The Thunder bet that Kirilenko can't make a shot, and the Warriors bet that Westbrook can't make a shot. Logically speaking, the Warriors have the advantage.
Westbrook's three-point ability is well known to Deng Fang. No matter how bad Kirilenko is, he is still better than Westbrook!
But everything has surprises, especially for a star like Westbrook.
The biggest characteristic of a star is his confidence and unlimited power to fire!
If you dare to let me vote, I will vote!
Don’t be afraid if you fail to score!
When it comes to shooting, the more decisive you are, the higher your hit rate, so there is a certain risk in leaving a star open to shoot.
No matter how bad his shooting is, there will still be a day when he explodes!
Because he is not afraid, he dares to vote!
But role players are different.
This is why Brooks took the gamble.
Most stars are not afraid of being left out, let alone Westbrook who is fearless!
Westbrook's shooting in the first two games was very poor, and he was a little hesitant. This game can't be worse!
It stands to reason that it’s time to eat dumplings!
When a weak team competes with a strong team, if they want to defeat the strong team, they must bet and win by surprise.
Obviously, luck was on the Thunder's side today, and Brooks won the bet.
During the substitute period, Westbrook has a good three-point touch. As long as he is left open, Westbrook can punish the Warriors with his three-pointers.
But Kirilenko's three-point touch wasn't that good today.
In fact, in order to avoid this situation, Deng Fang also made special arrangements. Kirilenko did not stand motionless outside the three-point line, but instead used more screen and pick-and-roll cooperation for Clay or Curry.
But after the first two games, the Thunder also made corresponding arrangements, and the results were good.
Westbrook was not on the court, and he was assigned to play on the bench. Kirilenko's touch was average, and the Thunder slowly overtook the score.
The third quarter lasted for more than 5 minutes, and the score became 89:81, with the Warriors trailing by 8 points.
This was not going to work, so Deng Fang called a timeout.
After the timeout, the Warriors replaced Kirilenko and brought in Tucker.
Tucker's three-pointer from the corner is quite accurate.
Let’s see how the Thunder defend this time. Do you dare to leave anyone short?
Among the five players on the Warriors court right now, Yao Ming is the worst three-point shooter, but even Yao Ming's three-point shooting percentage is 38%!
What's more, Yao Ming is not standing outside the three-point line. After Kirilenko goes down, it is Yao Ming who comes up to pick and roll with Curry.
After the pick-and-roll, Yao Ming walked to the basket!
When a big center goes to the basket, the Thunder can't ignore it.
Brooks is also a ruthless person, he chose to let Tucker shoot.
You were not a member of the starting lineup to begin with, and you were just replaced. I don't believe you can make an open three-pointer.
Of course, Brooks had no other choice but to do this.
You can't let Klay go short, and you can't let Curry go one-on-one with Ibaka. Wouldn't that be courting death?
The result was not bad. Tucker threw three three-pointers in a row, but none of them scored. The point difference widened to more than 10 points.
Deng Fang didn't care either.
Everyone has a time when they can't make a shot, and sooner or later the shot will come.
Sure enough, more than two minutes before the end of the third quarter, Tucker got another chance. He hit three consecutive three-pointers, and the point difference quickly narrowed to two points.
Although the lead was only two points left, this was already a huge success for the Thunder.
Being able to prevent Yong San from playing crazy in the 3rd quarter and end the 4th quarter with a two-point lead was something that was simply unimaginable before.
But the Thunder also paid a price for this. Durant, Harden and Ibaka all played a considerable amount of time.
At the beginning of the 4th quarter, the Thunder had Westbrook, Harden, Cook, Collison and Perkins.
There is no way, Durant has played three consecutive quarters, he must take a rest.
Compared with the starting lineup, the Thunder's lineup is far behind on the offensive end.
The Twin Towers are standing on the court, Westbrook's three-pointers are unreliable, and Harden doesn't like to run on the court. The Thunder's lineup can only rely on Westbrook's random moves.
The Warriors' bench came on and played for more than three minutes, and the score went ahead.
The Thunder had to call a timeout.
After the timeout, the Thunder replaced Durant, Fisher, Safolosha, Ibaka, and Cook as a pitcher. They formed a lineup with quite strong offensive firepower.
The two teams began a tug-of-war.
The Thunder's defense is a bit tight, but their offensive firepower is still sufficient.
The Warriors are very good offensively and defensively, but they don't have a superstar like Durant on the court.
The game was very intense and soon there were only two minutes left.
The score became 118:117, and the Warriors were one point behind.
Deng Fang called a timeout.
After the timeout, the Warriors changed to the starting lineup, with Curry, Clay, Prince, Tucker and Yao Ming playing again.
The Thunder also replaced Cook and replaced him with Harden.
The game entered the hand-to-hand stage.
It's been a long time since the Warriors played in the final two minutes of a game where the score was tight.
Being able to force out the strongest warriors fully demonstrates how powerful the Thunder are.
As soon as Curry came on the court, he directly hit a super long three-pointer against Safrosa's defense!
It doesn’t matter who you’re defending!
Curry has had enough rest down there, and this is the moment he has been waiting for.
The Warriors immediately took the lead by two points.
Durant was also unambiguous. Looking back, against Tucker's defense, Durant hit a three-pointer to overtake the score again.
Curry and Yao Ming were in a pick-and-roll, and the Thunder attacked Curry. Yao Ming received the ball and dunked. Harden, who was defending, had no time to dodge and was directly charged with a foul.
Yao Ming made a solid free throw, and the score was 2+1. The Warriors once again took the lead by two points.
Looking back, Durant continued to challenge the tank one-on-one, and a big swing caused Tucker's foul.
Standing on the free throw line, Durant made two steady free throws, and the two teams were tied again.
There are only 10 seconds left in the game.
The Warriors called a timeout.
After the timeout, the ball was served from the sideline, and the Warriors made a subtle coordination. Klay ran to the basket, received Curry's pass and made an empty layup for two points.
With just over 6 seconds left, the Warriors lead by two points.
The Thunder did not call a timeout. They quickly passed the ball to Durant. Durant dribbled to the frontcourt and directly pulled out his hand. The basketball slid through an arc in the air and hit the net hollowly.
The Thunder went ahead by one point!
I have to say that Durant's scoring ability at critical moments is quite impressive.
With his height and good touch, he is well-deserved as the God of Death.
There are just over two seconds left in the game.
The Warriors also did not call a timeout. Prince served quickly. Curry dribbled past the midfield. Yao Ming blocked Safrosa who came up to defend. Curry shot directly three steps away from the three-point line. The basketball was streaking in the air.
Cross a beautiful arc and enter the net!
At the same time, the red light on the timer lit up!
The score was finally settled at 128:126.
Curry used a super long three-pointer to kill the Thunder!
