Chapter 224 Christmas Watching, Liu Yifei Sends Someone Away
After the game, the media gave extensive coverage to this Christmas battle.

The media was still very fair. They did not belittle or criticize the Warriors just because they lost, but instead gave the Warriors high praise.

Of course, the Cavaliers received higher evaluations, and several media outlets even considered the Cavaliers' three consecutive championships as a sure thing.

the reason is simple.

Although the game between the two teams was intense and close, the Cavaliers, with Wang Yan, were always able to deliver a fatal blow to their opponents at the last moment.

If it is a knockout match, the result is hard to predict.

But in the series, Wang Yan's superstar status will guarantee the Cavaliers' winning rate.

Wang Yan has become the number one player in the active league, without a doubt!

. . . .

The remaining Christmas game is between the Spurs and the Thunder.

These two teams can be considered rivals, representing the league's veteran powerhouses and emerging forces respectively.

Detonator really has something. He actually selected three MVP superstars and a DPOY-level defensive stalwart in just a few years.

However, they let Harden go for just $4 million.

Of course, if Harden doesn't leave, he won't get the MVP. But it's also a good thing for the fans, as they can see another superstar leading the team alone.

At 8:30 in the evening, the Spurs and Thunder started the game.

The main players of both sides appeared on the court.

The GDP of the Spurs and the three youngsters of the Thunder are at loggerheads.

In the first quarter, the Thunder, playing at home, had the advantage, and their powerful attacking power made the aging Spurs a little overwhelmed.

When Durant is fully energetic, he is indeed a powerful weapon.

Westbrook was at his peak this year, had no serious injuries, and his impact was amazing.

Although the Spurs started out with defense, they don't have many ways to deal with the Thunder's unreasonable attack waves.

Just like when we faced Kobe's unreasonable shooting before, there was not much we could do.

At the end of the first quarter, the score was 32:22, with the Thunder leading by 10 points.

Durant scored 14 points in the first quarter, Westbrook scored 6 points, but had 4 assists, and Ibaka had 1 block.

The Spurs looked old and frail, and seemed completely unable to fight back.

However, the Spurs have been able to remain competitive for many years thanks to their resilience.

The game is 48 minutes long.

So Popovich looked very relaxed on the sidelines and not in a hurry.

Not even the loud yelling he was famous for.

Sure enough, after both teams’ substitutes came on, the Spurs began to slowly catch up.

The Spurs' bench has always been strong, with Ginobili, Mills, Belinelli, Dio Joseph and other good players.

Since Wang Yan and the Splash Brothers popularized the three-point shot, Popovich quickly upgraded the team and signed several three-point shooters.

He also designed many three-point tactics for the team.

I remember that a few years ago, Popovich still scoffed at three-pointers.

He once publicly told the media that three-pointers are an offensive weapon for wimps and he hates three-pointers the most.

However, although he refused with his mouth, his body was very honest.

This season, the Spurs are already the fifth-most 3-point shooting team in the league.

So this season's Western Conference ranking is the Warriors first, the Lakers second, the Spurs and Lakers tied for second, and the Thunder third.

This shows that Popovich is not stubborn at all.

He even praised Wang Yan to the media many times, without sparing any words of praise.

Unfortunately, Wang Yan had no intention of leaving the Cavaliers, at least not before winning three consecutive championships.

Five minutes into the second quarter, the Spurs had narrowed the gap to four points.

The Thunder had to replace their main lineup again.

After the main players came up, the effect was quite obvious. Westbrook kept attacking the Spurs' defense, either making layups himself or passing the ball to Durant and Ibaka. However, the Spurs' offense has improved, and the offense of Duncan and Parker has improved in stability.

So even though the Thunder had a slight advantage, they couldn't widen the gap.

Thunder head coach Brooks certainly knows that if he wants to beat the Spurs, he must widen the score gap as much as possible.

If the score remained deadlocked until the fourth quarter, with the Spurs' experience and Duncan's toughness, it would be hard to say who would win or lose.

However, every time the Thunder scored, the Spurs would always slowly return a goal.

At the end of the first half, the score was 57:54, with the Thunder leading by only 3 points.

Although they were ahead in the score, the Thunder players all looked solemn.

They are old rivals and they know how terrifying the Spurs are in the second half.

Sure enough, at the beginning of the third quarter, Popovich suddenly changed the lineup, putting Ginobili and Mills in the starting lineup, while Danny Green and Parker sat down to rest.

In Popovich's lineup, there is no fixed starting lineup, and he is not afraid of offending players.

He will send whoever he thinks is suitable.

This change in formation had a good effect.

Although Ginobili and Mills are average on defense, they are very strong on offense.

Especially Mills' three-pointer, he was in hot form today and made three in the first half.

In the third quarter, Mills seemed to be assisted by God. He received passes from Duncan and Ginobili and made all the shots.

On the Thunder side, Durant suddenly went silent.

The Thunder can only rely on Westbrook's continuous breakthroughs to tear through the defense.

As a result, after three quarters, the Spurs led by 6 points.

Wang Yan had returned to the hotel at this time, but instead of sleeping, he sat on the sofa and watched the game between the Spurs and the Thunder.

In front of him, Liu Yifei was kneeling, helping Wang Yan to cool down.

Today is Christmas. Yifei came to the United States to celebrate the holiday with Wang Yan.

In fact, Wang Yan had no interest in such foreign festivals, but Liu Yifei was just looking for a reason to accompany him.

Thunder coach Brooks was really anxious. Before the start of the fourth quarter, he yelled at the players, hoping to inspire their fighting spirit.

In fact, the Thunder does not lack fighting spirit, but just lacks tactics.

Although the Thunder's offensive capabilities overflow, they only rely on the individual abilities of the two youngsters.

The cooperation between the two is limited to Westbrook's breakthrough pass, which is a simple style of play.

So it is easy to be restricted by the opponent.

At the critical moment, it all depends on Durant's physical strength and touch.

Especially when being double-teamed, Durant was in a state of embarrassment and helpless, and his shooting percentage dropped sharply.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, both teams played with substitutes and the Spurs widened the score again.

Brooks had no choice but to replace the main lineup in advance.

Durant was pretty good, he had not exhausted his energy and made a three-pointer right at the start.

But then, the Spurs immediately started to double-team Durant.

For Westbrook, use the big center Split to wait under the basket, and as long as he breaks in, block him.

This tactic was very successful for the Thunder.

Durant hardly scored any more points afterwards, and Westbrook also played very uncomfortably.

With more than three minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Spurs were leading by 3 points.

The tide is gone.

Wang Yan watched TV, sighed and shook his head slightly. He felt sorry for the Thunder's talents who did not meet a good coach.

He patted Liu Yifei on the head: "Okay, the game is over!"

As he spoke, Wang Yan picked up Liu Yifei by the waist and walked towards the bedroom...

(End of this chapter)