Chapter Ninety: An Army of Iron and Blood

Did you think the Warriors’ second victory was too much of a coincidence? Lin Fei’s appearance, the moment of the game-winning shot, everything about it was unbelievable.

Everyone knew that once the third game began, the Warriors would face the real test. In this one, they were certain not to see Lin Fei take the floor, and the Thunder would surely do everything they could to deny the Warriors any further game-winning opportunity.

It was the same starting five as before.

The Warriors won the opening possession, and after three days of rest, every player looked lively and bursting with energy. From the very first possession they launched into the fast break they knew best. Curry pushed the ball upcourt himself, and with everyone cutting and weaving through the lane like a flock of panicked chicks, the Thunder’s defense had nowhere to begin. After the motion had stretched the defense, Jobs was left open at the top of the key. Curry found him, and since Jobs was an inside player with a reliable midrange shot, he released without hesitation.

He hit it.

That basket revealed just how overflowing with confidence the Warriors were.

Lin Fei still came to the sideline to cheer on his teammates. The doctors had told him that he was not suited to a noisy environment, but he insisted on coming to the bench to watch the game while on the injury list.

Seeing such a show of force, the Thunder naturally refused to be outdone. Perkins answered with a strong finish inside.

The Warriors’ offense remained sharp. On the next trip, Curry came off a screen from his teammates and went straight to the rim by himself, coast to coast, drawing a chorus of boos from the fans in attendance.

Durant, hardened by last season’s Western Conference Finals, now had an even fiercer hunger to win. On the Thunder’s next possession, he drove hard into the paint, evaded the Warriors’ shot contest, and dunked with authority, all swagger and power.

By the end of the first quarter, the Warriors and Thunder had set an astonishing record: in the opening stretch, both teams had made their first twenty shots. Unbelievable. The score was 23 to 22. The commentators in the arena could only marvel that this was not a matter of poor defense, but of overwhelming offensive firepower. Look at the Warriors’ scoring spread: 23 points total, with Jobs on 5, Curry on 5, Aikes on 5, Kains on 4, and Cloudson on 4. Every player who stepped on the floor could score. As for the Thunder’s 22 points, Durant had 8, Westbrook 8, Perkins 4, and the rest of the team combined for 2.

The Warriors had ballhandlers everywhere, passers everywhere, scorers everywhere. That style guaranteed a balanced scoring distribution, and though they might lack a single commanding figure in the crucial moments, the fighting power they could unleash was astonishing. In truth, more often than not, they did not even need to rely on a last-second hero ball. The Thunder’s twin stars were dazzling enough on their own, and the statistical brilliance they produced in the series was remarkable. The contrast could not have been clearer.

Before the third game, the experts were unanimous in favoring the Thunder to edge out the Warriors in the series. Once the Warriors lost Lin Fei, their core player, it would be hard for them to find their direction again. The Thunder, after all, had gradually become one of the league’s powerhouses in recent years. Yet many of the experts who watched this game could not help admiring Nelson’s handiwork. He had restored the starting lineup from the beginning of the regular season and spread the offense more evenly among his players. With five primary scoring options on the floor, the Warriors could strike a fatal blow at any moment.

Still, some said the Warriors had merely benefited from a good collection of players. Cloudson was an excellent blue-collar role player, while Jobs and Aikes could also be considered second-tier stars in the league. The backcourt pairing of Curry and Kains was young, perhaps, but full of fight. Such a starting five was certainly capable of standing toe to toe with the Thunder’s lineup built around Durant and Westbrook.

The game grew ever more intense, and by halftime the two teams were tied at 60 to 60. Many fans were practically drooling with delight. It had been years since the league had seen a series in which both sides could maintain such efficient offense.

When the second half began, Nelson relied heavily on his bench unit. Smith was the point guard on the floor now. In earlier games, it had usually been either Lin Fei or Curry who served as the bench group’s primary scoring option, and with Nelson’s usual emphasis on cutting and movement, their energy was often not far behind the starters. But this time Nelson miscalculated. The bench could not open up the game at all.

Part of the problem may have been the lack of a truly capable point guard on the floor, but the bigger issue was probably the difference between starters and reserves. Starters are usually steadier, while many bench players, though they can put up solid numbers, lack consistency, especially when the pressure is highest.

The Thunder seized the chance the moment the Warriors’ starters went to the bench and strung together a 12 to 2 run, building a double-digit lead. But after going up by ten, Scott Brooks immediately brought his starters back in, hoping to put the game away in one breath and turn the final quarter into garbage time. The usually composed and confident Nelson could not sit still any longer and quickly sent his starting five back onto the floor as well.

With the starters back, the Warriors’ energy surged at once. They scored six straight, kept the Thunder from stretching the lead further, and cut the deficit to four.

Then the Thunder’s twin stars rose to the moment. Durant and Westbrook each knocked down free throws in succession, steadied the ship, and pushed the lead back to eight.

The Warriors then turned to their strength: the three-pointer.

Even without Lin Fei, their shooting from deep remained fierce. With Lin Fei in the lineup, they had averaged seventeen threes a game, an unprecedented figure in NBA history. Without him, the other players had more opportunities, and twelve or thirteen made threes did not seem impossible at all.

Curry opened the barrage with a three, Durant answered with one of his own, and on the Warriors’ next fast break Curry set up Kains, who buried another triple. That forced the Thunder to call timeout and draw up adjustments. Facing the Warriors’ relentless three-point attack, they had no choice but to strengthen their perimeter defense.

Nelson understood that the Thunder would respond exactly this way, but that was simply his way. Even if you came out to guard him, he would still make you pay.

The Warriors kept focusing on the outside shot, and the Thunder’s defense took effect immediately. The Warriors missed three straight. Once again, people began to miss that kid with the range to shoot from absurd distances, though everyone knew he would not be appearing in this game.

The lead stretched back to ten, with only five minutes remaining.

Only then did Nelson finally begin to adjust, ordering Jobs and Aikes to attack the paint while Cloudson tightened control of the boards. The Warriors came up with two straight defensive stops and converted twice on the other end, cutting the gap to six and making a comeback seem within reach.

But in this world, what goes around comes around.

Do you remember the final moments of the last game, when Kains had what might have been a foul on Westbrook? In this game, the home-court whistle was even more obvious. The instant a Warriors defender made contact with Durant or Westbrook, it was a foul. By the time the game was still not over, the Thunder’s twin stars had already drawn thirty free throws, nearly infuriating the Warriors’ fans to the point of collapse. One could only feel sorry for the officials.

And yet, even as the Thunder kept padding their score from the line, the Warriors still kept sending the ball through the hoop with remarkable steadiness.

Four points.

Six points.

Three points.

Five points.

Two points.

That was the rhythm of the battle. By the final twenty-five seconds, the Thunder were still ahead by two, though their stubbornness alone was enough to earn admiration.

Now it was the Thunder’s possession. On the inbound, the Warriors immediately fouled.

Durant made both free throws, restoring the margin to a safe four points.

Then the Warriors brought the ball up and hit a three. That was their third straight three-pointer.

At this point it was obvious that the Warriors’ deep shooting did not depend only on Lin Fei.

One point. Twenty-two seconds.

The Warriors fouled again.

The free throws were both good.

Three points.

The Warriors tried a hurried three and missed. In a situation like that, if Lin Fei had been on the floor, Nelson might have held the ball until the final second and then gone for the shot that would have forced overtime.

But he was not there.

So they had to foul again. Six seconds remained.

If Westbrook at the line could make just one, the Warriors would probably be finished.

Then the terrifying thing happened: Westbrook hit both.

Five-point gap. Six seconds.

The Warriors launched another hurried three and made it.

Two-point gap. Thunder possession.

On the ensuing inbound, the Thunder simply threw the ball high into the air and let the clock run out completely, giving the Warriors no chance at all.

After the game, not a single person, not a single outlet, criticized the Warriors. The headlines were usually the same: a team of iron and blood.

Those countless fouls in the closing moments proved they had never given up. Even in defeat, they were magnificent.

Seeing all this, the fans might have felt some comfort. But Lin Fei still wore that faint smile of his, the kind of carefree smile one might see on Chu Liuxiang or Lu Xiaofeng.