Y13 [EN]: Chapter 160

2010-2011 Finals

The third quarter was drawing to a close, with just 10 seconds remaining. Youngjae dribbled, passing the ball back and forth with Terry, his eyes sweeping the court. He weighed his options: drive past his defender, Mike Miller, or pass to Terry or Nowitzki for a shot. Coach Carlisle’s instructions were clear: hold the ball as long as possible, then decide whether to shoot or pass.

As Youngjae received the ball, Dirk Nowitzki made a sudden move to set a screen. Simultaneously, Youngjae began to accelerate, preparing to use the screen.

“?!”

But Nowitzki didn’t set the screen. Instead, he faked the screen and swiftly cut toward the basket. It was a slip [a basketball maneuver where a player feints a screen and then quickly cuts to the basket], not a screen. Youngjae was momentarily caught off guard by Nowitzki’s clever move. Although they had practiced it, they didn’t use it often, so his reaction was a fraction slow. Fortunately, the Miami players reacted even slower, allowing Youngjae to thread a pass to Nowitzki with extra zip.

*Whoosh!*

[Oh! Dirk Nowitzki with the pick and slip! We were all expecting the usual Yoon and Nowitzki 2-2 pick and pop, but that was an unexpected pick and slip!]

[Yoon seemed caught off guard for a moment! But the Miami players were even slower to react! He’s passing, but it looks risky!]

The 7-foot (213cm) height was too much for the Miami players, who lacked size, to contest. Nowitzki usually didn’t jump very high, so the pass seemed a bit elevated, but he must have thought so too, because he jumped higher than usual to snag the pass and tossed it in with a tough, contested shot.

*Beeeep!*

Zero seconds. Just before the buzzer, Nowitzki released the ball as his posture faltered.

A moment of silence, but everyone knew.

*Swish.*

He was Dirk Nowitzki.

[BAAAANG!!!!! The score is now 82 to 72!!! The gap isn’t closing! The point difference isn’t narrowing!!!!]

The roar of the crowd at the American Airlines Center was deafening, completely drowning out the announcer’s voice. Dirk Nowitzki confidently puffed out his chest and high-fived Youngjae Yoon, who had delivered the perfect pass, then raised Youngjae’s hand to acknowledge the crowd.

Y13! Y13!

The crowd, which had been chanting Dirk Nowitzki’s name, erupted in cheers for Youngjae with thunderous applause. All Youngjae had done was deliver the ball. It was Dirk Nowitzki who had received the difficult pass and finished the play in that instant.

“Chest up! If it weren’t for your pass, we wouldn’t have that score!”

At Nowitzki’s encouragement, Youngjae put strength into his raised arm and roared with all his might.

[The viewership ratings will be huge today! With scenes like this unfolding.]

[Yesterday’s game had a 12.9% viewership rating, surpassing last year’s Boston Celtics-LA Lakers game and recording the highest Game 5 viewership in the last 10 years. In the Miami and Dallas areas, it exceeded 30%. This Finals is truly enjoying high popularity as a dramatic showdown between teams.]

[Won’t today’s game break records too? Haha. The fourth quarter is left, and I wonder how many more exciting scenes will come out.]

The final fourth quarter was like hell for the Miami Heat. The Miami players, including the Big 3, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh, became more aggressive to cut into the 10-point lead.

[Dwyane Wade! He’s charging straight in!]

[Is Youngjae Yoon getting pushed back by the force?!!]

Dwyane Wade was using his strength to overpower Youngjae. Wade should have been able to easily lay the ball up, but Youngjae and Barea kept hounding him, delaying the play and disrupting the attack, driving him crazy.

*Whoosh!*

Eventually, it was a forced, contested shot. The ball bounced off the rim, and Tyson Chandler, who had successfully boxed out [prevented his opponent from getting the rebound], had no trouble out-rebounding Udonis Haslem, who was shorter. Moreover, Miami was growing increasingly frustrated as Youngjae and Barea calmly passed the ball around after securing the rebound.

For Dallas, there was no need to force a fast break unless a clear opportunity presented itself. The Miami players were already showing signs of fatigue and were growing impatient because they couldn’t close the gap. There was no need to give the opponent what they wanted, and with Chalmers out, it was easier for Youngjae, Barea, and Terry to attack even in set plays [structured offensive plays].

Originally, Chalmers, Wade, and LeBron’s relentless full-court press [defensive strategy where defenders pressure the opposing team the entire length of the court] should have forced turnovers from the Dallas guards, but one was ejected, and two were showing their physical limitations. In particular, LeBron, who had played an average of over 44 minutes throughout the playoffs, was not playing effective defense in the fourth quarter of every game. On the other hand, Kidd, Terry, Youngjae, and Barea were showing peak concentration, committing only 5 turnovers combined.

LeBron James, who had to score in addition to leading the offense, was consistently playing passively, focusing on passing in the fourth quarter, so the Miami Heat’s offense couldn’t function properly. With such great skills and physical gifts, he was playing like a simple point guard instead of driving to the basket, finishing at the rim, or shooting, so the points that could have been accumulated were left on the table.

[JET! BANG!!!!]

[DIRK FOR THREE!! FIRE!!!]

[Y13!! AMAZING SHOT!!!]

The Miami Heat couldn’t help but lose momentum as the Dallas players’ ultra-high-sensitivity jump shots seemed to be falling with unwavering accuracy. As that happened, the Dallas Mavericks’ numerous blue-clad fans, Mark Cuban, the team owner, hugging the fans in the front row and cheering, and the Dallas Mavericks’ fans watching the game were waiting for the final buzzer with increasingly joyful expressions.

[The last 50 seconds! In the last 50 seconds, the champion of the long 2010-2011 NBA Finals will be decided! And the champion is 99% likely to be the Dallas Mavericks!]

Dirk Nowitzki felt a strange sense of vindication as he watched the Miami Heat players holding the ball, seemingly resigned to their fate. Whether they scored 2 points here or not, it wasn’t that important to the outcome, but he was also human. He had repaid the mockery of Game 5 with a victory, but the fact that the young players were not humble and acted rashly, insulting him, still stung a bit.

“Hoo.”

But there was no need to push it. Nowitzki, who was dribbling the ball, passed it to Youngjae, who was still moving actively, when there were only a few seconds left on the shot clock.

*Swish.*

“?!”

Youngjae shot a mid-range jumper with textbook form, and the shot went cleanly through the net.

[Haha! Y13 seals the deal until the end!]

[110 to 99! There’s really no chance left! There are only 32 seconds left.]

[With this, Youngjae Yoon records 29 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 steals, and 1 turnover in 36 minutes today! Youngjae Yoon records the most points and assists on the team today! I think Yoon is the MVP of Game 6 today!]

The point difference was too large compared to the time remaining to catch up with foul tactics [intentionally fouling the opposing team to stop the clock], and Dallas had two players with over 90% free throw percentage. Especially during this Finals, Nowitzki was 46/47 on free throws, and Yoon was 23/24. Kidd and Terry were also in the late 80s. Chasing through foul tactics was meaningless. That’s why they didn’t use foul tactics in the defense just now.

The Dallas bench members, who were standing on the bench with their arms around each other, and Mark Cuban, the team owner, jumped up and screamed as soon as Youngjae’s last mid-range jumper went in, feeling the thrill that it was finally over. But Youngjae clicked his tongue and muttered regretfully.

“I stepped on the line. I was going to get 30 points.”

At Youngjae’s confident words, Nowitzki chuckled and ruffled Youngjae’s hair with his big hand.

“Ha, haha!”

“We did it, we finally did it!!”

Nowitzki was so moved that he ruffled Youngjae’s hair and then swept his long hair up with his big hands. Tyson Chandler, who had blocked Miami’s attack with his tough body in the paint [the area near the basket], already had tears in his eyes and covered his head with both hands, then high-fived Jason Kidd, who came over and offered his hand.

“Haa-”

Matrix, Shawn Marion, also seemed to have new feelings, opening his mouth and looking around to capture this scene in his eyes. Shawn Marion, who showed unwavering toughness by guarding LeBron James as effectively as possible in the defensive aspect, even though he faced the best player in the world.

J.J. Barea, Jason Terry, Corey Brewer, Peja Stojakovic, Brian Cardinal, and Ian Mahinmi, who were watching this scene from the bench, and even Mark Cuban, the team owner, were increasingly feeling that the first championship since the founding of the Dallas franchise was actually coming to fruition.

*Beeeep-*

[It’s finally over! Final score 110 to 99! The Dallas Mavericks defeat the Miami Heat 4-2 and win their first championship in team history!]

“Thank you for your hard work. Thank you for your hard work!”

Mark Cuban hugged Rick Carlisle, who had been watching silently, and expressed his gratitude. Carlisle looked slightly embarrassed, but soon soothed Cuban by nodding his head.

While everyone was coming up on the court to share this joy and hugging each other, Nowitzki covered his eyes with his clothes to hide his tears and headed straight into the locker room. Before coming to this place, the last time he stepped on the Finals stage in 2006, the opponent he lost to was the Miami Heat. Nowitzki’s emotion was bound to be great.

Youngjae didn’t exchange any words with Dwyane Wade, who still held a grudge. Wade, who was hugging Kidd, Terry, and Marion and talking about this and that, glared sharply at Youngjae as soon as he saw him, then sighed and went straight into the locker room.

“Y13.”

At that time, Youngjae glanced up at a player calling him. He looked haggard due to the mental distress he had suffered, but his intense eyes and firmly closed lips were truly a warrior. He seemed to have come to him after greeting Chandler and Marion.

“Congratulations on the win first. And I also want to apologize. Our play from Game 5 was definitely wrong. I wanted to apologize to Nowitzki first, and then come to you right away to apologize. I really have nothing to say about Chalmers’ behavior earlier. I’m sorry.”

Youngjae smiled and extended his hand to him, who was showing a different attitude from LeBron and Wade. In fact, Bosh had never committed a dirty foul during this playoff, nor had he belittled his opponent in interviews. That’s why Youngjae didn’t have any bad feelings towards Bosh.

“Bosh. You’re a true professional.”

“… Is that so. Thank you. Well, see you next time. I have to go see my people who came to see me. And this Finals was clearly our defeat. I’ll come back stronger next season, so let’s have another good match.”

Bosh’s eyes were slightly red. He was probably holding back tears. As Bosh said goodbye and headed to the locker room, Youngjae was reminded of Bosh’s words. *I’m going to meet my people who came to see me.*

============================ Author’s Afterword ============================

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@Bosh actually sheds tears on the way to the locker room after the Finals end. Perhaps it was because he had suffered a lot of mental distress. The pain seems to have been so great that he lost his balance and fell in the aisle. During the Finals, the most mature player in terms of interviews and actions was Bosh, not LeBron or Wade. However, he received so much criticism during the regular season that he couldn’t even win the championship, and that seems to have exploded.

※Pick and Slip: When a guard has the ball, if he comes out to set a pick, his marker will naturally follow him, but this tactic uses that in reverse, pretending to set a pick and then turning back in and passing.

천사의사정님/// Thank you for the first comment~~

goimosp님/// Thank you for the coupon. I will repay you with good writing in the future.

가연을이님/// I’m glad it’s not later than yesterday ㅎㅎ

CountOfDark님, -DarkANGEL-님, 찬란한유산님, BlueRuiN님, 사라질영혼님, 파이넨시아님, 오마리온님/// Thank you for always commenting. Have a good week~

우유동자님/// It’s the championship!!

ㅎ0ㅎ님/// It’s a scene that you sometimes see when watching sports games ㅎㅎ. You can see it more often in soccer than in basketball.

白日夢者님/// Thank you for pointing out the typo. I have corrected it^^

anwkdk님/// Ah, Memphis is not only a small market but also has poor security. New York is such a big city that there are quite a few problems here and there. Maybe downtown is okay, but the outskirts seem to have some problems. I’m thinking about the national team story. I’m planning to write it briefly for now, but I’ll have to write it to see if it will be finished in that amount.

오멘님/// Yes. It’s right after Game 6 ㅎㄷㄷ

구멍난스카프님/// I’m glad you’re having fun

울트라10님/// Chalmers really has a mental problem;;; I think Norris Cole is better ㅋㅋ