NBA opening draw to twilight Shaquille O'Neal

Chapter 333 Foul Problems
At the end of the first quarter, at 23:26, the Blazers trailed by 3 points.

The Trail Blazers' shooting percentage was 48%, which was lower than the Thunder's 52%, but in terms of rebounds, they got 14 and the Thunder had only 9.

The main reason was that when Wang Zelin was off the court, Garnett and Yi Jianlian were unable to withstand the impact of Westbrook. In the last 5 minutes of the first quarter, Westbrook made 3 of 2 shots and 3 of 2 free throws. He scored 5 points alone.

单节下来，威斯布鲁克6投5中，5罚3中，拿下全场最高的13分，外加2助攻2篮板1抢断的数据。

It's really hilarious!
"As King enters the rest time, the Trail Blazers' internal defensive problems are gradually revealed. When facing ordinary teams, Garnett can still rely on experience to defend, but when facing the Thunder, facing Westbrook, the league's top puncher, he seems a little powerless."

Yu Jiadao.

"I think this is a good thing for the Blazers," Zhang Lili expressed his opinion: "Thunder's half-starter lineup of famous paintings did not open up too many points, and only led by 3 points. If this is regarded as a contest between middle-class horses and low-class horses, the Thunder's strategy will undoubtedly fail."

He didn't know that at this time Thunder coach Scott Brooks frowned, he was not very satisfied with the performance of the players in the second half of the second quarter.

The Thunder played very well offensively, but they also failed to defend against the Blazers on the opposite side and the offense of the group of rotation players.

After the second quarter, the Blazers first set up a half-rotation and half-starting lineup, and after the official timeout ended, they put on all the main players, while the Thunder played several main players in turn for a few minutes.

However, even though Durant and Westbrook played the entire second quarter, they failed to completely change the situation where the Thunder was on the passive side. At 51:48, the Blazers led by 3 points.

In the locker room at home, the atmosphere in the team was a bit dull.

Strictly speaking, the Thunder is a typical team in the league that mainly relies on stars to lead the team to victory. The overall style of the team relies on the individual abilities of the players.

Facing ordinary teams or even ordinary regular-season teams, the Thunder can win only by relying on Durant and Westbrook to take the ball. It is a typical "one trick, eat all over the world!"

However, when this trick is facing teams of the same level as them, the changes in the field pale in comparison to their opponents.

To be precise, they have fewer scoring points than their opponents.

Take the Trail Blazers for example.

The five starters have all scored in double figures this season, and there are Mo Williams and Garnett on the bench who averaged 5+ points per game. It is more difficult for the Thunder to restrain the Blazers than the latter to restrain the former.

After playing halftime, the Blazers' defensive strategy was very obvious: they mainly focused on Dewey's second youngster. As for the other three Thunder players who were on the court at the same time, as long as they were not in their best scoring hotspots, it didn't matter if they were released appropriately.

Scott Brooks thought over and over again, and then said: "Russell, next you have to hit the basket more, and try to beat the Blazers' main inside line as soon as possible."

"I see," Westbrook replied.

He looked at Durant again and said, "Kevin, you know, we can't lose this game, and we can't afford to lose."

Durant remained silent, of course he understood the coach's subconscious meaning.

For the team, tonight is bound to wash away the humiliation of being swept in the playoffs last season.If they can't beat the Trail Blazers in the regular season, when they meet them in the playoffs, the Thunder players will carry a huge burden, which is not conducive to the true display of the players' strength.

For Durant personally, whether he accepts it or not, there is now a wave of heated discussions about "35VS36" in the outside world, and it has even risen to the final ownership of this season's regular season MVP battle.

That's the regular season MVP trophy!

It is the supreme personal honor in the hearts of every NBA player. Even after retiring in the future, having a regular season MVP on the field can greatly improve the player's ranking in NBA history.

There is a saying in the league: A star who has not won the MVP of the regular season is not worthy of being called a real superstar!

After a long time, seeing that Durant didn't reply, Scott Brooks patted the former on the shoulder: "Next, get ready to play the second half."

"Sir, I will do it well." Durant looked up and replied firmly.

"In the second half, on the offensive end, we handed over the ball to Kevin and Russell, focusing on outside shots and breakthrough passes. Others must be ready to catch the ball at any time, and they must shoot decisively after running out of open space. There is no need to throw those damn basketballs into the basket!"

Scott Brooks got up and looked around at the players around him, shouting loudly.

"Got it, sir!"

All the players responded in unison.

"On the defensive end, Serge must control the rebounds in the backcourt, and Kendrick, you two must be tougher, and you must be tough when you need to be tough!"

In the end, Scott Brooks confessed to Libaka and Perkins.

With the Blazers No. 36 sitting at the basket, he no longer expects the two to compete for offensive rebounds. Keeping the backcourt rebounds is the Thunder's bottom line.

Away locker room.

Terry Stotts' arrangement is much more concise than that of Scott Brooks. He continues to increase the bombing of the Thunder inside, and outside players shoot when they have the opportunity.

His thoughts are the same as Scott Brook's. Anyway, with Wang Zelin as a rebounder, the rest of the Blazers' shots on the court are more decisive than the Thunder.

At the beginning of the third quarter, the two sides changed sides and fought again.

Imperial TV live broadcast seat.

"Come to the third quarter, we saw that both sides put their main lineups on the court, and then look at some statistics of both sides in the first half. The Thunder team made 17 of 12 free throws, and the Blazers made 9 of 7 shots. The Thunder scored nearly half more free throws than the Blazers..."

"There is also the shooting percentage. The Thunder took 48 shots and made 23 hits. The shooting percentage was 47.9%.

Zhang Lili and Yu Jia quickly introduced the data comparison of the two teams in the first half, and the camera returned to the field.

Thunder attack.

Westbrook directed the traffic at the top of the arc, seeing Durant running over from the left wing to meet him, and quickly sent the ball out.

At the moment of receiving the ball, Batum immediately posted it, and Durant immediately put on a three-threat.

After a couple of tests, seeing that Batum was not moving at all, Durant got up immediately and made an outside shot.

In the paint area, Ibaka and Perkins immediately caught Wang Zelin in the middle, and Ibaka even lost Aldridge.

"Duang!"

A three-pointer hit the iron, and the ball hit the frame and rebounded.

Seeing the ball bouncing to the left, Ibaka immediately let go of Wang Zelin behind him.

At this time, there is no need to get stuck anymore. He has already seen the position of the rebound, and Wang Zelin and Wang Zelin were unable to move the position ahead of time because of the pincer attack, and had already lost the best opportunity to compete for the rebound.

Losing the opportunity, Wang Zelin did not choose to give up, and was just about to speed up the rush, but at this time Perkins suddenly pulled his jersey secretly, and their arms were still entangled.

Then Wang Zelin looked at the referee, saw that the latter didn't say anything, and cursed: "Never mind!"

In the end, this rebound became a competition between Aldridge and Ibaka.It's a pity that Aldridge doesn't have Ibaka's ruthlessness in fighting for rebounds.

Ibaka took a step forward, stretched out his left arm, blocked Aldridge who was rushing, and took off to grab the offensive rebound.

As soon as he got the ball, he turned back directly and handed the ball to Durant at the top of the arc at the three-point line.

Durant caught the ball and scored twice from the outside.

"Shh!"

Second shot, hit.

51:51 level!
"Grass!"

Lost a backcourt rebound and gave the opponent a three-pointer. Wang Zelin couldn't help but curse.

"I said, you should relax too!"

Seeing that Perkins was still entangled with him relentlessly, he remembered the indifference of the referee before...

The more Wang Zelin thought about it, the more angry he became, he raised his elbow secretly, and hit Perkins between the ribcages behind him. Perkins was suddenly severely injured, and he groaned and backed away again and again.

"Oh!"

Perkins covered his chest and bent down. When he raised his head, his eyes were burning, and he rushed over with big strides, glaring at Wang Zelin angrily:
"Boy Dongfang, what do you want to do?"

"TMD! Labor and management want to fuck you!"

Furious, Wang Zelin didn't bother to reply in English, so he switched to Mandarin.

"beep~"

The whistle blew, someone fouled.

"Bastard! What are you trying to do to my brother?"

Ibaka also rushed over, glaring at Wang Zelin angrily.

"Don't say I'm bullying you, you two go up together, I'll give up one hand!"

Wang Zelin continued to provoke.

"What's the situation? What happened just now?"

Yu Jia looked at the players who quickly gathered together on the court in a daze.

"This……"

Zhang Li was speechless for a while.However, he could vaguely feel that everything on the field should be related to Wang Zelin.

At this time, the players from both sides gathered around at once, and even the players on the bench put down their towels and stood up one after another, looking eager to try.

"go away!"

Wang Zelin cursed angrily, pushed Ibaka away with a palm, and shouted at Perkins: "You should be prepared for such tricks if you dare to play tricks with me."

"You want to fight, don't you? Come on..."

Perkins was taken aback for a moment, he was indeed the one who did the wrong thing just now, but now this situation does not allow him to admit it, Wang Zelin's sudden elbow made him furious, he didn't care about it anymore, and rushed over directly.

Fortunately, the teammates of both sides did not come forward. Durant and Westbrook held Perkins, and Aldridge quickly blocked between the two.

"Have you guys had enough noise?"

The referee, who didn't have much sense of presence, said coldly at this time.

"Come, come, please! Please!"

After the referee came forward, Wang Zelin understood that the farce was about to end, so he replied with a playful smile.

The referee didn't do nothing just now. The two line referees relayed the details of the playback to the referee, who gave Wang Zelin a technical foul without hesitation.

"Hey! Mr. Referee, that stinking oriental boy deserves a flagrant foul. He elbowed me. It's not fair!"

Seeing that the referee only gave a technical foul, Perkins' anger was full again, and he roared at the referee.

Hearing someone questioning the unfairness of his judgment...is this tolerable?

Immediately, the referee gave Perkins a technical foul on the spot.

Known as a tough guy in the league, how could Perkins care about a mere technical offender, and when he was about to roar at the referee again, he was pulled back by Westbrook.

"Fool! Reckless!"

Thunder coach Scott Brooks on the sidelines saw that Perkins still wanted to take a T, and immediately began to spray: "You were hit by an elbow, don't you know how to find a chance to return it? Why do you ask the referee?"

"Ahem, it looks like it's just a farce, a false alarm."

Zhang Lizhi coughed tactically, but he secretly regretted that he didn't fight.

Back to the game.

Aldridge and Durant each made a free throw for a technical offender, 52:52, and the two sides were still tied.

However, due to the previous episode, the smell of gunpowder on the court was obviously rising. In the latter part of the third quarter, the physical confrontation became more intense, and correspondingly, the number of difficult free throws also continued to rise.

第三节打完，雷霆单节25投12中，得到33分；开拓者单节24投10，得到26分。

As the game progressed, the Thunder's home advantage gradually emerged. In the third quarter, the Blazers made 5 free throws less than the Thunder.

After three quarters, the Thunder scored 24 free throws, and the Blazers scored 12, which was fully doubled.

During the intermission, the players were complaining about the scale of tonight.

At this time, Wang Zelin had 4 fouls, Aldridge 2 fouls, Lillard 3 fouls, Matthews 2 fouls... Batum, who was mainly defending Durant, received the team's highest 5 fouls, and it is uncertain when he will leave the field with 6 fouls.

Terry Stotts is also frowning now. The issue of whistle-blowing scale involves the referee team in this field. Unless it is a shot from the top of the league, as a referee, it is difficult for him to interfere.

Or the Trail Blazers have the league's signature superstars. Only this type of players may affect the referee's attitude.

But the problem is, the Blazers didn't!

In the final analysis, Wang Zelin can only be regarded as a popular spicy chicken, and there is still a long way to go before he becomes the new signboard of the league.

"Nicholas goes off first, Will, you go to the 3rd position."

In desperation, he could only replace the team's backup small forward to guard Durant.

Bench for the Imperial Terrace.

"If this continues, the situation on the field will be very bad for the King and the others!"

After reading the number of fouls committed by the main players on both sides, Yu Jia's face was very solemn.

"There is no way to do this. The home field advantage always exists. What Zelin and the others have to do is to do their best to overcome these difficulties."

Zhang Li shook his head, and he couldn't think of any good countermeasures.

In fact, he and Yu Jia did not expect that, logically speaking, since tonight is a focus battle, the referee's penalty scale will be correspondingly fairer, allowing players to have more room for personal expression... After all, there are so many fans watching, and the influence of random blowing is not good.

Who would have thought that the Thunder's home advantage would increase instead of decrease, even better than many previous games.

Moreover, is it possible that the referee on the field dared to brag like this without the permission and acquiescence of the league?
Or is it that the new president of the league doesn't want to see this Trail Blazers team?

beep~
At this time, the whistle sounded and the final quarter of the game began. Zhang Lili quickly suppressed his thoughts temporarily and let his mind return to the game.

(End of this chapter)