The Way of the Center

"MVP! MVP! MVP!..." The game was over, but the shouts from the Chesapeake Energy Arena never stopped.

In the middle of the court stands a tall No. 16 player. Judging from his skin color and face, this guy doesn't look like an American.

He raised his arms in the middle circle and looked at the auditorium with a smile on his face. Every time you look at one place, the shouts from that stand will become louder. That's right, the cheers at the scene were all dedicated to him.

The Thunder entered the decisive moment with a huge disadvantage, but when the game ended, they were not only the winners, but also beat the Lakers by five points! Among them, the efforts of everyone in the Thunder team are worthy of recognition. But if you want to choose one person who stands out the most, it must be An Jie. His performance in the last quarter is absolutely worthy of the hoarse shouts of the fans. It can be said that without him, there would be no Thunder team's current victory.

6 of 6 shots, 3 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. Anjie's explosion at the last moment was the main reason for the Lakers' loss. Whether it is Shannon. Brown or Bryant, whether it is Bynum or Gasol, can not stop Anjie. The last seven minutes of the game were completely dominated by An Jie.

Under the leadership of An Jie, the Thunder team successfully reversed and defeated the defending champion in the first home game of the Western Conference semifinals!

Kobe stared in disbelief at An Jie who was celebrating wildly in the middle of the court. He knew that An Jie was powerful, but he didn't expect that An Jie would be so powerful that he couldn't stop him. Perhaps it was Anjie's good condition today that he could achieve such a result. But without real strength as the foundation, no matter how good the state is, it is useless.

With 33 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists and 4 blocks, An Jie scored a triple-double for the first time in the playoffs, so this game has also become one of An Jie's career milestones. He deserves to be called MVP, and he deserves to take the victory over Kobe.

The performance of the Lakers today has been very good, Kobe Bryant 24 points, Pau Gasol 17 points, Fisher 17 points, Artest 13 points. However, under An Jie's outburst, all their efforts were in vain.

"Phenomenal performance, this game alone can double Anjie's worth and popularity several times. Do you know what he accomplished? Won a large triple-double in the Western Conference semifinals against the defending champion! My God, Yao Ming surprised us last season, and this season he became Anjie again. Poor Lakers, they are bound to be at odds with good big men." Even after watching the whole game, Kenny Smith still I couldn't believe my eyes, how did Anjie hit just now, from the first dunk to the last hook, there were some difficult shots during the period, but they all hit!

"We can see that Anjie is now surrounded by countless reporters. Dorsey on our channel must have been squeezed out. My God, this should be the treatment that Kobe only enjoys." Reggie Miller found the scene There is a player surrounded by a black crowd of reporters,

At first he thought it was Kobe, but after a closer look, he realized that the surrounded person was An Jie.

"Ann! How much do you think your next contract should be worth?"

"Does the result of today's game mean that you will completely defeat the Lakers and advance to the Western Conference finals!?"

"How did you do it? How did Coach Jeff Van Gundy arrange for you off the court?"

Countless microphones reached An Jie's mouth, and he couldn't answer at all, because there were too many people, and An Jie couldn't hear the questions they asked at all.

"If you have any questions, please come to the press conference to ask!" An Jie shouted loudly, pushing away the crowd with a swimming posture, and then successfully entered the player tunnel.

"You have completely made my big man famous!" Just as he got rid of the reporter, An Jie met Morris in the player tunnel.

"I said, we have to win back! Now, we did it!" Anjie and Morris bumped their fists. Morris would be happy for Anjie's achievements, and Anjie would be the same in turn.

As soon as the door of the locker room was pushed open, Westbrook was the first to rush towards Anjie.

"Good boy, steal all our limelight!" With Westbrook shouting, the entire locker room was uproarious. Van Gundy smiled and shook his head. Today, let these guys make a fuss.

The opposite of the atmosphere in the Thunder's locker room is naturally the visiting team's locker room used by the Lakers. As happy as Anjie and the others are, the Lakers players are as disappointed.

The Lakers controlled the situation almost the entire game, and they were doing well until the final seven minutes came. However, the reappearance of a second-year center from the opposing team broke their dream of winning in one fell swoop.

Bynum and Gasol are the two people who buried their heads the deepest. Except for Kobe, they are the most threatening weapons of the Lakers. However, in this series, their performance has been unable to meet expectations.

Phil Jackson pushed the door open, and he even thought he was in the wrong place. There are very few dead moments in the Lakers team, because most of the time they end the game as winners.

"Remember Yao from last season?" It wasn't until Phil Jackson spoke that the players finally raised their heads.

"Last season, the Rockets also centered on the center, and they also pushed us into a desperate situation, but in the end, we entered the Western Conference Finals, and it was us who picked up the championship trophy!" Zen Master's tone gradually increased. When the word "champion trophy" was spoken, the sound also reached its peak.

Seeing the flashes of light in the eyes of the players, Jackson knew that he had succeeded.

"Ron! Tell me, did you think you were going to win last season?" Jackson named Artest, because Artest was a member of the Rockets in the Western Conference semifinals last season.

"That's right. Last season we were very confident of winning, but..." Although he has become a member of the Lakers now, Artest feels unwilling every time he thinks about it. They were only one point away from picking the Lakers off.

"It's just that the Lakers won in the end! I tell you Ron, after you come, this will still not change! There is nothing to worry about. The Western Conference semifinals should be like this. We have already experienced it once last season. The Thunder We are only ahead temporarily, we are still far away from hell! Moreover, we will never go to hell. The one who succeeds in the end must be us, because we have already done it!" The Zen master stood up and waved vigorously. With a fist. Under his impassioned speech, the eyes of the Lakers players changed from bewilderment to firmness, from hesitation to sparkle.

Zen master is a veritable champion coach, he not only knows how to win, he also knows how to win the championship! Tactics alone cannot touch the championship. Therefore, in addition to being a master of tactics, the Zen master is also a master of psychological counseling.

He knows how to mobilize players, how to make this group of boys survive in the playoffs.

Now the Thunder are acting as if they have already advanced, and Zen master bets that they will definitely pay the price for it!

The Thunder players were still celebrating, and only Van Gundy went to the press conference alone. Yet one of the questions Van Gundy was asked the most during the press conference was, "Where's Ann?"

Some reporters pestered Van Gundy in the media reception room, while others were already waiting at the door of the locker room. Once the locker room is open, they will file in and will not let An Jie leave easily.

Until Bynum had changed his clothes and walked to the team bus, there was still a sea of ​​people outside the Thunder locker room.

Bynum walked past the reporters, but only a few pointed photographers at him.

"Damn it!" Bynum clenched his fists, he didn't want to be patted around as a loser. This kind of stimulation not only did not make the little shark lose confidence today, but filled him with fighting spirit.

Anjie broke out and the Thunder won the game. This is indeed something to be happy about. But everyone in the Thunder team seems to be a little too happy...

At this moment, they seemed to have forgotten what opponent they were facing. During the regular season, the Thunder, who underestimated their opponents, almost suffered a loss from the Timberwolves. However, now, the young Thunder made the same mistake against the defending champion!

...................................

Just one day later, the fourth game of the Western Conference semifinals kicked off again at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Before the game, the fans were full of confidence, hoping that the Thunder could take a huge 3-1 advantage to play away games in Los Angeles. The performance of Anjie in the last game is still lingering in the minds of this group of fans. Today, they firmly believe that Anjie and the Thunder can perform better!

But now, with just one minute and fifty seconds to go, the Chesapeake Energy Arena is dead. Occasionally, a low growl came out, also from the Lakers players.

Large tracts of stands have been vacated. The Thunder have not scored 90 points yet, while the Lakers are approaching 110 points or more.

"Ann's performance in the last game was simply phenomenal, but today... hey, another mid-range shot was missed. Although Bynum was swayed, he was extremely active in defending." An Jie failed to strike the iron for the second time, and Mike Breen shook his head helplessly. An Jie in this game is completely different from An Jie in the previous game.

"Westbrook's breakthrough was too random. Sure enough, he was blocked by Gasol again. The defending champions don't play like this. The reason they won before is because they worked hard and were careful enough! Look at the Thunder now , they seem to think they've made it to the Western Conference Finals."

No matter how much the media praised the Thunder in the last game, everyone without exception reversed their views today. The Lakers are not very good today, but the Thunder's performance is indeed too unreasonable.

Bryant deliberately controlled the number of his shots today to create opportunities for others. However, in front of the somewhat arrogant Anjie, Gasol and Bynum showed their talents and scored 25 points and 21 points respectively. They are also the only two Lakers players who scored 20 points today.

Although An Jie contributed the most to the Thunder's victory in the last game, it was not entirely due to An Jie alone, so the problem of arrogance did not only appear on An Jie.

Durant and Westbrook would choose to shoot immediately after receiving the pass from Anjie, but the Lakers, who had made enough targeted arrangements, did not make it so easy for them to score. Every defense, the Lakers can interfere with Durant and Westbrook's shooting.

35% and 30%, that's the shooting percentage of Durant and Westbrook. Although Anjie has a good shooting percentage, he only scored 17 points and allowed the Lakers to score 46 points inside, which is indeed unsatisfactory.

In the end, at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, under the surprised expressions of Thunder fans, the Lakers won the game 111 to 87, once again tying the total score.

The Lakers' total shooting percentage is 53%, and the Thunder's total shooting percentage is 36%. This data alone is enough to explain the gap.

The defending champion was playing with all his might, but the young Thunder started to miss out. That's the punishment, that's the price you pay for being young.

McGrady said that he had already begun to think about his opponent in the next round, so he was eliminated miserably. The Mavericks always thought that they could overcome everything in the regular season, but they have always been taken advantage of in the playoffs. Now, the amazing Thunder made a mundane mistake too.

After the game, Van Gundy kept his face straight. Maybe he was too loose with those boys before! Van Gundy has always felt that young people should not push too hard. Well now, these young people are starting to act recklessly.

The Thunder players waited quietly in the locker room. They knew that Van Gundy's "storm" would definitely be inevitable later.