In the CCTV studio, taking advantage of the break, host Yu Jia raised the topic again:
"Director Zhang, what do you think of the performance of both sides in the first quarter? Li Ze only took two shots in the first quarter, made both shots, and scored 5 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist. This is completely different from his previous performance."
"Indeed, I think the Spurs' strategy is to let you play in isolation and try not to give you a chance to drive other teammates. With this lineup of four small players, the defense rotates very quickly."
"The first quarter was all about single defense. Even in the penalty area, Duncan's defense was very good. So although Li Ze passed a few good balls in the first quarter, his teammates failed to seize the opportunity in the end."
"But I still have to say that these players in the Thunder are so talented. If you ask me to play in isolation, I will score all the goals for you. In the few minutes when Blair was on the court, he was continuously beaten by Durant and Westbrook.
against."
"Li Ze also contributed on both offense and defense. Ginobili scored a goal in the first quarter, 1 of 4. The Spurs had a chance to open up the score, but in the end the Thunder held on."
"After the substitutes come on in the second quarter, the two sides still have to compete. It depends on the performance of Li Ze and Ginobili. This period of time as substitutes is very critical for the Thunder."
Although Director Zhang is optimistic about Li Ze's performance, he still believes that the Spurs will win, and the GDP combination is the fundamentals.
During the break, head coach Brooks was also giving his players a boost and making tactical arrangements.
"Green, you go first in the second quarter, pay attention to defense, Ibaka, pay attention to Matt Bonner's outside shooting, Kayce, strengthen your personal offense!"
Coach Brooks brought in Jeff Green, mainly to open up offensive space for Li Ze. Edon Thomas was too easy to target in such a game and fell out of the rotation this time.
"At the beginning of the second quarter, the Thunder made some adjustments. Li Ze and Sefolosha partnered in the backcourt, Jeff Green and Ibaka formed the front line, and Nick Collison moved to the 5th position.
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"For the Spurs, George Hill and Ginobili partner in the backcourt, Michael Finley and Matt Bonner are at the forward, and Antonio McDyess is at the center."
Host Yu Jia began to introduce the rotation lineups of both parties.
"The Spurs' current lineup can still shoot! In addition to the center, everyone has baskets. This game is interesting!"
Director Zhang also saw the characteristics of the Spurs' lineup. He is not disadvantaged by his height and can shoot from the outside, which is very suitable for the performance of Ginobili and George Hill.
On the first attack of the second quarter, Li Ze quickly crossed the half court. After seeing the opponent's lineup, he directly signaled Ibaka to raise the pick-and-roll.
Matt Bonner's defensive lateral movement was not very good, so after the pick-and-roll, Ginobili quickly squeezed through and constantly provided Li Ze with physical confrontation.
Li Ze leaned against the opponent while paying attention to the Spurs' defense. Seeing Bonner choose to delay himself, he made a behind-the-back pass with his left hand and found Ibaka at the free throw line.
The latter caught the ball and took a jump shot without hesitation.
"Shua..." scored from mid-range.
Ibaka's mid-range shots are becoming more and more accurate. If no one is guarding him, he has a high degree of certainty. The bonus of the [Offensive Core] badge is still somewhat useful.
Popovich immediately shouted from the sidelines. It could be seen that the old man was quite dissatisfied with this defense.
Although George Hill is only a second-year rookie, he has a calm style of play and very good tactical execution, and is deeply loved by Popovich.
Facing Sofolosha's defense, George Hill broke through directly into the penalty area after the pick-and-roll. Facing Nick Collison's defense, he pulled the lever with his right hand and scored the ball.
Without Ibaka in the penalty area, the ability to protect the frame plummeted. When the Spurs players stood outside, the Thunder did not dare to shrink their defense.
"Green, in the next round, remember to ask everyone to defend in a zone and try to make some air cuts on offense. We have to play faster."
When serving, Li Ze told Jeff Green that he had to move this lineup, otherwise it would be a waste.
After half the game, Li Ze passed the ball directly to Sefolosha. After the latter received the ball, he immediately played a hand-to-hand pass with Jeff Green and noticed that Li Ze started to position in the low post.
Jeff Green took two dribbles and directly lobbed it to Li Ze, and then began to move laterally outside the three-point line under the cover of Collison.
After Li Ze received the ball with his back, he first made a fake move of passing the ball outward with one hand, which directly deceived Michael Finley who wanted to double-team him.
Then he quickly hit twice, reached his own shooting hot zone, ignored Ginobili's defense, and turned over directly to shoot a fadeaway jumper!
"Shua..." The 2-point goal was scored steadily.
The badge bonus effect of [Hot Zone Hunter] + [Difficult Shooting King] is very good, ensuring Li Ze’s shooting rate of difficult shots like this.
"Oh! Li Ze did one of Jordan's signature moves. After a fake move, he made a fadeaway jumper with his back. The goal was so beautiful!"
Director Zhang was immediately amused and entered Li Zexiu mode again.
"Serge, zone defense, pay attention to defensive rotations and rebounds!"
Li Ze called out to Ibaka loudly while retreating.
When the zone defense started, Li Ze and Sefolosha rotated the defense very quickly, but the Spurs were all seasoned, so Bonner was forced to stand near the free throw line.
After passing the ball several times, George Hill directly shot a jumper from outside the 3-point line.
"Shua..." entered the net hollowly.
"The Thunder team defended really well, but George Hill also shot the 3-pointer hard and read the defense very well!"
Host Yu Jia also praised the Spurs' offense.
Li Zeyun noticed after halftime that the Spurs' defense paid great attention to his three-pointers and almost always defended him on the three-point line.
Seeing this situation, Li Ze stopped calling for a screen. After dribbling continuously from his hips, he suddenly changed direction and directly broke through Ginobili's defense and went straight to the basket.
Antonio McDyess saw this situation and came directly to help defend, but then he realized that he had made a mistake. Li Ze faked a real pass, and Collison successfully took the cake under the basket and dunked with one hand.
"Great pass, Bro!"
After the goal, Ginobili caught up with Li Ze who was retreating and said with a smile.
"Learn from you, your assists in the first quarter were also very beautiful!"
When it comes to business bragging, Li Ze is definitely the number one player in the league!
In the next more than three minutes, the Spurs witnessed Li Ze's indiscriminate singles.
Switching to Michael Finley's defense, Li Ze dribbled the ball behind his back, suddenly made a cross step with the ball in his right hand, quickly pulled back, turned around with his left hand, got rid of the defense, and drifted to take a mid-range shot.
"Shua..." The 2-point ball hit the net hollowly.
Facing George Hill in the low post, after a tentative step, he ignored the opponent's defensive interference and directly shot a pull-up jumper.
"Shua..." He scored again from mid-range.
Bonner didn't wait to change defense after the pick-and-roll. Li Ze accelerated his dribbling with his left hand and passed the opponent directly. After entering the penalty area, he changed his rhythm, turned back and made a layup, and scored the ball.
After scoring 3 goals in a row, Popovich quickly requested a timeout. In fact, the score between the two sides is still tied. The Spurs' offensive and defensive perimeter shooting is also very accurate, but the old man is not satisfied with the team's defense.
After returning from the timeout, Li Ze found that the Spurs had increased their physical confrontation against him. George Hill, Ginobili and Michael Finley began to flank him very early, allowing him to get the ball out, and they kept making small moves...
"Do any of you treat rookies like this?"
There are naturally opportunities for flanking, and Li Ze's ball speed is also very fast, but the Spurs' defensive rotation rate is also high, the Thunder's shooting percentage begins to decline, and Li Ze also loses control.
The Spurs didn't give Li Ze a chance to take action at all...it just tested other players' ability to handle the ball.
When Coach Brooks saw this situation, he immediately called a timeout. He was about to change into the main lineup and let Li Ze take a rest.
"Good job, Kayce, take a rest, Krstic, protect the rebounds, everyone must cooperate with each other on the defensive end!"
Li Ze watched coach Brooks keep explaining the precautions for interior defense, and knew that the coach was unsure. After all, Duncan made 5 of 6 in the first quarter, and he played too easily...
With 5 minutes and 32 seconds left in the second quarter, both sides regained their main lineups. The Thunder tried to speed up the attack, but haste made waste, and Turtle and Durant began to make mistakes.
The Spurs' veteran team just plays the pick-and-roll unhurriedly, plays in the low post, and attacks the paint. Unless there is an absolute open space on the outside, they will never shoot...
By the end of the half, it was 54 to 50, with the Spurs leading by 4 points.
During the intermission, in the CCTV studio, host Yu Jia routinely raised the topic:
"Director Zhang, what do you think of the situation in this half of the game? The Spurs took the lead in the second half of the second quarter."
"I think the Thunder were a little messy in the last few minutes, pursuing speed too much. When playing against a team like the Spurs, you can't make mistakes. If you make a mistake, the opponent will definitely seize the opportunity."
"In the second half, if the Thunder wants to win this game, they have to maximize the main team's time, make fewer mistakes, try their best to attack in transition, and stay in position. Then they will not be able to beat the Spurs."
Coach Zhang told the truth that the Thunder's lineup is flawed.
"Thank you, Director Zhang, for your review. I'll be back soon after the commercial for the second half!"
...
Popovich, a bad old man, naturally knows the characteristics of the Thunder's style of play, and he has already discovered that the referee's penalty standards in this game are a bit loose, so the Spurs took the lead in the third quarter!
After Guigui reached the penalty area, he was directly hit to the floor by Duncan with the ball.
"Squeak..." the referee made a gesture, a foul ball.
"This is a shooting foul. It's already been hit. You should have seen it sir!"
Guigui shouted excitedly to the referee, but unfortunately the linesman still signaled that the game should continue.
After the second half of the game started, Li Ze discovered that the Spurs' defense was very aggressive. Whether it was with or without the ball, many times the referee didn't call it at all!
Under this kind of penalty scale, the Thunder's shooting percentage began to decline, while the Spurs were as stable as an old dog and were not greatly affected.
This made the fans at the Ford Center so angry that they started scolding the referee:
“Referee sucks!Referee sucks!Referee sucks!
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But this did not affect the trend of the game at all. It was 25 to 19 in a single quarter. After three quarters, the Spurs led by 10 points.
During the break, Durant was so angry:
"The referee is blind. Our breakthrough resulted in 4 free throws in this quarter. This is simply a joke!"
Li Ze was drinking water. He knew that he still underestimated the veterans. He was defended 1 of 5 in this quarter...
"It doesn't matter, there is still a lot of time in the fourth quarter, it's just 10 points, and I'll catch up with a few three-pointers!"
Li Ze started to encourage his teammates. He didn't want to give in just like that. At the same time, he secretly complained in his heart:
"This is really a home game like an away game, as promised by the Thunder at three whistles!