The strongest champion puzzle

Chapter 453 The Third Sweep

On April 4, the fourth game between the Spurs and the Trail Blazers started.

This is already the Blazers' last chance. Nurkic failed to play, and everyone knows that their hopes are very slim.

In the locker room, Zhang Xiaotian and everyone cheered together, "End early and win the game."

The opponents in the first round of the playoffs are not a threat to them, but for Zhang Xiaotian, they are also opponents that need to be defeated after returning to the Spurs.

The other two first-tier strong teams have successfully swept, how could they be surprised.

The other Spurs players are naturally in a similar mood. The league is also a quagmire, and they are not willing to be left behind.

So the Blazers felt the excitement of the Spurs from the beginning and quickly entered the state, which is rare for the Spurs.

The Blazers' starting five were completely beaten, and Zhang Xiaotian even blocked CJ McCrum in the first half. If it weren't for the opponent's substitute player and Lillard's hard work, the game would have ended in two quarters.

Even if the Blazers did not give up resistance, the Spurs also gained a double-digit lead in the first half.

The atmosphere in the locker rooms of the two sides was completely different during the intermission. The Blazers were terribly silent. Although they didn't want to leave like this, they had already stood on the edge of a cliff, and the score fell behind. No matter who they were, it was huge. pressure.

Facing the Spurs with the league's best record, even if they were stubborn, they couldn't hold on.

Lillard gritted his teeth, he didn't want to lose like this, but the team's fighting spirit had been broken by the Spurs' stormy offensive at the beginning.

Facing Zhang Xiaotian, who scored 15+5+5 in a single quarter, Lillard had no choice. For the first time, he felt that it was a pity that he didn't study defense well.

Fighting again in the second half, Lillard desperately wanted to chase points, but the Spurs have become very cautious at this time, and the defense is impeccable. Even if he can be better than any Spurs No. [-] position, it is useless. Basketball is a five-person sport.

Moreover, as long as his physical strength drops slightly, the Spurs can solve the problem by switching Danny Green.

In the third quarter, Lillard went all out and failed to recover the score, and was finally disheartened.

At the end of the quarter, his core spirit was gone, and the Spurs easily won the game and swept the Blazers 4:0.

Zhang Xiaotian scored 35 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in this triple-double. Popovich was also Longyan Joy after the game, "In my opinion, Zhang Xiaotian is now the best player in the league. Excellent."

Zhang Xiaotian was in a good mood and gave his opponent face, "This is a tough game. The Trail Blazers are a very good team. They are tough and must fight for every ball. Fortunately, we survived and we are opening up. Did a good job with the space and moved the ball out, so it was a win."

"No matter who the opponent is next, all we have to do is one thing, and that is to win."

Lillard was also very helpless after the game, "I have never been willing to get out in our way, very disappointed."

"They're a championship-level team. Playing against them, they're very consistent. Whether they're leading or trailing, they just keep playing and keep playing their basketball. They play very relaxed and united. They understand the game very well. Combine that with their talent and it's going to be hard to beat them."

"For us, you don't want to admit to being like them. But you want that cohesion, that understanding, playing well. You want that in you, that trust that they have. You want your team It can be the same, you also need to know that if you want to get out of the West, you must defeat them."

"The league has always been like this, I remember the Pistons have been in front of Jordan, kicking his ass every year, if he wants to succeed, he has to beat them. We have to understand this, improve ourselves. If we want to beat them, we have to improve, ball The team has to get better."

There is no dark horse in this year's playoffs. The three strongest teams are unstoppable, but there are also teams that play very fiercely.

Among them, the Wizards and the Eagles, who made slower progress, the Eagles defended their home court again and tied the total score to 2:2.

The outstanding performance of the Wizards did not stop the Eagles from scoring in double figures. In this game, the Eagles played a little bit of the demeanor they had when they were number one in the Eastern Conference.

After the game, Bill said: "We must continue to move forward. Now it is how we counterattack and how to rebound. Our game has too many ups and downs. We have been working hard to chase points in the fourth quarter, and we have been trying to chase points or overtake. We will spend all our time and energy. It's spent chasing points, and time is wasted like that."

Wizards coach Scott Brooks said that the team's general Morris' foul trouble has an impact on them, and hopes that the players can perform better in the next game.

He sighed: "Looking at these games, I have seen two very good teams. They are evenly matched, and they are both fighting for the playoffs. Today we made a lot of mistakes on the defensive end. He took a lot of difficult shots at the end."

After the Cavaliers were promoted, the game between the Raptors and the Bucks was the beginning of G5.

The Raptors' double guns didn't say how well they played, but they revitalized the entire team. Six Raptors scored in double figures and won the match point by relying on rebounds and team advantages.

The Raptors withdrew the big center in these two games and played one big and four small, which really made the Bucks a little uncomfortable.

After the game, Raptors coach Casey praised his disciple Powell's outstanding performance in an interview. After the team should play a small lineup, Powell, who was promoted to the starting lineup, performed well and was an important player for the Raptors to win the game.

"He's a spark plug, he's the X factor. A lot of times people worry about DeRozan and Lowry, so Powell is logically the next spark plug, the next breakout player, the next instigator. In this round He's been the X factor in the series. Next series, next game, maybe we'll have a different story. He's done a good job next to Lowry and DeRozan and finished the game Give him opportunities, whether it's shooting threes or attacking the rim."

Bucks coach Kidd said that the Bucks are learning how to respond in the series.

"We lack the experience to deal with what happened next, we can talk about it, but we have to go through this process. We have to go through this door. For many players on the team, they have never seen it like this. Situation. You're talking about a team that was in the Eastern Conference Finals, they were in the Eastern Conference Finals. You're down 2-3 and you've got to go home and try to keep your home ground, drag the series down Going to the tiebreaker. The sixth game is the only thing we can focus on now, and we have to be desperate and hungry to win."

Bucks core alphabet song also said, "I think for us, this is a learning process. After such a bad defeat, you will keep this game in your mind for the next two days It makes you hungrier, angrier and better prepared for Game [-] of the series."

(End of this chapter)