Grab Curry at the start

Chapter 96 Incomplete Showdown

At the last moment, Durant scored 4 points in a row, but there was no time left.

Because the gap has reached 8 points, the Thunder did not continue after only using a foul tactic.

In this game, Durant once again scored the highest score in the game, and Westbrook also got a triple-double. It is not so easy for Westbrook to get a triple-double now, and he has performed very well.

But it was the Timberwolves who won the game. Curry had 29 points and 9 assists, and Love had 24 points and 17 rebounds. The Timberwolves can almost be called Gemini.

Zhang Sixin said in an interview after the game: "It's really not that easy to face the Thunder. Seeing them, I am sure that young people are changing the pattern of the Western Conference."

The alliance is indeed changing, and of course it is not that simple to seize power.

But looking at the current situation, several strong teams in the West, except for the Lakers, feel a little bit of decline in combat power.

Just looking at this season, everyone would not think that the Mavericks will break out and the Spurs will continue to be tough for several seasons.

The Suns, on the other hand, are really playing their last season.

Originally, the Blazers also hoped to join the rise of young people, but unfortunately they had too many injuries.

Now that the Timberwolves have spoiled the situation, perhaps the young forces in the West will drive the old strong teams off the throne earlier.

And two days later, Zhang Sixin will face off against his senior for the first time.

The Timberwolves are going to the East to play back-to-back away games, and the first game is to face the Heat.

He called Spoelstra first and said, "Ready, I'm here to kick your ass."

Spoelstra said contemptuously: "Relax, Miami is not Minnesota. You lost here and there are many places to seek comfort. You must miss the store we visited together."

Zhang Sixin directly compared the middle finger, not to mention, the Heat this season are actually not easy to deal with.

The Heat didn't make any big moves in the summer, but with Spoelstra's efforts, the Heat's defense this season is very good.

In fact, Spoelstra, like Zhang Sixin, pays more attention to defense.

After all, Riley also pays attention to the balance of offense and defense, and is also good at adjusting tactics based on core players.

To put it bluntly, it is to pursue victory and strive for innovation, not to pursue a set of facade tactics like some coaches.

Therefore, Zhang Sixin's current eye-opening style is generally believed by the outside world to be the performance of Riley's disciples.

The Heat's record this season is not particularly good, nor is it bad.

Spoelstra only has the All-Star Wade in his hands. In addition, Beasley, who has a second-year ball in his hands, will end but his shooting percentage is not particularly good, and O'Neal, who has weakened after injury.

This kind of lineup can only be soy sauce in the hands of many coaches, but Spoelstra still built the team into a playoff contender.

Of course, the magic coach of this season must be Zhang Sixin. After all, the Heat have Wade, a powerful All-Star.

However, Wade's attendance rate is not particularly good, and he will not play in this game.

Spoelstra keeps saying that he wants to win the game, but in fact the current Heat belong to the weaker side.

Fortunately, Wade is only slightly injured, and resting now is also for a healthier impact on the playoffs.

Also, their second-year guard Chalmers is out.

The Heat can only use Arroyo to partner with Curry, which is a very bad choice this season.

Although Arroyo played for the U.S. team once in the national team, he has not been doing well in the NBA. He chose to decline in strength when he gets older, so he will not cause any trouble for the Timberwolves.

The Heat still have to look at Beasley and O'Neal, and the attack power seems a little insufficient.

Not surprisingly, Curry beat Arroyo violently at the beginning. A guard like Arroyo who is not good at single defense can really only be a side effect when he is not attacking.

And the Heat don't have a real organizer. They usually rely on Wade's breakthrough to score the ball. Now that Wade is not there, their offensive end is more chaotic.

Whoever has the ball can play. Beasley didn't feel good this time. It was purely an offensive black hole. The ball went in and it was gone.

And Cook, who replaced Wade in the starting lineup, really thought he was Wade, and he was beaten a lot, which was inefficient.

Instead, Dorell White, who came off the bench, felt strangely good. He hit consecutive three-pointers during the rotation to help the Heat continue their lives.

Spoelstra looked serious, always on the sidelines to remind players to pay attention to defense.

He pays more attention to the Timberwolves, and many of his defenses are more targeted. In fact, he does limit some of the Timberwolves' offense, but the Heat's own offense is not strong, and the effect of better defense is not obvious.

Therefore, the Timberwolves still took the lead in the first half.

Zhang Sixin's request during the halftime break was also very simple, which was to prevent the Heat from throwing three-pointers.

In this game, as long as the Heat don't miraculously hit a three-pointer, they will have no chance.

Wade does not play, the gap between the two sides is really obvious.

In the third quarter, the Heat's three-point line was completely blocked, and they missed a single three-pointer.

Their offensive end was in trouble, and the Timberwolves took the opportunity to expand their lead.

Although the Heat still played well in the final quarter, it was already a bit late.

Curry and Love are still the most shining two people on the court, especially Love, it feels like grabbing rebounds and getting a large double-double is as simple as eating and drinking.

Spoelstra also said helplessly after the game: "The Timberwolves have become a strong team in the league this season. I think Coach Zhang has done a good job. The Heat are now in a difficult period, but when Dwyane comes back, everything will be fine."

Zhang Sixin also started the business mutual blowing mode, "I think Eric is really very good. If other coaches coach this Heat, it will be difficult for him to be so good. I believe that we will continue to work hard, and the day when we meet in the playoffs will not be too far away."

After the game, Zhang Sixin went to formally catch up with Spoelstra and had a drink.

As the head coach of the team, I really don't have that much time before the game.

But the Timberwolves have to go to Atlanta the next day, so they don't have time to go to the store where they used to be happy.

Now both of them are out of the mix, but they are also much busy.

This is life, earning dollars also takes time and effort.

The second back-to-back away game of the Timberwolves is against the Eastern powerhouse Eagles. Now the Eagles are fourth in the Eastern Conference, but except for the Cavaliers with the first record, the Eagles, Magic, and Celtics have similar records. Whichever of them play a few good games may change the top four rankings in the Eastern Conference.

Of course, compared to the second to ninth record in the West, there is not much difference in the record, and the chaos in the East is just a small scene.

The Eagles are still relatively strong this season, but the core of Eagle King Joe Johnson is still almost fine.

Without a strong enough core, the record in the regular season is so good that it will be blind in the playoffs, so many civilian teams with good records are called regular season teams.

Of course, for the current Timberwolves, it is not easy to beat the Eagles.

The Eagles can be regarded as a comprehensive strong team. The top four in the East and the top nine in the West. The Timberwolves have to check the status of both sides first, and their strength cannot be crushed.

(End of this chapter)