Jordan: I thought he was there to help me!

Chapter 1058 The Brutal Divisional Semifinals! Unwillingness is useless, Ming...

At this stage of the game, no one is willing to give up, and no one will relax. Even players who are usually criticized for their soft playing style will unleash their full power and show their strongest selves at this time.

A few images are enough to prove that both sides have entered a life-or-death situation.

For example, when Nowitzki faced Paul's signature mismatch, he fought desperately to block Paul's mid-range jump shot.

Paul also found an opportunity from behind during a defensive play, leaping high to block Bogut's close-range layup.

Other examples include Aldridge diving for loose balls despite his own safety, James relentlessly guarding Paul to prevent him from gaining speed, and Gay and Allen rolling around on the floor fighting for a rebound...

One exciting and thrilling scene after another unfolded, with both sides giving it their all.

The scoreline perfectly illustrates the selfless dedication of both sides.

98: 99!

With two minutes remaining in the game, the Mavericks were still leading by one point!

But then, the situation on the field changed dramatically.

First, Paul set a screen and then actively found James, followed by a series of crossovers and a mid-range jump shot, which gave the Warriors the lead again.

Then James tried to retaliate by turning his back to Paul in a one-on-one situation, but this time, under Paul's relentless and aggressive defense, James was unable to get into the paint!

Finally, his turnaround jump shot bounced off the rim.

The keynote of tonight's game is that if you don't seize your opportunities here, you'll be punished by your opponent when you turn around!

After Paul grabbed the rebound, he quickly advanced the ball and found Redick following up on the wing.

Redick didn't disappoint the Warriors at this moment. After receiving the ball, he didn't even bother to adjust his center of gravity or posture. He simply pulled up, drifted, and threw the ball out.

"Whoosh!"

With a crisp sound, the Warriors successfully took the lead with 1 minute and 10 seconds left in the game, and extended the lead to 4 points!

Victory is within reach!

During the timeout, the Warriors' head coach was frantically boosting the players' morale, telling everyone to relax but also to push harder. The Warriors players also knew that if they could hold on for one more possession, they would basically win the game.

If they can defend their position and score another goal, then victory will surely be theirs!

The opportunity has arrived!

Will Paul's first Western Conference Finals appearance in his career finally come true?

After the timeout, the Mavericks passed the ball inbound to their star player, LeBron James, who had already racked up a triple-double of 37 points, 12 rebounds, and 13 assists tonight.

At this moment, facing Gay's defense, James did not hesitate and accelerated to attack the basket. After attracting the opponent's double-team defense, he suddenly passed the ball to the wing. Ray Allen received the ball and immediately drew his sword!

Even if Redick had his face to the wall, even if Redick hadn't lost his position at all and maintained an almost perfect defensive stance, a shooter like Allen, once he got his touch, couldn't be stopped by simply not losing his position and having a perfect defensive stance!

"Whoosh!"

With a crisp sound, Ray Allen hit a game-winning three-pointer, pulling the Mavericks back from the depths of despair once again!

Next up was the Warriors' offense. Paul, who had already scored 30+ points tonight with 33 points and 13 assists, was the one to step up. He waved to his teammates to spread out, and this time he faced off against Mo Williams, the Mavericks' worst defender.

With absolute confidence, Paul kept the clock running until the very end. Then he suddenly sprinted to the basket to attack the rim. But Mo Williams, who had dominated him throughout the series and was known for his poor defense, suddenly erupted and seized the opportunity to steal the ball.

With a "snap," the basketball in Paul's hand disappeared!

"Counterattack! Counterattack!" James immediately sprinted towards the frontcourt, and at the same time, all the players on the court were running towards the frontcourt with all their might.

They knew that this round would determine their fate this season!

Mo only dribbled the ball for two steps before passing it to James, knowing who should take responsibility at this moment.

James dribbled the ball at lightning speed and rushed to the basket in the blink of an eye. At this moment, the Warriors' defense was already in place, with Chandler and Gay tightly surrounding James on the left and right, preventing him from having an easy shot.

But who is James? He has a wide field of vision that is completely inconsistent with his appearance. After being double-teamed, James suddenly stopped and turned around to pass the ball directly to Nowitzki, who was standing at the top of the arc.

After receiving the ball, Nowitzki did not hesitate, pulled up, and shot!

A three-pointer flies towards the basket!

"Whoosh!"

With a crisp sound, Nowitzki hit a three-pointer!

The two sides completely switched positions in the blink of an eye!

With 40 seconds left in the game, the Mavericks were leading by 2 points!

103: 105!

The Mavericks pulled themselves back from the brink with two three-pointers!

But the Warriors aren't without a chance!

They called their final timeout.

After a series of instructions, the players from both sides stepped onto the court again. After a series of complex runs, Paul received the ball as he wished. This time, he called for a screen again, creating a mismatch against Bogut, the slowest player on the Mavericks' roster.

Then came his signature dribbling routine to find his rhythm.

Bogut followed cautiously, keeping a close eye on Paul, afraid of being left behind.

After a few dribbles, Paul started up and suddenly accelerated, startling Bogut so much that he quickly took a half step back. But as he did so, Bogut knew he was in trouble!

Sure enough, Paul's move was just a feint. After suddenly accelerating, he abruptly stopped and stepped back, creating ample space for himself to shoot. Without hesitation, he pulled up for an open mid-range jump shot.

"Bang!"

Unfortunately, Paul failed to seize this golden opportunity.

Even though his overall field goal percentage in this series is 51%, and even though his field goal percentage in this area is 55%, he just missed this shot!

Sometimes, all you can say is that it's all about timing and fate.

Paul's missed shot was caught by Nowitzki, and then Aldridge quickly stepped forward and committed a foul, wasting no time at all.

As a result, Aldridge committed his sixth foul and had to leave the court early.

But compared to the current situation, Aldridge leaving the field is not the worst thing.

The worst thing was that the Warriors didn't have a timeout and were down by 2 points.

If Nowitzki makes both free throws, they will essentially lose their chance to win.

Just one minute earlier, the Warriors were in control and closer to winning.

That's where the charm of basketball comes from!

Nowitzki took a deep breath as he stepped to the free-throw line, then looked at the basket. The Dallas fans remained silent at this moment, afraid of affecting Nowitzki's free throw.

"Whoosh!"

Immediately afterwards, the Mavericks made their first free throw, meaning they no longer had to worry about being defeated by a three-pointer and could at least force overtime.

Nowitzki took another deep breath, looked at the basket, dribbled, and prepared for the move.

Despite his 84% ​​free throw percentage, he was as cautious as a rough guy who couldn't shoot free throws.

Aim, fire.

"Whoosh!"

After making both free throws with flying colors, Nowitzki extended the lead to 4 points.

The emotions that the fans had been suppressing finally erupted at this moment.

"MVP! MVP! MVP! MVP!"

"Dirk! Dirk! Dirk!"

The fans cheered without reservation; they felt they had it in the bag!

The game is already in my pocket, I don't believe the Warriors can pull it out for me!

With no timeouts remaining, the Warriors had no other options. They quickly inbounded the ball from the baseline, and Paul sprinted down the court with the ball, but he was completely blocked and had no chance to shoot. The Mavericks' defense was quite clear.

2 points is fine, but 3 points is not given!

But in the current situation, 2 points are meaningless for the Warriors!

Unless Paul is aiming for 40 points tonight, any move he makes into the three-point line would be tantamount to giving up the game.

Frustrated, Paul could only turn around and find someone to pass the ball to Redick.

Redick has enough height, and he's ruthless enough. After getting the ball, he didn't hesitate and just drifted out to throw it.

"Bang!"

Unfortunately, luck wasn't on the Warriors' side this time. After the three-pointer bounced off the rim again, Chandler grabbed the rebound and immediately passed it to James. James dribbled with his head down and sprinted forward, reaching the frontcourt in the blink of an eye. He then unleashed another powerful one-handed tomahawk shot!

6 points!

With a 6-point lead, 16 seconds of play time, and no timeouts for the Warriors, the Warriors had the game under control.

Everyone knew that as long as the Mavericks didn't make any stupid mistakes, the game was already over.

After dunking, James looked up to the sky and roared wildly. He won!

He has absolute confidence!

But after the roar, the Mavericks didn't let their guard down. Allen and Mo Williams quickly came to the frontcourt to put on a final tight defensive press against the Warriors.

At this point, we can't let the Warriors advance easily!

Facing the Mavericks' tight defense, it took Paul 6 seconds to get to the frontcourt, and then another 4-5 seconds for the Mavericks' Aldridge to finally find an opportunity to shoot from beyond the three-point line.

"Bang!"

Unfortunately, another muffled thud followed, and Nowitzki grabbed the rebound.

This time, the Warriors didn't foul.

They knew it was over; there would be no more miracles.

The match has now ended.

"Buzz!"

Soon, as the final whistle blew, this evenly matched and thrilling Game 7 battle finally came to an end.

The Mavericks narrowly held on to their home court thanks to two three-pointers at the end and Nowitzki making both free throws, advancing to the conference finals for the second consecutive year!

After the game, the dejected Warriors players stood on the court for a long time, unwilling to leave. They couldn't believe that their perfect year had come to an end.

I'm not reconciled, I'm not convinced.

No one can accept this kind of failure so quickly.

But everyone knows that this is competitive sports, and this is the brutal playoffs.

Feeling resentful? Think you were just one or two rounds short? Think you were just unlucky?

There's nothing we can do; the game can't be replayed. A missed shot is a missed shot, and a failed defense is a failed defense.

There's nothing I can do but be unwilling to give up. The only way is to practice more in the summer and try again next year.

"Keep it up, see you next year."

"Keep it up, buddy!"

"It was too difficult to beat you guys even once, but I will continue to work hard."

See you next time.

After the game, the players greeted each other, hugged, shook hands, and chatted for a while on the American Airlines Center court. After all, they were enemies on the court, but good friends off the court. James, who has many friends and is well-liked, chatted with almost every Warriors player.

Then, with different feelings, the two sides left the stadium.

The regional semifinals have ended.

Paul was eliminated in the second round once again, and his dream of reaching the Western Conference Finals failed to materialize. The Mavericks will once again make their run for the championship!

This time, standing before them was the undisputed number one favorite to win the championship and the top seed in the regular season.

But clearly, the Mavericks aren't afraid of them; they're not intimidated by the Lakers' strength at all.

They have absolute confidence and believe they can succeed this time!

"How do you feel?"

In the Lakers' training facility, the entire team sat together to watch the conference semifinals game live. After the game, Jackson turned off the TV, looked at everyone in front of him, and asked, "Confident?"

"Of course!" Almost everyone expressed their confidence at the same time. The Lakers, who had already won eight consecutive games in the playoffs, were certainly not afraid of any opponent.

"Then, let's analyze the situation of the regional finals."

"First, let's talk about our strengths. Our overall defense is better and we have better chemistry. Our height in the paint and Andrew's offensive prowess also give us an advantage at the center position. In addition, the backcourt duo of Lin and Kobe is absolutely the best in the entire league! I believe the two of you can completely dismantle the Mavericks' backcourt!"

"Our obvious weakness is at the power forward position. Nowitzki is in excellent form; his ability to break through defenses and score individually is beyond question. We've all seen his impact in Game 7. Matt and Ronnie, before the game starts, you two continue watching his game tapes and studying his playing style."

"I'll have the coaching staff and video team closely monitor your situation. If there are any problems or discoveries, we'll communicate immediately! If you two can contain Dirk, we have at least an 80% chance of sweeping them in this series!"

Jackson's words were full of confidence and arrogance. He didn't even say that we could win if we could stop Nowitzki, but that we could sweep Nowitzki!

This confidence is a quality that the Lakers possess from top to bottom today!

I'm number one in the Laozi Alliance, who the hell are you guys?

"Then it's the small forward position, Kevin. How about it? Are you confident you can go toe-to-toe with James? Are you confident you can match up against him the whole time?" Jackson then looked at Durant.

"Of course!" Durant replied without hesitation, "I am the best small forward in this league!" Durant had clearly made ample mental preparations and expectations. He was now filled with anticipation and longing for the matchup against James! He couldn't wait to dominate James and prove himself!

"Great! That's exactly what I wanted to see!" Jackson laughed. "So, the Mavericks aren't so scary, are they? We have the matchup advantage, we have more players, and our tactical system is much more sophisticated than theirs!"

"From the very start of the next game, we'll attack from the backcourt! Lin and Kobe, you two will be our primary offensive threats! At least until they react or change their defensive strategy, you two need to go all out on the attack! Kill them!"

"No problem!" Kobe and Lin Tian said at the same time.

"And then, this is our biggest advantage and our biggest strength in this series!" Jackson said, his gaze suddenly turning to Terry, who had been sitting quietly in the crowd: "Jason, do you remember what we told you before you came?"

"In Los Angeles, we're giving you an opportunity! A chance to beat the Mavericks head-on and prove they're a bunch of idiots! Now that opportunity is here, are you ready to seize it?"

"Of course I'm ready!" Terry looked at Jackson with some surprise. He hadn't played much in the playoffs, and his stats and form weren't great. He had even given up on the idea of ​​personally going on the court to get revenge. He would be satisfied as long as the Lakers could beat the Mavericks.

Surprisingly, Jackson hadn't forgotten.

"Just get ready." Jackson, that's exactly the performance Terry wanted!

How could Jackson possibly forget a scorer who is still in good form and has a big heart?

He did it on purpose!

He deliberately limited Terry's playing time in the first two rounds and didn't give him any specific tactics.

He wanted to push Terry to the limit.

Then, when the conference finals came, when the Lakers faced the Mavericks, that's when Terry completely exploded, when he released all the frustration and pent-up emotions from the first two rounds.

He believed that Terry must be incredibly powerful at this moment!

"So, Jason's playing time will increase significantly in the conference finals; he'll be our sixth man! Come on, Jason, what do you think of these tactics I specially designed for you?" (End of Chapter)