unfinished glory

Chapter 302
The Lakers took the lead in entering the Western Conference finals, waiting for the winner of the Mavericks and Warriors.

The two sides played into a 2:2 tie, each winning two home games.The fifth game was held in Dallas. Knowing that the Lakers had eliminated the two teams of the Spurs, the struggle on the court became more and more intense.

The Warriors shot 27 14-pointers in the first half and hit 10 of them, but still failed to take the lead.They scored zero in the penalty area, and the two-pointers were too bad, and only scored 10 points.They all shot from outside the three-point line, and only got [-] free throws, and hit seven of them.

The halftime score of 59 points is not low, but the efficiency of the Mavericks is even more exaggerated. Gasol scored 17 points in the penalty area, caused 6 fouls and made 7 free throws.

Nowitzki took advantage of his physical strength and surrendered 13 of 10 two-pointers.Coupled with Durant's regular operation of 17 points in the half, the Mavericks scored 65 points.

After the start of the second half, Nowitzki's scoring efficiency declined, but the Warriors not only failed to get a chance inside, Harrison Barnes was also sent off because of too many fouls.

Durant continued to show his super breakup ability, with 12 points in the third quarter and 18 points in the fourth quarter, leading the team to a victory.

In the sixth game, the Warriors made 42 of 20 three-pointers at home, but they still couldn't stop the offensive frenzy of the Mavericks inside and outside.Durant made 7 of 7 shots late in the fourth quarter to end the series.

After many years, the Mavericks finally entered the Western Conference Finals again.

……

Being able to reach the Western Conference Finals is an overfulfillment of the task for the Lakers.Before the start of the season, no one expected that the hastily formed lineup could have such a good chemical reaction.It wasn't until the team won the No. [-] ranking in the regular season that the management and fans realized that this season can also do a lot.

The Lakers, who played at home, encountered great difficulties in the first game.The Mavericks are better inside than the Lakers. Gasol's personal offensive, defensive and coping abilities are all above Horford's. Nowitzki's offensive ability weakens with age, but it is far from being young. David West on top.

In the first half of the game, relying on inside suppression, the Mavericks gained a great advantage.The Lakers played relatively smoothly and did not make any mistakes, but in terms of strength, they were not as good as their opponents.

Although Li Chongxiao worked hard to chase points in the half, the Mavericks also had Durant who could keep up, allowing the Lakers to "enjoy" the situation of being slowly dragged to death by their opponents.

The 1:0 loss at home put a lot of pressure on the Lakers. In the second game, the team's offensive tactics were implemented more thoroughly, and every player on the field shot when they had the opportunity.Fortunately, their shooting percentage is very good. There is no explosive moment in normal games, but the goals continue from the beginning to the end.

The Mavericks also fought back in Game [-], but they were caught in a scoring drought for several minutes in the third and fourth quarters.In this stage of mistakes, they failed to keep up with the offensive rhythm of the Lakers and lost the second game.

Returning to the Mavericks' home court in the third game, they were aggressive to give the Lakers a blow from the start.Durant scored consecutively through the pick-and-roll, Deron and Matthews also performed well, and three outside players scored all 31 points in the first quarter.

The scoring methods of the Lakers are relatively simple. They can only rely on Li Chongxiao's goals and sporadic goals from teammates to barely bite the score.

This phenomenon changed after coming off the bench. Seth Curry took advantage of the opponent's defensive pressure on Joe Johnson and made two three-pointers to even out the point difference.

Then the offense of the Lakers has been greatly improved, and the players are gradually able to score goals. The Mavericks' shifting the focus of offense to the inside is not very successful. Gasol Jr. and Nowitzki are not in shape.

The point difference between the two sides rose alternately, and no one could get rid of the other side at once. After halftime, the two teams were tied.

In the third quarter, the offenses of both sides were picking up. The game still continued the rhythm of the stalemate in the first half.In this way, even if the point difference cannot be widened, at least it can be guaranteed not to fall behind.

The playing principle of the two teams is to put the decisive moment in the last quarter.The Mavericks believe that their overall strength and lineup are stronger than their opponents, and they can maintain the same offensive rhythm in normal games.The Lakers played conservatively. In the situation of weak strength, they dare not make changes first to avoid making mistakes.

The Lakers put all their hopes on Li Chongxiao, hoping that the best final scorer in history can help the team solve the immediate difficulties.

Li Chongxiao did gradually strengthen his offense in this quarter, driving the team forward.Durant can also keep up, and sometimes even overtake with the help of his teammates.

This state of the game lasted until the last few minutes, both sides were terribly stable and almost made no mistakes.The Lakers withstood the pressure and dragged the game into a "penalty shootout".Whoever fails to score a goal on both sides is likely to lose the game.

Durant and Nowitzki succeeded in scoring in three rounds, but Li Chongxiao made two of three shots. Fortunately, he scored a three-pointer with one goal and fell behind by one point.

The Mavericks are all free throw players, and the Lakers can only resign themselves to their fate, and the foul fell on Deron.Deron did not withstand the pressure, the first free throw was missed, and the second free throw was hit, leaving the Lakers with 11 seconds.

There is no doubt that Li Chongxiao got the ball.But a two-point difference can tie the game, making it difficult for the Mavericks to defend, and they must devote their energy to other Lakers players.Although there is a 90% chance that the ball will be shot by Li Chongxiao, but there is a big gap under the basket, Li Chongxiao will not be a fool.

Li Chongxiao is still accustomed to one goal to determine the outcome. He did not choose two points, but shot two steps away from the three-point line.

The interference didn't have much effect on him. Relying on long-term training, the ball was successfully thrown. The Lakers regained their home court advantage 2:1.

……

In the fourth game, the Mavericks broke out with Gasol Jr. His passing ability has been well tempered in the Magic for several years, and his support in the game was very good. .

The Battle of Tianwangshan started at the Staples Arena. In such a crucial game, Li Chongxiao naturally gave his best. Although the 56 points he scored may not look like a very explosive play, but these goals were scored by the Mavericks. It was completed under double-teaming, especially the 25-point performance in the last quarter, which made the team a successful comeback.

In the sixth game in Dallas, the Lakers got a disastrous defeat.The united Mavericks controlled the tempo from the start with quick offensive transitions.Every player is scoring goals, and every player has the ability to attack independently, so the Lakers have to play man-to-man defense.

Forming a local one-on-one, the advantage is much greater for the Mavericks. The hot touch tonight made the Lakers players at a loss and couldn't defend at all.With more than three points left in the fourth quarter, the Lakers had to surrender.

The Western Conference Finals entered the tiebreaker, and the fans' attention was cast on it.

The Mavericks showed another strong offensive in the first quarter, scoring 42 points in a single quarter, leading the Lakers by as much as 13 points.Li Chongxiao's performance in the first quarter was relatively mediocre. Only Jabari Parker and David West's excellent form kept the point difference from getting bigger.

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Mavericks continued to expand the point difference, leading by 30 points at one point.Li Chongxiao stood up and made 5 three-pointers in a single quarter to barely close the score.By the end of the half, the Mavericks had a 20-point lead, and everyone thought the game would go the same way as it did last time.

In the first round of the second half, after Li Chongxiao made a three-pointer, the Mavericks focused on defending his three-pointer.The main reason is that he is afraid that he will score too fast and disrupt the Mavericks' intention to drag the opponent to death.

Now that the three-pointer was blocked, Li Chongxiao simply put all his energy into the mid-range shot. His precise shooting gradually helped the team stabilize their position.The teammates also began to slowly recover, and the shooting touch also returned.

The performance of the Lakers focusing on mid-range shots was expected by the Mavericks, and they were sure to form a stalemate with each other, just like the first few games of this round of the series.Whoever can take the lead in gaining a relatively large lead will be able to drag the opponent to death by virtue of the team's offensive ability.

For these two teams, 20 points is already quite a winning point difference.

The Mavericks still maintained a good scoring efficiency, but they found that the point difference was getting smaller and smaller, and they were recovered by 10 points in the third quarter.

The coaching staff discussed off the court, only to find that the Lakers' shooting percentage in this quarter actually hit 70%.Compared with the 50% of the Mavericks, it takes 0.4 points more in one round.There were about 20 shots in one quarter, and the cumulative advantage of 10 points was gone.

In the last quarter, the Mavericks strengthened their defense, and the Lakers' shooting percentage dropped, but remained above 60%.On the contrary, the Mavericks' own rhythm was a little messed up. They failed to score for several rounds and stabilized after Durant stood up. But after a while, their lead was left with 2 points.

Although the Mavericks also knew that they should not be impatient at this time, the mentality of the players was still affected. The arrival of the second scoring drought ruined their efforts in the first half.

When the Lakers' lead came to 7 points, it was they who needed to sharpen their rhythm and drag their opponents to death.Li Chongxiao was so proficient in this tactic that he basically handed over the team's possession of the ball to him, and at the last minute he made 6 free throws steadily.

As a result of the Western Conference finals tiebreaker, the Lakers finally eliminated the Mavericks 4:3 and entered the finals.

(End of this chapter)