NBA's King of Talking

Practice before the match.

On the Warriors' side, Curry was practicing his three-pointers, shaking his head and showing off his quick release and incredible accuracy. Sometimes it's frustrating; he just has that kind of talent. You might shoot randomly and miss completely, but he shoots the same way and gets a swish. You don't need to explain it away as luck; if luck always seems to be on his side, it only proves one thing: skill!

This game didn't garner as much attention as the previous game against the Grizzlies. That's understandable, as the Warriors are currently only on the edge of the playoffs. The team is mainly focused on developing young players, and they can only hope to achieve good results if these young players mature.

The commentators for this game were Reggie Miller and Steve Kerr from TNT.

Seeing Kerr in the commentary booth, Jia Fei was a little confused, because in his mind, Kerr and the Warriors were like salmon and wasabi, inseparable. But in fact, the Warriors' head coach at this time was not Kerr, but Mark Jackson.

Kerr, who played alongside Jordan, has a championship ring and some highlight moments, leading many casual viewers to believe he's an incredibly talented player. However, he's essentially just a shooter; aside from shooting, his other skills are rather average. His historical standing is far higher than that of fellow guard Mark Jackson.

Reggie Miller asked Kerr, "OKC is on a seven-game winning streak, and they're playing at home in this game. Do you think the Warriors can end their winning streak?"

Kerr smiled slightly, his face full of wrinkles enough to crush a spider: "I think it will be very difficult. OKC is in too good a form right now. Their defense is among the top 3 in the league, and their offense has also picked up recently. If they play to their strengths, they will have an even greater advantage."

The Ford Center is packed with players. The Thunder have superstars, a great record, and are championship favorites. They've been on a roll lately, and not only are season tickets selling like hotcakes, but merchandise is also selling like hotcakes.

The starting lineups for both teams have been announced. The Thunder's lineup remains unchanged, while the Warriors' starting lineup is: Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, David Lee, and Ezeli.

With Bogut sidelined due to injury, Ezeli will start at center for the team.

The game began with the Thunder focusing on their young duo of Durant and Westbrook, while the Warriors relied on a two-man show featuring Curry and David Lee.

Clearly, Durant and Westbrook's combined strength is currently superior to the opposing two, giving the Thunder the initiative on the court. However, the point difference remains narrow, as the other three Thunder starters have limited offensive capabilities.

Kevin Martin was substituted in with half of the first quarter remaining. Jia Fei entered the game during the official timeout period of the first quarter.

His rotation time has always been quite fixed. He comes on during the first official timeout to replace Durant, and leaves the game about halfway through the second quarter.

首节贾飞上场的时候还剩下2分33秒，此时场上的比分为19:21，主场作战的雷霆队领先2分。

The Warriors' lineup at this time consisted of Draymond Green, Carl Landry, Jarrett Jack, Biedrins, and Kent Bazemore.

Jia Fei was also somewhat incredulous that Green had actually been assigned by Mark Jackson to play the small forward position.

However, Green's height is indeed that of a wing player; he's only 198cm tall. Although he's very strong, his height is indeed not tall. He's a rookie this season, and a second-round pick at that. The fact that he's being given so much playing time shows that head coach Mark Jackson has a good eye for talent.

Jia Fei and Green are matched up against each other!

Although Jia Fei is a little bit taller than Green, the two are completely different types of players. Green is more of an inside player, while Jia Fei is more of an outside player.

The Warriors are on offense. Jack dribbles the ball over and passes it to Cup Cat.

Cup Cat dribbles past his opponent and passes to Biedrins under the basket for an easy layup, but the Thunder have a twin-tower lineup under the basket, so he can't get the ball in!

The ball missed, but Jia Fei leaped and grabbed the rebound!

Jia Fei passed the ball to Meno and ran towards the frontcourt.

Green kept muttering in Jia Fei's ear, "I'm going to lock you down. You're not going to make five more three-pointers today!"

Jia Fei found it amusing; this guy was really that annoying in his rookie season! But since you know about my highlight game with five three-pointers, you've done your homework, so I won't criticize you for now!

On the Thunder's offense, Kevin Martin missed a mid-range shot!

The second-string lineups on both sides came out and immediately started shooting like crazy, as if both rims had been covered.

During the Warriors' offense, Green, after setting up the offense from the high post, went to the corner and said to Jia Fei, "Don't just stand there, I'm going to shoot you dead with a three-pointer!"

Of course, Jia Fei wouldn't believe that he had already shot you before you shot me!

The ball really did get transferred to Green, and Jia Fei didn't fall for the fake. Green then launched a three-pointer!

The ball missed, of course! The long rebound came flying in!

Jia Fei is quick, he gets the ball and immediately launches a counterattack!

Green came over to steal the ball, but Jia Fei shook him off with a behind-the-back dribble. And you know what? After "Iverson's peak skill integration" reached 24%, Jia Fei felt that his ball handling had really improved significantly. It was difficult for ordinary wing players to steal the ball from him, and he no longer had to be a pure 3D player like before!

Jia Fei passed the ball to Kevin Martin, who was making a quick run down the other side!

Kevin Martin received the ball and attempted a three-pointer – but missed!

But Jia Fei is there!

Jia Fei had already reached the paint area, leaped high, grabbed the rebound in mid-air, and slammed the ball into the basket with both hands!

19:23, Thunder lead by 4 points!

A commotion immediately erupted at the Ford Center, with cheers bursting forth...

"Steve, what do you think of Jia Fei's athletic ability?" Reggie Miller asked.

"Yes, very good. Fast and with a good jump. I didn't expect him to get the ball," Steve Kerr said.

The Warriors were on offense. Green received a pass from Jack, drove hard against Jia Fei, and elbowed him to the ground...

"Beep beep beep—" The referee actually called a defensive foul on Jia Fei!

The Thunder's bench players were furious. Westbrook almost rushed onto the court to confront the referee, and boos erupted from the crowd.

This was clearly an offensive foul, as seen in the slow-motion replay!

Unexpectedly, Green walked over to Jia Fei, who was sitting on the floor, and mocked, "I didn't expect you to be so weak. You fell down with just a little effort. You were faking it!"

Jia Fei instantly flew into a rage, jumped up from the ground, and was immediately pulled away by the referee. Unexpectedly, Green was already a stuntman at this point; his dirty tricks had already begun.

Green stepped to the free-throw line, but amidst the commotion from the fans, he missed his second free throw!

Jia Fei leaped and grabbed the rebound, which was a way of getting revenge for himself.

Neither side scored after that, and the score at the end of the first quarter was 20-23, with the Thunder leading by 3 points at home!