Durant didn't have a good chance with the ball or without the ball, and he started to play with Westbrook.

After the air cut, he made a big loop layup, or a direct jump shot that caught the ball and turned over, and he scored one after another.

But the intuitive point is that he is uncomfortable on the court, and the scoring efficiency is significantly lower than in normal games.

In the entire first quarter, Tang Tian was a piece of kraft candy that he couldn't shake off, and he was uncomfortable.

His performance also put the Thunder in a disadvantageous situation, and by about nine minutes into the first quarter, the Thunder had fallen behind 12-20.

At this time, the two sides entered the rotation one after another, and Duncan and Parker were both rested on the Spurs side, and Ginobili came off the bench.

The Thunder also got Westbrook down and Harden on the Thunder side.

It's all some regular rotation, but Durant on the Thunder's side is still on the court.

Scott Brooks is Durant's mentor, and he wants his proud disciple to stay on the court and continue to find form.

And Brooks has a little more to think about.

Durant is good at running without the ball, and has always been the core of the team, averaging more than 38 minutes per game in his career, and this season it is close to 40 minutes, and physical strength is not a problem at all.

On the other side, Tang Tiancai played the second game of the start, and he also watched the video of the Spurs' last game before the game.

If Popovich keeps Tang Tian on the court, then Durant will definitely have more and more room to play;

On the contrary, if Popovich replaces Tang Tian off the court, then Durant will have more room to play.

Durant's big loop layup caused Tang Tian to foul and get two free throws.

Popovich called Tang Tian to the sidelines at this time and asked him about his physical condition.

"No problem at all."

Tang Tian gave a very affirmative answer.

Masked Man's skills are worthy of the blue level, and he is basically defending Durant with all his strength in this quarter, but he still feels full of physical strength until now.

This really comes with a spare stamina gauge.

Durant hit both free throws to help the Thunder narrow the gap to six points.

Looking back at the Spurs' offense, Ginobili snaked through Harden to score a layup, and it was still an 8-point difference.

Durant was on the court, Harden didn't have much to shoot, he dribbled to the frontcourt and saw Durant beckoning.

Although I was a little unhappy, I could only give the ball over.

Durant continued to hold the ball to hit Tang Tian, he broke through very resolutely, but Tang Tian's defense was also very tight, and he was forced to stop the ball.

Tang Tian covered him with no chance, the offensive time was approaching, and he missed a difficult rollover and back-to-back jumper.

The defensive rebound was picked up by Split, and the Thunder's offense was once again in vain.

"How did he do it?"

Barkley shouted with his mouth wide open at this point.

Both Smith and O'Neal looked at him with puzzled expressions, wondering what was surprising about this ordinary round.

"Didn't you notice? He did so well defensively...... Perfect. ”

Barkley continued.

"Charles, he did it at the beginning."

Kenny Smith reminded.

"That's the problem, he's been doing it all quarter, but he's still defending with such intensity!"

Barkley's words alerted Smith and O'Neal, and the two reacted one after another.

This kind of stubborn defense is particularly physically demanding, and it is really incredible that Tang Tian can persist until now.

"He's got a lot to do off the field."

O'Neill made an explanation, he dislikes training the most, so he has a big physical problem in the later stages of his career, which can be regarded as a kind of feeling after retirement.

The game on the court continued, and Durant continued to attack in the last two minutes, but the effect was similar to before, although he still scored points, but the efficiency was still very low.

At the end of the first quarter, the Thunder trailed the Spurs by as many as 12 points, 18-30.

Durant scored 12 points in the first quarter, but only hit 4 of 11 shots, which is completely incomparable to his usual game efficiency.

He's really in trouble tonight.

In the second quarter, Durant went down, and the Thunder's main focus shifted to Harden.

Harden's state tonight is completely different from the preseason, whether it is the breakthrough or the ball, he is obviously decisive and resolute, and the finishing is also perfect, which is a big improvement from the beginning of the season.

The Thunder also narrowed the gap little by little under his leadership.

Harden played the entire second quarter, contributing 13 points and 3 assists in a single quarter, and the Thunder continued to chase down points under his leadership, trailing the Spurs by 6 points at halftime, 40-46.

"Kevin, keep the pace, he can't keep up with you the whole game."

In the locker room at halftime, Brooks individually encouraged Durant.

Among the four young, Durant's talent and ceiling are the highest, and they are also the ones he relies on the most.

Harden's excellent play is just a temporary explosion in his eyes, and the team still needs Durant to find his groove if they want to win.

Harden was on the sidelines at this time, and he had some thoughts in his heart when he heard what Brooks said.

Really speaking, he is a flower show, and he is just one less pick than Durant.

Coming back in the second half, the Thunder adjusted their strategy and focused on Westbrook as soon as they came up.

Wei Shao carried the explosives bag and kept attacking the Spurs' interior line, forcing the Spurs' defense to shrink.

At this time, Durant used the opportunity to block and get the opportunity to hit consecutive mid-range shots, and he scored 5 points in a row.

Brooks really relies on Durant, and Westbrook's strong outbursts are all paving the way for him.

However, Westbrook sees Durant as a brother and is very resolute in executing his tactics.

Tang Tian noticed this, he didn't care about the others at all, and directly pressed Durant closely.

Durant now can't pass the ball, the second holds the ball and the means of singles are limited, and the level of the third dribble is not high, and he almost made mistakes several times after being forced by Tang Tian in a row, so he can only rely more on playing without the ball to score.

The game went on for another full quarter, and the situation on the pitch was the same as at the beginning.

Durant relied on inefficient ways to score, and the Thunder once again fell into passivity on the court.

In the last attack of the third quarter, Durant held the ball outside the three-point line and continued to stride on the left side.

Tang Tian's dynamic vision was accurate enough this time, and he directly saved to break the ball.

Durant directly turned into a man and the ball was divided, and the ball was gone!

Tang Tian broke the ball very suddenly, and the others didn't react at all, he directly held the ball and scored a basket.

The shot also helped the Spurs lead the Thunder by a full 15 points at the end of the third quarter.

"Isn't he really tired?"

Looking at Tang Tian, who was still rushing down the fast break after the steal, Barkley couldn't help but burst into foul language, this is the person who has been fighting against Durant for three full quarters!