The Warriors won the first game of the playoffs against the Mavericks very easily.
Sun Yi also felt that his debut in the playoffs was easier than expected.
He made serious preparations before the game.
After all, it is not uncommon for rookies to overturn in their first playoff games.
But Sun Yi failed to receive a slap in the face, and even recorded a triple-double, comparable to the legend.
With such a perfect start, Sun Yi did not feel complacent and take credit, but instead worked harder to train and improve his own strength.
He knows very well that the Mavericks are not weak, otherwise they would not be ranked second in the Western Conference in the regular season.
The main reason for this game was that Nowitzki played too poorly and failed to take advantage of the Mavericks.
It can be said that Nowitzki's performance directly determines the Mavericks' lower limit.
The other Mavericks players can only be regarded as the icing on the cake, raising the Mavericks' ceiling.
If Nowitzki's condition bottoms out in subsequent games, it will be much more difficult for the Warriors to complete Black Seven.
In order to complete the temporary tasks issued by the system, Sun Yi could only take advantage of Nowitzki's sluggish state to quickly solve this series. The longer it takes, the greater the variables will be.
…
Early the next morning, as expected, the front page headlines of the sports section were all about Sun Yi.
Here in the United States, media reporters did not exaggerate and reported realistically.
"My first triple-double in the playoffs! The Warriors' No. 9 rookie is as good as a legend!"
"Double stars shine! The Warriors defeated the Mavericks in an upset!"
"The bottom beats the top! The Warriors get a good start in the playoffs!"
…
In China, media reporters are not so subtle and can exaggerate as much as they want.
"Shocked! Sun Yi actually did this to Mavericks!"
"His first triple-double in the playoffs! Sun Yi becomes the first in the country!"
"Vulnerable! The Warriors' victory over the Mavericks will complete the Black Seven!"
…
Sun Yi didn't know anything about the outside world. After breakfast, he went to the hotel lobby to meet the team, and then went to the training ground for daily training.
The Warriors' morale is currently high, and the coaches and players are united and fully prepared for this series.
At the same time, as the Warriors prepared for the game, the first games of other series began one after another.
The defending champion Lakers defeated the Spurs without any blood and got off to a good start.
Before the start of the playoffs, outside experts and celebrities used big data analysis to believe that the Spurs and Lakers are equally strong.
If the Spurs hadn't had a massive rest after the All-Star break, their record wouldn't have dropped to eighth in the Western Conference.
Therefore, experts and celebrities believe that the Spurs may complete the black eight by defeating the opponent.
But after the first game between the Lakers and Spurs, no fans believed the bullshit predictions of these experts.
This game is completely played by the Lakers and the Spurs!
Except for Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili, the Spurs played well, and the other players basically played soy sauce and had no effect at all.
After the first game of this series was played, fans were reminded of the confrontation between the two teams in the playoffs last season. The Spurs and Lakers were not opponents at the same level at all.
It can be said that the final result of this series between the Lakers and Spurs has been determined.
The other group series also had winners and losers.
With Luo Yin out for the season, the Trail Blazers relied on Miller to score 31 points and beat the Suns in an upset.
Although the Trail Blazers grabbed a victory, outside media still predicted that the Suns would advance to the next round within six games.
The Nuggets played a very anxious first game against the Jazz.
The Nuggets relied on Anthony to score 42 points, narrowly defeated the Jazz, and won their first playoff victory.
This matchup is evenly matched, and the winner may not be decided until a tiebreaker.
In the Eastern Conference, there were no upsets, and the top four teams all won.
The strength of these three teams, the Cavaliers, Celtics, and Magic, is a level higher than other teams in the Eastern Conference, and they can almost advance to the next round smoothly.
The Eagles and Bucks are evenly matched and may have a tiebreaker to determine the winner.
After all the first games of the playoffs were played, some were happy and some were sad.
Some teams want to take advantage of the victory to expand their lead, and some teams want to go all out to equalize the score.
As time passed quickly, it was game day again in a blink of an eye.
The second game of each group series begins again!
…
…
On April 20, the second-round contest between the Warriors and the Mavericks in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs continued at the American Airlines Center Arena.
After the first loss, Mavericks head coach Carlisle made adjustments to the starting lineup.
The starting lineup sent by the Mavericks in this game is: Kidd, Terry, Marion, Nowitzki, and Haywood.
If Nowitzki's performance in this game is still poor, the Mavericks will do something about the second scoring point Terry to ensure the Mavericks' offensive firepower.
The Warriors have not made any personnel adjustments, and the starting lineup is still: Curry, Ellis, Maggette, Sun Yi, and Randolph.
In the jump ball session, Haywood defeated Randolph and gave the Mavericks the first opportunity to attack.
Kidd dribbled the ball to the top of the arc, directed his teammates to move, and prepared to deal the cards.
Haywood followed the tactical requirements and stepped forward to give Nowitzki an unmanned cover.
Nowitzki bypassed the screen and came to the mid-range area on the right, received a pass from Kidd, and hit a mid-range jumper.
Sun Yi, who retreated to the basket, picked up the basketball on the floor, quickly exited the baseline, sent the ball out, and then quickly rushed towards the frontcourt.
"The Sword Comes"
Curry received the pass and quickly advanced toward the frontcourt.
When Kidd saw this, he immediately ran forward to block it, trying to delay the pupil's advancement, but was blocked by Randolph.
"Damn it! When did this guy come here?!"
Kidd cursed inwardly and quickly turned around to pursue defense.
After Randolph finished the screen, he quickly cut into the penalty area.
Curry, who dribbled forward, immediately passed the ball.
Randolph received the pass and rushed toward the basket. When the Mavericks players rushed back to defend the basket, he immediately distributed the ball to the bottom corner.
Ellis, who had been lurking in the right corner for a long time, received the pass and saw that no one was guarding him, so he immediately took off and shot.
"Uh-huh!"
The basketball hits the net hollowly and hits the target steadily!
3:2!
The ball is in transition and the Mavericks attack.
Kidd quickly dribbled the ball forward while directing his teammates' movements.
Curry immediately followed up and found the right moment to take out the ball.
Ginger is still old and hot. Kidd immediately changed hands and dribbled the ball, allowing the elementary school student to miss. Then he accelerated away from Curry and rushed towards the three-point line.
Curry was a little annoyed and immediately turned around to pursue defense.
On the other side, Kidd didn't stop outside the three-point line. He rushed directly into the three-point line and broke through to the basket.
Randolph, who was standing near the penalty area, immediately retreated to the basket to defend.
Seeing this, Kidd attracted Randolph's defense and threw the ball toward the basket.
Haywood, who rushed to the basket, jumped into the air and dunked the ball into the basket with both hands.
After the goal, Kidd immediately found Curry and ran forward to defend closely, denying the Warriors a chance to play a fast break.
But the Warriors have too many players who can control the ball and advance, and they can't limit it at all.
In this round, Sun Yi received the pass and ran towards the frontcourt as quickly as possible.
Other Warriors players followed the tactical requirements and ran to the designated positions.
Nowitzki, who was on the defensive, could not keep up with Sun Yi's speed, and watched Sun Yi's back getting further and further away from him.
"Damn! Is this the speed a forward should have?!" Nowitzki complained, then immediately turned around to pursue the defense.
Sun Yi rushed straight into the penalty area, and after physical confrontation with Marion who retreated to the basket, he threw the ball behind his head.
Randolph, who followed up, received the pass, jumped up hard, and dunked the ball into the basket with both hands.
At the same time, Haywood, who had just reached the free throw line, shook his head helplessly. The Warriors' running and gunning was too torturous for the big center.
Kidd came to the baseline to receive the serve, and dribbled the ball forward in a leisurely manner, giving his teammates time to run to the frontcourt and get into position.
In this round, the Mavericks used a double-cover tactic. Terry stepped out of the three-point line, received a pass from Kidd, and hit a three-pointer.
Immediately afterwards, Curry used Sun Yi's screen to hit a three-pointer and responded with a goal.
In the subsequent games, both sides showed their talents and took the lead alternately, with no one taking advantage.
After the first quarter, the score on the big screen was 22 to 24, with the Mavericks leading by 2 points.
Not long after, the inter-section break ended and the second quarter began.
During the second quarter rotation, the Mavericks were no match for the Warriors.
Barea and Caron Butler did not use their strong scoring abilities, but instead exposed their poor defense.
The Warriors seized the opportunity and, under the leadership of Sun Yi, overtook the score in one fell swoop.
On the Mavericks bench, Carlisle saw this situation and immediately made substitution adjustments, replacing Kidd, Nowitzki and others on the court to stabilize the situation.
After the substitutions and adjustments, the effect was good. Nowitzki hit mid-range jumpers one after another to stabilize the situation on the court.
Seeing this situation, Nelson sat firmly on the Diaoyutai and did not rush to make substitutions.
On the court, Sun Yi hit the basket and caused Nowitzki's foul, and got two free throws.
Under the boos of the fans in the audience, Sun Yi stood on the free throw line, took the basketball from the referee, and made two free throws without being affected by the outside world.
In the next few rounds, the shooting percentages of both sides dropped, and the baskets were banging.
When the game lasted about 5 minutes in the second quarter, Nelson gradually replaced Curry and other main players.
Curry, who was full of energy, ran all over the court as soon as he came on the court, launching a run and gun attack.
As a veteran, Kidd didn't have much gas in the tank. In addition, he played for a long time without rest, and his physical strength was running low.
In this case, he simply cannot keep up with Curry's speed.
After the elementary school student got rid of Kidd through his movement, he received a pass from Sun Yi and hit an open three-pointer.
Immediately afterwards, the Mavericks made a pass error and was intercepted by Sun Yi.
The Warriors launched a defensive counterattack, and Maggette took the lead and rushed into the penalty area. After receiving the pass, he easily made a layup.
Seeing that the score was about to be stretched, the Mavericks began to attack around Terry.
But things didn't go as planned. Terry's touch was not good in this game, and he failed to make several shots that he was sure of before.
The Warriors took advantage of the Mavericks' offense to be paralyzed and used the "elevator door" tactic, allowing Curry, Ellis and others to hit three-pointers from the outside one after another, further widening the point difference.
The Mavericks made quick adjustments, and Nowitzki hit consecutive turnaround jumpers to stabilize the situation on the court.
At the end of the half, the score was 56 to 46, and the Warriors led by 10 points entering the second half.
After a short 15-minute intermission, the second half of the game began.
As soon as he came up, Nowitzki made a sudden shot from outside the three-point line and hit a three-pointer, narrowing the point difference to single digits.
The Warriors responded quickly. Sun Yi ran away from Nowitzki's defense, rushed into the penalty area, received Curry's alley-oop pass, and dunked the ball into the basket with one hand.
Immediately afterwards, the Warriors opened up the penalty area and created breakthrough conditions for Curry and Ellis. The effect was very good, once again widening the point difference.
The Mavericks wanted to chase points, but the outside three-pointers were not strong and they hit the ball one after another. At the same time, Nowitzki made consecutive mistakes when Sun Yi cut the ball, missing the opportunity to chase points.
The Warriors launched a quick counterattack and scored consecutively in the transitional attack phase to continue to widen the point difference.
At the end of the third quarter, the Warriors had opened the point difference to more than 20 points.
Not long after, the fourth quarter started.
Maybe being too far ahead made the Warriors players relax their vigilance and start shooting wildly.
Nowitzki and Terry felt better and took this opportunity to quickly catch up with the score.
Nelson saw the situation on the court and immediately requested a timeout.
After the Warriors players returned to the bench, Nelson severely criticized some players and issued a deafening warning.
After returning from the timeout, the Warriors played steadily and did not continue to make waves, steadily controlling the rhythm of the game on the court.
The Mavericks fought back time and time again, but were suppressed by the Warriors.
As the piercing buzzer sounded, the game came to an end.
In the end, the Warriors defeated the Mavericks 115-101.
In terms of statistics, Curry won the honor of the best player of the game.
In the 40 minutes he played, he made 7 of 12 three-pointers and scored 31 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.
Sun Yi devoted all his energy to defending Nowitzki and organizing offense, and his statistics were mediocre.
In the 42 minutes he played, he scored 15 points, 8 rebounds, 14 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks.
In addition, three Warriors players scored in double figures.
Ellis scored 23 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal; Maggette scored 10 points and 5 rebounds; Morrow scored 12 points and 2 assists.
For the Mavericks, the most outstanding player is Nowitzki.
In the 42 minutes he played, he scored 22 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal.
King Nuo's data seems to be very good, but his true shooting percentage is only 37.5%. This is a high number of shots in exchange for points.
After the game, the Mavericks players walked back to the locker room extremely frustrated.
The Warriors players put their arms around each other and walked toward the locker room with laughter.
It can be seen that the mentality of the two teams is completely different at this time.
After this game, the Warriors returned to Oakland with a total score of 2-0.
For the Mavericks, they have reached the edge of the cliff. They are only one step away from falling into the abyss. The next game will be a last-ditch battle!
