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On May 22, in the Eastern Conference Finals G2, the Cavaliers played another home game, extending the score to 2-0 and gaining an advantage in the Eastern Conference Finals.
However, the Bulls are indeed the second strongest team in the East after the Cavaliers and are still much stronger than the Heat. At the very least, they still have the ability to launch a counterattack against the Cavaliers' fierce offense.
On May 24, in the Eastern Conference Finals G3, the Bulls, returning to their home court, finally won their first game 113-109.
In this game, Curry, who had been suppressed during the first two games, finally marked the beginning of a turnaround, hitting 8 three-pointers and scoring 32 points, 4 rebounds, and 8 assists, leading the Bulls to narrow the gap.
Then, in G4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, two days later, the Bulls continued their efforts and finally won the game 129-126 in overtime, tying the series at 2-2.
The two teams were back to square one, and the battle for the Tianwang mountain would unfold next.
When it came to the crucial battle of the Tianwang Mountain, Wang Chong finally began to explode.
In this game, he was full of firepower, scoring 44 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists, completely crushing the Bulls' defense. The score also reached 3-2, putting the Cavaliers in the lead and setting up match point.
At this point, the Bulls were still not willing to concede defeat and wanted to tie the series 3-3 in G6 two days later, and then play a deciding game against the Cavaliers.
But Wang Chong didn't give the Bulls any more opportunities.
105-97.
The Cavaliers defeated the Bulls 4-2 to win the Eastern Conference Championship and advance to the Finals.
Although the score wasn't close to the point of a deciding game, the process of the game between the two teams clearly showed that the strength was very close. The Bulls were absolutely capable of competing with the Cavaliers, in fact, they only lost one home game.
The general opinion of the outside world was that the Bulls lost to Wang Chong, and if Wang Chong and Butler had teamed up with Curry, the outcome could have been completely reversed.
Wang Chong is undoubtedly a "BUG" character on the court, especially on the offensive end, where he's unstoppable, and on the defensive wing, he's still a DPOY-level player. Especially in crucial moments, knowing that the Cavaliers will definitely hand the ball to Wang Chong to attack, but they still can't stop him, that feeling of desperation is something Chicago fans finally experienced.
The Bulls made it to the Finals, and the only team standing in the way of the championship now was the final opponent, the Los Angeles Clippers.
In the Western Conference Finals, the Clippers eventually defeated the Spurs 4-3.
It's no surprise, as the Spurs were indeed in a period of window closing.
While the Big Three is aging, Leonard and Gobert, two new core players, have yet to fully develop into top-level stars capable of carrying the team.
Coincidentally, in the 14-15 season, the Spurs were eliminated by the Clippers in the first round, also with a 4-3 scoreline. However, the original Clippers' Big Three were Paul, Griffin, and Jordan Jr., and now the Clippers' Big Three are Harden, Paul, and Jordan Jr., which makes them stronger than the original Clippers.
Paul successfully led the team to the finals, but it didn't mean much to him.
The original Paul was the hero of the Western Conference Finals court, not to mention the Finals. He hardly even made it to the Western Finals.
But Paul, whose career trajectory had changed, was now a champion, and he wasn't particularly happy to be back in the Finals unless the Clippers could win the championship. Paul needed a second championship and an FMVP to truly elevate his historical status.
But this seemed unrealistic.
In the Cavaliers vs. Clippers Finals, no one was optimistic about the Clippers' chances, including the Clippers' own fans, who didn't believe the Clippers had any chance to win the championship.
The Cavaliers were just too strong, having defeated the Heat's Big Three, beaten the 60+ win Bulls, and now in the Finals. Why should the Clippers even stand a chance against the Cavaliers?
Of course, although the strength gap was clear, it was impossible for the Clippers to give up directly, and "giving up" was not something that happened in the NBA.
Before the game, the Clippers' momentum was still strong, with both Paul and Harden fearlessly mentioning the Cavaliers in interviews.
"We're going to win the Finals and lift the championship because we have the best team! No matter who the opponent is, we have the opportunity to win!"
Of course, no one took these words seriously.
In fact, no matter how loudly they shouted slogans or how high their morale was, it didn't affect the Clippers one bit.
On June 4, 2015, the first game of the NBA Finals officially began.
Cavaliers vs. Clippers.
The Cavaliers' starting lineup had remained unchanged for 10,000 years, and it was still Irving, Wiggins, Wang Chong, Pau Gasol, and Whiteside.
The Clippers' starting five were Paul, Harden, Matt Barnes, Josh Smith, and Jordan Jr.
From the lineup, one could see the huge gap between the two teams.
In terms of the stronger perimeter, the Clippers didn't have an advantage over the Cavaliers, and the interior was even more explosive.
Jordan Jr. and Whiteside were of the same type of player, and they were essentially not much better than Whiteside, and even worse than Whiteside at free throws.
It was clear from the jump ball that it was Whiteside from the Cavaliers who fought for the ball, and the rebounding and explosiveness of the two could be compared, with Jordan Jr. unable to suppress Whiteside in the area he was good at.
Big Gasol and Josh Smith were another story entirely.
Josh Smith had been signed by the Clippers last summer with a one-year, $4 million contract.
A few years ago, Josh Smith was still a decent player, having averaged 18.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 4 assists per game, along with 1.4 steals and 1.7 blocks.
Smith, who played as a forward-center, had the mobility of a small forward, but was essentially a poor man's version of James.
However, he lacked James' ball control and offensive ability, and his unique technical characteristics and his height of 2.06 meters meant that he didn't have an advantage in the paint.
In fact, this style of forward wasn't very well-positioned. They said he was an exterior player, but he didn't have the skills of an exterior player. They said he was an interior player, but he was short in the paint and lacked the ability to fight inside.
The Cavaliers had recruited the first overall draft pick, Anthony Bennett.
Josh Smith was essentially a blue-collar player for the Clippers this season, helping Jordan Jr. protect rebounds, then using his better mobility than regular big men to help with defense and improve the Clippers' defensive efficiency.
Throughout the regular season, Smith averaged 12.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3 assists per game, which was the level of an average starting role player. When playing against Paul Gasol, who stood 2.13 meters tall, one could imagine how difficult it would be to defend the opponent.
Once the game started, the Clippers managed to hold on for about 3 minutes before being thoroughly defeated by the Cavaliers.
The score at the end of the first quarter was 32-19, and the biggest problem for the Clippers against the Bulls was that their offense wasn't fluid.
Paul wasn't a natural scorer, and while his playmaking skills were truly good, he still relied heavily on his teammates' offensive abilities.
But his best scoring teammate at this point was Harden.
Harden wasn't the type of shooter who catches the ball and shoots but rather a ball-dominant player who needs to hold the ball to attack, usually after receiving a pass from Paul, he'd have to dribble for a long time, find a defensive flaw, and then use his rhythm to score.
In this situation, Paul's strengths couldn't be fully utilized.
Harden's situation was also uncomfortable.
Wiggins, who was responsible for defending the Cavaliers, wasn't a difficult matchup. But the problem was that the height of the Cavaliers' front line was just overwhelming. Wang Chong, Big Gasol, and Whiteside were all players over 2.11 meters tall.
This made Harden's offense more focused on mid-range and long-range shots, especially his step-back threes, which were used more frequently.
However, under the high-pressure defense of the Finals, Harden's three-point shooting, which wasn't high to begin with, became even more strained, with a shooting percentage of under 30%.
Even Harden's offensive efficiency wasn't high, let alone relying on other players.
The Clippers' offense almost completely stalled, and they could only rely on Harden and Paul to drive into the restricted area with explosive bags and draw fouls to score difficult points.
In the second quarter, the Clippers' offense still didn't improve at all, and the Cavaliers took advantage of this, continuing to expand their lead.
By halftime, the gap between the two teams had grown to over 20 points.
No mistake, one song, one hair, one interior, one tolerance, a 6, a 9, a book, a glance!
The local fans of the Cavaliers were happy, and the game was stable.
Who would've thought that in the third quarter of the game, another great surprise awaited them.
Irving suddenly exploded without warning in the third quarter, hitting three three-pointers in a single quarter, plus a 2-of-4 field goal and a 2-of-2 free throw, scoring 15 points in a single quarter and helping the Cavaliers extend their lead by another 11 points to 35-24 in just that quarter.
By the end of the third quarter, the gap between the two teams had reached 33 points, and the huge difference made the Clippers send their entire bench out at the beginning of the fourth quarter, effectively conceding the game one quarter early.
The Cavaliers saw this and also replaced all their starters, sending in the bench to continue the play.
However, the Cavaliers' bench wasn't bad either. Williams and Tristan Thompson were preparing to give the fans a good show in their limited time.
As a result, in the final quarter, the Cavaliers' bench continued to thoroughly dominate the Clippers.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Clippers' bench immediately stood up and walked toward the locker room without looking back, ignoring the microphone greeting them from the reporter.
129-79!
The Clippers lost by 50 points at Quickloan Arena!
A 50-point margin was the largest margin in NBA Finals history, breaking the previous record of 42 points in G3 of the 1998 Finals between the Bulls and Jazz.
The Cavaliers broke the Bulls' record by a wide margin, completely humiliating the Clippers and marking them as a shameful pillar in history.
Originally, it was already an achievement for the Clippers to make it to the Finals. Many people only knew that the Cavaliers hadn't won a major championship in 50 years, but they didn't know that the Clippers, founded in 1970, had a 45-year history and, in those 45 years, hadn't even made it to the Finals, let alone win a championship.
This year's journey to the Finals had already made history for the Clippers.
But this was just the first Finals, and they were nailed to the pillar of shame in history.
Losing by 50 points in a single game wasn't an ordinary strength difference that could be played with.
As one of the Clippers' main pillars, Paul was even more depressed.
Although this time and space had changed many things due to the butterfly effect brought by Wang Chong, Paul hadn't had much luck. In the 09 playoffs, Paul, who hadn't had time to join the Lakers, still experienced the tragedy of losing by 58 points in the playoffs.
Now, Paul had lost by 50 points in the Finals, which set another historical record.
In the post-game press conference, both Paul and Harden stayed silent, completely explaining what had been said before the game, but saying nothing after it.
However, the Clippers were so miserable that they also garnered some sympathy.
Originally, it was already too much for the Clippers to face the Cavaliers in the Finals, but it was a bit unfortunate to be defeated this badly in the game.
After the heavy blow in the first game, the Clippers couldn't recover in the rematch two days later. The entire team was in a daze, unable to organize any effective counterattacks.
The result was that in G2 of the Finals, the Cavaliers won by 21 points at home, and the net difference between the two teams in just two games had reached an exaggerated 71 points.
In Final G3, the Clippers returned to their home court at Staples.
Even the Clippers' own fans, at this point, basically didn't expect the Clippers to defeat the Cavaliers in any small universe, they just hoped they wouldn't get swept 0-4.
But even this small wish was hard to achieve for the Clippers.
On June 9, in Final G3, the Clippers fought hard throughout the game but still couldn't resist the Cavaliers' fierce offense and lost again. The big score was now 0-3.
The only consolation was that the difference between the two teams in this game wasn't as large, with a difference of only 8 points.
Obviously, the team had lost and was 0-3 behind, but Clippers fans still felt relieved.
Their thoughts were quite simple.
If you lose, you lose, and you definitely won't win anyway. At least you won't lose by another 50 points, so it won't feel as embarrassing.
When the mindset of the fans of a team changes from "winning" to "losing less disgracefully," the team is truly in trouble.
Two days later, in the fourth game of the Finals, the Cavaliers didn't give the Clippers any chance and simply took the game, with a big score of 4-0, sweeping the Clippers to win the championship.
——
When the game ended and the Cavaliers officially won the championship, many Cavaliers fans were still a bit confused.
Is this the championship?
There was no passionate confrontation, no exciting comeback, no emotions and tears after winning the championship.
They didn't even have time to feel any emotion. Is this the championship?
Is it really this easy to win an NBA championship?
The strong feeling of unreality made the Cavaliers fans even question whether this was a dream.
But this was the truth. Under Wang Chong's leadership, Cleveland, a city that hadn't won a major championship in 50 years, had finally won its first NBA championship!
End of this chapter
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