Chapter 93: 35 Seconds, the Final Wait

In the fifth game that followed, the Thunder truly could not afford another loss. Judging by the fourth game after Lin Fei's return, they had been beaten without the slightest ability to fight back. They really were "too wounded" to keep going. The sooner they settled the series, the better; the sooner they avoided the Warriors, the better; the sooner they avoided Lin Fei, that phantom of the court, the better.

In the fifth game, Lin Fei was once again in the starting lineup. It seemed that Nelson still had no intention of unleashing a full-scale offensive assault, preferring to conserve a bit of strength for a prolonged war.

From the opening tip, the Thunder launched an all-out attack. With six minutes left in the first quarter, Westbrook and Durant each nailed a three-pointer, putting them ahead 20-18 over the Warriors. But when it came to trading threes, the Warriors had no fear whatsoever. Curry quickly answered with a three of his own, and Keynes followed with a long-range hit. The Thunder failed to connect on another three for the rest of the quarter, while the Warriors kept firing from deep. With eighteen seconds remaining, Curry drained another three, and the Warriors surged ahead 32-28. In the first quarter alone, the Warriors hit 6 of 9 three-point attempts. Lin Fei did not play at all during the entire quarter.

Durant, perhaps suffering from fatigue accumulated through the consecutive series, was pulled aside by Scott Brooks for rest after playing nearly seven minutes in the opener.

When the second quarter began, the Warriors sent Lin Fei straight onto the court. He immediately drilled a three from near mid-court, blinding the Thunder with its suddenness. Scott Brooks had no choice but to keep both of his star players on the floor for most of the quarter. However, after that opening three, Lin Fei scored no more, and the Thunder briefly stretched their lead. With three minutes left in the quarter, Perkins scored on a layup to make it 61-58. The Warriors had failed to hit a field goal for nearly four minutes, but Lin Fei refrained from forcing more deep attempts. Instead, he began attacking the basket more aggressively, and it worked wonders. He drew foul after foul, closing the gap from the free-throw line. The Thunder, meanwhile, were almost too patient on offense, passing the ball excessively and even committing a shot-clock violation, squandering the chance to widen their advantage. After the Warriors completed a 6-2 run, the score stood at 64-63, with the Warriors carrying a razor-thin lead into halftime.

Lin Fei played the entire second quarter, rotating at the other guard spot with Keynes and Curry.

The Warriors opened the third quarter without Lin Fei on the floor. Under Nelson's arrangement, Golden State began to apply real pressure. Early in the quarter, Keynes recorded two consecutive steals, and X and Curry each finished fast breaks, pushing the Warriors ahead 72-66. Relying on Perkins' scoring run, the Thunder managed to tie the game at 71-72, but the Warriors answered in force. Keynes and Jobs hit mid-range jumpers, and the Warriors seized a double-digit lead at 83-73. By then, Durant was visibly exhausted, yet he gritted his teeth and powered his way through, and the Thunder closed the quarter on a 10-4 run to trim the deficit to 83-87.

Entering the final period, Durant sank a shot shortly after the fourth quarter began, cutting the gap to two. He then missed his next three attempts and scored nothing further, and the game turned into a Warriors showcase. Curry, Keynes, and X pushed the tempo on a three-man fast break, with Keynes capping it off with a thunderous dunk. A decisive 8-0 run made the score 95-85.

With no other options, the Thunder knew the fourth quarter was their last stand and launched a tenacious counterattack. They cranked their offensive intensity to the maximum from the start. Even Durant and Westbrook, who had looked slightly weary in the third quarter, showed no signs of slowing down, becoming even more aggressive. With four minutes remaining, Westbrook buried a three, and the other Thunder players began to assert themselves, scoring in succession. The Thunder closed the gap to 108-110. The Warriors then went cold, failing to score for nearly four minutes. The Thunder controlled the boards, and when Durant converted a layup with thirty-five seconds left, he tied the game at 112-112.

Nelson was beginning to question his own judgment now. At the most critical juncture of the fourth quarter, he had somehow failed to put his trump card, Lin Fei, on the floor. What a lapse in judgment. The Warriors had barely even used their timeouts.

The Thunder seemed poised to pull off a dramatic comeback. In that moment, the Warriors once again yearned for a superhero to step forward. This game was almost the defining moment of their entire playoff run, and those final thirty-five seconds would directly determine the game's direction.

Every eye on the Warriors' bench turned to two men: Nelson and Lin Fei.

Nelson decisively burned a timeout and sent Lin Fei into the game. Bringing in a super-sub assassin with only a minute remaining—hopefully, it was not too late.

Lin Fei took possession of the ball. Everyone in the arena knew exactly what he would do next: dribble up the court, find his favorite spot, rise, and shoot. But no one could stop him from completing that ritual.

Like a fairytale, Lin Fei once again became the miracle worker. He sprinted the ball up the court, leaped into his shot immediately, and his defender—whoever it was on the Thunder—could not get close to him. It wasn't that they refused to guard him; it was that Lin Fei had left them all in the dust. Three points. Nothing but net. Twenty seconds left on the clock. A three-point lead felt like an insurance policy.

The Thunder burned their final timeout to set up one last possession. They had two options: execute a quick score, then play defense, ideally forcing a steal or a foul that would send the Warriors to the line; or gamble on a three-pointer, leaving the Warriors no time for a final reply. But if they chose the first option, they would be handing the initiative to the Warriors, especially with Lin Fei on the court—a scenario the Thunder certainly did not want to see. The second option seemed more likely. But who would take that three? Durant? Westbrook?

Westbrook slowed the pace. Meanwhile, Lin Fei was playing defense, and Durant moved to the high post, slipping past Westbrook's screen to create a mismatch. The Warriors failed to switch in time, leaving Durant guarded by Lin Fei. With four seconds remaining, Durant rose, a pure pull-up jumper. Lin Fei lunged forward, unable even to graze Durant's chin. The ball arced beautifully into the basket.

Overtime! Overtime!

That shot was practically a death sentence for regulation. The Warriors had no timeouts left.

Inbound pass. Lin Fei caught the ball, dribbled twice, and launched a running one-legged shot from long range. An airball.

Overtime was something Nelson had never anticipated. He truly had underestimated the Thunder's fighting spirit. This team, which had reached the Western Conference Finals the year before, was no pushover. But he was thrilled!

"Lin, I need you to control this game!"