newbobooks 537 Durant and Curry traded three-pointers!
537 Durant and Curry traded three-pointers!
Even after Su Hao made another mid-range shot, the Thunder still didn't call a timeout.
Westbrook received the ball from Ibaka on the baseline, quickly advanced to the frontcourt, and immediately passed it to Durant at the right 45-degree angle.
David Lee, who was responsible for guarding Durant, stuck close to him, not giving him any space to shoot.
However, Durant still managed to create space to shoot by using his teammates' screens.
Another three-pointer was launched.
The ball goes in.
Durant hit another three-pointer.
"Wow, you know what? The Thunder managed to stabilize the score thanks to Durant's consecutive outside shots!" Yang Yi exclaimed.
"It's all thanks to Durant; if Westbrook had taken that shot himself, he might not have made it!" Su Qun laughed.
"Durant is still amazing! His three-pointer is indeed accurate, but relying on three-pointers to beat the Clippers is definitely not going to work! I wonder how long his three-point shooting touch can last!" Coach Zhang said calmly.
Durant's three-pointer just now helped the Thunder stabilize the situation once again.
However, their joy was short-lived.
For the Clippers, Curry received a pass from his teammate and launched his first three-pointer of the quarter.
The basketball flew over Westbrook's head and headed straight for the basket.
The ball goes in.
Curry responded with a three-pointer for the Thunder.
"Wow, that's impressive! You're getting good at that shot!" Su Hao waved to Curry to congratulate him.
After scoring, Curry shook his head and spat out his mouthguard.
The Thunder are no longer willing to let Curry shoot freely from the outside.
Although they knew Curry was good at three-pointers, based on their observations in the previous few games...
They believe that Curry's three-point shooting isn't that incredibly accurate.
Sometimes it even goes wrong.
He even missed three shots in a row.
This led the Thunder to give Curry more space to shoot at the beginning of the quarter.
However, Curry seized the opportunity this time.
Instead of continuing to pass the ball to Su Hao, he chose to help Su Hao share the scoring pressure.
We can't just leave all the scoring to Su Hao!
If that's the case, then the Thunder could use all five of their players to defend Su Hao.
Even if Su Hao is incredibly capable, he is still just a human being!
Westbrook was also deeply frustrated that he hadn't been able to defend Curry well.
After receiving a pass from his teammate on the baseline, Westbrook once again chose to pass the ball to Durant, who was not far away.
This time, the Clippers immediately double-teamed Durant the moment he received the ball.
We must prevent them from making a move easily.
David Lee and Rasul Butler double-teamed Durant, greatly limiting his shooting opportunities.
Ultimately, with no suitable opportunity to shoot, he chose to pass the ball to Ibaka, who was closest to him.
When the latter received the ball, there was very little time left for the attack.
The shot was taken hastily; the basketball bounced a few times on the rim before finally sliding out.
Su Hao secured the rebound first and then made a long pass to Curry in the center circle.
The moment he received the ball, Curry had already started walking.
Before anyone had even taken their positions, he forced out an extremely long three-pointer.
The basketball traced a less-than-perfect arc in the air, flying straight towards the basket.
Unfortunately, the shot did not go in.
Fortunately, just as the basketball bounced off the rim...
Su Hao had already rushed to the basket.
He fought hard to grab the offensive rebound despite having two Thunder players on his back.
He then jumped again and slammed the ball down the rim with one hand.
This powerful dunk caused Perkins, who had just tried to stop it, to clutch his head and take two steps back.
He was terrified that if he hesitated any longer, Su Hao might accidentally smash his head in.
Su Hao is really not giving the Thunder any chance! He managed to grab that rebound and even get a second chance on the offense!
Barkley on the sidelines was so shocked by Su Hao's performance that he was speechless.
"That shot... was just too, too brutal. If I were under the basket, I probably would have dodged it!" Barkley said, touching his bald head.
"Your bald head is fine. If you were under the basket, you'd have to retreat to the stands!" Miller couldn't help but burst into laughter after saying that.
The situation on the court changed instantly, with the Clippers relying on Su Hao and Curry's inside-outside scoring.
In just a few rounds, the score gap widened to eight points.
Thunder head coach Brooks immediately called the first timeout of the quarter.
As the Thunder players returned to the bench, Brooks pulled out his clipboard and began gesturing out tactical arrangements.
He would occasionally gesture at Durant.
It seems that all these tactics are arranged around him.
They also made a replacement player.
Harden replaced Sefolosha.
The Clippers, on the other hand, did not have any tactical arrangements.
After all, with Su Hao present, all tactics revolve around him.
Whenever the team faces a scoring problem, all they need to do is pass the ball to him.
This is Mike Dunleavy's core tactic.
The pause ends.
The game between the two sides continues.
At the start of the game, Westbrook inbounded the ball to Harden.
The latter received the ball and faced Gordon's defense.
A tentative step back, feigning a shot.
He was trying to bait Gordon's defense.
However, Gordon actually fell for it.
He immediately stood up, intending to disrupt Harden's shot.
At that moment, Harden actually rammed his arm into Gordon.
"Beep!"
The referee blew the whistle.
This indicates a shooting foul!
Gordon, who had been tricked, immediately spread his hands to show that he was innocent.
They are indeed innocent; this is clearly a staged accident.
However, no matter how they explained it, the referee showed no intention of changing the decision.
This gave Harden two free throw opportunities.
When Gordon tried to continue arguing with the referee, Curry and Su Hao stepped in and pulled him away.
"Hey buddy, don't be like that. This guy's been faking accidents more than once or twice. Just be more careful next time you're on defense!" Su Hao said with a smile.
"That guy is awful! He just came on and started faking it, like he's never won a game before!" Gordon said with a wronged expression.
"Don't be sad, just consider those two points a gift to them!" Curry chimed in.
Harden stepped up to the free-throw line.
The fans in the stadium kept booing.
Everyone is mocking Harden for flopping.
"Harden is a clever kid! He's really mastered the art of faking accidents!" Yang Yi laughed.
"You could say that faking an accident is a skill! Some players can't do it as flawlessly as Harden!" Su Qun chimed in.