Chapter 65: The opponent is stuck in a tiebreaker in the second round, and the system rewards an act
Chapter 65: The opponent is stuck in a tiebreaker in the second round, and the system rewards an act
The final whistle blew.
The final score was 108-80.
The Golden State Warriors ended their first-round series with a nearly 30-point victory at home.
Successfully advanced to the Western Conference semifinals!
This series has been relatively friendly for both sides.
Throughout the six matches, there were no conflicts and no players were injured.
So after the match, both teams stayed on the field to hug and greet each other.
Curry and Mitchell exchanged jerseys and whispered to each other, probably Curry telling Mitchell something like "The future is yours".
Before we knew it, Curry, who has always been jokingly called "elementary school student" and "baby face," is already thirty-three years old, and it's time for him to inspire the younger generation.
A notification popped up in front of Li Xingchen's eyes that the system task was completed—his current task was to win a series, so it would be officially completed the moment the final whistle blew.
Unfortunately, he was in a crowded place, so he had to suppress his anticipation for the reward for the time being and wait until he was alone.
Logically speaking, the Jazz, as the top seed in the West, should be very frustrated and even devastated after being upset by the eighth seed.
But no, the Jazz's key players, including Mitchell and Gobert, seemed to accept this calmly, even as if it were the natural thing to do.
Perhaps it's because the team that upset them was the Golden State Warriors, who have Curry, that they felt it was only natural.
After the final salutations, a long post-match interview session followed.
Since the series was over, the media reporters certainly wouldn't miss this great opportunity and asked all their questions at once.
In front of the camera, Li Xingchen maintained her previous humble and low-key demeanor.
Even when asked about his powerful dunk over Gobert in the second half of the game, he simply smiled and brushed it off as "good luck".
Generally speaking, as long as the player isn't someone like Dillon who actively seeks out and provokes him, Li Xingchen will try his best to be kind.
On the other hand, Kerr, Curry, and others were also asked about their confidence in the upcoming second round of games.
"Next series? Oh right, I wonder who our Western Conference semifinals opponent will be? They have a game today, right?"
"Yes, they should be almost done playing by now."
"So what was the result? I remember Dallas won Game 5, so next we're going to face that amazing young Luca?"
"That's not true. I just glanced at it... Leonard was a god in today's game, scoring 45 points and successfully dragging the series into a Game 7!"
Upon hearing this news, the Warriors players, along with Kerr, all showed slight changes in expression.
This was fantastic news for them, but since they were at the interview site, they couldn't show it too obviously.
According to the playoff rules, the winner between the first and eighth seed in the Western Conference will face off against the winner between the fourth and fifth seed in the Western Conference in the second round.
It was the Los Angeles Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks.
Logically speaking, the two teams should be fairly evenly matched. For the Warriors, it doesn't really matter who they play against. If we have to choose one over the other, the Mavericks, led by superstar Luka Doncic, would be slightly easier to beat.
After all, they definitely lack playoff experience, and teams that rely on guards as their offensive core are precisely what the Warriors can counter. Keep in mind that the Warriors currently have more than one player who can guard guards.
As for why they were happy to hear that the Clippers had won and the series had been dragged into a Game 7, it had nothing to do with who won or lost. As long as the game was dragged into a Game 7, it was great news for them who had already advanced.
This means that his opponents in the second round, whether it's the Clippers or the Mavericks, will definitely have to fight one more game in the first round, giving him the opportunity to rest for a couple more days and be ready to go in the second round.
It's important to know that the schedule for the second half of the first round was very tight, with games basically every two days. In addition, the fifth game went the full time, and Kerr barely gave the starters any rest in the sixth game, so the Warriors' players were already exhausted.
At this time, the Clippers' decision to give them two more days of rest was undoubtedly a timely help.
At the same time, the intense Game 7 will definitely take a toll on their opponents, and the Warriors, who will be well-rested, will certainly have a higher chance of winning in the semifinals.
How could Kerr, Curry, and the others not be happy?
In NBA playoff history, of the five teams that have pulled off an upset in the eighth seed, only one made it to the Finals and finished as runner-up; the other four were eliminated in the second round.
This includes the Warriors' upset victory fourteen years ago.
This year, with such favorable timing, location, and support, the Warriors players—especially Curry who is under immense pressure—naturally want to go even further.
After the long interview, Curry invited all the Warriors players out for dinner, and head coach Kerr readily agreed.
Having a rare three-day break, everyone who had been working non-stop for a whole week naturally wanted to relax a bit.
However, Kerr also emphasized that they should not stay out too late and it would be best not to drink alcohol, so as not to affect their performance in the subsequent games.
Everyone knows this in their hearts. It's extremely rare for someone in the league to go to nightclubs and party every night during a game. At least there aren't any players on the Warriors team who are that desperate.
Since the series ended at home, everyone was quite comfortable. Draymond Green found a very famous restaurant in San Francisco, and everyone enjoyed a delicious meal together.
Because the match ended quite late, and with the long post-match interviews and dinners, Li Xingchen was exhausted when she got home and immediately went to sleep.
Anyway, the system's task rewards are just there, they won't be stolen.
From substitute to starter, from a rotation of over twenty minutes to a starting role of over thirty minutes, especially in the last two games of the series, he played almost the entire game.
In addition, there was that almost frantic shooting practice between the previous few games...
It's really tiring.
Li Xingchen also felt that it was time for her to take a good rest.
……
The next day, Li Xingchen slept until the sun was high in the sky and woke up naturally.
After stretching, he didn't pay attention to anything else for the time being and immediately opened his system task reward settlement interface.
"Task reward settlement is now open. You have three options:"
"First, upgrade the existing point control element 'must score 16 points in a single game' to 'must score 17 points in a single game'."
"Second, improve the existing scoring element 'must score 15 points in a single game' to 'must score 15 to 17 points in a single game'."
"Third, unlocking the ability to actively control the score for the first time: In a single game, you can choose any data point to 'control the score,' as follows..."
Li Xingchen's eyes widened as he looked at the last reward option.
His breathing gradually became rapid.
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There will be one update at 10 AM today, and I'm working on the other two updates, which will most likely be released at 6 PM!
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