"Why? I just want to go home, that's all. ”

This sentence that Anjie answered in a press conference a few days ago became the reason for Portland fans to cheer wildly today. In their hearts, Portland and the Moda Center are Anjie's home.

The sign with the words "Welcome home!" is being shaken in the hands of countless fans at the moment. They are all ecstatic about Anjie's return, and most importantly, at this moment, Anjie has a good chance of bringing a victory to the fans at home!

Westbrook squinted, a drop of sweat slid into his eyelids. This guy is already too tired, and Pioneer and An Jie are like pressing on themselves, making him breathless.

By the time he wiped the sweat from his eyes with his hands, Lee had already possessed the ball and advanced through the half. Westbrook had to take a deep breath and continue to push forward.

"The pace of the Trail Blazers is too fast! Coach Donovan and his players would never have imagined that Coach Rickard would actually get the Trail Blazers up to speed! But it's clear that the Thunder players are being put to the test. The pressure on the Trail Blazers when they get up to the tempo is unimaginably huge!" Jeff Van Gundy knows the Thunder and Westbrook in particular.

Whether this guy's chest rises and falls is normal, it can't escape Riccard's eyes.

The guy with less and less hair and glasses knows that if even Westbrook is starting to catch his breath, then there are few more physical guys on the Thunder lineup.

Look at Carmelo Anthony, he's been on the bench for a long time, but he's still tired. The pressure of falling behind 3-1 has already overwhelmed the Thunder, and now Ricard continues to suppress it with an oppressive fast-paced offense, which has given the Thunder a psychological and physical double blow.

Westbrook had just put it up when Contney Lee passed the ball. The ball raced into Iguodala's hands.

This time, Iguodala didn't have a "slow" handicap in his hands. Instead, he touched the ball with one hand and immediately moved the ball back to the inside.

After Morris received the basketball, the Thunder team had already moved most of the circle with the basketball. Morris wasn't the finishing point, though, as he leaned back with the ball and then passed it out again.

George, who had been looking for an opportunity, took advantage of Anjie's beautiful pick-and-roll to receive a basketball in the middle range, and it was an open shot that everyone thought George would shoot, even Andre Robertson, who was named to the All-Defensive Second Team last year.

Robertson was tired enough after bypassing Anjie's pick-and-roll, but he still resisted the feeling of exhaustion and jumped violently, hoping to interfere with George's shooting as much as possible.

However, George withdrew the basketball after Robertson got up and immediately broke through, just now George just made a fake shot!

By the time George broke through, the Thunder had no strength left to chase back. George added two more points to the Trail Blazers with a mediocre layup, why did he choose a layup? Because George also has to conserve energy now, and the extra dunk will only make him more tired.

If even the Trail Blazers who dominate the game are tired, the Thunder are even more so. Although there are still more than three minutes left before the end of Game 5 between the two sides, the Thunder are only five points behind. But Rickard knew from the situation on the court that he and the Trail Blazers had one foot in the circle of the Western Conference Finals!

The game was so anxious to the last moment, saying that the game was anxious, it was because the difference between the two sides was not too big. But in fact, anyone with a discerning eye can see that the Trail Blazers have firmly controlled the rhythm from beginning to end, and the Thunder will not get the slightest chance at all.

How eager An Jie is to win the championship, how much energy he bursts out on the field. Although Anjie didn't score as high as forty or fifty today, his positive performance on the defensive end did make it very difficult for the Thunder to attack.

Westbrook, who has been cornered, has been faced with this five-point difference that has been pressing on him for a long time, and he has never known how to surpass.

Three-point shot, in the case of few time to turn the tide, Westbrook must rely on three-point shot!

The guy glanced at Anthony and pretended to want to get back on the court, but suddenly broke through with the ball, and Napier, who had returned to the court in place of Contney Lee, moved sideways in time, but he found that even so, he still couldn't stop Westbrook from crushing the basket.

Angel tensed his nerves, and if Westbrook did get in, he would only be able to make a clean defense. Because if it is fouled, it will have a good chance to give Westbrook a chance to hit a three-pointer.

Facing his former good brother, An Jie opened his arms. He pushed away Adams, who was trying to stand in his way, and was ready for a decisive battle with Westbrook!

Westbrook is like a cruise missile, "whoosh" into the restricted area! He jumped suddenly, and this terrifying momentum should be replaced by someone else's defense, and he may have consciously dodged away!

But Anjie won't, he has to stop this offense, he has to protect the basket in the center of Moda. At this moment, Anjie seemed to go back to ten years ago, to the night when he first met Westbrook......

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Westbrook jumped, and everyone in the box followed suit, and the scene was chaotic. A couple of jumping Whirlwind players put Westbrook in the middle, so no one knew what was going on with him in the middle of the defense.

The seemingly dense defense was the same in Westbrook's eyes, and the gaps that should have been filled were still not filled, and he could easily score the ball as long as he carefully dodged these outstretched arms.

While the Whirlwinds' defenders began to fall from the air, Westbrook was still rising, and now it was clear that the basket was ready to let the ball into his arms.

"Smack!" Westerbrook's basketball was suddenly slapped away from diagonally behind, and the ball hit the rebound hard and bounced out. Westbrook glanced at it in surprise, and An Jie's palm was indeed there!

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"Smack!" The crisp voice sounded again, and Westbrook fixed his eyes to see that the opponents in front of him were not Whirlwind players. And the one on his body no longer represents UCLA.

The scene that just happened was almost exactly the same as what happened when Westbrook and Anjie first came into contact, so much so that Westbrook and Anjie thought they had traveled back ten years.

Now that crisp sound woke Westbrook up, he knew that he was not in the memory, he was still in reality! He had just been blocked by Anjie again! Moreover, in almost the same way as ten years ago!

Compared to back then, this is no longer a painless closure. Westbrook knew he wasn't dreaming, but was actually in the NBA Western Conference Semifinals. The Thunder team and their hopes of victory have been completely shattered by An Jie's palm!

"Beautiful blocks! Ann's control of the restricted area is absolutely unique in history! His control of the timing of the block and his superb positioning allow him not to miss a chance to give his opponent a big risk! Westbrook's layup failed! Oklahoma City Thunder, failed!"

Westbrook landed in disarray, then quickly turned and chased back. However, he couldn't catch up with anything, couldn't catch up with George, who counterattacked with the ball, and couldn't catch up with Anthony, who was defending with all his might. Can't catch up...... I can't catch up with the few seconds that make the difference.

"Bang!" came with a loud bang, and Westbrook knew that Paul George had made a beautiful counterattack. At that moment, Westbrook suddenly gave up his legs and sat down on the ground.

Seeing this, Coach Donovan immediately called a timeout. Seven minutes apart, with only 21 seconds left, the last timeout was used. He knew that this meant that the first season of Anthony and Westbrook together was over.

"It's over! Although the game is not over yet, the whole series is over early! Look at the stands at the Moda Center, look at the bench of the Trail Blazers. The entire Moda Center has turned into a sea of dark red with joy!" shouted Mike Brin as the camera turned to Westbrook.

This guy has a towel on his head buried deeply, so that you can't see the expression of this strong man. Anthony put his arm on Westbrook's shoulder and whispered something in Westbrook's ear at the same time. Perhaps, I want to comfort this team leader who is much younger than me.

Donovan and Rickard both fielded second teams after the timeout, but all eyes are on the sidelines for now.

At this time, I saw An Jie suddenly get up and walk straight towards the bench of the Thunder team. Under the stunned gaze of the Thunder players, Anjie crouched in front of Westbrook, who had his head buried.

"We see! Ann is in front of Westbrook right now! We all know that these two guys are very close in private. Knocking Westbrook out of the tournament may be the worst way for Ann to advance!" Even the commentators shifted the focus of the commentary from the field to the court.

Anjie didn't speak, just reached out and pulled Westbrook's head over and leaned it on his shoulder. The towel on Westbrook's head fell to the hardwood floor, and the moment he was hugged by Anjie, Westbrook's tears couldn't stop flowing......

Ten years ago, the teenager was in high spirits and made a splash at the March Madness Tournament.

Ten years ago, with the pride of an Angelenos man, he defeated that little-known dark horse team against that impressive yellow-skinned big man.

Ten years ago, Anjie was surrounded by UCLA players in white jerseys celebrating wildly. The Whirlwind team in red jerseys was out of step with that sea of joy.

"What a blessing. Ten years ago, Anjie looked at Westbrook who had won the victory, and his heart was full of envy.

Who would have thought that ten years later, everything would be turned upside down. Westbrook and Anjie hugged each other tightly, this damn guy had shattered his dreams again, but Westbrook really loved this damn guy...... He is the only one who can understand his current mood.

"I know how it feels, Russell. But we can't be crushed by this feeling, we have to stand up!" Anjie whispered in Westbrook's ear.

Westbrook stopped his convulsions and wiped his tears.

The strong zero defender suddenly stood up, and he realized that the game had long since ended.

"I'll be back standing here, Ann! Come on, man, don't lose my championship!" Westbrook said, hammering Angel's chest before turning and walking towards the players' tunnel.

An Jie's nose was a little sour, obviously he won, why was he a little sad?

It is only in Hans Christian Andersen's story that there is a perfect ending. While the world of competitive sports is full of winners, there are also countless good losers.

Westbrook and Anjie may become the two most talked-about friends and foes in NBA history. But that's all for later......