Chapter 407: Dynasty (3)
Seeing Durant return, the Kings immediately came alive. The team, which had been a little rattled moments earlier, suddenly found its backbone again.
“Are you really okay? This won’t affect the rest of the series, right?”
Malone lowered his voice, his eyes full of concern as he asked Durant.
“Maybe we should just forget it. It’s only one game—let it go. You absolutely can’t go down again.”
At this point, Malone was genuinely shaken. The last scare had clearly left its mark.
Watching Durant come back, he didn’t feel relief so much as a deep, lingering worry.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
Durant nodded at him calmly.
“I didn’t even need much treatment. Just some icing and a bit of massage in the locker room, and that was it. If there were really a problem, the team doctors would never have let me come back.”
“Don’t believe me? Ask Chip.”
Durant glanced toward Chip, who was already back on the sideline.
When Durant got hurt, Chip had gone with him as a representative of the coaching staff, just in case something serious happened so Malone could get immediate word.
“I’ve confirmed it. He’s fine.”
Chip spoke in his usual unhurried, composed manner.
“Just a minor sprain. No need to go to the hospital—team treatment is more than enough.”
What many people didn’t know was that Chip wasn’t just one of the best shooting coaches in the league—he’d also spent years studying rehabilitation and treatment. Most common issues were well within his wheelhouse.
Having a veteran like that around was invaluable, not just for the players, but for the coaching staff as well.
“That’s good to hear.”
Only then did Malone finally let go of his last bit of anxiety. He turned back to Durant.
“You came back at the perfect time. We’re just one push away from closing this game out. When you go in, stick to the original game plan. Let’s finish this quickly.”
…
The atmosphere on the Kings’ side was buzzing, but over on the Bucks’ bench, it was dead silent.
“Why did he have to come back…”
Brook Lopez shook his head, unable to hide the frustration in his voice.
All the momentum they’d worked so hard to build evaporated the instant Durant returned. What remained was only unease and resentment about what was coming next.
“Stop thinking so much!”
Coach Rivers barked loudly, trying to fire his players up.
“No one knows how much game Durant really has left right now. And at this point, even if he’s back, it won’t change anything!”
No matter how forced it sounded, Rivers had to say it. The team’s morale was already on the verge of collapse.
“Besides, the Kings built this game almost entirely without Durant. Now he suddenly comes back—there’s no time for them to get him warmed up or adjust their tactics. We don’t need to panic. Just keep playing the same way!”
The timeout ended.
As the Bucks returned to the floor and watched Durant finish warming up and step back onto the court, their nerves still refused to settle.
Kings ball.
After the inbound, Durant immediately called for it and dribbled up to the top of the arc.
Middleton guarded him as if facing a mortal enemy. Durant, meanwhile, let a faint, almost playful smile creep onto his lips.
You’ll do.
In the next instant, Durant slid laterally with a long, explosive step and gathered the ball.
Caught completely off guard, Middleton froze for a split second, unable to react in time.
Durant rose straight up over him and pulled the trigger on a three.
“Swish!”
The ball dropped cleanly through the net.
“Here it comes.”
Chen Yilun leaned back into his seat, completely at ease.
That familiar feeling again—peak Durant’s most unstoppable weapon: the pure isolation pull-up.
No matter how good that Whale guy actually was, just coming up with a term that captured it this perfectly was enough to justify his existence. How he managed to describe it so accurately was honestly baffling.
The moment Durant scored, the Bucks’ last shred of hope disappeared.
This man was the best scorer in the league—no debate, no qualifiers.
As long as the ball was in his hands, he would find a way to put it through that damn hoop.
“He doesn’t need to warm up at all—he’s always scorching hot!”
Middleton roared in frustration.
With that three, the lead was back to six.
And from that moment on, the rhythm and momentum of the game completely swung to the Kings’ side.
“It’s over. Completely over.”
Rivers stood on the sideline, watching the gap open once more as the Bucks showed no sign of a comeback. His face had gone slack with despair.
If they could have taken this game, there might still have been hope.
But with things playing out like this, there was no possibility left.
Losing a game wasn’t scary. Losing under these circumstances, though, would be devastating for the team’s morale.
With a full roster, they still had to fight down to the last second against a Kings team missing its top two options.
And then Durant came back—for barely two minutes—and completely put the game to rest.
This simply wasn’t a contest between teams on the same level.
“Next season, no matter what, we have to get a real point guard.”
In truth, the Bucks weren’t weak. If they were, they never would have made it through the gauntlet to reach the Finals.
But they’d run straight into a Kings team at the height of its power. Against a squad like that, all they could do was become a footnote of the era.
…
“Bzzzz!”
As the final buzzer sounded, the Kings took Game 1 of the Finals, 102–98.
With Durant sidelined for most of the game, the rest of the roster put up eye-catching numbers.
Jokić recorded a monstrous triple-double: 28 points, 15 assists, and 20 rebounds.
Booker turned into a pure scoring machine, pouring in 32 points.
On the Finals stage, the Kings’ much-anticipated young twin stars proved exactly what they were capable of.
It was, by all accounts, a result that made everyone happy.
Except Milwaukee.
…
Inside the Bucks’ visiting locker room, not a single person spoke. The heavy silence felt suffocating.
“So this is the strength of a dynasty team… so overwhelming it makes you lose the will to resist.”
With a pair of oversized headphones on his head, Brogdon complained bitterly in his own mind.
Compared to the Kings, it felt like they were playing a completely different game.
Just end it already. Let it all burn. I’m tired.
Brogdon twisted his neck slightly, muttering to himself.
He had no desire left to keep playing.
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