Chapter 1046
Steal and Game-Winning Shot, This Blame Is Mine! You Get Out of My Way!
So, for almost the entire offensive time, Lin Tian stood still, signaling his teammates to advance while he looked at Dragic, who had just gotten up from the floor, and started trash-talking him.
"Scared, are you? Afraid to take responsibility, afraid of missing this shot and becoming the team's scapegoat? How can you become a star if you don't dare to take responsibility?" Lin Tian waited until Dragic was fully standing before starting to talk nonsense as he pushed the ball forward.
After all, in that situation, Dragic's choice was perfectly reasonable, and no coach could criticize him for doing a bad job.
But Lin Tian suggested that Dragic shoot a three-pointer!
This is nothing short of the devil's whisper, a devil tempting good people to sin.
“That open three-pointer was my chance to end the game, my only chance, but you didn’t dare, you didn’t dare to take the risk, you didn’t dare to seize it. Do you know what that means?” Lin Tian came to the frontcourt and looked at Dragic, who was too busy to switch defenses and simply stood in front of him to defend.
"This means I'll deliver the decisive blow to you tonight."
"Guess where I'll make my move?"
Dragovic didn't respond to Lin Tian's trash talk. He didn't say a word, and he even forced himself not to hear it. He forced himself not to listen to that damn temptation from the devil.
Is it better to shoot a three-pointer?
impossible!
That bastard is talking nonsense!
In that situation, how could you possibly shoot a three-pointer?
"If it were me, I would definitely shoot. I would kill the game. I would make that three-pointer and leave the opponent in despair!" Lin Tian seemed to know what Dragic was thinking and continued to tempt him.
Are you asking what to do if you miss a shot?
"If you miss, you miss."
"Or are you simply too afraid? You're afraid to take responsibility, afraid to become the team's scapegoat?"
"If you're afraid to be a sinner, how can you be a hero?"
That's a wake-up call!
That's how Dragic feels right now.
Dragic didn't want to listen to Lin Tian, but Lin Tian's words seemed to have a magical power, entering his ears and even his brain without missing a single word.
Dragic was thinking.
That bastard, he can't be telling the truth, can he?
Can one become a hero if one is afraid to become a sinner?
Dragic was lost in thought.
Fortunately, the Suns have a lot of veterans and experience.
Garnett was the first to notice that Dragic was not right. He immediately let out a wolf-like howl and rushed over, forming a pincer movement against Lin Tian.
"Wake up! The game isn't over yet!" Garnett shouted, closing in on Lin Tian from the side. Dragic finally snapped out of it and quickly closed in on Lin Tian from the other side, teaming up with Garnett to double-team him.
Lin Tian didn't force him. As soon as he saw the two coming over, he immediately threw the ball to Barnes next to him. Barnes then passed the ball to Durant.
After Durant received the ball, he wanted to shoot directly, but Pierce blocked his way. He had no choice but to regain his rhythm, dribble, accelerate, and attack the basket!
However, Gortat successfully predicted Durant's driving route this time. He stood in Durant's path, blocking Durant's way to the basket. If Durant continued to accelerate, it would definitely be an offensive foul!
What should I do?
Durant hesitated for a moment, then instinctively gathered the ball, turned around, and protected it.
With only 5 seconds left in the game, time is running out for Durant.
"That stop! Durant's choice was terrible!" Van Gundy couldn't help but say, "Stopping the ball here makes him easy to get completely shut down. The Lakers' offense was awful this time!"
"Lin's choice wasn't good either. The team was down by one point, so he should have started the attack sooner instead of being so overconfident and holding out until the very end," Jackson couldn't help but criticize Lin Tian.
"Kevin!"
Just as Durant was somewhat at a loss, a roar came, and Durant saw Kobe standing outside the three-point line with his hand raised, unguarded! He had been left out.
Without hesitation, Durant jumped up and threw the ball with all his might towards Kobe!
He needs to make sure the ball isn't intercepted.
Just as Durant released the pass, he saw a figure appear in front of Kobe like lightning.
FUXX!
In that instant, Durant had only one curse word on his mind.
Ruined!
That was a mistake; they're about to get the ball stolen!
They should have called a timeout immediately and used the last 4-5 seconds to complete a tactical play.
A wave of regret washed over Durant; he was unwilling to accept it!
Although he scored a high number of points tonight, and helped the team catch up with blocks and layups in the final moments, he also made two crucial mistakes.
The loss is entirely my fault!
The idea quickly popped into Durant's mind.
They're about to steal the ball! I'm going to fight back next game!
At that moment, beyond the three-point line, Kobe yelled, "Fuck you! What are you doing?!"
The person who responded to him was Lin Tian!
"Cover me up, I'll take the blame!"
The person who suddenly appeared in front of Kobe was Lin Tian, who had finally managed to shake off Garnett and Dragic. He not only ran out of space, but also ran directly between Kobe and Dragic.
That play looked exactly like a steal! Aside from the opponent, what kind of good guy would suddenly appear and intercept the ball from his teammate?
What kind of good person would suddenly appear in front of an open teammate with two defenders?
But that's exactly what Lin Tian did. Whether it was a coincidence or intentional, the basketball is now in Lin Tian's hands.
Kobe?
Kobe was much calmer at this moment. He heard Lin Tian's words and knew what was more important.
Kobe then stepped to the side and blocked Garnett. As for Dragic, Kobe couldn't stop him, but he believed that the kid wouldn't have any impact on Lin Tian.
Lin Tian intercepted the ball.
No.
Lin Tian received the ball, dribbled forward one step, and then pulled up for a mid-range pull-up jump shot!
At this moment, Dragic was still a good 2-3 body lengths away from Lin Tian. Although he jumped with all his might to block the shot, he knew that he couldn't reach him, and not only could he not reach him, he couldn't even interfere with him.
Whether this ball goes in or not depends entirely on Lin Tian!
"Buzz!"
The buzzer signaling the end of the match sounded precisely on time, and at that moment, there was almost no other sound in the stadium besides the buzzer.
Will it get in?
Can the series continue?
Can our team continue?
In complete silence, any sound will seem incredibly loud.
For example, the sound of a basketball going into the hoop and swishing against the net.
"Shh!"
The crisp sound instantly reverberated throughout the stadium; every fan heard it, every player heard it. The sound was like a heavy hammer, striking them squarely in the chest.
Lost.
They fought hard all game, but still lost. The era of the Suns' Big Three has come to an end.
Everyone knows this fact, everyone knows this is something that will inevitably happen during the offseason.
There were no boos, and certainly no applause or cheers. Everyone was stunned. The fans didn't want to believe that their season was over just like that, and that the most exciting combination in the team's history was probably over as well.
Some fans had already started to shed tears, some were biting their lips, but most of them had helplessness, confusion, and bewilderment in their eyes.
They didn't know what to do next, or how they should feel about facing all of this.
After all, losing was expected; everyone knows they are no match for the Lakers.
The fans were still reeling from the defeat, while the Lakers players on the court were ecstatic and had begun their wild celebrations.
Lin Tian was surrounded, and every Lakers player who could squeeze through would give him a big hug and ruffle his hair.
Lore!
A game-winning shot that ended the series!
4: 0!
The Lakers swept the Suns out of the playoffs cleanly and without much trouble!
They successfully advanced to the second round of the playoffs.
Although advancing to the second round meant nothing to the Lakers players, Lin Tian's way of ending the playoffs drove everyone crazy.
They celebrated wildly and unrestrainedly, releasing the tension they had just felt.
"Can this be considered a steal?" Miller said with a wry smile. "Lin is really a player who can surprise us anytime, anywhere."
"I think we should add a steal to his stats, FUXX! Stealing from a teammate and then making the game-winning shot, that's the craziest thing I've ever done in my 40 years of playing basketball, I've never seen anything so unbelievable!" Jackson shook his head, looking helpless.
Van Gundy said, "I'm just curious, did Lin get to that position unintentionally to get rid of the ball, or was it part of his plan to receive the ball in that position and score the game-winning shot?"
"This will probably remain an unsolved mystery in the NBA and be passed down through generations! Because I know this jerk, he'll definitely give me a bunch of nonsense to brush off the question, and nobody will know what he was really thinking at the time."
“But anyway,” Miller said, “the Lakers can enjoy their victory and wait for their next challenger. After all, this is the only series in the West to have resulted in a sweep.”
"They have a long break, and hopefully they can find the answer during this time."
"Good, hopefully they can find the answer."
Jackson laughed heartily and said, "It would be best if you found it and shared it with us. Okay, let's congratulate the Lakers on advancing, and let's also pay our highest respects to the Suns!"
"They played exceptionally well tonight. They lived up to the fans' support and love, and they lived up to the championship-winning roster they have built! Although it was a loss, if we consider this defeat as the final chapter for their team, it seems pretty good."
"Yes, at least tonight, they all played exceptionally well!" Van Gundy said. "Nash scored 30 points and had 15 assists. The last time he had those numbers in a playoff game was six years ago! Nash tonight was impeccable!"
“Pierce scored a team-high 35 points, along with 4 rebounds and 2 assists. His three-point shooting tonight was absolutely outstanding.”
"And then there's Garnett, who racked up 24 points and 18 rebounds! He gave it his all, and this is his third consecutive double-double in this series. Garnett in the last three games is still a top-tier center in the league!"
"Honestly, shouldn't the Suns consider keeping him and letting this roster play for a while longer? I really think it's a good idea! I really think the Suns should continue!"
"Okay, let's not talk about that. Garnett just didn't re-sign, he doesn't really necessarily want to leave, right?" Miller said. "Maybe they've already reached an agreement and are just waiting for the free agent market to open in the offseason so they can re-sign immediately?"
"Besides the outstanding performance of their championship trio, who combined for 89 points, Goran Dragic and Marcin Gortat also had excellent performances. Dragic had 19 points and Gortat had 17 points and 14 rebounds. They both did a great job of fulfilling the responsibilities the team had given them!"
"The Suns' problem right now isn't with their starting players. They need to work on their bench. Ever since Barbosa left, their bench has been a real disappointment."
"In such a game, in such a crazy offensive battle, their bench players only scored 10 points combined, which is really unacceptable! If their bench players had scored a few more points, the Suns might have won tonight!"
“Well, in that respect, we can’t just say the Suns’ bench was bad,” Jackson said. “The Lakers’ bench didn’t score much either.”
“科比23分6篮板4助攻，杜兰特31分3篮板2助攻，林34分20助攻5篮板4抢断，嗯，最后林抢断科比那个，到底是没给算上数据呀！可惜，不然就是30+20+5+5了！”
"Bynum also had 25 points and 19 rebounds tonight. The Lakers' four superstars took turns dominating tonight: Lin in the first quarter, Durant in the second, and Bynum in the third. Well, it's a pity Kobe didn't explode for 10 or 20 points in the fourth quarter, failing to keep the team in the game. But of course, Kobe's performance tonight was quite good, especially in the final moments when he was stripped by his teammate. He remained calm and set a screen to block Garnett's pursuit of Lin. Without that screen, Lin might not have made that game-winning shot! Hahahaha!"
Jackson couldn't help but burst into laughter halfway through his sentence; that game-winning shot was truly a bit too unpredictable.
"The Lakers' four superstars combined for 113 points, plus Barnes' 11 points, for a total of 124 points from five key players. Their bench players' scores were negligible."
"Tonight was the ultimate showdown between the stars, a fierce battleground where these players went back and forth without giving an inch! In the end, the Lakers stood firm, so let's congratulate them one last time on advancing to the second round!"
At this point on the court, the Lakers' celebrations had ended. After all, it was an away game, and even if the guys were happy, they couldn't go too far and had to be mindful of the impact.
After celebrating with Lin Tian, the players turned around and went to find their familiar Suns players. After winning, they had to show their enthusiasm and sportsmanship, hugging their opponents and chatting for a bit.
"Shouldn't you retire?" Lin Tian grabbed Nash and delivered another blow right off the bat.
"Are you crazy? Didn't I say my contract isn't over yet? If the contract isn't over, why would I retire?" Nash genuinely didn't expect Lin Tian to immediately try to get him to retire again.
"Think about the young people too. If you don't step down, Diego won't renew his contract. He'll run away, and you'll have to play the lottery for at least another 5 years!" Lin Tian said earnestly. "To be disrespectful to one's elders is to be a thief!"
"Go to hell." Nash ignored Lin Tian and turned to leave to chat with Kobe, his classmate.
At this moment, Lin Tian's classmates came to his side and said, "That was a great shot. I'm completely convinced."
"Where are you planning to go this summer?" Lin Tian asked Garnett, getting straight to the point.
"Can't I stay?" Garnett was speechless. Although it was almost certain that he would leave, you can't just ask like that.
“I can give you a way out.” Lin Tian completely ignored Garnett’s words and said instead, “You can consider Los Angeles.”
"Give me a base salary and lead me to a championship?" Garnett looked at Lin Tian.
"Otherwise what? You want to be middle class? That's too greedy."
"Don't even think about it. I can make at least 1500 million in the offseason. Why would I go to you for a minimum salary? A championship? I already have one. One more or one less doesn't matter." Garnett shrugged and said, "If you can clear out around 1200 million in cap space, I can give you a friendly price."
"Bye-bye, take care." Lin Tian waved goodbye to Garnett, who only cared about money.
"Lin, are you serious about what you said to me?" Dragic, whose Dao Heart had been shattered by Lin Tian in the final moments of the match, also came over: "Can't you become a hero if you don't dare to be a sinner?"
"You can take it seriously." Seeing his junior approach, Lin Tian dropped his playful demeanor and said earnestly, "Anyway, that's always been how I do it. Wasn't that goal I just made the best illustration of that?"
"But I must also say that many more people, even if they become sinners, have absolutely no ability or opportunity to become heroes, and their efforts may not be rewarded at all."
"I understand." Dragic nodded, but no one knew whether he truly understood or was just pretending.
But regardless, the series is over.
The Phoenix Suns became the first team in the Western Conference to be eliminated from the playoffs. (End of Chapter)