rpbooks Chapter 565 Run them to death
Chapter 565 Run them to death
Chapter 565 Run them to death
How much the Thunder's offense struggled in the third quarter, you can tell by seeing An Luo's two consecutive shots without success.He even got close to the free throw line and couldn't make shots.So, the feel of this thing is really strange.It can snap right up, like the Celtics.Hayward made four of five three-pointers in the third quarter, and immediately raised his shooting percentage.The Thunder suddenly couldn't make a shot.Moreover, this thing seems to be very contagious. When it is accurate, Robertson can throw it in; when it is not accurate, even An Luo can't throw it in.
79:76, the Thunder are in front and the Celtics are behind.This is the score before the game enters the fourth quarter.The Thunder still maintain a slight lead.But it's hard to imagine that before a quarter of the game, they still led the opponent by 21 points.Throughout the third quarter, the two sides played a 22:40 game, and the Celtics won the Thunder by 18 points in a single quarter.
Fans who are familiar with the Celtics are overjoyed. The Celtics, who are slow but always able to reverse and win, are back!Since the beginning of the season, they seem to have forgotten how to win games.Now everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
On the contrary, Thunder fans are a little worried.You know, the third quarter of the game is always the strongest time for the Thunder.Last season, many games were won in this quarter.In the previous game against the Kings, a wave of offensive climax in the third quarter opened up the point difference, turning the following games into garbage time.At halftime, almost everyone believed that they could only watch three quarters of the game tonight.But in the third quarter, the Thunder was caught off guard by the opponent in their own way, which was unexpected by everyone.
Of course, this is a live broadcast across the United States, and more people watching the game are not fans of the two teams.What these people are even more curious about is, in such a situation, can the Thunder reverse the unfavorable situation again?After all, in a situation of absolute advantage, being overturned by the opponent is a very morale-destroying thing.
In the last quarter, Donovan changed his formation.He put Grant in the starting lineup, replacing Adams.Such a change exceeded all expectations.When everyone saw Grant appearing on the court, they thought that Robertson had been replaced.After all, when Robertson is on the court, the Celtics can always have one more person involved in the defense.With Adams replaced, the Thunder almost gave up the penalty area.
However, the subsequent performance of this Thunder version of the "Death Five" lineup was eye-opening.
The Thunder's first offense showed what they were thinking.Grant pulls out, and Robertson also pulls out, one is outside the free throw line and the other is outside the three-point line.The Celtics big man had to follow and leave the basket.In this way, the space inside the free throw line has become a paradise for Westbrook and Paul George.Excellent breakthrough ability allows them to easily pass through the Celtics' perimeter defense, and when they get to the basket, it is easy to score.Westbrook rushed to the penalty area with an acceleration under Grant's cover. How could Horford keep up with his speed!I saw him jumping directly under the basket, as if stepping on a spring under his feet, he jumped high all of a sudden.Except for Tatum, no one dared to help defend.But he was firmly stuck behind Robertson.No matter how bad An Luo and Paul George feel, no one dares to let them go.What's more, the basketball is in Westbrook's hands.
With a successful dunk, Westbrook opened the prelude to the Thunder's pursuit of victory.
On the defensive end, the Thunder players seemed to be crazy, running fast one by one.In particular, the Celtics' extremely strong outside offense in the third quarter received "special attention" from the Thunder players.Everyone with the ball will be double-teamed.Of course, they can pull the Thunder's defense by passing the ball, but they can't stop the opponent from running desperately!
Irving pushed forward with the ball, and Westbrook kept watching him.As soon as he got close to the three-point line, Robertson immediately rushed forward.Facing these two people, as strong as Irving did not dare to stick the ball anymore, he hurriedly passed to Jaylen Brown on the right.But as soon as Irving's ball was in the opponent's hands, the Thunder's men also arrived.Grant, who was closest to Jaylen Brown and An Luo, double-teamed directly.The four long hands blocked all of Jaylen Brown's ball space, which annoyed him very much.Although every time a Celtics player is double-teamed, there is nothing to do if the basketball cannot pass.
The Celtics' offense stalled.Their players are under tremendous pressure with the ball.The players on the Thunder are all small, fast runners and quick hands.Their defense will not have too many actions, but if the ball holder is not careful, they will take the ball away.The Thunder were like a pack of wolves, swarming the Celtics' players with the ball.
The basketball that Jaylen Brown was about to hoist into Tatum's hands was intercepted by Grant in midair.Then it was thrown directly to the other side of the field.At that time, no Thunder player even ran over.But Westbrook is like a thunder across the court, fast and tyrannical!After the basketball was smashed into the basket by him, he raised his head and roared.The near-screaming cheers of the Chesapeake Energy Arena lasted for a long time.
In this quarter of the game, the Thunder used their own speed and ferocity to bring the Celtics into their own rhythm.They haven't made a shot for a long time, and even An Luo just seized the opportunity to complete a layup.In Donovan's tactics, he almost directly gave up mid-range and long-range attacks.An Luo's role is only to attract defense and defend desperately.
Since the Warriors' head coach Cole won two championships in three years with the "Death Five" lineup, many teams in the league have begun to study this dynamic style of active running and quick ball transfer.Including the Thunder, under Donovan's training, they have become a very strong team on both offense and defense.But playing like this today is really rare.It can be seen how much pressure the Celtics have brought to them.
However, Thunder still had the last laugh.In the end, they defeated the Celtics 112:101 at home, giving their opponents a losing streak and extending their winning streak to the fourth game.And, once again, they're the only team in the league undefeated since the start of the season.In the words of many fans, the Thunder spent most of the quarter to run the Celtics to death.
(End of this chapter)