new lord of the rings

Chapter 444 Decisive Battle Moment!

In the last 8 minutes, when Zhang Xin played, the Suns led by two points.

Zhang Xin observed the Thunder's starting lineup:
Durant put his hands on his knees, his lips were slightly pale, his jersey was soaked, he was out of breath, and he was obviously tired;

Westbrook crossed his hips, his face was dignified, his feet were a little vain, and he was already a little tired. Even if he was an individual, he kept hitting Sun's inner line from the beginning. After three quarters, even Iron Man couldn't hold it up. Living;
Robertson is fine. For him, as long as he is not defending Zhang Xin, it is acceptable. The offense is just rushing for rebounds anyway;

Adams, who has always been a tough man, fought in the interior for more than three quarters, and it seemed that the situation was not going well. Under the exhaustion of Gasol and Chandler, he looked exhausted;
The same is true for Ibaka. The Thunder's strategy of attacking the inside and controlling rebounds is at the cost of a lot of physical strength.

Zhang Xin laughed happily. At the end of the game, it depends on who has the most exquisite layout and who has the most chips left. Sun would rather give up the temporary lead and let Zhang Xin and others rotate normally, just to prepare for the final decisive battle.

The 8-minute decisive battle is a big test for the thunderbolt soldiers who consume a lot of energy. At this moment, they not only have the willpower, but also the physical strength. Once the physical strength of a person drops, the concentration will drop. You can still keep your focus, but the decline in physical strength will also affect the feel, not to mention the decline in defensive concentration will lead to a decline in defensive strength.

In a duel of the same level, a small difference can make a big difference.

Zhang Xin did not immediately attack with the ball, but integrated himself into the team:

Zhang Xin helped Devin Booker with an off-ball screen, and then took advantage of Durant's attention to be attracted by Devin Booker's air cut, and Durant and Robertson were all attracted by Zhang Xin. Wen Booker made a very good opportunity at the three-point line all of a sudden, Rondo's pass arrived immediately, Devin Booker shot without hesitation, and hit a three-pointer!
Durant received a pass from Westbrook, swayed a pick-and-roll in the high position, and then hit Rondo in a dislocation. Rondo continued to hit him. Durant protected the ball and pushed Rondo away. He turned around and made a jumper. Zhang Xin noticed Although Durant hit, his breathing was obviously a little short.

The sun ball, Rondo dribbled steadily past halftime, Robertson released Rondo two steps, Rondo didn't care, carefully observed the running position of his teammates, in Rondo's eyes, Zhang credited his off-ball The screen helps teammates sort out the running route, and the clearly visible route allows Rondo to accurately judge the passing route:

Zhang Xin made a screen for Tucker at the elbow, and Tucker cut into the bottom corner for a three-pointer in an arc. Since Zhang Xin blocked Ibaka, Durant did not dare to let Zhang Xin go, and Tucker was emptied. up!
It's now!

Rondo flicked his right hand, and the basketball went straight to Tucker without any haste. As soon as Tucker was in position, the basketball was in place in time, and Tucker raised his hand and shot. This is the position he is most familiar with, and there is no one, shooting from this position , His three-point shooting percentage can reach 48.6%!

Tucker also hit a three-pointer!

The two sides have entered a stalemate, both sides are scoring, the Suns score one, and the Thunder must also score one, but the Thunder's scoring is very difficult, mostly relying on Westbrook and Durant's pick-and-roll or singles scoring, and every point is very important. difficult.

The Suns' scoring relies on the team's passing and cutting system. Zhang Xin does not seem to have any outstanding performance at this stage, but fans who follow Zhang Xin have seen the mystery:

Zhang Xin is playing in the most labor-saving way!

Although Zhang Xin didn't make many shots, didn't catch the ball very much, and didn't even hold the ball very much, but every screen and every cut he made was like a piece of cake, cutting open the joint of the Thunder's defense and allowing the Thunder's There is a gap in the defense, which is why the Suns can score easily. Zhang Xin uses himself as a bait to attract the attention of the Thunder's defensive players, allowing Booker and Tucker to have a chance to shoot.

"It's amazing! I've never seen a superstar play like Zhang Xin. Even if he doesn't hold the ball, you just have to give credit to him. Every time he cuts the screen, he has wisdom. The light is shining!" Yang Yi exclaimed.

"In today's league, Zhang Xin and Stephen Curry have the best involvement ability. In this respect, Zhang Xin and Curry are on the same level, but the reason why Zhang Xin is No. 1 in the league is his ability to control the game at critical moments and His profound influence on the game is the key to his ability to become No.1 in the league." Wang Meng said.

As the game progressed, physical factors gradually emerged, Westbrook and Durant's shooting percentages gradually declined, and Zhang Xin began to take over the game:
Zhang Xin rushed out of the three-point line with the help of Gasol's cover, and made a catchshoot three-pointer before Durant caught up, and hit the three-pointer;
Hold the ball at the top of the arc to face Durant's long arm follow-up defense, a forward change direction directly carried Durant to the basket, and a fake move made Durant turn around and lick the basket successfully;
Received the ball in the low post, leaned on Durant and turned to the middle, and after a dribble, ignored Ibaka's defense, turned over and took off, and succeeded in a fallback jumper;

Received the ball from a high position, and Gasol made a pick-and-roll for the purpose of changing defenses. Facing the heavy-footed Adams, he made a fake move to shake Adams, and took a right step to the side to make a three-pointer;

……

In 3 minutes, Zhang Xin scored 16 points alone!
The atmosphere in the Chesapeake Energy Arena became dull. With only 1 minute into the game, the Thunder had fallen behind by 12 points!
At this time, even the Thunder, which is known for its tenacity, can't help but feel frustrated. This is reflected in the offense. Durant and Westbrook's offense has become impatient, and the selection of shots has become more and more bad.

But what is reflected in the defense is that the footsteps are getting slower and slower. Instead of using footsteps and body to fight against the defense, they become fond of attacking and miss people. The defense has tended to collapse!

Coach Donovan thought of many ways to adjust, such as replacing the tired Adams, hoping to use vigorous players to hit the sun, but not every player is a microwave oven, and they get hot when they are on the court. The rhythm of the chilled players couldn't keep up with the pace of the Suns players, but there was an extra loophole.

Another example is to motivate players with words and blood, but players whose physical strength has reached their limit can hardly even concentrate, let alone explode.

Thunder is already on the brink of an abyss!
(End of this chapter)