The third game of the two sides was played in the Staples Center Staples Stadium, the first two games were baseball, and the home game was played. Whether it was a Lakers or a home fan, they seemed confident in winning, and even looked forward to winning two more games in a row.

It's exciting to sweep the Warriors with 4.

However, the final result of the game was shocking.

Durant ushered in a big explosion in the third game. He felt a hot explosion. He made 20 of 31 shots in the game, including 6 three-pointers, scoring the highest 58 points. While setting a new career scoring record, it also helped the Warriors win 128-120 away, chasing the big score to 1-2.

Durant's scoring ability is historically level. Although it is unexpected, it is reasonable to explode at such a critical moment.

Losing the third game unfortunately was a blow to the Lakers' momentum, but it was not shaken to the bottom. After all, Durant scored nearly 60 points, and the Warriors won the single-digit score difference.

However, what everyone did not expect was that in the critical fourth game, Durant took a step further on the previous basis, setting a new career scoring record after only one day, making 21 of 45 shots in the game, making 14 of 16 free throws, directly contributing 60 points.

The continuous high scores have made the performance of Tang Shuai and the Big Three of the Lakers become useless.

Before Tang Shuai, the playoffs that had the most profound impact on the Chinese were the series between the Rockets and Jazz teams where Yao Ming was in the 2006-07 season. The Rockets also led 2-0 away games, but they returned to their home court and suffered two consecutive losses and were eventually eliminated.

Today's Lakers, Rockets, Warriors and the Jazz are not of the same level, but the situation is surprisingly similar at this moment.

What made all this happen was Durant, who had been criticized before. He finally found the feel at the most critical moment and also reflected the value of his superstar.

There are also cases in history where one person has reversed the playoffs. If losing the third game is within an acceptable range, then the loss in the fourth game puts the Lakers on the brink of danger. You should know that the fifth stop of both sides was held in Oakland, and the difficulty of winning is greater than these two home games.

The two consecutive losses also caused unstable situations within the Lakers. Cousins ​​complained about Mike Dermott's defense, and Ariza and Norris Cole were also dissatisfied with their playing time.

An unknown aura permeated the sky above the Purple and Gold Legion.

Tang Shuai saw all this, but he couldn't say anything at this moment. To change the current situation, it would definitely not be possible to solve it by just giving a few words of chicken soup.

After the training on this day, Tang Shuai took the initiative to find Billups.

"Tang, are you looking for me? Is it because of some of the team's emotions recently?" Billups was also worried about the game. When he saw Tang Shuai looking for him, he asked instinctively.

Tang Shuai nodded, and after Billups was instructed to sit opposite him, he spoke: "Coach, the atmosphere of the team is on the verge of danger..."

"I know, this is a problem, but I don't have a better way to do this problem now." Bilups shook his head helplessly, then suddenly remembered something, looked up at Tang Shuai, "Do you have any solutions?"

"I think winning is the best way to change this atmosphere." Tang Shuai said.

"And?" Billups certainly knew this.

"I want to take the initiative to apply for defense of Durant." Tang Shuai said slowly.

"What?" Bilups looked in disbelief, looking at Tang Shuai as if he had seen a monster.

Through Procopio's training method, Tang Shuai's height has improved significantly compared to when he first entered the league. His current naked foot height is 1.92 meters, and after wearing shoes, he can reach 1.96 meters, barely reaching the average height of the league's shooting guard.

However, Durant is 2.11 meters tall and 216 feet tall in shoes, which is 20 cm taller than Tang Shuai!

Defense is a thing that is very important to height. When the opponent is 20 cm taller than you, and his physical talent such as speed, reaction ability is not worse than you, it is almost impossible to succeed, not to mention that Durant's scoring method is mainly shooting.

Just imagine what it would be like to shoot a shot in front of you who is 20 cm taller than you.

You probably can't do anything except look up...

"Don..." Billups frowned and paused, saying, "I see your defensive progress. I feel at ease with your defensive ability now, but you have to know that you are a point guard, Durant is a small forward who can play the number four position, your height... You know what I mean, this is an impossible task, and you have to bear the burden of offense."

"I know, Changxi, I know this, but I believe I can do it." Tang Shuai said with a firm look.

Bilups looked at Tang Shuai in surprise. He didn't expect Tang Shuai's attitude to be so firm. After hesitating for a long time, he finally chose to believe Tang Shuai, nodded and said, "I know that you must have your own reasons for saying this. Although I may not understand, I choose to believe you."

"Thank you." Tang Shuai showed a smile on his lips. Billups' trust was more useful than a hundred sets of tactics.

"Then, just do it with defense. I look forward to you bringing another surprise." Billups said with a smile.

"Yes, coach, I can." Tang Shuai said, standing up, and then walked out of the coach's office without looking back.

Billups looked at Tang Shuai's leaving figure, his eyes stayed for a while, then took out the tactical manual and made adjustments in the defensive position.

Durant's outbreak gave the Oaklanders a chance to win again, especially with Durant's outbreak, the other three Warriors' giants performed better and better. In addition, the next game was to play with the Warriors, and the originally bleak prospect of qualifying suddenly became brighter.

On May 25, US time, the fifth battle of Huyong's King Mountain started as scheduled at the Oracle Arena in Oakland.

This day is the Dragon Boat Festival, a well-known Chinese festival. Auckland is a large Chinese county. You can see many publicity banners such as "Qu Yuan Culture" and "Zongzi Festival" on the streets.

However, even on such an important festival, most Chinese fans did not choose to eat rice dumplings at home as they used to, but instead took their family to the Oracle Arena to watch the ball.

Everyone knows that the Battle of Tianwang Mountain determines which of the two teams can finally qualify.

Not to mention the Warriors fans, even the Lakers fans also bought tickets through various channels. In addition to the numerous yellow oceans, the Oracle Arena on this day also has a small purple gold area composed of about two or three hundred people.

When the Lakers players arrived at the stadium, the crazy cheers of the hundreds of fans quickly attracted their attention.

Billups gave a passionate speech to the players before the game, but the effect was just as expected. However, when the players saw so many fans appear magically at the Warriors' home court (in such a critical game, Warriors fans will definitely not sell tickets easily, and these Lakers fans must have paid a lot of money), their faces flushed, and their momentum recovered a lot at this time.

When the players were warming up on the court, the lineups of both sides were released on the LED screen on the scene. Both sides were the same as in the previous games and did not make any adjustments.

The game kicked off with cheers from fans.

Although Billups agreed to Tang Shuai, he did not arrange for him to defend Durant at the beginning. After all, he still had doubts from the bottom of his heart, and he also wanted to see Durant's condition tonight. If Durant felt average, he would not have to take such adventures.

But in fact, Billups' prediction was wrong.

Durant still felt hot. He faced Mike Dermott's first goal in the opening game. After scoring 8 points in a row, he quickly helped the home team lead the score 12-4.

Seeing this scene, Billups couldn't help but smile and shook his head with a wry smile. After calling for a timeout, he made a tactical adjustment, replaced Mike Dermot with Ariza, and then pushed Tang Shuai to the small forward position and asked him to play against Durant.

After this tactic arrangement, all the Lakers players were confused. Where did they sing?

When both sides came back from the timeout, the Lakers scored a goal and returned to the defensive round. When they saw Tang Shuai going to defend Durant, all the fans at home looked like a ghost.

"What's going on with him? Hey, Chauncey, are you funny?" Not to mention the fans, even the home commentator Chris Webber couldn't help but exclaim when he saw this scene.

No matter how average coaches have a good level, they know that it is impossible to achieve defensive effects when the difference is 20 cm, let alone Durant.

And more importantly, other Lakers players have no intention of double-teaming, they are just one-on-one defense!

"Billups are crazy, absolutely crazy. I can't think of a second reason to explain the scene in front of me!" When Webber saw Durant catch the ball and the other Lakers players still didn't go up to assist in defense, he couldn't help but shake his head.

Durant was also confused, but he would not give up this kind of scoring opportunity easily.

After receiving the ball, he leaned against Tang Shuai with his body to prevent his ball from being cut off. Then he looked at the Lakers player behind him. He relied on two hits, and then he took a direct move.

This time, the move was fast and high. Tang Shuai jumped high and wanted to cover his eyes, but his fingertips could not block Durant.

"Swish!"

With a crisp sound, Durant's backward hit steadily.

"It's true." Seeing this scene, Bilups shook his head helplessly. The 20-point height difference is really not so easy to overcome.

"I think this is a signal that the Lakers gave up?" Webber looked at the scene in front of him and couldn't help blurting out.

The fans at the scene laughed even more. It was not that they mocked Tang Shuai's defense, but that this matchup was really too amateur and shouldn't have appeared on the NBA stage at all.

Billups, although excellent, is still too immature and naive!

It seems that it still has to interfere before Durant takes action.

Tang Shuai thought to himself, completely ignored the reactions of Weber and the fans on the scene, and continued to move forward with his teammates.

After all, Durant is not an ordinary player, and now he feels hot. If he takes action, he will be difficult to limit even if he is in a defensive bag.

The Lakers' offense advanced to the frontcourt, and Tang Shuai made a transition to the ball and then gave Cousins ​​to the inside.

Cousins ​​beat Bogut on his back. After a few moves, he relied on his strength to find a good shooting angle to score.

Looking back, in the offensive round of the Warriors, seeing that the Lakers were still using Shuai Tang to defend Durant alone, Curry called his teammates to run. After Durant wanted to stay at the high position on the right, he then gave the ball over.

Durant received the ball, and after hitting Tang Shuai twice, he was about to turn around and go to the bottom line to strengthen.

The player's height advantage is not only reflected in shooting, but also in layups, because they normally do layups, and work at high altitudes above their heads. If they jump up, it feels like flying, and defense will not work at all.

That's what Durant thought. As long as he makes him stand out, he even has the confidence to force Tang Shuai to increase his morale at home.

"Changxi, give up this approach quickly... This is really not much different from suicide..." Webber couldn't help but shake his head.

"Bang!"

Before Weber finished speaking, a crisp sound was heard. At this moment, no one expected that after Durant turned around, the ball in his hand was slapped out before he could even catch the ball.

Shuai Tang!

Shuai Tang cuts Durant's ball!

"What..." Webber was stunned.

Everything happened just now was too fast, and he didn't see how Tang Shuai did it at all.

But he had to accept the reality in front of him.

Because Tang Shuai intercepted the ball, he rode the other players of the Warriors who didn't come back to his senses, and the one who took the ball and drove to the backcourt of the Warriors.

"Bang!"

With a clean and neat dunk, the fans at home were in an uproar.

Durant was still stunned. When he retreated, he looked up at the led, wanting to see how the ball happened just now.

However, there was no replay on the LED screen at this moment, so he could only shake his head in annoyance.

Including Cousins' goal ahead, the Lakers scored a 4-0 attack wave during this period, reducing the score by 6 points.

In the Warriors' offensive round, the Lakers' tactical strategy has not changed, but it is still Tang Shuai who defends Durant alone.
To be continued...