I didn't want to fly away

Chapter 159

The regular season came to an end, and this year Lu Yi did not win various statistics awards.

Although he averaged 29.7 points per game, he is still one step away from the scoring champion.

However, the team's record is not bad. Although it is worse than last season, Lu Yi is still satisfied with the record.

Don't say anything, the playoffs matter.

On April 4, the first round of G17 between the Clippers and the Thunder started at the Staples Center.

It is true that this year, the two teams at the Staples Center have reached the Western Conference playoffs.

And both teams have home court advantage in the series, so the league has to arrange it in order to reasonably allocate the playing time of the two teams.

The Lakers ranked above the Clippers in the Western Conference playoffs, so they started playing first.

As early as yesterday, they were defeated by the Hornets and lost one point first.

In order to avoid following in the footsteps of the Lakers, today's Clippers players came to warm up early and entered the game state early.

Once upon a time, the Clippers also played against the Thunder in the first round last year, and won with almost no pressure.

Encountering the same opponent this year, the Clippers naturally have no psychological burden to play.

At the start of the game, Jordan beat Kendrick Perkins to jump for the ball.

Iverson held the ball across half court, played a pick-and-roll with Boozer on the right, shot straight into the basket, and scored two points with a layup.

Looking back, the Thunder launched an offensive, but Westbrook played a little anxiously. After passing Iverson, he faced double-teaming near the three-second zone and had to stop the zombie jumper.

Westbrook's mid-range hit rate is worth noting. With a lot of ball possessions, it may be able to convert some points, but the feel is average at the beginning, and the effect is not so good.

With Westbrook shooting the iron, Jordan protected the rebound, and the Clippers got another wave of fast break opportunities.

Lu Yi made a fast break without the ball and was destroyed by a tactical foul by Tzapo Sefolosha.

The Clippers served from the sideline again and hoisted the ball inside. Boozer singled Ibaka and succeeded directly.

As soon as the Clippers came up, they played a 0-4 spurt at home.

Although Thunder coach Scott Brooks hadn't called a timeout, he couldn't hold back anymore. He ran to the sidelines and yelled at the Thunder players on the field, rearranging defensive tactics.

However, Scott Brooks himself is not a coach who is good at commanding on the spot.

Under the roar of Scott Brooks from the sidelines, the Thunder's offensive and defensive tactics did not produce substantial changes.

On the offensive end, relying on Durant's stand-up singles and Westbrook's iron-blooded charge, the Thunder finally scored one or two goals one after another, which did not quench their thirst.

Talent can score some points, but not enough to kill the game.

What can really win the game still depends on experience and the rhythm of the game.

Today's Thunder obviously need other people to stand up, not just Durant and Westbrook.

However, Durant and Westbrook are too eager to attack and want to win too much.

As long as the Clippers focus on double-teaming Dewey and the two, and then protect the rebounds, the game will be relatively easy to win.

22 to 27, after the first quarter, the Clippers took a 5-point lead.

If you ignore the 0-4 lead at the beginning, then the Clippers actually didn't play very well, and only took a 1-point lead in the follow-up.

However, considering the playing time of the main players of the two teams, some things can be explained.

Thunder Durant and Westbrook both played full time.

On the other hand, for the Clippers, Lu Yi only played 8 minutes in the first quarter. Even the two core players, Iverson and Boozer, did not play more than 10 minutes.

In the playoffs, the game is more important, and the playing time of the main players will increase, which is inevitable.

However, the physical fitness level of the players is also an issue that has to be considered.

Not to mention that defense wins the championship. With the increase in defensive intensity, the physical consumption of players will undoubtedly be much worse than in the regular season.

The Clippers are consciously protecting Lu Yi's playing time.

And after withstood the pressure in the first quarter.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Lu Yi took advantage of Durant and Westbrook's lack of energy, and the Thunder's defense was a little lax, and they fired all the firepower and hit a crit.

After scoring two three-pointers, Lu Yiyi came up to help the team widen the gap by 6 points and widen the gap to 10 points.

Seeing that the score was behind, the Thunder had to pay more attention to the team's offense and try to narrow the gap as quickly as possible.

But at this time, Ariza used Lu Yi to attract the defense, broke into the inside with the ball, and made two consecutive waves of kills.

Ibaka's defense is still a threat to the Clippers. Ariza fouled Ibaka twice in the second quarter. It doesn't matter whether he can make a free throw or not.

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Clippers, relying on Lu Yi's scoring and Ariza's impact, tore open the Thunder's defense.

"Defend, defend, defend!"

Even Durant is reminding his teammates to strengthen the defense, but it still doesn't help.

Any team's defensive resources are limited.

Durant and Westbrook want to maintain a good state on the offensive end, and their physical energy will inevitably be reduced on the defensive end.

In this way, it is tantamount to tearing down the east wall to make up for the west wall.

Not to mention, the Thunder wanted to lock up Lu Yi, but they had to increase the intensity of double-teaming, but the Clippers also had players like Ariza who could stand up at any time.

In addition, the Thunder will increase their defense against Lu Yi, and Ivor, who is good at breakthroughs, will also find more offensive opportunities.

brush--

Lu Yi scored another three-pointer. This is already the fourth three-pointer Lu Yi made in the fourth quarter.

Lu Yi scored 12 points in a single quarter just relying on three-pointers, which is unimaginable anyway.

The Thunder have certain conditions to defend Lu Yi, but in order to match the strength of the Clippers on the offensive end, they slightly relaxed the investment of defensive resources.

When Lu Yi seized the fleeting opportunity, he made a sudden shot and hit one three-pointer after another.

Lei Ting could only bind himself in a cocoon, drink poison to quench his thirst, and watched Lu Yi hit them critically, beating them to death in twos and threes.

51 to 63, after the first half, the point difference between the two teams has stabilized to 10 points, and now it is 12 points.

The Clippers, who have a lot of advantages, are naturally not worried that the Thunder will seize a chance in the second half and turn defeat into victory.

In order to win the game better, Lu Yi continued to appear at the beginning of the third quarter.

However, the Thunder didn't want to give up the game so easily.

As the game entered the third quarter, Durant suddenly went into a rage, and he shot from outside the three-point line as soon as he came up.

After hitting a three-pointer, the point difference suddenly narrowed to less than 10 points.

Fortunately, Durant's three-pointer is not the norm.

Durant, who has not yet signed a contract with Curry, does not have the attributes of a death scythe, nor does he have the ability to harvest games at critical moments.

After all, Durant is just the end point!
The Thunder's ball is still in Westbrook's hands.

Today's Durant is still young.

The C turtle value is far from enough.

So, next, the Thunder played with a lot of fighting spirit and the game was very anxious, but the Thunder's possession of the ball was concentrated in the hands of Westbrook.

Westbrook's abundant physical strength and explosive style of play really worried the Clippers fans on the scene.

But behind the gorgeousness, Westbrook's scoring efficiency is not high, which is also true.

Watching Westbrook rushing to the basket again and again, failing to make it again and again.

Durant was not discouraged yet, but Lu Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as the Clippers are still ahead, it's fine.

It is not unacceptable for Westbrook to occasionally get to the basket and get two points by relying on his explosive physical talent.

Lu Yi rested for a while in the third quarter, leaving enough energy to reap the game in the fourth quarter.

Gordon replaced Lu Yi's playing time today, and he played pretty well.

In the third quarter, scoring 5 points on 4 of 8 shots was the key for the Clippers to withstand the offensive pressure of Dewey's second youngster.

When Lu Yi continued to start in the fourth quarter, the balance of victory in this game finally tilted towards the Clippers.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Clippers focused on offensive basketball, but the Thunder, which was behind in the score, chose to focus on defensive counterattacks and played steadily.

Under the leadership of Lu Yi, the Clippers did not make any waves.

Lu Yi's offense is not only a three-pointer, but also really stable at critical moments.

Lu Yi adopted Kobe's defense, continued to play high backs, and steadily used two-pointers to slowly wear away the remaining fighting spirit of the Thunder.

After Lu Yi played for almost 4 minutes and was tired, Lu Yi handed over the ball again and let Iverson attack with the ball.

To put it simply, tactics are star singles.

But when it comes to the playoffs, this kind of move is easy to use.

"Lewis played like Kobe Blairt today!"

"Lu Yi is the king of Los Angeles, fearless of any challenge!"

"Lui Yi will bring a brilliant victory to the Los Angeles Clippers in the way of Kobe Bryant."

The Clippers fans at the scene also made such comments.

The Thunder players on the scene cannot deny that Lu Yi's method can indeed help the Clippers win.

In the second half of the fourth quarter, the Clippers concentrated the ball in the hands of Iverson.

Iverson did not have to fight by himself like Westbrook did.

Iverson chose to use Boozer and Jordan's pick-and-roll to constantly get rid of defensive players, and shot to the middle distance or under the basket.

Occasionally pass the ball to the outside, with Lu Yi as a support, as long as he can make a murderous three-pointer, it will immediately polish the Thunder's fighting spirit to resist.

It's a pity that the Thunder didn't relax their defense against Lu Yi until the fourth quarter.

Ariza's open three-pointer at the critical moment is still a little iron.

Fortunately, Lu Yi can still run without the ball. Relying on the mid-range with few opportunities, he can occasionally help the Clippers score two points.

At critical moments, not only fight defense, but also offense.

The Clippers relied on Iverson to slow down the pace of the game. Boozer, Jordan Jr., and Lu Yi occasionally cut flesh with blunt knives, scored two points and two points, and beat the Thunder to death a little bit.

94 to 106, the Clippers did not give the Thunder a chance, and they still took the G1 victory in their own hands with a mature game method.

The fourth in the West plays the fifth in the West. Whoever wins first in the series still has a psychological advantage.

Next, the Clippers still have a home court advantage. If they play well, they will go to Oklahoma 2-0.

It is worth mentioning that on April 4, the game between the Lakers and the Hornets started first.

This time the Lakers did not carelessly lose Jingzhou, but held the basic set, successfully defeated the Hornets, and brought the score back to 1-1.

Time soon came to April 4, when the Clippers played against the Thunder at home.

In order to solve the opponent as soon as possible and invest in the preparations for the Western Conference semifinals in advance, the Clippers will go all out for tonight's game.

Iverson played his best performance in recent times. In the first quarter alone, he made 7 of 5 shots, 2 of 1 three-pointers, 3 of 2 free throws, and scored 13 points.

Lu Yi was quite satisfactory in the first quarter, assisting Iverson and Boozer, and relying on double-teaming, Lu Yi also brought a lot of help to the team.

In the second quarter, the game fell into Lu Yi's familiar rhythm.

The Thunder's backup defensive resources could not match Lu Yi's offensive strength. Lu Yi made 10 of 6 shots in the second quarter, 5 of 3 three-pointers, 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 17 points, breaking the deadlock in one game.

Maybe Lu Yi played too fiercely. Durant, who played well in the first half, started to stretch his hips very much from the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, he didn't even dare to make a shot, as if he had hit too much before.

Westbrook, like Lengtouqing, kept taking the lead in the charge, flying into the sky and escaping from the ground, constantly boosting the morale of other Thunder players.

Perseveringly, the scoring efficiency was not high, and then fell into a situation where two fists were hard to beat four hands.

Westbrook, who was alone, could only score 32 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, and returned to Oklahoma City with two defeats.

It is said that the triple-double macho played a triple-double performance, and it is understandable to lead the team to lose.

Durant, the boss of the team, failed to stand up for the team at a critical moment.

Obviously the performance in the first half was not bad, scoring close to 20 points early, but the second half was almost useless.

After the whole game, only 23 points were scored, and he looked timid, looking like a 1.5 master, without leadership qualities.

"Lu Yi, how do you feel about the team beating the Thunder in two consecutive games?"

"I just want to end the series as soon as possible, and be farther away, waiting for the opponent to come ahead."

"Aren't you worried about the Spurs?"

"In the long run, if you want to be the big winner this year and win the championship, you need to defeat all the strong opponents this year!"

Lu Yi revealed his ambition to win the championship last year, and this year is no exception.

During the playoffs, Clippers players will be locked up in hotels for closed management.

But during post-match interviews, Lu Yi will also speak out through the media.

If you can, it is also a good thing to be able to influence the opponents you may encounter in the future.

Needless to say, the Lakers, if the Mavericks are strong in the Western Conference semifinals, the Lakers will not meet the Clippers in the Western Conference Finals.

The Clippers are noteworthy, the next round of opponents.

Although it is still unclear who the Spurs or Grizzlies can get to the Clippers, the first two games have been played, and the Grizzlies and Spurs each won a victory.

Duncan, once the ruler of the alliance, is now unable to rule opponents of Randolph's level because of his unforgiving years.

Once Duncan is injured, maybe the Grizzlies are really likely to complete the black eight against the Spurs.

At that time, the Clippers are waiting for work, and they may reach this year's Western Conference Finals more easily.

But in any case, Lu Yi did not report his luck.

It is also necessary to deal with the Thunder as soon as possible to allow time to study the opponents in the next round.

(End of this chapter)