面對勇士的天賦碾壓,對手該怎麼努力?
Just like they did to the Blazers two weeks earlier, the Warriors punched the Jazz in the Mouth to start Game 4, putting what seemed to be an early cap on their closing statement.
一如他們在兩週前對開拓者所做的一樣，勇士在今天比賽一開場就給了爵士當頭一棒，這場系列賽收尾戰看起來又將是另一場三節打卡的比賽。But unlike the Blazers, the tougher Jazz clawed back and forced the Warriors to at least work into the fourth quarter, before Golden State eventually exterminated Utah's season: a 121-95 final, another Warriors' 4-0 sweep and an advancement to their third straight Western Conference Finals.
但與開拓者不同的是，更堅韌的爵士回擊了勇士，讓他們至少沒能三節打卡下班。但最終還是無事於補，勇士以121-95再下一城，總比分4-0橫掃對手，連續第三年晉級西決。Now they await the winner of the Rockets and Spurs series, which sits at 2-2. If it ends in six, the West Finals start in Oracle Arena on Sunday. If it extends to seven, the West Finals start in Oracle on Tuesday.
現在他們只需要靜靜等待另一組西部半決賽的勝者，火箭和馬刺目前戰至2-2平。如果這輪系列賽六場結束，西決第一場將在當地時間周天於甲骨文中心進行。若雙方酣戰七場，西決揭幕戰將推遲至下週二。
Either way, a rested, steamrolling Warriors team will be awaiting as monster favorites, having won 23 of their last 24 games dating back to mid-March and all eight of their playoff games by margins of 12, 29, 6, 25, 12, 11, 11 and 26 points.
不管怎麼說，這支自三月中旬的過去24場比賽中捲走了23勝，在季後賽中以場均16.5分的巨大優勢連續兩輪橫掃晉級的大魔頭，即將獲得充足的休息時間，在西決賽場以逸待勞。But there were at least tiny moments of adversity on Monday night.
不過在今天的比賽中，他們還是遇到了一丁點小小的麻煩。Early on, it didn't look like it'd be that way. After hitting only one shot in a slow Game 3, Klay Thompson opened the scoring with a pair of jumpers. Then Steph Curry hit a pair of 3s. Then Kevin Durant found Curry on a creative give-and-go layup on a baseline out of bounds play.
開局階段，勇士看起來完全順風順水。在經歷了上一場只進一球的低迷狀態之後，克萊-湯普森終於找回了手感，連中兩記跳投爲勇士首開紀錄。斯蒂芬-庫裏三分二連擊之後，又在一次底線界外球回合中接到了凱文-杜蘭特異想天開的傳球完成上籃。Meanwhile, the Jazz offense slumped against a locked in Warriors defense, missing their first 10 two-point shots and going only 6-of-25 in the first quarter. A 12-3 lead became a 21-7 lead became a 39-17 first quarter cushion — similar to the 45-22 first quarter they popped on the Blazers in Game 4.
勇士高歌猛進的同時，爵士卻在對手的強力防守下亦步亦趨，前10次兩分球出手全部打鐵，首節25投僅6中。一開場12-3的比分，變成了21-7，再到39-17，勇士在首節就給爵士挖了個大坑——與對陣開拓者的第四場比賽中，首節45-22的大屠殺看起來如出一轍。"We talked about getting off to a good start," Mike Brown said. "Our guys did that. But maybe I should've said let's get off to a good start and keep playing that way. That's the part I may have left out."
“我們談到過打出好的開局的重要性，”邁克-布朗教練說道，“球員們做到了這一點。但我也許應該提到在打出好開局之後要記得保持，這部分我似乎漏掉了。”Utah responded with a 14-2 flurry to start the second quarter, slicing through a now too relaxed Warriors defense as a surprisingly sluggish David West failed to protect the rim.
然而大衛-韋斯特腳步之慢超乎想象，沒有護框者的勇士在防守端漫不經心，爵士也抓住機會，趁機打出了一波14-2的小高潮，拉開了第二節反攻的序幕。Derrick Favors rammed a dunk on Draymond Green — the first time Green has rotated over, met an opponent at the rim and lost in this postseason — and then electric young point guard Dante Exum hammered one home.
德里克-費沃斯在德雷蒙德-格林頭上爆扣得手，這也是後者今年季後賽首次在換防後面對對手時吃癟。緊接着，活力四射的小後衛丹特-艾克薩姆又完成了一記扣籃。The Jazz parlayed that strong second quarter start with an 8-0 close, trimming the Warriors lead from 22 all the way down to eight by halftime. Then in the third quarter, they briefly kept it close. After a defensive breakdown led to a Shelvin Mack 3, which cut it to seven,
爵士在次節末段又打出了一波8-0的高潮，與開始時的那波14-2首尾呼應，將勇士22分的領先優勢逐漸蠶食至8分。整個第三節，爵士都保持着接近的分差，在一次成功的防守後，謝爾文-麥克飈中三分將分差縮小到7分。Durant and Curry chirped at each other about the breakdown. Mike Brown called timeout. On his way to the huddle, a frustrated Curry kicked a seat cushion into the stands.
庫裏和杜蘭特對於彼此在這一回閤中的表現頗有微詞。布朗被迫叫了暫停，而在佈置戰術時，心煩意亂的庫裏甚至飛腳踹翻了坐墊。
"I meant to," Curry said.
“我故意那麼做的。”庫裏直言。"Beef," Draymond Green joked.
“真能發牢騷。”格林開玩笑稱。"Chemistry issues," Durant added.
“化學反應。”杜蘭特補充。But that moment of pressure only refocused a Warriors team that proved far superior to the Jazz in the second round.
然而這段小插曲卻讓這支遠比爵士強大得多的超級球隊更加專注了。Out of the timeout, JaVale McGee hit a twisting layup and a rare jumper. Draymond Green hit his third 3 of the game and 20th in eight playoff games, turning and staring at a heckling fan in a light blue shirt behind the Warriors bench that had been heckling him.
暫停之後，賈維爾-麥基上反籃得手，他甚至還罕見地命中了一記跳投。格林命中本場比賽第三個三分，同時也是他今年季後賽的第20個，隨後他轉過身，對着勇士板凳席後面那個剛纔對他噴垃圾話的淺藍色衣服球迷怒目而視。"He told me I'd shoot us out of the series," Green said. "I don't know if he keeps stats very well, but he's not very smart. I like messing with fans. It's fun."
“他說我的投籃會把我們自己投到出局，”格林表示，“我不知道他是否記準了這些數據，但他真不怎麼聰明。我喜歡跟球迷鬧着玩，這很好玩。”Golden State's defense locked back in and its offense erupted again. If there was an offensive star to be chosen — and you had your choice of many — it was Curry, who efficiently put the Jazz to sleep with 30 points on 15 shots. In his 35 minutes, the Warriors outscored the Jazz by 35 points.
勇士找回了他們防守端的壓迫力以及進攻端的爆炸力。如果要在衆多發揮出色的球員中選出本場的進攻箭頭，那一定是庫裏，他只靠15次出手就得到了30分。在他上場的35分鐘時間裏，勇士整整贏了爵士35分。Durant wasn't nearly as productive as Game 4, when he popped 38 points, but his 18 points were pretty timely. During one of Utah's second quarter runs, he stemmed the tide with a pair of jumpers.
杜蘭特儘管不像上一場砍下38分那麼高效，但在他貢獻的18分裏，每一分都來得恰到好處。當爵士在第二節打出一波小高潮時，杜蘭特接連命中兩記跳投爲球隊止血。Then during a third quarter spurt, he silenced the noise again with a big wing 3 followed by a lob dunk, set up by Draymond Green.
第三節爵士再次起勢，又是杜蘭特先是遠距離三分得手，又接攻略的妙傳完成空接爆扣，讓接近沸騰的球館瞬間鴉雀無聲。Durant finished with 18, Green had 17, Thompson had 21 on 16 shots and McGee was the fifth Warrior in double-figures, putting up 12 points in 11 minutes off the bench without even using his trusty lob game.
杜蘭特17分，格林17分，湯普森16投貢獻21分，麥基則是勇士第五個得分上雙的球員，他連自己最可靠的空接都沒用，就在11分鐘的上場時間內得到12分。And while the Jazz held sturdy at times, there really was never any doubt.
儘管爵士努力拼搏的精神可嘉，但這輪系列賽真的毫無懸念。Utah didn't lead for a second in Game 1, Game 2 or the closeout Game 4, only sneaking ahead for about eight minutes in Game 3, before ceding it right back to the dominant Warriors, who roll on to the Conference Finals yet to be truly tested.
爵士在整個第一場、第二場和第四場沒有取得過哪怕一秒鐘的領先，只有在第三場趁着勇士打盹而短暫領先了8分鐘左右，然後勇士就按回了統治模式的開關，然後……就沒有然後了。勇士即將征戰西決，終於迎來真正的考驗。"B-minus," Green said of his team's playoff performance to this point.
“勉爲其難給個B-吧。”被問到目前爲止勇士在季後賽中的表現時，格林如是說道。更多精彩內容請關注微信公衆號、新浪微博：籃球英文堂
