Luka Doncic's third playoff trip is destined to be accompanied by twists and turns.
He was cancelled for his 16th technical foul and was "lucky" to get the chance to participate in the finale, but it was in this game that he suffered a calf strain. With injury, Doncic missed the first three games of the Series against the Jazz, but his teammates came together to take a 2-1 lead.
Today, Doncic returned from injury and tried to take advantage of the chase, almost killing the game with a key three-pointer. Unexpectedly, under the cooperation of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, he was killed by his opponent.
It seems that this will be a classic series that cannot be won or lost until the last minute, and what kind of wonderful plot will happen next?
When the Lone Ranger and Spurs battle reached the third quarter on April 11, Doncic strained his left calf during a breakthrough and limped back into the players' tunnel, the hearts of all Lone Ranger fans were tugged at the throat.
Doncic had already won a huge 18-point lead for the team before he left the court, and the victory or defeat of this ball may be directly related to the final ranking of the Lone Rangers. But at this moment, rankings, matchups, all of this is irrelevant, and if the stars can't play, their season is doomed to fail.
The lone ranger first arranged an MRI examination for Doncic to confirm that he suffered a calf muscle strain, the injury can be large or small, from the details of his wearing protective boots, the situation seems not optimistic, and the official return schedule is also - "indefinitely".
Fortunately, Doncic completed his rehabilitation in less than two weeks. He missed the first three games of the series, but led by Jason Bronson, the Lone Ranger unexpectedly won two of them, ushering in the leader's return with a 2-1 aggregate score.
In the first game after his comeback, Doncic lived up to expectations and delivered a near-perfect report card. He shot 11-of-21 from the field, contributed 30 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, and after a slow start with his teammates and a 16-point trail, he led the team to a 17-6 offensive wave after the start of the second half, erasing the point difference.
Of those 17 points, 12 were directly related to Doncic, and a three-pointer came from his "hockey assist", and only Finney Smith's quick-ons after a steal was done by himself.
Doncic, who has not played a game for more than 10 days, does not feel strange on the field. The brilliant breakthrough points, decisive retreat three-pointers, the pressed whistle hit before the end of the half, the confident throwing after the breakthrough, and the turnover jump shot after the mid-range continuous fake action deceived the defenders, all reminded the fans who watched the game that he is the best ball-holding core in the league today, and the combination of skill and rhythm is the master of the stadium.
But this is not Doncic's best performance.
1:27 ahead of the final, Donovan Mitchell broke through on a layup to give the Jazz a one-point lead 95-94. Just 16 seconds later, Doncic used the same method to regain the lead for the Lone Ranger with color.
Although he didn't have Mitchell's astonishing speed, Doncic was able to make the most of his body, relying on the change of rhythm and the delicate control of his fingers and wrists to put the ball firmly into the basket.
At the crucial moment when the winner or loser is decided, the game becomes a head-to-head showdown between superstars. Mitchell then missed a mid-range shot to return to Doncic's side.
39.6 seconds before the end of the game, Doncic used a blocking misalignment against Gobert, and after continuous crotch changes to a fake action, he suddenly retreated to shoot three points, and the ball hit hollow! This goal gave the Lone Ranger a four-point lead in less than two legs remaining, almost carrying the victory in his arms!
After the goal, Doncic roared excitedly at the audience, and his teammates on the sidelines were even more jubilant, and even LeBron James in front of the TV screen couldn't help but shout "Luca!!!! And all the Salt Lake City fans on the scene fell into a dead silence.
However, Mitchell, who had just conceded a key goal and had only shot 6 goals in the first 19 shots of the game, was reluctant to give up.
The next offense, he received Conley's breakthrough point near the bottom corner, did not blindly choose to grab three points, but directly hit the basket, although his first shot failed to hit under the interference of the other party, but he struggled to grab the rebound in the front court, once again forced the ball to score, while causing a foul on Doncic who came over, after the penalty hit, the point difference was only 1 point!
The Jazz, seeing hope for a comeback, focused all their defensive attention on Doncic, as Coach Quinn Snyder explained after the game: "Doncic did well in the final moments and we wanted someone else to finish the final attack." ”
Doncic, who was wrapped up in advance, chose to trust his teammates. His timely delivery of the ball allowed Powell to stand on the free throw line in the last 19.8 seconds, but Powell, who had previously made 5 of 6 free throws and shot 78.3% of the free throws this season, lost both free throws at key moments. Turning back, Gobert fully grasped Mitchell's pass, smashing the ball directly into the basket, and the Jazz completed the 100-99 rebound.
Even at this moment, the Lone Ranger still has a chance to complete the kill. But the Jazz used an early strike again, and Doncic, facing a multiplayer siege, once again made a "reasonable choice" to pass the ball to Dinwiddie, who had a chance at a 45-degree angle on the right wing — a month ago in Brooklyn, he had killed the Nets in the same position, but this time, Lady Luck did not side with the Lone Ranger - as Dinwiddie's three-point shot slid through the basket, the Lone Ranger lost 99-100 points, and the total score was pulled to a 2-2 draw.
In an interview after the game, Doncic admitted that he was still looking for form, and in the last minute, fatigue affected his performance. In addition, for the last goal to face the pinch to choose the pass, he also said: "[That ball] should be attacked by me, and then look for a better shot opportunity." ”
The good news is that Doncic's calf injury seems to be no problem, but he has just returned, and his physical condition has not yet recovered to 100%, which makes him somewhat conservative in the decisive moment, and he does not choose to force his head and personally solve the battle.
At the same time, he happened to encounter Jazz's "general harmony". In the first three games of the series, the Jazz scrapped their own martial arts, and when center Gobert averaged only four shots per game, he scored 8.7 points, in stark contrast to Mitchell's average of 26.7 shots per game.
However, in today's game, the Jazz significantly increased the feeding of Gobert, in addition to the 8 shots reflected in the statistics column, he also walked the free throw line 18 times, and finally contributed 17 points and 15 rebounds, playing the first double-double in the series. 11 seconds before the finale, the direct connection between him and Mitchell directly determined the game, reminiscent of the air relay between Bryant and O'Neal in the 2000 Western Conference Finals.
After the game, Gobert praised Mitchell for reading the situation correctly at the crucial moment, and bluntly said: "This is the team we want to be!" ”
At that time, Zhao Guo was not afraid of strong Qin, because the martial arts were incorruptible, and the literature was similar, and now Mitchell Gobert staged the "Will Harmony", which also allowed Jazz to see the light again.
The 2-2 aggregate score, the recovering superstar, the Lone Ranger and the Jazz, returned to the same running line after four games. Doncic, while not being able to bring victory to the team in his first game after his comeback, now he has a fair chance to prove that he can lead the team further.