2021: Durant s Toe Paul s Destiny, Bucks Crown

2020-21 season continued the chaos of last season:

injuries made everything possible.

Due to injury, Curry won the scoring champion with one arm, but the Warriors missed the playoffs; due to injury, the defending champion Lakers fell in the first round. Injuries caused regular season MVP Jokic to lose his arms to help Murray, so he was swept by the Suns; injuries caused the Celtics' Tatum to face the Nets' Big Three alone, and injuries caused the Nets' Big Three to face the Bucks alone in the end; injuries caused Leonard to be injured in the middle, and the Clippers lost to the Suns.

Amid the league's numerous injuries, the relatively healthy Atlanta Hawks reached the Eastern Conference Finals, while the Milwaukee Bucks reached the Finals.

Three rounds of the playoffs, the Bucks reversed all the way: injuries made everything ahead unsafe, and Giannis Antetokounmpo and the wildly growing Bucks won the championship.

This is the second consecutive year: a post-90s player and a former non-hero team won the championship in troubled times.

On November 17, 2020, the NBA announced that the regular season will last from December 22, 2020 to May 16, 2021, with 72 regular season games. However, the playoff system of the previous year was continued in the new season: the seventh and eighth two seats in the eastern and western regions of the playoffs will be won from the seventh to tenth in each regular season division. This is probably the most interesting reform in the NBA in recent years.

Just entered 2021, big news broke out: Harden left the Houston Rockets.

Early in the summer of 2020, Harden filed a trade request with the Houston Rockets. He later claimed that his feelings for the city of Houston remained unchanged, but some changes in the team made him feel uncomfortable. On January 14, 2021, four teams traded a big deal, and the Rockets sent Harden to Brooklyn. Eight and a half years later, Thunder’s old teammate Durant and Harden reunited in Brooklyn. Since 2010-2020, Durant and Harden have accounted for seven. In addition to Irving, Brooklyn Net has three ball-holding and scoring masters who can dominate the game by relying on their personal abilities.

Harden is a number two organizer; Irving is a number one that often switches the scoring mode. Durant is the most efficient and stable scorer of the three, but has just experienced more than a year of recovery. The team's head coach Steve Nash, once a great point guard, was once the noble man of Coach Dantoni like Harden. He also worked with Durant during the Warriors, but he just became the head coach of the NBA. The team has three superstars, but the thickness, experience and defense are worrying. Durant, who returned from injury, also changed his playing style.

When he first entered the industry, Durant liked to catch and jump shots without the ball; in 2010, he became the youngest scoring champion in history in his third grade, but was looked down upon by the Lakers' Ci Shiping in the playoffs, believing that Durant only relies on unball cover and was unable to fight one-on-one; in 2012, Durant used his greatly improved ball holding and defeated Ci Shiping with one move to pull the ball and change direction. Two years later, he won his fourth scoring champion and his first regular season MVP. After being injured in the 2014-15 season, Durant reduced his jump before shooting and added a step-down jump shot. In the Warriors' three years in 2016-19, he was the No. 1 mid-range shot killer.

After returning from injury and resting for a year in 2019, Durant reduced his strong breakthrough with the ball and accelerated his shooting. He prefers to break through to the middle and close range and then pull back and shoot in a step. A more accurate, lighter and faster attack, but the explosive power and breakthrough threat are no longer at its peak.

2020-21 season, Durant only played 35 games due to injury.

Durant's old teammate Curry also returned from injury, but it was another scene. On January 1, 2021, the Trail Blazers beat the Warriors 25 points. Two days later, the two teams met again and Curry began to fight back against Lillard.

He singled out the roster to challenge the Trail Blazers center Nukic, and singled out Covington with the ball. He made a strong three-pointer under Lillard's pressing, scoring 21 points from the Warriors' 36 points in a single quarter. The Trail Blazers once had three attacks in the second quarter, and Curry scored 10 points; the Trail Blazers used Trent, who was less than 22 years old, to play Curry, who used a pull ball to move and make a strong three-pointer, hitting Trent's psychological shadow. In the last two rounds of the game, Curry scored two extremely long three-pointers, plus the game's highest 19 free throws, scoring a career-high 62 points.

After the game, Curry admitted, "When you have something that makes you excited, you will feel like you have released your energy." He let himself go in this battle, which is release and helpless: he is almost 33 years old, and he has to play with the Warriors, a semi-reconstructed team, and he has to use 62 points to support the game.

A month later, the Warriors faced the Mavericks in Dallas, Luca Doncic scored 42 points and 11 assists, and Curry returned with 57 points and 11 three-pointers. On April 12, 2021, at home against the Denver Nuggets, Curry scored 10 three-pointers in 35 minutes, scoring 53 points, and his third 50+ in a single season. That day, he was 33 years old and 30 days old, and accidentally set a record: in NBA history, after he was 32 years old, he scored 50+ in three games in a single season, and Curry was the first. And his three 50+ opponents: Lillard of the Trail Blazers, Doncic of the Mavericks, and Jokic of the Nuggets, are all top attackers. In the last 24 games of the season, Curry scored more than 30 points in 21 games, and in 8 games, the Warriors ended the regular season with 8 wins and 1 loss and entered the playoffs. Curry averaged 32 points per game to win his second scoring title, and is also the oldest scoring title since Jordan, 35, in 1998. The Warriors lost to the rising Memphis Grizzlies in the play-offs, and Curry scored 39 points, but the second-largest pick and talented defender Ja Morant returned with 35 points, and the Warriors ended the 2020-21 season. However, Curry was not disappointed. After the game, Curry proudly made a bold statement:

"People discuss the lack of our team, but this team has a big heart... We will come back... No one will want to meet us next year!"

In hindsight, Curry predicted the finale of the next season, that is, the 2021-22 season.

Curry's 53 points against the Nuggets were also the watershed in the Nuggets season. Nuggets ace guard Jamal Murray fell down in that injury. Curry walked past Murray silently and raised his hands - Curry did this action when his teammate Kray Thompson suffered a cruciate ligament injury two years ago. Perhaps Curry has experienced injuries himself and can empathize with the injured.

From then until the end of the season, Jokic led the Nuggets to score 13 wins and 5 losses in a month, and the Nuggets ranked third in the Eastern Conference with 47 wins and 25 losses. Jokic also won the regular season MVP for the 2020-21 season.

But after Murray was injured on April 12, 2021, the Nuggets could only rely on Jokic to lead the playoffs alone.

In the first round of the 2021 playoffs, the Nuggets encountered the Trail Blazers who fought seven games in 2019. The two sides were 2 to 2. In the fifth game of Tianwang Mountain, Lillard made a very long three-pointer, a layup and a step-down three-pointer to tie the game to 121 in overtime. In the first overtime, the Nuggets were once ahead of 9 points, but Lillard dragged three super long shots into the second overtime. The Nuggets won 147-140 in the end, Lillard scored 55 points and 12 three-pointers in a single game. Jokic scored 38 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists. After the game, he praised Lillard and said, "It is an honor to witness this performance on the court." Before Game 6, Lillard was awarded Teammate of the Year Award. But the Nuggets clamped Lillard to limit his long shot, and the Trail Blazers cut Jokic's pass route. At the end of the fourth quarter, Jokic made a Lillard-style three-pointer and overtook 108-106. In the end, the Nuggets won 126 to 115 and eliminated the Trail Blazers 4 to 2. This is the first time in Jokic's career: he advanced without playing in the seventh game in a series, and he also avenged the revenge of being eliminated by Lillard in 2019.

But good luck ends here. In the second round, the Nuggets were swept 4-0 by the Suns.

In the previous season, the Suns had star guards, Devin Booker who scored 70 points in a single game, Mikal Bridges of the sophomore and DeAndre Aiton, who played for half a season, with 34 wins and 39 losses in the regular season.

In the summer of 2020, Paul, 35, arrived. In the 2020-21 regular season, the Suns had 51 wins and 21 losses in the West. After eleven years, they entered the playoffs again. Previously, Nash in 2004, Kidd in 1996, Kevin Johnson in 1987 and Paul Westfal in 1974, all turned the sun upside down.

Paul's arrival has continued the glorious history of the great defender reincarnation of the Suns.

In the previous season, as Bridges said, the Suns experienced 17 starting team changes and tried to establish a "team culture". After Paul arrived, he helped the sun rise for the last time.

Defensive end, Bridges has long hands and feet, and the arc top locks the ball on the opposite side of the ball; Ayton guards the penalty area; the whole team quickly zooms, compresses the opponent's space, and quickly fills up. Paul serves as the defensive commander: he personally fills up the position at critical moments.

Offensive end, Paul averaged 8.7 assists and 2.2 turnovers per game in the regular season, and allowed the Suns to use a lot of Spanish pick-and-rolls. Because the Suns have two mid-range shot experts, Paul and Booker, the Suns have become the team with the most mid-range scores this season. In the first round of the playoffs, the Suns eliminated the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers who were plagued by injuries.

The Suns met the Nuggets in the second round of the playoffs. Paul scored 21 points and 11 assists on 8 of 14 shots in the first game. The Nuggets' three defenders Campazzo, Rivers and Morris combined for 8 of 26 shots and 23 points. The Suns beat the first game easily. In the second game, Paul saw that Gordon cared about Booker, so he let Claude shoot more; when he saw Porter Jr. cares about him, he fed Bridges assists; when he played Jokic at a high pick-and-roll, he couldn't defend himself, and he made a mid-range shot, or let Ayton make a layup. The Suns beat the Nuggets 123 to 98. After the game, Paul said that Ayton was the MVP of this game: he scored 15 points and 10 rebounds, and two consecutive games, withstood the regular season MVP Jokic in the penalty area.

Jokic used his NBA character in the third game, scoring a super triple-double of 37 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists, but Booker scored 28 points, Paul scored 27 points, the Suns team blossomed, and the Nuggets lost again, falling behind 0-3. In the fourth game, Jokic scored 22 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists in 28 minutes. But one arm is hard to support. In the third quarter, he lost control of his emotions and was sent off. Paul made 10 of 15 Chinese shots, with 37 points in the game: that was Paul's second highest score in his career playoffs. So the Suns advanced to the Western Conference Finals, and their opponent was Paul's old club. When he was there, he could not enter the Western Conference Finals Los Angeles Clippers.

This year's Clippers were led by Leonard and George, and they played seven games in the first round of the playoffs, eliminating the Dallas Mavericks led by Luca Doncic for the second consecutive year, but Leonard was injured in the second round, and he could only rely on Paul George in the Western Conference Finals. After the Suns led 3-1 in the Western Conference Finals, George scored 41 points and 13 rebounds in his career in Game 5, leading the team to 2-3. In the sixth game, Paul tied the highest 41 points in his career playoffs: the Suns climaxed 29-10 from the third quarter to the fourth quarter, with Paul scoring 22 points alone. Beverly's mentality collapsed, he fouled on Paul and was sent off.

So Chris Paul, 36 years old and 56 days old, was the best player in the history of the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers ended their home court at the Los Angeles Clippers and played their first finals.

His three highest playoff career games: 41 points against the Jazz in 2018 allowed him to advance to the Western Conference Finals; 37 points against the Nuggets in 2021 allowed him to advance to the Western Conference Finals; in this game, 41 points, he advanced to the Finals. There is another storm in the east. The Boston Celtics experienced a legend on April 30, 2021: Tatum scored 60 points in the battle against the Spurs, tying the Celtics record. But then teammate Jaylen Brown was injured, and the Celtics ended the regular season with 1 win and 5 losses.. In the first round of the playoffs, the Celtics faced the Brooklyn Net and quickly trailed 0-2. Celtic fans were very dissatisfied: After all, Irving was not very happy when he left the Celtics, and they also hoped to give Irving some color.

In the third game, the Celtics were behind 4-19 at the beginning; Tatum took over: Unlimited defense replacements against the Nets, Tatum kept attacking, and scored 40 points in the first three quarters. In the last minute of the game, the Celtics led the net 120 to 115. Tatum beat Durant in the top of the arc, made a strong start, scored 50th point, and secured the victory.

In the next game, Tatum scored another 40 points, but Durant returned with 42 points. The Nets won 3-1. In the fifth game, Tatum still scored 32 points, but he couldn't deal with the Big Three: the Nets won the fifth game of the series and eliminated the Celtics 4-1. The Celtics, Durant and Irving have become enemies. In the Eastern Conference semifinals, Brooklyn Net met the Milwaukee Bucks. The year before, Jimmy Butler led Miami Heat to defeat the Bucks, and Giannis was questioned not to defend Butler; in the first round of the 2021 playoffs, the Bucks met the Hots again, and Giannis focused on Butler, but Butler made 4 of 22 shots in the first game, and Herro admitted that Giannis' defense changed everything. The Bucks swept the heat 4-0, butler scored 58 points in four games. When he faced Giannis, he made a total of 3 of 16 shots.

This is probably the difference between the Bucks in 2021 and the past: in the past, they focused on retreating to defend, protecting the three-point line and the basket; but this year, they have more changed defensive strategies.

The three giants were in good shape: Durant averaged 33 points per game against the Celtics; Harden scored 41 points and 10 assists in the third game against the Celtics, Irving scored 39 points in the fourth game, and Harden scored 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the fifth game. Harden's instigation, Irving's one-on-one challenge, Durant's attack without blind spots, the Nets are unparalleled.

There is only a little problem: Coach Nash overused the Big Three. In the last three games against the Celtics, the 32-year-old Harden played for 39 minutes.

So the Eastern Conference semi-finals started 43 seconds ago and Harden was injured. In hindsight, this injury also prevented him from returning to the peak state of the Rockets version of Harden.

The Bucks used the Rockets' old strategy on the spot and used Tucker to play Durant. Irving took advantage of Lopez's out-of-court basketball game and scored 20 points in the first half.

In the third quarter, the old No. 1 pick Blake Griffin vs. Lopez: he shot three-pointer and completed a dunk, making Lopez dare not leave the penalty area. Durant indulged in on his performance and scored 17 points in a single quarter.

Durant got his fourth foul at the end of the third quarter. Coach Nash wanted to replace him. Durant waved and said no, and then a long-range shot from Death and went to face Lopez in person. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Griffin scored a three-pointer, leading by 15 points in the net, and won 115-107 in the end.

The hero of this game was Griffin, who had 14 rebounds, 4 three-pointers, 2 steals, 6 fouls: He was good at flying and dunking when he was young, but he was willing to be a blue-collar player at this time. After the game, he said calmly that to do big things, he had to do whatever it takes: he really did it.

The second game, without Harden's net, defeating the Bucks 125-86 by 39 points. The Nets let Griffin defend Giannis in the first quarter, while Durant quickly made Tucker fouls. The Nets' long-range shots were smooth and they secured the victory early in the first quarter 36-19.

Durant even jumped the ball with Bucks center Lopez in this game; when defending, he was also against center Lopez. Tucker was beaten twice by him at the opening game, and Holiday was easily removed by him. Giannis defended Durant in a single position on the right wing, but Durant pulled the ball with a gorgeous jump and then changed direction and closed the ball and made a mid-range shot.

Without Harden, Durant and Irving can still lead the Bucks 2-0.

So coach Budenholzer changed his moves, and in the third game, the Bucks tried hard to slow down the pace. Van Gundy pointed out that the Bucks' defensive focus is to "make every catch of the Nets uncomfortable." The Bucks look for all possible misalignment: Middleton clicks Harris, Holiday hits Shamet on his back, Giannis looks for every opportunity to attack the basket, Tucker goes to provoke Durant to stir up emotions. The Bucks fought against the defense at the last moment and bit the score difference, 86-83, catching up to 1-2.

The Bucks won 107-96 in Game 4, 2-2, but at the most critical moment of the game, the NBA official said:

With 5 minutes and 52 seconds left in this quarter, Irving withdrew from the game and went to the locker room, which caused the Nets to lose one of the two superstars. The Nets announced at halftime that Irving had an ankle sprain and would not return to the game... At that time, Irving had just hit a goal in the penalty area and his posture was unstable when he landed. During the fall, the Nets guard seemed to hit the right leg of Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo before landing.

So the three superstars of the Nets were suddenly the only ones left. It seems that fate is testing Durant: Without Harden, you can still 2-0; what about Irving?

Durant brought this to the fifth Battle of Tianwang Mountain. Without Irving, Harden returned but was injured. In a desperate situation, Durant held the sky with one arm and produced his masterpiece in his career.

Durant changed direction on the right wing and dribbled with his left hand to break through the middle lane, making a mid-range shot. When he was behind 2-12, he broke through Tucker, made a tough foul and free throw.

When the Nets were behind 10-24, Durant started an emergency stop on the right wing and made a three-pointer, forcing Tucker to make two fouls. At the end of the first quarter, Durant blocked Middleton. At the beginning of the second quarter, Durant calmly changed his direction and adjusted his dribbling and made a strong three-pointer at the top of the arc. 18 points and 3 assists in the first half.

But at this point, the warm-up was just finished.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Durant easily made a freehand painting and asked Lopez to shoot a mid-range shot. At 87 to 91, Tucker made up his mind to grab Durant's left hand, hoping to make up for the middle teammate: Durant changed direction and broke his right hand, giving Brown an inward pass. At 91 to 93, Durant called a change of defense and shot from the top of the arc and took the lead. The Bucks hit the ground again, so Durant feeds Shamet an assist. In the last half of the game, Durant scored a goal on the left waist and succeeded in the middle distance. In the last minute of the game, one point away from Durant's arc top, a three-pointer that turned backwards and turned into the air. The commentator sighed: "It's not easy to shoot, but Durant makes it easy." After shooting this goal, Durant raised his head.

He had not won the game at that time, but he seemed to have done a satisfactory paper: "I played all my life, no regrets!"

The last round of the game, Durant vs. Middleton. Middleton has already swept past Durant. However, Durant's hand was like a hook, intercepted the ball, and scored a penalty, and the Nets won 114-108.

Durant in the Battle of Tianwang Mountain. The celebrity teammate was injured by one and a half, and Harden returned with an injury and was helpless and made 1 of 10 shots. Opposite are two regular season MVP Giannis. I am still four months away from being 33 years old.

scored the second highest 49 points in the playoffs, the highest 10 assists in the playoffs, and the second highest 17 rebounds in the playoffs. The second triple-double in his playoffs. After the game, Durant said, "Everyone said I can score points, but my team asked me to do something else, from rebounds to passes to instigation to scores; I may not do everything at the same time, but I can do anything a little." Coach Nash sighed: "A battle at the historical level!"

However, unfortunately, Durant could not go further.

In the sixth game, the Bucks focused on locking three-pointers, not hesitating to miss Durant's back goal; seven players rotated in a short rotation, combined with a large number of defense replacements. Giannis has faced Harden many times, but would rather get Harden's three-pointer from a step-and-step, so that he can break through and pass the ball comfortably. So the entire Net team only had 14 assists, half of which were made by Harden. When targeting Durant, both Tucker and Middleton try to raise their hands and move sideways to interfere with Durant's strong shot. Durant made 15 of 30 shots in the sixth game but only received two free throws. Middleton had a 3+1 in the fourth quarter, which directly made the suspense of the game disappear. The Bucks won and dragged the Nets into the seventh game.

In the seventh game, the Bucks changed their strategy. Lopez, who has always been the perimeter shooter, began to attack the frontcourt rebounds; Giannis began to shoot: chase mid-range shots and three-pointers at the top of the arc. Durant scored a 38th score in the fourth quarter, and the Nets led 96-91. From then on, the value of the Bucks signing Holiday was fully reflected in this section:

Holiday scored a three-pointer and assisted Middleton with a three-pointer. The Nets chose to attack Holiday, and Giannis scored his 38th point in the cut. Holiday challenged Harris to hit a three-pointer, allowing the Bucks to take the lead 104-101. In the last minute of the game, the Bucks led 109 to 105.

With 42 seconds left, Durant scored a mid-range shot and scored 2 points.

In the last 6 seconds, Durant received a pass from his old Thunder teammate Jeff Green, who shot a magical turn and jump shot from the three-point line: even with the high standards of Death Du, this is an incredible shot.

However, his toes stepped on a little line.两分。

could have ended the series, but only overtime was available.

This is Durant's best goal in his career - and the most regrettable goal: in the seventh game, the last countdown, the shot or go home, the strength is exhausted, and under such pressure, Durant completed the final kill. This could have been the seventh game that Leonard won Philadelphia in 2019 - however, that's all.

Giannis made a hook shot with Durant with his left waist and a horizontal step. Afterwards, Lopez blocked Durant and Middleton made a shot and overtook. Durant's last ambition was hard to reach. The game ends. 115 to 111, the Bucks won.

So the Bucks, where the Nets' historical scoring champion and blocking king Brooke Lopez, eliminated the Nets 4-3 - just like Paul, the best in the Clippers' history, eliminated the Clippers. Middleton said they were lucky, "Durant was awarded 2 points on the line, and we were lucky."

Giannis scored 40 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists. Durant played for 53 minutes and scored 48 points. The highest score in the seventh game in NBA history, but the hero was short of breath. He said after the game that he respects the Bucks' challenging spirit and ability to adjust.

In 2018, Durant witnessed Paul falling down while fighting Harden, and the Rockets fell before the injury; a year later, Durant was injured and failed to complete three consecutive championships. In 2021, the Big Three will gather and are all in their peak state. However, Harden and Irving were injured one after another, and Durant almost pushed the Nets past the Bucks on his own, but the difference is slight.

In hindsight, that was also the moment when Durant and Harden had gone the farthest in the playoffs so far. In the Eastern Conference semifinals, Trae Young led the Atlanta Hawks and eliminated the Philadelphia 76ers in seven games. In the last moment of Game 7, Ben Simmons, the Philadelphia organization genius, suddenly broke the line. He won the second most defensive player of the year vote in the regular season and was good at instigating counterattacks, suddenly exposed his flaws of unwilling to shoot.

Philadelphia was once behind 86-88, and then there was a moment that Embiid called the turning point of the game: Simmons faced Yang, who was short of him, and had a great opportunity to dunk, but passed the ball to his teammate Seble, who was not good at shooting. At that time, Embiid opened space for Simmons at the three-point line. When he saw Simmons not deducting but passing, Embiid was so angry that he spread his hands. Philadelphia lost Game 7 and watched the Atlanta Hawks go to the Eastern Conference Finals.

In hindsight, that was also the end of Ben Simmons's star career.

In the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals, Trae Young relied on three-pointers and shots to defend against the Bucks, scoring 48 points and 11 assists, allowing the Eagles to win 116-113. In the second game, the Bucks used Holiday to defend Yang in the whole game, and used Giannis' replacement to defend against Yang's double screen pick-and-roll. In the second game, Yang scored only 15 points, 3 assists and 9 turnovers with 16 shots, and the Bucks won 125-91. The Bucks won the third game, but Giannis was injured in the fourth game, and the Eagles won a game, 2-2.

Without Giannis' Milwaukee Bucks, they still beat the Hawks in two straight games:

in the fifth game, Lopez's career-high 33 points and Portis's career-high 23 points. In the sixth game, Middleton scored 32 points, Holiday scored 27 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists: He broke through the strong attack at the beginning and activated Lopez in the inside. In the fourth quarter, when the Hawks scored a 21-7 chase, he allowed the Bucks to stabilize the score. The Bucks eliminated the Eagles 4-2 and entered the 2021 finals, facing the Suns.

In this year of frequent injuries, Giannis was also injured, but he still caught up with the finals.

As early as 1969, the Bucks and the Suns threw coins and decided who won the No. 1 pick. The Bucks were lucky, won the No. 1 pick, and got Alcindo from UCLA University, which was later named Jabbar. The Suns, who missed the Sky Gob, only used the second pick in 1969 to win an unknown player named Neil Walker. In 1969, the Bucks took away the good luck of the Sun.

And in the 2021 finals, the Suns' good luck still hasn't come back. In the first game of the 2021 Finals, the Bucks' coach Budenholzer changed unlimited defense at the opening. Tucker deals with his old teammate Paul. Holiday chases Booker.

Paul and Booker began to make mid-range shots against Lopez's retreat. At the beginning of the third quarter, Paul was 2+1 to widen the score difference. Paul switched defense against the Bucks, and Booker led 78 to 62 in one go. The Bucks were forced to play the outside of the three-back small forwards of Connaughton, Forbes, Middleton and Holiday in the fourth quarter, and paired with Giannis as the center to play unlimited switches, and once caught up to 7 points. So Paul broke through the defense and assisted Booker to shoot the only three-pointer in the game. He scored a three-pointer against Giannis at the last moment and scored his 30th point. Paul became the third player in NBA history to score 30 points after the age of 36: before it was Tian Gou and Duncan. The Suns then won the first game 118 to 105.

Paul said after the game that he seized the opportunity given to him by the Bucks. "I think our team knows when to focus and when to enjoy it."

The Suns scored the second game 118-108: Giannis scored 42 points and 12 rebounds, including 20 points and 14 free throws in the third quarter, but the Suns caught the Bucks' defensive strategy of shrinking the bottom corner, making 15 assists in 24 three-pointers and 7 three-pointers in the left corner. When the Suns were leading 98 to 88 in the fourth quarter, the Suns were on their way. Coach Monty Williams called out to center Ayton who scored 8 points and 8 rebounds, asking him to look at Giannis tightly when he changed offense and defense. He held Ayton's hand and said, "Look at me, you have high demands on yourself, so you are unhappy. Go and use your strength to dominate the game, go!!" So Ayton held the Suns inside.

The Bucks have once again fallen 0-2 since the Eastern Conference semi-finals: they are behind in the third consecutive series.

But coach Budenholzer is trying to figure out a way again.

He discovered that the Suns' multi-point firepower was great. Devin Booker fed his teammates 28 shots in the first two games. From the third game, the Bucks locked the three-point line, Lopez retreated to protect the basket, Tucker and Holiday respectively entangled Booker and Paul, cutting Booker's contact with his teammates; Portis and Lopez split their playing time, and the team became lighter; a large number of transfers to prevent the Suns' transfer balls; the front line advantage hit the frontcourt rebounds.

The Suns made 17 three-pointers from the bottom corner in the second game, and only 3 in the third game. The Bucks scored 12 points in the first quarter, locking the Suns' long shot. One and a half points start in the second half, Ayton made a fourth foul and was forced to leave the court. The Bucks used Giannis as the center and cooperated with the small team to hit the Suns' inside. A 12-0 win was secured. The Bucks caught 1-2 with 120-100, and Giannis scored 41 points and 13 rebounds, becoming the first player to have 40+ in two consecutive games in the Finals since LeBron in 2016. In the fourth game, Booker scored 42 points for the Suns, but the Bucks won again 109-103. Under the impact of Giannis, Ayton's mentality gradually collapsed. Booker scored 20 points in 7 shots in the third quarter, but the Suns had 3 assists: they couldn't run at all. Booker was called for a fourth foul and was forced to leave the field. By the time he committed a fifth foul, he was so angry that he kicked the chair. The Bucks won 109-103 in the end.

Middleton scored 40 points, and Holiday defended Paul: Paul scored 32 points and 9 assists in the first game of the finals. At the beginning of the second game, Holiday defended Paul. Paul made 23 points, 19 points, and 10 points in the second game to the fourth game, and 15 turnovers in three games.

The fifth game of Tianwang Mountain, when the Suns led by 5 points in the first quarter, Holiday ended up with two fouls. He returned three minutes later, and the Bucks were already 16 points behind. Paul passed the ball and Booker took over with the ball. Ayton scored early, and Claude and Bridges picked up the bullets and fired them completely.

But in the second quarter, the Bucks used unlimited switches, while Holiday attacked Paul. The Bucks chased to 42 in one go. As long as Holiday is present, he can limit Paul, and the Suns have to rely on Booker's ball-holding and strong attack.

Middleton took Paul and Holiday single shot and scored 27th in the second half, and the Bucks led 108-94. Booker made a strong three-pointer, Paul turned to the layup, with only a slight difference between the two sides. However, in the next round, Booker was blocked by Giannis' fill-up. Holiday made a pickup from behind and pushed into the frontcourt, giving Giannis an all-over score, 123 to 119, and the Bucks led 3 to 2.

Book scored 40 points in the game, but Holiday decided on the game.

In the sixth game, the Suns led 47 to 40; but Giannis scored 17 points in the second quarter, and the Suns were unable to stop it. In the third quarter, Holiday defended Booker to the death, and the Bucks often switched defenses in advance, allowing Giannis to face Paul. In the last moment, Giannis shot a one-handed shot into the 49th point at the free throw line, and Middleton made a signature mid-range shot. 105 to 98, the Bucks won.

Paul scored 26 points, but the Bucks did not give him the opportunity to instigate the series. The Suns made 14 assists and 14 turnovers in the game, and 18 fewer rebounds than the Bucks. Booker gave his teammates 28 shots in the first two games of the Finals, and the last four games combined with 22. So the Bucks defeated the Suns 4-2 and won the 2021 NBA championship: half a century later.

has also helped a large number of non-genius players: Middleton, who will turn 30, has 39 rookies in 2012, has become an All-Star in the Development League, and is the second scorer in the championship team.

31-year-old Holiday, the 17th place in the draft, started for Philadelphia at the age of 19, participated in the Black Eighth in the third grade, and finally won the championship nine years later.

33-year-old Lopez only had 13 playoff games before the age of 30; lost 70 games in a single season; had two season reimbursements; now the champion center. Tucker, who ranked 35th in the draft, Connaughton, who ranked 41st in the draft, and Portis, who ranked 22nd in the draft.

It is the efforts and tenacity of these cadres that have allowed Giannis to find a place.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, ranked 15th in the 2013 draft. After two MVPs, he finally scored 50 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocks in the 2021 championship game, winning the finals MVP. He has also become the third player in history to win the regular season MVP, finals MVP and the Defensive Player of the Year Award: Jordan and Dameng.

In turn, 36-year-old Paul and the Suns eliminated the defending champion and eliminated the MVP, leading 2-0 in the finals. They finally won the championship, but the Bucks turned the game overturned four consecutive games. Paul's play is still reasonable and correct, but probably the center like the Bucks Lopez with three-pointers and blocks, and Giannis who can switch defenses without limit and attack against the basket are more in line with the NBA's big swing defense era.

The great joys and sorrows of this year were overturned, as if they were telling: Everything can be overturned by injuries, and everything has not counted. It is difficult to end a fairy tale-like beautiful story.

and a huge if:

What if Durant did not step on the line in the seventh game?

After the game that day, Durant still maintained his self-esteem: "I thought it was a three-pointer, but my big foot was crossing the line... However, this was a good shot, but I made a better shot!" A year later, when Durant looked back on the ball, he sighed and admitted that he had a vague feeling at that time. Although he didn't see his feet, he said, "It's strange, you can really feel this kind of thing. I thought to myself: Oops!"

Durant, who had left the Warriors, and Irving and Harden, who were defeated by the Warriors, could achieve their dreams this year, but fate did not give them a chance. The next year, the warriors who once played an important role in their respective destinies will make a comeback.