Champion Creed
Chapter 987: 321: This won't be the craziest time (asking for monthly tickets!)_4

Chapter 987: 321: This won’t be the craziest time (asking for monthly tickets!)_4

Watching Stoudemire drenched in sweat, Marcus Camby thought of his former self.

They were so alike.

In New York, Camby had gone through a similar phase. He trained tirelessly just to get better, to help the team secure victories.

So seeing Stoudemire like this, Marcus Camby scoffed with disdain, “Huh, fool!”

Everything you’re doing is meaningless, such intense training is foolish.

Marcus Camby closed the gym door and turned to walk to the parking lot, wanting to leave before the other teammates arrived.

He didn’t want to integrate into the team, nor the game.

He just wanted to collect his paycheck on time.

Playing basketball, why exert yourself like that?

A day later, Warriors vs. Mavericks G2, Dallas turned the tables in Oakland.

In this game, Dirk Nowitzki finally found his rhythm, scoring 23 points with a 46% shooting percentage. Along with Shaq’s 34 points and 17 rebounds, the Mavericks won 108-99, tying the series score.

But back in Dallas for G3, the Mavericks suffered the most painful defeat of the series, getting slaughtered by the Warriors 119-97.

In this game, Roger scored 42 points, while Allan Houston also scored 20 points with an impressive 63% shooting percentage. Tonight, Allan Houston’s hand was incredibly hot, except for some highly contested tough jump shots, he was almost 100% with regular jump shots.

Additionally, Old Cat Mobley also scored 16 points, keeping the momentum going during the transition phases.

Under the Warriors’ strong offense, Shaq’s 39 points and Dirk’s 20 points seemed not enough.

In G4, the Warriors still had players step up, with Roger putting up a solid 37 points and 11 assists as usual, while Stephen Jackson hit 4 out of 7 from the three-point line, scoring 23 points.

Allan Houston’s shooting percentage was only 42% today, not as outrageous as the 63% in the previous game, but he still scored 22 points.

3-1, the Warriors returned to Oakland with the matchpoint.

Shaquille O’Neal once again faced the awkward situation of being eliminated by Roger, in fact, if the league hadn’t changed the first round to a best-of-seven this year, Shaq would have already been eliminated.

At the press conference, Roger also spoke that famous line: “If it were last year, I’d already be thinking about the next round opponent.”

O’Neal was furious, Roger’s dismissive attitude enraged him.

He was determined to fight for victory in G5 with everything he had.

Shaq in G5 indeed was terrifying, a replica of G1, with an extremely strong desire to attack, taking what he wanted over Stoudemire and Troy Murphy.

But O’Neal could never have imagined that Dirk Nowitzki would mess up big time in this crucial match.

Throughout the game, Hubie Brown used Stephen Jackson and “Little Prince” Prince alternately to defend Dirk. His face-up shooting style was greatly hampered by Jackson and Little Prince’s stable defense, which made his shooting accuracy very low.

The biggest difference in Nowitzki’s early and later career is actually the consistency on the offensive end. Later in his career, Nowitzki began to operate massively in the low post, while his shooting stability also became stronger, plus suitable opponents, suitable conditions led to turning around his career reputation in 2011.

However, the current Nowitzki has very fluctuating shooting, and his post game hasn’t matured, which is why he has been so underwhelming in the playoffs.

Today’s game was a concentrated display of Nowitzki’s shortcomings.

He even couldn’t back down the shorter Stephen Jackson, nor could he find his touch in face-up shooting.

Ultimately, Nowitzki only made 2 out of 11 shots, with three-pointers at a dismal 1 out of 6!

Fortunately, Nick Van Exel caught fire today, covering up the offensive gap left by Nowitzki.

Plus, Shaq, scoring 40+ for the 15th time in his playoff career, the Mavericks still kept the suspense until the end.

With 57 seconds left, the Mavericks were only down by 6 points, still having a chance.

In this possession, Shaq received the ball in the low post, first pushing away Stoudemire, then leaned on Troy Murphy and directly went for the layup.

The only thing Murphy could do was defensively raise his arms between the basket and Shaq, but such an obstruction to Shaq was almost nonexistent.

He suppressed Murphy in the air, single-handedly tossing the ball towards the basket.

Shaq felt good about his shot, expected the ball to go in based on the trajectory.

But just as the ball was about to reach its highest point, Stoudemire, with unbelievable leaping speed, suddenly soared into the air and swatted the ball away!

“Amar’e Stoudemire made the block! After being pushed away, he did not give up on defense and disrupted Shaq’s most crucial shot tonight at the perfect timing!”

With Mike Breen’s exclamation, Stoudemire threw the ball to Roger who was already running for a fast break, and Roger scored with a slam, extending the lead to 8 with 50 seconds left.

Game over!

Afterward, Shaq fell into the foul-hack dilemma, the anxious Shaq couldn’t create miracles at the free-throw line.

106-99, the Golden State Warriors won G5.

Roger gentlemanly swept Shaq, once again reasserting his dominance!

After the game concluded, O’Neal furiously threw his jersey and exited the court without shaking hands with anyone.

Dirk Nowitzki covered his head with both hands, staring at his stats on the big screen, truly a lifetime disgrace.

In the stands of the Oakland Arena, a fan, overwhelmed with excitement, took off his shirt and began dancing, shaking his whole body fat.

On his pale body, painted with a statement: “Roger is the eternal king!”

Soon, this fan was taken away by the security, but all the fans in the arena applauded him. Upon seeing this, Roger also pointed at him with a smile.

Seeing Roger acknowledge him, he crazily wriggled free from his restraints and started dancing again, this time even taking off his pants before being taken away by more security personnel.

Mike Breen laughed and said, “This was Roger’s first madness brought to the Bay Area fans, but it won’t be the last, nor will it be the craziest.”

Roger looked at Stoudemire, who, with that last block, sealed the team’s victory, rubbing his hands together excitedly, full of hope for the future.

Yes, it wouldn’t be the craziest.

In the next second-round series, the Golden State Warriors lost 2-4 to the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs in the West, ending Roger’s 02-03 season here.

But after the series ended, in the locker room, Roger told Stephen Jackson, “I think we’ll reclaim the crown faster than we expected.”

“I know, you said it before the season Roger, two years of growth, third-year reclaim everything.”

“No no, that was the standard before the season. What I mean is, faster than that standard!”

Stephen Jackson, who was changing clothes, was taken aback, faster than this standard? Which means…

“No matter what, I’ll always follow you and trust you.”

“And I never let those who trust me down, Stephen, you know that.”

“Of course, I never doubt the truth either.”