"At the end of the first quarter, the Oklahoma City Thunder trailed the Mavericks by 15 points at home. I'm sure it's not what the fans want to see. The Mavericks' pressing defense caused huge problems for the young Thunder. Especially on the outside, the steel defense line forged by Kidd will bring Westbrook and James to the table. Harden and the two were completely strangled to death! Coupled with KD's poor hand today, it will be really difficult for the Thunder to find a fourth point of attack. Barkley looked at the statistics of the Thunder players in the first quarter of the game in disbelief, Westbrook made 1 of 4 shots, Durant shot 1 of 5, and Harden shot 0 of 4 directly, and was beaten by Yiyang with a clean sheet.

The three most offensive members of the Thunder team, the combined scores in the first quarter of the game were not as many as Yiyang's alone. Obviously, this is not the normal state of the Thunder.

"In the second quarter, Seflorosa, you go up and top it for a while. James ......" Brooks looked at the dejected Harden, this guy still has a way to go before he carries the banner. "James, you rest for a while, I will still need you."

Brooks replaced Harden because Harden made it very easy for Yiyang to score on the court. Originally, Brooks replaced Harden for the purpose of scoring, but now he can neither score nor defend, so naturally he can't meet Brooks' needs.

Harden also knew that he had messed everything up, and he finally had a chance to make a difference, but he didn't take advantage of it. At that moment, Harden even felt like he was going to be the sixth man for the rest of his life and spend his entire career on the bench in Oklahoma.

"Kevin, hit the basket a lot and reduce the shooting from the outside. Russell, you too, hit the basket more and cause damage. I know we're a lot behind, but again, there's just as much time left for us! Don't give up, okay? It's our home turf, and there's no reason for those guys to go wild here! "Brooks obviously didn't have much to do, and if they couldn't get the score back in the second quarter, it would be almost a death sentence for the young Thunder.

Young teams like to play tailwind, but if they play against the wind, they may not be so good.

As for the other side, the Mavericks came off the bench, and Carlisle, who led by as many as 15 points, was not without troubles.

Nowitzki was in average form today, hitting just one shot in the first quarter. Although Carlisle is hopeful that Nowitzki can find his groove and continue his supernatural performance in the future. But as a manager, Carlisle can't just rely on expectations to control the game. If Nowitzki still can't find his senses, he'll need a backup plan to help the Mavericks maintain their lead.

What is the solution? Yiyang and Marion were the most consistent today, both offensively and defensively, and both made great contributions to the team. Carlisle looked at Yiyang, who had already scored 10 points, and Marion, who had a good shooting percentage, and made his own decision.

"At the beginning of the second game, Dirk, you have to attack with the ball!" As soon as Carlisle said this, even Nowitzki himself was stunned for a moment.

"But if you still can't find the feeling, I want you to let go! Leave more shots to Yi and Sean, no problem, right? ”

Nowitzki smiled, it turned out that Carlisle was doing his own psychological work. While Nowitzki is the real owner of the Mavericks, the guy doesn't really care about his stats and ball possession. As long as the team can win, you can ask Nowitzki to do anything.

"Of course no problem, today, I will be a blue-collar insider for you!" The German smiled kindly and was not outraged that the manager had taken away his shot.

This reminded Yiyang of what Nowitzki once said to him: "If you want, I can even retire and give you this team." ”

The blonde guy didn't care about status, and he didn't care about the ball. The only thing he cares about is winning, it's the championship!

Under the shouts of the Thunder fans, the second quarter of the game started as scheduled. Since Yiyang just played a full quarter, Carlisle did not let Yiyang continue to play, but let him rest off the court for a while. The Mavericks' guard line is temporarily partnered by Terry and Stevenson.

Seeing this, Westbrook's eyes lit up. Yiyang and Kidd are not here, he should always be able to show his strength!

However, as soon as the game started, the Mavericks poured cold water on the Thunder.

Terry was directing the offense from the outside, and it looked as if Westbrook's defense was making it difficult for the Jet to take off. But actually, Terry was waiting for his teammates to settle in.

Seeing that the time was right, Terry passed the ball to Peja, who was standing in the right corner. As soon as Peja received the ball, Durant opened his arms and pressed up. This guy is a turret, and if you let him fire, he'll be very dangerous. But as long as you plug his muzzle, there is no threat.

However, surprisingly, after being pressed by Durant, Peja did not pass the ball again, but beckoned Chandler to pick up and block.

Chandler raised the high post and blocked Durant tightly. Peja took the opportunity to break through, but his pace was too slow.

Durant bypassed the pick-and-roll and easily got back in front of Peja. With the current Peja wanting to beat Durant with a breakthrough, it is simply impossible.

Peja, as a guy with a very high basketball IQ, naturally does not think that he can break through KD and then block Perkins. His breakthrough is just to attract the defense.

After Peja broke through, Chandler cut in. Peja started to pass the ball and the basketball raced through the gap between Durant and Perkins before being picked up by Chandler.

"Wow!" The audience was amazed, Peja's passing was not as flowery as Yiyang's, and there were not so many feints in his eyes. But straight, fast and accurate, that's the hallmark of Peja's passing!

Chandler received a two-handed dunk from the basketball and smashed the frame vigorously, putting the Thunder in even greater trouble!

"The Thunder conceded the ball as soon as it started! They underestimate Peja's strength too much, don't look at the Mavericks most of the veterans, but they are not ordinary people! ”

17 points, the difference is getting bigger and bigger. Fans are looking at Durant and Westbrook with anticipatory eyes, hoping that these two guys can pull the team out of the abyss.

Two young people under the age of 23 should not have endured this. But as soon as you step on the pitch, no one cares how old you are. Everyone is a man, whether you are young or long, you are all treated equally!

Westbrook was the first to attack, and Terry, though cunning, didn't have the speed of Yiyang or the strong physique of Kidd. Westbrook ran out of space to catch the basketball, then shook Terry's center of gravity with a tentative step and went straight to the break.

Terry pressed hard, but the distraction couldn't shake Westbrook's rhythm. As he burst into the box, Westbrook held the ball in both hands and jerked Terry on his shoulder, creating space for himself to make a layup. After that, a clean three-step layup was hit, and the Thunder finally scored!

More than ten seconds later, the Thunder made a comeback. It was Westbrook, who broke through Terry with a very fast forward change of direction and headed straight into the box.

This time, Chandler's defense was very timely, and the moment Westbrook jumped, Chandler jumped high in an attempt to give the kid a taste of power.

However, the ball was fanned by Chandler, but the referee blew a foul on the "King of Fighters".

Westbrook, who was desperate to win the game, hit two free throws and two points, scoring 13 points, and the gap was narrowing further!

After that, the Mavericks didn't seem to have the control they had in the first quarter. Nowitzki tried several attacks, as Carlisle had arranged, but all failed. Now the Germans knew that they might as well just let it go.

When the Thunder trailed the deficit to just 10 points, Carlisle called a halt to the game. And the Chesapeake Energy Arena is boiling again, and they are about to succeed!

Under the shouts of the fans, Carlisle could only speak to the players at the top of his voice. "Also, Kidd, Sean, you're back! Pull the score, I ask you to pull the score! ”

This timeout Carlisle did not lay out any tactics, just for the substitution. He didn't expect the Thunder to close the score so quickly, so he also had to shorten the rest time of the three. But if all goes well and the score is pulled away, the three guys will have time to rest in the second half.

At the end of the timeout, Carlisle looked back at the agitated crowd behind him. In a few minutes, it's time for you to shut up!

The game restarted with the Mavericks attacking. Westbrook, who has already played up his morale, defends more fiercely than just now, and as soon as Yiyang gets close, he will actively look for physical contact. or constantly dig the ball and interfere with Yiyang's dribbling rhythm.

On a playoff scale, Westbrook doesn't get whistled for a foul in everything he does. Yiyang had no choice but to protect the ball at his waist from time to time and use his elbow to Westbrook to keep the opponent away.

The Thunder's defense is indeed a lot better, at least now, Yiyang can't easily find the gap. He had no choice but to reach out and call Nowitzki to set up cover for himself.

Although Nowitzki's shooting percentage was not high before, the Thunder players were still a little nervous when they saw Yiyang going to play with him. The pick-and-roll of these two guys once allowed Nowitzki to score 48 points on the head of the Thunder. It's hard to say whether a player like Nowitzki will suddenly come back to life!

Yiyang broke through around the pick-and-roll, and at the same time Nowitzki opened it outside the three-point line. Ibaka had to defend Yiyang, while Westbrook, who was blocked, stayed with the German.

Westbrook watched very carefully, and if Yiyang tried to pass back to Dirk, he would definitely intercept the ball in the middle of the game. And if Yiyang chooses to attack the frame himself, he believes that Ibaka will definitely give the Chinese a good look.

Yiyang leaned on Ibaka, who was blocking him at his side, and struggled into the penalty area. At this time, Durant also shrank in and tried to help defend.

Seeing Durant coming over to help defend himself, Yiyang did not panic, but smiled with satisfaction.

Yiyang raised his head, stared at the basket, held the ball with both hands, and was about to go to the basket! But when he took the first step, he turned his wrist. Durant only saw an orange-red "light" passing in front of his eyes, and then, this genius with tall arms and long arms secretly screamed in his heart, and turned around immediately!

By the time Durant turned around, Marion had already received the basketball and "pushed" the ball from beyond the three-point line to the basket with his bizarre shooting posture.

It seems that the short break did not cool Marion's hands. The bottom corner three-pointer went through the net, and the sound of the Nets tumbling sounded so cold to the Thunder players.

"A very timely three-pointer, the Mavericks regained the initiative, and the margin came to 13 points. After Yihe Kidd and others return to the court, can the Thunder push the score closer? ”

The momentum that Westbrook managed to bring up was suppressed by Yiyang again. Both defenders looked at each other with fierce eyes.

Continue to suppress or overtake the score, the turning point of the game, it depends on now!