The Warriors survived the Cavaliers’ powerful Game 3 counterpunch and, in doing so, are now just 48 minutes from the most sparkling run to an NBA title in history.
勇士咬咬牙,艰难地顶住了骑士在第三场的强力反击,于是乎,NBA有史以来最摧枯拉巧的季后赛一波流行将结束,勇士距离他们的又一座冠军奖杯仅仅48分钟之遥。
Trailing for much of the second half, the Warriors clawed back in the fourth quarter and beat the Cavaliers 118-113, bumping them up 3-0 in these NBA Finals and pushing them to 15-0 in these playoffs and planting them on the doorstep of unprecedented playoff perfection.
在下半场绝大多数时间处于落后的情况下,勇士在末节成功逆转,118-113客场收获胜利,将总决赛大比分拉开至3-0,同时还将季后赛的不败纪录延续至15场,离前所未有的季后赛全胜夺冠已近在咫尺。
Of the 15 wins, this was the toughest. LeBron James was a human frieght-train the entire night, going off for 39 points and coming one assist shy of a triple-double. And unlike the first two games, he finally had help from his co-star, Kyrie Irving, who scored 38 on a number of slithery moves and creative finishes at the rim.
在这15场连胜中,今天的比赛无疑最为艰难。勒布朗-詹姆斯堪称人形永动机,爆砍39分,只差1个助攻而与又一次三双擦肩而过。与前两场不同的是,今天的勒布朗终于等到了凯里-欧文的爆发,后者贡献38分,数次完成了眼花缭乱的运球后上篮得手。
But in the end, it was the Warriors’ stars who survived a raucous environment, a two-pronged offensive attack and a seven-point fourth quarter hole, erasing many of the demons that plagued them from a season ago.
但故事的最后,笑到最后的依然是勇士们。面对人声嘈杂的对方主场助威声,以及末节7分落后的大坑,勇士双管齐下,一鼓作气,彻底抹去了困扰他们一年之久的心魔。
“I played against some great teams, but I don’t think any team has had this type of firepower,” LeBron said. “So even when you’re playing well, you got to play like A-plus plus.”
“我同许多伟大的球队都曾有过交手,但我认为还没有哪支能够同这支勇士的火力相媲美,”勒布朗直言,“因此,即使我们已经打得不错了,但还远远不够,对阵他们你必须打出A+才有机会。”
Steph Curry was incredible much of the night, going for 26 points, a team-high 13 rebounds, six assists and only one turnover. Klay Thompson parlayed his huge Game 2 into a bigger Game 3, nailing six of the Warriors’ 16 threes and hitting 30 points for the first time in this postseason. He kept them afloat early.
斯蒂芬-库里总体表现完美无缺,全场得到26分6次助攻,还抢到了领衔全队的13个篮板,只出现1次失误。克莱-汤普森在自己第二场火热的手感上浇了把油,命中了全队16记三分中的6记,并在今年季后赛中首次砍下30分。他从比赛一开始就扛起了球队。
But Kevin Durant, the frontrunner for Finals MVP, drove the Warriors home in the final sequence.
但比赛的最后,真正的大腿身披圣光,脚踏七彩祥云出现了——那个令人胆寒的骷髅死神,FMVP的领跑者,凯文-杜兰特!
With less than two minutes left, the Warriors trailed by four and their perfect playoffs were in peril. But with 1:15 left, Durant powerfully pushed Kevin Love back on a drive, got to about 12 feet out and planted a floater to pull the Warriors within two.
最后两分钟,勇士落后4分,他们的季后赛不败之旅看似岌岌可危。于是杜兰特开始了表演,他顶着凯文-乐福强行突破,命中了一记12英尺抛投将分差追至两分。
On the ensuing possession, Kyle Korver got a decent look at a 3 from the corner, which would’ve climbed the Cavaliers back up five with less than a minute left. But the sharpshooter bricked the shot that will likely haunt his offseason memories. Durant climbed high for the defensive rebound and then, six seconds later, made maybe the biggest shot of his storied career.
决胜关头,凯尔-科沃尔底角接球,投出空位三分——如果命中,骑士就能在最后一分钟手握5分优势,而且科沃尔也能抹去他整个生涯季后赛的种种悲惨记忆——不幸的是,神射手打铁了。杜兰特高高跃起揽下篮板,6秒后,他命中了或许将成为他足够传奇的生涯中,最富传奇性的一球。
Durant pushed the rebound into the frontcourt and, without hesitation, bounced into a deep transition 3 over LeBron James. LeBron rose to try and bother the shot, but did so cautiously.
杜兰特快速推进前场,毫不犹豫地拔地而起,迎着勒布朗颜射转换三分。勒布朗似乎有意图要尝试干扰,但他的动作过于小心翼翼了。
“The last thing I want to do is foul a jump shooter,” LeBron said. “So I wanted to jump and contest it, but I know he shoots, he kind of leans forward a little bit. So I just stayed there, high hands, contested.”
“我最不愿意做的就是对跳投犯规,”勒布朗说道,“因此我只是跳起来试图干扰。他已经出手了,而且有点前倾,所以我保留在原地不动,高举双手试图干扰。”
Didn’t matter. Durant drilled it, the most important shot of his career, putting the Warriors up one with 45 seconds left.
别想那么多了,反正杜兰特投进了这记生涯迄今为止最重要的一球,让勇士在比赛仅剩45秒的时候手握一分优势。
“He took over,” Steve Kerr said. “You can tell, he knows this is his moment. He’s been an amazing player in this league for a long time, and I think he’s — he senses this is his time, his moment.”
“他接管了比赛,”科尔如是说,“你看得出来,他清楚午时已到。作为一名令人惊叹的球员,他已经在联盟里很多年了,而且我认为他感觉到了,他的时刻来了。”
On the next possession, trailing by one, Irving tried to go to work on Klay Thompson, who has dogged him the entire series. After a failed drive attempt, Irving eventually found himself backing up to that same spot on the right wing where he won the NBA Finals last year. But despite Irving’s offensive exploits on this night — he was 16-of-22 on two-point shots — he was 0-of-7 from three. That seventh miss came with 26 seconds left when he left the pull-back 3 short.
下个回合,骑士带着一分落后,欧文对面是对他死缠烂打了一整个系列赛的克莱-汤普森,他毅然决定单打。进行了突破尝试未果后,他惊喜地发现自己来到了最熟悉的位置——去年给他们带来了冠军的右侧45度三分线外。然而尽管欧文在今天两分球手感爆棚22中16,他的三分球手感却始终和他躲猫猫,全场7投全失,其中第7投恰恰是这记最后26秒时的打铁。
“I’ll be replaying that one for awhile,” Irving said.
“我会多看几遍那球的回放的。”欧文略带不甘。
Curry grabbed the huge rebound, his 13th, and Durant eventually received the ball and absorbed the foul. He hit both free throws, giving him seven points in 63 seconds — a personal 7-0 run that essentially won it, planting him within one game of his first NBA title.
库里抢到了这记价值连城的后场篮板,总篮板数来到了13个。杜兰特拿到球,骑士被迫犯规后稳稳罚中两球,这也让他63秒内狂砍7分,一己之力完成7-0小高潮,也已经一只手触碰到了生涯首座奥布莱恩杯。
“I’m just trying to enjoy this moment and trying not to look in the future or in the past, just try to just stay in the present and enjoy this moment,” Durant said. “…Then I’ll sit back and probably reflect on everything once the season’s over.”
“我只是想享受当下,而不是纠结于过去或者YY未来。我只是想享受当下,享受此刻,”杜兰特说道,“等赛季结束,我也许会坐下来好好回味一下。”
But they still needed one more stop. After a timeout, the Cavaliers drew up a play to get LeBron James a corner 3. James navigated into that spot, caught, turned and set up to fire.
但一切尚未尘埃落定。暂停后,骑士为勒布朗-詹姆斯制订了一套底角三分战术。詹姆斯如愿来到计划的位置并接到球,转身,万事俱备只欠发射!
But Andre Iguodala, who has had a quiet postseason, made the biggest defensive play of the night, stripping LeBron and knocking it off his leg out of bounds. Curry got the ensuing inbounds, absorbed the automatic foul and made the game-sealing free throws.
但在季后赛中默默无闻的安德烈-伊格达拉,完成了今晚最惊天动地的一次防守,切掉了勒布朗手中的球,并打在他腿上出界。库里接到发球,被犯规,命中了为比赛盖棺定论的罚球。
“We just kept our poise (in the fourth quarter),” Iguodala said. “In the past, we kind of got haywire and hectic.”
“我们在末节始终保持镇定,”伊格达拉说道,“要是在以往,我们往往惊慌失措,束手无策。”
Perfection is one game away.
距离全胜夺冠一场之差。
“It’s not over,” Durant said. “The job’s not done. Closeout games are the toughest.”
“革命尚未成功,同志仍需努力,”杜兰特说,“收官之战场往往最难打。”