noveldrama
Chapter 959 959 567 End_3
Chapter 959 959 567 End_3
?Chapter 959: Chapter 567: End_3 Chapter 959: Chapter 567: End_3 At last, Kobe and the Lakers Team were swept out of the playoffs by the Supersonics with a 0-4 defeat in the first round.
Unintentionally, Kobe created a humiliating record: over the past few years, he had been eliminated by Yu Fei-led teams in the first round, the semifinals, the conference finals, and the finals.
Just before the semifinals began, the League announced the winners of the regular season’s major awards.
Yu Fei, Wade, Durant, James, and Yao Ming were selected for the first team of the best line-up.
At this time, Yao Ming had completely transformed from a traditional center to a space-oriented center. Although this might not have been Yao Ming’s peak form, it certainly was the most abstract. The “abstract” aspect of this version of Yao Ming lay in the fact that if the young Yao Ming saw his current self, he probably couldn’t help but criticize: “Damn, aside from shooting threes what else can you do? You’ve totally disgraced me!”
However, it was this version of Yao Ming who, in a team with 70 wins, contributed an average of 18 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2.4 blocks per game, surpassing 37-year-old veteran Duncan to become a first team center.
At that moment, Yao Ming finally understood the deep meaning behind the words Yu Fei had once said to him: “As long as you play long enough, anything can happen.”
In the upcoming semifinals, the Supersonics’ opponent was the Dallas Mavericks.
The Mavericks now resembled the Lakers of old. With the League’s restrictions on wealthy teams and the pressure of the super luxury tax, Cuban was no longer willing to spend lavishly. They attempted to form a team without exceeding the tax limit, and a few years ago, they fortuitously acquired Tony Parker, which continued the Mavericks’ competitiveness.
This season, Parker reached the peak of his performance, leading the Mavericks to vie with the Supersonics for the second spot in the Western throughout the season, ultimately facing each other in the semifinals.
On one hand was the defending champion dreaming of a fifth consecutive title, and on the other, the Mavericks, eager to face the Spurs again in the conference finals. The teams commenced a fierce struggle in the semifinals.
In the first four games, each side defended its home court, leading to a tie. By the time of the King of the Hill battle, both teams fought with real fire, turning the match into a street-style brutal confrontation, as if there were no referees on the court.
In such a high-intensity game, Nowitzki got injured, Stoudemire’s back injury recurred, and Roy also twisted his ankle. Although it seemed like the Supersonics suffered greater losses, Stoudemire and Roy’s abilities had significantly declined, in contrast to Nowitzki who was the core of the Mavericks’ inside game; his downfall made Dallas’s inside firepower instantly collapse.
Yu Fei played the entire 48 minutes in this game, scoring a massive 46 points, grabbing 15 rebounds, and dishing out 10 assists, leading his team to grab the match point.
In the sixth game, Nowitzki made a forced return, but the people of Dallas were powerless to turn the tide.
Yu Fei once again delivered a 40+ triple-double, leading his team to crush the Mavericks and advance to the conference finals with a 4-2 victory.
“This is why you’re the GOAT!” Irving celebrated vigorously with Yu Fei during the victory, bumping shoulders, “With you, we can definitely win!”
“What GOAT?” Yu Fei asked with a laugh, “Kyrie, what are you talking about?”
Irving exclaimed, “GOAT! You’re my GOAT! You’re everyone’s GOAT!”
Everyone wants to break free from the shackles in their hearts. Yu Fei doesn’t see Seattle as a shackle, but he was indeed curious about what would happen that summer.
Actually, he already knew.
“Don’t call me that, Kyrie,” Yu Fei said, “I’m not the GOAT, no one is.”
Irving couldn’t comprehend this because in his eyes, Yu Fei was the GOAT, universally acknowledged as the GOAT.
Yu Fei walked to the sidelines, while many people shouted “GOAT.”
He had to fight until the last game for those shouts, even though he did not consider himself the GOAT in their eyes.
Wade successfully defended his MVP title.
The four teams in the conference finals of the Eastern and Western were completely the same as last year, but this year’s outcome was destined to be different.
The Spurs took an early lead at home, capturing two victories. Returning to their home court, the desperate Supersonics gave their all, entering full GOAT mode.
Yu Fei started to play the entire game.
In the third game, they narrowly defeated the Spurs, keeping their hopes of defending the title alive.
However, by the crucial fourth game, a decisive battle for the continuation of the season, the Supersonics were missing Roy, Stoudemire, and those stars who had made significant contributions to the dynasty. They were left with only Yu Fei, and the young players shrank under this oppressive atmosphere. Irving was completely off form, resulting in not just a defeat but a devastating one—a 24-point debacle that pushed the dynasty to the brink of a cliff.
The media began to create momentum.
The fall of a dynasty?
No, this seemed more like the end of an era.
Frye’s reign, which had been ongoing since 2006, looked to be concluding this year.
Would that moment come in Game 5?
Game 5 was fiercely contested, with the Spurs leading by seven points with just two minutes left in regulation, victory seemingly within reach.
However, in front of the people of San Antonio, Fei reminded them of 2003, 2007, and every moment thereafter.
Fei turned the game around with three three-pointers, keeping the Supersonics alive with a 2-3 record.
For Game 6, they returned to Key Arena.
This was Fei’s third time playing the entire game in nearly four matches. In the first half, he flew across the court like a dragon—shooting from outside, breaking inside, almost unstoppable. The Spurs were suppressed, and it seemed the game was heading to a Game 7. However, the pressure of playing full games consecutively manifested in the second half; his right calf began to cramp. Although he only rested for five minutes before returning to the court, the tide had already turned.
The Spurs saw the first light of victory.
They seized this rare opportunity.
At the Supersonics’ weakest moment, the Spurs delivered a fatal blow.
In the fourth quarter, the Spurs’ perimeter shooting rained down like three-pointers, scoring 37 points in a single quarter, ringing the death knell for the dynasty in a way that couldn’t be reversed.
“Beep—!”
The final buzzer sounded.
119 to 106.
4 to 2.
The Spurs eliminated the Supersonics.
At that instant, Popovich waved his fists in the air, shouting excitedly.
Duncan and Ginobili hugged and wept, moved by the moment as the Spurs team looked on.
An exhausted Fei patted Irving on the head, “You played well, Kyrie.”
Having said that, Fei turned to his other teammates.
This was his final duty; he maintained a leader’s demeanor, encouraging each teammate before moving to his victorious opponents.
With a reddened nose, Duncan shook his hand, “See you next season.”
“Is it worth crying over, Tim?”
Fei thought to himself, shouldn’t he be the one crying? A chance at five consecutive championships, a once in a lifetime opportunity, had just slipped away.
“You wouldn’t understand.”
Duncan saw Fei, his emotions surged again. How could this man, who had been like a nightmare overshadowing the entire league, understand the significance of defeating him in the playoffs?
To him, this was just the third defeat in his career.
But to others?
They had defeated the greatest player in history, an unprecedented superstar who had to admit tonight that he had lost—to them!
Fei might never understand, so he spat out the last trash talk of the season: “Well, I don’t get it, but if you’ve cried all your tears over my corpse, how many tears are left for the O’Brien Trophy?”