Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 1105 - 617 Best of Luck_3

Chapter 1105: Chapter 617 Best of Luck_3 Chapter 1105: Chapter 617 Best of Luck_3 “`

The Houston Rockets, already with internal issues, had no sound strategy under such circumstances, and were immediately swept out of the playoffs 4-0 by the Clippers.

Before the semi-finals arrived, the League announced the winners of most of the awards.

Unlike last year, there wasn’t much controversy this time.

Curry, Harden, Yu Fei, Durant, and Anthony Davis were selected for the first team.

Aside from Yu Fei, Antetokounmpo and Thompson were selected for the third team.

Rivers won Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year.

And Yao Ming, as expected, was selected as the Sixth Man of the Year.

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In terms of the All-Defensive Team, Yu Fei, last year’s DPOY, clearly lacked energy on the defensive end this year. Not to mention defending his DPOY title, he didn’t even make the All-Defensive Team.

Such matters inevitably led to skepticism about whether the voting media members were too frivolous.

Then came the semi-finals.

The scenario in the Eastern Conference had the Knicks at the top, looking down on the competition each round: Who’s next?

In the Western Conference, the Clippers were even more unrestrained, treating all comers alike.

The biggest surprise this year was the Clippers and the Spurs meeting in the semi-finals.

This was the moment many Yu Fei supporters had long been waiting for.

Because the Spurs had beaten Yu Fei’s team consecutively in 2013 and 2014, although that was due to a difference in overall strength, defeating Yu Fei two years in a row in the playoffs had become the Spurs’ most impressive achievement since their 2005 championship.

Duncan’s future in the game was uncertain, and once number 21 was gone, it would be the end of an era for the Spurs.

Therefore, Yu Fei needed to exact his revenge before that happened.

Now was a good time.

The aging Spurs and the rise of other strong Western teams meant they couldn’t maintain a record advantage during the regular season. After the All-Star Weekend, due to a chain reaction from the Pau Gasol trade, they lost many games they shouldn’t have and fell to fourth in the Western Conference.

This meant they would face the Clippers earlier.

No one wanted to face the Clippers prematurely in the playoffs, given their strength this year.

“If you just look at the strength and projections, why not just hand the championship trophy directly to the Clippers?” Popovich refuted those who underestimated them. “You see, they still have to play a series against us, and it’s not yet clear who will lose and who will win.”

Following that, the first game of the series arrived, and the Spurs tried to catch the Clippers off guard with a lightning strike. They achieved their strategic objective for most of the game.

Antetokounmpo really did lose himself in this kind of lightning war.

But they had the GOAT.

Yu Fei started to control the ball possession, running down the clock, and Rivers also shortened rotations, determined to compete with the Spurs in terms of roster strength.

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In the end, the Spurs’ veterans were too old, and their young players were too green, while Yu Fei was at an age that wasn’t quite old, yet also not quite young.

He could still run, still jump, still rise up and dominate a game.

In the last two minutes, the Clippers went on a 12-1 run, cementing the final victory.

“Frye vs Tim, how many more times can we see this scene?” Jeff Van Gundy spoke for all basketball fans, “No matter how many, it’s never enough!”

Two days later, in the second game, the Spurs simply lost.

They planned to strike back hard against the Clippers at home, and they did.

Coming to the away game, the Clippers faced the obviously biased home whistles and an oppressively intimidating away environment, causing fluctuations in their performance. The Spurs probably only had this one chance to defeat the Clippers in a series, and they seized it.

Popovich, like Rivers, played a short rotation, using their range and home-court advantage to defeat the Clippers, breaking their unbeaten playoff record since the start.

“Our goal is to enter the away game with a 2-2 score!” Duncan said after the game.

So the series moved on to game four.

A small side story to this game was that Yu Fei was officially announced as the winner of his seventh career MVP trophy.

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What does this mean?

He surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, becoming the person with the most MVP awards in NBA history.

“Aesthetic fatigue” is no longer a reason holding him back from winning the award, but the supporters of the GOAT still haven’t forgotten last year’s defeat: “Frye should have eight MVPs.”

The Spurs, determined to tie the series 2-2, were completely dominated by the Clippers in this crucial battle.

Antetokounmpo found his outside shooting touch; once he can make his shots, he’s unstoppable.

Jokić showed Duncan the future of the Serbians.

Then Yao Ming’s explosive performance as the sixth man became the last straw that broke the Spurs.

The MVP didn’t exert much effort, but his teammates helped secure the win.

A reporter boldly asked Yu Fei, “Are you now considering your opponents for the conference finals?”

“The Spurs haven’t been eliminated yet,” Yu Fei reminded him. “Give them some respect.”

Indeed, the Spurs aren’t dead yet, but their death notice has been announced, with the funeral to be held in Los Angeles.

Semifinal Game 5

Before the game started, the Spurs arrived at the venue half an hour early to get a feel for it.

Duncan could sense morale was at rock bottom within the team, and winning felt like a luxury. This situation had become all too common in recent years.

“What’s the fun in games like this?” he thought to himself.

Maybe to ease the depressive atmosphere, Duncan suddenly laughed at himself: “What am I doing, almost forty, discussing R-rated play names with you young guys?”

However, not a single teammate got his humor, and everyone reacted with confusion.

At that moment, Duncan knew that tonight’s game would be the last of his career. He was too old, so old that he had lost all passion. If he doesn’t have the motivation to be serious at the pivotal moment that decides the season’s fate, what reason is there to believe he could last another season?

Hours later, the game that would decide the fate of the Spurs began.

Yu Fei started the game fiercely, hitting threes in a row as if to throttle the opponent’s neck. The Spurs tried to respond with George’s one-on-ones and the pick-and-roll between Walker and Duncan.

The young players were not feeling it, but they could still rely on Duncan’s veteran experience. Duncan grabbed offensive rebounds time and time again, cleverly completing second-chance points until by the second quarter, his teammates’ shooting touch finally woke up.

The game seemed to still retain suspense, but that was all. The Clippers’ strongest point lies in the GOAT, and what’s terrifying about the GOAT is his ability to command the team like an extension of his arm.

Once upon a time, Duncan had such ability, but now it’s gone, and the Spurs lost their explosive power.

At halftime, the Clippers were up by 9 points.

In the second half, Yu Fei continued his rampage, extending the lead to 15 points. Afterwards, Duncan’s post-up moves and Ginobili’s miraculous threes again closed the gap, keeping the game in a tense stalemate. The persistence of the veterans was rewarded by the younger players, and the contest remained filled with suspense into the fourth quarter.

The Clippers always maintained a lead of more than 8 points. When Duncan drew Jokić’s sixth foul and scored his 24th point, even the Clippers-supporting commentator Jeff Van Gundy was moved: “No matter the outcome, TD, you owe us a proper farewell!”

Duncan didn’t hear this comment, as he was focused on defending Yu Fei.

However, in the next second, Yu Fei responded to Duncan’s attack with a picturesque jump shot. This scene seemed to take people back to the Finals more than a decade ago when both were much younger, and Duncan was seen as the better player, but Yu Fei had the last laugh.

Today, Yu Fei is still winning in the end. He is the biggest winner in the NBA since the 21st century, even the greatest since the league’s merger.

Duncan attempted to respond to Yu Fei. He asked for the ball again, posted up, spun, and hooked, but… Yu Fei anticipated the move. He jumped up and blocked the ball fiercely out of bounds.

“Don’t even think about it!” Yu Fei roared.

“Good defense,” Duncan said.

The two veterans, nearly 80 years combined, fought it out until the last second.

In the end, the Clippers beat the Spurs by 9 points.

When the final whistle sounded, Duncan sadly thought that this might have been the best game he ever played, the last time he’d face such a formidable opponent.

The final score was 4-1, with the Clippers eliminating the Spurs. It was another obstacle they had to overcome on their road to defending their title, while the Spurs were about to face significant changes.

After the game, Duncan and Yu Fei embraced. Duncan gently patted his back and said softly, “Frye, I’m tired of it. I’m done here. I’m telling you, I’m not playing anymore. I hope you know I’ll miss the days of competing with you on the court.”

Yu Fei, after listening, showed no change in expression and replied in an incredibly calm voice, “Good luck.”