Averaging 26+15+7 per game! The 5-time All-Star was beaten by him until he knelt down and cried!

　"If a player averages 25.8 points per game in a series?"

　"Then he must be an excellent scorer."

　"Plus What about 7 assists and 1 steal? ”

“That’s a top defender!”

“What if we add 14.8 rebounds and 2 blocks?” /p>

　"Impossible, there is no such team."

　"Of course there is, that is KG..."

　This conversation is not just a legend . The above-mentioned string of seemingly incredible statistics was exactly what Kevin Garnett produced in the first round of the 2004 playoffs.

In 2004, Garnett reached the peak season of his career. During the regular season, he played in all 82 games, averaging 24.2 points, 13.9 rebounds, 5 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.2 blocks per game, leading the Timberwolves to the best record in team history with 58 wins. At the end of the regular season, he won the only MVP in his career, won the rebounding title, and was selected to the double first team.

In the first round of the playoffs, facing rookie Anthony, the Wolf King killed everyone and led the team to easily and neatly complete the "gentleman sweep" 4-1. Facing the Wolf King with all its teeth and claws, Nenggua only averaged 15 points per game and shot as low as 32.8%. After 5 games, Garnett's averages per game reached 25.8 points, 14.8 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks.

This series is just the beginning of the Wolf King's explosive performance in 2004.

In the Western Conference semifinals, the Timberwolves' opponent was the gorgeous King created by Adelman. There were seven fierce battles between the two sides. In the tiebreaker, Garnett defeated 5-time All-Star Webber and once again performed at an epic level.

In the first three quarters, the Timberwolves firmly held the initiative in the game and led by 10 points at halftime. Breakthrough dunks, feints, and grabs in the air... Every move by Garnett demonstrates his determination to fight against the odds.

In the third quarter, the Kings felt better. The team shot 57.1% from the field and won by 8 points in a single quarter. The two sides are almost back to the same starting line.

Then came the most magical quarter of Garnett's playoff career. He was surrounded by the Kings inside team for 6 games and 3 quarters, but his state seemed not to be affected at all. He could even make a three-pointer at the buzzer in 24 seconds, and output 14 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks in a single quarter.

In the last 16 seconds, the Timberwolves led by 3 points, and Garnett dominated the defensive end. He first switched to Bibby at position 1, forcing the latter to fail to organize any tactics and could only "throw the blame".

Then Miller grabbed an offensive rebound and prepared for a layup, but was blocked by Garnett who flashed over.

In the last 2.5 seconds, Garnett destroyed the King's serve.

In the last defense, it was Garnett again, preventing Webb's tying three-pointer...

The whistle sounded, and the final score was fixed at 83-80. . The two scenes of Webber kneeling and covering his face in tears and Garnett jumping on the technical stage and pumping his fists in celebration formed a sharp contrast. The Timberwolves advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in their history. In the whole game, KG made 12 of 23 shots and scored 32 points, 21 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals and 5 blocks.

By the way, the Kings' performance in that series was tough enough. In the 4 games lost, the score difference in 3 games was less than 5 points. This is also very similar to their fate - from 2002 to 2004, they were eliminated in the playoffs in the tiebreaker for three consecutive years. They can compete 50-50 with the peak OK, the dynamic Dirk Nash and the all-powerful Wolf King. But every time at the last moment, there was just a little bit of luck.

After being eliminated by the Timberwolves, they lost their ambition to win the championship. The following season, Divac returned to his hometown and retired after only playing 15 games with the Lakers; Webber and Peja began to have internal strife and left Philadelphia and Indiana respectively... Their peak was lost to OK, but the camel's back was broken. The last straw was the Wolf King.

Saying goodbye to the Kings, KG met his old rival, the Lakers. In the first round of the playoffs the previous year, he averaged 27 points, 15.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.7 blocks per game, but he still lost to the OK combination who averaged 6210 per game.

A year later, the situation changed again. There was a gap in the OK group, and it was almost a secret known to everyone. The team made great efforts to recruit Malone and Payton to form the F4, but neither the chemical reaction nor the state of the two senior players was ideal.

On the other hand, the Timberwolves, driven by the infinitely energetic Garnett, have strong morale. Not to say they have the upper hand, but at least the Lakers in front of them are no longer as unshakable to them as they were in previous years.

Everything is ready, all we need is the east wind. But an injury destroyed the Timberwolves' blower...

In the second game of the series, Cassel played only 1 minute before retiring due to injury.

In G3, he persisted with injuries for a while, but the result was that he only played 5 minutes in G4; he was directly absent from G5 and G6...

"Alien" Cassel's opinion of the Timberwolves that year How important is it? In the regular season, he averaged 19.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game, and was selected to the All-Star for the only time in his career. More importantly, he has completely exploded in the previous playoffs, scoring 40 points twice, becoming another Timberwolves player besides Garnett who can carry the whole game on the offensive end.

Garnett, who lost his arm, gave his all in Game 5 and scored 30 points, 18 rebounds and 4 assists, leading his team to a narrow victory by 2 points. But by the time they hit G6, the Timberwolves were running out of energy.

Years later, someone asked Garnett, if Cassell had not been injured, could they have defeated the Lakers?

Surprisingly, Garnett did not regret the accident, but instead pointed the finger directly at his old club:

"If I could really go back in time and change something, I might do better. Leave Minnesota earlier. Because I know the management is not as committed as myself, or they are not committed at all. I may go to Boston earlier and team up with Paul (Pierce) now. Maybe one or two more rings."

The conflict between Garnett and the Timberwolves management was heated. Now that we look back and review how strong he was at his peak, we may be able to understand his resentment more or less. The stronger he is, the more regrettable his wasted years will be. All the grievances came together to form the famous saying he reminded his younger generations:

"Don't let loyalty hurt you."

Of course, Garnett did not let it. Loyalty hurt him to the end, and he did not let the regret of Cassel's injury last until he retired. In 2008, he led the Green Army to defeat the Lakers and win the championship. Cassell was also in the Green Army at that time. Although the "Alien" had already received two rings as early as the 1990s, it was the ring in 2008 that gave the story between him and KG a relatively happy ending.

Today, Wolf King Garnett turns 44 years old.

Looking back at past grievances and grudges, they are like floating clouds in the sea...