Chapter 660: Advance to the Finals
"Kevin Durant hit another three-pointer!"
"This guy is really crazy, he can actually complete a three-point goal so easily, but it is not as simple as once or twice, this is the third time he has hit such an unreasonable goal!"
"What the hell did this guy grow up eating?"
Kenny Smith expressed infinite emotion at Kevin Durant hitting another three-pointer without saying a word.
Now the margin is back to 5 points!
With more than two minutes to go, it's clear that this game still has to be played!
Kevin Durant saved the team from the brink of a cliff with his own unreasonable style of play.
"Don't worry, just fight ours! We are still ahead, don't forget this sentence! Hollins was constantly communicating with the Grizzlies players on the sidelines, and he wanted everyone to calm down because they were leading the way right now.
Or Mike Conley controlled the ball and went to the front court, but at this time, the whole court sounded the shouts of "defense", and the monstrous shouts filled the entire scene, and in these "defense" shouts, the expressions of the Grizzlies players on the court also changed somewhat, especially after the players of the entire Thunder team suddenly increased their defense, they suddenly lost their discipline on the offensive end.
The Grizzlies' offensive formation was slow to fall into place, and Mike Conley couldn't find Zach Randolph and handed the ball to O.J. Mayo, who went straight to the basket...... Miss! β
"Grab the rebound!"
"Ibaka protected the rebound!"
"Wow, aa
The cheers from the scene blended with the sound of commentary, making the Grizzlies, who had just failed to attack, return to defense much slower than usual.
Westbrook seized the opportunity and dribbled straight inside!
βοΌβ
A bang!
Westbrook completes the dunk!
"Wow, a
At this moment, the whole scene was completely turned upside down.
The margin was back to three points with two minutes remaining.
The suspense of the whole game is back.
"There are still 3 points left, and the Grizzlies have actually played quite well during this time, but Kevin Durant's sudden outburst is something they didn't expect, but, I have to say, in the NBA, sometimes there is such uncertainty, the Grizzlies have to call a timeout, otherwise, their morale may have a big problem!"
In just over a minute, a 10-point difference becomes a 3-point difference, which is a huge blow to a team, even a team like the Grizzlies that is not very susceptible to outside interference!
In Kenny Smith's opinion, the Grizzlies are bound to call a timeout!
"Toot!"
And he didn't guess wrong, it was just a matter of seconds, and as soon as Mike Conley dribbled the ball to the front court, Hollins called a timeout.
βniceοΌβ
When Westbrook and Kevin Durant walked off the court, they collided passionately, and this collision also made the cheers on the scene suddenly form a sound wave, and the Grizzlies who were wrapped in this layer after layer of sound waves were like a small wooden boat in a storm, looking like it could be overturned at any time.
Of course, this is also normal, and any team will be a little flustered when they are suddenly chased by seven points in a row at a crucial moment in a crucial game.
Including this Grizzly Bears.
"I repeat, we're the one in the lead, so we don't have to rush, let's be steady and we can keep the lead until the end! So, don't be nervous, play our own, you know, keep going, and in 3 minutes, all the glory will be yours! β
Hollins didn't lay out any offensive tactics, what he has been emphasizing is mentality.
"I said before the game that for the Grizzlies, offense has always been their weakness, and they usually rely on their super defensive ability to interfere with the opponent and make the opponent not find a feeling on the offensive end!"
"However, one thing I have to say is that it is precisely because the Grizzlies are eye-catching enough on the defensive end that they sometimes do not perform so satisfactorily on the offensive end, after all, they can do well on the defensive end, and many games they win like this, but, one thing to say, the Grizzlies' offensive routine is very simple, if the ball can't get to Zach Randolph's hands, then their offense will be full of variables, which is obvious, is also the real reason why the Thunder team's forcing defense at critical moments has been effective, and this team's offensive end is still too simple! β
Kenny Smith also explained the reason why the Grizzlies' offense just failed to hit at this time, a team like the Grizzlies, they can't have too many changes in psychology when they are forced to defend, they only change in that aspect when the tactics can't be used!
It was also in that round that this team exposed their weaknesses and they were not an attacking team!
"So, don't let Zach Randolph take the ball, be sure to look at this guy, as long as you can look at this guy, then the Grizzlies' offense won't make much difference!"
Brooks also noticed this, and after looking through his pre-game notes, he immediately decided to continue with this defensive style!
"Toot!"
The beep sounded, the timeout ended, the game restarted, and in the final 2 minutes, there were still 3 points left, and when the Thunder players and Grizzlies players returned to the court, both sides were resolute!
The Thunder are still mainly forced defense on the defensive end, and the Grizzlies players are still not very comfortable, they want to put the ball in the hands of Zach Randolph, but they can't pass the ball to the latter's hands.
"The Thunder choked the lifeblood of the Grizzlies on the offensive end, which is extremely bad for the Grizzlies!"
Kenny Smith looked at the Grizzlies players on the court who couldn't get the ball to Randolph, and he actually had a conclusion about this game in his mind.
It's just that after a few passes without giving the ball to the inside, Mike Conley, who held the ball, suddenly pulled up a jump shot on the outside, and Westbrook, who was defending him, had been intercepting him and not letting him pass, so he gave a lot of space, the latter was still looking for a player to catch the ball a second ago, and suddenly jumped up and shot at this moment, Rao is Westbrook's reflex nerve is very low and developed, and it is also half a beat slower.
"Huh!"
The ball fell into the basket in a daze.
Mike Conley makes a shot.
The difference is back to 6 points!
yesοΌ
Pretty!
On the Grizzlies bench at the scene, a group of people jumped up directly.
"Defend defensively, the game is not over yet!"
Mike Conley's expression didn't change at all after the goal, he just looked at Westbrook with the ball in the Thunder, and at the same time instructed his teammates to stand up quickly!
The game wasn't over yet, and it wasn't time for him to celebrate, and he remembered one sentence throughout the timeout, as long as they lasted 3 minutes, they could do miracles!
So, no matter what, get through it!
Westbrook took the ball to the frontcourt, and with his temperament, he wanted to return one by himself, after all, Mike Conley just shot a three-pointer in front of him, and it would be too embarrassing if he didn't return the color. It's just that he hasn't decided how to fight back when he gets to the frontcourt, so Kevin Durant went around and asked for the ball directly.
Westbrook hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to give the ball to the latter.
While Kevin Durant got the ball, the defensive formation of the entire Grizzlies began to change, targeting him at his range.
But Kevin Durant did not hesitate at all, a large change of direction directly threw off Afflalo in front of him, and then rushed directly into the inside, turned around under the basket to avoid Xiao Jia's interference, and threw the ball into the half-volley!
"Huh!"
The margin returned to 4 points.
And Kevin Durant's one-on-one goal this time took less than 3 seconds, and the game time was still 1 minute and 40 seconds.
"It's really good!" Barkley got excited.
"The whole audience is pressing!"
Brooks also really went sideways, directly asked for the ball to be pressed all over the court, Mike Conley even encountered a bag, and he couldn't catch the ball even more stupidly, so he went around outside, and it was OJ Mayo who finally got the ball, but when OJ Mayo took the ball and dribbled forward, it was directly destroyed by Westbrook.
"Ball!"
At the same time as Westbrook got the ball, Kevin Durant shouted again, and the turtle handed the ball to the latter without hesitation, and Kevin Durant went straight to the Grizzlies' basket like a galloping ostrich.
There are still 2 points left in the difference!
"Keep wrapping!"
Brooks shouted again.
And in his shouting, the whole team once again forced the Grizzlies to make a mistake, and the Thunder fought back again to score the ball!
Tied ......
"The Grizzlies can't help it, they have a weakness that they can't adjust temporarily!" Kenny Smith watched the Grizzlies suffer a series of mistakes on the offensive end, and knew that the Grizzlies' momentum was gone!
βοΌβ
"Huh!"
And everything did not exceed his expectations, and then the Thunder completely dominated the offensive end, and the Grizzlies' only few shots ended in iron, and the Grizzlies' offensive end was completely locked up!
"Toot!"
With the whistle blowing, the Thunder finally won the game as well!
"There's not much to complain about, we've played well, we just can't beat those guys."
The helplessness of the "Black Bear" Zach Randolph who completed the redemption in the Grizzlies is also the most objective interpretation of this game, the Grizzlies played hard in this game, Mike Conley, Mark Gasol, Zach Randolph and Rudy Guy 4 Grizzlies players have played to the extreme in the game, but their desperate fight failed to defeat the Thunder of youth.
In fact, in the second half, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol's decisive shots after the opening had already made fans feel their desire to win, and Gasol Jr. even had an amazing performance of 11 points and 5 rebounds in a single quarter in the third quarter of this game, and he looked so unstoppable. It was also at that moment that almost all the commentators who watched the game decided that the Grizzlies would complete a shocking counterattack, even the biggest reversal of the season! And in the physical first half, they did control the entire court at both ends of the pitch on both offensive and defensive ends.
It's just a pity that in the last four minutes, their shooting rate dropped from 52% in the first half all the way to 46% in the third quarter, yes, even if the Grizzlies overtook the score in that quarter, but their scoring efficiency decreased in that quarter, and it was only because the Thunder team's shooting rate was lower that the Grizzlies took the lead, and after the start of the fourth quarter of the game, their shooting rate dropped to 40% at one point, and even dropped to 33.3% in the last four points, except for the first two balls, The next four shots missed the basket!
And when the Grizzlies can't shoot the basket, the Thunder's chance comes, especially when Durant feels like it's hot!
That's why, even though the Grizzlies went into the final 4 minutes and 30 seconds of the final quarter with a 10-point advantage!
But their own poor scoring efficiency was no longer able to stop the Thunder at the time.
The only thing worth mentioning is that Zach Randolph got 25+14+2 data in this game, which is the first time he has sent such data as "25+14+2" in the playoffs, but unfortunately, his performance in this game did not bring victory to this team.
And he originally had a chance to lock up the victory, but he missed a key mid-range shot at the last moment, which is estimated to be his biggest regret, because this is likely to be the time when he is closest to the floor of the finals!
The Thunder defeated the Grizzlies at home to win Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals and advance to the Finals with their heads held high. After the game, when talking about the upcoming Finals, several big-name broadcasters on TNT TV agreed that the Thunder would cause huge problems for the New York Knicks!
"I think the Thunder will win!" "It's a very talented team, they've improved beyond their imagination and I think they're ready to win a championship." β
"Originally, they may not be as strong as they are now, but now they are definitely stronger than they were originally, and they should be grateful to the Grizzlies, because it is the Grizzlies who have stimulated their real combat power, and these guys have further improved in terms of experience and mentality, which will be an important magic weapon for them in the face of the New York Knicks!"
Barkley and O'Neal, who originally thought that the Grizzlies would reach the Finals, also had to express their admiration for the Thunder, they thought that this young team had opened their eyes to infinite possibilities, and this team was really too awesome!
"They've crossed that threshold, they've become very difficult to beat." Barkley said. And Reggie Miller's statement is even more exaggerated, "They have a very good team atmosphere, and I hope the whole American will like this team." β
Of course, the one who left the deepest impression on the celebrities was naturally Durant. Ahead of this matchup, several of the broadcast guests were almost unanimously optimistic about the Grizzlies, but they didn't think they had made a mistake, and Kerr's statement represented everyone's opinion, "We were wrong, but who has ever seen a player as 23 years old as Durant do such a great thing." His performance throughout the series, especially in the final 4 minutes and 30 seconds of the day, was just too rebellious. β
"Finals, here we come!"
In the center of the court, Kevin Durant, who held high the Western Conference Finals championship trophy, said silently in his heart!