professional shooting guard

Chapter 287 The end of the regular season

The 76ers strictly controlled Zhang Zifeng's playing time, averaging only 34.7 minutes per game.Even in two back-to-back games, Zhang Zifeng did not play in the second game.

Zhang Zifeng's playing time was restricted, Embiid was injured, and the record of the 76ers was affected.

When the 76ers' record declined, the Boston Celtics exerted their strength. To be precise, Thomas Jr. began to explode.

After the All-Star break, his performance became more stable and outstanding.

Under the leadership of Thomas, the Celtics played a wave of 8 consecutive victories, surpassing the 51ers with 29 wins and 76 losses, and ranked first in the Eastern Conference.

Thomas won the recognition of many fans and experts with his stable average of 28.9 points and 5.9 assists per game.

The entire Boston media has begun to campaign for Thomas Jr.

Thomas Jr. has also become the sixth player who is expected to win the most valuable player award in the regular season after Zhang Zifeng, Westbrook, James, Durant, and Harden.

在常规赛还有最后三场比赛的时候凯尔特人51胜28负摆名第一，76人队49胜29负，滑落至东部第二。领先东部第三、第四的骑士和猛龙1个胜场。

The Cavaliers and Raptors also have 48 wins, but with the advantage of this cross record, the Cavaliers beat the Raptors to rank third, and the Raptors ranked fourth.

Although the Golden State Warriors' record this season is not as good as last season, they still scored 65 wins and 14 losses, 5 games ahead of the second-ranked Spurs in the West, and 13 wins ahead of the Celtics in the East. The team has no hope of catching up, firmly occupying the first place in the league.

In the last three rounds, the Celtics' opponents are not strong except the Cavaliers, the Nets and the Hornets.

The Nets are first in the Eastern Conference and last.

Although the Hornets are a bit better, they only rank 32th with a record of 11 victories. They are 40 games away from the eighth Pacers in the East with 8 wins, and they also lost their qualifications for the playoffs.

Basically the Celtics should be able to lock in the No. [-] qualification in the East.

Now it is the 76ers, Cavaliers and Raptors. Who is second in the Eastern Conference depends on the last three games to determine.

Even the fifth-ranked Wizards in the Eastern Conference still have hope. If the 76ers, Cavaliers, and Raptors lose all three games and the Wizards win all three games, it is not ruled out that the Wizards will eventually reverse and win second in the Eastern Conference.

The last three opponents of the Cavaliers are the No. 1 Celtics and the No. 6 Eagles.

The Raptors' last three opponents are the 11th Pistons, the 10th Heat, and the 12th Knicks.

The 76ers' opponents in the last three games are the Bulls at No. 9, the Bucks at No. 7, and the Pacers at No. 8.

These three opponents are all ranked low, and a team that may fall out of the playoffs if they are not careful. In order to advance to the playoffs, they will definitely fight with all their strength and pursue victory.

This is not good news for the 76ers.Even a bad one, the 76ers may capsize in the gutter and lose all three games.

However, the good news for the 76ers is that the 76ers played more away games in the early stage.In the last three games, the 76ers played at home.

2017年4月6日，开开战的骑士队114——91在客场战胜了最强的对手凯尔特人。

4月7日，76人队挑战战绩排在东部9的公牛队，经过两个小时的鏖战76人主场102-90战胜了公牛。

The Eastern Raptors also defeated the Pistons 104-98.

The competition for second place in the Eastern Conference continues.

On April 4, the Cavaliers lost 8-125 to the Eagles in an away game.

On April 4, the 9ers defeated the Bucks.

Although the Cavaliers lost, as long as the Cavaliers won the last game, the 76ers lost. With the advantage of cross record, the Cavaliers can still overtake the 76ers and rise to second place.

What's more, today's No. 4 Raptors also defeated the Heat 96-94.

On April 4, the Bulls lost, and the Pacers secured a playoff berth.But as long as the Pacers win the last game, the Bucks lose.The Pacers can rise to No. 10 in the East.

On April 4, the 11ers faced the 76th Pacers.The Pacers are also making a final push for a higher ranking.

"Paul, may I ask if you have the confidence to beat the 76ers in today's game?" A reporter from "USA Today" interviewed Paul George before the game.

"I know that the 76ers are very strong this season, but we must win to ensure that we can rise to No. 7 in the East, so our Jedi will go all out, and I believe we will do it." Paul George replied.

Then the reporter also asked Zhang Zifeng, "Zhang, for today's game, do you have the confidence to defeat the opponent and secure the second place in the Eastern Conference?"

Zhang Zifeng replied affirmatively, "Of course, this is our home stadium. With the support of all the fans, we are absolutely confident of defeating any opponent!"

The interview ends and the players run out of the tunnel.

When Zhang Zifeng was the last to run out, the DJ of the 76ers shouted with all his lungs, "Let's welcome our superstar... Zhang with the warmest cheers!"

Probably because this game was the last game of the regular season, the cheers of the fans were particularly loud.

In the sound of the live DJ, the cheers of the Wells Fargo Center Arena reached high decibels.

The rise of the 76ers this season has allowed the 76ers fans who have been waiting for many years to finally cheer for the team without having to go home with disappointment again and again.

And the one who brought about all these changes was the Chinese Zhang Zifeng who ran out of the passage in front of him.

The 76ers fans applauded and shouted for Zhang Zifeng from the bottom of their hearts.

Zhang Zifeng trotted out from the player tunnel and high-fived the audience on both sides.Finally, he high-fived his teammates and stood at the very edge of the team.

Brett Brown encouraged before the game and shouted loudly: "We must win today to ensure that we will be second in the Eastern Conference, not third and fourth. This will put us at a disadvantage in the playoffs Conditions. Listen to the cheers of the fans. Do you want to play at home or away?"

"Home!" the 76ers shouted in unison.

Brett Brown stretched out his hand and shouted, "Then win this game and win the home court advantage! One, two, three, victory!"

The players all put their hands on it and shouted, "One, two, three, victory!"

Pacers starting lineup: Teague, Ellis, George, Young, Turner.

76ers starting lineup: Rondo, Zhang Zifeng, Grant, Ibaka, Noll.

With a whistle, the referee threw the ball into the air.Noel jumped up and gave the ball to Rondo.

Seeing that, Zhang Zifeng immediately ran beyond the three-point line and immediately raised his right hand to signal Rondo to pass the ball.

Ellis, who was waiting for Zhang Zifeng from the three-point range, saw that Zhang Zifeng was still half a meter away from the three-point line. When he was considering whether to put up a defense, Rondo had already passed the ball to Zhang Zifeng.

As soon as Zhang Zifeng received the ball, he didn't move forward at all, but jumped up and shot directly.

In order to increase his strength, Zhang Zifeng also began to learn from Curry to expand his shooting distance.

When Ellis reacted, Zhang Zifeng had already made a shot, and the basketball flew over his head and fell into the basket cleanly.

Zhang Zifeng opened the scoring for the 76ers, and the 76ers fans in the Wells Fargo Arena immediately gave Zhang Zifeng overwhelming cheers.

Under Rondo's interference, Teague dribbled the ball steadily across the half.and pass the ball to paul george
The current Pacers are different from the Cavaliers led by James in several seasons. Except for Paul George who is still holding on, Hibbert, Stevenson and others are gone.

Paul George is now the Pacers' biggest card and biggest reliance.

With the help of Turner's cover, George suddenly accelerated and rushed to the inside. When Ibaka made up for it, he made an emergency stop jumper.

Offensive and defensive transition, Zhang Zifeng's desire to attack is very strong tonight, and he took the initiative to ask Rondo for the ball.

This time Alice didn't dare to give Zhang Zifeng any more space, so he hurriedly posted it.

After receiving the ball, facing Ellis, Zhang Zifeng held the ball in a three-threat posture, stepped forward with his left foot, swayed his body to the left, but accelerated to break through to the right.

Once inside, Zhang Zifeng took a European step, passed Turner, and made a layup.

"Zhang swayed Ellis away with a fake move. My Pacers coach needs to make a substitution. Ellis can't restrict Zhang Zifeng at all!" Barkley said with a smile.

After two consecutive offensive successes in the opening game, Zhang Zifeng has completely entered the state of a scoring machine.

In the first quarter, Zhang Zifeng took 13 shots, hit 9 goals, scored 24 points in a single quarter, and completely overwhelmed Ellis.

But even if the head coach of the Pacers replaced Lance Stephenson and CJ Miles, he still couldn't restrain Zhang Zifeng, who had entered a state of rage.

The 76ers also benefited from Zhang Zifeng's excellent performance in the first quarter, leading the Pacers by 12 points.

In the second quarter, the Pacers resolutely double-teamed Zhang Zifeng, and Zhang Zifeng made more use of his threat to drag the opponent's defense, create space for his teammates, or assist the opponent.

Saric and Grant on the outside hit consecutive three-pointers to extinguish the Pacers led by George.

After Paul George changed direction, he suddenly accelerated and threw Grant away and rushed directly into the inside.

If it weren't for the severe fracture of the right calf, it would have led to reimbursement for the 2014-15 season.Paul George will definitely be stronger.

You must know that Paul George was able to fight against James back then, leading the Pacers to the tiebreaker with the Cavaliers.

Seeing George throw Grant away, Ibaka teamed up to double-team the opponent.

George Paul rushed to the penalty area, and a fake action of an emergency stop caused Ibaka to get up.

George sank, continued to accelerate, sprinted to the inside, and jumped up for a dunk.

Just when George thought he had the ball.

Snapped!
Zhang Zifeng slapped the basketball hard with his hand, and the ball flew out of bounds.

"Zhang blocked George, he is like an all-round fighter, making great contributions on both ends of the offense and defense!" Barkley admired.

Turner stood to the sideline to serve, and the Pacers only had 10 seconds of attack time left.

Jeff Teague ran out to catch the ball, but under the defense of the 76ers, the Pacers almost violated with 24 seconds left.

At the last moment, Paul's hasty shot hit the iron without accident.

With 4 minutes left in the second quarter, Zhang Zifeng was off the field.

When Zhang Zifeng went off the court, the 76ers had already led by 19 points.

Although Zhang Zifeng was off the field, Rondo led the 76ers to still fight the Pacers tenaciously.

When the first half ended, 49-64, the 76ers at home led the Pacers by 15 points.
"We lead by 15 points, but it's only the first half, there's still half time, anything can happen. We have to forget our advantage in the first half and play the second half with all our strength. Only when the whistle blows for the end of the game Then we can relax. Got it?" Brett Brown yelled.

"Yes, coach!"

"Okay, guys, get on the field and take the win!"

In the second half of the game, the battle began with the huge cheers of the fans.

Rondo advanced beyond the three-point line to observe the situation on the field.

Jeff Teague has a strong body and a good defense.Rondo has to be careful with the ball.

Zhang Zifeng suddenly started.

Replaced with Lance Stephenson, who was fully guarding Zhang Zifeng, and quickly followed.

Zhang Zifeng ran out to catch the ball. After catching the ball, Zhang Zifeng got stuck.

The body swayed, and then he turned around directly while carrying the opponent, his body flew backwards and shot the ball.

When Lance Stephenson was leaned on by Zhang Zifeng, his body couldn't help but took half a step back, adjusted, and when he attached it, it was already slow.

I can only watch the ball fly backwards from my eyes.

The ball passed through the net and made waves, telling everyone that the ball scored!

The referee's two-point gesture fell, and the 76ers fans cheered happily

With Zhang Zifeng's strong opening, the morale of the 76ers' players also soared, with tough offense and active defense.

The Pacers, who wanted to launch a counterattack in the second half, were suddenly beaten with a sap.

The morale of the 76ers is getting higher and higher. Amidst the joyful cheers of nearly 76 fans in the Wells Fargo Center Arena, the [-]ers are getting more and more excited, and the shots are getting smoother.

With only 5 minutes left in the third quarter, coach Nate McMillan quickly called a timeout when he saw that the point difference was close to 20 points.

"Paul, you have to be more determined. You have to stand up and help the team! OK?"

Paul George nodded and said, "Okay, I understand!"

Back from the timeout, George really hit the ground more decisively and toughly.

After receiving the ball in the frontcourt, one with Grant on his back, George hit the inside hard. After two back hits, George suddenly turned around and made a mid-range shot and made the ball.

Back on the defensive end, Rondo broke into the inside with the help of a cover, and was firmly blocked by the hot pot sent by George.

George grabbed the rebound and was just about to break through with the ball.

Grant stood up first, and George bumped into and got entangled.

The two fell to the ground together in the hug.George got up and spat at Grant with Chatter.

Grant pushed George away, trying to walk back to half court.

George shook off Grant's hand violently. Durant was irritated and turned to ask George for a theory.

Players from both sides immediately rushed over to separate the two, and the referee also came over. The conflict did not escalate.

After watching the video replay, the referee finally gave both sides a technical foul.

Seeing that the referee gave him a technical offender, George suddenly felt that it was unfair.

He immediately bombarded the referee like a cannonball: "You all know what Grant did, but you let this damn thing keep happening. Grant that bastard stabbed and punched me in the stomach all night, you didn't Stopped it. I fell down and got a technical foul for not doing anything. I can't respect this kind of referee. You guys are terrible at calling the shots."

Hearing that George complained that his whistleblowing was not good, the referee immediately became angry and immediately gave George another T.

When Paul George saw the referee's T gesture, his eyes glared angrily, just when he was about to continue cursing.

The teammates hurriedly pulled George away, and the Pacers staff also came to persuade George to go back to the locker room.

With 4 minutes and 07 seconds left in the third quarter, George made 2 technical fouls and was ejected.

At the end of the third quarter, the 76ers had already led by 22 points, the Pacers trailed by 22 points, and the team boss was ejected again.

Seeing that the morale of the team is low, there is so much behind, and the core of the team is no longer there.

In the fourth quarter, Pacers coach Nate McMillan directly chose to give up.Let the main team rest.Save your energy to play against the Celtics in the playoffs.

Nate - McMillan said that all the main players were replaced.

76ers coach Brett Brown took a look and also replaced the main players.Instead of sending in the second team, it's about using the few substitutes who haven't played much in a season to make a splash!
When Zhang Zifeng left the court, all the 76ers fans stood up and applauded him.

Thank you for leading the 76ers to rise again, and thank you for your hard work this season.

当哨声响起的时候，76人队在主场以120-111击败步行者队，76人队拿到4连胜。

乔治得到24分和5次助攻，第四节他拿到计犯被驱逐。杨得到20分和8个篮板，特纳得到18分、13个篮板和4次盖帽，塞拉芬得到17分和6个篮板，蒂格得到15分和6次助攻，迈尔斯得到9分。

76人队的张子枫得到41分和7次助攻和6个篮板，伊巴卡得到17分和6个篮板，格兰特得到15分，沙里奇得到15分和2次助攻，朗多得到12分、8次助攻和5个篮板，诺尔得到12分和6个篮板。

52胜30负，这是76人队在2016-2017赛季交出的成绩单，排名在东部第二。

Indiana Pacers 41 wins and 40 losses, and ultimately kept the playoffs.

(End of this chapter)