NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 429 The First 50+ Point Game in the Playoffs

The moment the final buzzer sounded, Art Mayork was the first to rush onto the court and lift Jia Fei up in his arms. He was so excited; this game had been incredibly difficult, and defeating their opponents was the shared wish of all the Clippers players.

This is the Warriors' only playoff loss so far this season. They had previously swept their opponents 4-0, so it's understandable that they were somewhat complacent in this game. But complacency aside, the fact remains that they lost.

Even Jia Fei seemed very excited. Defeating Yu Zhouyong was indeed not easy; the opponent was too strong, and this victory was something to be excited about.

Tencent Studio.

"Jia Fei led the Clippers to victory over the Warriors, securing a valuable away win! Jia Fei was moved to tears... Jia Fei showed his strength to fans all over the world!" Wang Meng also cheered in his own unique way.

Yang Yi, standing to the side, smacked his lips and laughed so hard he could barely stand up straight.

贾飞毫无疑问是本场比赛的最佳球员。他全场出战了39分55秒，怒砍全场最高的54分，外加12个篮板8次助攻3个抢断2个盖帽的数据，表现简直炸裂到了银河系……

54 points is Jia Fei's new playoff high, and this is the first time he has scored more than 50 points in a playoff game.

Many people think scoring 50 points in the playoffs is easy, but they don't really grasp the concept of scoring 50 points in a single playoff game. Here's a little-known fact: Kevin Garnett, who competed with Duncan for the MVP award and is considered the greatest power forward of all time, only scored 35 points in a single playoff game.

While scoring 50 points in the regular season might be somewhat accidental—after all, there are 82 games in a regular season, and the opponents vary in strength—sometimes when you're in a good shooting mood, even role players (like the captain) have had 50+ point games. But scoring 50+ points in the playoffs is much more difficult; it's almost impossible for non-star players to do it.

After the game, almost all the news was about Jia Fei. There was no way around it; the Warriors were indeed a formidable opponent, and defeating such an opponent and breaking their undefeated streak in this season's playoffs was certainly a hot topic.

Even if the Clippers ultimately fail to defeat their opponent, they should be satisfied with this season's playoff run, given how they ended it.

At the post-game press conference, when a reporter asked Jia Fei why he intentionally attacked Zha Zha's groin, Jia Fei earnestly replied, "First of all, it wasn't intentional. I was jumping to shoot when I noticed his foot was positioned where I was landing. To avoid injury, I had to adjust my posture. I apologize for causing injury to him during this process, but I absolutely did not do it on purpose!"

Jia Fei definitely needs to make his stance clear: people like Zha Zha deserve to die, but the problem is that he absolutely cannot be allowed to get any bad reputation associated with such people.

Jia Fei's explanation was reasonable, and given Zha Zha's indeed notorious reputation, many people were willing to believe it. Furthermore, the footage was replayed on major portal websites, and indeed, Zha Zha's foot was where Jia Fei landed at that moment. Could this be another coincidence?

Zha Zha is a criminal with a criminal record, so he deserved to have his testicles attacked. Not many people will sympathize with him.

As expected, after the game, not many people attacked Jia Fei for displaying violence on the court. On the contrary, many people criticized Zha Zha for playing too dirty and always trying to hurt the opponent's key players, saying that his intentions were despicable.

The Clippers lead the series 1-0, but few still believe they can eliminate the Warriors. Frankly, the NBA playoffs are best-of-seven series. If it were a single-elimination series like NCAA Major Madness, many would still believe the Clippers, with Jia Fei, have a chance to win. The series minimizes the possibility of a strong team losing, and the difference in strength between the two teams is obvious.

May 17, Western Conference Finals Game 2.

Neither side made any changes to their lineups, and Zha Zha, who was kicked in the groin by Jia Fei in the last game, continued to start.

When Jia Fei saw Zha Zha, the other party looked at him with anger, but he felt that the other party had a bit of "sadness".

After the game started, the Warriors clearly adjusted their offensive and defensive strategies. They stopped guarding DeAndre Jordan one-on-one and instead used double teams to limit him. They also started using pick-and-rolls to target DeAndre Jordan, even though Jordan's ability to drive to the basket is average.

Jia Fei was prepared for being double-teamed, but the Clippers' other players didn't keep up with their outside shooting in this game. In other words, their shooting touch fluctuated.

This is perfectly normal; even the Splash Brothers, as strong as they are, have nights when they don't shoot well. Besides, these Clippers players aren't exactly super sharpshooters.

The Warriors' adjustments didn't stop there. Zaza only played less than 5 minutes in the starting lineup before being substituted. They increased the playing time of their small lineups in this game, using them more to speed up the pace, play transition offense, and target the opponent's center, DeAndre Jordan.

The three members of the Tsunami trio also performed well, and the Clippers encountered unprecedented difficulties on the road.

Ultimately, the Clippers lost to the Warriors 97-110, tying the series 1-1.

贾飞表现出色依然砍下32+7+6+4+1，可其他球员没有一个得分超过15分，比赛也输掉了。

A 1-1 scoreline is perfectly acceptable for the Clippers. Winning a game on the opponent's home court means they only need to win all their home games in the remaining series to make it to the Finals as a record.

Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals will be held on May 21 at the Clippers' home arena, Staples Center. Tickets for this game have already sold out.

The Clippers players left Oakland on the morning of the 18th and returned to Los Angeles.

On May 19, the NBA officially announced the All-NBA Teams for the 2016-17 season.

The All-NBA First Team consists of Harden, Westbrook, Jia Fei, Runner-up, and Davis. Jia Fei is the only player to receive a unanimous vote for the All-NBA First Team.

This marks Jia Fei's return to the All-NBA First Team after a season's absence. His individual performance and team record this season made his selection a foregone conclusion.

What's interesting is that he was selected as a forward, but in fact, he played shooting guard most of the season. This is a little trick by the league; to prevent either Harden or Westbrook from being left out, they moved Jia Fei to the forward position, since he's played small forward before. The same goes for Davis; he plays power forward on his team, but to get him into the All-NBA First Team, they moved him to center—that's pretty clever.

Jia Fei certainly wouldn't care about other people's shady tactics; as long as he was selected for the first time, that was enough.

He has now been selected to the All-NBA Team three times, including two First Team selections and one Third Team selection.

Back in Los Angeles, the Clippers are actively preparing for Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. Although they lost the previous game, the Clippers still have home-court advantage, so they are not in a bad position.