Nine Hundred and Ninety-Six. Defeat Durant!

This kind of flexibility, mobility, and shooting feeling are not affected, and it seems that it is my own ability. It feels so great!

Back in the backcourt, Sun Ce immediately entered the defensive state and waited for Ibaka to come over.

Originally, Sun Ce felt that he was facing Ibaka, and the opponent might let Ibaka play one-on-one. After all, from the perspective of body size, Ibaka has a huge advantage in the low post.

But what Sun Ce regretted was that the Thunder did not play like this, and the guards still launched the offense. Westbrook went to the frontcourt and gave the ball to Harden, and he went to the baseline to prepare for cutting in according to Tony Allen's style.

Ibaka is almost certain to enter the first defense this season. He has strong defensive strength, averaging 9 points, 7 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game, but on the offensive end, except for receiving the ball, eating cakes, and second offense, he has no other offensive means.

Sun Ce knew that his wishful thinking failed, and he still wanted to attract Ibaka to play one-on-one, but he didn't attract it. Sun Ce paid attention to Harden and Perkins who were facing Neil, and prepared to assist in defense.

Durant became more active in his running. Ibaka went out to help Durant block Tony Allen. Durant took the opportunity to cut in. Sun Ce, who followed Ibaka out, immediately double-teamed with Tony Allen to attack Durant who cut in through the pick-and-roll.

Harden also broke through from the left side, pulling all the defenses on the line empty, and then passed the ball to Ibaka who stopped on the right side of the free throw line after the pick-and-roll. Ibaka received the ball and shot in the open space... hit!

It was a very beautiful three-person cooperation. Durant's cut-in threat was huge. Many people's impression of him was that he was good at shooting. Of course, he was good at shooting, but more than one-third of his running goals were scored at the basket. Counting the foul free throws caused by shooting at the basket, nearly half of his points were scored in the three-second zone. His size advantage was too great. There were almost no outside players taller than him, and outside players were not necessarily faster than him.

When Durant no longer floated on the outside to catch the ball and shoot, but added pick-and-roll cuts to his play, the Thunder's offense suddenly improved to a higher level!

Moreover, Tony Allen cannot defend Durant's pick-and-roll, and can only defend closely, because Durant is an accurate shooter and can shoot from any position; when Durant cuts in after a pick-and-roll, Tony Allen cannot switch to defend Ibaka, otherwise he can more or less interfere with Ibaka's shooting, because if he switches defense, even if Durant does not get rid of Sun Ce's defense, he can still contain Sun Ce, and Harden who breaks into the inside will have no one to help defend.

After Sun Ce blocked Durant and restricted Durant from entering the basket directly, Tony Allen returned to Durant, and Sun Ce could also help defend Perkins who cut in from the middle, and Gasol went to help defend Harden who broke through.

But this also gave the Thunder a lot of jump shot space in the high position. Durant can have the ability to impact the scoring champion without holding the ball, which is his most buggy place.

Durant made the Thunder's offense very simple, but also difficult to defend. In addition, he played so well in the past two games, which gave the Thunder players confidence and made them cooperate better and better.

However, the Thunder had Durant as a bug, and the Grizzlies had a second bug tonight!

The Grizzlies' first bug was Randolph, a low-post singles maniac, who was exhausted, but now Sun Ce can continue to play in the low post!

Sun Ce continued to play in the low post, and Durant tried his best to fight against Sun Ce... but was still pushed away! But this time Durant was prepared. When Sun Ce turned around, he quickly retreated and did not press forward, but was ready to interfere with Sun Ce's shot with his height and wingspan.

Sun Ce did not give Durant a chance,

and his pivot foot did not move! Turning back, he made a hook shot from the right sideline of the three-second zone to the basket... and hit it again!

Randolph's firepower in the first half continued!

Sun Ce's inside attack is more tiring than outside attack. Outside attack can also use pick-and-roll. Low-post singles are simple and rough, relying on confrontation, on-the-spot reaction, and touch. After a few rounds, you need to rest for a while.

On the Thunder side, Durant began to exert his strength. The Thunder's overall offensive performance was not inferior to the Grizzlies. In the first half of the third quarter, it was even better than the Grizzlies. In the second half of the third quarter, after Nash and Klay Thompson came on the court, Sun Ce, Battier, and Jordan barely had a little advantage in offensive firepower.

Throughout the third quarter, the Grizzlies' offensive performance was slightly inferior to the Thunder.

The Thunder scored 28 points in the third quarter, and this single-quarter score was what the Thunder wanted.

The Grizzlies occasionally limited the Thunder, who had not yet started to exert their strength, to less than 20 points in a single quarter. Similarly, if Randolph played with restraint, the Thunder could also limit the Grizzlies to only about 20 points in a single quarter.

But if Randolph can't play directly and the Grizzlies don't play run-and-gun, the Thunder has every hope of limiting the Grizzlies to about 15 points, just like the last regular season matchup when Durant couldn't play the Grizzlies and limited the Thunder to less than 15 points in a single quarter.

When Durant was at full power, the Thunder sent out the best lineup, and the Thunder had every hope of scoring more than 25 points in a single quarter. As it turned out, the Thunder went crazy in one quarter, relying on Durant's 13 points in a single quarter, and the Thunder scored 28 points in a single quarter.

Originally, in the eyes of the Thunder, the TV commentators, and some fans in front of the TV, the Thunder had every chance to overtake the score in the third quarter.

However, Sun Ce exploded in the low post!

Thanks to Sun Ce's 17 points and 3 assists in a single quarter, one pass to Gasol for a mid-range shot, one pass to Jordan for a dunk, and one pass to Nash for a three-pointer, the Grizzlies scored 27 points in a single quarter. After three quarters, the Grizzlies entered the final quarter with 17 points!

Of the 17 points scored by Sun Ce, 11 points were scored in the low post, 7 low post shots, 6 successful shots, 4 of 6 shots, 4 of 6 shots, one 2+1, and a foul, both free throws.

The other 6 points came from a counterattack dunk, and two goals were scored when they needed to slow down and opened up space to get a chance to catch the ball and shoot.

Tonight, Sun Ce only exploded in the low post. His outside play was at most to improve his strength and mid-range shooting accuracy. Because playing in the low post was tiring, his outside play was almost all about moving and catching the ball, and his low post performance was not as good as Randolph's performance in each quarter of the first half. After all, there is still a gap.

Sun Ce's all-out play was at most similar to Randolph's 4 to 5 low-post singles per quarter in the second half of the past two games. He scored more points than Randolph's normal play, but he also took more shots and occupied more offensive rounds.

But that's enough!

Sun Ce did not force to continue to widen the score difference, just keep the score difference from being narrowed, and maintaining the lead is the key!

...

Entering the intermission and about to enter the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies were very excited as a whole. After Sun Ce scored the first 2+1, Randolph stood up and waved the towel every time Sun Ce fell into the low post, looking like a cornerstone player.

Sure enough, the little bully is unquestionable! He can do anything when he explodes!

After a proper celebration, Coach Hollins began to think about how to rotate in the fourth quarter and the changes that the opponent might make.

In contrast, on the other side, the Thunder bench was lifeless.

Durant was about to collapse!

Seeing that Sun Ce had already scored 26 points and he had 24 points... Durant didn't care that he didn't score as well as Sun Ce. Sun Ce could score 70 points when he was in high spirits.

Sun Ce's style of play made Durant very frustrated. He didn't defend him!

If Sun Ce used pick-and-roll to shoot or scored in team cooperation, Durant wouldn't find it strange, but Sun Ce played against him in a singles, or in a low post. He was scored 11 points by Sun Ce in a single quarter.

After this quarter, Durant's defensive confidence was almost broken!

"Could it be that bald guys are so fierce in the low post?"

Durant touched his buzz cut. He was also developing the low post. How about shaving it?

Suddenly thinking that he was still in the game and had just been ravaged by Sun Ce in the low post for a whole quarter, Durant immediately reacted. How should he play in the fourth quarter?

If he lost this game, he would go to Memphis with a 1-3 deficit, and that would be the end!

But he couldn't think of a solution. He didn't play like the core type, but like Jordan and Kobe, who played like a puzzle of finishing points and containment points. He had strong tactical execution and high basketball IQ, but he wasn't the type who could think about tactics independently.

The more he thought about it, the more headache he had. He couldn't help scratching his head frantically...

This scene was captured by the camera and sent to the fans who had just watched the commercials in front of the TV, which was in sharp contrast to his high-spirited appearance before the game.

...

After the intermission, Sun Ce asked Coach Hollins several times before going on the court, and Coach Hollins was so annoyed that he kicked him. Fortunately, Sun was agile and dodged Coach Hollins's fatal kick, and went on the court with Nash, Klay Thompson, Battier, and Yi Jianlian.