Chapter 236: The Next Opponent
One day after the All-Star Game, An Jie sent his friends away one by one. Pen ~ fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info Divac, Kobe, Wade, and, of course, the little girl Giardina, who almost made Anjie fall.
Why send it away? Because after Dallas participated in the All-Star Game, the Thunder four did not have to leave Dallas to meet the Thunder, but the Thunder team was going to come to Dallas to meet the four of them.
With a day off after the All-Star break, the Thunder will play the Mavericks in Dallas on Feb. 16.
This also allows the quartet to get some rest from the hard work of All-Star Weekend, at least without having to fly back and forth, which is already a great reward for Angel and them.
After the baptism of All-Star Weekend, the popularity of the Thunder's four young men has undoubtedly increased greatly. More and more people are following the Thunder right now, even in Dallas.
"With the warm-up of the All-Star Game, the number of people who came to watch this game was very large! After watching the All-Star Game in Dallas, many fans wanted to watch another regular season game before leaving. "Kenny. Smith and his two partners didn't leave Dallas either, and today, the T.NT trio sat down to give live commentary to the audience.
"This game can definitely be regarded as one of the strong dialogues in the West, and I think as long as the top eight teams in the West play, it can be counted as a strong dialogue. Because in terms of record, the difference between the top eight wins in the West is not large. It can be said that there is not much difference in the strength of these eight teams. ”
"That's right, Charles, this game is going to be quite intense." Reggie. Miller is full of expectations, this season's Mavericks and Thunder have made great progress, and the two teams will definitely spark when they meet in a narrow way.
But from the very beginning, this game seems to have nothing to do with anxiety.
In the first quarter of the game, except for An Jie, the Thunder team was dumb across the board. I don't know if it's because the frenzy of All-Star Weekend hasn't dissipated yet, but in short, everyone on the Thunder team played very carelessly on the court, and their choice of shots was also very casual.
At this time, Durant was needed to step up, but his crazy shot failed to bring points to the team. He took 11 shots in a single quarter, but only hit four of them. If it weren't for Anjie's six-point score, the Mavericks might have been able to build a difference of almost 20 points in the first quarter!
16-26, the luxurious American Route Center arena seems to be about to become the graveyard of the Thunder.
However, the situation on the basketball court was really instantaneous, and just as the Mavericks were preparing to take advantage of the victory to defeat the young Thunder in one fell swoop, the Thunder changed their face in the second quarter.
Nowitzki's performance is still excellent, whether it is Morris or Ibaka, or even Anjie, there is no way to take this German guy.
Not only Nowitzki, but the entire Mavericks team's performance in the entire second quarter was not bad, almost the same as the first quarter. However, the sudden strength of the Thunder team made the Mavericks who were fighting at home very embarrassed.
"Russell. Westbrook made his fourth shot of the quarter and hit again! With 4-of-4 shooting, Westbrook has already cut down 10 points, is this really that zero guard of the Thunder? I've never seen Westbrook so efficient, even in the first quarter, he shot just 25 percent from the field! "Kenny. Smith's eyes widened, why this guy was not efficient and Van Gundy was still willing to let him attack. That's why, once this guy hits the offensive end, there are few people in the entire league who can stand up and stop him.
Of course, Westbrook's one-man outburst wasn't enough to turn the Thunder around. Durant's consecutive three-point shots and Anjie's consistent play as always, plus the 6 points contributed by "Big Bull" Morris. In the second quarter, the Thunder scored 40 points in one fell swoop! They were 10 points behind, but now they ended the first half with a six-point lead.
56-50, the Mavericks were completely blinded. Relying only on Nowitzki and Dampier, the Mavericks' interior defense is still not enough to see.
In the third quarter, under the cheers of the fans, the Mavericks did not wake up, but continued to play the game in a mess. Maybe the Thunder's crazy performance in the second quarter didn't make them react.
This time, even Nowitzki lost his attacking touch. 1 of 5 shots, even the Mavericks' most firepower German tank played like this, and the scores of others are naturally known.
When the third quarter ended, the Thunder led the Mavericks by 13 points, 78-65, and this margin was maintained until the end.
"Mavericks fans won't be happy that the Mavericks messed up in the first quarter when the situation was so good, allowing the Thunder's youngsters to seize the opportunity to fight back."
"Self-defeating? I don't think so. You must know that the Mavericks' performance in the second quarter is actually not bad, to blame, only the Thunder's ability to chase points is too terrifying. "Reggie. Miller marveled at such a rollercoaster of ups and downs, and once a game-type team like the Thunder played the game, it would play more and more vigorously.
In the end, the Thunder still won the first regular season game after the All-Star break. 99-86, the Thunder three young people picked another Western powerhouse off the horse, and they are the biggest dark horse this season.
With 25 points and 14 rebounds, Anjie was finally able to surpass Durant, the league's leading scorer, and become the highest scorer in the game today. It is precisely because of Anjie's stable performance throughout the game that the Thunder team has the capital and foundation to counterattack.
Oklahoma City's Blue-and-White Lightning kept their momentum going, winning seven in a row, and that record could continue to expand.
Sure enough, two days after the victory over the Mavericks. The Thunder once again bloodied Madison Square Garden, 121-112, although the point difference was not in double digits, but how difficult the game was, only the Knicks players knew in their hearts.
In addition to Durant, Westbrook also continued his good form in this game, scoring 31 points and 10 assists. Anjie only scored 16 points under the influence of Durant and Westbrook's high scores, but his efficiency on 7-of-9 shooting can be regarded as the highest in the game. And Anjie picked up 11 rebounds again, winning the longest consecutive 10 games of his career and getting a double-double! And the Thunder's winning streak has also become 8.
"It's amazing, it's incredible! The Thunder's state after the All-Star weekend is amazingly good, and Anjie's 10 consecutive double-doubles are really not easy! ”
....................
Now there's speculation about who can end the Thunder's unstoppable winning streak. There are a variety of answers, with some saying that the Suns are the most likely to finish stopping the Thunder, while others believe that the Spurs are the team that can beat the Thunder. Whatever the answer, the Thunder's next opponent, the Minnesota Timberwolves, has never been considered.
At the bottom of the West, the Minnesota Timberwolves' results really can't be compared to the Thunder, who are in hot form. It's not for nothing that people look down on them. It seems that before the game even started, the Timberwolves had already turned into losers.
Tomorrow the Thunder will be back-to-back in the ice and snow of Minnesota, Colafour flipped through the newspapers and found that there were only a few news reports on the upcoming battle between the two sides. Others, more, have already skipped the game and started to do a preview of the Thunder vs. Suns and even the Spurs.
It's clear that these media outlets are sending a message: they look down on the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are at the bottom of the West, and they don't bother to report on this team.
Lefu looked at the newspaper, his heart full of anger. It's true that the team has had poor results this season, but it's due to a combination of reasons. For example, he himself did not play for a month due to injuries, and the team's record in that month was also miserable. Another example is Corey, who has high hopes. Brewer's performance was good and bad, with too many ups and downs......
In short, being directly ignored by the outside world as an opponent of the Thunder team will be unhappy for anyone to put there. Moreover, Lefu is still a potential rookie, a rookie who is more competitive than everyone else.
When he was in college, he killed all sides at UCLA and won many individual awards in one fell swoop. In the NBA, Lefou, who was used to winning, had to face one game after another.
Seeing that his former little follower Westbrook has stepped into the playoffs, Lefu feels even more uncomfortable.
"I'm not a flash in the pan!" Lefous crumpled the newspaper and threw it in the trash with a shooting pose. The paper ball was hollowed into the barrel, and Lefu also put down the unfinished dinner and continued his training.
"Why haven't you left yet, Kevin." The security guards at the Target Center were surprised that the Timberwolves players and coaches rarely worked overtime, and when it was time to leave, the group dispersed faster than anyone else. But today, it's ten o'clock in the evening, Kevin. Lefu is still sweating in the training ground.
"Tomorrow's game, I don't want to lose." Lefu replied simply, but this was the biggest reason why he stayed.
He didn't want to lose, he was better than Anjie and Westbrook in college, and he wanted to prove that that hasn't changed even now.
Oklahoma City Thunder, don't forget that your next opponent is not the Suns or the Spurs, but the wolf pack in the north, the Kevin who is eyeing the opponent at any moment. Lefou. (To be continued.) )