Versatile Point Forward

Chapter 359
With the power of two consecutive victories in the Western Conference Finals, the Blazers flew to Oklahoma City to prepare for the third game of the series. This is very important to them. If they win, they will undoubtedly grasp the match point of the entire series , is only one step away from the finals.

The two-game losing streak was a big blow to the morale of the Thunder, especially when their number one star Durant scored high points in two consecutive games but could not lead the team to victory.Although they are about to usher in the first home game of the Western Conference Finals, this failed to arouse the fighting spirit of the Thunder team, except for Durant and Westbrook.Even Harden, their best sixth man, lost confidence after two consecutive sleepwalking games. One can imagine the state of others.

On the other hand, the Blazers are at a time when morale is booming. The whole team knows that 2-1 and 3-0 are two scores with very different meanings.The first two games in Portland allowed every Trail Blazers player to see clearly the strength of the team. They have every chance to sweep their opponents and advance to the finals, and the third game is a very critical node.If you lose, the opponent may try to tie the score in one go; if you win, you will have half a foot into the gate of the finals.

In order to prevent the Blazers from getting the match point, Durant let go of the attack at the beginning of the game. Westbrook also changed his usual style of doing it alone and kept sending shells to Durant.The overconfident Blazers were caught off guard. In the first 4 minutes, there was only one goal in a sports game, and they were given a perfect start of 15 to 4 by their opponents.Seeing that the team they supported had the upper hand, the Thunder fans at home also started to clamor and cheer for the Thunder players.

The Thunder's stick stunned the Blazers. They didn't expect that they would encounter such fierce resistance in the away game.Seeing the Thunder's tendency to continue to expand the score, McMillan hurriedly called a timeout, trying to interrupt the Thunder's offensive rhythm.But more importantly, McMillan needs to wake up his players. In any arena, an arrogant soldier must lose is an eternal truth, and now the Blazers have perfectly interpreted this lesson.

During the 20-second short timeout, McMillan did not arrange specific tactics, but scolded the starting five-man team severely. "Look at your performance on the court, it's like five pieces of shit, even if I put on five players from the development league, I guess they all played better than you! 2 to 0, I'm happy to think that I can end the whole series, right? I'm so ashamed of your pride! Who do you think you are? 72-win Bulls?"

The head coach's scolding finally made the Blazers players come back to their senses. Ye Feng was still the first to find his form. He first intercepted the ball passed by Westbrook to Ibaka and completed a fast-break counterattack. Buckle, then hit a three-pointer, and also assisted Aldridge to hit a mid-range jumper.Although the Thunder are also scoring, the number on the scoreboard has become 22 to 19, and the Blazers narrowed the difference to 3 points.

It was the Thunder's turn to attack, Westbrook broke through and scored, but just as the ball was flying towards Durant, a hand suddenly appeared and intercepted the basketball, Cunningham's steal!He didn't continue to dribble to counterattack, but threw a long pass into the Thunder's half court, and Ye Feng had already settled down outside the three-point line.He firmly grasped the ball in his hands, took off directly, and hit a chasing three-pointer to tie the score directly, forcing Brooks to also call a timeout.

Although Brooks has also formulated tactics, but in the case that the Blazers have recovered their status, his tactics do not seem to have played a very obvious role.The two sides fought against each other on the field, and such fierce confrontation instantly ignited the enthusiasm of the home audience.Although they would prefer that the team they support win the final victory, if the process can become a visual feast, they certainly won't mind.

The two sides ended the first quarter with a tie of 32. Both McMillan and Brooks were not satisfied with the performance of their respective players. McMillan believed that the Blazers could completely crush them with hard power, while Brooks believed that the Thunder did not play well in front of their fans. Momentum comes.Durant once again demonstrated his super scoring ability, scoring 13 points in a single quarter, but unfortunately his efforts did not help the team take the lead.

After replacing the substitute lineup in the second quarter, Batum changed his previous tepid state and took the lead in opening up the situation. Compared with Harden, who is constantly hitting iron on the other side, he is more like the best sixth player of the season. people.Only 3 minutes into the second quarter, the Blazers took an 8-point lead. Brooks had to replace the starting player in advance, trying to take advantage of his strength to narrow or even even out the difference.

However, McMillan was not in a hurry. He just let the rotation lineup play for an extra minute before switching to the starting lineup.After the main lineup entered the field, the two sides fell into a stalemate again. The Blazers always maintained a lead of about 1 points. Although it was not big, it could completely kill the morale of the Thunder.In the end, with Ye Feng's three-pointer at the buzzer, the Blazers led the Thunder by 5 points at halftime.

No one knows what happened in the locker room of the home team during the halftime break. Anyway, after the start of the second half, Durant almost took over every task of the team on the offensive end, including possession, organization and scoring. spectators.But such a desperate move did not achieve good results. The Blazers team blossomed more, and also restricted Durant on the defensive end, making it extremely difficult for him to even pass the ball, and he could only continue to play singles.

There's no question that team basketball ultimately trumps superstar basketball, even though this is Oklahoma City's Chesapeake Energy Stadium, home of the Thunder.The Blazers first suppressed and then rose, defeating their opponents 110-98, rewriting the big score to 3-0 as they wished.Although Durant once again scored the team's highest 34 points, he is no longer alone. The Blazers' main player Ye Feng scored 32 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists. Rand's light.

Being behind 0 to 3 is bad news for the Thunder. They seem to be unable to recover. In the history of the NBA, there has never been a team that was 0 to 3 in the playoffs with a best-of-seven series but successfully reversed.From the establishment of the NBA to the present, a total of hundreds of teams have encountered the embarrassment of falling behind 0 to 3. Although some teams struggled to drag the series into the tiebreaker, they all lost to their opponents and were eliminated. Now it is their turn Thunder struck.

(End of this chapter)