Game 1 between the Kings and Nuggets ended in a clean, no-nonsense fashion.
With Durant and Butler barely breaking a sweat, the CJ-Booker backcourt completely tore the Nuggets apart.
"That was awesome!"
Even on the way back to the locker room, Booker couldn't stop talking about the game.
Back in college, Karl-Anthony Towns had been the star, and Booker was just the second option. Since entering the league, he'd always played off the ball.
But tonight—for the first time in his NBA career—he'd been given true shooting freedom.
"Our little Booker really enjoyed himself tonight,"
Gay said, glancing back with a teasing grin.
"Planning to fight for more touches now?"
"No, no, no!"
Booker waved his hands frantically. "Man, don't get me in trouble!"
After all, this team had Durant and Butler at the top, and even CJ ahead of him.
In terms of seniority or pure ability, Booker had no shot at challenging any of them.
"Relax, I'm just kidding."
Seeing Booker flustered, Gay laughed and added,
"Still, you're a lucky kid—two years in the league and already been through so much."
He wasn't wrong. Among the 2015 draft class, Booker's career so far looked straight out of a storybook.
In his rookie season, he got thrust into the starting shooting guard role after the Butler trade sent LaVine away.
Then came the Western Conference Finals run—though they were crushed by the peak Splash Brothers, that playoff experience was invaluable.
While his friend Karl-Anthony Towns was still fighting for the No.1 pick, Booker was already battling the Warriors in the West Finals.
And now, he had a chance to chase an even bigger goal with this team.
Sometimes, luck really does matter more than effort.
"You did great out there,"
In the locker room, Malone was reviewing the game.
"Should we keep the same pace next game?"
He looked over at his two stars.
"I'm fine with that,"
Butler said casually while changing.
"As long as we win, I'm good."
Hearing that, Malone nodded approvingly. Players who only cared about winning—those were the easiest to coach.
"What about you, Kevin?"
Durant hadn't said a word, so Malone called him out.
"Huh?"
Sitting in the corner, still spaced out, Durant blinked and looked up quickly.
"I'm good!"
"Kevin's never played a game like that before—still can't believe it,"
Butler joked, setting off laughter across the locker room.
"You'll have plenty more games like this,"
Malone said with a smirk, giving Durant a playful wink.
There was meaning behind the joke—after all, Durant had only signed a 1+1 deal this season, meaning he could walk after the year ended.
Malone was already planting the seeds, making Chen Yilun's job easier come summer contract talks.
...
On the court, Chen Yilun caught up to Connelly, who was preparing to leave.
"Hey, don't rush off, man. Let's grab dinner tonight," Chen said with a grin.
"No chance!"
Connelly shook his head like a rattle. "Now's not the right time. And really, what would we even talk about?"
It wasn't an unreasonable reaction—Chen Yilun's first major trade had been with Connelly, swapping a first-round pick for two of Connelly's selections.
Those picks eventually turned into LaVine and Jokić.
In other words, the Kings' current core roster was something Connelly had practically handed over himself.
"Come on, don't be so distant," Chen chuckled. "We may be on different sides, but there's an old saying—if you're my brother, then come slash me!"
"An old saying? You totally made that up!"
...
Meanwhile, on another court, the game between Oklahoma City and Golden State was nearing its end.
Westbrook used an Adams screen to explode toward the basket.
Thompson, guarding him, could only watch helplessly as Westbrook's blur of speed left him behind.
Inside, Gasol had been ready to help but froze when he saw Agent 0 soaring straight toward the rim.
He immediately twisted aside to avoid the collision.
Thwack!
A heavy thud echoed as the ball slammed through the hoop.
But there was no joy on Westbrook's face—just a grim focus as he glanced up at the scoreboard.
The seconds were slipping away.
Despite his heroic effort, the loss was inevitable.
Only now did Westbrook truly realize how exhausting it was to be a lone hero.
In the regular season, he could do everything himself—but in the playoffs, one man just wasn't enough.
It felt like patching a drafty house—no matter how much he worked to fix it, the cold wind still poured in from every crack.
The Thunder ended up swallowing a bitter loss in Golden State.
"Nice work, everyone!"
Coach Kerr applauded as his players walked off the floor.
"Wasn't too tough,"
Curry said, sipping water between words.
"What about the other games tonight?"
He was more interested in checking on potential playoff rivals than celebrating his own win.
"Pretty standard results,"
Kerr replied, glancing at his phone.
"Sacramento won. Washington beat Atlanta in a tight one. Milwaukee pulled off an upset against Toronto."
"I see."
Everything was going as expected, and Curry quickly lost interest.
"But here's something weird."
Kerr frowned at his screen.
"I haven't watched Sacramento's game yet, but these stats look strange."
"What's up? Let me see."
Curry took the phone from him, scanned it once—and instantly noticed the problem.
"Kevin Durant only scored sixteen points?"
His eyes widened. He scrolled further.
"Six-for-eleven? Durant only took eleven shots in the whole game??"
The numbers were so out of character that Curry thought it had to be a stat error.
Seeing his reaction, Kerr tried to calm him.
"Relax. No point worrying now. Once we watch the tape tonight, we'll understand everything."
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser