Jordan: I thought he was there to help me!

Chapter 1080 Surrender! Lakers Advance to the Finals!

Jackson's guess was quite accurate.

The fourth quarter hadn't even started yet, and Lin Tian had already begun changing his clothes.

He put on his long-sleeved and long-legged training clothes, wiped his sweat with a towel, and started putting ice packs on his knees and shoulders. The physical therapist had already begun to give him relaxation therapy.

Lin Tian even took off his elbow pads and sneakers, signed them casually, and tossed them to a Mavericks fan behind him.

That guy was cursing so loudly, but after getting the autographed sneakers, he immediately burst into laughter.

"I've been a Lakers fan for 30 years! I've liked you since your Bulls days, Lin!"

Double standards are one of humanity's important traditions!

And all of this is proving one thing: Lin Tian is not going to fight anymore.

That's how arrogant they are!

There's no need to check the fourth quarter, nor is there a need to play for a few minutes and then decide.

They're not playing anymore.

The last gift Lin Tian left for the Lakers tonight was to look at Kobe casually without saying a word.

Needless to say.

Kobe knew what that look meant, and he knew what Lin Tian meant.

"You don't expect me to go on the field and clean up the mess, do you?"

That one look was enough to spell the death sentence for the Mavericks tonight!

As the fourth quarter began, the Mavericks, still unwilling to give up, did not allow their starters to rest; they had no room for rest at all.

A 27-point gap is an impossible task for them!

Especially after a perfect third quarter, the score was widened completely, which was a huge blow to the Mavericks.

How much fighting spirit and combat power they will have left in the fourth quarter is truly an unknown.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Kobe was the first to fire, quickly driving to the basket for a left-handed layup, extending the lead to 29 points.

The Mavericks responded in kind, with James also attacking the basket and slamming home a dunk to score 2 points for his team.

Then it was Durant's turn. Although his mid-range jump shot missed, Murphy grabbed the rebound and passed it to Durant again. Durant then drove to the basket and slammed it home.

This play clearly shows that the Mavericks are no longer grabbing rebounds or boxing out.

Their fighting spirit has been completely exhausted.

However, James then hit another mid-range jump shot, showing that his touch was still there.

But that's just how the game is going.

The Lakers' starters played for another 3 minutes, and the gap between the two sides reached 30 points after Kobe hit a 3-pointer!

Then Kobe committed a foul, and Jackson waved his hand, effectively ending the game prematurely.

The Lakers' role players all came on to play the final 9 minutes of the game.

On the Mavericks' side, Jason was unwilling to give up. He let his starters play for another 4 minutes until there were only 5 minutes left in the game. When he saw that the gap between the two sides was still 24 points, he finally gave up.

Jansen stopped insisting and took advantage of a timeout to substitute all the starting players.

The Mavericks have surrendered!

Jason's decision to replace his starting lineup not only means that the suspense of this game has been completely ended, but also basically declares that the Mavericks no longer have a chance in this series.

0: 3!

They're no longer on the edge of a cliff; the Lakers have kicked them off. They've started to fall, but they haven't hit rock bottom yet.

"The Mavericks' season is over," Van Gundy declared preemptively. "Maybe they can win one more game, maybe they can defend their home court, but we all know they have no chance left."

"Even if they still have the ability, they probably don't have the will to play anymore. These three games have been increasingly disheartening for the Mavericks."

"It was one thing to be defeated by a buzzer-beater in the first game, but in the second game, they were leading by 9 points with 2 minutes left and then got reversed and defeated by a buzzer-beater. Tonight, they finally didn't get defeated by a buzzer-beater from the Lakers, but even with their star players playing exceptionally well, they were completely helpless against the Lakers' post-up game!"

"James scored 45 points and Nowitzki scored 43 points. The two stars combined for a whopping 88 points! And both of them shot over 5%. Their performance tonight was truly impeccable."

"Tonight's game was a near-perfect duo meeting the league's best player, a truly flawless team!"

"Whether you accept it or not, whether you're happy about it or not, being beaten to a pulp is being beaten to a pulp!"

Miller said, "It has to be Lin! He's truly terrifying. Won't this monster be defeated by Father Time? Won't Father Time leave even the slightest mark on him?"

"He retired for three years, and when he came back, he was even stronger? What kind of logic is that? I can't understand it, I really can't understand it at all."

"All I can say is that Lin is a monster, an absolute monster! A monster that even defies common sense! Not only did he score 30+ points with a 100% shooting percentage in a single quarter, but as far as I can remember, this isn't the first time he's done this."

"It's not because after his outburst in the third quarter, he once again chose not to play in the fourth quarter, giving up another opportunity to score high points. This isn't the first time he's done this."

"It's all of this combined, everything we can see and feel combined, that makes Lin truly terrifying."

"An incredible night. I thought of many ways to end the suspense of the series, but I didn't expect it to be so simple and brutal."

"It's like a star player going head-to-head and completely crushing you! It's so direct and brutal!"

Jackson said, "But it's definitely the fans' favorite way to play! No one can resist this kind of adrenaline-pumping, crazy game, and no one can resist this most direct, crazy, and exciting star-studded duel."

"But all I can say is that I have never seen two top stars on the same team score over 80 points together in my life, and then the team loses to the opponent by more than 20 points."

"Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable!"

The commentators on the sidelines were full of praise for Lin Tian's performance in this game, praising him repeatedly and from every angle.

There's no way around it, Lin Tian was just too amazing in this match.

It's so perfect it's almost unreal.

Meanwhile, the photographers on site were quite cooperative, focusing their cameras on the benches of both teams.

A glimpse into the lives of all beings.

On the Mavericks' side, James was expressionless and dazed, unconsciously biting his nails. No one knew what he was thinking. Nowitzki looked like he was about to cry, his lips pursed, motionless, exuding a melancholy aura.

The faces of the others, including Allen, Williams, and Bogut, were all similarly grim, each one more unpleasant than the last.

The person with the ugliest expression on the entire Mavericks team was undoubtedly head coach Jason.

He seemed to want to put on a blank, expressionless face, as if he wanted to boost the team's morale and try to catch up on some points. He might also be feeling sad and want to make a wronged or painful expression, but his subconscious told him that as the head coach, he had to hold on at this moment.

In short, a variety of expressions that shouldn't have appeared on Jason's face were on display. He was clearly defeated, both mentally and outwardly. He was at a loss, restless, yet at the same time, he was very clear about one thing.

His coaching career has come to an end.

He will definitely be fired by the Mavericks at the end of the season. As for whether he can find a job or when he can find a job, no one can say for sure.

Jason was definitely the one who lost the most tonight.

Just by looking at the various reactions on the Mavericks' side, it's easy to judge their current situation.

With the army collapsing like a house of cards and morale completely broken, the fourth match will most likely be nothing more than a formality.

Fighting for honor and dignity.

But now the question is: after these three devastating defeats, how much dignity and honor do their players have left? How much motivation do they have to play well in the next game?

The situation for the Lakers is completely opposite to that for the Mavericks.

The players were having a blast, joking around, fooling around, chatting and laughing, and of course, there were the rookies handing water to the big shots.

The entire Lakers bench was certain of one thing: the Finals, they're here!

Nobody took the Mavericks seriously anymore, and nobody took the nightmarish three-way series in the West seriously.

The Lakers have made it!

Moreover, they charged through in the most arrogant, domineering, and unstoppable way.

11: 0!

And it's highly likely that the final score will be 12-0!

The Lakers have reached this point as a dominant force.

Now it all depends on their final opponent, the Cavaliers, to see if they can pose a challenge and put them through some difficulties.

In the final garbage time, both sides played with considerable teamwork.

No fouls, no timeouts, they played with a carefree and fast pace, and the game ended very quickly.

By the time the final whistle blew, a large portion of the American Airlines Arena was already empty.

Countless fans had already begun leaving the stadium; they were extremely dissatisfied with the team's performance this year!

They were unwilling to accept the desperate situation of being down 0-3, nor were they willing to accept that the team had failed to win the championship again and had fallen short of the finals once more.

Tonight, all of Dallas is destined to have a sleepless night!

In this respect, it's the same as Los Angeles.

However, although it was also a "sleepless night," the night in Los Angeles was definitely much happier and more joyful than in Dallas.

The feelings of the two cities are destined to be completely opposite.

The starkly contrasting emotions in these two cities are destined to be felt for more than just tonight.

One day later, Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals began.

Despite leading 3-0, the Cavaliers failed to secure the win that night.

The Heat once again displayed amazing fighting spirit in the face of adversity, with Curry and Klay combining for 12 three-pointers. Thanks to their incredible three-point performance, the Heat managed to protect the honor of American Airlines Center.

At least one American Airlines Arena saw a victory in this year's conference finals, didn't it?

But of course, that was the end of the Heat's resistance.

After winning a game at home to avoid a sweep and ending the Cavaliers' 11-game winning streak, the Heat cleanly lost Game 5 of the series in Cleveland, losing 4-1 to the Cavaliers and being eliminated from the series.

But unlike the Mavericks, many people were smiling after the Heat were eliminated this time.

Spoelstra, in particular, a still quite young coach, was extremely pleased.

Finally waited!

A top-tier team with its own ace lineup, a team with the confidence and strength to compete for the championship!

Next year, our Heat team will be even stronger!

Next year, our Heat team will no longer be a dark horse or a rookie team that only made it to the conference finals by luck.

Next year, we will achieve all of this through our own strength!

The Heat left this season with boundless hope for the future and anticipation for next season. They can leave with smiles on their faces; reaching the Eastern Conference Finals is already more than enough.

Not to mention, they also broke the Cavaliers' undefeated playoff record, which is something that, while not a big deal, is worth celebrating and being happy about for the young team.

With this, all Eastern Conference series have concluded, and the Cleveland Cavaliers will represent the East in the NBA Finals to compete for this year's championship trophy!

As for their opponents, they had already been identified long ago.

Of course, it's the Los Angeles Lakers!

Game 4 of the Lakers-Mavericks series went largely unnoticed. The Mavericks were clearly no longer focused on the game; they had accepted that they had been completely outplayed by the Lakers and that their season was over.

The Mavericks played their worst game of the series so far.

It's not that they lost by a lot of points or got blown out by the Lakers again.

On the contrary, they didn't even lose by 10 points tonight.

But what matters is often not how much you lose, but how you lose.

The Mavericks played with absolutely no spirit tonight. The whole team seemed distracted, as if they were in a hurry to go on vacation. They committed 24 turnovers tonight, a number that makes it almost impossible for them to win a game.

Judging from the number of turnovers, the players' body language, and their lack of desire to win on the court, the Mavericks have completely given up on the game.

The reason they only lost by less than 10 points in the end was because the Lakers didn't play seriously either.

Lin Tian played 25 minutes, Kobe played 24 minutes, and Durant played 28 minutes.

No one on the Lakers team waited longer than 30 minutes. Jackson used a 12-man rotation, sending all the players who could be on the court to experience the atmosphere of the game. This allowed Lin Tian, ​​Kobe, and others to get some rest early, essentially using the game as practice.

The Lakers' attitude in this game was just like playing a preseason game. The playing time between the starters and the bench was fragmented, the players' form was just so-so, and the performance was not particularly good.

But we can still win!

The Lakers played like this, easily suppressing the Mavericks who were clearly distracted, and ultimately winning with ease.

The intensity and content of this game were negligible. Although the score difference between the two sides was not large, neither the fans nor the players felt any excitement or intensity. In fact, the entire Heat team, who were originally watching the game on TV, turned off the TV before the end of the first half.

You'd be better off sleeping than watching this pointless game; it's a real waste of time.

The data from this match is not very meaningful; both sides seemed a bit distracted and neither was at their best.

After a game that was neither particularly relevant nor exciting, the Lakers successfully advanced to the NBA Finals!

This is the first time the Lakers have reached the NBA Finals since Shaq left and the Shaq-Kobe split.

And this time, the monster who had repeatedly stood in their way and defeated them over the past 10 years, the guy who had even surpassed Auerbach, Larry Bird, and Bill Russell to become Los Angeles' number one most unpopular jerk, was now on their side.

Los Angeles residents are full of confidence!

They are 100% confident that they can win the championship this year!

The Cavaliers, a mere team, lost a game against a bunch of weak teams with only 40 wins that wouldn't even make the playoffs in the West. What right does this lousy team have to stop us?

Won!

Los Angeles fans were getting impatient; they popped champagne and started celebrating early.

After the Lakers defeated the Mavericks in Game 3 of the series, effectively ending all suspense, the entire city of Los Angeles entered a frenzy of celebration. Countless fans took to the streets to celebrate, and nightclubs, bars, and other similar entertainment venues saw their revenues skyrocket.

Los Angeles is so much fun.

Even the Lakers themselves have become a bit overconfident.

After defeating the Mavericks in Game 3 of the series, they couldn't resist celebrating, their first such celebration of the year's playoffs.

After completely defeating the Mavericks, they returned to Los Angeles to celebrate again. Even after the Cavaliers lost, some Lakers players took the opportunity to party again.

This time, because the Cavaliers finished their series only one day later than the Lakers, the Lakers didn't have as much rest time.

They need to get into game mode immediately; they must regain their playoff and Finals form as quickly as possible.

Generally speaking, any head coach, or any coach with some experience and skill, would definitely stop the team from becoming too indulgent, too relaxed, or complacent at this point.

They need to allow the team to relax and recover their physical strength during the short rest period, while keeping their minds focused, so that the players won't be too relaxed and unable to get into the game when the finals begin.

The finals are a battleground where every inch of ground is crucial, and both sides must remain tense at all times, allowing no room for relaxation or complacency.

Jackson, a guy who could compete for the title of greatest coach in history, would certainly be familiar with this kind of thing and wouldn't be unprepared or inexperienced.

But Jackson simply ignored it. He didn't stop the players from celebrating, nor did he bring it up during training or meetings, and he didn't criticize the players.

He remained silent.

He wasn't even angry. Every time he practiced or watched video, Jackson was all smiles, as if the team had already won the championship.

"Lin, I feel something's not right." Kobe finally couldn't hold back anymore. As the most clear-headed person on the team and the one most eager for the championship, Kobe took the initiative to find Lin Tiandao and said, "Our condition is not right. We don't seem to be preparing for the Finals at all."

"Everyone was relaxed, everyone seemed to be in vacation mode. We were too relaxed and too careless."

"Then why didn't you point it out?" Lin Tian was quite curious at this moment. Kobe's personality was such that even after winning a championship, he could still put on a smug and arrogant face.

Everyone who has ever been his teammate knows how obsessive, competitive, and crazy he is. He is incredibly strict with himself and his teammates.

But this time, Kobe remained completely silent, not interfering with his teammates' celebrations. It wasn't until two days before the Finals began that he finally couldn't help but ask Lin Tian a question. (End of Chapter)