Chapter 712: A Game 5 Remake?
That night, the Knicks did not stay in Miami. They flew directly back to New York.
The atmosphere on the plane was not good.
Game 5 was usually the turning point of a series, and losing that game meant Game 6 had become a do or die match for the Knicks.
There was no retreat behind them.
Under that kind of pressure, it was difficult for the team to show a relaxed atmosphere.
The next day, the Western Conference Finals decided its winner first.
The Dallas Mavericks defeated their old rivals, the San Antonio Spurs, with a total score of 4 to 2.
This time, the Mavericks and Spurs rivalry ended with Dallas victory.
Both teams had complete rosters and comparable strength in this year's Playoffs, making it a battle of experience.
For San Antonio, the GDP trio all performed well.
Parker averaged 22.5 points and 6.3 assists in the series.
Ginóbili had 19 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Duncan contributed 18.5 points and 9.9 rebounds.
It could be said that all 3 were in excellent form.
But they ran into a Nowitzki who was even more explosive.
Dirk Nowitzki averaged a monstrous 32.2 points and 6.8 rebounds in this series.
Some fans believed that Dallas won this round because Nowitzki outplayed Duncan.
In reality, those who said that were fans who did not watch the games.
Although both were power forwards, they did not guard each other for most of this series.
Because Nowitzki's playing style leaned heavily toward the perimeter, Popovich did not arrange for Duncan to primarily defend him.
San Antonio used a relay defense strategy, having different players take turns wearing down Dirk Nowitzki.
They sometimes used 1 on 1 man to man defense and sometimes used zone defense, but they still could not stop Nowitzki in this series.
Dirk Nowitzki's performance was inseparable from Ray Allen, Artest, and Kidd.
Although the statistics of those 3 were far less impressive than Nowitzki's, some contributions could not be reflected by numbers.
The 3 of them helped Nowitzki create enough offensive space, allowing his ability to be maximized.
Nowitzki had directly entered a 2nd spring in his career.
His efficiency even surpassed his peak, and outside observers who watched his performance in this Playoff round all declared that the current Dirk Nowitzki possessed all the conditions needed to win a championship.
Whether it was a catch and shoot 3 pointer, a Nowitzki fadeaway, or a regular fadeaway jumper, Dirk Nowitzki was masterful.
This once nationally ridiculed soft interior player had torn apart the entire Spurs defense.
In the previous Playoff round, Nowitzki completely suppressed Garnett.
In this Playoff round, he defeated Duncan.
After consecutively defeating the top 2 active power forwards, Nowitzki's public perception was reversed.
Many fans called him a big hearted player and a super leader.
The funny thing was that many of those same people had, just a few years earlier, called Nowitzki soft, mocked him for being overturned by the Heat in the NBA Finals that year, and mocked him for being part of the Warriors We Believe upset.
Sports competition was like this.
As long as you performed well, the outside world would forget your previous slumps and praise you to the heavens.
In reality, across his entire career, Nowitzki still had a gap compared to those 2 power forwards.
Duncan had won 4 championships, 2 regular season MVPs, 3 NBA Finals MVPs, 1 All Star MVP, 9 All NBA First Team selections, 3 All NBA Second Team selections, and 13 All Defensive Team selections so far in his career, including 8 All Defensive First Team selections and 2 All Defensive Second Team selections.
Garnett had won 1 championship, 1 regular season MVP, and 9 All NBA Team selections throughout his career.
Among them, he had been selected to the All NBA First Team 4 times, the Second Team 3 times, and the Third Team 2 times. He had also won 1 Defensive Player of the Year award and had been selected to the All Defensive Team 12 times, with 9 First Team selections and 3 Second Team selections.
Nowitzki had 1 regular season MVP and 12 All NBA Team selections: 4 First Team, 5 Second Team, and 3 Third Team.
Nowitzki had never been selected to an All Defensive Team, and his other honors were also slightly inferior. From the perspective of overall honors, Duncan and Garnett were definitely above Dirk Nowitzki.
The Mavericks were strong championship contenders this year.
If Dirk Nowitzki led the team to a championship, his public evaluation would most likely surpass Garnett.
Although Garnett also had a championship, it was not a lead player championship.
As for Duncan, even if Nowitzki won the championship this year, it would still be difficult for him to catch up, because the difference in honors was too great.
As soon as the Western Conference Finals ended, everyone's attention shifted to the Eastern Conference Finals.
If Miami won Game 6, they would advance directly to the NBA Finals.
If New York won, the 2 sides would be forced into Game 7.
For the Mavericks, they hoped the Knicks could win this game, because that would give Dallas a few more days of rest.
As for who ultimately made it to the NBA Finals, Nowitzki had already told the media that he did not care.
This year, Dirk Nowitzki was ready.
New York's overall strength was more than 1 tier below Dallas, and even with Chen Yan, Dirk Nowitzki remained fearless.
As for Miami, if they reached the NBA Finals, Nowitzki would be even happier.
That would mean he had a chance to take revenge on the Heat.
In the 2005 to 2006 season, Miami had stepped on the Mavericks and on Dirk Nowitzki's shoulders to lift the championship trophy.
Curry also came to the venue tonight.
He could only cheer for his teammates in this way.
Before the game, the atmosphere inside the Knicks locker room was heavy.
Chen Yan told his teammates to relax, saying that in such crucial games, it was even more important to treat them like practice games. Only then could they produce unexpected performances.
However, his teammates clearly did not take Chen Yan's advice to heart.
They played terribly in the 1st quarter.
The entire team shot only 7 of 20 in the 1st quarter, and 6 of those 7 makes came from Chen Yan.
The Knicks trailed 26 to 18 after the 1st quarter.
If not for Chen Yan's normal performance, New York might have already collapsed in the 1st quarter.
In the 2nd quarter, Barea led the bench unit.
Barea showed a crazy side.
On offense, his thinking was clear.
On defense, his approach was almost frantic. He was fearless, doing everything he could to disrupt opponents and refusing to be seen as a weak point. Even if he was knocked down, he immediately got back up.
Barea had won 2 championships with the Phoenix Suns.
He had championship DNA, and by nature, he was not the type of player who gave up easily.
However, the other Knicks players were still underperforming.
On Miami's side, all 3 core players performed steadily, while 2 role players, Miller and Chalmers, were incredibly accurate from 3 point range tonight, basically not missing open shots.
Miami consistently held the lead, suppressing New York with a double digit advantage at halftime.
The Knicks 3 point shooting struggled to open up, and Miami's defense was very tight. This directly affected the success rate and efficiency of New York's drives.
The Knicks could only rely on Chen Yan's continuous isolations to score.
Kenny Smith sighed repeatedly. "The Knicks are facing elimination tonight. They cannot afford to lose this game. That pressure seems to have affected their performance. In the 1st half, aside from Chen Yan and Barea, everyone else collectively underperformed. That is definitely not good news for New York. They need to make adjustments in the 2nd half."
Barkley chimed in, "These guys are feeling too much pressure. When players feel that kind of pressure, they overthink. And when they overthink, simple shots they normally make start missing. That is very bad. Let us see how Nelson helps them adjust their mindset during halftime."
After returning in the 3rd quarter, the Knicks players still struggled to find their rhythm.
Before the 3rd quarter was even halfway over, Miami's lead had already grown beyond 15 points.
Seeing that New York's role players posed no threat, the Heat began double teaming Chen Yan.
Everything felt like a repeat of Game 5.
.....
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