On April 19, the Los Angeles Clippers ushered in the third game of the series against the Golden State Warriors at home.
Although leading 2:0, Deng Fang was not careless. Before the game, he repeatedly told his players to be serious:
If you can win by 30 points, you can't win by 29 points!
Winning four games and taking a good rest is better than anything else!
Teams that don't respect their opponents will end badly!
The best way to respect your enemy is to defeat him!
…
Under Deng Fang's instructions, the Warriors did not relax and fought fiercely on the court.
Even though they returned to the home court and the Clippers players worked hard, the gap in strength was too big and the Clippers couldn't catch up no matter how hard they tried.
In the end, after the whole game, the Warriors defeated the Clippers 132-105, leading the series with a total score of 3:0.
Specific scores: 41-24, 32-28, 36-24, 23-29 (Warriors in front).
In this campaign, Durant went on a "big killing spree" on the offensive end, making 14 of 23 shots and scoring 38 points and 7 assists.
For the Warriors, in addition to Durant, Draymond Green had 8 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 blocks, Bogut had 8 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists, Klay Thompson had 12 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks, and Curry had 21 points.
5 rebounds, Ying Guodala had 15 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks, McKinney had 6 points and 8 rebounds, Looney had 10 points, Livingston had 2 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, and Cook had 5 points and 2 assists.
On the Clippers side, the entire team was sluggish. Beverley scored 6 points, Gallinari scored 9 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, Zubac had 18 points and 15 rebounds, Shamet had 6 points and 2 rebounds, and Alexander had 7 points and 2 assists.
, Harrell had 15 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, Jamike Green had 15 points and 5 rebounds, and Lou Williams had 16 points and 6 assists.
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On April 22, the visiting defending champion Warriors defeated the Clippers 113-105 after four quarters. In this way, the Warriors eliminated the Clippers with a total score of 4:0 and advanced to the semifinals first.
The specific scores in the fourth quarter were 32-22, 30-32, 25-30 and 26-21 (the Warriors were in front).
For the Warriors, Durant had 33 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, Thompson scored 6 three-pointers and 32 points, Curry had 12 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals, Green had 10 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks, and Ying Guodala had 10 points.
3 rebounds and 2 assists, Bogut had 8 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists.
For the Clippers, Alexander had 25 points, Gallinari had 16 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, Beverley had 12 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks, Lou Williams had 12 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, and Harrell had 10 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds.
Throughout the game, the Warriors had a 49-33 rebound advantage.
Sweeping the Clippers was not surprising, but Deng Fang breathed a sigh of relief.
Because in history, the Warriors were eventually eliminated by their opponent with a big score of 4:2, which cost the Warriors a lot of physical and mental energy, and it was not worth it.
Having reached the Finals for several consecutive years and playing nearly 20 more high-intensity games than most teams every year, the Warriors players are physically exhausted.
If it weren't for Deng Fang, several of the Warriors' main players would have been disabled long ago!
Even with Deng Fang here, it would be too much for the main players to play until the end of the season.
You know, because of the high level of attention, almost every game of the Warriors is high-intensity, even in the regular season!
It was okay to have a system that could be used before, but now the system restrictions have almost reached the highest level, and Deng Fang can only be cautious and conduct himself with his tail between his legs.
Winning the championship safely is the most important thing!
Apart from anything else, now the Warriors can have at least one more week of rest, which is very important for several veterans!
…
At the same time, the series between the Rockets, which is fourth in the Eastern Conference, and the Jazz, which is fifth, is also in full swing.
On April 15, the Houston Rockets hosted the first game of the series against the Utah Jazz at home.
Starting lineups for both sides:
Jazz: Ingles, Favors, Gobert, Mitchell, Rubio.
Rockets: Eric Gordon, PJ Tucker, Capela, Harden, Chris Paul.
After the whole game, the Rockets defeated the Jazz 122-90, leading the total score 1-0.
Specific scores: 24-31, 20-28, 27-24, 19-39 (the Rockets are behind).
In this campaign, Harden was heavily guarded and encountered foul trouble, but he calmly dealt with it, making 11 of 26 shots and scoring 29 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds.
For the Rockets, in addition to Harden, Paul scored 14 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists, Tucker had 11 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, Gordon had 17 points and 3 rebounds, Capela had 16 points, 12 rebounds and 2 assists, and House had 11 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist.
Assists, Rivers Jr. had 4 points and 1 rebound, Faried had 11 points and 6 rebounds, and Gerald Green had 9 points and 2 rebounds.
For the Jazz, Mitchell was in average form and only scored 19 points and 5 rebounds. Rubio had 15 points, 6 assists and 2 steals. Ingles had 3 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Favors had 13 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Gobert had 13 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
22 points and 12 rebounds, Crowder had 9 points and 3 rebounds, and Korver had 2 points and 1 rebound.
…
On April 18, the Houston Rockets ushered in the second game of the series against the Utah Jazz at home.
After the whole game, the Rockets defeated the Jazz again 118-98, leading the total score 2-0.
Specific scores: 19-39, 25-31, 23-25, 31-23 (the Rockets are behind).
In this campaign, Harden dominated the game. He made 11 of 24 shots and scored 32 points, 10 assists and 13 rebounds. He recorded a triple-double for the third time in his playoff career.
For the Rockets, in addition to Harden, Gordon scored 16 points and 2 steals, Tucker had 16 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals, Capela had 7 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks, Paul had 17 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.
Si had 8 points and 4 rebounds, Rivers Jr. had 8 points and 1 rebound, Faried had 7 points and 7 rebounds, and Gerald Green had 3 points.
For the Jazz, the team did not have many bright spots. Ingles scored 7 points, 2 assists and 5 steals, Favors had 14 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks, Gobert had 11 points and 12 rebounds, and Mitchell had 11 points, 6 assists and 2 steals.
In terms of steals, Rubio had 17 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 steals, O'Neal had 17 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists, and Crowder had 5 points and 7 rebounds.
…
On April 21, the third game between the Rockets and Jazz began.
8.7 seconds before the end, Mitchell missed an open three-pointer. In the end, the Rockets defeated the Jazz 104-101 in an away game. After this game, the Rockets led 3-0 and took the lead in winning the match point.
The specific scores in the fourth quarter are (Rockets in front): 28-30, 22-25, 24-21, 30-25.
James Harden made 3 of 20 shots from the field, 2 of 13 three-pointers, and contributed 22 points, 10 assists and 6 steals.
For the Rockets, in addition to Harden, Chris Paul had 18 points, Eric Gordon had 12 points, P.J. Tucker had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Clint Capela had 11 points and 14 rebounds.
For the Jazz, Ricky Rubio had 10 points and 6 assists, Donovan Mitchell had 34 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, and Rudy Gobert had 10 points, 8 rebounds and 7 blocks.
…
On April 23, the Houston Rockets faced off against the Utah Jazz for Game 4 of the series. After the game, the Rockets lost to the Jazz 91-107, leading the total score 3-1.
Specific scores: 24-32, 23-21, 32-23, 12-31 (Rockets in front).
In this campaign, Mitchell scored 31 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. It was he who scored 3 three-pointers and a mid-range shot in the early stages of the final quarter, which set off the Jazz's offensive frenzy and helped the team regain a victory at home.
Jazz: Ingles had 3 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, Crowder had 23 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals, Gobert had 4 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists, Mitchell had 31 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, Rubio had 18 points, 3 rebounds and 11 assists.
, O'Neal had 11 points and 11 rebounds, Favors had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Sefolosha had 2 points.
For the Rockets, Paul scored 23 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks, Gordon scored 16 points and 1 rebound, Tucker had 13 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals, Capela had 4 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists, and Harden scored 30
Points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Rivers Jr. had 5 points and 3 rebounds.
…
On April 25, the Houston Rockets faced off against the Utah Jazz in Game 5 of the series at home. After the game, the Rockets narrowly defeated the Jazz 100-93, eliminating their opponents with a total score of 4-1 and advancing to the Western Conference semifinals.
Specific scores: 20-20, 22-26, 27-29, 24-25 (the Rockets are behind).
For the Jazz, O'Neal had 18 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, Rubio had 17 points, 11 assists, 3 steals and 2 rebounds, Crowder had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Ingles had 11 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals, and Gobert had 9 points and 10 rebounds.
Favors had 2 assists and 2 blocks, and Favors had 7 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. The star Mitchell was a bit sluggish, only scoring 12 points and 6 rebounds in the game.
In this campaign, Harden's state had some ups and downs, but at the critical moment, he blocked the Jazz's offense twice in a row. In the whole game, Harden scored 26 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 4 blocks.
For the Rockets, in addition to Harden, Capela had 16 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 assists, Paul had 15 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals, Gordon had 15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, Tucker had 8 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks.
Nene had 8 points and 4 rebounds, House had 7 points and 4 rebounds, Rivers had 3 points, and Faried had 2 points.
Overall, this was a series without any suspense. The Rockets were obviously much stronger than the Jazz, so the two teams had no chance to compete.
The Jazz's big center model is no longer suitable for the current trend, and it will be a dead end against the Warriors and Rockets.
The Rockets, who eliminated the Jazz, will face the Warriors in the Western Conference semifinals. The two teams will meet again after a year.
