Seven Hundred and Fifty-Nine. A Dream Triple Pair!
The Thunder coach and star players were expecting Sun Ce's physical strength to decline, and the fans were also worried. Sun Ce actually missed two free throws in the end, otherwise the point difference would have been widened to 9 points.
but……
When the halftime break was about to end and the players from both teams returned to the court, the fans, Thunder players, and coaches saw the Grizzlies player No. 3 who was the last one to come out of the tunnel and was still drinking Gatorade...
The fans at the scene started cheering crazily!
Brand new and hungry Sun Ce!
That new look made Durant feel like he had been stabbed, this guy is here again!
Are you tired now that you can't make the free throws you promised? During the halftime break, in the visiting team's locker room, Thunder coach Brooks kept encouraging his players by saying that Sun Ce could no longer play, giving the players more confidence.
In fact, it's okay not to emphasize this kind of thing. Once the other party slaps them in the face, it will have a greater impact on their morale!
"Drink, drink, drink, I can't hold you to death!"
Durant cursed, suppressed his uneasiness, and went on the court with Westbrook, Harden, Ibaka, and Perkins.
Four young men + Perkins, this is the Thunder's strongest lineup.
Perkins was in poor physical condition today, so he rested for a long time in the first half. He only played in the opening period and rested all the time after that, just for the crucial third quarter.
Brooks has made progress. In terms of physical distribution of players, he has obviously done better than the last time they met, including Durant's control of the number and time of singles; Westbrook and Ibaka's playing time distribution; Pa. How to use Kings and more...
Even in the first half of the second quarter, Harden was allowed to do a good job by himself. Although he lost by 7 points in the first half of the quarter, Durant was allowed to rest offensively for half a quarter.
I just didn’t expect the guy opposite to be in such good shape, damn it!
For the Grizzlies, the guard combination of Sun Ce and Conley came on the court, and the frontcourt trio of Battier, Yi Jianlian, and Gasol came on stage.
At the end of the halftime break, the Thunder struck first.
After Westbrook advanced to the frontcourt and saw Sun Ce coming up on defense, he immediately passed the ball to Harden at a 45-degree angle on the left. Harden singled out Conley, and after reaching the mid-range, Harden stepped back and took a two-point shot...
Come in as soon as you come up!
Conley really couldn't guard Harden. Not to mention the 11 centimeter difference in height, there was still a big gap in confrontation.
Harden's mid-range shooting is already very good at this time. Sun Ce is very curious about why Harden will give up this ability in the future. It feels like he was fooled by Houston's data flow, otherwise the playoffs would not be so difficult.
60 to 65, the Thunder scored on the first attack, narrowing the point difference to 5 points.
The offense and defense transitioned, the Grizzlies attacked, and after Sun Ce advanced to the frontcourt, Durant defended, focusing on Sun Ce's mid-range shot.
Sun Ce watched Durant take a step back to defend, the opponent's basket formed a zone defense, and the small steps tended to move to the left, that is, the right side of the three-second zone... He immediately understood the opponent's defensive strategy.
Sun Ce moved towards the mid-range on the right side. When he was two steps inside the free throw line, Durant came up to him. Sun Ce took the initiative to turn his back towards Durant and suddenly turned left!
It's not that Sun Ce's physical strength may decline, Brooks will not arrange for people to defend Sun Ce. Instead, he prepares a stricter defense, hoping to cause Sun Ce to make mistakes when Sun Ce's physical strength declines.
When Sun Ce turned around and rushed toward the baseline, Perkins let go of Gasol and moved toward the right baseline, hoping to flank Sun Ce and block Sun Ce's passing space.
At this moment, Sun Ce threw the ball towards the front of the basket...
Yi Jianlian came out from the left side of the three-second zone. Gasol stepped up to block Ibaka when Perkins moved sideways. Yi Jianlian walked around to the front of the basket and took off. He touched the ball in the air and lightly tipped it...hit!
This quick turn, this excellent vision, this timing of passing...
Durant was sure, this girl had no physical decline at all! Sun Ce made two free throws at the end of the first half. Durant guessed it was just his hands shaking.
Sun Ce received his 7th assist.
The data increased to 33 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists!
He expected that the opponent would defend him more strictly. Regardless of whether the opponent thought that his physical strength had declined, they would defend him more strictly. Therefore, after Coach Hollins laid out the general tactics, Sun Ce, Yi Jianlian, and Gasol The four teammates who played together, Conley, and Battier, discussed how to use each other's double attack to achieve teamwork.
Why do they say that outside stars increase the team's upper limit? Because it is easier to attack from the outside than from the inside. Gasol, Garnett, and Webber are suitable as the core because they have the ability to attack in series from the outside. In the past, the Grizzlies lacked this, and Gasol Jr. His shooting ability has deteriorated after being discovered by his opponents. Sun Ce still needs the help of his teammates to drive the team. There is a reason why the Grizzlies' offensive performance is poor.
But tonight was different. Sun Ce broke out, shot with great accuracy, and played a role that only a super-level perimeter player can have!
The Thunder no longer dared to defend like they did in the first half. No matter whether Sun Ce's physical strength was good or not, they didn't dare to defend like that. Therefore, with Sun Ce's connection, the Grizzlies began to have more opportunities for weak-side shots and cuts.
The outside shooting is average, mainly scoring in the three-second zone. Yi Jianlian has a very keen sense of cutting, and his ability to eat cakes is getting better and better, and he starts to score continuously in the paint!
Gasol depends on the situation. If he has the opportunity to catch the ball and hit it high for a layup, he will take the initiative to move to pick and roll for Yi Jianlian or Conley who cuts in.
On the Thunder side, the three outside players played one after another, Durant played less singles, and was mainly responsible for receiving the ball. They played very hard, but... Sun Ce had 3 assists in the first half, a counterattack breakthrough dunk and a free throw line jump hook, which was completely different from the posture of playing the whole first half and shooting 16 times and taking 10 free throws. The assist defense was fast and the single defense was desperate...
The Thunder team failed to catch up with the score at this stage. When the official timeout was entered at 6 minutes and 33 seconds in the third quarter because of a dead ball, the Thunder team only narrowed the gap by 1 point in more than half a quarter!
73 to 79, the Thunder team was still 6 points behind. The Grizzlies relied on Sun Ce's offensive threat to counter the fierce counterattack of the Thunder's four youngsters without Randolph.
Yi Jianlian scored 6 points in the first half, Gasol made a layup, Conley received the ball and dunked, and the three scored 10 points. They performed very well with Sun Ce's containment.
In the second half of the third quarter, the Grizzlies replaced Tony Allen, who had rested for half a quarter, with Randolph, Jordan, and Morrow. With four players on and four off, plus Sun Ce, they were ready to widen the gap.
The Thunder replaced Harden again, and Westbrook, Sefolosha, Durant, Ibaka, and Muhammad came on the court.
Harden played very well when playing with the lineup of Durant, Westbrook, and Ibaka, but Brooks did not trust this "substitute". They wanted a big center at first. If they had a big center, they would not have to use Jeff Green and Kostic, two excellent players, to replace Perkins.
If it weren't for the absence of Jeff Green, Brooks would hardly give Harden a chance.
But it didn't matter whether Harden was there or not at this time. Durant couldn't help it and started to swing the ball himself. He and Westbrook took turns. Even if Harden stayed on the court, it wouldn't have much effect. Sefolosha, who had better defense, was more useful.
In the remaining 5 minutes and 27 seconds of the third quarter, Tony Allen played a key role in the defense of Durant on the Grizzlies side!
Durant, who scored 29 points in the first two and a half quarters, began to decline in physical strength. If he played against other defensive players, it would not be a big deal, but when he met Tony Allen, it was like Yao Ming!
Sun Ce did not defend Westbrook, who was in explosive form today, well. If he stuck close, the opponent would break through. If he didn't stick close, the opponent's zombie jump shot had a weird rhythm. It was impossible to let Morrow defend, because that was looking for a breakthrough, and there was no interference at all.
But the Thunder had Westbrook, and the Grizzlies had a stronger Randolph!
At the end of the third quarter, Randolph scored 7 points and 1 assist in the first half of the quarter, and gave Jordan a dunk. Sun Ce's two assists in the first half of the quarter passed to Morrow for a three-pointer and Jordan for a cake. Sun Ce himself also got a foul and made two free throws. The Grizzlies scored 16 to 11 in this half of the quarter.
In addition to Harden and Ibaka who each scored 4 points, Durant only made 1 three-pointer in the first half of the quarter, and no one else scored.
As Sun Ce blocked Perkins' buzzer-beating jump shot, the Grizzlies led 95-84 after three quarters, finally widening the gap to double digits!
Sun Ce contributed greatly to the Grizzlies' 10-point lead with Durant scoring 32 points in three quarters and Westbrook scoring 27 points in three quarters.
Durant scored 32 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in three quarters, and Westbrook scored 27 points, 5 rebounds and 11 assists in three quarters. The two never thought that they would lose by 11 points after playing so well and the team offense was also okay, and the team scored 84 points in three quarters.
There is only one reason... Sun Ce played the full 36 minutes, made 15 of 20 shots, 9 of 12 free throws, and scored 39 points, 9 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 blocks in three quarters!
Durant 07, Westbrook 08, and Sun Ce 09 are all regarded as representative figures of the new generation of players.
Durant and Westbrook both want to be the best players, but tonight, they feel their self-esteem has been hit!
It's not self-confidence, they still have confidence, but their self-esteem has been hurt. A second-year player who entered the NBA one or two years later than them has a higher probability of winning the MVP this season. In a head-on confrontation, they rarely get the advantage.
Let's not talk about the two games they lost this season. The first time they lost miserably, the Grizzlies started in an amazingly good state. The second time Randolph went berserk, and Sun Ce just showed his ability as a system player, connecting the offense well, and guarding the rebounds in cooperation, but only got 10 points at the critical moment.
This time, Durant and Westbrook broke out, and generally crushed Randolph, Gasol, Conley and other players, and did not give Sun Ce the opportunity to use his teammates to show his power and hold the score to win the game.
But... Sun Ce relied on his personal performance tonight to suppress them!
Durant has tried his best. He is not the type who can score very high. His most powerful game was less than 50 points. Facing the Grizzlies' repeated consumption, and now facing Tony Allen, he really couldn't play. He didn't rest for a second in the first three quarters!
In the fourth quarter, the Thunder became Westbrook's solo dance, constantly breaking through and shooting, but compared with the combination of Tony Allen, Morrow, Yi Jianlian, and Jordan led by Sun Ce who seemed to be indestructible, the Thunder relied on Westbrook alone and could not compete on the offensive end.
The Grizzlies, who completely established the score and confidence advantage in the first three quarters, broke the Thunder in the fourth quarter!
In 8 minutes and 15 seconds, the Grizzlies played a 24-14 offensive frenzy. Sun Ce made a layup in the last counterattack, widening the gap to 21 points. Thunder coach Brooks replaced Durant, who had played for more than 44 minutes, and Westbrook, Ibaka, and Sefolosha were also replaced with Maynor, Harden, Daequan Cook, Muhammad, and Nick Collison.
Durant played for 44 minutes and scored 36 points. His hit rate went from 60% in the first quarter to 45% of the season average of 13 of 29 shots, which was very stable.
Westbrook also scored 34 points, 7 rebounds and 13 assists. The Thunder's two stars scored 70 points together.
But Sun Ce couldn't stand his triple-double performance of 45 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists in 44 minutes!
98 to 119, the Thunder announced their surrender!
When the Thunder called a timeout, Sun Ce knew that his performance time was over. In the fourth quarter, he tried his best to score more points, and he shot more. The opponent blocked him more tightly. In less than 8 and a half minutes, he made 2 of 8 shots and 2 of 2 free throws to get 6 points, but he was still three points away from 50+.
The double emperor combination took advantage of Sun Ce's iron shots and kept the defense in the mid-range or baseline to rush for rebounds, which made Sun Ce very envious.
When Sun Ce was shooting free throws in the fourth quarter, the fans at the scene started shouting MVP, and there were still people shouting when he left the court.
Sun Ce waved to the fans and sat back on the bench. Coach Hollins replaced Jason Williams, Morrow, Paul George, Yi Jianlian, and Haddadi to hold the team.
Sun Ce had never expected the explosion tonight. He was a little scared. If it weren't for his explosion, they really couldn't win against the Du Wei duo who scored 70 points together.
But coincidentally, the opponent exploded, and he also exploded.
And this explosion made Sun Ce full of expectations!
The touch tonight was incredible! 18 of 28 shots, 13 mid-range shots, including 9 of 13 mid-range shots on the right... It's simply exaggerated!
After sitting down, he couldn't help but imagine that if he could really practice mid-range shots to this level in the future... Of course, it's impossible to have such a good touch in every game, even if the shooting ability is strong.
But Sun Ce still couldn't help imagining...
It was so cool to win tonight, much better than using the star experience card! This is a win by my own ability!
Just as Sun Ce was intoxicated with himself, the end of the game was over.
Thanks to Sun Ce's 45+ triple-double + 2 blocks in 44 minutes, Randolph's 23 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists in three quarters, the inside offensive of the double emperor combination and Morrow's 4 three-pointers, the Grizzlies defeated the Thunder 126-108!