Healthy basketball, starting from eating the old Lakers F4

"Defend, defend, defend!"

A roar of support sounded like a tsunami in the United Center, and more than 20,000 Bulls fans at the scene stared intently at the current situation on the court.

It was not until the game time of this quarter reached zero that the fans at the scene looked up to the big screen in the dome to check the current score of the game.

78 is better than 62!

The Thunder, who came all the way, actually took the lead in G1 of the finals, and it was a full 16 points!
This is undoubtedly something that the vast majority of NBA fans, reporters from major media, and NBA practitioners did not expect.

The Bulls have dominated the league for so many years and have won six championships in the past ten years. With the fanatical support of Chicago fans, the Chicago United Center has become one of the top Devils home stadiums in the United States!
In the past, under Duan's supervision, no NBA star could act wildly in the United Center.

But today, the Thunder, which has two regular season MVPs and two top five stars in the league, did it!

Maybe the Bulls won too much, or maybe most of the Bulls players didn't pay attention to this game.

This also led to the fact that after three quarters, the Bulls at home were disappointed, trailing the Thunder by a full 16 points.

Looking at the player data on the big screen, except for Duan who scored 23 points in the Bulls starting lineup, no one else scored in double figures.

In order to make the game simpler and to ensure the success of this attack, Duan decisively passed a good ball.

As soon as Duen came on the court, he asked his teammates for the ball, and called Durant in a pick-and-roll with Kawhi.

If Duane spends more than 20 seconds in attack time in each round, then the Thunder can also adopt a conservative approach of lowering the pace of the game and win tonight's game through defense and time pressing.

As the break ended, the fourth quarter finally started.

They are both regular season MVPs and finals MVPs, so what's not to like about one-on-one competition?
As a result, Durant took a breath and put his left hand on his chest to withstand Du En's back blow, while his right hand kept testing, trying to get the ball from behind Du En.

After all, the first three quarters of the game have tested tonight's penalty scale. It can be said that the on-site referees are all Thunder people. This is not an exaggeration.

However, the Thunder's response strategy is also very simple. On the offensive end, they try their best to score two points. If they can't squeeze the ball to the basket, they will throw the ball into the sky when they hit someone. At least there is still a one-point ball to stabilize the score.

You know, defense wins championships!
As long as we do our best defense, everything will be fine. "

However, it’s not too late to wake up!

During the inter-quarter break, Duan stepped forward to boost morale, and then said that he would continue to play at the beginning of the fourth quarter and use offense to consume Durant's energy.

In the past, the Bulls would have scored 30 to 40 points in a game just by relying on three-pointers.

Fortunately, the referee knew that there were a lot of black whistles in the front, so he felt guilty and did not blow any body hair whistles in the fourth quarter, so no rebound fouls occurred.

Durant was prepared for this and tried to have his teammates come over to switch defense, but after Durant called for a pick-and-roll on him, he didn't give in.

The score difference is 16 points. If he does not want to lose, Du En must pay attention to whether the singles can achieve results.

Bai Bian didn't play smart enough. If this was a layup, it might have been two plus one, but now he didn't get the two points he was sure to get, but only two free throws were left.

What's more, the finals is a seven-game series. Even a game with a visible result may turn into a turning point in the series due to the hard work of the players.

Everyone scores points one by one, it’s fair!
Ever since, until the end, the most critical thing in the fourth quarter of this game was rebounding.

Of the Bulls' current 63 points, nearly 40 were scored at the basket, and the remaining 20 points were obtained through three-pointers and free throws.

Duang——

The Bulls also had a super lineup, but no one could step up to help Duen share the scoring pressure. Duen was also heavily defended by the Thunder and failed to turn the tide and save the game in the first three quarters.

When the game reaches this point, the Bulls players and Bulls fans at the scene will feel that the atmosphere is a bit depressing.

"Don't underestimate the heart of a championship, the Oklahoma City Thunder are the defending champions!
We lack respect for the defending champion and respect for the MVP.

In order to turn the tables and win tonight's victory, Duan hit Durant with his back to create a little offensive space, then turned his back and went to the basket.

The Bulls' bench has only three players, namely Middleton, George and Green.

The problem is that the Bulls were too sloppy in the first half tonight, shooting too casually, and the shooting feel was not good. In the third quarter, with a lot of physical contact, the shooting feel was even worse. Currently, no shooter can stand up.

Unfortunately, when Bai Bian was about to dunk the ball into the basket, he was pulled down by Adams.

However, if the score continues to be reduced point by point, it will still be a drop in the bucket for the Bulls to win this game.

The Bulls are obviously not in despair yet and can still win with their strength, so the next step is to hit the basket honestly and score two points.

On the defensive end, as long as the road to the basket is not cleared, the Bulls players will be allowed to stand on the free throw line.

This also proves that the Bulls players' shooting touch tonight is indeed not good. If you want to bet on three-pointers in the fourth quarter, it is a bit like betting your life.

Sure enough, Bai Bian missed a good opportunity to chase points and hit the first free throw. Fortunately, he found some touch on the second free throw and put the ball into the basket, helping the Bulls narrow the point difference to 15 points.

Even if Du En kills the inside line, he will not whistle even if he is violated, unless he is hit on the head in full view of the public.

By the way, if Dunn takes the ball and beats Durant alone this time, he will not only consume Durant's energy, but also score the ball more confidently.

Relying on the effectiveness of the three armies, crazy rushing and protecting rebounds, the Bulls narrowed the point difference to less than 4 points in just over 10 minutes of the fourth quarter.

What others need to do is to limit Westbrook's performance as much as possible, limit the offense of Thunder role players, and protect the rebounds.

但是除了乔治11投4中，三分4投1中，罚球2投1中，砍下10分之外，其余两人分别是4投1中和3投1中的拉胯表现。

However, the Thunder's inside line immediately came to help with defense. There was Durant behind Duan who might be able to block the shot, so they did not force the ball to the basket, but passed the ball to the white edge of the basket.

In addition, one thing needs to be remembered - time waits for no one.

It is difficult to recover 16 points in the fourth quarter of the finals, but that does not mean there is no hope.

However, as the boss of the team, Du En has no intention of sitting still.

Bulls players are taller overall, and their size and strength also give them an advantage in getting in position and grabbing rebounds.

However, Du En has been leading the team for so long, and it is inevitable that he needs to take a breath.

Du En took a rest for a while after leaving the game, and George came to take the lead.

After George came on the court, he was a bit lazy. After all, he was not the boss of the team and did not have to bear the responsibility of winning or losing the team. He tried his hand with a three-pointer when he came up.

Duang——

He missed and the rebound was not protected, which gave Duen a headache.

It has to be said that players all have their own personalities, not to mention that George has played for the Bulls for several years. Now there is no shortage of championships and the contract has been signed, so there is no pressure at all.

If it were other players, they would usually hit 40% of their three-pointers. It just so happened that the team was lagging behind and urgently needed someone to shoot three-pointers to chase points.

Making a shot is a hero shot, a savior. If he fails to make a shot, no one can blame him. He is already nearly 10 points behind. Besides, he is not the leader of the team. There are many players in the team who are worse than him, so it is not his turn to take the blame. .

Therefore, this kind of shot selection seems to be unreasonable, but it is reasonable if it is made. As long as there is a chance, anyone will take it.

Of course, a marksman with a normal 40% three-point shooting rate has a 60% chance of missing the shot, so many times people feel that this kind of shot is unreasonable.

brush--

Not long after, George completed the redemption with a three-pointer and narrowed the point difference to less than 10 points.

However, after two minutes of play, the point difference between the two teams did not change much. This is undoubtedly good news for the Thunder.

Seeing that there were only more than 5 minutes left in the game, Duen had to return to the court early and stand up for the last shift tonight.

What I didn't expect was that as soon as Duane returned to the court, Thunder substitute small forward Caron Butler received Westbrook's sudden pass and hit a three-pointer, giving Dune a Show off your power.

Duen called out Westbrook to retaliate. Westbrook tried to take the ball, but Duen turned around and passed it. However, Duen's inevitable small throw to the basket was black-checked by the referee.

But it was said that Adams flew the racket out of bounds, but Du En clearly saw that the basketball had fallen and it was an interference ball.

Du En stepped forward to argue, but the referee indicated that the ball was out of bounds.

The time was shortened to less than 5 minutes, but the point difference was still 12 points. Even if the ball was back in their hands, the Bulls wasted a lot of time in this round.

The pressure, like the evening tide, grows stronger as time goes by.

However, just when Du En was almost exhausted, Westbrook started to strike.

After winning the regular season MVP, Westbrook's mentality has definitely changed.

When a team has two MVPs, there will inevitably be a king and a king. If it is really not possible, someone can be the boss 1.5.

This season, Westbrook is more like the boss of the team, and tonight Westbrook played like the boss of the team should do.

It's just that no matter how high Westbrook's fighting spirit is, it will be affected by physical factors. Just like in the regular season, when the Thunder and the Bulls faced off, every time in the fourth quarter, the Thunder twin stars were exposed to physical exhaustion.

"Defend, defend, defend!"

Also relying on Westbrook's continuous assists, the Bulls successfully narrowed the point difference to 2 points when the game time was still 58 minutes and 6 seconds.

Since Durant returned to the court, he could not solve the problem of scoring shortage. Even if the referee put some effort, it was difficult to resist the Bulls' fiery point-chasing momentum.

As the point difference between the two teams became smaller and smaller, the Thunder, which was constantly chasing points, was forced to call a timeout.

After the timeout, as long as the Thunder fails to win this round, the Bulls will have the opportunity to score a three-pointer or score 2+1 to reduce the point difference to 3 points, which is a gap of one round.

But at the critical moment, the team being chased will feel more pressure and perform even worse.

Taking advantage of this timeout, the Bulls were not under much pressure. The main players just took the opportunity to drink water and rest. Head coach Scott Skiles stood aside and emphasized the importance of defense and rebounding to the players. sex. After a while, the timeout ended and the game started again.

After returning from the timeout, the Thunder didn't move any more. They still held the ball and went to the basket, trying to draw fouls and get to the free throw line.

However, the Bulls predicted it in advance and chose to shrink the basket, not giving any Thunder players a chance to rush up.

The prerequisite for the ball holder to cause a foul is that the defensive player is still moving when making physical contact with the ball holder.

The Bulls players stood still in advance, so they stretched out their hands to interfere. There is no way there will be free throws, right?

Seeing the Bulls' defensive formation, the Thunder could only hand the ball to Durant and let him shoot the mid-range shot.

Now at his peak, Durant has nearly 40% of three-pointers and 50% of mid-range field goals. Although big data shows that the true shooting percentage of three-pointers is higher, at critical moments, mid-range shots are more lethal. And more trustworthy.

However, the Bulls knew this very well, so the moment Durant took off and took the mid-range shot, there was Kaka blocking the shot in front of Durant, and Duane suddenly took off behind him.

By the way, in order to avoid being blocked by Kawhi Leonard as much as possible, Durant deliberately leaned back.

And in this way, once the hand is raised above the head and the ball is about to be thrown, a lot of space is exposed.

Duan was waiting for this opportunity, reached out from behind Durant's head, and shot the ball upward.

In order to prevent Durant from falling backwards and causing a foul on Duen, Duen didn't use too much force before taking off, so the time in the air was not long.

Basically, your body is already falling when you send the ball flying, and when it hits the ground, you get out of the way as soon as possible.

Durant never thought about hitting the ball behind his back. He still thought that his feet would be firmly on the floor. If the ball didn't go in, he could rush forward to grab the rebound. If it didn't work, he could return to defense as soon as possible.

On the contrary, if he fell down, he might be caught and counterattacked by the Bulls, with four against five.

Durant was also caught off guard, and the ball in his hand was slapped away by Durant, causing him to lose balance and accidentally fall to the ground. When he was about to fall, he subconsciously stretched out his hand to protect himself and slid away for a while.

Look at Duen again. After hitting the ball, he took the initiative to avoid being hit by Durant. He quickly took off again after landing, firmly grasped the ball that had just fallen, and then took the opportunity to make a transition.

Although other people on the Thunder side noticed Duen coming out from behind Durant and stepped forward to assist Durant, they did not expect Duen to be able to remove the ball from behind Durant and take off twice immediately. Win the ball.

By the time Duen turned around and started a fast break, it was already too late for the Thunder players to pursue him.

boom--

I saw Du En dunking with both hands, which greatly boosted the morale.

One block and one dunk, and the point difference was reduced to 4 points.

Although the Bulls are still two rounds behind the Thunder, the Thunder are ahead, but their players are all like mourning mothers.

It has to be said that the pressure Duen brings on both offense and defense is too great.

Even if the Thunder has Durant and Westbrook, two MVP-level players sitting on the bench, it still looks unstable at critical moments.

"No pause yet?"

The Thunder players on the court glanced at the sidelines.

Head coach Scott Brooks kept shouting: "It doesn't matter guys, just be serious, I firmly believe you are the best players."

In addition to encouraging surprises, Brooks also used body language to express that he must lower the pace of the game and play steadily.

Soon the Thunder resumed serving. After halftime, Durant started the ball with the ball. However, Westbrook, who was standing at a 45-degree angle on the right, kept staring at Durant. To be more precise, it was in Durant's hands. ball.

Westbrook's sparkling eyes seemed to be saying, there are still 4 points left, if you can't do the scoring job, then leave the rest to me!

Westbrook patiently did not seize the power immediately, but chose to trust Durant, and Durant was not timid and hit Kaka in the mid-range under pressure.

The Bulls did not give a chance at the basket, and Durant is indeed very knowledgeable in the mid-range.

Xiaoka's defensive talent must be strong. His long arms can not only cast death coil, but also perform death blocks.

It's just that Durant's mid-range prowess has been amazing for ten years.

As Durant made the mid-range shot, the United Center was even quiet for a second or two.

However, the Bulls did not waste time. They quickly served the ball immediately, increased their speed, and tried not to give the Thunder a chance to defend the basket.

With the help of the three-line fast break of Duen, Curry, and Kawhi, Duen passed the ball to Kawhi, who rushed to the basket and quickly gained two points.

Westbrook seemed a little unwilling to give in. He also made a mistake at this time. He did not follow Brooks's instructions and immediately signaled his teammates to serve. Then he took the ball and quickly dribbled across the half court.

When he arrived in the frontcourt, facing Curry's defense, Westbrook didn't wait for other teammates, took a long stride, accelerated past, and then rushed directly to the basket.

The Bulls did not completely retreat to the basket, but they were not unable to defend against Westbrook's turtle sprint.

Westbrook's hand skills are mediocre, and his finishing methods at the basket are also limited.

The Bulls teamed up early. Westbrook got excited and tried to speed up the pass, then rushed over his head. When he got to the basket, he could only take a hasty shot and forcefully throw the ball onto the backboard. However, Westbrook himself rushed towards the reporter outside the baseline. past.

Duang——

rebound!
Adams, the tallest player on the Thunder side, only reached the free throw line. How could he compete with the Bulls for this rebound?

The Bulls, relying on Westbrook, fell into the crowd and immediately started a transition!

Princeton, Curry left a back door to steal the chicken and succeeded in a layup! The score difference is 2 points!
In just half a minute, the Bulls chased 4 points in a row! No matter how good Brooks is at cultivating his energy, he can only use up the last timeout in his hand.

Next, the Thunder's ATO strategy is very important. If it can be successful, it will take the Bulls two rounds to chase points.

If they fail, the Thunder's morale will be completely depleted. Not only will they lose tonight, but the entire finals may become hard to win.

It has to be said that Brooks still has two skills, and he doesn't just rely on chicken blood.

After the timeout, Westbrook passed the ball to Durant, who attracted the defense and returned the ball to Westbrook who cut directly to the basket. After getting the ball, Westbrook pretended to break into the inside, but in fact it was to attract the defense and finally feed the ball to Adams.

The Bulls' defense at the basket was very solid, but the inside and outside combination of Westbrook and Adams still found scoring opportunities.

The score difference was pulled back to 4 points, and the game time entered the last 2 minutes.

However, the Bulls players didn't pay much attention to this, and they weren't too nervous. They played just as well as they did before.

After all, in the first 10 minutes, the Bulls had recovered a 12-point deficit.

In the next more than 2 minutes, the Bulls definitely have a chance to continue to narrow the point difference.

Even if this trend continues, the Thunder can still lead by one or two points, but in the last round, the Bulls still have a chance to turn defeat into victory with a buzzer-beater.

To put it bluntly, state and momentum are very important at critical moments.

The Bulls' overall state and momentum in the fourth quarter have an overwhelming advantage compared to the Thunder!

This is our territory! Our home ground!

The Bulls giants and the Bulls dynasty are the honors we need to protect!

"In! Du En's little throw! Du En definitely killed the game!"

"A miracle happened. Even if we were behind by 16 points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, we could still win!"

"MVP, MVP, MVP!"

Thanks to the hard work of the Bulls players on the court, the Bulls successfully narrowed the point difference to one or two points in the last two minutes, until Duan turned defeat into victory with a small floater, leading the Thunder by 1 point.

However, the game time was not over. After Duan made a quasi-winner, the Thunder had 2.6 seconds left.

Although the Thunder did not have a timeout, they still had the opportunity to make half-court three-pointers, long-range three-pointers, or serve directly to the frontcourt, and then reorganize a wave of offense in just 2.6 seconds and score the winning goal.

But the problem is that the ball in the backcourt must be delivered within 5 seconds, and 5 seconds is not enough for the Thunder to discuss tactics.

In the end, it was Durant who anxiously clapped his hands for the ball from his teammates in the backcourt, then quickly dribbled the ball across half court and hastily shot a long three-pointer.

"Three points, the game is over!"

"we won!"

"An incredible victory, very dangerous and exciting!"

"I thought we were going to lose, but luckily we have Dune!"

"I've said it before, Duen won 100% in the finals, Duen is a well-deserved GOAT!"

"With Duen back, the championship will be there! With Duen back, the Bulls dynasty will be established again!"

"Other players also performed very well, but Duen is indeed the most critical one! The so-called Bulls winning culture actually belongs to Duen alone!"

With Durant hitting a long three-pointer, the game time completely returned to zero. The Bulls staged a 17-point reversal in the fourth quarter and finally won G1 of the Finals.

No one knows how the Bulls did all this. Everyone only knows that after Duan returned, the Bulls once again became the championship team that was invincible at home and unrivaled in the league.

"Although Du En is more expensive than Michael, being expensive has its advantages! As long as Du En does not retire, you must sign him for me!"

After watching the game, Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf gave instructions to general manager John Paxson who was sitting aside. (End of chapter)