The Clippers finally won Game 1 and took a solid first step on the road to the Finals.

Li Liang scored 42 points in the game, shooting 10 of 10 from two-point shots, 5 of 5 from three-point range, and 7 of 7 from the free throw line!

All the shots were hit, creating a 100% miracle!

It's reminiscent of Yao's performance in the 2009 playoffs, when he scored 24 points on 9-of-9 shooting and 6-of-6 free throws in the first game against the Trail Blazers.

And this time Li Liang was in the Western Conference Finals, facing a powerful Spurs.

The Trail Blazers were too confident in defending Yao Ming in the first game, thinking that they could defend it one-on-one with Potzbilla, but they were taught a hard lesson.

However, the Spurs targeted Li Liang all over the court, and then pinched and defended from beginning to end, but the result still made Li Liang play with amazing efficiency.

At the post-match press conference, Popovich faced an interview with reporters and did not speak for a long time, and he was sorting out his words.

After being silent for a long time, he said: "We are very well prepared for this time, but the opponent is playing well......

Then Popovich didn't know how to continue.

He lowered his voice and pinched his nose, "I can only pray that he doesn't feel so good in the next fight." ”

After Popovich finished speaking, the reporters laughed.

They all know who Popovich is talking about.

Probably everyone would think that Li Liang faced such a targeted defense in the first game just because he felt good.

Hehe, that's right, he just feels good!

But Li Liang himself didn't say that in an interview with reporters, he was pulled by Rivers to participate in the post-game press conference.

When asked why he was able to maintain a 100% shooting rate, Li Liang replied: "Oh, I did a lot of preparation before the game, I studied the Spurs' defense carefully, and I played very calmly during the game, my teammates gave me enough support, and the coach made very good arrangements. It's a team win, and behind every choice I make, it's the team's credit. ”

But Li Liang thought in his heart, "Fortunately, tonight's hand feeling exploded, five hand feel runes, a few Kassel smiles, and the hand training before the game was not in vain~"

Because he had a long break before the start of the game against the Spurs, Li Liang used this time to practice his hand in the system non-stop, focusing on three-point shots and mid-to-close-range pull-up jumpers, and adjusted his condition to the best before the first game.

As for the team, preparation, and tactics, he just talked about it casually.

People must be humble, this is the traditional virtue of the Chinese nation.

After winning this game, Li Liang was naturally complacent, and the domestic and foreign media were touted after the game.

What kind of 100% miracles, Chamberlain's reappearance, inheriting Yao Ming's crown, drawing a clear line with Kobe, etc......

But Li Liang knows that if he wants to win, he can only be happy for one day.

Only one game was played in the series, and against the Spurs, Li Liang was ready for seven big games.

And the performance of the Spurs this time was actually very strong, when Li Liang broke out and shot without conceding a goal, he lost suspense and gave up resistance in the last five minutes of the final quarter.

During the game, Li Liang was even more cautious, very calm from beginning to end, every shot was calculated, and he played a relatively perfect match with his teammates before defeating the Spurs.

And this kind of 100% perfection does not happen every game.

Li Liang and the Clippers must be ready to fight the Spurs.

……

The first battle in the West was decided by the winner, and the Eastern Conference Finals kicked off the second day.

The Miami Heat host the Brooklyn Nets.

The Nets swept the Heat in the regular season, winning all four games.

This gives the Nets' veterans plenty of confidence to face the dominance of the East over the past three years.

But James and his Heat proved that the regular season and the playoffs are really completely different games.

The first battle between the two sides took place at the American Airlines Center in Miami.

As a result, the Heat beat the Nets 110-90 at home, with a 20-point advantage.

James had 22 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds, scored a triple-double, and led the Heat to a big lead in only three quarters, making the game lose suspense.

Sure enough, the regular season is all fake, and the playoffs are the time for the real thing.

The Nets' second-round win over the Pacers was a big surprise.

Although the morale of the veterans is high, Garnett is really not the Garnett of the past, and Pierce is not the Pierce of 08, but Ray Allen is still the same Ray Allen as before.

Ray Allen scored 19 points on 5-of-6 three-pointers and became the sharpest knife to tear the Nets apart.

And Pierce only scored 8 points in the whole game, and Garnett didn't score 1 point, hanging zero!

This has to make people feel that the years are ruthless, the former wolf king is old after all, he is not good at offense, and under the high-intensity defense of the playoffs, he can't even hit the mid-range jumper that he is good at.

After this first game, everyone knows that this year's Eastern Conference championship is in the Heat's bag again.

The decline in the strength of the east is really great, and the Pacers finally rose and collapsed inexplicably.

So much so that the Heat's Big Three couldn't meet any rivals in the Eastern Conference.

As can be seen from the ratings of the finals in the East and West, the ratings of the Eastern Conference finals are a big cut behind those in the West.

Now everyone is just concerned about the Western Spurs and Clippers and who will make it to the Finals.

While most people are bullish on the Clippers, especially after Game 1.

But Spurs responded quickly, and very firmly and strongly, giving everyone a resounding slap in the face.

On May 22, the second game between the Spurs and Clippers continued in Stamps.

With the lessons of the first game, the Spurs made careful pre-game preparations for this game and made major adjustments in tactics and strategy.

Popovich knew that the second battle could not be lost, so the 20-year old fox in the West once again sacrificed his ultimate killer - Tim Duncan.

That's right, even if Duncan is 38 this year, as long as he is still on the Spurs, he is the Spurs' number one trump card.

The Spurs opened the game with a retro "inside-out" style of play, allowing Duncan to eat Jordan Jr. in the low post.

Although Duncan can's weight and Li Liang can't be compared with his peak, when he is full of energy, his experience in the low post is still not comparable to Jordan Jr.

Duncan forced Jordan Jr. in the first quarter, shooting 4-of-5 and causing Jordan Jr.'s fouls twice, resulting in Jordan Jr.'s serious lack of playing time in the first quarter.

Popovich grabbed a shot on the Clippers' defense - they didn't have a good interior rim guard!

In addition to Jordan Jr., the Clippers' second-best player in protecting the basket turned out to be Li Liang!

As a last resort, Li Liang had no choice but to go to the center position from the second half of the first quarter.

This brings us back to the big problem with the Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs, which is that when Li Liang takes on too much responsibility on the defensive end, his role on the offensive end will be compromised.

The current situation in the NBA is that there is a lot of pressure on the inside line on the defensive end, and there is a heavy responsibility on the outside line on the offensive end.

The Spurs started the game with a very aggressive game, and after Duncan opened the inside, Leonard, Green and Ginobili who came off the bench began to take turns to charge the inside.

Consecutive screens, breaks, splits, screens, breaks, breaks, and breaks.

The Spurs' offense is like a roulette wheel, turning again and again, and moving again and again, always able to break through the Clippers' defense.

Li Liang's performance is still efficient and stable, but in terms of the situation, they have entered a headwind from the beginning and have always been pressed by the Spurs.

The Spurs, who grabbed the upper hand, did not give the Clippers a chance, and every time the Clippers chased about 5 points, the Spurs could give a counterattack on the offensive end.

Jordan Jr.'s importance to the Clippers in the playoffs is self-evident.

From playing the Mavericks in the first round to playing the Trail Blazers in the second round, Jordan Jr. is the foundation and guarantee of the Clippers' interior defense.

With Jordan Jr., the Clippers' basket protection and backcourt rebounds have basic guarantees.

Without Jordan Jr., the Clippers' defense will be greatly compromised.

No matter how powerful Li Liang is, he is a striker after all, and the center is not his job.

And the result of Li Liang going to the top of the three-second zone is to get into foul trouble.

Jordan Jr. and Li Liang both fouled three times in the first half, and the Clippers trailed the Spurs by seven points at halftime.

In the second half, the situation still did not improve.

Li Liang launched the most fierce counterattack in the third and fourth quarters, when the Spurs lineup rotated.

He used a three-point shooting percentage booster and hit four three-pointers in a row to tie the score to just one point.

As a result, the referee made a key blow penalty and ruled that Li Liang was fouled in the counterattack, and the overtaking emergency stop jump shot was blown away.

In turn, the Spurs used a counterattack to play a wave of 7:0 to reopen the difference.

The Clippers lost their best chance to turn the game around, and finally lost the second game 101-110, a nine-point gap, and the big score was chased by the Spurs to 1-1, and lost the home-court advantage.

At the end of the game, many people realized that Spurs were really tough.

Coaching staff such as Rivers and Mike Brown realized that Li Liang's unusual caution and careful preparation before the Western Conference Finals made sense.

Li Liang still scored 30 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in this game, but only had 4 assists.

Paul also scored 28 points, and the two combined for 58 points, but it didn't work.

Paul dished out just six assists, compared to 10 for the two combined.

The Spurs managed to turn the Clippers offense into a two-man turn for Paul Leliang on the defensive end, and the others didn't play as well as they did in the first game.

The Spurs themselves improved their offense, re-established their offensive direction, and the fluid positional offensive coordination was back.

Worse came two days later.

After a draw with the Spurs, the Clippers will next travel to San Antonio to face the Spurs on the road.

As a result, on May 25, the third game of the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs were at home.

As soon as the game started, the air conditioning at the AT&T center broke down......

In May, the weather is starting to heat up, and more than 20,000 people in the stadium are radiating heat.

The temperature soared throughout the AT&T center, and it was hard to stand up to the heat all of a sudden.

For the players, of course, they can still play the game if they are hot, but it is really uncomfortable to be covered in sweat!

The Clippers' players usually play and practice in Los Angeles, and the Clippers' training hall has just been built, which is the best training center in the league with luxurious facilities.

Staples Arena is also one of the best in the league.

The Western Conference Finals confrontation was already strong, but the environment changed so much all of a sudden, which made the whole Clippers team play into a state of abnormality.

And the Spurs played their most beautiful game of the playoffs in a sweltering environment with the power of the home court.

Ginobili shone on the offensive end, and the Spurs shot a terrifying 70% shooting percentage in the first half!

Li Liang had no choice but to open the [Golden Shield] and dragged the whole Clippers team to counterattack in the second half.

As a result, all kinds of props appeared on the stage, but they still couldn't withstand the spurs' ten thousand arrows.

In the fourth quarter, the Spurs slaughtered the Clippers with a 30-point advantage of 119-89.

The Clippers suffered their heaviest loss of the season.

And fell behind 1:2 in the big score, and the support and praise that Li Liang won 100% in the first game have long disappeared without a trace.