12dz Chapter 654: 21 years and 140 days old, the youngest regular season MVP!
Chapter 654: 21 years and 140 days old, the youngest regular season MVP!
5 month 10 day.
The third game of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Nets and the Celtics began as scheduled.
Playing at home, the Nets came out firing on all cylinders from the start, with energetic Wang Xiucheng and Durant each contributing to the team in their own ways.
In just five minutes, fueled by the support of over 5 home fans, the Nets went on an 18-7 run.
Today, it was like the Celtics' baskets were covered; they just couldn't make a shot.
Even after the Celtics called a timeout, the situation didn't improve much.
The Celtics' three-point shooting finally started again after Mazura used another timeout.
But this only kept the score at the same level.
Until the last minute of the first quarter.
During "Wang's Time," Wang Xiucheng made a three-pointer and a floater while leaning on Tatum.
With those 5 points, the Nets led their opponents 34-25 by 9 points at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Wang Xiucheng rested. At the beginning of the quarter, the Celtics relied on Pritchard, who made two consecutive three-pointers off the bench, to narrow the gap to only 3 points.
However, Durant's consecutive turnaround jumpers, coupled with Westbrook's unreasonable and reckless shooting, allowed the Nets to maintain the score.
When Wang Xiucheng returned after his rest, the two sides were once again at an impasse.
Until the final minute of the second quarter, the Celtics decisively resorted to fouling Wang Xiucheng.
Wang Xiucheng didn't take any shots, scoring 4 points solely from free throws.
However, the Celtics also hit a three-pointer in that minute, and Jaylen Brown also made a buzzer-beating floater.
For the first time in "King Time," the Celtics scored more points than the Nets.
This allowed the Celtics to close the gap to 58-64, just 6 points behind.
The second half of the game resumed after halftime.
The Nets continue to have an all-around offensive game, making it difficult for the Celtics to provide help defense against any one player.
In the third quarter, the Nets once again scored a high of 34 points.
While the Celtics' 30 points were not low, they were still slightly inferior to the Nets'.
This allowed the Celtics to extend their lead over the Nets to double digits by the end of the third quarter.
Wang Xiucheng did not rest in the fourth quarter. Although he stayed in the corner the whole time, the Celtics did not dare to give him any space.
Therefore, most of the time the game is played by 8 people.
The score remained unchanged until the 6th minute of the fourth quarter, when Wang Xiucheng suddenly delivered three consecutive assists.
And all three assists were three-pointers.
Towns, Westbrook, and Durant each made a three-pointer, effectively distributing the scoring across the board.
This forced the Celtics to call a timeout.
Although Mazura kept giving her team members pep talks, when they returned, they could only keep their hands together to maintain the status quo.
With only one minute remaining, the Nets were already leading by 15 points.
With no reason to continue, Celtics head coach Mazura substituted all the key players.
When the referee finally blew the final whistle, the Nets defeated the Celtics 129-116 in their third home game.
The Nets also rallied from a 0-1 deficit to take a 2-1 lead.
Many people, including O'Neal and Barkley, gave somewhat confident opinions after the game.
"The Nets will win this series."
"If you watched the third game between the two sides, you would definitely have the same opinion as me."
"The gap between the two sides at positions one and five is obvious."
"Whether the newly crowned MVP Wang Xiucheng plays point guard or shooting guard, the Celtics have a hard time effectively containing him."
"When Wang Xiucheng is on the field, he decides the direction of the game himself."
"And at the center position, I think the gap is even bigger than at the point guard position."
"Because of Porzingis' injury, the Celtics had no choice but to start Horford again."
"You know, in last season's playoffs, Horford couldn't defend against the Nets, couldn't keep up, and couldn't make his shots."
"He's a year older this year, and he's no longer facing a rough guy like Claxton, but Towns, who has won the Three-Point Contest."
"Horford's disadvantages are even more obvious."
"When facing other teams, Horford might be able to help the team with his three-point shooting."
"But against Towns, he will have a hard time matching up against him in any aspect."
"The only suspense now is whether the Nets will advance 4-1 or 4-2."
O'Neal and Barkley made no secret of their admiration for the Nets on their evening show.
The two even made a large canvas on the spot, on which they believed the teams would advance to the finals.
In the Eastern Conference, both agree that the Nets and Knicks will meet in the Finals.
Both believe that for the first time in history, a city derby will be played in the division finals.
Just yesterday, the Knicks were already up 2-0 against the Pacers, led by Haliburton.
However, their opinions differed regarding the western front.
O'Neal predicts the Nuggets and Thunder will meet in the Finals.
Barkley, on the other hand, favors the Nuggets and the Mavericks.
The two then got into a real fight on the live stream, creating quite a spectacle.
In fact, just before this evening's program, the league office announced the final selection for the regular season MVP.
Having won the scoring title, assist title, and steals title, Wang Xiucheng undoubtedly earned his first Most Valuable Player award.
Wang Xiucheng played 72 games this season, averaging 35.3 points, 11.2 assists, and 4.2 steals per game, surpassing players such as Jokic, Doncic, and Alexander to win this award.
O'Neal and Barkley revealed on the show that Wang Xiucheng received a whopping 84 first-place votes in the poll.
Although he can't compare to Curry, who was unanimously elected, he is still far ahead of Jokic and others.
Furthermore, Wang Xiucheng also broke Rose's record for the youngest MVP.
In 2011, at the age of 22 years and 191 days, Rose became the youngest MVP in league history.
Thirteen years later, Wang Xiucheng broke this record at the age of 21 years and 140 days, and improved it by more than a year.
Rose won the MVP in his third year in the professional league, and Wang Xiucheng also won it in his third year in the professional league.
The saying "look at a rookie for three years" seems to be gaining more and more weight.
In addition to the MVP award, the league office also announced the winners of several other awards, such as Rookie of the Year, Executive of the Year, and Coach of the Year.
What puzzled Wang Xiucheng was that there was also an award called "NBA Social Justice Champion".
The reason Wang Xiucheng remembered this name was that Towns won the award.
It's fair to say that, aside from the final All-NBA First Team, Second Team, and Third Team selections, the league has announced all the awards it could tonight.
As for the All-NBA First Team, although it hasn't been announced yet, for many journalists and commentators, this award is already a foregone conclusion.