Chapter 846: Chapter 278: He Is the Chosen One, and the Only One
Most of them watched because of the media hype, expecting to see a spectacular "scoring rivalry," which is why they stayed glued to their TVs.
But in the first quarter, it was completely Su Wan’s one-sided battle against Kevin Durant, who couldn’t even hit back.
Every time Su Wan scored, it was as if he was saying:
"Welcome to the Finals, Kevin Durant!"
Just as they started to feel bored and were about to turn off the TV, Kevin Durant finally found his form.
The scoring rivalry between the two continued until the end of the first half.
Kevin Durant scored 13 points in the second quarter alone, with 17 points in the first half.
That looked pretty impressive.
But there was still some gap compared to Su Wan’s 23 points in the first half.
This also showed how much Kevin Durant was suppressed by Su Wan in the first quarter.
"However, the good thing is Kevin Durant found his form. Now we can look forward to the two continuing their rivalry in the second half."
Kenny Smith believed that the "Glider" and Michael Jordan’s tragedy would not happen again.
Barkley had a different take, watching Kevin Durant disappear into the visitor’s tunnel, he turned to Kenny Smith and said:
"Buddy, did you notice that Kevin Durant looks tired?"
Kenny Smith could no longer see Durant, but after thinking back, it seemed like the shots of Kevin Durant shown by the camera all had him gasping for air.
This was rare for Kevin Durant in the past.
This was enough to show that Kevin Durant was very tired tonight!
"There’s another thing..." Shaquille O’Neal also didn’t think Kevin Durant could keep up with Su Wan in the second half, he said:
"During the time Kevin regained his form, it was mostly catch-and-shoot, which is a standard off-ball play style..."
"The New York Knicks can’t just let him catch the ball so easily..."
Shaquille O’Neal was right on point, because in the New York Knicks’ locker room, Mike Malone was emphasizing the defense against Kevin Durant:
"Don’t let him get to the tactical spots!"
"When defending closely, don’t leave gaps, don’t let him make moves so easily!"
"Everyone else, when the player you’re defending has the ball, make sure to cut off their connections!"
"In short, don’t give Kevin Durant easy opportunities to catch the ball, especially at those tactical spots!"
Mike Malone then emphasized this on the blackboard, reminding everyone to pay attention to these points.
Su Wan looked at the positions Mike Malone highlighted on the board, as if he wanted to engrave these spots in his mind.
He replayed it in his mind and found that most of the spots Mike Malone pointed out were Durant’s hot spots.
This meant that when Kevin Durant was active in those areas, he needed to stick closely!
Su Wan’s expression was very serious.
Even though the New York Knicks were leading by over 10 points now...
In this series of the finals, Su Wan didn’t just want to win in the end, he also wanted to... crush Kevin Durant!
Otherwise, people might think that Kevin Durant was already at the same level as him, just that his teammates weren’t good enough...
Moreover, the original Thunder Team also made it to the finals but lost 1-4 to the Miami Heat, being "gentlemanly swept."
This showed that the Thunder Team wasn’t too difficult to deal with.
Just like the Cavaliers who made it to the finals in 07, can you really say that Cavaliers team was strong?
So, winning the championship wasn’t Su Wan’s only goal in this series of the finals.
Since the media hyped Kevin Durant as a challenger to him, he had to show the world the gap between Kevin Durant and him...
The second half started quickly.
Kevin Durant, following his explosive second quarter, was visibly more confident.
Returning to the sidelines, he glanced at Scarlett, feeling even more motivated:
They can’t stop me, they can’t stop me!
Su Wan can’t stop me, and neither can the New York Knicks!
I just have to keep up this rhythm!
Kevin Durant was full of fighting spirit.
Right at the start of the third quarter, he successfully attacked the basket.
Watching the ball fly from his hand and find its way into the basket like it had eyes, Kevin Durant felt an explosion of confidence.
He enthusiastically defended against Su Wan, only to take an Iron Elbow and watched helplessly as Su Wan charged into the basket for a Slam Dunk.
Settled down...
He gestured to his teammates:
My bad, my bad!
Then on offense, he started moving actively, preparing to catch and shoot, trying to make up for his defensive mistake with scoring.
He believed he could do this.
Based on his 13 points in the second quarter of the first half!
Players like Kevin Durant all have the same confidence, that once they find their form, they believe whether they or their teammates make mistakes on defense, they can make up for it on offense.
Even manage to win the game through offense.
But this possession, like before, Kevin Durant attempted to shake off Su Wan with a series of "fake moves" and change of direction runs, but Su Wan seemed prepared for it, making contact ahead of time, forcefully stopping him.
Kevin Durant initially thought about pushing Su Wan and running in the opposite direction to break free.
But the moment he placed his hand on Su Wan’s shoulder, Su Wan used the blind spot of the referee’s vision to pull him back, leaving him with no space to run out this possession.