After a few rounds, the Thunder couldn't defend it, and Brooks hurriedly replaced Ibaka and replaced Collison. Ibaka was much more active in defending after coming on the field, and Zhou Xuan's breakthrough was limited.

In the series against the Spurs, some experts said that Ibaka's contribution to the Thunder was similar to Durant's, why do you say that?

The Spurs' main style of play is the break-through of guards Parker and Ginobili. There is a chance to go to the basket directly, the opportunity is not good to pass to the bottom corner, this move is very sharp, the two brothers have first-class finishing ability under the basket, and if they shrink the joint defense, the Spurs shooters will shine brightly! This choice is a headache for league coaches, but Brooks can calmly choose not to shrink the defense, this is the credit of Ibaka, he has an excellent grasp of the Spurs guard's breakthrough judgment and blocking time, making it difficult for the guard to break through to the basket, and can only pass to the outside to shoot against the defense.

Although Ibaka is thinner and can't fight one-on-one under the basket, his characteristics of being good at defensive breakouts and helping to defend blocks have made him in the best defensive team. Perkins is better than him, and the All-Defensive Team will not pick Perkins. Ibaka is also an important part of the Thunder's counterattack, after the wing block, the outside double is fast, two passes, most teams basically can't do it. If you can't prevent low-level masters, aren't Pippen and Jordan the same when they are at their peak?

Zhou Xuan only shot twice in three minutes, and all of them were missed. With Chandler on the floor, the Thunder can shrink under the basket inside, and others are also inefficient offensively.

The three Mikes discussed it off the court. D'Antoni said: "I suggest running and shooting, it's the same small-ball tactic, there's no reason for us to lose to the Thunder. ”

Woodson objected. "In the first half, we defended very well, the Thunder rebounded and couldn't beat us, if we played fast break, of course we could, but if we didn't score, the players couldn't defend back, and it also gave them a chance to counterattack. The Thunder's success in breaking through in the West largely relied on fast breakout, and we shouldn't give them the opportunity to play their strengths. I suggest continuing the positional battle, let Antoine (Jamison) play, he has a good ability to play alone after being misplaced, he can withdraw the inside line, he can also attack with the ball, and the inside line Ryan (Anderson) is also on, and Zhou blocks and dismantles, so that the Thunder inside line must be all defended, at least Zhou can go heads-up. ”

Malone said: "I agree, if the opportunity is particularly good, not to mention that Zhou will also launch a fast attack." ”

D'Antoni has these two assistant coaches to check and balance, and he can't be stubborn. He thought about it for a while, decided to give up the run, and called a timeout when the ball was dead.

If you want to make the team the most attacking, you need Anderson's three-point shot. Matthews also came on, replacing Battier with four fouls, and the task of defending Durant was given to Leonard, and Jamison replaced Gallinari.

The Thunder made no substitutions and continued to play small-ball tactics.

At the beginning of the game, Jamison and Zhou Xuan cooperated to help him avoid Westbrook. Ibaka changed defenses, Anderson made the second block, Zhou Xuan went all the way to the bottom line, and Durant changed defenses.

Anderson doesn't cut to the low post on the perimeter, and Ibaka doesn't dare to go back to the inside easily. Zhou Xuan singled Durant, dribbled the ball under his crotch and handed it to his left hand, and took a step to the middle, and Durant followed. Zhou Xuan pulled the ball and turned around to break down the basket, took the ball and stopped and bent his knees, this time he shook Durant up, Zhou Xuan hit Durant on the right side and jumped, threw with one hand, the ball was deflected, the referee whistled, and the hitter fouled.

Su Qun said: "Beautiful singles, Durant is already the third foul, if he gets into foul trouble, it will be very beneficial to the Knicks." ”

Yang Jian said: "This kind of ball is for points, and it must be grasped. ”

Zhou Xuan threw two hollow balls and scored his 16th point. 60 to 56.

The Thunder attacked, Anderson followed Ibaka under the basket, Ibaka received the ball in the low post and tried to attack one, throwing it off, neither of them did this.

Jamison grabbed the rebound in the backcourt, and that's when he needed to get on the court. He's a rebounding player, and he's a lot like a No. 4 in that regard.

Zhou Xuan dribbled the ball across the half court and passed to Jamison, who faced Durant and protected the ball on the perimeter, and Zhou Xuan and Anderson got rid of Westbrook without the ball and received the basketball.

The Thunder don't have a big man on the inside, but the Knicks don't have a low-post killer like Pekovic to attack. Ibaka and Anderson, Zhou Xuan faced Westbrook again, and Sibu chased quickly.

Zhou Xuan observed the situation, Harden followed Matthews, the two had similar physique and no advantage, Leonard faced Sephorosa, who was about the same height and had no advantage in singles. No matter how you block and dismantle, you can defend, and now that both teams are man-to-man, then you have to use the most primitive way to solve the battle.

The teammates all pulled away, and Zhou Xuan singled out Westbrook on the left side.

Westbrook and Zhou Xuan practiced together in the summer, and they thought they were familiar with his path and had the confidence to defend against it. It's just that there aren't many real matches between the two in the regular season, so I haven't tried it yet.

Zhou Xuan laughed secretly in his heart, he and Westbrook left a hand alone. He took the ball to open the distance, dribbled the ball under the two crotches of the face frame, paused, held the ball in his right hand, and brought his left hand close.

When the two practiced against each other in the summer, Zhou Xuan either used the "worship Buddha" feint or shot directly, Westbrook didn't move or stretch out his hand, and concluded that he was a feint, and if he shot directly, he could interfere, and the efficiency would not be very high. It's a feint, yes, but it's not a "Buddha worship". Zhou Xuan's left hand didn't come up, and after a pause, he changed speed and broke through directly from the right side.

Zhou Xuan used psychological warfare, if it was a simple move by other defenders, he could keep up, but Westbrook's heart didn't consider that Zhou Xuan would do this, he focused on two possibilities, and this speed change breakthrough became a strange move, disrupting the rhythm of defense.

Everyone else was defended out, Zhou Xuan stepped on the line of the penalty area and almost didn't jump, and shot at the high board. Westbrook was half a body behind, too late to jump, and watched the ball fall into the basket. 62 to 56. Zhou Xuan scored 18th personal points.

The Thunder attacked, Durant received the ball and Leonard also chose to go heads-up, he leaned on his back, brought to the right side of the 60-degree turn jumper, missed under the interference, and Jamison grabbed the rebound. Ibaka averages 7 per game. 5 rebounds is also a tragedy, and now he is the best person to grab on the Thunder court.

Zhou Xuan was uncharacteristic this time and ran directly to the front. Jamison gave it to Matthews, who in turn passed to Zhou Xuan, who ran to the three-point line.

Zhou Xuan leaned his back against Westbrook and turned to the right sharply. Westbrook hurriedly followed, only to find that Zhou Xuan did not have a basketball in his hand.

What about balls? Westbrook subconsciously looked for the ball, Zhou Xuan took this opportunity to go to the basket, and the basketball ghost came to him again, and scored the basketball on the left backhand. 64-56, personal 20th point.

The fans cheered in unison. Barkley's mouth opened into a 0 and shouted, "I can't believe what I've seen, he still dares to play like this in the finals." ”

Smith laughed: "I think a lot of people don't see this ball clearly, and the camera gives a replay." ”

The slow-motion on the big screen clearly gave the replay, which Westbrook couldn't see, and he had to wait for the game to end and watch the video to find the answer. The moment Zhou Xuan received the ball, he slapped the ball to the left with his right hand, but he didn't catch the ball with his left hand, and sent it from Westbrook's side, and he turned quickly to the right side, which looked like he had made a very ordinary feint, and then he stretched out his hands and deliberately let Westbrook see that there was no ball in his hand.

At this time, Westbrook's first reaction was to look outside, because they rushed far forward, and no one would answer the pass to the basket, and he couldn't imagine that the person who answered was Zhou Xuan himself. The moment he turned his head, Zhou Xuan rushed to the basket at full speed, picked up the basketball on the left side of the baseline, and scored a backhand layup. His first shot was very slow, rolling on the ground and reaching for Westbrook with a turn of his head.

This is a way of scoring goals that has never appeared in basketball history, and Zhou Xuan practiced playing with Stephenson when he was head-to-head with Stephenson in the team, and he used it on a whim.

The ball hit the morale of the Thunder, and Durant was in a hurry to return one, but he missed a three-point shot on the right side and shot too quickly.

One of the advantages of Leonard being on the court is that from a psychological point of view, a first-year rookie like him can play a mocking role when he stays on the court, and it is a passive skill that doesn't have to open his mouth and doesn't need to saliva.

Durant faced Leonard, and he would unconsciously think in his heart, I must be able to blow up this guy easily, and it would be a bit embarrassing if I couldn't score consecutive points on his head. Why? Because this guy is a rookie, he is only a rookie in the first round of 15. Then Durant will naturally ignore the fact that this rookie is talented and good at defense. In the first two rounds of the series, the Knicks' opponents' forwards made this mistake.

Now that Harden is on the court, there is Sefrosa on the outside who can shoot three-pointers, the Thunder is not short of shooting points, and Durant can be completely stable. Jamison stepped back in time to jam Sephorosa and grab the rebound again.

The Knicks attacked, and everyone pulled away. Zhou Xuan didn't attack this time, and hung it to Jamison who was in the low position on the right side.

Jamison took the ball to Durant, leaned on his back and dribbled to the middle, then turned sharply to the baseline, jumped up with all his strength under the fierce physical confrontation, he shrank back with his legs, pressed Durant with momentum, and scored a cricket ball with one hand with his right hand. 66 to 56.

Don't look at the defense, just the offensive ability, Jamison is really good, he knows how to use his advantage, as long as he is given the ball like he did in the Cavaliers, he can still average close to 20 points per game. And Zhou Xuan knows what he is good at, and will give him a drop ball at the right time.

Durant is not an interior player after all, even if he is 208cm tall, low-post defense is not his usual job at all, which is where the weakness lies.

It's the same small-ball tactic, the Knicks have been running in all season, and Jamison won't feel awkward playing the No. 4 position, he's been playing this position for many years. The Thunder let Durant be in danger, and he was not suitable for this position. Not just defensively, on the offensive end he is used to attacking with the ball rather than blocking and dismantling his teammates on the perimeter. In this way, the Thunder is tantamount to giving up the low post.

Relying on tactical suppression and Zhou Xuan's personal ability, the Knicks took the initiative.