After returning to the locker room, Scott Brooks looked at Durant and said: "Kevin, we need you to use all your firepower. Can you suppress the Blazers' offense?"

Scott Brooks knows very well that after Fisher's short burst, the team did take off, but how can a team only rely on role players in the playoffs?

We still need the boss to step up and control the overall direction.

And Durant happens to be the only one that the Thunder has an advantage among the five positions on the field. It can be said to be the only key to victory.

That's why he asked this question.

"Of course, no problem." Durant replied, his expression unchanged, but only he knew what his chances of winning were.

Trail Blazers locker room.

Terry Stotts was not stingy with his compliments and highly praised Wang Zelin's performance in the first half, especially in the third quarter. It can be said that he single-handedly suppressed the Thunder's counterattack.

You're done, now it's our turn!

Terry Stotts thought.

Back at halftime, Wang Zelin was still on the court, which made the Thunder's inside team feel desperate.

Fortunately, the Thunder generals turned around and saw that player No. 35 was also on the court, and felt a little relieved. This was their only bargaining chip for victory.

At this time, there are two teams of players on the field.

The Trail Blazers put out their full lineup.

Thunder lineup: PG Derek Fisher, SG Kevin Martin, SF Kevin Durant, PF Serge Ibaka, C Kendrick Perkins.

A closer look shows that the independent defensive capabilities of positions 1 and 2 in this lineup are approximately 0, which means that the Thunder are ready to fight hard.

Both sides knew that if the fight continued, Durant would definitely have physical problems.

This has become the norm.

Therefore, the third quarter is the moment that determines the outcome.

At the top of the arc, Durant holds the ball and others pull away.

At the same time, Wang Zelin moved to the basket.

On the first attack, Durant did not choose to attack the basket and moved to the right wing. At this time, Perkins came over to do a pick-and-roll, and he got a short open space.

"Whoosh!"

At the beginning of the third quarter, Durant hit a mid-range two-pointer.

At 60:57, the Thunder led by 3 points.

Durant still looks unstoppable.

Trail Blazers offense.

Aldridge positioned himself in the right corner, Matthews moved to the right wing, Batum moved on the left wing, and Wang Zelin refused to let go and got stuck under the basket.

The Thunder reacted promptly and double-teamed Durant immediately. Batum caught the ball and faked a shot to Kevin Martin, rushed into the reasonable collision area, exploded, and completed a one-armed shot over Durant's head.

Split button.

"Bang!"

Batum hung high above the rim, rising and falling.

60:59.

"The Thunder are also crazy. Nicolas Batum on the opposite side is not an ordinary guy. He has a scoring ability of about 15 in the regular season. If you let Batum go, you are looking down on him." Teacher Yu Jia complained.

"There is nothing we can do about it. The King's offensive threat under the basket is so great that even the Thunder are afraid of being beaten." Zhang Lili narrowed his eyes.

"yeah!!!"

Batum landed and was greeted by cheers from the audience.

Offense and defense transition.

Durant leaned against Batum on the left side and asked for the ball.

Fisher excitedly distributed the ball and began to move without the ball.

It is said that Coach Lu knows the best tactic is to "give the ball to the strongest person on the court", and Fisher is not necessarily any worse in this regard.

Durant took two steps in and suddenly turned over and shot a jumper.

This attack was caught off guard, and Batum didn't have time to jump, but Durant had already come out from the basket to help defend, jumped high, and slapped Durant in the air.

"KD made a shot. The ball was too fast. Nicholas didn't react. The basketball flew towards the Trail Blazers' basket! Oh, Shet! Wang's reaction speed was so fast. He took off and bounced very fast!"

Amid Kenny Smith's exclamations, Wang Zelin seemed to appear out of nowhere, intercepting the ball between the basketball and the basket, getting closer and closer.

Durant looked up suddenly. He didn't believe that Trail Blazers No. 36 could stop the ball.

Unless you can have the help defense ability of Howard during the Magic era, but that is the DPOY level, you cannot...

"Pa~"

With a loud noise, Wang Zelin fanned the ball out of bounds.

Volleyball hat!

"It's terrible! That jump just now reminded me of Dwight from the past two years!" After Kenneth Smith finished speaking, one of his partners, Reggie Miller, followed up and said: "The block just now, whether it was the defensive reaction,

, his jumping height, and his shot-blocking style are so similar to Dwight before his serious injury.

Moreover, such a volleyball hat is like a shot of stimulant, which can not only encourage the morale and fighting spirit of the team, but also stimulate and inspire the emotions of the audience!"

"That's right." O'Neal nodded: "I never think Dwight is a so-called super center, but in terms of defense, he is definitely a super blue-collar player in history. Not to mention anything else, just in terms of height and body shape,

The advantage it occupies is much greater than that of Big Ben back then.”

Barkley quickly made up for the damage: "It's just that the technology is too worrying."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

After laughing, Kenny Smith continued his analysis: "I have to admit that Wang's shot-blocking point just now is indeed frighteningly high. Compared with Howard, even if it is not as good, I am afraid it is still a big difference. The Thunder will be in trouble next."

Durant faced the frame and attacked again, and the Trail Blazers also treated him with the highest treatment.

Double team!

Just after a step of space was released and he was about to take action, Aldridge dropped Ibaka from the left elbow area, and the double attack was successful.

With one draw and two, Durant was naturally unfazed. He pulled it up and hit a mid-range shot... It was definitely not because there was not much time left.

Durant is not a magician. Under the defense of the two, the defensive pressure intensified and his shots were in vain.

Wang Zelin got the ball and passed the ball directly. Lillard, who was unguarded, caught the ball and made a layup.

61:60, the Trail Blazers lead by 1 point at home!

Just a few rounds into the second half, the Trail Blazers took the lead, and the fans in the Rose Garden Arena burst into cheers.

"Alas~"

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Scott Brooks hesitated again and again and did not choose to call a pause.

He had thought that the score would be overtaken, but he did not expect that time would come so quickly.

Perhaps, this year’s journey ends here.

The Thunder coach thought this way.

But obviously the team just reached the finals last year!

Why did this happen in just one year?

In a daze, he remembered No. 13 in another place, fighting for the Space City.

If that guy hadn't left, the situation wouldn't have been so bad. At least after Russell was injured, the team would have another organizational point.

"Well."

Scott Brooks couldn't help but shook his head, as if asking himself: What am I thinking? James has been traded away.

Yes, he was traded away.

…

After 5 minutes, the situation on the court was completely different from the first half.

69:63, the Trail Blazers lead by 6 points.

Immediately afterwards, as Matthews hit a three-pointer from a negative angle on the right side, the Trail Blazers' lead increased to 9 points.

The Thunder coach called the first timeout between the two teams since the third quarter.

Looking back on the previous few minutes, when the five tigers of the team came out, Wang Zelin's role changed from the offensive core to the defensive core.

With Wang Zelin as the core of defense, it spreads outwards, coupled with the tacit cooperation of others, Lillard organizes, Matthews makes cold arrows, Batum mainly defends the opponent's arrow figures, and Aldridge takes on Wang Zelin's previous offensive responsibility.

The five people have a clear division of labor and form an organized, disciplined and effective system.

The Thunder suffered losses in the playoffs and showed a shaky overall attitude. They were far less organized and united than the Trail Blazers.

Mainly relying on Durant's performance, or occasionally other role players breaking out, it's okay to have a tailwind, but once they enter a headwind situation, the Thunder's declining trend will be difficult to reverse.
To be continued...