Chapter 159: The Ninth in the West

As the game for the rise and fall of the rankings entered the third quarter, O'Neal's breathing was getting heavier and heavier, and once upon a time, he would have been sweating profusely to hold on to a meagre ninth spot in the West. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

The Thunder, a youth army that has come out of injury and gradually improved its lineup, has brought unprecedented pressure to the Suns. O'Neal in particular, the 36-year-old has clearly been unable to keep up with Anjie's pace in back-to-back matches.

The last time the two sides met, the Suns slashed 140 points, and O'Neal also showed his might in front of Anjie. However, after a few of the deadly runs, O'Neal and Nash both clearly felt that they had problems with their physical strength.

The 147-kilogram monster, averaging 17 points and 8 rebounds per game with the Suns, is already very remarkable, and people say that this is simply a season of O'Neal's return. But with the Suns' fast-paced game, it is indeed difficult for the "Big Sharks" to play dominantly in back-to-back games.

Anjie was in a key position on the inside, and once again received the ball fed by Westbrook, and he leaned on O'Neal and played with his back without fear!

O'Neill quickly adjusted his breathing, this Chinese whose legs were not as thick as his own arms, but unexpectedly made himself very hard. Spare no effort in physical contact, all kinds of small actions, An Jie in order to deal with O'Neill, the means are also extremely extreme.

An Jie leaned back a few times, and although O'Neill had a huge advantage in tonnage, he also had to work hard to keep An Jie out of the penalty area.

Of course, An Jie is not stupid, he does not expect that he can shake a "Roshan" weighing 147 kilograms, he hit his back two times, just to disrupt O'Neal's defensive rhythm.

"Five seconds!" shouted Jeff Van Gundy from the sidelines, reminding Angel of the remaining time to attack.

Five seconds, facing the "big shark" that can't swim anymore, it's completely enough!

An Jie leaned on O'Neill's huge body and suddenly turned around and cut into the inner line, O'Neill naturally would not be confused by this kind of carving insect trick, he clearly reminded himself in his mind that the back attack was just a feint, and now it must be pasted!

"Damn! Damn!" O'Neill's consciousness was still the same as at his peak, but his body couldn't compare to the past. The brain can think of it, but the legs can't move away. The nimble Angel easily overtook O'Neal by half a position, and a low-handed layup scored the ball before the offensive time was out.

There was only 2 seconds left for the Suns, and Nash threw it directly in the backcourt after receiving the baseline ball, but the miracle did not happen, and the basketball thrown by Nash did not even touch the frame.

82-72, the third quarter ended, and the Suns still led by 10 points, but Phoenix fans and Suns players were very worried. Because after three quarters of the game, the Thunder's state is getting better and better, while the Suns' fatigue is getting worse and worse.

In the first quarter, the Thunder played a multi-point flowering performance as soon as they came out, and Durant, who had just returned from injury, was also in good shape. The tired sun was completely overwhelmed, and was beaten into disarray as soon as the game began.

In the second and third quarters, Nash slowly controlled the rhythm, not only scoring points wildly, but also helping the Suns start the storm again and overtake the score. But the Thunder didn't let this break down, they stuck to their style of play and didn't follow the Suns to pick up the pace.

The two quarters of running and bombing have exhausted Nash, O'Neal and Grant Hill, and Stoudemire is out due to injury, so they are worried about whether they will be defeated by the tightly rotating Thunder in the fourth quarter.

In the final quarter, whether to play a position or a run-and-run, Gentry himself couldn't get an idea.

"We decide our tactics according to the situation! After the opening, let's take a break and fight a positional battle with the Thunder team!"

With so many tempos and tactics in a game that even a top-tier point guard like Steve Nash can find it difficult to execute.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Suns played a "messy" word. Some people want to run, some people want to fall into position, which makes Nash not know what rhythm to use.

Before the Suns could make sure they were on their toes, the Thunder counterattacked fiercely.

16 points and 6 rebounds, and in just three quarters, Anjie scored such statistics on the head of O'Neal, a legendary center. The Thunder three young reunions, and the scoring guard has also been replaced by Weaver to Sephorosa, who has stronger comprehensive ability, and the increase in outside firepower can help Anjie disperse a lot of defensive pressure. Whether it is to pass or attack, An Jie can complete the task with ease.

As soon as the Thunder team's offense came over, An Jie controlled the ball with his back to the basket. O'Neill had to stick it up, he hadn't been forced so embarrassed by a center forward for a long time, is this the difference between 36 and 20 years old?

Durant, Westbrook and Sephorosa all started to run, and Kostic pulled into the middle distance, and Anjie got more space than ever!

Anjie has a lot of space, and so does the space for others to make breakthroughs. Kevin Durant's swift counterrun overwhelmed the aging Grant Hill, who was once again dumped by Durant, allowing the newly returned No. 35 to cut into the box.

Anjie looked at Sephorosa, who was standing in the bottom corner, and made a pass in his hand, but the ball flew in the opposite direction, and a hit came to the hands of Durant, who cut inside.

O'Neal, the only center, was attracted to Angel, and the Suns' interior line can be said to be completely undefended.

Durant jumped on both feet, straightened his long arms, and slammed hard.

"Durant! There is no problem with his state, and a small injury can't help him!"

"An Jie's ball is passed beautifully, the sound is full of creativity, young people are full of creativity!"

Everyone is praising the Thunder as if they are the Thunder who are in the lead right now.

As for the Suns, the "Brazilian Lightning" is undoubtedly the most suitable person for run-and-gun tactics, he came directly to the full-court run after receiving the baseline ball, and when the Thunder team has not fallen into the defensive position, he directly made a successful layup.

But how many times can Barbossa use such a surprise attack?

"Don't fight for the rebounds, I want you to get back to the defense quickly after you shoot, don't give the Suns a chance to switch offense and defense!" Jeff Van Gundy is not a fool, and with just one timeout, he can solve Barbossa's problems.

Under the dual constraints of physical strength and the Thunder's defensive strategy, the Suns' running and bombing can't be beaten, and they are the opponents of the Thunder.

As soon as O'Neal received the ball, Kyle Weaver immediately deliberately fouled him and slashed the shark tactic!

After the foul was dead, Weaver was immediately replaced by Sefrosa, and Van Gundy replaced him, completely for the foul.

O'Neal was no stranger to such tactics, and he walked to the free throw line in frustration. Serious physical exertion made his already thin free throws even worse, two free throws missed, An Jie won the rebound, and Van Gundy's shark cut can be said to be a big victory!

As the clock ticked by, the Suns were still struggling to support themselves with the advantages they had built up earlier. When the fourth quarter of the game was five minutes into the game, Van Gundy replaced the main team to rest, the Thunder had moved the score to 88 draws, and for five minutes, the Suns only scored 6 points, and Durant's score alone exceeded this data.

The Thunder's bench depth is naturally not comparable to that of the Suns, but the tenacious style of the bench players has not given the Suns much advantage. In the two and a half minutes that Jeff Van Gundy rested the main team, the score was not stretched again, and the Suns only led by three points during this period, three points, which is not a gap at all for the Thunder in such a state.

"Kevin Durant! hit a three-pointer as soon as he got on the court, or an assist from Anjie, this Eastern tower seems to be able to connect with everyone!" Durant and Anjie high-fived cordially, although they didn't express it on the surface, Durant really likes Anjie as a foreign teammate now.

After Stoudemire's injury, O'Neal is now the only interior player in the Suns team who can get a shot, in fact, Robin Lopez is very good, Anjie clearly knows this, but unfortunately the head coach just doesn't like to use him as a rookie. Gentry would rather let a tired O'Neal turn around the field than choose to trust Robin. His current situation is very similar to the situation of Anjie when he played under Calesimo at the beginning of the season.

"I can't stand it. For the first time, O'Neal had such a thought in his mind, and with four minutes to go, the two sides were tied again, but O'Neill seemed to have seen the end.

The Suns are playing slower and slower, and the more they play, the more chaotic they become. The Thunder team became more and more courageous, and the more they threw in, the more they became more and more popular. The young Thunder rested for two days before this game, and the aging Suns rested for 18 hours before this game. Now it's Kentry's turn to complain about the league's damn schedule.

"Durant scored 10 points in a row!"

"Ann dunks under the basket! It's O'Neal who defends him!"

"Westbrook's deadly impact!

The referee awarded a two-pointer, and the ball stepped over the line, but it didn't affect the momentum of the Thunder's game. ”

In the final four minutes, it was as if the Suns players had disappeared from the commentators' mouths, and no one mentioned their names again.

Nash and Barbosa, the two shortest guys on the team, struggled to keep the Suns alive with a glimmer of hope of winning. But in the end, this hope was not realized.

The Suns went all out to bring in O'Neal, in large part to limit Duncan from the Spurs in the playoffs. It's a pity that the current Suns are getting farther and farther away from the playoffs.

O'Neill stopped running, panting across his waist as a speck of sweat accidentally flowed into his eyes.

I rubbed my eyes and opened them again, the score was still 106-95, and the time was still March 14, 2009. The Suns really lost, and he's really old.

Seeing the No. 16 center in the blue jersey surrounded by his teammates and laughing wantonly, O'Neill could only shake his head helplessly. Maybe the NBA's internal dominance has long since disappeared from him.

The Thunder struggled for most of the season and finally overtook the Suns to finish ninth in the West.

Jazz Jerry Sloan, but you have to stabilize the situation. Otherwise, this blue and white lightning bolt will soon rush in front of you!(To be continued.) )