In Hollins's opinion, the Grizzlies had completely taken the initiative in the first quarter, and the reason why the score was not widened now was because Westbrook performed well in the first quarter.

That's right, Hollins thinks Westbrook is performing at a super level. He admits the physical talent of the No. 0 defender, but Westbrook has never been a stable scorer. As long as he curbs his x-factor, the Thunder cannot counter-suppress it by Durant alone!

After seeing the offense and defense just started in the second quarter, Hollins was even more confident about the game! The first win in the Grizzlies in the history of the playoffs may be today! In this state, Hollins is confident to keep Westbrook's shooting percentage below 40%!

Even for outside players, this kind of hit rate is low enough.

On the court, Link and Randolph's beautiful cooperation widened the gap between the two sides to 6 points. The Grizzlies' forward line was full of murderous aura. During the regular season, people may not have noticed that they were so dangerous.

Westbrook also knew that he had just missed a great opportunity, so Westbrook finally gave up the right to take action in the next Thunder's attack.

This time, Westbrook broke through and passed the ball, and assisted Serge Ibaka easily dunked at the basket when blocked by the black and white bears.

Westbrook's assist is like this. Although he is not very organized, his passing accuracy is still OK. Under the double-team of the opponent's two inside lines, he can still stuff the ball into his teammates through the cracks.

Ibaka's dunk made the somewhat deserted Chesapeake Energy Arena liven up again, but Hollins was still sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai and was not worried at all.

As long as Westbrook doesn't score, as long as there is a special connection between him and Durant, everything the Thunder does is futile!

"James, I'll defend him!" As soon as the Thunder scored, Durant shouted at Harden.

Harden nodded silently and ran to Tony Allen in shame. Durant was really disappointed with the defense just now. Harden was always out of his mind when defending, even when playing in the playoffs.

If Link knew what Durant was thinking, he would definitely remind him very considerately, "Don't worry, Harden will be like this in the finals."

Durant doesn't like to talk on the court, which is the impression he gave in the Thunder. But Link knew very well that Durant was a man who was so silly, and only Durant could do such things as opening a small account to criticize netizens and former teammates.

"You actually don't like Russell, are you? He's too impulsive." Link looked at Durant with a serious look and wanted to tease him.

"What did you say?"

"You must be very dissatisfied with James Harden's defense, but you don't want to say it in person. It doesn't matter, I will help you make the whole world aware of this problem."

After saying that, Link suddenly ran to the top of the three-point line and received a pass from Conley. After receiving the ball, Link didn't hesitate for a second and smashed the ball hard on the ground!

Durant looked back and saw a pass! And the person who caught the ball was Tony Allen who cut in. Sure enough, Harden didn't keep up!

"Durant and Harden replaced defense this round, but now it seems that Harden's defense is exactly the same." Van Gundy couldn't help but tease. Tony Allen, a famous offensive idiot, can eat and drink on Harden's head, and there is really no one else in this defense.

Link passed the ball through the Thunder's defense and assisted Tony Allen to make a layup. The Grizzlies scored again, while Link spread his hand at Durant, "Do you want to win the game? I advise you to control the ball yourself!"

Link knew that ordinary trash talk was useless to Durant. But if you cut from the side, Durant's mentality would still be somewhat affected.

20 seconds later, Westbrook's sudden stop and jump shot made a furious shot, undoubtedly adding fuel to Durant's heart.

Now that the Thunder are behind, Durant is provoked by Link again, he is so angry that he is already angry. At this time, Westbrook's mind explodes again, and even thinking about it, Durant feels despicable.

Westbrook was afraid of breaking into the inside and encountering Gasol's assisted defense, so he stopped and jumped in half of the way. But this guy who wore the same number as Link did not have the same feel as Link.

His shooting movements were so stiff that even Link couldn't stand it. Strictly speaking, Westbrook's shooting posture was still very standard, there was no big problem, but it was too stiff, straight up and down!

From the start of the jump, Westbrook gave people a feeling of being too strong. He had obvious stagnation when he started the jump shot, and then he relied on his super fingers and wrists to "smash out" the ball! Because the whole process was extremely stiff and too hard, his shooting was even teased by fans as a "zombie jump shot".

Seeing Westbrook wasting opportunities because he worked alone, Durant felt unspeakable.

"What am I talking about? You have to control the ball yourself, Kevin." Link continued to stir up the flames, and the villain should look like a villain.

Durant still ignored Link, but probably had cursed Westbrook and Link in his heart.

The 6-point gap is very delicate. The Grizzlies can pull the gap to double digits by working hard. But if Thunder works hard, the gap will be quickly filled.

It can be said that this is a turning point in the game.

Durant's defense against Link this time was very tight. He pressed Link's chest with one hand and blocked his catch route with the other. But Link was not in a hurry. He naturally could not beat Durant by fighting alone. But relying on the team system, Link could defeat most of the stars in the league!

This time, Link reached out and called Tony Allen to provide himself with no ball cover. The purpose of this cover was very clear, forcing Durant and Harden to change positions!

"James, don't change defense!" Durant saw through Link's plan, but if he didn't change defense, Durant would be left behind by Link for a while.

Link ran away with the cover when Conley's ball passed. After receiving the ball, Link did not make a fake shooting move. He had used this move too many times, so he could not deceive Durant.

Link took a step to the left before Durant rushed over, and made a breakthrough. As expected, Durant immediately changed his center of gravity and blocked the past. The defenders in the chasing defense were the most impatient, and what Link said to Durant just now made Durant want to shut up.

But the more anxious a player is, the more he will forget how to think.

After seeing Durant be fooled, Link retracted his left foot, then turned around with his right foot as the axis, perfectly passing the scoring champion!

"Another superb offensive footsteps, haha, the scoring king was provoked!"

After passing Durant, Link was already very close to the basket. He raised the basketball with one hand, gently pushed the ball into the basket with a gentle force on his wrist and fingers.

The posture of this ball is not like a shooting or a throwing shot, it is entirely a reckless reaction of Link in a tense situation. But such a move actually fully demonstrates Link's soft touch.

Westbrook felt embarrassed after watching the ball. Why is his shooting so comfortable?

After this goal, Link's personal score has reached 11 points! The Grizzlies are forwards and the two teams are currently in double digits. Link and Randolph's momentum has completely surpassed Durant and Westbrook.

After scoring the goal, Link hooked his finger at Durant. Link knew that the No. 35 had already ignited a raging fire in his heart.

The score difference was widened to 8 points, and the Thunder was in danger, and Durant could no longer bear it. This time when the Thunder attacked again, Durant finally raised his arm, he took the initiative to ask for the ball and prepared to attack by himself!

"Kevin Durant took the initiative to attack the ball, and he knew that the Thunder was not safe now. If this attack fails again, the score difference will be widened to 10 points. At that time, the Grizzlies can set up the bus with peace of mind."

As soon as Durant held the ball, Tony Allen raised his hand to block Durant's eyes. Bathir's eye-blocking technique has been widely spread in the Grizzlies. The substantial effect of this eye-blocking technique may be limited, but it can indeed make the offensive party upset.

According to Bathil, “Even if you score against each other, don’t let him score comfortably.”

Durant, who was already angry, is now disturbed by the eyes and is even more impatient. After taking a tentative step, he directly planned to break through Tony Allen, but just took a step, Durant discovered that the basketball was out of control!

When he looked down, it turned out that Link had already made up for Durant without knowing it, just waiting for him to dribble and wait for an opportunity to steal it!

The upset Durant was not so careful when observing the defense, which made him a big mistake. Link's trash talk and Tony Allen's eyes covered have such an effect. The psychological offensive is sometimes really useful on the basketball court.

"Damn it!" Durant immediately chased back. He had only the basket in his eyes just now, and he was indeed careless.

After intercepting the basketball, Link took the fast break, but was soon caught up by Durant. That guy took one step and walked two steps. Link had only envious of those long legs.

Durant gritted his teeth. He must use a rough chase to avenge his previous shame!

Link hit the basket, looked back at the back, then suddenly jumped up and turned around in the air, smashing the ball out of the three-point line!

At the top of the three-point line, Zach Randolph received the basketball! But at this time, the Thunder's defense basically recovered to the penalty area! Including Ibaka, he never expected Randolph to hold the ball outside the three-point line!

Randolph did not hesitate and shot from outside the three-point line!

When Randolph was in New York, he was criticized for being a fourth position for often shooting outside the three-point line. In that era, it was incredible that a large-tonnage fourth position had to make 2.2 three-pointers per game! Only after coming to the Grizzlies, Randolph calmed down and honestly shot from low posts and mid-range.

But the fact is that Randolph does have the ability to shoot three-pointers. Maybe it is not stable and cannot be used as a conventional weapon. But occasionally, Randolph does not fail to try three-pointers with large open spaces!

Link's broad vision allowed Randolph, who was dragging in the end, to get such a big open three-pointer.

Randolph raised the basketball, slightly turned it around, and then shot from outside the three-point line.

Scott Brooks stood up nervously, and all the Thunder players were staring at the basketball that was passing through the dome of the arena.

In the end, Randolph did not waste Link's wonderful pass. He made a three-pointer, and while scoring his 13th point today, he also widened the gap to 11 points in one fell swoop! Double digits!

"The beautiful cooperation from Zach and Link, they have teamed up to score 24 points today!" Van Gundy shouted excitedly. This is what a truly mature duo should look like!
Chapter completed!