The Suns lost to the Timberwolves for the fourth time in a row, 116-122 today, and were swept out of the tournament 0-4. The Big Three became a big joke, and although Durant and Booker scored 33 and 49 points, respectively, Beal scored only 9 points, a game-low plus/minus of -12. Instead, Edwards, who was not yet 23 years old, scored 40 points of his own and rushed headlong into the second round.
The traffic brigade has been defeated, but we can still see the real NBA playoffs.
Without Leonard, the Clippers escaped from the road to tie the overall score against the Mavericks at 2-2, and after yesterday's Magic vs. Cavaliers, they will also usher in the "Battle of Kings Mountain" in Los Angeles.
Although the New York Knicks expanded the big score to 3-1, the process was not reflected by the big score, especially Embiid played with an injury, scoring 50 points in the last game, which inspired Bronson's incomparable fighting spirit, and scored 47 points and 10 assists today.
These two series are exactly what we were looking forward to, with stars on both sides and ups and downs. The Clippers Mavericks' G4 has Irving's 40 points, and George and Harden each have 33 points.
In contrast, the Lakers won one game after 0-3, and the Suns were swept by the Timberwolves 0-4.
The Mavericks and Clippers series would have been confusing, and I said before the playoffs that the Mavericks would be a big dark horse — their logo is a mane with a flying head.
A strong turnaround at the end of the regular season has elevated the Mavericks to a tall, defense-based team that has changed decades of offensive tradition. But after all, it was the first time they had played this style of game, so the process of playing four games was particularly tortuous.
The Mavericks' G1 and today's G4 were both behind by a large margin in the first half, with G1 trailing by 26 points in the second quarter and as many as 29 points at the beginning of the third quarter. The difference between G4 and that game is that the difference in the first half was even greater, reaching 31 points, and the second was that it actually reversed and overtook at the end of the fourth quarter.
The Clippers are also very uncomfortable with this style of the Mavericks, but what makes them even more uncomfortable is Leonard's knee injury. G1 Leonard was absent, the Clippers were well-prepared and full of momentum, so they took a big lead and let the game go into garbage time early, while G2 and G3 Leonard played with injuries, and the Big Three relied on each other and broke twice in a row.
When the big score became 1-2, Leonard really couldn't hold on and announced that G4 would not play, but the Clippers regained the fighting spirit and resoluteness of the first game. In particular, George charged forward, scoring 26 points in the first half, and in the first quarter, the Clippers caused the Mavericks to make 5 turnovers with active defense, and the Clippers threw in 8 three-pointers, while the Mavericks did not score any of the first 11 three-pointers.
The two-fist combination of George and Harden was extremely powerful, George played the role of the rusher, scored 26 points in the first half alone, and played the whole second half, and Harden followed up with the "Rocket" style of play and form, giving them a lead of as many as 31 points halfway through the second quarter.
Double star vs. double star, the Mavericks made a lot of effort after falling behind 30+, and scored 12 points in a row in 1 and a half minutes, narrowing the difference to 17 points at halftime, otherwise the fourth quarter would be garbage time.
In the third quarter, the Mavericks continued to exert their strength, especially role players, such as Jones Jr. who broke through to the interior twice and dunked twice, violently rushed to the frontcourt twice to grab rebounds, and also threw in a three-pointer, scoring 9 points in a single quarter. The Clippers, who were smooth sailing in the first quarter and a half, were chased frantically after taking a big lead, and the impatience in this quarter was obviously intensified, such as: Washington stealing Harden and making him a counter-robbery foul, the Mavericks' counterattack caused Mann to make a down-and-down destructive fast-break foul on Luka (take foul), George was also blown to foul in the face of Washington's entanglement.
Irving also scored 26 points in the second and third quarters, and after he hit his fourth three-pointer of the game at 1:37 in the third quarter, the Mavericks trailed the score at 76-78. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Clippers once again held their advantage in double digits, but halfway through the quarter, the Mavericks made a comeback, and the Clippers seemed a little tired and unfocused. The most obvious shot was that after Harden missed, Washington grabbed the rebound, and unattended, a dragon counterattacked and killed the Clippers basket, magically playing 2+1.
Luka went into the final quarter with five fouls, and he hit his trademark three-pointer at the top of the arc in the final five minutes to tie it at 98-98, and Irving hit a jumper to tie it again. The best part came in the final three minutes or so, when Irving made it 105-104 with a three-pointer and a breakaway layup.
But every time he was tied, Harden responded with a breakaway throw, and in the first three games he basically didn't use that way of scoring. After being overtaken by 1 point, George threw an incredible three-pointer in the bottom corner, and Harden once again took out the killer shot of the breakthrough throw against Washington, and played 2+1 successfully, and the Clippers finally retreated with victory and 2-2.
The biggest comeback in playoff history was also 31 points, and that was in 2019 when the Clippers faced the Warriors, who trailed 63-94 in the third quarter and came back 135-131. None of that lineup is still with the Clippers except Zubac, and SGA is already competing for MVP with the Thunder, who have a 3-0 lead over the Pelicans.
This year's NBA playoffs are just in time for a new generation of stars, with the Mesozoic and young people leading the way, and Jankudu is getting older, either not making the playoffs, being swept away, or having only a glimmer of life left. The current NBA style is diverse, but they are all based on a tall lineup, fierce defense, fast counterattack, and many three-point shots, so the Clippers and Mavericks series will have such ups and downs, whether the Clippers lead by a large score or the Mavericks almost succeeded, it shows that they have equal opportunities, and the "Battle of Tianwang Mountain" is extremely crucial.
Although the 76ers lost to the Knicks and fell behind 1-3, this group still has the possibility of repeating, after all, New York is without Randle, and the firepower is focused on Bronson, who took 34 shots and made 11 free throws today.
Embiid originally had a meniscus injury in his knee and was recently plagued by facial paralysis, but he still scored 27+10+6. The G5 of the two teams is in New York, and no star will let go of the opportunity to perform here, and if Embiid does not play G3 again to score 50 points, the 76ers will be eliminated, and his personal reputation will be further damaged.
Finally, a little mention to the Bucks, who lost 113-126 to the Pacers today, full of pathos.
Alphabet thigh strain, Lillard has been the target of public criticism since the series, and after holding on to the first three games, G4 is also out with a sprained heel. In this way, the only players left with the most tactical value for the Bucks are Middleton and center Da Lopez. Lao Mi is also almost 33 years old, has missed 16 consecutive games due to injury this year, sprained his right foot in the playoffs, and after scoring 42 points in G3, he twisted his left foot in the third quarter today.
Without letters, Portis became extraordinarily important, but he played only 7 minutes before being ejected. The Bucks struggled to survive with Lopez's 27-point performance and still lost because they couldn't match the Pacers' three-point rain, allowing them to shoot 22 of 43.
Ever since the new owner traded Lillard for a big deal, the Bucks have been one of the most cursed teams.