Due to Baiodom's "outstanding" performance, the Mavericks, who were originally playing smoothly, were caught up by the Thunder before the end of the first quarter.

29-28, a huge advantage in the end of the gap of only one point.

At the end of the first quarter, the conversation wasn't about Yiyang, who was all-around, Carter, who was playing well, or Nowitzki, who was as consistent as ever. The name that everyone is talking about is Lamar. Odom!

"Odom didn't disappoint the Thunder fans, and his play was as consistent as ever. Without him, how would the Thunder close the score? "Charles. Barkley taunted Odom in front of the microphone, wishing that the former all-male warrior would hear what he was saying.

But in fact, even if Odom heard these voices, he probably wouldn't have reacted much. Odom just made basketball a part of his life, he didn't play well, he didn't want to play, there was nothing to force him.

"You did a good first quarter and I hope to keep it up after that! In the second quarter, Jeter, you came out in place of Carter, and I needed more offensive firepower. The Thunder's players, while all of them are very good individually, are prone to mistakes on the defensive end. What we have to do is to catch these mistakes and give them a fatal blow! Remember, guys. I refuse to accept three consecutive defeats, refuse! Carlisle deliberately didn't have Theodore's "good" performance when he set up his tactics during the break.

This is not because Carlisle is not angry, but because Carlisle has begun to gradually marginalize Odom. For the first two games, Carlisle would crouch in front of Odom to encourage the frustrated former Lakers player. But now, Carlisle didn't even look at Odom. Is there anything more marginal than being outright ignored?

Odom wasn't aware of the details, and the guy was still thinking to himself about how to save face when he got on the pitch.

The intense game continued, and the Mavericks put Terry as the starting point guard in the second quarter of the game. The purpose is clear, that is, to strengthen the offensive.

It turns out that after leaving Odom, Terry seems to be a "jet" that has been unshackled, soaring freely in the sky.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Yiyang assisted Terry to shoot from a mid-range position. Nowitzki's off-ball pick-and-roll for Terry is something Odom can't do on the court.

Then, Terry used a clever pass to assist Nowitzki to hit a strong basket. If the ball had been passed to Odom, it would have been another wasted chance.

Without Odom to make trouble, the Thunder found that their goal of overtaking and pulling away the score in one go was delayed.

With a 3 to 5-point lead, the Mavericks were in control of the game. The Thunder players were holding on to their guns, waiting for an opportunity to arise.

In the seventh minute of the second quarter, Ibaka's tough hook allowed the Thunder to narrow the gap to one point again. In order to prevent the Thunder from gaining momentum, Carlisle called a halt to the game.

According to the rotation plan, now, Odom, an important sixth man, will be back on the court. Odom took off his training clothes and stood up and moved his arms. Dirk was out of breath and his shooting percentage was starting to drop, and it was clear that he needed to take a break.

But just as Odom approached Carlisle, Carlisle's words made the all-round warrior's mouth open wide.

"Brian! Come over here and replace Dirk for a few minutes! ”

"Yes!" Cardinal obediently ran to Carlisle's side to listen to the tactics, while Odom was isolated from the circle by a man.

"What's the situation?" The Super Bench, who finished second in the Sixth Man of the Year ranking last season, was a little confused.

“...... It's tense and I don't expect Lamar to save the team like he did last season. But at the very least, he doesn't want to become a-stirring stick! Hey, wait! Coach Carlisle didn't seem to bring on Odom, he put the veteran Brian Anderson on the side. Cardinal brought it up! Odom, deprecated!? Barkley looked at it, and although he had all lost his training clothes, the last person to step onto the pitch was Cardinal, who looked like a car mechanic.

No one spoke to Odom, and Carlisle gave him no explanation. He was just left out in the cold, at the end of the bench.

"Fuck, what do you mean!?" The embarrassed Odom angrily smashed the towel on his shoulder to the ground, and this scene naturally could not escape the lens of countless cameras on the scene.

But the Mavericks players are still calm, and their expressions are almost like Odom just now.

"While Lamar is thankful that he didn't play, Cardinal is still not reassuring. Although this veteran played a highlight performance in the finals last year, on the whole, there is still a big gap between his strength and others. ”

Cardinal does have a lot of flaws, but let's not forget that it is Yiyang who is in control on the pitch right now. This young defender is always able to help his teammates cover up their flaws.

After the first shot after the timeout, the Mavericks went on offense. Cardinal's intimidation on the offensive end is simply not comparable to Nowitzki's. Therefore, Ibaka did not even press Cardinal, but stood closer to the basket and was on the lookout for Yiyang to break through at any time.

Yiyang did not force himself into the territory of the Congolese, but called Heywood to block and demolish it. Westbrook's ability to defend the pick-and-roll is still unsatisfactory, and Heywood's block made Westbrook get thrown out of a position in an instant.

Perkins didn't think about it, and immediately made up for Yiyang, trying to make a front and back attack with Westbrook. Haywood? Haywood has little offensive means on the offensive end. What else can he do but catch the ball and dunk?

Wait a minute! Catch the ball and dunk?

Just as Perkins was reacting, Yiyang's pass had already passed through the crotch of the strong center. The basketball went through Perkins' body and went straight to Haywood, who cut inside after the pick-and-roll.

Haywood is indeed rough and can be said to have no skill on the offensive end. But in the face of an empty basket, Heywood can easily score even without skill!

The center, who is good at running and jumping, directly broke away from gravity after receiving the basketball, and the whole person slammed upward, and then waved his thick arms to slam the basketball into the frame.

"Also, wear a crotch to pass on! Cardinal's positioning kept Ibaka a little away from the basket, and the Congolese didn't have time to make up for it. Haha, that's the role of Lamar, if Lamar doesn't play, the Mavericks will play better and better! ”

Then the Thunder fought back, and Durant hoisted the ball to Ibaka, hoping that the Congolese would eat Cardinal alone.

If Odom were to play now, Ibaka would have countless ways to ravage that absent-minded guy. But Cardinal, who has mediocre ability, makes Ibaka feel different pressures.

This guy is really fierce!

Cardinal looks harmless to humans and animals, and he is usually very gentle in the locker room. But once on the field, this guy becomes a madman. Don't forget, Cardinal was nicknamed "The Butcher" before joining the Mavericks!

His close defense and unafraid of sacrifice brought a lot of psychological pressure to Ibaka. He clinged to his opponent in the face of Ibaka's powerful charge, and the contrast between the dedicated Cardinal and Odom was immediately stark. Although Odom is indeed stronger in terms of personal honor and ability, at this time, I believe that the vast majority of basketball fans prefer Cardinal more.

With Cardinal desperately defending, Ibaka decided to dig to the basket with his body. At that time, Cardinal, who is only 2.03m tall, will have nothing to stop himself.

Leaning back for the first time, Cardinal was so pushed that his heart almost jumped out. The thin-bodied white striker doesn't look like Ibaka's opponent at all.

In the second stroke, Ibaka managed to take another big step back. Cardinal's chest ached hotly, and in the face of an absolute tonnage disadvantage, any skill was.

At this point, Ibaka was just one step away from the basket. It only takes one more effort for Cardinal's defence to collapse completely.

Ibaka seems to have forgotten that during the finals last season, even James and Bosh suffered a lot from Cardinal......

The Congolese jerked back confidently, and he had even figured out his next move. After pushing Cardinal away, he turned around and buckled directly! Do you think you can stop the decline by not letting Odom play? It's just so naïve!

Just when Ibaka gave his third blow, his back didn't feel Cardinal's resistance, but hit the air!

It turned out that the clever Cardinal did not fight hard with Ibaka, but chose to retreat back at the most fierce time in Ibaka!

Cardinal's retreat made all the forces concentrate on Ibaka's center of gravity unstable and fell directly to the ground!

The audience was amazed, and this time, even Barkley and O'Neal raised their arms in unison. "Brian deserves to be an old man, he plays the menacing Ibaka all the time!"

Ibaka was "tripped" by his own fierce force, and in the confusion, Cardinal bent down to pick up the basketball that Ibaka had taken off, and then the veteran, whose hairline was almost overhead, used a shot put to make a powerful pass to the front court.

The camera lens followed the basketball quickly, and when the camera was fixed to the front court, people realized that the lightning-fast Yiyang had already been activated. At this time, within three meters of Yiyang's back, there was no one at all!

Carter, who was sitting on the bench, stood up, facing such a big gap, I wonder if Yiyang, this kid, will use that trick?

Yiyang stretched out his long arm and unloaded the basketball in the air. At this time, he had already run to the free throw line. Yiyang slammed the ball to the ground to find a rhythm. After that, the No. 1 guard holds the ball in both hands and jumps with his back to the basket.

With both hands behind his back, such actions were also frequently staged in Yiyang last season, which is not new for fans.

Just when everyone thought that Yiyang would end the performance with an ordinary back buckle, Yiyang, who was holding the basketball high, pulled the ball down in the air and put it between his legs!

After gliding with his back to the basket for a distance, Yiyang took the ball up again and dunked it into the frame!

"Beautifully buttoned!" Carter waved the towel in his hand violently, this action was taught by Carter in the training ground yesterday!

At the scene, everyone's eyes widened. An Asian guard actually completed such a wonderful folding dunk! This is something that people have never seen before!

"This guy should try it at the slam dunk contest!" Barkley even came up with the idea of letting Yiyang go to the slam dunk contest.

Cardinal's smart defense and Yiyang's wonderful dunk made the Thunder's morale fall to a low point for a while. Without Odom, the Mavericks really stabilized the situation.

After the goal, Yiyang pointed to Carter on the bench to show his gratitude. After that, Cardinal also greeted him enthusiastically and touched Yiyang's head.

The Mavericks continue to maintain control of the situation, and the Thunder's revenge plan seems to be becoming more and more difficult to complete.

At this time, all the Mavericks players were celebrating, but Odom was alone at the end of the bench, with his long face gloomy.