In another game in the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat defeated the Celtics 115:111 at home.
The two teams played very anxiously in this game, and the winner was not decided until overtime.
In this game, the Heat still adopted the defensive strategy from the first game, which was to let Rondo shoot and not give him the opportunity to pass the ball and assist.
The Celtics were well prepared for this, and Rondo was very decisive in taking action. He was very efficient throughout the game. He made 16 of 24 shots from the field, 10 of 12 free throws, and made both three-pointers. Finally, he got the victory.
A game-high 44 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds.
The Celtics' Big Three also performed well. Pierce, Garnett and Ray Allen scored 21 points, 18 points and 13 points respectively.
After the whole game, the Celtics' offensive performance was very good. They made 40 of 81 shots and the shooting percentage reached 49.4%.
The Heat's shooting percentage was much worse than that of the Celtics. They made 37 of 83 shots from the field, with a shooting percentage of 44.6%.
The main reason why the Heat were able to win was that they took advantage of free throws.
The Heat took 47 free throws in the game and made 31 of them, while the Celtics only made 26 of 29 free throws. In terms of free throws alone, the Heat took 18 more free throws than the Celtics.
James took the most free throws on the Heat. He made 18 of 24 free throws in the game. He almost equaled the free throws made by the entire Celtics team.
Facts have proved that what is most suitable for Rondo is passing organization. No matter how many points he scores alone, it will be difficult for him to lead the team to win.
By winning this game, the Heat led the Celtics with a big score of 2:0, and the situation was great.
…
On May 31, 2012, the third game between the Warriors and Thunder officially started at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
This game is a game that the Thunder cannot lose. If they lose again, they will fall behind 0:3, and there will be no suspense in the series.
Thunder coach Brooks once again made adjustments to the starting lineup. He took Safolosha and James Harden.
Fisher, Westbrook, Harden, Durant, and Ibaka, these five are the Thunder's strongest offensive lineup!
Playing at home requires momentum. As long as the offensive end is good, the young Thunder team will have a chance to win.
I have to say that the Thunder's offense is quite good with this lineup.
The Warriors have fierce firepower, and the Thunder also played very well.
Especially Westbrook, he has made sufficient preparations. As long as Clay leaves him open, he will decisively take a shot!
As long as you play, you have to take action. It's OK to lose, but it's not OK to lose to others!
We are all NBA players, no matter how bad our shooting is, we will not miss every shot.
Not only because he returned to the home court, but also because luck finally came. Westbrook felt very good today, making three-pointers one after another!
In just over three minutes of the opening, Westbrook made three three-pointers!
Coupled with the performance of Durant and Harden, the Thunder actually led by 5 points!
However, the Warriors remained unmoved and continued to leave Westbrook open on the defensive end.
Others don't know what level Westbrook is, but Deng Fang knows it!
If Westbrook takes a shot today and one person kills the Warriors, then admit it!
Facts have proved that Westbrook is not good at throwing three-pointers. After scoring three three-pointers, Westbrook missed four consecutive three-pointers!
The Warriors took advantage of this opportunity to grab a long rebound and launch a fast break counterattack!
Curry dribbles to the frontcourt and makes a three-pointer!
After Westbrook threw a three-pointer, he forgot to return to defense. Clay stole a long pass from Yao Ming and dunked!
The score difference was quickly smoothed out!
Brooks had to call a timeout.
After the timeout, Westbrook came off the court and the Thunder replaced Saflosa.
Harden began to take over the ball, and the Thunder's offense began to become reasonable.
To be honest, this lineup is the most reasonable lineup for the Thunder.
As long as Westbrook is on the court, the Thunder's offense comes to a standstill, and most of the chances are with him.
Of course, there is no problem with taking more shots. The problem is that Westbrook has never been good at shooting!
Harden is different, his three-pointers are very good and his passing is better than Westbrook!
Both rookies in 2009, Harden and Curry can be said to be the duo of 2009. He is also the only player in this rookie class who can be compared with Curry.
Although Harden has not yet fully evolved at this time, his strength cannot be underestimated.
More importantly, after Safolosha came on board, the Thunder's defense became much better, and the Warriors' offense became more difficult.
It's not a good thing to have a team full of stars. Someone always has to do the dirty work.
With the Thunder putting together this lineup, it would be hard for the Warriors to deliberately let anyone go.
Savlosha can only be semi-short, and it is impossible to ignore it completely.
Although Ibaka does not have a three-pointer, he is still a considerable threat when he comes up to pick and roll with Harden and attacks the frame along the way.
The Thunder's offense is much smoother.
The two teams fell into a tug-of-war, with the scores rising alternately.
Soon, the first quarter ended and the score became 34:36, with the Warriors leading by 2 points.
Although they are behind, this is already a huge victory for the Thunder!
Being able to compete with the Warriors' starting lineup for one game without falling behind shows that the Thunder's lineup is quite strong!
In the second quarter, Westbrook led the team, with Durant, Cook, Safolosha and Perkins playing.
Durant can only continue to play, otherwise the Thunder will definitely have no chance of winning.
Fortunately, Durant is young and strong, and his physical problems are not too big.
The Warriors had a substitute lineup, and the two teams started a defensive battle.
Durant's big loop effect was good, and Westbrook's impact was also revealed.
The Warriors' bench lineup is still a little weaker than the starting lineup. Whether on the defensive or offensive end, facing the Thunder's lineup is not as easy as before.
There was no way, Brooks came up with the ultimate move, and beat Durant to death, and the Warriors' bench was helpless.
Soon, at the end of the second quarter, the two teams were tied at 67:67, and the Thunder recovered 2 points.
Having tasted the sweetness, Brooks kept up his efforts and directly defeated Westbrook in the third quarter, putting on a lineup of Fisher, Harden, Safolosha, Durant and Ibaka.
If it works, keep using it!
If Westbrook is suitable as a substitute, then let him be a substitute!
The draw at halftime boosted the morale of several young players on the Thunder team. They worked very hard on both ends of the offense and defense, and showed no signs of tiredness at all.
On the defensive end, the Thunder also made changes. They focused on defending the Splash Brothers and strategically released Kirilenko and Prince from outside the three-point line.
It’s not that Kirilenko and Prince’s shots weren’t accurate, but that Curry and Clay were too accurate!
If you are killed by Kirilenko and Prince, then admit it!
Brooks is also a ruthless person.
If you, Deng Fang, dare to bet, so will I!
Without Clay, Brooks would definitely have to resort to box-1 tactics.
With Clay, he can only use box-2!
Of course, this is a joke. Two people cannot double-team. The Thunder can only strategically let others go.
You bet on Westbrook not making the shot, I'll bet on Kirilenko not making the shot!