Chapter 1034
A Number Destined for Life!
Lin Tian kept talking and moving, relentlessly chasing Paul and pressing him closely all the way from the backcourt to the frontcourt.
"How rude! Can't you even say thank you?"
Lin Tian repeated this simple sentence at least 20 times, chasing Paul all the way from the backcourt to the frontcourt, until Paul's ears were about to explode.
His mentality had basically completely collapsed.
"Are you ever going to stop?!" Paul could only let out this completely powerless roar after arriving at the frontcourt.
"Why don't you just go off the court and rest? Do you think I want to come up here and work overtime?" Lin Tian said as he suddenly intensified his defense, sticking his whole body to Paul while continuing to try to steal the ball.
One, two, three!
Lin Tian seemed to suddenly get excited. He spotted Paul dribbling and alternated between his left and right hands, slapping the basketball Paul was dribbling.
At first, Paul was able to dribble calmly while remaining alert and observant, but when Lin Tian reached out for him for the third time, he couldn't control himself.
When he was dribbling between his legs, the basketball hit his thigh, and an unexpected situation immediately occurred.
Paul wanted to regain control of the ball as soon as possible, but Lin Tian wouldn't give him that chance. He grabbed the ball with both hands faster and harder, and in the blink of an eye, he grabbed it twice more.
"Snapped!"
This time, Paul's performance quickly went from being flustered and overwhelmed to collapsing to the ground in disarray and losing the ball.
Lin Tian made a steal, grabbed the basketball, and at the same time, he gave Paul a hard knock, causing him to fall to the ground. Then Lin Tian suddenly accelerated and drove to the frontcourt for another slam dunk!
"boom!"
After that loud bang, the Staples Center fans got back into the game.
They don't care about social niceties or whether their players are bullying others during garbage time.
They knew that tonight we had completely crushed our aggressive opponent who claimed to be targeting us!
That's enough!
Just enjoy it!
The Lakers fans cheered wildly, and Lin Tian waved his arms around, showing his passion.
"That's enough, if you keep going like this we'll have to blow the whistle." A voice suddenly came from Lin Tian's ear. Needless to say, on the field, only the referee could speak like that.
"You've already won by more than 40 points, why aren't you going to go down and rest? If you keep playing, you're more likely to get injured."
This isn't a threat, but rather something that's very likely to happen under these circumstances.
The more desperate the loser is, the more likely they are to lose control of their emotions and make some extreme moves that could lead to conflict and injury.
To avoid this situation, referees will tighten their officiating at this time, strictly controlling all kinds of physical contact and violations. This is not to restore suspense to the game, but simply to nip potential conflicts in the bud.
A referee's job sometimes involves more than just judging whether a contact foul has occurred.
They also have to control the players' emotions and the appropriate level of discipline.
With the current situation, the gap between the two sides exceeding 40 points, and the Lakers fielding three key players, from any perspective, this is a harbinger of a potential conflict.
Referees, you should at least give it a nod.
“If they come down, we come down!” Lin Tian was quite straightforward, pointing at Paul and the others and saying, “The fact that their main force isn’t coming down proves that they haven’t surrendered. If they haven’t surrendered, then we have to beat them into submission! Besides, we just withdrew our troops.”
"But some people deserve a beating, what can I do?"
Lin Tian's words left the referee quite helpless.
Because it makes sense!
If your Warriors team doesn't surrender, they deserve a beating. What can Lin Tian do?
Not to mention that you took down one of their key players in the first half, so it's only natural that they would go all out against you.
The players are young and in the prime of their lives, so it's perfectly normal for them to get carried away with their passion.
But the referee was curious at this moment, curious about what Jackson was thinking. The players were so excited that they wanted to beat the Warriors to a pulp, and the head coach wasn't thinking about the playoffs, but was going crazy along with them?
Stop it right now!
No matter how adept the referees are at navigating social situations, they would never have imagined the situation on the Lakers' side.
Jackson: Call a halt? I'll let them go up and keep going, keep crushing those bastards on the Warriors!
Keep fighting, keep fighting until they die!
Jackson, whom the referees hoped would step in and stop the game to quickly substitute the key players to avoid any accidents, was the culprit who allowed Lin Tian and Kobe to return to the court.
As for whether Jackson was simply trying to spite the game or already had his sights set on the playoffs and wanted to cripple the Warriors tonight so that the Lakers would have a significant psychological advantage if the two teams met in the Western Conference Finals.
Lin Tian thought this was completely unnecessary.
The Warriors, he has no chance of making it to the conference finals!
Do you even know what Chris Paul, the law of causality, is?
With this guy as the leader, it doesn't matter what the roster is or how strong the team is; as long as he's the team leader, they won't make it to the conference finals.
"Don't think you can get away unscathed by losing by 3-40 points tonight." After exchanging a few words with the referee, Lin Tian approached Paul again and said, "It's not that simple!"
"I'll make you suffer a defeat you'll never forget!"
Paul still did not answer Lin Tian's question.
His mind was no longer on the game; he was starting to resent his own head coach.
At this point in the game, regardless of the reason, it is definitely not a good choice for the Warriors to keep their core players on the court without making substitutions, or to let them be humiliated by fans and opponents.
For example, Paul has already started to resent his own head coach.
What the hell is the reason for not letting us go down to rest?
Surely it can't be that we're being tortured on the field because of some bullshit principles of justice or to "clean up" the field?
The Warriors' attack failed to score again.
It's actually normal if you don't score.
Because Paul's thoughts and ideas are not unique, several Warriors players on the court are quite unhappy at this moment.
We're the starters, the core players, the stars, and we're stuck here playing garbage time and getting humiliated to death. Why is that?
They couldn't understand this, and if they couldn't understand it, they couldn't possibly devote themselves wholeheartedly to the competition.
In a game like tonight's, even if the Warriors go all out, they'll still lose by 3-40 points. And now the whole team is distracted and not paying attention. If you don't get blown out, who will?
109: 60!
With three minutes remaining in the third quarter, the gap between the two teams had widened again.
49 points!
They are just one step away from the 50-point mark.
During the break, Van Gundy glanced at the statistics and said, "It's worth mentioning that in an Eastern Conference game that ended earlier tonight, the Pacers defeated the Orlando Magic 63-60."
"These two teams only scored a total of 123 points tonight. The Lakers will definitely score at least 130 points tonight."
"They only scored around 60 points each, but tonight, the Lakers might just beat the Warriors by 60 points!"
"It's terrifying, it's so brutal!"
"These two matches don't even seem to have happened on the same day. No! They don't even seem to have happened in the same era!"
“I think the strangest thing is the Warriors,” Miller continued. “What are they thinking? Do they want the team to completely collapse?” “Down by more than 40 points, they still made their starters play the entire third quarter. Paul and Aldridge didn’t even get a second of rest.”
"In other words, these two players had a plus-minus of -49 tonight! I think that's a record, definitely a record in the NBA."
"I don't think anyone has ever been able to put up a -49 plus or minus rating on the court before."
"This number is absolutely outrageous!"
"This isn't even over yet, there's still a quarter left in the game," Van Gundy said. "How can you be so sure that Paul definitely won't be playing in the next quarter?"
“I can’t believe it,” Jackson said. “If Paul plays in the fourth quarter, then I think there’s something wrong with the Warriors. They need to use this game to give their key players a good talking-to.”
"I can't think of any other reason."
On the bench, Lin Tian said to his players, "Don't worry about what lineup they use in the fourth quarter. Whether they keep using the starting lineup or start rotating and letting the role players come on, it doesn't matter."
"I'll just say one thing: 49 points isn't enough! I need even more advantages!"
"I hope that this time, you won't force us to go out and play. If you let them get within 40 points, hehe, you know what I mean!"
After Lin Tian finished speaking, he turned to look at Jackson and asked, "Coach, is there something wrong with what I said?"
“Aside from the fact that it should be me who says it, there’s basically nothing wrong with it.” Jackson nodded and said, “But I don’t think any other head coach will be under as much pressure as I am now. No one can calmly be their head coach when they have a former Coach of the Year and a championship coach under their command.”
"There's nothing I can do, I'm just that good." Lin Tian shrugged and leaned back in his chair again.
On the court, the fourth quarter begins.
At this point, the Warriors finally stopped insisting on having their key players continue playing.
The role players from the bottom of the bench took to the field for the final 12 minutes of the game.
However, it is clear that although the role players were not beaten too badly tonight and did not get much playing time, their mentality was not much different from that of the starters.
Pale, expressionless, half-dead, listless, and devoid of any fighting spirit.
The entire Warriors team, from top to bottom, is in roughly the same state.
On the bench, Paul and others either stared blankly at the court or covered their heads with towels, seemingly doing nothing.
The players on the field kept checking the time, making perfunctory runs, and doing half-hearted defense and offense.
This game was a complete nightmare and an ordeal for the entire Warriors team.
In this situation, it would be a miracle if they could beat the Lakers!
51分、54分、57分、59分、61分……
Throughout the fourth quarter, the point difference between the two sides continued to widen, reaching as high as 67 points at one point!
Fortunately, the Warriors players weren't weak after all, and they managed to recover some points in the remaining time.
Some, but not many.
Finally, as the game drew to a close, the final score for the two players was also set.
77: 135!
The Lakers ultimately defeated the Warriors by a full 58 points!
A complete and utter defeat, a brutal and bloody massacre with no chance of resistance.
"Let's congratulate the Lakers in advance on becoming number one in the league!" Right after the game, Miller was the first to offer his early congratulations to the Lakers: "And congratulations to Lin for winning another MVP award in his career!"
"He also holds the record for the highest single-season assists in NBA history, becoming the first player in NBA history to average more than 15 assists per game in a single season!"
"Considering that Lin returned to competition after a three-year retirement, this year has truly been an epic season for him!"
"It's probably too early to call it an epic season," Van Gundy said from the side. "At most, it's an epic regular season! Whether it can truly become a historic super season depends on the playoffs."
"But there's no denying that the Lakers' regular season has been incredibly successful! They've had their best regular season in decades, and this time, they'll once again be aiming for the championship!"
Jackson said, "Especially after such a huge victory, the Lakers' confidence and fighting spirit can definitely be raised to another level. They will be more confident, they will be more aggressive, and their cohesion and fighting power will reach a higher level."
"Compared to the Lakers, who are doing well and have made all the necessary preparations, I am more worried about the Warriors now."
"What should the Warriors do? At this point in the season, facing the Lakers, the number one hypothetical rival in the West, they played a game full of ambition and gave it their all, only to end up like this."
"What about their confidence, fighting spirit, and cohesion? Do they still have enough time and opportunity to correct their problems? Can they still approach the playoffs with a winning mentality and make a run for the championship? Nobody knows. I think even the Warriors' own players don't know the answer to this question."
"This loss could very well affect their preparation and goals for the entire season. Let's wish the Warriors all the best, hoping they can climb out of this abyss and come back stronger."
Regardless of whether commentators like Paul or the Warriors, they fundamentally enjoy exciting games and evenly matched contests. Therefore, they absolutely do not want any problems to arise that would cause a decline in the fighting power of a top-tier team like the Warriors, who have both popularity and strength.
That would have a significant impact on the playoffs.
But some people aren't so kind.
For example, Lin Tian.
At the post-game press conference, Lin Tian relentlessly continued his attack on the Warriors.
"I suggest Chris change his jersey number. Number 3 doesn't suit him well, and number 58 would be perfect. By the way, isn't the league's rule that jersey numbers can only be 55, and that you have to pay a fine for anything higher? You guys can help me tell Chris: Go for it and change your number! Kobe will pay the fine for him!"
"Why should I pay for him!" Kobe, standing next to Lin Tian, protested. "Are we that close? Why should I pay for this?"
"So……"
Just as Lin Tian was about to switch targets, Jackson quickly interjected, "I'm very poor, I can't possibly pay, don't even think about it."
"Alright, alright, a bunch of misers. In that case, there's only one way." Lin Tian spread his hands and said, "Chris, you'll have to pay for the new number yourself. I'm willing to help you out, but my guys are all misers. They're so stingy, it's outrageous!"
"I'm ashamed to call them brothers!"
"However, if you are just as stingy, if you are unwilling to spend money to solve these problems, I have another way."
"Two, yeah, two methods!"
"First, you can change your name to 58 Paul. Changing your name doesn't cost anything. If you want this new name that you love to appear on your jersey, you can also change it to Chris 58. It's up to you to decide."
"Or, you could change your team's name to the Golden State 58-Point Team, which would be a perfect match for the 76ers in the East. I have high hopes for you, good luck!"
Reporters will write down Lin Tian's crazy words and pass them on to Paul and the Warriors next door, but they will find it difficult to write articles about them. So soon a reporter asked: "So Lin, after this game, you have basically locked up the top seed in the West, and you are basically going to win this year's MVP. How do you feel right now?"
"My mood? Oh, I'm in a fantastic mood, guys! It's like a 58-year-old man suddenly getting dates with 58 sexy and beautiful girls to spend 58 nights with him. It's just a shame we didn't get our 58th win tonight, and the team won't be able to finish the season with 58 wins. But I think Chris and his team have a chance to get 58 wins to end the season."
"As for us? We're going to celebrate by opening 58 bottles of champagne after tonight, and each person can only drink a maximum of 58 glasses of wine, because we have to gather for training at 8:58 tomorrow morning. I believe everyone will be at least 58 minutes early, and then we'll take 58 shots to warm up."
"What else was there? Never mind, you can continue asking questions. I can answer 58 more questions tonight, but it's best not to finish after 23:58 p.m. because I promised my daughter I would be home before 12:58 p.m.
Lin Tian's string of 58s completely baffled the reporters.
At this moment, they only had one thought: Do Lin and Paul have such a deep grudge? Why do they have to fight to the death?
However, they were also certain of another thing: the number 58 was destined to be inextricably linked to Paul; he would never be able to take that number away from him. (End of Chapter)