Chương 251: Chapter 251: A Small Fry Meets a Master
One week after the Suns returned to Phoenix.
The Thunder vs. Spurs and Bulls vs. Knicks series finally concluded.
The Thunder eliminated the Spurs 4-2, and the Bulls eliminated the Knicks 4-3.
Despite having Duncan, Parker, Ginobili, and Leonard, the Spurs couldn't contain the Thunder's Big Three, especially Durant, whose performance left Popovich feeling somewhat hopeless.
This season, the league's top three players are undoubtedly Wade Dong, James, and Durant.
As for the Bulls, this might be the prowess of the 'Lucky' Li Pei. Anthony performed exceptionally well in the playoffs, especially in the second round, averaging 41.7 points per game, but in the end, they still lost to the Bulls.
With that, the Eastern and Western Conference Finals matchups were set.
East: Heat vs. Bulls.
West: Suns vs. Thunder.
This also happens to be a matchup between the top two regular-season records in the East and West.
In the West, the Thunder are the Suns' biggest rivals. The Thunder's Big Three, along with Ibaka, have an advantage over the Suns.
Since Wade Dong joined the league, the Thunder are the only team to have beaten the Suns twice in the regular season.
...
June 1st, clear skies.
The Suns hosted the Thunder at home.
This was an interesting situation. Last year in the playoffs, the Suns didn't have home-court advantage against any team, but this year was different. The Suns finished with the league's best regular-season record, so the first game was held in Phoenix.
Wade Dong's girlfriend, parents, and in-laws were once again in attendance.
They had come to wait for Wade Dong to finish the Finals and then return to Huaxia together.
The MVP gathering organized by Kobe a few days ago had also received a lot of attention among the players.
For example, Durant was feeling a bit down. Why wasn't he invited to such gatherings? He felt he deserved a regular-season MVP award.
...
At 9:00 AM Beijing time, the game officially began.
Suns starting lineup: Wade Dong, Curry, McGrady, Green, and Gortat.
Thunder starting lineup: Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Ibaka, and Jackson.
On paper, the Thunder's starting lineup was no weaker than the Suns'. Harden was no longer coming off the bench as the sixth man but had become a starter. Additionally, Ibaka held a grudge against Wade Dong because a shooting guard had taken away his title as the league's blocks leader.
At the start of the game, Gortat passed the ball to Wade Dong.
As Wade Dong dribbled, Durant came to defend him, indicating that the Thunder realized that only Durant could contain Wade Dong.
During the regular season, Harden or Westbrook often guarded Wade Dong.
"Move, move!"
Wade Dong dribbled while signaling his teammates to move.
When he reached the three-point line, Wade Dong dribbled with his right hand, then did a crossover, bouncing the ball off the floor. He scooped up the ball with his left hand, turned around Durant, and...
"Swoosh~~~"
Wade Dong went past Durant and drove to the basket, jumping over Ibaka. He performed a fadeaway jumper in mid-air and released the ball.
"Swish!"
A bank shot!
...
In the Huaxia live broadcast room.
Yu Jia: "Even Durant is finding it hard to defend against Wade Dong."
Coach Zhang: "Wade Dong's ball-handling rhythm is too strong. He has countless ways to get past Durant."
...
After Wade Dong scored, Durant responded with a mid-range jumper over Wade Dong's defense.
Both players are among the league's best, and Durant wouldn't easily concede in front of Wade Dong.
Apart from Wade Dong and Durant...
Curry was at a slight disadvantage against Westbrook. Curry struggled to stop Westbrook's drives, but Westbrook could limit Curry's three-point shooting.
Moreover, the aging McGrady was no match for Harden.
In the ninth minute of the first quarter, Gentry called a timeout and substituted his starters. Nash, Thompson, Tucker, Middleton, and Whiteside entered the game.
On the Thunder's side, head coach Brooks also took Durant, Westbrook, and Harden out for a rest.
The Thunder's lineup on the court was Fisher, Sabonis, Collison, Jackson, and Ibaka. Seeing this lineup, Gentry opened his thermos and thought to himself, 'Who gave Brooks this confidence?'
Sure enough...
As soon as the bench players came in, Thompson hit two consecutive three-pointers assisted by Nash.
Nash also drove to the basket and scored a layup.
In less than two minutes, the Suns had outscored the Thunder 8-0.
Fisher attempted a three-pointer but was blocked by Middleton.
After the block, Middleton dove forward, secured the rebound, and passed the ball to Thompson, who then passed it to Nash.
Nash turned around Jackson, and Whiteside moved to the basket.
Nash lobbed the ball toward the hoop.
"Clang!"
Whiteside jumped and completed the alley-oop.
Suns led 31-24!!!
The Suns were trailing when their starters were on the court, but within two minutes of their bench players coming in, they took a 7-point lead over the Thunder.
The first quarter ended.
Brooks had a grim expression. It seemed that he couldn't afford to rest his starters; the Suns' bench depth was something the Thunder couldn't match.
But he couldn't do that. The thing he disliked most about Gentry was his over-reliance on Wade Dong!
If he overused Durant, what was the difference between him and Gentry?
As the timeout was about to end, Durant prepared to go back on the court but was stopped by Brooks.
"Coach, I want to play!"
"No!"
Brooks shook his head. "Rest for a few more minutes. If the lead continues to grow, then you can go back in!"
"I can play 48 minutes without a problem."
"No."
Brooks shook his head again and then looked at Harden. "You go in first!"
...
The second quarter began.
Harden returned to the court, while the Suns still had their bench players on the floor.
The Thunder attacked.
Harden took a step back and then another.
Wade Dong had used this move countless times in team practice, and Tucker could predict Harden's next move.
At the three-point line, Tucker stayed close to Harden.
Harden leaned into Tucker and then tossed the ball toward the basket. After the shot, Harden looked at the referee.
The referee didn't react.
There was no foul in Tucker's defense on that play; it was completely clean.
The ball hit the backboard loudly, and Whiteside grabbed the rebound, passing it to Nash.
"Brother Dong, I did a good job defending, right?"
After stopping Harden, Tucker looked at Wade Dong as if seeking praise.
Harden's three-point attempt was deceptive, but compared to Brother Dong, it was like a small fry meeting a master!
Tucker had lost count of how many times he had been fooled by Wade Dong's moves. He wasn't going to fall for it while defending Harden.
The Suns launched a fast break.
Middleton cut to the basket and received another pass from Nash, scoring a layup.
Suns led 33-24!!!
After both teams substituted their bench players, the Thunder failed to score a single point.
Durant couldn't sit still any longer and requested a substitution.
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