rpbooks Chapter 261 Road Trip (Happy New Year!)
Chapter 261 Road Trip (Happy New Year!)
Chapter 261 Road Trip (Happy New Year!)
Victory is hard-won, and winning streaks are even more joyful.
Especially after experiencing a losing streak, this three-game winning streak is very important to the Thunder.Both the psychological aspects of the players and public opinion have been greatly improved, and the depression during the three-game losing streak has been swept away.
However, the difficult schedule is about to begin again.Starting from the 14th, the Thunder players will have to wander outside for 12 consecutive days and play 6 away games.
And their opponents are quite strong.The Clippers, Warriors, and Jazz are all top teams in the Western Conference.It's hard to get out of it unscathed, but anything is possible.
Before departure, the Thunder made a detailed inspection of the physical condition of the players.After all, the schedule is close to half, and various injuries are emerging one after another. Many teams that want to make a difference in the playoffs pay special attention to the health of their players.Even many teams have begun to let players rest.
Donovan didn't want to do that.But before the start of this long road trip, he must check whether his players have health risks.
On January 1, the Thunder visited Minniferda to challenge the Timberwolves.Although LaVine is absent, the Timberwolves have been in good shape recently.They successfully restricted Harden in the last game and won.Now, momentum is building.
However, Thunder had the last laugh in the previous confrontation.After all, their strength is still stronger.
Unfortunately, this time, the Timberwolves did not become the Huskies again. Under the outstanding performance of Towns and Rubio, the Thunder had to accept a defeat.
In the first quarter, the Timberwolves played very strongly.Especially Towns, who is not afraid of Adams at all, is omnipotent for hitting hard at the basket, making three-pointers from the outside, and blocking shots on rebounds.If An Luo hadn't scored 1 points in a row in the last minute, they would have led the Thunder by double digits.
In the second quarter, the two sides sent substitute lineups.An Luo began to show off his power, and a wave of 10:0 overtook the score.In particular, his ultra-long three-pointer against Belica instantly ignited the momentum of the Thunder.
At halftime, the Timberwolves trailed the Thunder by 52 points 60:8.According to their usual style, the third quarter should collapse.It's a pity that today's Timberwolves are uncharacteristically.They had their best quarter of the season so far in the third quarter.The defense is fierce, the breakthrough is sharp, and the shooting is accurate.
As soon as he came up, Towns scored 7 points with shots and penalties. Rubio followed up with a mid-range shot, and Rush, who replaced LaVine as the starter, succeeded in a three-pointer. The Timberwolves played a wave of 13:0 and regained their advantage.
On the defensive end, relying on the experience of successfully limiting Harden in the last game, Westbrook, who they focused on "taking care of", made 6 turnovers.The entire team's offense was in disarray.The few three-pointers An Luo made were just a drop in the bucket.
In the fourth quarter, Westbrook assisted An Luo to score two points and achieve a triple-double.But it failed to turn the situation around.With 2 minutes left in the game, after Towns screened for Wiggins, he pulled out the top of the arc and hit a three-pointer. While opening the point difference to double digits, he also killed the game.
In the end, the Thunder's six-game winning streak started with a failure.Westbrook's "quadruple double" became a joke for countless people this night.The Timberwolves' defensive strategy against the Thunder also pointed out a direction for other teams to explore.
Cut off Westbrook from other players.As long as he can't pass the ball as he wants, it is considered a successful defense.After all, as the leader of the team and the No. [-] position, the ball must be concentrated on Westbrook.
An Luo's three-pointer is accurate, but there is nothing he can do if he can't get the ball.In this game, An Luo and Kanter played well enough with substitute players!
After leaving Minniferda, the Thunder rushed to Sacramento without stopping.This is their second away game against the Kings this season, and the last one ended badly.
In that game, Cousins alone blew up the Thunder's insiders.Despite Westbrook's crazy outside attack, he was eventually defeated.
This time, Cousins is still outstanding.The audience scored 31 points, plus 11 rebounds and 7 assists.However, this game was the same as the Nuggets a few days ago. Both sides did not defend very much, but played against each other.
Therefore, from the data point of view, the King's players played very well in the game.In addition to Cousins, Rudy Gay had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Darren Collison had 21 points and Anthony Tolliver had 10 points.
But the Thunder played better here.
Westbrook is still all-around.In addition to his inaccurate three-pointers, his mid-range and basket scoring percentages are very high.Of course, assists and rebounds have not fallen.After three quarters, he was only 2 rebounds away from a triple-double.
An Luo is more prominent on the offensive end.His shot feels hot today.After playing in the second half of the first quarter, he hit consecutive three-pointers at a 45-degree angle on the right.
Thanks to the King's loose defense, An Luo shot easily.Ty Lawson, who was facing him, directly let him take a big step, and he couldn't do it if he didn't want to.
In the last quarter of the game, Westbrook, Oladipo and An Luo played at the same time.With a lead of nearly 10 points, a wave of 26:5 widened the difference to 30 points!The game entered garbage time.
In the end, the Thunder beat the Kings very strongly in the away game, avoiding a losing streak.
威斯布鲁克打出了本赛季的第20次三双。他全场得到了36分、11个篮板和10次助攻4个抢断。除他以外，安洛28分，奥拉迪波20分，替补出场坎特22分12个篮板，亚当斯12分10篮板。
Facts have proved that the Thunder, which has let go of its hands and feet, has no weaker attack power than other strong teams.The most frightening thing is that the Thunder still retain their own tough defense.
The next day, the Thunder headed to Los Angeles to fight the Clippers again.
Prior to this, the Clippers had achieved six consecutive victories under the leadership of Paul.The Thunder defeated the Kings yesterday, but Adams, the inside pillar, was accidentally injured and missed the game.Without Adams, the Thunder is tight inside.They have no way to restrict Jordan at all, they can only let him do whatever he wants.
Westbrook's performance has also been affected.Rivers obviously took inspiration from the Timberwolves, who cut off Westbrook from his teammates and forced him to constantly score through individual isolations.
Under Paul's leadership, the Thunder has been in a passive situation.At the end of the second quarter, Paul was unfortunately injured, which became a turning point in the game.
Without Paul, the Clippers are no longer able to withstand the Thunder's offense.Although Felton and Jordan played well, they still couldn't change the ending.
In the end, the Thunder seized the opportunity and reversed the game.Won two consecutive victories.
(End of this chapter)