NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 231 Winning the First Game of the Eastern Conference Finals

The Hawks played exceptionally well tonight, with almost the entire team on fire. It was difficult to know who to focus on defending because everyone was shooting well. They have a full-spread lineup with five outside shooters, so once they all get going, their power is not to be underestimated.

The Heat's defense hesitated, and the cost of double-teaming Jia Fei became very high. The Hawks shared the ball and everyone contributed, making them unpredictable and difficult to defend.

After three quarters, the Hawks still led by 14 points, 89-75.

In the final quarter, the Hawks' rotation lineup did not lose any points. When Jia Fei and the others returned, they steadily controlled the ball and did not easily make mistakes, not giving the opponent an easy opportunity to counterattack. They played a steady game and ultimately maintained their advantage until the end.

Ultimately, the Hawks defeated the Heat 112-99 on the road, securing their first victory in the Eastern Conference Finals!

Jia Fei played for 40 minutes and 10 seconds, scoring a game-high 33 points, along with 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block, with only one turnover. His performance was absolutely phenomenal.

Despite a poor shooting performance from beyond the arc in this game, Running Man still managed a near triple-double with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists. For him, such stats are just routine and nothing to brag about.

In the visiting team's locker room after the game, the Hawks players were all very happy. Being able to win Game 1 on the road, maybe they really have a chance to beat their opponents! Who says the defending champions are invincible?

Jia Fei appeared calm. His ambition was not just to avoid being swept; he wanted to lead his team to the championship. This was just the regional finals, and getting carried away after winning one game was not his style.

At the press conference, when a reporter asked him if he was confident of defeating the Heat and advancing to the Finals, Jia Fei smiled faintly and said, "It's too early to say that now. This is a best-of-seven series. The Heat are the defending champions, and they are not so easy to defeat."

Jia Fei's humble yet resilient attitude in victory and defeat greatly pleased head coach Budenholzer, who was sitting next to him. Budenholzer was worried that the young player might become too complacent after a win, leading to a loss later. This respectful attitude towards opponents is commendable. Since the opponent is the defending champion, maintaining a sense of awe towards every opponent reduces the likelihood of unnecessary upsets.

Jia Fei certainly doesn't lack the desire to be arrogant; he simply doesn't have the resources to back it up! If the Heat were so easily eliminated, they wouldn't have won two championships in three years. While the Big Three are aging, even a weakened giant is still formidable. To dream of eliminating an opponent after winning just one game is laughable. He experienced the 2012 Finals as well, where the Thunder took the first game, but we all know how that ended.

While the Hawks won this game, there are still concerns. Their role players were on fire, which is unlikely to last throughout the entire series. The Heat haven't really stepped up their defensive intensity yet; they haven't used their signature small-ball lineup. The next game will be the real challenge.

That evening at the hotel, Art Mayor was dancing to music when Jia Fei received a call from Kemba Walker.

"Jia, congratulations on your victory!" Kemba Walker said, getting straight to the point and offering his congratulations.

"Thank you, Kemba. Aren't you coming to watch our match?" Jia Fei asked.

"I've got some things to do these past couple of days, but I'll come over when you guys get back to your home stadium!" Kemba Walker said.

"Okay, I'll get the tickets and stuff ready for you!" Jia Fei said with a smile.

"Yeah, Ja, even though you won today, don't get cocky. The Heat often come from behind to win. They definitely won't start Haslem in the next game. They'll use a smaller lineup with LeBron at the power forward position more often!" Kemba Walker shared his insights.

"Yeah, thanks for the reminder." Jia Fei naturally agreed with Kemba Walker's words. The Heat's strongest form was with Runner-up at the 4 and Bosh at the 5, their signature move being to double-team the ball handler and then steal the ball and launch a fast break. Many teams in the league had been stunned by their blitzkrieg tactics.

"Jia, I'm really starting to admire you more and more. You managed to score so many points over LeBron and Shawn. Is this really the Jia Fei I know?" Kemba Walker laughed.

Jia Fei smiled slightly: "I will surprise you even more, because I will become even stronger!"

"I feel like if this keeps up, you're going to be on the All-NBA team and in MVP discussions!" Kemba Walker said.

"Thanks for your kind words!" Jia Fei chuckled. Who doesn't want to be on the All-Star team? Who doesn't want to win MVP? Anyone who says they don't is just being pretentious. It's like offering you a beautiful woman like Liu Yifei as your girlfriend without you spending a penny—would you refuse? Why not give her to one of your brothers?

Post-game news also featured extensive coverage of Jia Fei. Many media outlets were praising him in various ways, saying how amazing he was, that the Heat's Big Three were getting old, and that the number one player in the Running Man league was about to pass on his title. Even Barkley, a notorious Jia Fei critic, said that Running Man is getting old and that Jia Fei played quite well in this game.

In a post-game interview, the Running Man member said, "Jia Fei played very well, and the entire Hawks team performed exceptionally well. When the opponent plays so well, all you can do is take your hat off to them. We will adjust and respond accordingly; this will be a very exciting series."

His interview answers are always so excellent; you can't find any flaws. They're like standard scripts. If many young players don't know how to communicate with the media, I suggest they watch his interviews and learn from him.

In China, Jia Fei's popularity remains high. More and more fans are starting to like this Chinese-American youngster, while Jeremy Lin has been forgotten. People can indeed be fickle sometimes.

The biggest regret for Chinese basketball fans is why Jia Fei isn't a Chinese citizen, so he could represent the Chinese men's basketball team. The combination of Jia Fei and Yi Jianlian sounds incredibly powerful. But it's just a dream; such a thing is unlikely to happen.

Jia Fei glanced at the post-match news and found it quite amusing. American media is becoming increasingly like the news outlets of today; they rave about wins and relentlessly criticize losses. For clicks and attention, many journalists have no bottom line. But he only felt contempt for them in his heart and would never publicly criticize them. They were all doing this to make a living; everyone was doing it, just in different ways. Some would go to great lengths to get you in, all for the same reason: to earn money.

On May 21th, Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The game continued at the Heat's home arena, American Airlines Arena, and the home team, which lost the previous game, made a lineup change!

"President" Battier replaced Haslem in the starting lineup, while the rest of the starting players remained the same.

The Hawks maintained their starting lineup, sticking with a five-outside roster.

The Heat came out strong in the first quarter, double-teaming the ball handler, cutting off passing lanes, and rotating quickly.

They relentlessly pressured the Hawks' perimeter game, forcing them to struggle with passing and leading to an increase in turnovers.