No one wanted to go their whole career without winning a championship, especially not the superstars whose careers had been so brilliant.
Iverson, Nash, Malone, Barkley, Elgin Baylor, and even Harden in the future—they'd all had illustrious careers, but none had won a championship. (LeBron hadn't yet, at least not so far. All I could do was wish him luck.)
Were they not good enough?
Did they not deserve it?
They were great, and they deserved it.
But life was unpredictable, and fate could be cruel.
So when a chance they could see with their own eyes stood right in front of them, no one wanted to let it slip away.
The Playoffs had started on the 15th, but the League had scheduled the Thunder's game for the 16th.
The first-round matchups on the 15th had already wrapped up.
The Warriors beat the Pelicans 113–107. Brow exploded for 34 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 blocks, but still couldn't turn the tide. He was one man against the world.
The Raptors handled the Wizards 114–106. Wall had made it back just in time for the Playoffs and looked good, putting up 23 points and 15 assists, but even he couldn't match the Raptors' intensity. (If Mozgov had still been with the Wizards, he'd have put up 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists. Not bad.)
The Heat faced the Celtics and took a beating, losing 97–116. Without Butler or Wade, and with Adebayo still coming off the bench, the Heat still had a long way to go.
The Trail Blazers faced the Spurs. They were lucky to avoid the Pelicans, a team that gave them a lot of trouble, but unlucky to run into the Spurs.
Leonard played 31 minutes and scored 27 points, with 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Aldridge