the team to win a game, but in four games, apart from factors such as explosion and luck, you cannot stick to the end without perseverance and strength.
LeBron James, a guy who has reached the Finals for 8 consecutive years, knows the truth, so after losing a game in the Loan Center Arena, James was not discouraged.
He knew that in the playoffs, winning or losing is common. Didn’t the Cavaliers reverse the Warriors and win the first professional sports trophy in the city of Cleveland just when they were behind 3-1?
The situation is far less difficult than it was back then. The Cavaliers are just temporarily behind, and the next game will be played at the Cavaliers' home court.
No matter how strong the Trail Blazers are, he is also a single-core team with too few stars due to injuries. If Anjie collapses, the Trail Blazers will collapse together.
Facing such a team, the Cavaliers don’t have to panic. Perhaps this is James’ courage, the courage to fall behind in the playoffs and remain calm.
In this fanatical summer when the nBa finals started, time always passes quickly for the players of the two teams who survived.
An Jie felt that he had just come down from the court yesterday. Today, the third game of the finals began again.
Although he just lost the game in the last game, Cleveland fans are still enthusiastic.
Tyron Lu did not make any adjustments and continued to use the lineup of one, one, four, and four small to compete with the Trail Blazers. The difference is that today, the Cavaliers no longer let An Jie offense, but appropriately added a lot of offensive pressure to An Jie.
The double-team between James and Love made Angel forced to pass the ball several times. The three-pointers of the two bench guards, J.R. Smith and Korver, made the Trail Blazers' second team beaten to a bruised face.
The three defenders Wade, Ross and Thomas Jr. are no longer confining themselves outside the three-point line. They appropriately increase their breakthroughs, and most of the time they always break through with Morris.
Although they still have a lot of money, the three guys' successive breakthroughs have also added more scoring methods to the Cavaliers. At the same time, it also made Morris, who was a little impatient, be sent off again after the Western Conference semi-finals.
James finally played his leader today. He made a forced layup against Anjie's defense twice. Even James was very difficult to complete such a goal. After all, few people in this league dared to play like this in front of Anjie.
Due to James' actions, the morale of the Cavaliers has been greatly improved. In the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers have become more and more brave. Even Wade, who is dragging a pair of knees with holes, frequently thrust into the inside.
The Trail Blazers relied on Anjie to bite the score, but they failed to retaliate until the end of the game.
1o8 to 111, the Cavaliers achieved a huge victory with a slight three-point advantage.
Although he was defeated by the Trail Blazers in the last game, the Cavaliers saved a home court at least.
The total score of the series has become 2-2. Whenever reporters think one side is about to dominate the series, the trend of the series will be changed in the next game. This uncertainty itself is one of the charms of the finals.
The two teams that can reach the last are definitely the best teams in the entire league. Although Anjie has completed a sweep on the stage of the finals, the team that was swept is the Cavaliers. But that is always a low-probability event. Looking at the decades of nBa's history, this kind of thing has only happened nine times.
Generally speaking, the finals are not easy for both sides. Therefore, the Cavaliers tied the score again, which was expected by many people.
Finally, Anjie, who spent six days in Cleveland and played two games, returned to Portland as he wished.
The fifth match of the finals continued at the Moda Center, which has Catherine and Peace.
Today, the Cavaliers played well in the first half and once took a 12-point lead.
However, in the second half, for some reason, the Cavaliers' inaccurate three-point line was incorrect again.
During this period, An Jie did not waste it. He seized the time to rage wildly under the basket, motivated his teammates, and allowed the 12-point difference to disappear within one quarter of the game.
In the fourth quarter, both sides who returned to the same starting line were already very tired. The Cavaliers had to change their regular play and let James hit the basket more to relieve the pressure of scoring.
And Angel seemed to be unable to bear it under the repeated attacks of James and the All-Stars' outside.
His injured knee ached faintly due to excessive fatigue. An Jie, who could not take steps, let the opponent succeed at the basket in the last few minutes of the game.
Fortunately, Morris stood up at this moment. He took the initiative to share Anjie's defensive pressure, causing the Cavaliers' offensive moment to come to an abrupt end.
An Jie, who got a chance to breathe, also resurrected on the offensive end. In the last 36 seconds of the game, An Jie used a jumping dunk on the spot and a foul to make a three-pointer at the basket, allowing the Cavaliers to defeat Portland by 3 points.
After the game, James unwillingly beat the floor of Moda Center. After all, he was so close to victory.
Both sides continue to chase each other, and no one can defeat anyone in a row. Although the Trail Blazers got the match point, almost no one thinks that the Trail Blazers, who narrowly defeated the Cavaliers today, can survive. The next game will be moved to Cleveland. It is probably impossible for the Trail Blazers to end the playoffs early.
The hardships of the Trail Blazers winning in today's game also made a group of experts predict that the Trail Blazers with an incomplete lineup are likely to collapse completely.
After all, in this era, it is difficult to win the championship by just leading the team with a single core. Anjie only scored 26 points and 10 rebounds today, and his shooting percentage had also dropped sharply compared to before. If Iguodala had not scored 21 points in a flash today, the final winner might be the James Legion.
Can he continue to persevere when tired? Everyone has to put a big question mark on this.
It has come mid-June, and the summer temperature has reached its climax. The entire finals have officially entered a white-hot stage.
The game during this period is always the hardest. In one season, the players' health has long reached its limit.
In the locker room, Anjie, who covered his knees with an ice pack, leaned against the cabinet and closed his eyes.
An Jie didn't think about anything now, he just wanted to take a good breath. None of the winning championships was easy. Even in the year when the Cavaliers won the championship, the Trail Blazers were not easy to play.
No matter what, we must persist, persist, persist...
Chapter completed!