Chapter 779: Sweeping Through Advancement
Game 4 between the Knicks and Bulls took place 2 days later, once again at the United Center in Chicago.
Before the game, Westbrook remained as determined as ever.
He loudly declared that he would fight for honor and for the fans who had supported Chicago throughout the season.
Unfortunately, the same fighting spirit was no longer visible throughout the rest of the Bulls roster.
Trailing 3 to 0 in the series had already made their fate feel inevitable.
Westbrook opened the game aggressively.
He repeatedly attacked the paint, using his strength and explosiveness to create opportunities.
He managed to do some damage.
But he also had 1 attempt blocked by DeAndre Jordan and another rejected by Chen Yan.
DeAndre looked completely different tonight.
After Chen Yan had spoken to him following Game 3, DeAndre had learned his lesson.
No matter who knocked on his hotel room door the previous night, he refused to open it.
He had finally gotten a proper night of rest.
Luol Deng and Hamilton, meanwhile, both struggled badly.
By the end of the 1st quarter, Chicago already trailed by 9 points.
Chen Yan played without much pressure.
He scored repeatedly in transition and created easy opportunities for his teammates whenever the defense collapsed toward him.
New York's bench had also recovered its energy.
With the game flowing comfortably in their favor, everyone suddenly looked confident enough to try whatever they wanted.
Barea buried a stepback 3 pointer off the dribble.
Beverley stole the ball and raced the length of the floor for a layup.
Yi Jianlian cut without the ball, absorbed contact, and finished an and 1.
Even Jeremy Lin threw down a 1 handed dunk on the fast break.
By halftime, New York had built an 18 point lead.
61 to 43.
Once again, the game appeared to have almost no suspense.
Westbrook had failed to reproduce the heroic performances he delivered in Games 2 and 3.
He shot only 2 of 10 from the field during the 1st half and reached 10 points largely through free throws.
When the 2nd half began, Chen Yan and Curry took turns knocking down 3 pointers.
Chicago's situation became even worse.
Once the deficit moved beyond 20 points, Westbrook grew increasingly anxious.
His frustration started showing through unnecessary fouls.
Thibodeau quickly removed him from the game, hoping the break would help him calm down.
It did not.
When Westbrook returned in the 4th quarter, his emotions immediately boiled over again.
He received 2 technical fouls in quick succession.
Ejected.
As Westbrook walked toward the tunnel, Curry even raised his hand and mockingly waved goodbye.
The duel between the 2 young point guards had become 1 of the most entertaining parts of the series.
Chen Yan did not need to play the 4th quarter.
His night ended after 3 quarters with 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists.
The game had become completely one sided.
Chen Yan had barely needed to exert himself.
To borrow a famous line associated with Tracy McGrady, he was already thinking about the next round.
With 3 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter, fans throughout the United Center began heading toward the exits.
The sweep was already inevitable.
At that point, many fans seemed more concerned about beating the traffic than watching the final minutes.
The final buzzer sounded.
New York Knicks 121.
Chicago Bulls 89.
As expected, the Knicks completed the sweep and advanced to the next round.
Outside of the resistance they encountered in Game 3, the series had been overwhelmingly one sided.
New York had won the other 3 games by comfortable margins.
Inside the Bulls locker room, Westbrook sat silently and stared at the television screen.
Because he had been ejected early in the 4th quarter, he could only watch the remainder of the game from inside.
Westbrook looked as though he were deep in thought.
Or perhaps he was simply staring into space.
None of the staff members wanted to disturb him.
Considering how angry he had been when he left the court, nobody knew what might happen if they approached him at the wrong moment.
Only Thibodeau eventually walked over.
"The season is over, kid."
Westbrook looked up.
"You played well."
Those words pulled Westbrook back to reality.
Yes.
The season was over.
There was no point sitting there drowning in disappointment.
Westbrook stood.
His eyes were already filled with determination again.
"I will be stronger next season."
With that, he left Chicago's locker room and walked toward the visitors locker room.
His early ejection meant he had not gotten an opportunity to properly say goodbye to Chen Yan.
When Curry saw Westbrook suddenly appear at the entrance, he instinctively took 1 step backward.
He had waved goodbye rather provocatively when Westbrook was ejected.
For a brief moment, Curry wondered whether Westbrook had come looking for him.
Instead, Westbrook calmly approached.
"Congratulations, Stephen. Your 3 point shooting in this series was impressive. You were really difficult to defend."
Curry immediately relaxed.
Westbrook had a fiery temper during games.
Away from the court, however, he could be perfectly courteous.
"Thanks, Russell," Curry replied with a smile. "You played your game too. You never stopped attacking."
Chen Yan noticed Westbrook and walked over.
The 2 embraced.
Chen Yan quietly said a few words to him during the hug.
Several reporters inside the locker room witnessed the exchange.
After Westbrook left, 1 reporter immediately asked the obvious question.
"Chen, what did you say to Westbrook?"
Chen Yan smiled.
"That is a secret."
Then he added, "But I definitely did not tell him, 'The future is yours.'"
The reporters burst into laughter.
The next question concerned New York's possible opponent in the 2nd round.
"Would you rather face the Nets or the Indiana Pacers?"
Chen Yan answered without hesitation.
"You know how we approach this. We do not choose our opponents."
He paused.
"But I would be lying if I said I was not looking forward to playing the Nets. We have never had a Playoffs series where 2 Chinese players competed against each other on the same court."
The series between Indiana and the Nets was currently tied 2 to 2.
Before the Playoffs began, many Chinese fans had expected the Nets to win comfortably.
Although the Nets finished only 5th in the Eastern Conference, fans believed their regular season record did not represent their true strength.
Yao Ming and Anthony had both rested on several occasions.
Fans also naturally viewed teams featuring Chinese players through a more favorable lens.
It was similar to the way many supporters once viewed the Houston Rockets.
Beyond Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, those Rockets teams sometimes lacked a reliable 3rd scoring option, yet fans still treated them like championship favorites.
When they failed to advance deep into the Playoffs, the disappointment was enormous.
Indiana being tied with the Nets was not some accident.
The Pacers possessed better chemistry and stronger cohesion.
The Nets clearly had more talent on paper.
But basketball was not simple arithmetic.
More stars did not automatically equal more victories.
Regardless of which team eventually advanced, 1 thing was already certain.
The Knicks would have plenty of time to rest before the 2nd round.
Indiana and the Nets were not the only series locked in a difficult battle.
In the Western Conference, the Lakers were surprisingly tied 2 to 2 with the Thunder.
The young Oklahoma City roster had given Los Angeles far more trouble than expected.
James Harden and Devin Harris had followed the same philosophy throughout the series.
Speed.
Constant speed.
Together with Al Horford, the trio repeatedly attacked the Lakers interior defense.
Los Angeles was comfortable against teams that played slowly and methodically.
What bothered them were fast, chaotic teams like Oklahoma City.
In this timeline, the Thunder did not have Durant or Westbrook.
As a result, Harden had naturally developed into Oklahoma City's primary star.
Making the All Star team this season had given him tremendous confidence.
Even against Kobe, Harden showed no fear and willingly traded shots with him.
The Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets were also tied at 2 to 2.
Both Los Angeles teams had found themselves in difficult opening round battles.
Denver had no traditional superstar.
They relied entirely on collective strength.
Through the first 4 games, all 5 Nuggets starters averaged double digit scoring, but none averaged more than 20 points.
Ty Lawson led them at 19 points per game.
Denver's bench was equally productive.
McGee and Brewer were both averaging close to 10 points.
Teams like that were extremely difficult to defend.
There was no obvious player to target.
Everyone contributed.
Everyone could score.
The Clippers were almost the opposite.
Their offense revolved primarily around Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.
No other player averaged double figures.
For the Clippers to win, Paul and Griffin both had to perform at a high level.
If either of them had an off night, Los Angeles immediately found itself in trouble.
Elsewhere, the Memphis Grizzlies led the defending champion Dallas Mavericks 3 to 1.
After winning the title, Dallas no longer appeared to possess the same hunger.
Several important members of the championship roster had also departed.
The Mavericks had clearly lost much of the competitiveness that carried them to the title.
The San Antonio Spurs had been the most dominant team in the Western Conference.
They led Utah 3 to 0.
Through the first 3 games, San Antonio had defeated the Jazz by an average margin of 19 points.
For the Spurs, completing the sweep appeared to be only a matter of time.
....
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