mountain top

Chapter 129 Questioning Greatness, Understanding Greatness, and Achieving Greatness (1.1 words updated in a single day!)
Before the second game between the Spurs and the Warriors began, the league officially issued their penalty decision regarding the "bloody brawl" in the first game of the Western Conference semifinals.

Bruce Bowen, whose career has been written off, was suspended for three games and fined $50,000.

Dunleavy Jr., who broke Duncan's nose, was suspended for seven games and fined $50,000.

Will Bynum, who kicked Parker, was suspended for three games and fined $25,000.

Foyle, who attacked Horry in the groin, was suspended for one game and fined $15,000.

And considering that Ron Artest's original intention in knocking down Popovich was just to protect the opposing coach, the league only gave him a verbal warning and a fine of $5,000 as punishment for his unintentional mistake.

As for the players of the two teams participating in the "hot-blooded brawl", they will attend a three-day league safety education class together after the playoffs.

Pick it up high and put it down gently - David Stern used his penalty decision to once again prove why he has been able to lead the league for many years and still stand firm.

Two days later, the second game between the two teams continued at Oracle Arena.

Duncan, who wore a special mask and played for the Spurs with an injury, wanted to care about Qin Yue's recovery before the game.
But after noticing Qin Yue's blazing eyes, Duncan finally turned his gaze back to his own half.

“Every great soul has suffered through difficulties but never given up.”

On TNT TV, Barkley sang a hymn for Qin Yue, who played in consecutive games with a closed game.

In the NBA, Qin Yue is not the first superstar to play in consecutive games with a closed game, and he will not be the last.

In January 2012, due to a severe wrist sprain, Kobe Bryant even performed a miracle of being closed for four consecutive games and scoring "1+".

According to the Lakers team doctor, Kobe, who was supposed to undergo surgery, was forced to play more than a dozen consecutive games in isolation in order to ensure that the Lakers could make the playoffs.

Kobe has many experiences like this throughout his career.

Therefore, although Barkley also believed that Qin Yue should look to the future, since Qin Yue had already made his decision, Barkley naturally had no choice but to offer his praise.

After all, in the 1980s and 1990s when players were never treated as human beings, which star with a little fame in the world did not have the experience of being banned from playing for consecutive games?

Barkley knew very well that at that time, let alone the coach's request, even if the coach did not ask for it, the players would take the initiative to apply for injections and play with injuries.

In the 94/95 season, Barkley was unable to move normally due to a serious back injury and could only play in three consecutive games after the famous Game 43 against the Rockets. His playing time in the last three games was 42, 42 and minutes respectively.

It is better to die standing than to lose lying down - this is a famous saying in the NBA in the 1990s.

just
During this journey with injuries that exempted him from the penalty of being sealed off due to the [Power] mission, Qin Yue's memory that should have died was awakened once again.

In the 12/13 season, Stephen Curry, who was wearing the No. 30 jersey of the Golden State Warriors, was forced to get the first pain-relieving injection in his career due to accidentally spraining his ankle in the first round of the playoffs against the Denver Nuggets.

then
In the next semifinal against the San Antonio Spurs, Curry's injury had not yet healed, so until his ankle injury was alleviated, Curry could only play with a closed ankle for consecutive games.

In this life, although the reason for his injury is different from Curry's, Qin Yue, who also wears the No. 30 Warriors jersey, has to face the same opponent (Spurs) and play in consecutive games with a closed mouth.

However, compared with Kobe, Barkley or Curry, Qin Yue is undoubtedly lucky.

Because the [Power] mission can protect him from the negative effects of the injection, he only needs to endure physical torture during this injured journey.

This kind of torture is not pleasant.

After all, pain-relieving blockade does not mean that you won't feel pain after the injection.

It can only ensure that you can reduce the pain caused by injuries during strenuous exercise, especially in the level of confrontation in the NBA.

On the court, in the Warriors' first offensive round, they used Murphy to assist Qin Yue who fell into the low post. In the blink of an eye, he saw his senior who had transformed into the "Masked Man".

The next second, under the interference of Duncan, Qin Yue, who was still inevitably affected by the injury, missed the shot under the basket, but the referee Dick Bavetta immediately blew the whistle for Qin Yue.

Duncan did not protest the call.

Because he did try to suppress someone just now.

But on the sidelines, Popovich realized that something was wrong after this penalty.

"Damn, Dick never called a foul on Tim for such defense before!" Popovich said with a frown on the Spurs bench.

There is no doubt that this is a reminder to the Spurs that Duncan will be temporarily deprived of his star refereeing duties due to the flagrant foul in their first game.

For the Spurs, who built their defensive system with Duncan as the core, they were destined to be unable to withstand such a blow.

After a few rounds.

Baron Davis, who vowed to reduce Qin Yue's pressure on the attack, broke into the penalty area and successfully caused "Masked Man" Duncan to commit his second personal foul of the game.

Popovich rarely protested the referee's decision.

It's not that he doesn't want to protest.

Rather, from the previous penalty decision to the current penalty scale, they are reminding him
How angry were David Stern and the bigwigs behind Qin Yue about the Spurs' bad behavior in the first game?

Oracle Arena.

This may be the cleanest game the Spurs have played in recent years.

Dick Bavetta didn't blindly favor the Warriors in the game.

Even to Qin Yue who played with an injury, Bavetta said, "I know it is not easy for you to play with an injury, but I am a fair and just referee."

Bavetta only temporarily deprived Duncan of the star whistle that originally belonged to him, and warned the Spurs through such a penalty.

Facing Bavetta's warning
Despite the current era, the Spurs players will still use high-intensity defense to suppress the Warriors' offense in the game.

But on the court, the Spurs players, including Horry, Ginobili and others, all stopped those shameful and dirty moves.

In the first quarter, the Warriors' offensive round.

Qin Yue, who performed a one-handed triple threat on the outside, successfully deceived Horry's center of gravity with a probing step.

Immediately afterwards, after dribbling the ball lightly, Qin Yue made a pull-up shot in the long two-point area on the right.

On the Spurs bench, looking at Qin Yue, who was able to use his comprehensive offensive skills to destroy the Spurs' defense despite his injury, Duncan's heart was in turmoil, and his competitive spirit was aroused by Qin Yue.

“I want to play against him.”

Duncan, who had not spoken a word to anyone else since the first game, suddenly spoke to Popovich.

Seeing this, Popovich, who was always worried about Duncan's inner fluctuations, nodded in agreement.

In the second quarter, Qin Yue, who had more rest time than before, did not return until the last five minutes.

At this time, Duncan, wearing a mask, took the initiative to move towards him.

Although the two brothers did not have any verbal communication.

But from Duncan's gaze that finally stopped avoiding him, Qin Yue's memory was instantly brought back to that sunny afternoon.

In the low post, holding the ball with his back to the basket and feeling Duncan's defense, Qin Yue suddenly turned around and hit the rebound.

This was a goal that made Tim Duncan feel very relieved.

Although Duncan was very surprised by Qin Yue's comprehension as early as three years ago, it was not until this moment that Qin Yue completed a true classic back-to-the-basket attack in front of him.

The injury did not affect Qin Yue's control of the rhythm.

In fact, the injury forced Qin Yue to control the rhythm better in order to display his offensive skills.

Coming back, Duncan took the initiative to ask for the ball on the left side of the court.

After getting the ball, he took a deep breath, and through his imperceptible change of pace, he successfully shook off Brown and hit the rebound.

"I will defend him in the next round." Qin Yue suddenly said at the baseline when Brown was preparing to serve.

Hearing this, Brown was shocked and said, "You are injured tonight."

Qin Yue said disapprovingly: "Injuries can only torture my body, but my soul will not be affected by it."

Warriors' offensive round.

He was still holding the ball in the low post, but the difference was that at the moment he tried to turn around, Qin Yue suddenly turned over with the ball.

Bang, whoosh——!
"Look, what an elegant shot?" Barkley explained with emotion on TNT TV.

Then, the Spurs have the ball.

Looking at Qin Yue who took the initiative to rotate to his side, Duncan was neither surprised nor shocked.

Because Duncan knows better than anyone that his junior has always faced challenges head-on.

Boom——!
On the right side of the court, Duncan, who had no intention of showing mercy, officially launched his attack with a fierce collision.

And what about Qin Yue?

After the head-on confrontation with Duncan, Qin Yue immediately readjusted his defensive stance.

No matter how Duncan's rhythm changes, his ultimate goal is to find an angle for shooting.

Qin Yue observed Duncan’s movements patiently, and made the most correct judgment in an instant.

For a moment, Duncan even felt like he was drowning under Qin Yue's defense. Fortunately, Duncan finally floated to the surface and sent the ball into the basket with a sideways hook shot.

This extremely difficult back-to-the-basket shot reminded Duncan indirectly of the progress his junior had made on the defensive end because he was unwilling to be just a stat-gapper.

At the end of the first half, the score was 51 to 64.

均带伤出阵的秦岳与邓肯分别拿到了17分6篮板5助攻1封盖和14分8篮板2助攻1封盖。

TNT TV station, Barkley commented on the two players who are the star of their respective teams: "In this tough matchup, the Messiah won with his explosive creativity on the offensive end.

He broke many of the inherent limitations of traditional inside players. He is undoubtedly a beacon of the new era.

However, we still have to single out Tim Duncan for praise, because he played only 15 minutes in the first half due to the number of fouls, and he fully demonstrated the beauty of the classic inside line. "

The collision between Qin Yue and Duncan is exactly the impact of the modern inside line on the classical inside line.

Although without the accident in the first game, this series could have been more exciting.

But Qin Yue, who played with an injury, made the world feel his historical-level basketball IQ tonight.

In every attack and every defense, Qin Yue will make full use of his own advantages and combine his own technical characteristics to exert his influence on the game.

Under his connection, the Spurs' proud zone defense and iron bucket formation were strengthened.
Surprisingly, he became a sitting duck in this series.

He has become a perfect target that the Warriors' outside shooters can get a chance to shoot at any time as long as they pull the bow to the full extent and tighten the string.

Dunleavy Jr.'s absence did not affect the Warriors' offensive firepower on this night.

Richardson made 9 of 5 shots in the first half, including 7 of 4 three-pointers.

Artest made 7 of 3 shots in the first half, but all of them were three-pointers.

There was also Murphy who made 4 of 2 shots from beyond the three-point line and Davis who made 3 of 2 shots.

The Warriors made a total of 11 three-pointers in the first half, almost shooting through the Spurs' defense.

During the game, the Spurs used man-to-man defense and full-court high-pressure defense to prevent the Warriors from launching offense.

But their extremely poor personnel reserves have led to a lack of corresponding talents.

Entering the second half, Parker and Ginobili launched attacks one after another.

But under the Warriors' powerful offensive, the Spurs, who had a rare clean sheet, were always suppressed by the Warriors.

In the third quarter, Artest even began to use his advantage in confrontation to bully old Finley, who was forced to play as a small forward.

Duncan, who had to control his movements on defense, was unable to support his teammates as usual.

The final score was 102 to 119.

The Warriors easily won the second game and changed the score of this series to 2-0.

Two days later, the third game between the two teams moved to San Antonio.

In the Spurs' "coffin" home court, Qin Yue, who was still experiencing the most difficult early stage of his ankle sprain, inevitably received another injection of painkillers before the game.

The injection on Qin Yue caused pain in the fans' hearts, and ultimately helped the Warriors win 114-106 away from home.

Compared with the second game, the Spurs finally gained an advantage in free throws when they returned to their home court.

Although the Spurs have been on Stern's blacklist, Stern's most principled point is that
On the premise that the Warriors can win by their own hard power, he does not want to tarnish the Warriors' great victory gained by Qin Yue's needles because of his unnecessary actions.

In the NBA, stars playing with injuries is always the most touching topic.

Qin Yue's playing despite injury not only inspired the Warriors fans, but also greatly boosted the morale of the entire Warriors team.

In the third game, with the penalty scale in favor of the Spurs, Davis held high his sword and rushed from the first quarter to the last quarter, scoring a total of 38 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

After the game, Davis, who was named the best player in Game 3, said: "Everyone of us wants to win for him! We hope to end this series in San Antonio, because only in this way can we buy him more rest time!"

In this Game 3, even Popovich couldn't find any excuse to excuse his team after the game.

However, when asked about his view of Qin Yue, who played in consecutive games with an injection of blood but still scored 25 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 blocks for the Warriors in Game , Popovich's face was obviously not very happy.

“He played well.”

Trying hard to suppress the resentment in his heart, Popovich made a reluctant comment.

The Warriors lead 3-0 and are just one step away from sweeping the Spurs.

Meanwhile, another Western Conference semifinal was taking place in Salt Lake City.
Chris Paul and his "brothers" also secured a crucial victory for the Warriors fans.

What do you think the Jazz's winning has to do with Warriors fans?
Of course it does!
Because Paul and his "brothers" can stop the Supersonics for one more game, Qin Yue can get more rest time.

Come on, Chris Paul!

Come on, Carlos Boozer!
Come on, Andrei Kirilenko!

There are also Okur, Millsap, Haplin, Brewer, and Miles!

After the third game against the SuperSonics, coach Jerry Sloan said humorously: "We became the most popular team in the NBA almost overnight."

On the 15th, the fourth game of the Western Conference semifinals between the Warriors and the Spurs continued in San Antonio.

After losing Game 3, Popovich has given up any hope of winning the championship this year.

But before Game 4, with the spirit of disgusting the rat shit even if we can't win, Popovich still did not forget to admonish the Spurs players: "We must avoid a sweep through a victory. For you and for the fans here, you must treat this game as the finals!"

If it were any other time, Duncan would not have doubted Popovich's motivation to win.

But for Duncan, who was in a very complicated mood at the moment, he always felt that the slogan that Popovich shouted on this night was
Simply just to disgust the Warriors with a victory.

In fact, even without this passionate pre-game speech, Duncan would have tried his best in the game.

Just got through the first three battles.
How could the Spurs players, including Duncan, not feel that they were restrained by the Warriors in their playing style, and the gap between the two teams in terms of lineup?
"Have you ever considered leaving San Antonio and starting over somewhere else?"

Before Game 4.

When this question that Qin Yue used to ask himself suddenly popped up in my mind
From the first game to now, Duncan, whose heart has been in turmoil, feels that he has already thought of the answer in a trance.

This answer, although he still needs time to turn it into a decision.

But as long as I recall the scene of Qin Yue falling in front of me.
Duncan, who still desires victory and is eager to continue the battle between modern inside and classical inside with Qin Yue, will quietly speed up the progress bar that prompts him to make this decision.

ATT Center.

对于这场很可能成为自己告别之战的比赛，仍只能戴着面具出战的邓肯，总计为马刺出战了40分钟，并砍下了29分18篮板4助攻2封盖1抢断。

He guarded the Spurs' inside like an ancient giant, and repeatedly helped the Spurs capture the Warriors' restricted area guarded by Qin Yue at critical moments.

However, that’s where it ends.

Because the Warriors used a perfect performance with five players scoring in double digits and three players scoring over 20 points, and mercilessly took away the victory of the game amid the tragic wails of the San Antonio players.

Murphy scored 14 points, 8 rebounds and 4 three-pointers in this game.

Richardson scored 17 points and 4 rebounds, and made 8 of 5 three-pointers.

阿泰斯特轰下21分5篮板2助攻，单人博杀出了10次罚球，并罚中了其中8球。

戴维斯状态依旧，17投10中，其中三分球4投2中，罚球8罚6中，总计获得28分5篮板4助攻。

Qin Yue, who had to play in a closed position for the fourth consecutive game because he had not yet overcome his injury, scored a total of 30 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 blocks.

On the court, as the buzzer sounded, indicating the end of the fourth quarter of the game that night, all the Warriors players immediately surrounded their absolute leader.

After sweeping the Spurs 4-0, the Warriors will once again step onto the floor of the Western Conference Finals!
Although he did not have to endure the negative effects of the injection due to the [Power] mission, Qin Yue, who had been suffering from physical torture in this round of the Western Conference semi-finals, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

When I personally put an end to this round of the Western Conference semifinals
Qin Yue finally understood why those great players were great.

It is undoubtedly an honor for Qin Yue to be able to play four games despite injuries.

But compared to Kobe, Barkley, Curry and those superstars in history who were forced to play in closed games due to injuries, his glory is undoubtedly discounted.

However, this did not prevent Qin Yue from previously questioning greatness, understanding greatness, and achieving greatness.

"In the Western Conference semifinals where the Golden State Warriors tied the San Antonio Spurs 4-0, Messiah played four consecutive games with a closed back and fully demonstrated his persistence and desire for victory.

Next, he will have a precious rest period with the Warriors." - ESPN News Express

"Greg Popovich said after the game that this year's failure is certainly painful, but he believes that he can work with the Spurs management to rebuild a competitive team this summer." - San Antonio Express

"Talking about the experience of playing with a block, Messiah said that the pain-relieving block did not completely relieve him from the pain, and said, 'You know, that feeling is not good, but fortunately I got through it.'" - San Francisco Chronicle

After the Utah Jazz tied the series at 2-2, Chris Paul said in an interview that he never wins for others.

When talking about his good brother, he said, "I know what happened to him (Qin Yue) in this year's playoffs, and I believe he will definitely not be defeated by injuries." - Salt Lake City Tribune

……

PS: Although it’s late, the 1.1-word single-day update has arrived. I beg you to subscribe and give me monthly votes!
(End of this chapter)