Grab Curry at the start

Chapter 221 New forces

Although the Timberwolves' substitute players did not perform well, the stars with the substitute lineup did.

I also want to thank the Thunder for their sloppy defense. It goes without saying that the Timberwolves have to guard against the defender when there is only one All-Star left on the court, but they are just ordinary defense.

Love has seized another opportunity this time. Although he doesn't score as much as Durant, his rebound data is no worse than the opponent.

After the main players came back one after another, the Timberwolves became a more active side.

Curry hit 2+1 when he came up, and the Timberwolves became the leading team.

It means that Durant worked hard without rest, but did not achieve the desired results.

Now that the main forces of the two sides are fighting against each other, the Thunder is really not that stable.

The key is Milicic, four fouls are not too troublesome.

With him, both Durant and Westbrook's breakthroughs will be limited.

Don't look at Milicic being beaten so early before, but he can protect the frame if he stays on the field, and he can send a big cap.

If the Thunder challenge at the last moment, as long as they fail a few times, the Timberwolves can close the game.

Therefore, it is impossible for them to hit the basket so simply in the final quarter, and they will have concerns.

The Thunder this season still rely more on Durant at critical moments, and the newly emerging Westbrook is not as confident as he was later.

After Westbrook's attack to the basket was rejected by Milicic, the Thunder gave Durant more singles.

The Timberwolves' defensive strategy is still the same. If the opponent does not let the opponent's three-pointer go, Durant will attack when he enters the three-point line.

With the Thunder's current lineup, Durant has the highest three-point shooting percentage of less than [-]%.

In many cases, Green's shooting percentage from the outside is only [-]%, and the Timberwolves Green can not let go.

They can put a little bit of Westbrook, Westbrook is not very used to three-pointers.

Westbrook is still better than Parker, but he will still carefully hand the ball to Durant at critical moments.

This is why Durant still has to focus on the most stringent defense. There is no way around this. Even so, he is more reliable than the rest of the Thunder in playing with the ball.

After the Timberwolves took the lead, the Thunder seemed a little anxious on the offensive end.

But Durant's three-point line will not always feel so good. Halfway through the final quarter, Durant first missed a three-pointer, and then forced a breakthrough and was flanked and made a mistake.

The Timberwolves got the opportunity to counterattack, but Love hit another three-pointer, and their lead has reached more than 5 points.

Durant is still capable, and then he also made a three-pointer for the team to stop the bleeding.

It's just that the Thunder couldn't stop the Timberwolves' attack at all.

Sometimes they defend successfully, but they can't keep the rebounds.

Love doesn't talk about rebounds, he's about to hit double figures in offensive rebounds, and if he grabs the offensive rebounds for a second attack, it will drive the Thunder soldiers crazy.

"Kevin must not lose this trick..." Zhang Sixin praised.

"It's what he does best, he can't lose it, and no coach will advise him to do that." Ron Adams said.

Zhang Sixin nodded with a smile, Le Fu's career should change.

If the Timberwolves can win the championship, that's for sure.

Of course, it cannot be said that he lost weight and reduced the deterrence of the interior in history. It can only be said that he made a sacrifice for the championship. He is partnered with a superstar who needs space in the interior, and he can only change it.

Durant still used it at critical moments, and was double-teamed and caused Matthews to foul, and finally challenged Milicic successfully.

But in the end, Love was invincible in the interior, that is, strength plus offensive rebounds. His actions are not so domineering, but he can still score.

Thunder had no choice but to double-team in the end.

But at this time, Curry made two more hits from the outside line. Durant gasped helplessly on the court with his hips akimbo.

The Thunder requested a timeout. Even if their head coach Brooks was not good enough, he could see that the game could not be handled with Durant alone.

It's just that he still didn't use more team tactics, but let Westbrook find opportunities to score.

Durant attracts defensive attention, but let Westbrook end.

In fact, that's okay, two All-Star players can do a lot of things.

It's just that Westbrook may still not have so much experience in playing at critical moments.

He hit the iron twice in a row, and on the Timberwolves side, Matthews got the chance to hit the shot.

As a result, the Timberwolves led by double digits, and it was too late for Westbrook to make another shot.

The game entered the last few tens of seconds, as Durant's mood fluctuated a little after he pulled out the iron and was called a foul, the game had lost its suspense.

This time Durant scored a large double-double and scored the highest score of the two teams, but the Thunder had no chance at the last moment. This is also the epitome of the Thunder now.

They have powerful stars, but they have never been able to become the most powerful competitor in the West.

"I was dissatisfied with my performance in the first half. I missed a lot of shots in the first half," Durant said after the game. "In the second half, I finally played the way I wanted to and got to the free throw line. I think my performance on the rebound also encouraged me. I was able to grab rebounds and get some easy scoring opportunities. But we still didn't win the game. We need to reflect a lot."

Thunder coach Brooks said helplessly: "We have had many close games but lost in the end. We must face this situation. We must learn how to win games. I think we will gain something."

Westbrook, as Love's college teammate, said: "Love's performance is unbelievable. He has become stronger now, but I look forward to playing against him next time."

Zhang Sixin must be very happy to be able to push the talented Thunder behind the top four in the Western Conference.

He said: "They are difficult to deal with, but we perform better at critical moments, which is why I love my players. I hope that our new forces in the West can bring changes to the league. After all, it is time for the league to let younger players take over."

Zhang Sixin's words also aroused heated discussions. In fact, after the disintegration of OK, the league has no real overlord.

For the older generation of the league, the East feels like there is no one there. Garnett has really degraded a lot. It is hard to say how long Kobe, Duncan, and Nowitzki can last in the West.

The generation of James and Wade has been clamoring to seize power for several years. They have not succeeded yet. Players like Durant have appeared again, and then Zhang Sixin asked Curry to participate in the competition in advance. The league will definitely change.

(End of this chapter)