roccoschili Chapter 854 Someone is absent
Chapter 854 Someone is absent
Madison Square Garden Arena.
In the Golden State Warriors' locker room, the game was about to officially start, but the Warriors still did not appear.
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson both stood there in silence. Players such as Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston were also silent. Everyone's expressions were the same.
The only person sitting down at the scene was Kevin Durant.
He was sitting in front of his locker, still wearing his favorite black suit, unlike the other Warriors players.
Head coach Steve Kerr stood there and hesitated for a while before he said to Durant, "Kevin, have you thought about it? Are you really sure you won't play?"
Durant raised his head and glanced around the locker room. Although he saw anticipation in the eyes of others, he still replied, "Yes. Coach Steve, I'm sure I won't play."
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of everyone present changed.
Before Coach Kerr could answer, Draymond Green, who had long lost his patience, jumped out. He pointed at Durant and asked, "Kevin, what on earth do you want to do?"
"Why are you taking this decision now? Man, this is no joke! We are all waiting for you now..."
Durant didn't like Green to begin with. When he heard Green being so aggressive, Durant responded quickly.
"Draymond, don't accuse me like this! Do you think I don't want to play? But I can't! My doctor told me that the condition of my ankle injury is not optimistic now. If I force the game, it will probably affect my health." My career...I wouldn't dare bet on it..."
"Please! It's just a possibility. Which of our players here has never fought with injuries? What's so scary about this?"
Green was not comforted by Durant's words, but showed disapproval, "Your ankle injury is definitely not that serious, it's just that you think too much... Sometimes the doctor's words can't be fully believed... ..."
Durant was angry.
"Shut up!"
"How dare you say such a thing?"
"If you were the one who suffered the injury this time, would you still think so?"
Draymond wanted to argue, but was stopped by head coach Cole. He turned to look at Durant, stretched out his hand and patted his shoulder, "Kevin, I understand your choice. In this case, you can rest here!"
"Guys, let's go! The game is about to start! We have to enter right away..."
Coach Cole took the lead and walked out of the locker room.
Green didn't hesitate when he saw this. He snorted at Durant and walked out of the locker room for the second time.
Other players started to leave.
When it was Curry and Thompson's turn, they both came up and patted Durant on the shoulder to express comfort. They had no intention of urging Durant, they just told him to stay here.
"Come on for us, Kevin!"
"Waiting in the locker room for us to return victoriously!"
After saying that, Curry and Thompson walked out of the locker room without looking back. After they left, Durant, who was sitting in the locker room, couldn't help but sigh heavily.
It's not that he doesn't want to fight, it's just that the doctor suggested that he take a temporary truce. He didn't say it before and didn't know how to explain it. After all, the team has come here, but now he can't play. How many others can accept this?
But the pain from his ankle still dispelled Durant's last fantasy. Before the game, he told his teammates the news.
The Warriors had previously been speculating on whether he could play, and the media was also following up on the matter. Many outsiders have analyzed that Durant will definitely be able to play, and his ankle injury will never affect the finals.
Many teammates also firmly believe this and feel that a super core like Durant will definitely not miss the game.
But now that he is here, he still can't fight!
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the team that came to New York to participate in the finals today. They are the Warriors from Oakland..."
"The first person to appear is Stephen Curry. He is the league's top defender. He has won two regular season MVP honors and also won the FMVP in the finals..."
Following the host's introduction, the fans in the arena quickly turned their attention to the Warriors players.
The introduced players also appeared one by one and came under the spotlight amidst the applause of the fans.
However, following the host's introduction, the Knicks players quickly discovered a situation, that is, Durant was not in the team's lineup.
"Zhao, did you see it? Kevin doesn't seem to be here! Isn't he going to play in this game?"
The speaker was Raven.
He stood with Zhao Feiyang, watching the situation on the opposing team's bench. When he discovered this problem, he immediately asked Zhao Feiyang.
Zhao Feiyang watched carefully for a while, but he didn't find Durant until all the Warriors players ran out. Now he was a little surprised.
"Fuck!"
"It seems like he really didn't come!"
"If Kevin doesn't play, the Warriors will have a lot of trouble! That guy is just a cheater..."
The players' discovery has greatly boosted the morale of the Knicks. Although the Warriors' current lineup is still strong, the gap between having a superstar and not having one is still relatively obvious.
Fans at the scene also quickly discovered this incident, and fans watching the live broadcast of the finals on the Internet became even more heated.
"What happened? Durant didn't come?"
"Did he not play or will he not play? Will he come out later? Or will he stop playing at all?"
"It looks like 80% of the time he won't come! Haven't there been reports before? Durant's ankle injury is not serious. He shouldn't play with the injury, right? If he doesn't win the championship, his injury will still be there by then. Seriously...could it be possible that the Warriors can still protect him?"
beep.
The timer sound for the start of the live game will sound.
Players from both sides take to the court.
The Knicks still have their old lineup, with the trio of Zhao Feiyang and Porzingis. The only difference this time is that DeMarcus Cousins replaces DeAndre Jordan in the starting lineup.
The Warriors' lineup has not changed much. The first and second positions are given to the "Splash Brothers", the third position is given to Andre Iguodala, and the fourth and fifth positions are assigned to Jordan Bell and Green. Responsible.
The referee walked to the middle of the court.
Snapped.
After throwing the ball into the air, Porzingis jumped up first and swatted away the basketball.
The basketball bounced into LaVine's hands, and LaVine quickly advanced with the ball. He rushed all the way to the outside of the opponent's penalty area. Seeing that Green was about to fill in, LaVine faced the opponent with a throw.
Unfortunately, it was just a little bit worse. The ball thrown by LaVine hit the basket and bounced out.
Porzingis picked up the rebound. He did not force the shot, but gave it to Zhao Feiyang in the left corner.
After receiving the basketball, Zhao Feiyang raised his hand decisively.
He faced Curry's interference and threw a three-pointer.
Swish.
The ball went in.
The basketball fell steadily into the basket.
It was the Warriors' turn to fight back.
Curry brought the ball across half court, and Zhao Feiyang stepped up to interfere. Curry did not choose to play in isolation and transferred the ball to Iguodala on the wing. Iguodala faced Adrian head-on.
The two met each other, and Iguodala suddenly shook away the ball and rushed into the basket.
He moved very quickly, but at the moment he was about to throw the basketball, Adrian magically appeared on his wing.
Snapped.
Iguodala did not dare to force a shot, and made a long pass to Thompson in the left corner.
After receiving the basketball, Thompson decisively raised the basketball and shot.
boom.
The basketball bounced out of the basket.
Green wanted to go up and compete for the rebound, but Cousins blocked him and refused to give him a chance. Porzingis took advantage of this and swooped in to seize the ball.
After getting the ball, he threw a long pass.
Zhao Feiyang, who was standing outside the three-point line, received the ball smoothly. Before Curry could catch up, Zhao Feiyang accelerated and dribbled the ball toward the half court.
He and Curry came to the basket one after another. Curry wanted to catch up and interfere, but Zhao Feiyang didn't give him a chance. He jumped up decisively and dunked the ball into the basket in mid-air.
boom.
The ball went in.
The Knicks launched a 4-0 offensive.
The rest of the first quarter was extremely impressive for the Knicks.
Both inside and outside played an important role, especially Cousins. In the confrontation with Green, he interfered with the opponent many times and even caused two fouls by the opponent, causing head coach Cole to not play in the first quarter. After that, replace Green and calm down.
Zhao Feiyang also assisted his teammates many times. He provided 3 assists to LaVine and 4 assists to Porzingis.
The team's passing style makes the team's passing and receiving coordination smoother.
On the other hand, the Warriors' team's morale has been low since Durant was gone. As the core, Curry also failed to perform in the first quarter.
He made 6 of 1 three-pointers, and his shooting percentage was simply too low for the Warriors to accept.
In the later period, Curry tried to increase the number of breakthroughs and reduce outside shots. However, as soon as he got inside, Cousins or Porzingis quickly stepped in to fill in. Among them, Cousins even accidentally gave Curry a big shot. It directly caused the New York fans in the audience to cheer wildly.
Curry was out of form, and Thompson's touch wasn't very good either. He was stuck tightly to LaVine and didn't find much space to shoot from the beginning to the end.
Iguodala on the wing even stretched his hips.
Not only did he hit the "three no-sticks" that he shouldn't have, but Adrian's close defense when facing him made him very uncomfortable. By the time one quarter was over, Iguodala only scored 4 points.
This kind of performance is really unsatisfactory.
call out.
The referee whistle sounded.
After the first quarter, players from both teams walked off the court.
The score on the electronic scoreboard showed 34 to 25, and the Knicks actually led the Warriors by as many as 9 points.
The players' poor state also made coach Cole very dissatisfied. After they came off the field, coach Cole rarely got angry in front of the team.