NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 492 The team makes it to the finals for the first time in history

Even before the game started, attentive fans at Staples Center could already sense a winning atmosphere. Regardless of the outcome, all the elements of a Western Conference Finals championship coronation ceremony had been gathered.

As the Clippers players entered the court, every single one of them had a fighting spirit in their eyes, a desire for victory. This fighting spirit was contagious, and eventually the whole team reached a consensus.

The starting lineups for both sides have been announced, and neither side has made any changes.

At this stage of the series, there are no secrets between the teams. It's no exaggeration to say that even if the Clippers lose this game, they are unlikely to change their lineup for Game 6. The deeper the series goes, the fewer players can contribute. The shrinking bench isn't due to injuries, but rather because as the series progresses, certain rotation players are targeted and unable to play.

The Warriors players didn't look relaxed, and head coach Steve Kerr's brow was furrowed; he lacked his usual confident demeanor. They had clearly sensed the approaching danger. Winning this game would be extremely difficult, but if they lost, their title defense this season would be over.

When the opportunity to defend a title is presented to you, no one can resist the temptation. Winning consecutive championships is incredibly satisfying, but a three-peat signifies the establishment of a dynasty. Even a powerhouse like the Spurs has never won consecutive championships. In the NBA, winning consecutive championships is very difficult, and a three-peat is even more challenging.

The match has finally begun!

The Warriors launched a fierce attack right from the start. Green hit a three-pointer when left wide open by Jia Fei, and he kept trash-talking and provoking his opponent. Durant's one-on-one mid-range shot, Curry's unreasonable three-pointer, Klay's three-pointer, and even Iguodala hit a difficult layup...

To everyone's surprise, the Warriors came out firing on all cylinders and put on an amazing offensive performance even when the Clippers' defense wasn't out of position.

However, on the Clippers' side, Paul George missed a jump shot and committed a turnover, Gallinari missed an open three-pointer, Beverley missed a shot, and Dillon missed a shot!

With a 12-0 lead, the Warriors had a dream start, and the Clippers used a timeout first.

The players seemed a bit nervous, and the support from the fans in the arena actually put pressure on the Clippers players. Meanwhile, their opponents, facing elimination and going all in, put on an excellent offensive performance.

After the timeout, Jia Fei repeatedly scored with mid-range shots, breaking the team's offensive drought and narrowing the score gap as much as possible. The reason he didn't drive into the paint to score was that the opponent's defense had narrowed after their outside shooting faltered, and if he did break through, he would definitely be double-teamed.

The mid-range shot is a weapon of choice and an essential skill for any super scorer. While adopting a more "Moreyball" style of play in the regular season is a good idea, the mid-range shot remains a crucial offensive weapon in the playoffs. It can not only kill the game in critical moments but also steadily score points in regulation time.

Jia Fei's consecutive points stabilized the situation and eased the Clippers players' impatience. The Warriors still dared not double-team him easily; although the opposing players were inaccurate at the start, their five-outside lineup posed a significant shooting threat, and allowing them wide-open shots was not a good option.

In the first quarter, the Clippers struggled with their shooting while the Warriors had a hot hand, resulting in a 32-23 deficit for the Clippers, who trailed by 9 points.

Jia Fei scored 19 of the team's 23 points, single-handedly preventing the game from becoming a blowout.

Jia Fei wasn't in a hurry, nor did he believe the game was already decided. He felt that as long as he played solid defense, his opponent's incredible shooting touch couldn't last until the end of the game. Once his opponent's shooting cooled off, the opportunity would arise. The key was to ensure that when that moment came, the score was still within reach. Otherwise, it would be too late.

But if their opponent can maintain an explosive shooting streak throughout the entire game, then Jia Fei feels he should accept the loss. That's the nature of competition, that's the nature of sports, and sports inevitably involve such unpredictable events. But even with these unpredictable events, they haven't lost hope of winning the series. Could their opponent really rely on this kind of explosive performance to win three games in a row? He doesn't believe that possibility exists. If it does, then losing is simply fate. How can one defy destiny?

In the second quarter, the Clippers' shooting touch still hadn't returned, while the Warriors' shooting touch had dipped, but their offensive efficiency remained high.

At halftime, the score was 61-50, a difference of 11 points.

Jia Fei scored 32 points in the first half, breaking his own NBA playoff record for points in a half. Even so, they were still down by 11 points. Unexpectedly, in such a game, he brought out his strongest scoring potential.

The third quarter became the real turning point of the game!

In the third quarter, the Warriors' shooting finally cooled off. Meanwhile, the Clippers, thanks to Jia Fei's unstoppable isolation plays, narrowed the gap, at one point trailing by only 4 points.

At this crucial moment, Kerr called a timeout. After the timeout, he adjusted his defensive strategy, choosing to double-team Jia Fei.

While double-teaming Jia Fei, he passed the ball to an open teammate, and at that moment, the other Clippers players started hitting long-range shots.

The score was quickly caught up and then taken the lead. The Clippers players' confidence began to return, and their morale was soaring!

At this point, the Warriors' attempt to limit the others instead of double-teaming Jia Fei was futile...

Even though Durant and Curry are truly formidable and managed to score points and stabilize the situation through their individual abilities, the Clippers' offense has completely taken off.

If you defend Jia Fei one-on-one, he's unstoppable and can score; if you double-team him, the others will score. It's a very simple principle—choose one of two poisons.

Many people dislike making these kinds of choices, but sometimes you have to, and there's no other way.

Now, they can't stop Jia Fei one-on-one, and even without double-teaming, he's starting to score. The Clippers' offense has really taken off.

In the final quarter, the Warriors' offense began to falter, failing to establish a cohesive system whenever Curry and Durant scored, while the rest of the team was effectively shut down. Meanwhile, the Clippers' overall offense clicked, and Jia Fei found himself unable to contribute offensively on his own.

With a score of 108-114, the Clippers narrowly defeated the Warriors at home in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, sweeping the Warriors 4-1 in the series and advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history!

When the final buzzer sounded, the Clippers players on the bench rushed onto the court, and confetti rained down from the Staples Center, giving the illusion that the Clippers had won the championship.

This feeling was especially strong for Lakers fans in the arena; despite only being a division champion, it felt like they were going to be NBA champions.

But this atmosphere is truly contagious; even Lakers fans couldn't help but get excited, and the arena was absolutely boiling over!

Keep in mind, this is the Clippers' first division title in franchise history!