While the Spurs were venting all kinds of dissatisfaction, the wild trend at the end of the Western Conference regular season was in full swing. Wang Zelin and his teammates did not stop fighting.
In a game, there must be wins and losses. This kind of thing is normal. Besides, with 48 wins and 21 losses, the Trail Blazers are still very stable in third place in the Western Conference.
In the media reception room of the Rose Garden Arena, Terry Stotts walked proudly on the stage with Wang Zelin. He got the latest news. The Mosaic team lost to the Spurs, who used their entire team, and the Lakers, who were ranked ninth, were defeated again.
I saw hope of reaching the playoffs.
Theoretically, the Lakers still have hope for the playoffs. Under the leadership of Kobe, the team has become more and more courageous. They are only one win less than Mosaic. The opportunity to overtake seems to be right in front of them.
Don’t forget, Kobe is known as the Spurs killer.
Now that the Lakers have shown a great possibility of returning to the playoffs, the first person to feel uneasy is undoubtedly the Spurs.
Another badass team appears!
Therefore, as long as the Spurs are unhappy, the Trail Blazers will be extremely happy.
"Hello, Wang! I'm a reporter from the Los Angeles Times.
I would like to ask, in the last game, did you really follow the Spurs' example and use fake injuries as an excuse to achieve the purpose of resting, as the outside world said."
"Sorry, we have never thought of such a thing. The reason for taking turns is entirely due to injuries. This is unavoidable. Please forgive me."
Since he chose to attend the press conference, Wang Zelin was naturally prepared to deal with the media's difficulties and had prepared his rhetoric long ago.
"But that's not what Spurs coach Sima Wei said. He thinks you are a group of outstanding actors and should go to Los Angeles for employment instead of the NBA..."
Another reporter stood up, with the words "ESPN" written on the microphone he was holding.
"Hahaha! Thank you coach Sima Wei for your opinion, I will seriously consider it." Wang Zelin replied with a smile, without any fluctuation in his expression.
"Coach Stotts, may I ask..."
…
That night, facing the menacing Nets, Batum exploded, scoring 22 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists on 9 of 13 shots, a near-triple-double, plus 3 steals and 1 block.
In addition, Aldridge scored a game-high 28 points, Wang Zelin contributed 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Lillard contributed 16 points and 10 assists.
For the Nets, Reggie Evans scored a team-high 24 points and 11 rebounds, Lopez scored 22 points, and Deron Williams scored 11 points...
Back at home, the Blazers all cheered up and had no intention of continuing the performance.
Aldridge took the lead in the mid-range shot. After he succeeded, the Nets suddenly launched a 16:2 offensive climax. At this stage, Luo Peichi and Evans scored 6 points each.
Fortunately, the Trail Blazers woke up in time. Wang Zelin led the team to a scoring climax and struggled to fill the gap at the end of the first half. After two quarters, they took a three-point lead at 54:51.
Entering the third quarter, every time the Nets scored, they immediately encountered a fierce counterattack from the Trail Blazers, with no hope of overtaking. Batum suddenly broke out in this quarter and played a 7:0 victory in the final stage.
Shock wave, the score difference was instantly opened to 10 points, 78:68.
In the final quarter, the Trail Blazers maintained a 10-point deficit. In the last three minutes, the Nets sent out all their substitutes and gave up the game in advance.
In the end, the Trail Blazers defeated the fourth-place Nets in the Eastern Conference 111:93 at home, consolidating their third place in the Western Conference and increasing their number of wins to 49.
Seeing that 50 wins was so close, many Trail Blazers fans expressed tears.
The last time the team won 50 games was back in the 2009-10 season three years ago, when their leader was Brandon Roy.
Now things have changed.
It is worth mentioning that since the 21st century, the Trail Blazers have exceeded 50 wins three times. Unfortunately, each time the record was fixed at 50 wins and 32 losses.
This year is different. Considering there are more than ten games left, the team's record is likely to hit a new high, even catching up with the 59 wins set by the Trail Blazers led by Scottie Pippen, the second head of the Bulls dynasty, in the 1999 season.
23 losses.
That year, the Trail Blazers and the Lakers, led by the OK combination, felt the tiebreaker. In the end, they lost by only 5 points 84:89.
Although they later learned that the opponent was the fifth dynasty team in NBA history, Portland fans still couldn't let it go.
After all, that season was the most promising season for the Blazers to compete for the O'Brien Trophy after the 1976-77 season, but they lost.
Fortunately, everything is over, and the Trail Blazers have ushered in a new era, which will be extremely bright!
…
After the battle with the Nets, the Trail Blazers will usher in a wave of back-to-back games. Their opponents are the Jazz and the Warriors, one home and one away.
On the night of the 30th, the Trail Blazers had a home game against the Utah Jazz.
Aldridge missed this game due to injury... This time he was really injured.
All members of the Jazz were planning to show off their skills, but unfortunately the opponent had a Gundam.
25 points and 18 rebounds!
Wang Zelin led the remaining team to successfully resist the Utah Jazz's invasion and won two consecutive home victories with 105:95.
Batum, who showed his prowess in the past two days, played mediocrely, only scoring 9 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists, which was far below average. Matthews was similar, with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
Fortunately, Lillard was able to provide Wang Zelin with a certain amount of firepower support, with 20 points and 8 assists; Connett Lee's 11 points on the bench were also very important.
After this campaign, with 50 wins and 21 losses, the Trail Blazers tied their regular season win record since the 21st century, and there is still a chance for further improvement.
Because there are still 13 games left, it is almost certain to set the fourth-best regular season win record in team history.
The first is the 63 wins in 1990-91, the second and third are the same record of 59 wins and 23 losses set in the 89-90 season and the 1999-00 season respectively, and the fourth is the 53 wins and 29 losses set in the 87-88 season.
The hope of competing for the top three is slim, but if we focus on 53 wins, it can be said to be within reach for the current Blazers.
After playing against the Jazz, Wang Zelin and his teammates took Corgi to Los Angeles. At 6 pm on the 31st, they will have a showdown with the Golden State Warriors, another bright star this season.
The Warriors' current record is 42 wins and 29 losses, ranking seventh in the Western Conference. The most eye-catching thing is undoubtedly the team's newly established new leader-Stephen Curry.
22 points, 6.9 assists, 4 rebounds and 1.6 steals!
"Cute God" Curry produced very outstanding statistics in the last year of his rookie contract, especially his three-pointers. He averaged 3.5 hits in 7.7 attempts per game, and his field goal percentage reached a terrifying 45.3%.
You can say that.
He is the current top three-point shooter!
In addition, the Warriors' No. 2 Klay Thompson gradually became famous after the All-Star Game and played several beautiful games. He even surpassed Lillard and Anthony during the two weeks when Wang Zelin was absent due to injury.
Davis, two big names in the same class, won the NBA's official Rookie of the Week award.
Before this, Wang Zelin monopolized this honor in the west, without giving any chance to outsiders.
When he was injured, I thought it would be a competition between Lillard and Anthony Davis, but who would have thought that Klay Thompson would appear for the first time.
The title of "second shooter in the league" is becoming more and more stable for Klay Thompson.
At present, the Warriors are still an offense-oriented team and have not yet achieved both offense and defense. Their biggest reliance is on Stephen Curry on the outside and David Lee on the inside.
Both have the ability to average 20 points per game and are the two most stable points for the Warriors.
Coach Tristos made a division of labor arrangements before the game: Wang Zelin strangled David Lee in the post, Clete Merson at the second position was dealt with by Batum, and as for Curry, Lillard personally invited him to play.
As a three-point master, Lillard was very unhappy with Curry's halo as the league's top shooter.
Sensing the ambition in his teammates, Wang Zelin suddenly felt worried.
He remembered very clearly that the Trail Blazers and the Warriors would definitely become enemies later on, especially Lillard and Curry, the two teams' leading point guards. Every time they met, one of them would easily break away. The two scored the highest points in their careers.
They were all obtained from the opponent's head.
But overall, Lillard loses more often.
Therefore, Wang Zelin always has an ominous premonition tonight.
…
Time came to the last attack of the third quarter, and the ball was firmly in the hands of the player wearing No. 30 jersey.
Stephen Curry!
At this time, the score between the two teams was 70 to 87, and the Trail Blazers were 17 points behind their opponents.
This night is destined to be unforgettable for every Warriors fan.
With 33 points in the third quarter, their new leader "Cute God" Curry exploded.
Curry's scoring show was different from the scoring feast of traditional scorers. His scoring performance seemed so light and indifferent that before many people could recover, he had already dropped 6 three-pointers.
easy!
Curry's scoring performance seems to reveal this word all the time.
The audience on the sidelines and all members of the two teams focused on No. 30 almost at the same time, wanting to see how he would handle the last attack. The latter was very excited.
Moments like this were his favorite.
Maybe, I can try to keep this feeling forever, forever, forever.
Player No. 30 suddenly burst out with strong desire in his eyes.
I don't have a strong body!
There is no such thing as lightning speed!
But I have found my own way to win...three points!
I'm going to use my own way to take over the game...
Portlanders, are you ready?
There are 7 seconds left on the clock.
Curry looked at him and David immediately offered to cover him.
not good!
Seeing this, Wang Zelin had a terrible thought in his heart, and he could not let Curry continue to vote.
Never underestimate that guy's ability. If you really let him go crazy and develop his touch, then the game will really be hopeless.
But just when he left the paint area and was about to go out to cover up defense, Curry took advantage of David Lee's screen and was transported to the left. As soon as he got close to the three-point line, he rose up and suddenly took a shot.
Is he crazy?
Dare to invest in this!
Everyone in the Trail Blazers was dumbfounded, because this ball was obviously not a good shooting opportunity. In their view, Curry hadn't even had time to adjust his body shape.
It shouldn’t be possible to enter again, right?
That's what Terry Stotts and his coaching staff thought.
Although Aldridge continues to be absent tonight, Terry Stotts didn't take the Warriors seriously before the game.
In other words, in his playoff plan, the Warriors are completely insufficient to pose any threat to the Trail Blazers.
The star Stephen Curry ~ the famous glass man!
David Lee ~ Attack with a kaleidoscope, defend with thousands of stabs!
The players at the second and third positions are also rookies. It is impossible for every rookie to have the strength of Wang Zelin and Lillard.
Therefore, from all aspects, the Warriors are no match for the Trail Blazers, even without Aldridge.
It did go as he hoped at the beginning.
After adopting an attack-for-attack strategy with the Warriors, Lillard and Matthews each hit a three-pointer, giving the Trail Blazers a 15:9 lead.
For a moment, Tristotts felt extremely relaxed.
In his opinion, the game went as he expected. Even Wang Zelin in the post did not take many shots, and the team achieved a 5-point lead.
But the reality is shocking.
Who would have thought of giving up in the middle of the quarter? The Warriors seemed to have adapted to this open offensive rhythm. In the second half of the quarter, all Warriors made 10 of 10 shots in a row, leading 36:31.
Among them, Curry made 4 of 7 field goals and 2 of 4 three-pointers in a single quarter, scoring 10 points.
Back in the second quarter, Curry led the team to take advantage of the victory and attack the crisis, scoring 7 points in a row to attack the outside line. Before halftime, the Warriors scored three consecutive offenses, leading 65:55 by 10 points.
In the third quarter, the Warriors did not want to create suspense and hit an offensive climax from the beginning. Klay Thompson scored 5 points in a row and David Lee made a free throw inside. The point difference widened to 74:59.
From then on, Tristos could no longer sit still and let Wang Zelin and others give full play to quickly chase points.
But it was too late. The Blazers slowly lost their nerve and could not regain their momentum.
"Don't come in, don't come in..."
Coach Terry prayed silently in the audience, while the two brothers kept staring at the orange basketball flying in the sky.
"Whoosh!"
Curry's 7th three-pointer...went in again!
"It was a bad shot, I thought Steph... oh Shet, Steph was great, it was a perfect shot!
Guys, we're 20 points ahead of the Trail Blazers, 20 points!"
As a senior commentator, Warriors home commentator Nunn immediately changed his tune.
"Stephen's shot just now was too bold, but as we all know, high risks often mean high rewards! Stephen has already scored 36 points!!!"
The commentator's voice passed through the loudspeaker and penetrated every corner of the Oracle Arena.
20 points behind!
On the Trail Blazers' side, Lillard dribbled the ball across half court for a three-pointer in the last 4 seconds, and the basketball went straight out of the baseline.
The game seems to be going away.
The ending is as expected.
90:70, the Warriors entered the final quarter with a huge 20-point advantage. The players were united to win the game.
In contrast, the Trail Blazers were not interested in playing. Halfway through the game, both teams would be replaced and the game would enter garbage time early.
In the end, the Warriors defeated the Trail Blazers with a score of 125:98, ending their opponent's two-game winning streak.
"Cute God" Curry scored a season-high 44 points and became the biggest contributor. Among them, 9 of 14 three-pointers were also a new record.
No one expected that the Trail Blazers would overturn in the last game in March, but this is basketball, anything can happen on the court.
What the Trail Blazers players can do now is get ready and wait for the arrival of April.