564: Showdown, don't pretend
At the beginning of the second quarter, Link made the Grizzlies' offense improve.
The Grizzlies' strategy is progressive. In the first quarter, Link and Durant fought to the death, so that the Thunder could score as few as possible. In the second quarter, when the Thunder was still at the rhythm of being unable to score, Link suddenly stood up, enough to catch the Thunder off guard.
Durant is quite troubled now, he has to defend and score, which will undoubtedly further reduce his efficiency.
And what about Link? He almost only scored. Seyfersa scored only 7.6 points in the regular season, and his scoring data in the playoffs was reduced to 5.7 points.
To put it bluntly, Sevorso has no independent offensive ability, just don't give him the opportunity to shoot at an open spot.
Link can easily deal with this level of attack.
Of course, the Thunder naturally cannot give up resistance from the second quarter. They are always second in the West and have won 60 wins this season. It is impossible for them to be able to get back on for a long time.
After Link scored 5 points in a row, the Thunder also began to score.
Westbrook took the lead in rushing into the penalty area. His speed was too fast. He threw away Conley and rushed in with a change of direction.
If it is an ordinary point guard, if you encounter a black and white bear, you can only avoid throwing. But Westbrook is so strong that he just carried the black and white bears and forced a layup!
Of course, the ball didn't make the ball, and the person fell very hard, but he could beat the referee's whistle!
"The Grizzlies' defensive foul, Westbrook made two free throws." The referee yelled at the technical station, and Westbrook lay on the ground and raised his arm.
His impact interrupted the Grizzlies' scoring momentum.
Westbrook stood up and made both free throws. Durant was indeed temporarily lost, but the Thunder had other people who could score.
Later, Link was double-teamed and distributed the ball to Tony Allen, but Teacher Tony's layup in the confrontation did not make any progress.
I have to say that if Tony Allen's offense is a little more reliable, he will definitely be a player who can earn tens of millions of annual salary.
He is too serious about subject matter.
The situation was not as smooth as Link thought. He just scored 5 points in a row and was silent. This was not what Link wanted.
Just as Link was still thinking about what to do, Westbrook had already come again with lightning speed!
His breakthrough was very penetrating and he directly reached the grizzly heartland.
Facing the double interception between Gasol and Conley, Westbrook completed a difficult layup in the crack!
"Tsk." Link curled his lips, Westbrook's sudden outbreak was something he had not expected.
The score difference has returned to 4 points, and the Thunder has also found some offensive feeling.
Although their scores are intermittent, they will not be completely thrown away by the Grizzlies. Whenever Link wants to completely open the score, the Thunder can stop the loss in time.
The second quarter only took three minutes. Although the Grizzlies kept the lead, the score difference could not be widened for a long time.
Stevens called a timeout in desperation, and he had to continue to adjust his strategy!
"Andre, how about the rest?" The young coach found that the Thunder's offensive efficiency was still not high, but the Grizzlies had to find a second scoring point other than Link to expand the gap.
Randolph's chance against Ibaka is difficult. And Gasol's offensive performance is already unstable.
So the young marshal turned his attention to Iguodala.
"I will not only need you to defend later, but also need you to share the pressure on Link's scoring. If there is an open space, don't hesitate."
"Don't worry, I know what to do." Iguodala stood up, took off her training suit, walked to Link, and prepared to appear.
"Hey, boy, do you remember what you said to me when I first came?" Iguodala turned her head and looked at Link.
"Hmm?" Link didn't react for a moment.
"You said, I hope to join me in decorating the dome of the Federal Express Arena. Now, we are infinitely close to this goal. So, let me help you, Link."
After saying that, Iguodala patted Link on the shoulder. The time-out also ended, and both sides re-entered.
Link looked at Iguodala with a firm look on his face. This guy pretended to be dead and finally pretended to be enough, right?
Link said, this time, Thunder would not easily get these points back!
"Tony Allen played three minutes in the second quarter and the Grizzlies are now on the court. Will Link go back to defend Durant? Or will the Thunder equalize the score?"
The game is full of suspense, and the Thunder was not beaten to death with one move, which is actually more worthy of the harsh words that Link and Durant made before the game.
If both sides can defeat each other so easily, how can they be called enemies?
The first attack after the timeout was suspended, the Grizzlies' ball rights.
Just now, Tony Allen's offense did drag him down. But in Durant's opinion, Iguodala is not much better. The Thunder's defense focus is only Link!
Link held the ball at the top of the arc and hit Gasol, but Gasol was just the command tower, and Durant was next to Link. He knew that the ball would definitely be passed to Link who cut in!
Link did cut inward, and Durant was secretly proud. But until Link ran out of the three-second zone, the ball still did not pass.
"Eh?" Durant and Ibaka, who was ready to assist in defense, were both confused.
The next second, Iguodala suddenly accelerated and entered the penalty area. Gasol then passed the ball, giving Iguodala the opportunity to attack the box!
Since Link's run just now attracted the attention of Durant and Ibaka, when Iguodalache entered, he could almost be said to be undefended.
Ibaka hurriedly made up for it, but to no avail. Iguodala made a layup easily, and the gap continued to widen!
"Today Andre's desire to attack seems to be very strong, which is a bit unusual."
Link was excited. If it were Tony Allen, the goal just now might not have been able to make progress. But Iguodala should not be fooled by his data!
In the next round, Durant's shot also made. He was always a super scorer, and he could hit the shot even in the worst situations.
But before Durant had time to be happy, Link rushed to the basket and returned Durant with a "punch".
For this ball, Link's breakthrough was very straightforward. But after reaching the basket, Link made a quick stop and made a fake shot.
This time, Ibaka and Durant were both fired. Seeing that the two forwards who were defending themselves were "floating" in the air, Link turned around and jumped back and made a jump shot, making it easy!
Link has strong scoring stability and rarely misses under absolute chances.
The score difference has returned to 8 points and 8 points, as if it is a hurdle. The Grizzlies have been unable to expand the score further, and the Thunder cannot tie these 8 points.
Therefore, whoever can break through this hurdle first will gain the advantage of turning the situation around!
The Thunder really wanted to continue the score, but their offensive stability was far inferior.
Durant still wanted to attack, but Iguodala didn't give him a chance. The moment Durant raised the ball, he took everything and racquet off!
Durant hurriedly caught the ball back and almost made a mistake. Although he saved the ball, Durant's attack undoubtedly failed.
So KD handed the ball to Westbrook. After Westbrook came over, he received the ball from outside the three-point line and shot!
The ball was shot very well and had a strong force, but the arc was too flat. It finally hit the front of the basket and formed a long rebound.
Link won't let go of any long rebound, and this is no exception.
"Damn it, I can't let him do whatever he wants!"
Durant yelled in his heart that every time the score difference is approaching, there will always be mistakes. This time, he will take out the tight defense in the first quarter!
When Link took the ball through half the game, Durant stuck it up. Link almost made a dribble mistake under the interference of Durant's long arm. It has to be said that once Durant defends seriously, he is also at the gate level.
Link staggered and hugged the ball steadily, but because he could no longer dribble, he was forced to death.
Seferosa did not hesitate. Seeing this, he rushed up and double-teamed Link with Durant!
Under the aggressive double-team of the two, Link was about to lose the center of gravity and fell directly. Link knew very well that once he fell in this situation, the ball rights would definitely belong to the Thunder!
No, you must find a way to overcome this hurdle!
At this moment, Iguodala broke out outside the three-point line, putting her hands on her chest and her palms facing out, obviously ready to catch the ball.
Link's body had already begun to lean back, and a second before he fell, he passed the ball from the gap between Durant and Seferossa's thighs to Iguodala!
"Link fell, but he passed the ball before that! Andre Iguodala received the basketball, what would he do?"
Seeing that it was Iguodala to catch the ball, Durant breathed a sigh of relief. A guy who shot more than 30% of the three-point shooting percentage would not necessarily make a shot.
What's more, Seifrosa made up for it as soon as possible, and Iguodala finally took action due to interference.
The score has not been widened. This time, you must make every effort to fill in the 8 points!
Durant was just getting ready to take off with all his strength, but he heard the sound of the Nets rolling.
"Hey!?" Durant turned around and saw the Nets floating. Then, DJ yelled at the scene.
"Andre Iguodala, three"
"In?" Durant looked up at the big screen on the scene.
Enter!
"When the three-pointer hit, Andre Iguodala bravely took the responsibility. He undoubtedly became Link's most powerful helper on the outside! The score difference has become 11 points, and the Grizzlies have finally broken through the threshold of 8 points! Now, the situation in the Thunder is getting more and more dangerous!"
"Hehe, you shouldn't leave him alone." After Link stood up, he still criticized Durant.
Iguodala's three-point shooting during the regular season was indeed only 31%, but no one told Durant that Iguodala's three-point shooting percentage has been 40.3% since the playoffs!
When he stops pretending to be dead, you can no longer look at him in the regular season eyes.
Iguodala originally wanted to compete with Thunder as an ordinary person, but she was in return for contempt.
Now, we're showing off, we won't pretend!
The dual firepower of him and Link is enough to make the Thunder's intermittent attack ashamed!
Chapter completed!