But there is a saying: Whatever you worry about, it will come to you!

The original plan of the Trail Blazers was to let Lillard, the iron man, lead the team's rotation to maintain the score. No matter what, it would be delayed for 3 or 4 minutes, so that Wang Zelin and Aldridge could get a chance to breathe.

In this way, the team can let the remaining two players come back to finish the game in the last few minutes.

In comparison, the Thunder have the same plan.

However, the X factor still emerged.

After Kevin Martin came on the court, he and Westbrook led the rotation to launch a fierce attack.

Especially Kevin Martin, with his weird shooting, caused three consecutive fouls by Trail Blazers players in just two minutes, and went to the free throw line to make 6 of 6, helping the team to take the lead.

87:91.

To be honest, before Harden, the master of foul drawing at shooting guard was none other than Kevin Martin. In his highest-scoring season, he averaged 9 free throws per game.

This kind of player, the media are willing to call him very smart and efficient in playing, but only when you play against him can you feel how disgusting this style of play is.

Harden was once considered a low-end version of Martin, but who knew he was better than his predecessor... No wonder he was disliked by so many people later on.

In desperation, coach Terry had no choice but to put Aldridge back on the court after just one minute of rest.

The point difference cannot be widened any further.

Fortunately, Aldridge, as an old man who has been in the league for 6 seasons, is much better at reserve and distribution of physical fitness than Wang Zelin, a rookie, and it is not uncommon for him to occasionally play the entire game.

Moreover, Wang Zelin also triggered two gold-level dunks in this game, which played a certain role in restoring blood to his teammates, so Aldridge's physical pool is still sufficient.

After Aldridge came on the court, he quickly stabilized the morale of the team with his favorite left-sided low singles and mid-range shots, but then Westbrook succeeded in a breakthrough dunk 2-1, once again opening the score.

What's even worse is that Aldridge also has four fouls.

The Trail Blazers are in danger!

There are still more than three minutes left before the end of the game.

"Wang, how are you resting?"

Coach Terry chose to call a 60-second long timeout. After the timeout, he wanted to put Wang Zelin back on the court for the final competition.

"It's not a big problem."

Although his face was still very pale, Wang Zelin still nodded.

"Get ready to play, Portland is going to depend on you for this victory."

After adjusting his condition, the last moment came when Wang Zelin followed his teammates to play again.

We have been working hard all night, and we must not be discouraged in the last few minutes.

The Trail Blazers attack first.

After arriving at the basket, the defender in front of Wang Zelin was no longer Perkins, but Ibaka again.

"Give up, you can't guard against me. You are as soft as a donut in front of me, and it will melt as soon as you bite it."

At this point in the game, Wang Zelin no longer cared about the superficial friendship with Ibaka, and immediately started talking trash after receiving the ball.

"Won't you know if you try it?"

Ibaka licked his tongue and just smiled weirdly.

After pushing Ibaka to the low post on the right, Wang Zelin leaned on the opponent and prepared to hit hard. He was confident of scoring the goal.

Just as Wang Zelin was turning around, Ibaka suddenly fell down behind him.

"Beep beep beep!"

Offensive foul.

grass

At this critical moment, Ibaka successfully caused an offensive foul on Wang Zelin.

This is the fifth foul in this game. Wang Zelin is in danger.

Obviously the Thunder coaching staff has figured out that the reason why the Trail Blazers have been able to persist with them until now is largely due to Wang Zelin's performance in the paint.

???God, No. 36 on the opposite side has already got 25 rebounds, we must not let him break through 30.

So they took advantage of Wang Zelin's shortcoming of having four fouls. After letting the players come on the court, they tried their best to get Wang Zelin off the court first no matter what.

As long as this Chinese giant is missing, the Blazers' inside advantage will no longer be there.

Coach Terry on the side hesitated several times before giving up the decision to call a timeout.

At this time, he is more willing to believe that his players can handle their own problems. After all, he is not the one playing on the court.

After suffering a frustrating loss, Wang Zelin didn't say much, just clenched his fists and ran back to his own half.

The Thunder attacked, and after some movement, Durant found Wang Zelin in a misplaced position. The intention was very clear, it was to bully you with five fouls, and you would definitely not dare to show off your skills on the defensive end.

After Durant approached with the ball, he used a routine that Wang Zelin will remember deeply.

Wheel arm swing!

Originally, when defending a superstar player like Durant, he would easily be called for a foul if he didn't make the right move, but this guy still used this trick.

A good athlete can and should use all the tricks allowed by the rules to help you win.

After all, basketball is essentially a scoring game. As long as you can keep scoring goals, who cares about the means?

Wang Zelin agrees with this statement, but don’t forget that double standards have always been another major essence of human beings.

As an opponent, Durant's arm swinging loop is very uncomfortable for defenders.

When some senior fans who knew the ropes saw that Durant was going to use this move, the popcorn in their hands immediately lost its flavor, and the boos in their mouths quickly started.

Coach Terry on the sidelines was so frightened that he stood up suddenly, his whole heart clenched.

"be careful!"

Seeing this, Wang Zelin quickly put his hands behind his back: If you use your hand, I won't reach out anyway.

In the end, although Durant succeeded in a layup, he did not cause Wang Zelin to foul.

However, Wang Zelin's weird defensive move made Barkley in the live broadcast room happy.

"I really didn't expect that there is such a defensive move. Kenny, have you ever seen anyone put their hands behind their back when defending? It's so interesting."

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Barkley couldn't help but pat his belly when he laughed at the end.

"Ahem, it's weird enough, but after all, he is trying to protect himself. KD's move is too insidious and goes against the spirit of basketball."

Although Wang Zelin's defensive actions were a bit funny, Kenny Smith still held back with his professionalism.

And he also knew that what the fans wanted to see was a normal basketball game, not tricks that took advantage of various loopholes in the rules, so he condemned Durant's big swing.

"The NBA is not a pure basketball league."

Buckley suddenly replied, leaving Kenny Smith silent.

…

The Blazers were having trouble scoring at this time.

Center Wang Zelin was fouled with 5 fouls, and team boss Aldridge was fouled with 4 fouls. This made the two of them very timid in the paint, both on the defensive and offensive ends.

Lillard on the outside didn't feel very good in this game. He took 13 shots and only hit 5 of them, including the three-point opportunity just now, which also ended in a blackout.

For a full minute, the Trail Blazers entered a scoring drought.

On the other hand, the Thunder's offensive efficiency is not very high, but they can at least score and score.

In the last 51 seconds of the game, Durant made an underhand layup, expanding the score again.

104:99.

The Trail Blazers are already 5 points behind.

Without hesitation, Coach Terry called his second timeout in the last two minutes of the final quarter.

"Look at what you are all fighting for. It's nothing but bullshit. Even an old man like me can fight much more reliably than you."

During the timeout, Coach Terry did not provide any tactical guidance or psychological counseling, but directly cursed.

"The opponent is a team that is much better than us. You don't need to have any psychological burden. Just play hard. If you win, it's yours. If you lose, it's mine."

If you win, it's yours, if you lose, it's mine!

In one sentence, Wang Zelin and Aldridge's inner struggles were completely shattered.

Yes, what are we afraid of?

No matter how strong our opponent is, they are just a team about the same age as us, so what do we have to be afraid of!

"Beep beep beep!"

The referee's whistle sounds and the timeout is up.

"Remember, the players on the opposite side are almost the same age as us. Even if we lose, there is nothing shameful. I hope you can play to your true level and don't have any regrets..."

When the players took the field, Coach Terry kept talking.
To be continued...