The Spurs, who had a smooth regular season, played seven games against the Mavericks in the playoffs, which surprised many people, but Deng Fang knew that the offensive capabilities of this Mavericks team should not be underestimated.
Historically, in this year's playoffs, the Spurs only played seven games against the Mavericks in the first round, and never encountered such difficulties again.
Even when they met the Heat, the Big Three, in the finals, the Spurs simply eliminated the opponent 4:1.
To say that the experienced Spurs were careless and did not take the Mavericks seriously, few people would agree with this view.
The Spurs and the Mavericks played 7 games, and the third-ranked Thunder did not fare much better.
In the first game, with the help of their home court, the Thunder defeated the Grizzlies 100:86 without any suspense. Unexpectedly, they suffered a defeat in the second game.
In this game, the Grizzlies strengthened their defense and outscored the Thunder 24:16 in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Thunder stabilized their position and restored the point difference to 5 points.
The two teams were tied in the third quarter. In the last two seconds of the fourth quarter, the Thunder fell behind by two points. Westbrook forced a three-pointer and missed a three-pointer. Fortunately, Perkins picked up an offensive rebound and scored two points, dragging the game into overtime.
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In overtime, the Grizzlies defense became even tighter and the Thunder could only rely on Durant to score. In the end, the Grizzlies won the game 12:6 in overtime.
All 6 points in overtime were scored by Durant alone.
In the whole game, 5 players from the Grizzlies scored in double figures, while only 3 players from the Thunder scored in double figures.
Durant made 12 of 28 shots and 5 of 12 three-pointers. He scored a game-high 36 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks.
Westbrook also took 28 shots and hit 11 of them, but only made 1 of 7 three-pointers. He scored 29 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists.
In addition, the only other player in the Thunder who scored in double figures was Ibaka. He made 6 of 12 shots and scored 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocks.
The Grizzlies' top scorer was Zach Randolph, who scored 25 points on 10 of 20 shots.
Although Durant and Westbrook performed well on the Thunder's side, they were unable to defeat the four-handed team with two fists.
Although the game was at home, and although the Thunder had better talent, their performance was obviously not as reasonable as the Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies had 30 assists in the game, while the Thunder only had 20. The Grizzlies shot 49.4% from the field, while the Thunder only had 39.8%.
Even on three-pointers, the Grizzlies shot as high as 40%, while the Thunder only shot 30%.
The Grizzlies focus on the inside, attracting flanking attacks, and combining inside and outside, while the Thunder can only fight alone, relying on Dewey and Dewey to take turns to score.
Winning this game gives the Grizzlies the home court advantage.
Game 3 was played at the home court of the Grizzlies. In this game, the two teams once again fought for a whole game, and finally decided the winner through overtime.
In overtime, the Grizzlies still focused on the inside, combining inside and outside, and everyone was on hand, while the Thunder still could only rely on Durant to score. Westbrook took 7 shots and only scored 1 point on free throws!
Like the previous game, only three players from the Thunder scored in double figures, namely Durant and Westbrook with 30 points, and Ibaka with 12 points.
The Grizzlies had 6 players score in double figures. Although Conley, the highest scorer, only had 20 points, they still won the game as a team.
Game 4 was a game that the Thunder could never lose again. The two teams once again played into overtime!
The Thunder did a good job defensively in overtime, and the Grizzlies only scored 9 points.
Only two people on the Thunder side scored, one was Durant, who made 1 of 1 shot and 2 of 2 free throws, scoring 4 points, and the other was Reggie Jackson, who made 1 of 2 shots and 6 of 6 free throws.
Scored a maximum of 8 points, and eventually the Thunder won the game 12:9 in overtime.
The Thunder were able to win this game. In addition to their excellent defensive performance, the biggest contributor was undoubtedly Reggie Jackson.
Four players from the Thunder scored in double figures. Durant and Westbrook each took 21 shots and the other took 24 shots, but both only scored 15 points. Durant and Westbrook also made 5 and 7 turnovers respectively.
The efficiency is quite average.
Ibaka scored 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting, 14 rebounds, and 5 blocks.
The Thunder's top scorer was Reggie Jackson on the bench. He made 11 of 16 shots and 8 of 8 free throws. He scored a team-high 32 points and 9 rebounds.
Under the defense of the Thunder, only four Grizzlies players scored in double figures, and the top scorer, Marc Gasol, only had 23 points.
The statistics of the two teams are almost the same, including shooting percentage, three-point shooting percentage, and free throws. The Thunder blocked 7 shots than the Grizzlies, but the Grizzlies also made 8 fewer turnovers than the Thunder.
The Thunder were able to win this game mainly because the Grizzlies did not expect that Reggie Jackson on the bench would suddenly explode.
Game 5 was the Battle of Tianwang Mountain, which was played at the Thunder’s home court. Not surprisingly, the two teams once again played into overtime!
Westbrook made zero of two shots in overtime and failed to score a single point. Durant scored the most points for the Thunder. He made two of three shots in overtime and one of two free throws, scoring 5 points.
What broke out for the Grizzlies in overtime was Mac Miller. He made 2 of 3 three-pointers and scored 6 points. This was a point that the Thunder did not expect at all.
The two teams were tied with 1 minute and 27 seconds left in overtime. Then Conley scored two points and the score became 100:98.
Durant had the opportunity to make two free throws in the last 28 seconds, but he made one of the two free throws and the team fell behind by one point.
When the Grizzlies ran out the time with 3 seconds left, Miller missed a 3-pointer and the Thunder got the last chance to attack.
Durant was injured and missed a three-pointer at the last second, and the Thunder ultimately lost the game 99:100.
Four Thunder players scored in double figures in the game, with Westbrook scoring the most. He made 10 of 31 shots and made 1 of 7 three-pointers, scoring a game-high 30 points.
Durant scored 26 points on 24 shots, and the efficiency was not very good. In addition, Ibaka also scored 15 points.
Reggie Jackson was guarded in this game, and Caron Butler came off the bench for the Thunder. He scored 15 points on five of ten shots.
The Grizzlies also had four players score in double figures. The top scorer was Mike Miller on the bench. He made 5 of 8 3-pointers and 4 of 4 free throws. He scored a team-high 21 points.
6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals.
In addition, the Grizzlies also scored in double figures with Zach Randolph's 20 points, Conley's 17 points, and Marc Gasol's 11 points.
The Grizzlies were able to win because, firstly, they focused on creating damage inside, taking 10 free throws 7 times more than the Thunder. In addition, they controlled their turnovers very well, with only 9 in the game, while the Thunder made 17.
Winning this game will allow the Grizzlies to once again hold the advantage of the home court, and the initiative in the series will be on their side.
