Both teams started with a high percentage of shots and a close scoreline.

The Timberwolves trailed 6-7 for a while, and only 3 minutes and 20 seconds had passed in the game.

The Lakers possessed the ball, and Kobe Bryant personally dribbled the ball.

Because Kobe didn't shoot in the first few minutes, Prince's defense of Kobe was a little looser than at the beginning.

Kobe Bryant keenly discovered this, and Bryant, who was originally standing outside the 45° three-point line on the left side to direct his teammates to run, suddenly collected the ball and pulled out his hand.

Caught off guard, Prince could only watch Kobe Bryant shoot, and the basketball fell into the basket in his unwilling eyes.

Kobe Bryant hit a three-point shot!

At 6:10, the Lakers opened up the difference!

"This is Bryant's first goal in the regular season of the new season, and it looks like he's in good shape!"

Mike Brin commented on Bryant's sudden three-pointer, "It seems that after summer training and preseason adaptation, he is gradually getting back to his old feelings. ”

Jeff Van Gundy said: "There is no difficulty for him to score a goal like this, whether he scores or not depends only on his feelings. But for now, he's in good form. ”

Once again, the Timberwolves attacked to no avail.

The Lakers attacked again, and Jordan Clarkson didn't choose to shoot after breaking through Rubio, and distributed the ball to Yi Feng on the outside. After Yi Feng made a shooting feint, he broke through shortly.

His second break made the Timberwolves' defensive lineup a little messy, and after attracting the pack defense, he moved the ball to the perimeter.

In the bottom left corner, Bryant shot three points again-

Hit!

At 6:13, the Lakers further widened the difference.

The Timberwolves called a timeout.

Timberwolves acting head coach Sam Mitchell requested this timeout in order to interrupt the offensive momentum of the Lakers' side, and his suggestions for the team's current offense and defense are limited.

But he's not stupid, starting from the psychological side, "come-on!" Cheer up, don't be affected by your opponent's balloons! ”

"Play the momentum of our Timberwolves, I think our momentum is good from the beginning!"

"After the pause, we still played according to the tactics we practiced before......"

The timeout passed quickly and the game resumed. Sam Mitchell replaced veteran Tyshawn Prince with new dunk king Zach LaVine.

Because in the past wave of 6:0, Kobe Bryant hit two three-pointers in a row under Prince's defense. Mitchell decided Prince was not defensively good and replaced him.

The Timberwolves' starting four, along with Zach LaVine, walked to the court.

Garnett put his arm around Downs' shoulders and walked at the end, "Carl, are you not confident in yourself?" Did you finally realize the strength of that kid as the champion? Are you going to throw in the towel? ”

Downs listened to Garnett's words, and his heart was shocked!

That's right!

Before the game, it was himself who wrote the battle book, and it was himself who said that he wanted to teach people a lesson!

If you admit defeat now, won't you be taught a lesson?!

The confusion in Downs's heart gradually faded, and he began to become firm and rekindled his fighting spirit.

After returning to the court, he became more active and flexible in his co-defense, and although he did not score again in the following period, he received a block after a number of active co-defending. He also got an offensive rebound in his own active scramble.

The Lakers were forced by Towns' suddenly strong interior defense, and repeatedly broke through the interior to attack the basket and missed, only relying on piecemeal outside shooting, and the score rose a little slowly.

On the Timberwolves side, although they are at a disadvantage of playing away from home, Downs' active defense has brought up a momentum, especially after Towns successfully blocked Clarkson's layup, a long pass to the fast Zach LaVine, and the new dunk king took off after crossing the free throw line and dunked!

At this time, the Timberwolves were in full swing, and the score became 16:19, and the Timberwolves closed the gap to 3 points.

Kobe Bryant didn't go all out to catch up with Zach LaVine, and immediately called a timeout after seeing him glide and dunk. He knew that after this dunk, the momentum of the Timberwolves would definitely soar, and the Lakers would be greatly affected. Under emotional instability, it is easy to make mistakes.

At this point, almost 8 minutes had passed in the first quarter.

Byron Scott emphasized a few precautions and asked his disciples to play again.

Larry Nance Jr. replaces Roy Hibbert, Brandon Buss replaces Julius Randle, Yi Feng plays as the number three, Kobe Bryant rests on the bench, and Luis Williams and Marcelo Hultas partner in the backcourt.

It can be said that this is a small lineup, the height of the interior line is not enough, and the height of the backcourt is not outstanding. The reason why Byron Scott sent such a lineup was mainly to use his flexibility to catch his opponent off guard.

The whole league saw the power of the "five-small lineup" put forward by the Warriors in the Finals in June this year. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Andre Iguodala, and Draymond Green, a small lineup of five men, were invincible and helped the Warriors win a championship.

Each of them has an advantage in speed and agility at the same position, and everyone has three-point ability, especially the Splash Brothers, who are the most powerful projection backcourt combination in history. Coupled with everyone's organizational skills, this squad is invincible offensively.

On the defensive side, with a mature defensive system, with defensive elites such as Iguodala and Dream Green, it can be said that the defects of the "five small lineup" are difficult to catch in the absence of super centers today.

Scott, of course, doesn't have the talent of the Warriors' "five-small lineup", and his move is to hope that this small lineup can try to steal points during rotation time, and the defense will give up strategically.

After the timeout, the Timberwolves made a lineup of Zach LaVine and Kevin Martin in the backcourt, Gorgui Giang replaced veteran Garnett, Towns continued to play as center, and Shabazz Mohammed played as the No. 3 position.

Like Yi Feng, Downs, who is also a rookie, also stayed on the court.

On the commentary bench, Mike Brin said: "Both teams have made massive personnel changes, but the protagonists of this game, Downs and Yidu, are still on the field! ”

Jeff Van Gundy said: "Is that really okay? When I was coaching the Rockets in Houston, I knew very well what it was like for the yellow race to be physically weak. The Chinese kid has been fighting for so long, can he hold on? ”

Mike Brin said: "It should be fine, his physical fitness is fantastic, not like the physical fitness of a yellow person at all. And in the preseason, he played an average of more than 30 minutes per game, and he was not seen to be short of physical strength on the field. ”

Jeff Van Gundy said: "It's only a pre-season after all, and the intensity of the confrontation is not great, so the physical exertion will be much smaller. ”

Jeff Van Gundy still had doubts about Yi Feng, but Yi Feng's performance on the court immediately justified himself.

Back from a timeout, the Lakers possessed the ball.

Yi Feng then covered and shook off defender Shabazz Mohammed, received Nance Jr.'s out-of-bounds serve, and after catching a glimpse of Muhammad still not following up, he dribbled a step and pulled out his hand from outside the three-point line!

The basketball is like a cruise missile, piercing through the net!

At 16:22, Yi Feng's three-pointer helped the team stabilize the situation and once again widened the difference.

Nance Jr. excitedly stepped forward to high-five Yi Feng, because Yi Feng helped him get the first statistic of his NBA career - 1 assist. And the Lakers bench also swelled with a wave of towel dancing.

And as Yifeng's defender, Shabazz Mohammed is undoubtedly embarrassed.

He has great physical attributes and has the talent to be a top wing defender in the NBA, but his performance on the defensive end has not been satisfactory. This is largely due to his lack of willingness to defend.

In this new season, he undoubtedly wanted to give himself a good start, but he didn't expect to be poured cold water on Yi Feng as soon as he came on the field.

After the Timberwolves changed to this lineup, the main point was Towns.

Because he not only has the advantage of height and arm span on the inside, but this game is a battle for Downs, and it is impossible to say anything if he is not given the ball.

At this time, in the Lakers' interior line, whether it is Nance Jr. or Brandon Buss, there is a gap in height compared to Towns, and it seems that Towns' advantage is very huge.

Zach LaVine gave the ball to Downs, who leaned back to find that the defender behind him, Nance Jr., was not only losing in height, but also in tonnage and power.

After discovering this, Downs was secretly happy in his heart and prepared to force the basket.

However, it didn't take long for him to be happy, and Brandon Bass came to help.

Although Downs is only a rookie, Byron Scott did not take him lightly, and told Brand Buss to pay attention to the interior defense during the timeout.

Downs has solid offensive skills that stand out a lot more than rookies his age. But now he is not at the point of one or two. So before the bag was formed, he split the ball.

Downs' target was Kevin Martin outside the left three-point line.

Kevin Martin came out with the ball and didn't care about the defender in front of him, Louis Williams.

Not to mention that Williams is not tall enough for Martin, he has never been a good defender, especially when defending the No. 2 position.

Martin made a decisive shot in exchange for a three-point shot!

At 19:22, the Timberwolves continued to bite the score.

On the commentary bench, Jeff Van Gundy took the lead and said: "I didn't expect Kevin Martin to contribute a three-pointer as soon as he came on the court, and he looked really good player, but unfortunately he didn't come when I coached the Rockets." ”

Mike Brin said: "It's true that he's a thin guy and doesn't defend well, but he's a great scorer, especially with his foul making skills. Before James Harden appeared, he was the player with the most skill in making fouls, and he made a lot of fame in the league with this skill! ”

Jeff Van Gundy nodded: "I've always thought that scoring from the free throw is the most economical, not only stable but also able to kill the opponent. ”

Mike Brin said: "The Lakers have replaced last season's best sixth man, and the Timberwolves also have a strong scorer, and judging from the anxiety of the breakup, the game is evenly matched!" ”