From South China Tiger to NBA King

December 12th, Eastern Time, is the most important holiday of the year for the American people.

Christmas - an important Christian holiday to commemorate the birth of Jesus. Also known as Jesus Christmas, Nativity Day, and Catholicism also calls Jesus Christmas Day.

After the mid-5th century, Christmas, as an important holiday, became a church tradition and gradually spread among Eastern and Western churches. Due to different calendars and other reasons, the specific dates and activities held by various sects to celebrate are also different.

Christmas customs spread to Asia mainly in the mid-19th century. Japan, South Korea, etc. were all influenced by Christmas culture.

Nowadays, it has become a common custom in the West to give each other gifts, hold feasts, and use Santa Claus, Christmas trees, etc. to add to the festive atmosphere.

Like the Chinese New Year, Christmas has become a public holiday in the Western world and many other regions.

The Christmas Game is every year on Christmas Day in the United States. The NBA only arranges a few heavyweight games. These games are called the Christmas Game.

Since the 40s, the NBA has had the tradition of launching heavyweight games on Christmas Eve. This business idea seemed quite advanced at the time. After television broadcasts became popular, watching exciting NBA live broadcasts on Christmas Eve has become an American tradition.

In the memory of Jianghu, there are many classic games that came from the Christmas War. Two of the most memorable games in Jianghu are both related to the Lakers.

During the Jordan Bulls era, Jordan's game was the highlight of every Christmas. After Jordan retired, the Christmas game naturally became an exclusive party for the Lakers.

As the first dynasty team in the new century to win three consecutive championships, O'Neal and Kobe are also indispensable guests on Christmas Eve every year.

And their opponents, from the Trail Blazers to the 76ers to the Kings, are all the best partners carefully selected by the NBA based on the deep hatred between the two sides in the playoffs last season.

Among the Lakers' opponents, the most special one is the Houston Rockets. Yao Ming swaggered into the Christmas Day game without even meeting O'Neal in the playoffs.

It can be seen that Yao Ming's charm is extraordinary. For the so-called center battle between him and O'Neal, the NBA did not hesitate to issue a wild card to the Rockets.

The gimmick of the 2003 Christmas war was the "Yao Shark War".

That year, Chinese fans tasted the Christmas war for the first time.

The outside world's endless hype about China's little giant obviously made "Shark" O'Neal, who claims to be the most dominant player in the history of the league, very unhappy, and it also affected his mentality.

In this game, O'Neal indulged in one-on-one duels with Yao Ming, but Yao Ming's height and extreme shooting touch made it difficult for O'Neal to guard against him. Secondly, whenever O'Neal attacked with the ball, Yao Ming would always Smartly using the strength of his teammates to create double teams, causing the "Shark" to pay a huge price every time he scores.

As a result, the duel between Yao Ming and O'Neal was almost evenly matched. Both scored 16 points in the first half. Yao Ming scored 18 points and 8 rebounds, while O'Neal scored 22 points and 10 rebounds.

In fact, the protagonist of the "Yao Shark War" is not actually Yao Shark. Kobe and Francis have become the focus of the Christmas night instead. Kobe Bryant scored 11 points in the third quarter to help the Lakers take the first lead of the game at 68:67, but the Rockets quickly took advantage of their superior defense and team offense and defense to regain the lead. With 6 minutes and 03 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Mobley and Norris' three-pointers helped the Rockets hit a 10:1 climax. The Lakers failed to score for more than 7 minutes and could only sit back and watch the Rockets. The team won the championship with a score of 99:87.

The 2004 Christmas War was the most exciting Christmas war in the world.

Prior to this, Kobe and O'Neal first teamed up to win the first three consecutive championships after Jordan. Then the two turned against each other and parted ways. Kobe was left in Los Angeles by Buss, while O'Neal was sent to Miami in the East.

The first face-to-face contest between the two after they turned against each other was arranged by Stern on Christmas Day. The American people were eating turkey, drinking beer, and watching the former super duo of Kobe and O'Neal in front of the TV. The grudge showdown started again.

Facing his old rival, O'Neal did not relax. They defeated Kobe 104:102 in overtime and led the Miami Heat to their 11th consecutive victory. O'Neal scored 24 points and 11 rebounds, and Kobe scored 42 points.

It is worth mentioning that Wade, who is still a second-year rookie, scored 29 points and 10 assists.

In addition, the Lakers vs. Celtics in 08, the Lakers vs. Heat in 10, and the Cavaliers vs. Warriors in 16 are also very classic duels that are often talked about and recalled.

To sum up, the NBA league’s selection criteria for the annual Christmas game is actually based on a “gratitude”. There is no world without grudges, and the NBA itself is a world.

In the NBA, grievances can be the result of poignant playoff battles, riots caused by fistfights and verbal disputes, or even the public arena where popular stars compete for popularity and market. Everything is To attract attention.

The league is well aware of the principle of "going up if there are conditions, and going up even if there are no conditions." In order to attract attention and create the greatest comprehensive benefits, the NBA even does not hesitate to concoct so-called "grats and grudges". "Yao Shark Battle" is the best example of. Both Yao Ming and O'Neal knew how to avoid conflicts with each other on various occasions, but they were pushed to the front desk by the profit-seeking alliance.

David Stern is a businessman, and his businessman's instinct drives him to make the "Christmas War" cake bigger and better at all costs. At least for now, the "Christmas brand" strategy that Stern has worked hard to build has been very effective. In addition to popular stars sacrificing a little family happiness to spend time with their families and beautiful scenery, the league, fans, TV stations, advertisers, and everything related to basketball The surrounding industries have benefited greatly from it.

Xiao Hua is not only a businessman, but also a profit-seeking businessman. He not only inherited all Stern's methods and methods, but even hyped them more fiercely in order to achieve maximum benefits.

This year’s Christmas, the NBA has scheduled a total of 5 games, namely:

Milwaukee Bucks VS New York Knicks,

Houston Rockets VS Oklahoma City Thunder,

Philadelphia 76ers VS Golden State Warriors,

Boston Celtics VS Los Angeles Lakers,

Portland Trail Blazers VS Utah Jazz.

On this night, the league arranged for Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Jimmy ·Butler, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Jiang Hu, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell and other 17 big-name stars with both popularity and ability participated in the competition, allowing them to compete against each other.

Somehow, the league gives each game a name, or a gimmick.

Bucks VS Knicks - Battle of the Unicorns. (Porzingis is absent due to injury, so the Unicorn battle is over)

Rockets VS Thunder - Battle of Brothers. (Master Wei and Harden)

76ers VS Warriors - a battle between big ball and small ball. (The overall lineup of the 76ers is biased toward big ball, while the overall lineup of the Warriors is biased toward small ball.)

Trail Blazers VS Jazz - A battle for the top guards in the Western Conference. (Lillard and Mitchell)

Of course, the most watched game belongs to the Celtics and Lakers.

For this game, the league officials directly gave their own definition - the most important regular season game in history.

This name is quite heavyweight, and it seems a bit exaggerated, but after everyone thought about it carefully, it seems that it is indeed such a thing.

Why is this game so important?

Number one: It’s about the fight for team honors.

If the Celtics win this game, their winning streak will extend to 33 games, just tying the Los Angeles Lakers' historical winning streak. Both the Celtics and the Lakers must win this game. The reason for this game is that James and Durant are not willing to become footnotes to Jianghu's historical winning streak, and Jianghu and the Celtics are not willing to end their winning streak in the hands of their arch-enemy Lakers.

Second: This is a contest between the strongest teams in the East and West, and it is likely to be a preview of the finals.

The Celtics are currently ranked first in the Eastern Conference and first in the league with 32 wins and 0 losses. The Los Angeles Lakers are currently ranked first in the Western Conference and second in the league with 26 wins and 6 losses. The two teams will have great possibilities. The two teams will only meet twice in the regular season, so both teams hope they can win the game and thus establish enough psychological advantages before the start of the finals.

Third: This is a contest between the top players in the league.

In the past few years, especially after Kobe Bryant stepped down due to injuries in 2013, James has become the well-deserved number one person in the league in public opinion, whether it is his performance in the regular season or his performance in the playoffs. They are all among the best and have led the team to the finals many times. In 2016, they completed an unprecedented comeback from a 1-3 deficit in the finals and won the first professional sports league championship in Cleveland in more than 50 years. champion.

But since last year, Jianghu has made a strong impact on James' reputation as the league's number one player.

In the playoffs last season, the Celtics eliminated the Cavaliers face-to-face. Jianghu's personal data also surpassed James's personal data, and set many historical records. In the end, the Celtics were incredible. defeated the four-star Warriors to win the championship. At that time, many people believed that Jianghu eliminated James face-to-face and defeated the Warriors who swept James the previous season, so Jianghu should have surpassed James and become the number one player in the league.

The sound was very loud at the time, but in the end it fell silent.

The reason is that many people believe that James did not have enough helpers in that round and it was not a fair contest.

The Celtics have Kyrie Irving as their second teammate who averages 25 points per game, and James doesn't even have a second teammate who averages 20 points per game.

The argument of these people is: It's not that James is inferior to Jiang Hu, but that James' teammates are inferior to Jiang Hu's teammates...

But now, this contrast no longer exists.

Because the teammates around LeBron James now are even better than those around Jianghu.

Kevin Durant - That is a superstar who combines the regular season MVP and the finals MVP, as well as 4 scoring champions and 6 All-NBA First Teams.

In many cases, he is considered to be a star on the same level as James.

Compared to Kawhi Leonard, who has only one FMVP and two first-team awards and two Defensive Player of the Year awards, his status is obviously much higher.

Therefore, this game, whether it is suspense, strength, or influence, is worthy of Xiao Hua's title of the most important regular season in history.

With so many things to watch, this game is fully worthy of the much-anticipated title.

............................................................

Time passed quickly, and it was 9pm Eastern Time in the blink of an eye.

On this day, many fans have watched three consecutive games since 35 p.m. They first saw Antetokounmpo score 10 points and 42 rebounds to defeat the Knicks, and then watched Harden score 8 points and 8 rebounds. He narrowly defeated the Thunder with 9 assists. He also watched Curry score 42 three-pointers and scored 8 points, 5 rebounds and 76 assists to defeat the ers.

These games are all exciting, but everyone knows that all the exciting games before these are just appetizers before the feast of the evening.

This full banquet at 9 o'clock in the evening is the main meal for all fans around the world.

"CCTV, CCTV!!!"

"Welcome to watch CCTV Sports Channel on time at 12 a.m. on December 26th to watch the exciting basketball game, the year-end battle between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics."

"This is the most watched game for basketball fans around the world this year, a contest between superstars of two eras, the ultimate showdown between the new generation and the Mesozoic. If you missed the game between Jordan and Olajuwon, the game between O'Neal and Kobe , please don’t miss the game between Jianghu and James Durant!!”

"A sportsman from China has become a ruler in an American-dominated sports league, and will likely create a new historical record. Friends, I hope you will keep your eyes open and don't miss every moment of this game. In an instant, this game is destined to be remembered in history, win or lose, it was a great game from the beginning."

"Good morning everyone, I am the host Yu Jia. Next to me is Director Zhang Weiping, who is very familiar to you. Today, Director Zhang and I are very happy to come to the North Shore Garden. We will be here to watch with you. It was a great game.”

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the commentary jointly brought by ESPN, NBC, TBS, and CBS. I am the commentator Charlie Daly. Next to me is Mr. Bill Walton. We are happy to bring you Explanation.”

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen, this is Spanish National Television, and I am the commentator Jorno Carlos..."

"Good morning everyone, welcome to Korea Television. I am the host Park Daoshuang..."

"The ultimate battle of the four super devils, the most powerful basketball showdown in human history, the battle for the most terrifying records in the basketball world, the alternating battle between the old and new world basketball kings, the most powerful duo between the Asian basketball god and the league's history Strong showdown, welcome to TV TOKYO, I am the host Taichi Tsuru..."

This game attracted live broadcasts from 103 countries around the world, and approximately 20 billion fans were able to watch this game.

As the scene zooms in.

The explosive atmosphere of the North Shore Garden Arena caught the attention of fans around the world. Exploding fireworks and exciting music sounded at the same time, lighting up the dark arena.

As the scene was lit up with fireworks, every fan was almost crazy. They were the most ardent fans of the Celtics.

Most of the fans were wearing green No. 1 jerseys, and their faces were covered with colorful paints. They were holding posters cheering for Jianghu or the Celtics, or various The James crying emoticon and the picture of Durant carrying a small schoolbag.

The camera showed the front row of the audience. The first two rows were almost all superstars that everyone was familiar with.

The first row on the left are all big stars in the entertainment industry, including Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Jay Chou, and JJ Lin from the East, as well as Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Spike Lee, Rihanna, and Swift from the United States. Teddy, David Beckham, Justin Bieber from Canada, and even Jack Nicholson, known as the Staples mascot, all came to North Shore Garden.

The first row on the right is the stars of the two teams, the Celtics, Bird, Russell, Parish, McHale, Garnett, and Pierce.

As soon as the camera showed them, there was a burst of crazy cheers, deafening.

Then the camera continued to move and came to the famous Lakers side. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic, Scott, Worthy, Kobe, Gasol, Metta World Peace were among them. Several of them smiled and greeted the camera.

Almost as soon as the camera was turned over, there was a terrible burst of boos on the scene, which was equally earth-shaking and shocking.

At this moment, the fans at the scene seemed to have taken off all their masks, and each one was roaring, roaring, and howling, becoming a primitive tribe of barbarians cheering for the warriors of their own tribe.

This is no longer a game, but more like a war, a war about honor and heritage.

The comparison is not about this game, but about the grudges over the past few years or even decades.

It seems that whoever wins the game can walk out of the field with his head held high, and whoever loses the game will fall off the altar.

All the lights at the scene went out again...

When it lit up again, there was another burst of wild cheers.

Because the ten starting players from both teams were already standing in the center of the field at this moment.

Celtics starting lineup: Jiang Hu, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Al Horford, Marc Gasol.

Lakers starting lineup: Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Brook Lopez.

"Beep~"

With a sharp whistle, the basketball was thrown into the sky.

The game officially begins! ! !

(End of this chapter)