A Long Three for Curry!

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Thunder Locker Room:

Kevin Durant was sitting in a chair, exhausted, sweat soaking his jersey, with drops of it running down his forehead. His legs were covered with ice packs as he took small sips from an energy drink. His body still reflected the effort from the first half, but with each deep breath, he started to regain some energy. However, the tight muscles and exhaustion were evident. Despite it all, his face showed a tired smile.

Brooks, the coach of the Thunder, approached with some concern seeing Durant's condition. "Kevin, how are you feeling?" he asked, knowing there wasn't much he could do but wait for the player's response.

"A bit tired... but I'll be fine if I rest for a bit," Durant replied in a subdued voice. Though his physical state wasn't ideal, he knew it was important to push through.

Brooks still looked worried, but since Durant had spoken, he didn't push the matter further. Instead, he started explaining the tactics for the second half:

"We played well in the first half, and we need to maintain that level. Kevin, I need you to score more points... Russell, I'll prepare a pick-and-roll strategy for you. If Chandler defends you, you'll attack the basket aggressively; otherwise, pass the ball to your teammates. The others on the weak side, don't do anything. The ball moves, it draws the defense's attention... Jeff, you..."

Durant listened to Brooks, his breathing slowing and his sweat starting to dry. The break had helped him recover a lot of physical strength.

In the first half, Durant had never stopped moving—on offense, he had to constantly run to find opportunities, and on defense, he had to chase Curry, unable to rest even for a moment. Moreover, the Warriors focused most of their defensive attention on him. Every time Curry made a flashy dribble, he would either take a three-pointer or drive in, not letting Durant have any breathing room. Durant felt like his long legs kept moving without stopping.

He wasn't in peak physical condition to begin with. If he had to keep up defensively, it would be hard to last through four quarters, let alone the intensity required for both offense and defense. It was only the first half, and his body was already starting to fail him.

Durant finally took another sip of the energy drink, took a few deep breaths, and refocused his eyes.

No matter what, he had to win this game and make it to the playoffs!

Warriors Locker Room:

Stephen Curry relaxed his muscles and sat back in a chair, a blue and gold Warriors towel draped over his head. He looked at Liam, who was giving a speech:

"... If we keep playing like this in the second half, the Thunder will be done for. All we have to do is apply a little more pressure, and they'll crumble..."

Curry's eyes were focused, nodding occasionally. Of course, he believed what his coach was saying, and he could feel Durant slowing down a little in the last few plays he defended him. He had personally felt it more clearly when they were matched up.

"Coach guessed everything right. He's really amazing..." Butler whispered suddenly to Curry.

Curry nodded, "Yeah, the coach said the Thunder's offense relies solely on Durant, and the rest of the team can't score much. Honestly, I know it too, because their offense wasn't great last game either... But the coach also said Durant's defense is really poor, so he asked me to challenge him one-on-one to wear him out. Honestly, I was a bit scared. Everyone says Durant is talented, tall, has long arms, and is fast. One-on-one defense should be his strong suit, but I didn't expect his defense to be so bad..."

Butler chuckled and said:

"Talent? Stephen, defense isn't about talent. It's about hard work and focus. A genius like Durant isn't going to put energy into defense. He's the top scorer; he doesn't need to defend. He just needs to score."

Curry shot him a sideways glance:

"So, you think I need to invest energy into defense?"

Butler turned his head, looking directly at him, and finally glanced at his arm with a smile:

"Of course you do. You're not Spider-Man, you're a T. rex with Durant-level talent."

Curry stopped in his tracks and tapped Butler on the chest. Butler laughed and raised his hand to block the tap. Just as he was about to retaliate, Liam looked over, and both of them quickly stopped.

Liam smiled, watching the two of them goof around. Curry had always been the life of the team, while Butler, originally a bit reserved and introverted, had become more cheerful over the years spent with Curry.

"Alright, everyone, let's rest up. Let's work hard in the third quarter and win the game!"

Liam raised his voice, making a fist with his right hand. He didn't hold up the tactical board. The team had already practiced the tactics for this game yesterday, and all the players had memorized them, so there was no need for him to explain them again.

"Yes, Coach!" they all responded in unison.

The second half finally began aft-minute break, which, though short for the players, felt like an eternity for the fans. Both teams emerged from the tunnel and returned to the court, ready for the second half of the game.

The Thunder had the ball first, and Durant continued running without the ball. He used two screens in succession to find some space, and after receiving the pass from Westbrook, he made a mid-range jumper.

47:51.

He was in much better form after taking a break and recharging his energy.

But looking back, Curry signaled for Butler to come closer and set a pick-and-roll. Durant's face darkened, and he reluctantly followed.

He didn't want to defend Curry anymore, and he knew he couldn't guard him, so he shouted at Westbrook:

"No switches!"

Westbrook tried to fight through the screen, but Butler, still operating under the assumption that Westbrook would switch, didn't block the screen effectively, allowing Curry to easily slip through.

Durant followed Butler and saw Westbrook sticking to Curry again. He sighed in relief, thinking it was now Westbrook's job to defend Curry.

But his relief was short-lived when Curry missed the first pick-and-roll, only to launch into another pick-and-roll immediately, without hesitation—Butler providing the screen!

This time, Butler blocked Westbrook, and although it was just a brief delay, Durant had to rush to Curry and extend his arm to contest the shot.

Liam had given strict orders before the game: don't let Curry easily take a three-pointer behind a single screen. Curry had killed several teams with this move, and Liam didn't want the Thunder to be the next victims.

Westbrook still wanted to negotiate with Durant, but Butler didn't give him a chance. After the screen, he sprinted toward the weak side, closely following Curry, who had faked passing the ball to Butler, not daring to leave him open.

In this way, only Curry and Durant were left at a 45-degree angle on the right side of the three-point line. Curry now had another opportunity to go one-on-one against Durant.

Curry didn't waste time this time. It had already taken him a lot of time to find Durant through two pick-and-rolls, so he simply changed direction, dribbling behind his back to create some space, then quickly pulled up and shot a three-pointer!

Durant struggled to block the shot, but the ball still sailed over his fingers and swished cleanly through the net as over 19,000 fans at the Oracle Center watched in awe.

Swish!

47:54. The score, which had been tightening, stretched once again.

Boom!

After the shot, Oracle Center erupted like a volcano that had been held back for too long. Cheers and screams filled the air, and the arms of nearly every fan shot up like trees in a forest. Curry himself jumped mid-court, dancing with joy.

He high-fived Butler next to him to celebrate and flashed a broad grin.

"Yes! Curry made a difficult three against Durant. You can see Curry is relentlessly going after Durant. He used two pick-and-rolls to isolate Durant. This is clearly part of the Warriors' strategy," Mike Breen commented.

Jeff Van Gundy nodded in agreement:

"The Warriors have no reason not to play like this. The first half made it clear that Durant can't defend Curry one-on-one. From what I know about Coach Liam, he'll never let Durant off the hook."

"Oh? What kind of person do you think Coach Liam is?" Mike Breen asked, intrigued.

Jeff Van Gundy had a reflective look in his eyes:

"I've seen many Warriors games this season, and I know something about Coach Liam. He's a coach who is really good at adjusting his tactics based on the opponent's weaknesses. And when he spots those weaknesses, he'll attack them relentlessly until the opponent changes their strategy. We all know many coaches stick rigidly to their systems, but Coach Liam is different. He adapts on the fly."

"Maybe that's why he can become an NBA head coach at the age of 27..." Mark Jackson sighed.

He had wanted to be a head coach after retiring, but never had the chance, only managing to work as a commentator. Seeing Liam become a head coach at such a young age gave him mixed feelings.

Jeff Van Gundy shook his head and said:

"No, Mark, Coach Liam can coach the Warriors because he bought them. Otherwise, no one would hire a guy in his twenties as a head coach."

As the three discussed Liam, the two teams on the court continued to battle through a few more rounds. Curry chased Durant twice, but couldn't prevail.

And Durant was no iron man. He couldn't carry the team alone. He passed the ball to Westbrook, but the pick-and-roll between Westbrook and Kostic wasn't ideal, and the score stalled for a while.

After some back-and-forth, the Warriors regained possession. Curry pushed the ball forward and looked towards the sideline. Liam made a motion for him to continue, hesitated for a moment, and then Curry found his way through the pick-and-roll.

With a smooth dribble, Curry created space for a shot, but his three-pointer fell just short, and Kostic grabbed the rebound.

Silas quietly asked Liam:

"Liam, Stephen's touch isn't great right now. Should we change our style?"

"No, let him keep attacking Durant. Even if he misses, he needs to keep playing," Liam shook his head slowly and responded.

"But..."

"Don't forget our goal. As long as we can wear Durant out, scoring is secondary," Liam interrupted Silas, speaking with a deep voice.

He turned to look at the bench, where the bench players were eager to get in, and a smile crept onto the corner of his mouth.

As long as they kept playing at this pace, even if the Warriors lost some points in the third quarter, they were still going to win the game.

…

"Eh... eh... uh-uh!"

On the court, Durant received a pass from Westbrook just outside the three-point line. He made a sharp change of direction, stopped, and fired a three.

He held his right hand up high, following through on the shot, watching as the basketball bounced off the rim. He lowered his hand, took a deep breath, and jogged back on defense.

The third quarter was coming to a close, and only 31 seconds remained. After Durant made this three-pointer, the score was 68:70, and the Thunder had closed the gap to just two points.

Moreover, Durant had made the most of the attacking time. He saw a glimmer of hope, and that hope fueled him to score difficult baskets one after another, even when his physical condition was on the brink of exhaustion.

By the time the third quarter ended, Durant had already scored 36 points, and each time he scored, it was an unreasonably difficult pull-up shot, which shocked even the Oracle Center fans.

When his teammates couldn't open things up, Durant decisively took the ball and shot without hesitation. Curry's shooting touch had been off for a few minutes, and Durant was on a rampage, scoring consecutively and helping the Thunder catch up.

But only Durant knew that while his offensive game was on point, frequent attacks from Curry on the defensive end were draining his energy. At this point, he was close to running on empty, but looking around, no one on the Thunder could step up. With the team relying on him, he could only carry the load himself.

To conserve energy, Durant slowly retreated to his half of the court. Curry on the opposite side quickly pushed forward and sprinted toward him. Durant looked left and right and noticed there was no one around. But Curry stopped two steps in front of him, raised his hand, and launched a three-pointer!

The sudden triple caught Durant a bit off-guard. He raised his right hand halfway and looked back just in time to see the ball spinning at high speed and falling directly through the net.

68:73. The narrow gap had widened again.

Durant stood frozen, and the cheers and roars from the crowd hit his ears like echoes from a distant place, surreal and ethereal.

He gritted his teeth, wiped the sweat off his face with his jersey, passed the ball to Westbrook, and sluggishly moved towards the offensive zone.

Butler stopped in front of him. Durant paused one step before Butler and dribbled the ball slowly. The Warriors didn't double-team. He glanced at the clock. It was almost time for the quarter to end. He gathered the ball, raised his hand, took the ball much slower than usual, and launched a super-long three-pointer.

As Durant shot, a drop of sweat fell from his forehead into his right eye, but he didn't blink. He gently pushed the ball with his right hand, just like the thousands of shooting drills he had done in his daily life.

Swish!

71:73. After all, Butler couldn't interfere with Durant's shot from a very high point. The ball swished through the net cleanly, and Durant landed, exhaling a sigh of relief. He then felt his heart pounding like a heavy drum, making slow rhythmic sounds. The "dong dong" beat took his breath away.

After making the shot, the Warriors had 3.2 seconds left to attack. Chandler quickly inbounded the ball, but Westbrook advanced rapidly up the court, realizing time was running out. He took two steps past Curry and raised his hand as a symbolic gesture.

Curry ran past Westbrook with a reverse dribble, but with less than two seconds remaining, he had just crossed half-court and stepped on the Bay Bridge logo. Curry didn't have time to think much, took two more steps, and was in position for a shot. He squared up and pushed the ball forcefully from his chest.

Everyone's eyes were on the orange basketball. A hush fell over the massive Oracle Center. The only sound was the long "beep" when the red light went off just as the ball flew past half-court.

Explosion - Swish!

Under the spotlight, the basketball hit the backboard and then swished through the net. 71:76.

"Yes! Curry with the long three!"

Along with the passionate commentary of Mike Breen, there were wild screams that seemed to tear the roof off. After a brief silence, the Oracle Center erupted into deafening cheers. Fans collectively jumped to their feet, raising their arms in adoration of this jaw-dropping triple as the buzzer sounded.

The Warriors' bench also went wild, and with the other players on the court, they rushed to Curry, surrounded him in the middle, and celebrated this three-pointer, which was even more spectacular than a game-winner.

"Eh... eh..."

Durant bent over, hands on his knees, staring at the Warriors celebrating. Then he fixed his gaze on the scoreboard on the big screen. The energy that had been supporting him quietly dissipated.

He dragged his tired body back to the bench and slumped into his chair, feeling exhausted and helpless, suppressed by his desire to win.

Curry can even make that shot. Can the Thunder really win?

On the other side of the technical area, Liam smiled, clapped, and said to Silas:

"Stephen, we won!"

…

The final quarter passed in a quiet atmosphere. After the Warriors' bench players entered, they quickly extended the lead to double digits, but the fans and commentators felt like it was only natural.

Curry's two ultra-long three-pointers gave the entire team a boost, turning the Warriors players into tigers, as if they were going to tear their opponents in half. Their intensity on both offense and defense was overwhelming.

The Thunder's attempt to catch up was completely crushed. They seemed stunned by Curry's three-pointer and played disorganized basketball.

No matter how many times Brooks called timeouts and emphasized tactics, it was useless. Durant, who had been put back in early by him, was no longer as magical as before. His physical strength was almost depleted. The Warriors counterattacked, and the point difference quickly grew to 20.

Five minutes into the final quarter, the game entered garbage time, and Brooks withdrew his starters.

Liam waited until Curry hit a three-pointer after missing three shots in a row and scoring 40 points before he replaced the starters.

When Curry exited the court, the MVP chants in the Oracle Center echoed for a long time.

Liam crossed his arms over his chest and smiled slightly. He used to be a fan and knew better than anyone what the fans liked to see. In that regard, he wouldn't imitate Coach Kerr.

End of this chapter

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