hotmtlnovel Chapter 590: The First Round of the Playoffs: A Series of Upsets!
Chapter 590: The First Round of the Playoffs: A Series of Upsets!
In the Eastern Conference, apart from Lin Tian and the Knicks easily sweeping the Heat, the other three matchups did not result in a sweep.
The second-ranked Pistons faced off against the seventh-ranked young Bulls. The defending champions immediately displayed their strong and aggressive defense, winning the first two games at home 70-81 and 65-73 to take control of the series.
In the third game of the series, the Bulls' absolute core player Gordon delivered a stunning performance, driving to the basket and shooting from the outside with incredible skill, sinking seven three-pointers and a career playoff high of 44 points.
Ben Gordon's incredible performance energized the Bulls, who defended the United Center and secured a hard-fought victory!
However, Gordon's breakout performance was only temporary. In the following Game 4, Brown specifically assigned Hamilton and Billups to target Ben Gordon. Faced with two defensive stalwarts and the league's best defensive system, Gordon quickly lost his way.
In this game, he only made 4 of 14 shots, including 0 of 6 three-pointers. In one game he was an angel and the other a devil, the Bulls simply lost the fourth game of the series.
Trailing the Pistons 1-3 in the series!
In the fifth game of the series, the Pistons gave the Bulls no chance. Playing at home, they used their defense to overwhelm the Bulls from the start, established an advantage, and then slowly wore the Bulls down like a frog being boiled in water.
4: 1!
The Pistons swept the Bulls in style and advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals!
Then it was the third-ranked Celtics versus the sixth-ranked Cleveland Cavaliers. Judging from the records of both teams and the quality of their star players, most fans were actually more optimistic about the Celtics in this round of games!
After all, they have a tenacious defense and a well-developed system, and their advantage in the paint is quite obvious. Although the team is missing Stephon Marbury, their starting point guard from last season, their strength is still formidable! They are the team that pushed the Knicks to the brink of defeat last season!
But once the match started, everyone realized that this was not the case at all!
The Celtics' prized defense simply couldn't stop Wade's drives and attacks!
In the first game of the series, they suffered a crushing defeat at home, caught off guard by Wade's 37-point outburst and lost the first game of the series.
Although the Celtics won the next two games thanks to the performances of Duncan and Pierce, regaining home-court advantage, Wade exploded again in Game 4 of the series. He scored 44 points with inside drives and outside shots, and went to the free-throw line 22 times. In the final moments, he even knocked Duncan out of the game!
With Wade's incredible performance, the Celtics lost Game 4 of the series.
The score is now tied at 2-2!
Under these circumstances, the upcoming battle for Tianwang Mountain naturally became a decisive battle where every inch of land was crucial!
In this game, the Celtics, playing at home, relied on their home-court advantage, experience, and Duncan's consistent performance to battle the Cavaliers for a full 47 minutes!
Until the last minute, the score was still tied.
At this moment, Duncan stepped up once again! He first scored 2 points with a back-to-the-basket hook shot on offense, and then blocked Wade's shot as Wade drove into the paint.
Finally, it was under the basket again, and Duncan's most familiar 45-degree angle bank shot.
"Snap, swish!"
Two almost simultaneous sounds rang out as Duncan, with two offensive plays and one defensive play, gave his team a four-point lead with 15 seconds left!
This 4-point advantage directly secured the Celtics' victory!
The Celtics then defended against the Cavaliers' clutch three-pointer, winning the game by four points!
Unfortunately, they only won that one game. Back in Cleveland, Wade once again dominated, racking up another impressive 41 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. His relentless drives to the basket and his signature style of throwing himself into the air and then crashing to the ground attracted countless fans.
This series became the best series of Wade's career to date, and also the most popular series!
The term "Wade wrestle" officially entered the public eye starting with this series!
In Game 6, the Cavaliers narrowly won by 5 points, forcing a decisive Game 7!
In the decisive Game 7, both sides played terribly, whether due to exhaustion or excessive tension, with shockingly low shooting percentages.
Whether it was Duncan, Pierce, Wade, or Hughes, they all played incredibly disappointingly.
But if everyone disappoints, it means the score will never be able to pull away!
The score remained 67-63 until the very last minute of the match!
Neither side has scored more than 70 points! In fact, this score has remained unchanged for more than two minutes!
Neither side has received their share for a long time.
At this point, the Cavaliers were in the lead.
When Duncan once again came to the low post to ask for the ball, hoping to score another basket with his individual skills, this time the hero became Wade!
Wade came from the wing to help defend, leaped high, and swatted away Duncan's floater. At the same time, Hughes reacted quickly and grabbed the basketball that Wade had swatted away. The Cavaliers launched a counterattack!
Hughes dribbled up the court, and after looking around, he suddenly made a decision that made the entire city of Cleveland stop in their tracks.
This guy, who only made 6 of 18 shots tonight, suddenly stopped and scored a long two-pointer!
Even Wade was frowning and wanted to shout "NO!"
At this moment, taking that kind of shot is just incredibly stupid!
This choice is absolutely terrible!
then.
"Whoosh!"
With a crisp sound, the Cavaliers' lead reached 6 points! With only 40 seconds left in the game, they had practically secured the victory!
"Great shot, Larry!" Wade shouted first, and immediately hugged his teammate.
After that basket, the Cavaliers have it in the bag!
However, the Celtics did not give up. With 40 seconds left, they first called a timeout, and then Pierce received the ball and forced a three-pointer, which he made! Then the Celtics quickly fouled Wade.
With Wade making both free throws, the Celtics called their final timeout.
Then it was Pierce again. He received the ball in the corner once more, and his drifting three-pointer went in!
With 29 seconds left, the Celtics narrowed the gap to just 2 points.
Then another foul occurred, and Wade made both free throws!
But then Pierce's magic ended, as he failed to hit a third three-pointer.
Although Dwight Howard grabbed the offensive rebound under the basket, he didn't even have time to pass the ball before Big Z cleverly grabbed it.
Go ahead and take the free throws!
With 19 seconds left in the game, the Cavaliers sent Dwight Howard, who has a free throw percentage of only 53% this season, to the free throw line!
Then, with two muffled thuds that thrilled the entire city of Cleveland but caused immense pain in Boston, Howard missed both free throws!
This time, Zydrunas Ilgauskas grabbed the rebound. Although the Celtics hadn't given up and sent him back to the free-throw line, he made both free throws, widening the gap to 6 points again. The Celtics' chances were effectively gone.
They couldn't catch up.
In the final 10 seconds or so, the Celtics seemed to be struggling helplessly, making a futile fight like a trapped beast.
As the final whistle blew, the Celtics lost Game 7 at home!
They were eliminated in the first round!
Despite having a significant advantage in squad strength and a united team spirit, they still lost the game at home.
As the match ended, Auerbach sat alone in his box, his expression tense, biting his lip and remaining silent.
If his old rivals, such as Jerry West, could see Auerbach now, they would surely be able to discern his inner thoughts.
This old man is trying to change tactics!
He must be quite dissatisfied and unhappy with the team's performance.
The Celtics are bound to undergo significant changes this summer.
A deal is definitely going to happen!
The only suspense is who will leave and who will come!
After the game, Wade, who had once again led his team past the first round, roared with excitement. He had always wanted to prove that he was no worse than Anthony and James! He was the best of the 03 draft class!
The Cavaliers vs. Celtics matchup is definitely the most exciting and thrilling of all eight first-round series this year!
Compared to their exciting and thrilling performance, the Wizards vs. Nets game on the other side was somewhat uninteresting.
These two teams have the closest records among the four Western Conference matchups, and the fourth vs. fifth series has always been considered the most exciting and likely to produce a classic series in the first round.
With the Nets boasting a formidable trio of Carter, Kidd, and Yao Ming, and the Wizards having assembled a formidable trio of Arenas, Butler, and Jamison this year, this series should theoretically be quite exciting with three-on-three teams clashing.
But once the competition started, everyone realized that wasn't the case.
It's not that the series was one-sided.
On the contrary, it was a back-and-forth battle between the two sides, one against the other, all the way to the Battle of Tianwang Mountain.
Unfortunately, although the series was close, the games were rather uneventful. Regardless of who won or lost, the final score difference in each game was more than 10 points. It could be said that there were no crucial moments in any game, and the outcome was decided early on.
This series was thus dubbed "the most intense clash of underdogs" or "the most boring evenly matched contest."
In short, the two teams were tied 2-2 after the first four games, and then when it came to the pivotal Game 5, the Wizards finally found their rhythm!
Arenas took the initiative in this game, racking up an impressive 44 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists, while Carter failed to provide a matching response tonight. The difference in the two teams' leading scorers led to the outcome of this game.
The Wizards won Game 5 on the road, giving them a significant advantage in the series!
Then, in the sixth game, the Wizards, back in Washington, continued their momentum and did not give the Nets a chance to extend the series. They played with all their might that night, with Jamison scoring 33 points and 11 rebounds, and Butler also contributing 25 points!
With Arenas' triple-double of 28 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, the Wizards' three stars combined to successfully eliminate the Nets, a mainstay of the Eastern Conference in recent years, and advance to the second round!
Their opponent is the New York Knicks, this year's league champions, who have returned with the fire of revenge!
Since both teams are offensive teams that rely on fast-paced transitions between offense and defense, their matchup is highly anticipated by countless people!
I'm looking forward to seeing them put on a spectacular offensive battle!
The other matchup is Cavaliers vs. Pistons.
After completely thrashing the Celtics in the first round, can Wade maintain his top-level performance in the second round against the Pistons, who have better defense, more balanced play, and more aggressive tactics?
Can the Pistons, just as they shut down Ben Gordon in the first round, shut down Wade in the second round and continue to defend their status as the dominant force in the East?
Both of these Eastern Conference series are definitely worth watching!
With the two semifinal matchups in the East settled, the first round of the Western Conference also ended almost simultaneously.
Nowitzki's Mavericks faced off against the Jazz, who rely on a twin-tower lineup. Although these two teams, with vastly different styles, were ranked first and eighth respectively, they were only 11 games apart in terms of wins! The Jazz, on the other hand, are a genuine 50-win team!
Therefore, the matchup between the two teams was not one-sided. The Mavericks won the first two games, while the Jazz also defended their home court. The first four games were tied 2-2!
The crucial Battle of Tianwang Mountain has turned into a direct confrontation between the leaders of the two sides!
In this game, Nowitzki racked up a double-double of 44 points and 12 rebounds, while Jermaine O'Neal on the opposing team also had an amazing performance with 39 points and 19 rebounds!
With the two top centers almost completely swapped out, the person who ultimately decided the game was Jason Terry, the Mavericks' second-in-command!
"Jet" Terry withstood the pressure in the final moments of the fourth quarter, hitting two consecutive three-pointers from the top of the arc to help his team take the lead and maintain it until the end!
After a hard-fought victory in Game 5 at home, the Mavericks showed no fear on the road, displaying their full fighting spirit and eliminating the Jazz in Salt Lake City to advance to the second round of the Western Conference!
The Phoenix Suns, the second-best offensive team in the Western Conference, faced the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round, a team that hadn't made the playoffs in over a decade.
This year, in addition to the Clippers' star player Elton Brand having an amazing performance and the best year of his career, the team also acquired veteran Sam Cassell from the Timberwolves and found the muscular and sturdy Jesse Maggette.
In addition to these three core players, the team also has many experienced veterans. With this group of people, the Clippers finally turned things around this year. They not only made it to the playoffs, but also won their first 50-win season in 25 years!
It can be said that this top-tier, long-term underperforming team in the league has finally gotten a chance to turn things around.
In the game against the Suns, the Clippers also focused on attacking the paint, maximizing Brand's strengths!
Throughout the series, Brand averaged 33 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game! He displayed the same impact as Shaquille O'Neal! Thanks to his phenomenal performance, the two teams fought all the way to a Game 7!
In the crucial Game 7, both sides displayed exceptional performance, battling all the way to the very last moment of regulation time!
With three minutes left in regulation time, the Suns once held a five-point lead!
However, they suddenly lost their power in the last 3 minutes of the game, failing to score a single point for the entire 3 minutes!
This three-minute scoring drought gave the Clippers an opportunity.
Brand drew a foul and made both free throws to narrow the gap to 3 points. Then Cassell stepped up and hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 40 seconds left to tie the game!
With 40 seconds remaining, neither side managed to score again, sending the game into the first overtime.
In the first overtime, neither team's scoring efficiency improved much, and the game remained very close. However, the Clippers maintained a slight lead thanks to their advantage in the paint.
With four seconds left in the first overtime, the Clippers held a one-point lead. At that moment, Nash, who was in control of the ball, made a fatal mistake! He was directly stripped of the ball by Cassell one-on-one!
Although Nash quickly stole the ball and fouled, sending Cassell to the free-throw line, the Suns only had 3 seconds left.
Cassell then made both free throws, prompting the Suns to call a timeout and inbound the ball from the sideline.
This time, the hero is Raja Bell, the strong reinforcement the Suns acquired in the summer!
This guy received the ball on the wing, pulled it up and threw it, hitting the game-tying three-pointer, and the two sides went into a second overtime!
By the second overtime, the 37-year-old Cassell was clearly exhausted; he was so tired he could barely stand. Helpless, the Clippers' head coach had no choice but to substitute him in Livingston, who had just returned from a horrific injury.
Unfortunately, Livingston couldn't withstand the pressure. His performance in the second overtime was disastrous, with two turnovers and two missed shots, which directly dashed the Clippers' hopes of advancing to the second round.
The Suns seized their opportunity, outscoring their opponents 14-7 in the second overtime to advance to the second round by 7 points!
Both sides gave it their all in this game. Brand put up a well-rounded stat line of 33 points, 15 rebounds, 5 blocks and 5 assists, while veteran Cassell scored 32 points. His steal at the end of the first overtime almost saved the team!
In addition to the two core players, "Old Cat" Mobley, Radmanovic, and Chris Kaman also scored in double digits, providing strong support for the team's leaders.
On the other hand, the Suns pushed their key players to the limit that night. D'Antoni, who doesn't like to rotate players or use too many players, only used seven players tonight, with James Jones playing only 16 minutes.
It's fair to say that he essentially carried the entire game and two overtime periods with just six players! That number alone is insane.
That night, Marion recorded a double-double with 36 points and 20 rebounds, Kenyon Martin had 25 points and 8 rebounds, Nash had 17 points and 13 assists, Bell had 22 points, and Barbosa, who came off the bench, also scored 15 points!
In this game, three Suns players played over 50 minutes, and two played over 40 minutes! They truly burned the floor with their starters, giving it their all to secure their advancement! (End of Chapter)