Grab Curry at the start

Chapter 361 Take the lead in adjustment
The Thunder players were already prepared for the decisive battle, and they were fearless.

But the enthusiasm of the Timberwolves fans at the Target Center added to their nervousness.

Timberwolves fans are used to putting pressure on the visiting team. They generally don't start big scenes easily because they are the proud defending champions, but they hope that the series can end at home today so that they can celebrate the team's second Western Conference championship with the players.

"We still have a chance..." the Thunder players encouraged themselves.

But the more this is the case, the more uncertain they feel.

It's not that I'm timid, it's just that I don't have enough confidence, so I can only choose to fight.

"We want to make sure that there won't be any X factors in the game," Zhang Sixin said.

"Nothing goes wrong." Tyronn Lue was full of confidence. He saw the status of the players in training.

Although the young Timberwolves players are already defending champions, they are not satisfied.

The first-year rookies are even more nervous and excited. They also want to have their own honor.

The Thunder are still quite persistent, even if they have come to the edge of the cliff, they have not changed their starting lineup.

It's just that after the game started, they didn't expect Curry's outbreak a little bit.

Curry felt good, so he shot directly in the first quarter, and all kinds of hits made the Thunder players breathless.

The Thunder naturally wanted to counterattack, but their offensive state was not very good, and Durant was locked again.

And Westbrook is indeed scoring, but his efficiency is much worse than that of Curry, which is the difference between ordinary All-Stars and superstars.

Curry does not show the strength of a superstar all the time, but at this time he told everyone that there is also a big gap between the All-Stars.

To be honest, being suppressed by Curry in the away game, the Thunder looked like they would collapse at any time.

They replaced Harden in advance, but the effect was not very obvious. The Timberwolves had achieved a double-digit lead by the time of the rotation.

"This may be a devastating crush." ​​A commentator sighed.

But unexpectedly, Lei Ting resisted forcefully.

They are still the same move, the ultimate big move that all head coaches will have, the main force.

This time, the Thunder coach didn't give Durant a second to rest.

This is the right choice, because if you lose again, you can rest for a summer, and when you don't fight hard at this time, when will you wait.

In the second quarter, the Thunder were forced to take more outside shots.

Especially Durant, he never went down, and the Timberwolves' defense kept pinching him.

Durant basically couldn't catch the ball inside, and could only ask for the ball outside the three-point line.

It was also difficult for him to make any moves when he got the ball, so he shot from outside the three-point line.

The shooting percentage is not high, but he scored two three-pointers in a daze, which gave encouragement to the other Thunder players.

"It's really talented." Zhang Sixin couldn't help admiring.

The members of the Timberwolves coaching staff also sighed. Durant is really good. He is tall and long, and it is easier to force a shot than Curry. Any team with such a player can improve their combat effectiveness.

It's a pity that the Thunder did not match him with a suitable lineup, and Durant's ability is only in scoring, which is amazing but may also be targeted.

It's not enough for Durant to explode alone, so Westbrook also hit a three-pointer in the second quarter, and Harden also hit a three-pointer. The Thunder's three players are all good.

If there are some stars, they may have been mentally crushed at this time. The young stars of the Thunder do have two brushes.

If they are allowed to go more smoothly, this game is indeed in danger of being overturned.

So the Timberwolves not only made detailed arrangements on the defensive side, they also responded to the Thunder on the offensive end.

Other than Curry, others also performed, and even Leonard, who came off the bench, hit a three-pointer.

When the Thunder gained some three-pointers, they realized that compared to the Timberwolves in this regard, they were really childish.

At the end of the first half, relying on Durant's buzzer-beater, the Thunder barely maintained the score difference between the two sides to single digits.

"We can't go on like this." Back in the locker room, Westbrook was very excited.

They played well in the second quarter, but just like that they couldn't overtake the score at all.

They have played against the Timberwolves many times, and they are very aware of the strength of their opponents, so strong that they are almost desperate.

"We have to limit Curry." Thunder coach Brooks said.

Now he understands, just like the Timberwolves are staring at Durant, they can't let Curry shoot like that.

The Thunder had been hesitating before, whether it was worth it to flank Curry, after all, the Timberwolves scored too many points.

They pinched Curry, which is likely to cause the Timberwolves to explode at other points and cause the team to lose.

But they have no choice now, and the situation in the first half showed that it is indeed more dangerous to let Curry take a shot than anyone else.

The other teams of the Timberwolves, even if they bloom more, are not as scary as Curry's outbreak.

That kind of shooting, the magical performance outside the three-point line, can destroy the opponent's will.

Although a bit late, the Thunder did realize Curry's level.

In the third quarter, the Thunder's defense against Curry was almost at the same level as the Timberwolves' defense against Durant.

The Timberwolves' offense once had a crisis, because DeRozan didn't feel very good, and Love's scoring efficiency in the playoffs has always been relatively ordinary.

Therefore, the Timberwolves were the first to try to change in the second half. Although they still took the lead relying on defense, Zhang Sixin understood that this cannot continue.

Otherwise, when Harden comes up, the Thunder may really overtake the score.

As a result, the Timberwolves took the initiative to sacrifice a small lineup for the first time against the Thunder.

The small lineup of the Timberwolves is not only offensive, they also have a good defense on the perimeter, but the interior defense will be affected. Fortunately, the Thunder's interior is not that threatening. It depends on whether Westbrook will seize the opportunity.

After the lineup became smaller, Westbrook did get some opportunities.

However, this cost is nothing compared to the increased offensive power of the Timberwolves after speeding up.

Five players who can shoot three-pointers Under the tactical execution of the Timberwolves, Green, Leonard and Paul George all hit three-pointers.The Thunder were forced to switch to a small lineup.

Therefore, the story of the third quarter became different from the previous games, and the two sides began to attack each other.

"The Timberwolves' offense is really flowing, it's simply art."

"Awesome, Durant can still hit under this kind of defense. The Thunder performed really well in the second half."

"Where did the Timberwolves find so many players who can shoot and defend? Now the Timberwolves really can only rely on the players' personal abilities to score."

"Oh, another dunk, Westbrook is roaring."

"The game was really exciting!"

(End of this chapter)