Chương 260: Chapter 260: Sweeping the Thunder
The Thunder fans fell silent.
If Durant was like the Reaper in this game, then Wade Dong was the one who killed the Reaper.
This three-pointer was extremely difficult, but Wade Dong remained expressionless after making it.
As Gentry expected, Brooks called a timeout.
Varick tightly clutched the stats sheet, feeling very frustrated!
During the fourth quarter, he had reminded Wade Dong, but Wade Dong didn't care about his stats in this game; his eyes were only on victory.
With 13 seconds left in the game,
Wade Dong's stats: 53 points, 21 rebounds, 19 assists, 8 steals, and 10 blocks!
He was just one steal away from another quintuple-double, an incredible feat. If the game hadn't gone into overtime, fans would have lamented Wade Dong's stats for years to come.
"Defend Durant, and the Thunder's last shot will surely be his!"
"But be careful not to foul. Even if Durant makes the three-pointer, the Thunder will only tie the game. In overtime, they won't be our match."
The Suns had a 3-point lead, and everyone's mindset was relatively relaxed.
After Gentry finished speaking, Green suddenly spoke up, "Should we use a foul tactic?"
"Foul tactic?"
Gentry looked at Wade Dong, hesitating after hearing this suggestion.
With 13 seconds left in the game and no timeouts remaining, a foul tactic was a good option.
Sending the Thunder to the free-throw line, and if they made both free throws, the Thunder would still trail by one point, but the Suns would have the ball. At that point, the Thunder wouldn't have time to foul.
"It's best not to foul!"
Wade Dong said, "If we intentionally miss the second free throw and grab the rebound, then make a three-pointer, we can end the game!"
Green's suggestion was to use the Thunder's own tactic against them, as the Thunder had done in the previous game. However, his suggestion was risky, so Wade Dong immediately rejected it.
...
The timeout ended.
Ibaka inbounded the ball.
The Thunder's players on the court were Durant, Westbrook, Harden, and Fisher.
The Suns' players on the court were Wade Dong, Green, Tucker, Gortat, and McGrady.
Fisher was brought in because he had a history of rescuing his team in critical moments.
The Suns played one-on-one defense.
Wade Dong guarded Durant, and Ibaka held the ball, not daring to pass it to Durant. Fisher moved to the three-point line.
Ibaka had no choice but to pass the ball to Fisher.
This was Fisher's first appearance in the game, and he dribbled a couple of times before hesitating to shoot.
With 13 seconds left on the shot clock.
Wade Dong was guarding Durant tightly, and Durant suddenly pushed Wade Dong, then ran to the three-point line.
The referee saw this move.
However, no foul was called on Durant, and Fisher immediately passed the ball to Durant.
"2!"
"1!"
With the shot clock winding down, Durant received the pass, jumped, adjusted his shooting form in the air, and shot!
Brooks widened his eyes.
Many fans in the arena covered their mouths, watching the ball glide through the air.
"Swish!"
The ball went through the net!
"Wow!"
The fans in the arena erupted.
Durant had kept the Thunder alive, forcing the game into overtime.
The head referee was about to blow the whistle, but Wade Dong pointed to the three-point line and said, "Durant stepped out of bounds!"
"Stepped out of bounds?"
The Thunder players were unhappy and wanted to argue with Wade Dong.
The head referee looked at the sideline referee, who had been closest to Durant. The sideline referee hesitated and said, "I think he did step out of bounds..."
Since there was a dispute, they had to review the play.
The referees gathered around the technical table, put on their headphones, and carefully examined Durant's last shot.
The players returned to their respective benches.
Green asked, "Brother Dong, did Durant really step out of bounds?"
Wade Dong had been the closest to Durant, so he should have seen it most clearly.
"I don't know~"
Wade Dong shook his head and smiled, "I was just taking a gamble. What if he did step out of bounds? Then we wouldn't have to play overtime."
"Brother Dong..."
Gentry slapped his forehead and sighed, "Let's prepare for overtime."
The fans in the arena were also anxiously watching the technical table. If Durant had stepped out of bounds on his last shot, the three-pointer would be counted as a two-pointer, and the Thunder would lose the game.
After about five minutes.
The head referee walked onto the court, and the scoreboard changed from 120-120 to 120-119, indicating that Durant had indeed stepped out of bounds on his last shot.
"Boo~~~"
"Referee!"
"Boo~~~"
"Referee!"
"Boo~~~"
"Referee!"
The fans in the arena all booed, and some even threw bottles onto the court.
However, the referees stood by their decision, as the replay clearly showed that Durant had stepped out of bounds on his last shot. It was his own fault for having such big feet.
The Thunder players left the court, disappointed.
Westbrook was in tears...
The Thunder's Big Three had dominated the league for three years, winning regular-season games against all opponents, but they ultimately failed to reach the Finals.
Game Stats:
Wade Dong: 53 points, 21 rebounds, 19 assists, 8 steals, and 10 blocks.
Curry: 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 0 blocks.
Durant: 51 points, 11 rebounds, 13 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block.
Harden: 32 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 0 blocks.
Westbrook: 23 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.
Westbrook played the entire game, while Harden and Durant each played 46 minutes. The Big Three combined for 106 points, but they were still defeated by Wade Dong alone!
This game went down to the wire, and it was destined to become one of the classic playoff games. Durant had a huge triple-double with 51 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists, while Wade Dong had a near quintuple-double, just one steal away. It was Wade Dong's second career quintuple-double.
If Durant hadn't stepped out of bounds on his last shot, Wade Dong might have gotten the quintuple-double.
But in basketball, there are no 'what ifs.'
On June 3rd, a thunderstorm hit Oklahoma City, and the Suns swept the Thunder to advance to the Finals.
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