There have been 11 comebacks in playoff history from a 3-1 lead, but never in the finals.
In other words, the Trail Blazers have basically won the championship in advance.
What the outside world is discussing at this time is no longer whether the Blazers can win the championship, but when and with what big score the Blazers will win.
In these discussions, the Gentlemen's 4-1 sweep of the Cavaliers was considered the most likely big score.
On the one hand, the Trail Blazers can beat the Cavaliers to death when playing against each other. The Cavaliers have no advantage at all in the series.
On the other hand, the Trail Blazers, whose next game venue is at home in Portland, naturally have an advantage in morale and state.
If the referee hadn't disrupted the situation in the third game, the Trail Blazers would have won the match point long ago. After winning the last game, they could have returned to Portland the next day to prepare for the dynasty parade.
After fans waited for three days.
On the afternoon of June 14, the Rose Garden Basketball Hall was also crowded with people early on. Wang Zelin and his teammates were making final preparations in the locker room.
Time passed very quickly. After the long home appearance ceremony, both sides submitted their lists.
This game has attracted much attention.
Not only the local Portland fans, but all over the world, especially the Chinese fans who brought others with them are waiting to see the moment when the Trail Blazers win the cup tonight.
Even Mr. Bill Russell specially dressed up to attend, ready to present the Finals MVP trophy to Wang Zelin.
The experience of the past two years in the finals has made the two of them have a good relationship. Before going on the field, Wang Zelin came over to shake hands with the old man and have a few words.
After a while, as the referee's whistle sounded, the game started.
Both sides came on the stage, and the coaches of both sides did not make any changes.
Jump ball in the center circle.
Wang Zelin jumped high and put the ball into Lillard's hands.
Lillard dribbled the ball past half-court, and Wang Zelin and others quickly got into position. Lillard stood at a 45-degree angle on the right side of the three-point line. Seeing that the rest of the Cavaliers' defensive focus was on Wang Zelin, he immediately started to accelerate.
He moved past Owen and caught the latter by surprise.
He entered the penalty area, faced Cousins with a small throw, and scored the ball.
2:0, the Trail Blazers opened the scoring.
Turning around, Irving used James' screen to avoid Lillard's defense and hit a three-pointer. Aldrie wanted to come up and block the shot but he didn't have time.
The ball hit the net hollowly.
3:2.
Next, on the Cavaliers' side, Irving hit a long two-pointer, and Shumpert's layup was also blocked by Wang Zelin.
The Cavaliers' two offensive errors gave the Trail Blazers a chance to counterattack. The Trail Blazers steadily collected 5 points and the score reached 7:3.
In the next round, James came out to catch the ball, and the Trail Blazers adopted one-on-one coverage. Once someone missed Wang Zelin, they would immediately stop him and not give the opponent a chance to breathe.
The Cavaliers also fell into a scoring drought under the defensive pressure of the Trail Blazers and could only rely on James's personal ability to score. This made head coach Tyronn Lue worried and paced back and forth on the sidelines.
As the star player, James always looks a bit unhappy. He not only has to act as the starting point for the team's offense, but also serves as the end point when the team cannot start the situation.
So, it’s time for you to stand up!
Thinking of this, James didn't hesitate at all. With the help of his teammates' pick-and-roll, he came directly to the position outside the three-point line, and threw the ball against Wang Zelin's defense.
It can be said that this three-pointer is very risky. There is not even any space to shoot, and the defensive players have already covered it.
Just when everyone thought James was a little impatient and even started to take random shots, the moment of slap in the face came in an instant.
"Whoosh!"
As the net shook, James' three-pointer hit steadily, and even Wang Zelin had a trace of surprise on his face.
It can only be said that James is worthy of being a historical giant. It is impossible to completely block it, and we can only try to limit it as much as possible.
As James scored a three-pointer, Tyronn Lue finally returned to his seat and applauded his wonderful performance just now.
But before Tyronn Lue could catch his breath, the Trail Blazers had already made a comeback.
After Wang Zelin attracted the attention of two defensive players, he passed the ball to Aldridge on the other side of the free throw line with a blind pass.
Naturally, Aldridge would not miss such an opportunity. He directly used a jump shot to cause a foul on JR who was switching defense, and made two free throws.
In the next round, Cousins rarely caught the ball, but was quickly taught a lesson by Wang Zelin.
Not only did he steal the ball from his hands, but he also went directly to the Cavaliers basket and dunked it all in one go.
In the blink of an eye, the Trail Blazers led the Cavaliers by 5 points, 11:6.
Upon seeing this, the Cavaliers quickly made some adjustments and strictly prevented the contact between Wang Zelin and other Blazers players, forcing them to fall into their own singles.
On the offensive end, the Cavaliers began their roll call strategy, which was to let James, the team's only stable scoring point, constantly use mismatches to single out the Trail Blazers' No. 1 Lillard.
The Cavaliers attacked and saw that there was not much time left. After the pick-and-roll, James went to the basket to finish the score.
However, there were two defensive players waiting inside. Under the interference of Wang Zelin and Aldridge, James' layup hit the basket. In the end, it could not bounce off and Wang Zelin successfully grabbed it.
Since punching the frame isn't enough, it's time to shoot.
As soon as his thoughts changed, James immediately started scoring points continuously.
Halfway through the first quarter, the score between the two sides quickly reached 18:15. Thanks to James' outstanding performance, the Cavaliers were only 3 points behind.
However, in the second half of the first quarter, the Trail Blazers clearly strengthened their defense, and they continued to use excellent defense to win counterattack opportunities.
Even in the last 4 seconds of the first quarter, Patton completed the steal of JR and immediately passed it to Lillard. Lillard directly scored a three-pointer at the buzzer from the logo area of the center circle.
This can simply be described as magical!
The fans at the scene were completely in a state of panic for a while. The most important thing was that the Trail Blazers severely restricted the Cavaliers in the second half of the first quarter.
The Cavaliers only scored 7 points in the second half of the first quarter, while the Trail Blazers scored 14 points.
After the first quarter, the score between the two sides was 32:22, and the Trail Blazers' lead easily exceeded double digits.
Judging from the rhythm of the game in this quarter, it is very similar to the past four games. As long as he plays steadily and steadily, the author will definitely win the cup at home.
The championship is just around the corner!
After understanding this, the audience was very excited and even began to celebrate in advance. At the same time, they did not forget to taunt the Cavaliers players.
