Chapter 816: Durant's Monologues
The Thunder lost Game 6, and Westbrook made two consecutive turnovers in the final moments, resulting in only one shot of his own, and that shot missed.
Westbrook's stats are very good, but they don't lead the team to victory. His performance was undoubtedly a great disappointment for the fans. As soon as Yiyang returned, Westbrook instantly "revealed his original form" and became unable to play.
Of course, it's not just the fans who are disappointed with Westbrook's performance, but also the Durant who is always unrelenting.
Durant and Westbrook, the duo known to everyone around the world. It is because of the two of them that the small city of Oklahoma has attracted so much attention. At this point, Oklahoma and Cleveland are still very similar.
The reason why the SuperSonics had the confidence to relocate to Oklahoma back then was because they owned Durant. As long as there are superstars, there is no fear of not being noticed, even if Oklahoma is only a small city.
After that, Westbrook and James. The addition of Harden has consolidated the influence of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the league. Although Harden left after that, it still couldn't shake the Thunder's position in the league.
There's no doubt about the success of Durant and Westbrook, who have made the small city of Oklahoma thrive thanks to sports. But are the best duo of Durant and Westbrook secretly good friends?
If someone were to ask Durant this question now, Durant would definitely answer, "It used to be, but never anymore!" ”
With the series tied at 3-3, the Thunder will have to face more than just knocking out the crisis......
The Thunder arrived in Dallas the day before Game 7, and the city's basketball atmosphere has been lit up all summer.
The street lamps all over the street are hung with the Mavericks' pennants, and the high-rise buildings are full of Mavericks' official "We Will Make Miracles" promotional posters. Eighty or ninety percent of the pedestrians on the street wore Mavericks jerseys over short-sleeved shirts. And most of these guys who wear jerseys wear No. 1.
Just looking at the scene on the streets of Dallas, Durant felt pressured.
At this time, on the Thunder bus, the players didn't have many words. Durant and Westbrook sat in the front row of the bus and the other at the back. Both guys were wearing headphones and just silently looking out the window. As team leaders, the two men did not communicate with each other, nor did they motivate others on the bus.
The atmosphere of the whole team can be said to be extremely depressing.
Durant wasn't thinking entirely about the game at this point, he was wondering what he would do if Oklahoma fell again this summer.
Worked with Westbrook and Thunder management...... Durant is already a little impatient.
The bus arrived in the underground parking lot of the American Airlines Center Arena, where a large number of reporters had already gathered. But the security guards at the U.S. Airline Center Arena had long been prepared, keeping reporters at bay.
Durant walked through the crowd and flashing lights with a blank face, and for a long time, people thought that Durant and Yiyang did not like to laugh and have no expression. But in fact, Durant is not unsmiling, he is just not happy in Oklahoma.
By the time the Thunder players stepped onto the court to warm up, the Mavericks were already on the court. Although this is a key life-and-death battle, Durant sees that Yiyang can still talk and laugh with his teammates. Is this because the Mavericks guys aren't nervous? No, this is because they have long ceased to be ordinary colleagues, but comrades in the same trenches.
They trust each other and are willing to give each other the game. They share a common goal and are willing to work together for it. So, they are full of confidence, and they firmly believe that today will be their day. So, they can also have a good conversation before the game.
Durant shook his head slightly, and no one noticed. This kind of atmosphere in the team...... He was really envious.
During the warm-up, Durant and Westbrook were still speechless. These two closest partners on the pitch are now like two strangers.
"One, two, three, win!" On the other side of the court, Yiyang summoned everyone and yelled, which made everyone in the Mavericks, including veterans like Dirk, Wade and DeLong, enthusiastic.
By the time the two sides stepped onto the pitch, the momentum was completely different.
Can the Thunder still win? Durant couldn't help but have such a question in his mind.
The game started on the premise that Gobert successfully fought for the first attack, Gobert received the basketball on the inside and dunked directly, and Adams couldn't even pull the Frenchman down.
While Gobert still doesn't average many points per game, his finishing ability in the three-second zone is terrifying. Gobert is always scrappy, so when he gets a basketball, he's going to do everything he can to dunk it into that damn hoop!
In the second round, Wade reappeared in a lost step, shook off Roberson, avoided Adams, and made a light layup.
A simple layup, but it gathered Wade's lifelong learning. Some people can take their place in the alliance even if they are old.
4-0, the Thunder fell into passivity from the start.
Iguodala struggled on the offensive end against Durant's entanglement, but he didn't stop running. In order to make room for Yiyang, he must look threatening at all times.
Yiyang drove straight to the basket, and Durant hurriedly waved his long arm to help defend.
As always, the basketball came out of Durant's armpit without warning and flew into Iguodala's hands. Partnering with Yiyang is like this, you don't know when the basketball will suddenly fly towards you.
Durant's expression turned horrified, and Iguodala liked it, enjoying the look of horror and surprise on his face every time he received a pass from Yiyang.
KD immediately lunged at Iguodala, but Iguodala calmly struck early.
"Goodbye, boy!"
The basketball hollowed into the net, and Iguodala's half-volley was still solid. 6-0, the shouting in the arena of the American route center made Durant almost deaf.
Dirk. Nowitzki, a living fossil of the Dallas Mavericks. This guy has gone through the ups and downs of Mavericks from the 90s to the present. He witnessed the Mavericks go from being a fish belly to a superteam that everyone fears now.
As a veteran of the team, Dirk's popularity in Dallas is on an equal footing with Yiyang. And Yiyang has always regarded him as a solid shield behind him.
Yiyang passed the ball to Wade, who quickly directed the ball to Dirk. Dirk received the ball and lifted it high with both balls to send the Congolese straight away.
Dirk then accelerated his dribble to the basket and slammed his hand to the sky with a one-handed slam. Don't forget, Dirk back then was also a player of Durant's type. Dallas's "Golden Lion King" will never lose his territory!
8-0, the Thunder still couldn't score. And as soon as the calf comes up, it has already bloomed more.
In the end, the league's greatest star, everyone's nightmare Yiyang, has finally played a role. He used a series of dazzling feints to trick Westbrook into the middle distance, and in the face of Robertson's supplemental defense, Yiyang suddenly paused, but immediately accelerated, connecting the two in one fell swoop.
Rudy. Gobert and Nowitzki opened up an open break route for Yiyang, who made an easy layup.
These five guys have their own strengths, but they can be pinched together. The Mavericks' offense was incredibly fluid, as the Thunder simply couldn't find a defensive focus.
What about the Thunder? It's much simpler to defend. As long as Durant and Westbrook are restricted, the Thunder will be almost dumb.
These two guys took half of the team's salary. At this time, of course, it depends on them.
But Durant and Westbrook are simply stragglers, fighting on their own. Durant showed his killer qualities, and he hit Iguodala head in a series of shots in an effort to close the score. But Westbrook's repeated strikes and mistakes have buried Durant's efforts again and again.
In the end, Durant even preferred to pass the ball to Robertson, who was in the open position. But Robertson, a defensive stalwart, and Tony. Allen, like him, doesn't have a reassuring shot near the free-throw line, let alone a three-pointer.
Compared with the Mavericks, who are all soldiers, the Thunder team seems to have no intention of fighting again. Just a few days ago, they were leading the Mavericks 3-1.
Durant's efforts allowed the Thunder to enter the fourth quarter with a 10-point deficit. By this time, Westbrook's shooting percentage had fallen below 40%. It can be said that the game has not been completely spent yet, relying on Durant, who has already scored 20 points and has a super high shooting percentage.
Durant doesn't want to lose yet, and he doesn't want to just accept his fate. What the relationship with Westbrook is, Durant doesn't care. He doesn't care if the Thunder's management is too satisfied with the status quo. This No. 35 with a scythe only intends to take away his own honor!
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Carlisle temporarily replaced Yiyang. This guy has already started preparing for the Western Conference Finals with the Warriors.
But Durant didn't plan to give Yiyang and the Mavericks a chance to breathe, and as soon as he came up, he used his arm span to dunk with Gobert's defense.
Thirty seconds later, Durant hit a pull-up jump shot from beyond the three-point line to instantly narrow the gap to five points.
After that, Durant received a pass from Westbrook, fought Iguodala in the middle range, and then turned over and made a jumper, leaving the gap only 3 points!
In just a few minutes, Durant changed the game. Don't forget, he's one of the best scorers in the league!
What Westbrook, what is not enterprising management, all die! I'm in charge of this game!
"Looks like Kevin hasn't been defeated yet." Seeing that the score was reduced, Carlisle immediately called for a halt to the game.
Durant did not rush off the court, but crossed his waist in the center of the court and stared at Yiyang.
Leave the others alone, let's fight to the death, too! Winning or fishing, it's time to do an understanding.
Whether or not his Oklahoma career should continue depends on the last few minutes......