When pride still matters

Chapter 427 Let’s celebrate first

On the sixth game day of the Finals, not only did Key Arena in Seattle have a large influx of fans, making the arena full on non-home game days, but areas outside of Seattle also had enthusiastic enthusiasm for watching the game.

Kent, nineteen miles away from Seattle, is Yu Fei’s hometown. On game day, the TV is on in every house in Kent.

Olympia, the capital of Washington state where Seattle is located, arranged a nighttime legislative session in order to resolve important state matters before the end of the session. However, whatever those "businesses" were, they were not as important as the Sonics winning the championship, so the meeting was postponed for a few hours while the politicians watched the game live from their offices.

The atmosphere has been heightened to this point.

The stage is set.

The Sonics need to take that final step.

On this night in Boston, Celtics fans endured the suffering of a complete away defeat, but could not gain any confidence in the myth of a complete home victory.

Because there have been changes within the Celtics.

Even the most die-hard Bill Simmons believed that the Sonics played a "knife-dropping game" at home.

What is a falling knife?

It's the beheading knife.

The Celtics have problems of their own, and this problem cannot be offset by the home court advantage.

After the game started, just as they thought, the Celtics did not show the same fighting spirit and murderous spirit that they had always had at home.

What did Bostonians see at home?

A team that doesn’t know how to work together.

This is incredible.

As a team, the Celtics have played 108 games this season. They have been together longer than any team, and their tacit understanding should be the best.

But this is the Celtics after Game 5.

Reed has problems with his teammates. He is no longer the one who is willing to integrate into the Big Three and pretend to be a team player who is willing to contribute selflessly.

Reed wants to prove himself in front of Yu Fei.

As long as he can prove himself in the last two Finals, Seattle's embarrassing situation will be forgotten.

That's what he thought.

However, what he did was to abandon the style of play that he had already adapted to the team.

He no longer runs hard, but chooses the position he likes to get the ball.

If teammates don't pass the ball, he displays toxic body language.

A lot of complaints, shouts, and dissatisfaction with the ball left the Celtics' rhythm in chaos.

Danny Ainge, who was behind the scenes, turned off the TV after seeing this.

The scary thing is not that Reid behaved strangely, the scary thing is that Reid tolerated it for a season and finally proved that he was never the person the Celtics imagined.

He was traded by the Bucks in 2003. Five years later, it seems that the years he spent in New York did not teach him to grow.

He wanted to prove that he could succeed without Yu Fei, but in the end, he made Yu Fei's Bucks career look even greater.

Angie kept straightening his tie, as if his tie would automatically become crooked, but the tie would not move on its own.

The only thing that can move it is Angie's anxiety.

Now Angie understands.

How hard it is to win, what it's like to have an ego that destroys everything, and where the Celtics end up.

He should have known better.

Reed's resume has already given him the answer.

His selflessness is disguised, his team spirit is non-existent, everything he does is just out of his obsession to prove himself, and the Celtics are just a ticket for him to get to the Finals. . He really didn't know what such an opportunity meant.

Because he won the championship in 2003.

The resume of winning championships early made Reed believe that this is a simple matter, as long as he gives him good teammates, he can win the championship. What is the underlying logic of this kind of thinking? It was Reid who believed from the bottom of his heart that the Bucks would not have been able to defeat the Spurs without him.

It is human nature to infinitely magnify one's own contribution and put oneself to an incredible height.

Angie understands it viscerally.

Because back then, he was also an idiot who suggested that Reed Auerbach trade Larry Bird. People like him who can contribute but cannot play a decisive role just cannot understand that some people exist above all else.

It wasn't until Ainge was traded, until he became a coach, until Robert Horry violated his authority and threw a smelly sweat towel in his face, that he understood that he was not the center of the world.

But Michael Reed doesn't understand this, and he may never understand it. He will not cherish this opportunity like Pierce and Garnett.

Reed made 8 of 3 shots in a single quarter and scored the Celtics' highest score, but the team entered the second quarter with a 9-point disadvantage.

Rivers' chicken soup is no longer nutritious.

When he lost control of his players, they discovered that he was only a talker.

No one stopped Reed.

However, Pierce and Garnett still want to win.

Reed wants to be the absolute core? No problem, they can put their energy into defense.

Then, tonight's referee team gave the Celtics a fatal blow.

Just as Sam Presti thought, the league arranged for someone like Steve Jarvie to officiate in the Sonics' last home game to give the Celtics a chance to break their road losing record.

Unfortunately, Celtic failed.

Once they fail, the Celtics will be on the opposite side of the league.

No matter what the consideration is, the league does not want to see a team that loses all away games win the championship.

Donaghy's shadow is still hanging over the league. What better way to prove the unfairness of NBA penalties than to let a team that lost all away games win the championship?

Therefore, no matter how much preferential treatment the Celtics received in Game 5, they will pay it back tonight.

Garnett was seriously affected and committed three fouls before halftime, but Rivers did not dare to replace him.

Because when Garnett committed his third foul, the Sonics' lead had reached 15 points.

If Garnett's defense is lost, will the Celtics still have a second half?
Garnett stayed on the court with three fouls, and the Sonics' offensive focus shifted to the inside. Kwame Brown has waited until the moment of judgment.

Garnett, a man who was eliminated in the first round for many years before joining the Celtics, and who even failed to make the playoffs at his worst, offended him many times during the game.

Is the league's number one insider so easy to bully?

Because Garnett had too many fouls and didn't dare to defend hard, Brown repeatedly attacked the basket and succeeded frequently.

Rivers did not replace Garnett, but the result after halftime was not much different from replacing Garnett.

62 is better than 42
The SuperSonics led by 20 points at halftime.

"It suddenly became quiet here. I'm not used to it." George Karl said. "The Celtics still have half a game to turn the situation around. Why did the fans give up? This is a question."

In fact, it's not that the fans have given up, it's just that the Celtics' incompetence has aroused the Boston people's PTSD of sports failure.

Since the 21st century, Boston has definitely been the most successful sports city in the United States.

The Patriots won three championships in six years and the Red Sox broke the Curse of the Child, but nothing exemplifies the rise of Boston sports more than the resurgence of the Celtics, who have a glorious history.

But tonight's Celtics reminded Bostonians of the Patriots of the 20th century, and the cursed Red Sox.

The Celtics' mission is to dispel all the misfortune since 1986, but now it seems that this misfortune is continuing.

In the visiting team's locker room, Karl affirmed the players' performance and set the tone for the second half: "Guys, tonight we not only want to win, but we want to win big. So, we don't just want to play ball, we also want to completely destroy our opponents!" "

This is why the Sonics are still going all out despite leading by 20 points.

Except for Yu Fei, everyone else has reasons to kill the Celtics.

Previously in the North Shore Garden, it was difficult for others in the Sonics to adapt to the intensity of the Celtics' game, but tonight, their opponents had no intensity at all.

This allowed the Sonics to freely display their strengths.

At the end of the third quarter, the SuperSonics' advantage had reached 34 points, and just halfway through the fourth quarter, the Celtics trailed by as much as 40 points.

Bostonians couldn't take it anymore.

A large number of spectators left the venue.

Bill Simmons sat slumped, his eyes glassy, ​​as if someone had shot him through the heart.

Yu Fei left the game after scoring 34 points.

This score can ensure that his scoring average is locked at 40 points per game.

For himself, it doesn't matter, but for his team, the crazy data of 40+10+10+3+3 in the finals means a lot.

Everyone knows that Jordan averaged a god-level 1993+41+8 against the Suns in 6, which was a sign of Jordan's dominance at his peak.

When talking about Yu Fei's dominance, everyone will talk about his triple-double average and four championships in five years during the Bucks era. But starting today, the 40-point triple-double against the Celtics will become a new chapter.

Garbage time is like years for the Celtics who have become garbage.

"After the timeout, there are only ten seconds left!" Mike Breen said excitedly, "The SuperSonics will win the second championship in team history!"

Then, the pause ended.

Both sides stopped attacking and defending, waiting patiently for the end of time.

When Yu Fei stood up, the referee blew the final whistle.

Not even half the fans were at North Shore Garden.

The SuperSonics players celebrated emotionally on the court, but Yu Fei was calm.

Wearing a towel, he shook hands with the Celtics players, who had their eyes wandering.

Pierce said congratulations, Garnett said nothing, and Reid left early.
When Yu Fei came to PJ Brown, he had a bitter look on his face.

"I learned a lesson." Old Brown said sadly, "Never say no to Frye Yu."

"No, there's no need to say forever." Yu Fei said lightly, "You have no chance."

Except for Yu Fei, everyone was very excited. Even someone like Brown, who had already won two championships with the Bucks, went around looking for someone to celebrate, and even made faces at reporters.

When a reporter asked him: "Do you still think you are the number one insider in the league?"

In the Finals, Brown averaged 7 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and 5 fouls per game.

According to his style, he should admit it loudly, but unexpectedly, this time he went out of his way: "No, I'm not."

"I'm just the guy responsible for sending home those bastards who are called No. 1 in the league."

Roy continued to thank his teammates and fans for their support.

Durant talks about what a championship means to him.

Childress boldly stated that he had no pursuit in the NBA and it was time to try overseas basketball.

Everyone took advantage of this special occasion to say what they wanted to say.

Only George Karl was lost in the past when he won.

Before meeting Yu Fei, the most successful moment of his career was coaching the SuperSonics with Payton and Kemp in the 90s. They were a perennial 50-win team and entered the Finals in 1996, but in the end , they have all become dead bones on the road to Jordan's myth.

When Yu Fei invited him to return to Seattle with him, he hesitated.

Because the Sonics ranked last in the league last season, the team faces the risk of relocation and there are too many uncertainties.

But in the end, Karl left the Bucks and came to Seattle with Yu Fei.

He didn't know whether it was out of trust in Fei or the thought deep in his heart that "I owe them a championship" that drove him to make his decision.

Now, his team went down to the wire and tore the Celtics apart with a devastating victory that sealed their title.

Thousands of emotions lingered in Karl's mind, and his eyes were moist.

"George," this was the first time Yu Fei saw the old man cry, "tell me the water in the corners of your eyes is sweat."

Karl took a deep breath: "Fry, we succeeded."

"Not yet." Yu Fei said, "This is just the beginning."

But let’s celebrate first.

(End of this chapter)