The invincible kryptonite of basketball

"He's great, what you said is wrong, Kevin's performance against the Pelicans last time was great and helped us win."

Cole said with a smile that the last match between the two teams at the end of the season did not play the main force, and the outcome of that game was of no reference.

What he was talking about was the second match between the two teams in the regular season, and that game also allowed Durant to regain his confidence against Tang Tian.

Cole's interview here was about the same, Durant and Green finished training there, and the reporters quickly shifted their positions and surrounded them again.

"Kevin, are you confident about tonight's game?"

"He has, he has more than ever."

Before Durant could speak, Green answered for him.

Durant nodded.

"Our goal is the championship, that's our only goal, no matter who the opponent is, we will do it."

Green continued.

Unlike the previous teams, Green didn't mention the concept of revenge at all. He was full of confidence.

Durant continued to nod.

He is active on social media, but relatively quiet in front of the media.

However, he chose the most difficult path from the Thunder to the Warriors. If he does not win the championship, he will fail.

Green's words are more straightforward, but there is no problem with what he said.

These interviews before the game were quickly exposed by the media.

Green's big mouth is still there, and it continues to make Pelicans fans feel uncomfortable.

It's only been a year, and Green has forgotten the tragic experience of being swept last season.

Sure enough, time is the best healing agent and the best amnesia drug.

But this also makes fans look forward to the upcoming series even more.

The next night, the third season of Pelicans officially kicked off in New Orleans.

The narrators from various countries on the scene took their positions early, preparing to broadcast this round of the Great War of the Century.

Although it is only the Western Conference finals, but the grievances and strengths of the two teams, this is definitely the most watched series this year.

After the opening ceremony, the starting players of the two teams appeared one after another.

There have been changes on both sides.

The Warriors removed the starting center Pachulia from the first two rounds and put Iguodala on the starting lineup.

The Pelicans also removed Jokic from the starting lineup and replaced him with Brogdon.

There are no serious big centers on both sides, and they are all five small lineups.

This is also the result of two consecutive years of war between the Pelicans and the brave. The two sides know each other's roots and hide their weaknesses as much as possible.

Amidst the cheers of the fans, Davis turned the ball back to the Pelicans' half, officially kicking off the third season of the Pelicans War.

Both teams withdrew their big centers to avoid the embarrassment of being pulled out for military training.

However, Curry can't go down on the Warriors' side, and the Pelicans also aimed at this point at the beginning.

After Tang Tian held the ball, Brogdon made a pick-and-roll screen.

However, after being beaten for three years in a row, Cole also responded, going to flank Tang Tian in advance, and not giving the Pelicans an easy change.

Because of the loose penalty scale and the high confrontation intensity given by the Warriors, this strategy worked.

The Pelicans didn't play the first wave of tactics. Brogdon dribbled the ball and finally chose to give the ball to Davis in the low post.

Davis hit Green with his back, turned around and wiped the board to shoot.

Green's strenuous interference put a lot of pressure, but the ball still wiped the backboard and fell into the net bag.

Davis looked very good tonight.

The Pelicans took the lead, and looking back, the Warriors were not behind.

Kenny Smith's analysis on the TNT program is correct. Tang Tian is mainly defending Durant, and the Warriors are attacking Curry.

Curry used Iguodala's cover to make a fake three-pointer and went straight to the basket. He accelerated to throw off Ariza's layup and caused the latter's thug foul and made two free throws.

Looking back, Tang Tian failed to hit Curry again. After he signaled Brogdon to pull away, he asked Davis to mention the high pick-and-roll.

After disassembling, he walked out, Davis walked in, he stopped suddenly and jumped into the air to give the ball to Davis, Davis pressed Thompson under the basket and scored.

The Pelicans scored consecutive offenses after the start.

But looking back, Green held the ball at the top of the arc and hit the ball to Curry in an air cut. Curry pulled the bar in the air to avoid Holiday, and made a backhand layup with a high arc.

The defensive intensity of the two teams after the opening is not lower than that of the previous Pelicans and Rockets series.

The various muscle collisions during off-ball pick-and-rolls, and the scenes of people turning their backs from time to time, all highlight the characteristics of the playoffs at the beginning of the century.

However, under such a confrontational intensity, it can also highlight the player's state.

Tang Tian and Durant haven't played yet, but Davis and Curry's state came out first tonight.

The difficulty of these few goals after their opening was not low.

In the opening game between the Pelicans and the Rockets, both sides did not score in the opening 3 minutes, and the fans who watched were also hooked.

Now with the same defensive intensity, both sides can still score the ball, which shows the strength of the two teams.

Such a scene is also worthy of the fans' waiting for a season!

Chapter 979 Hold back the big move, wait for the CD

Davis and Curry are in good shape, and their state has continued.

Stevens and Cole also reacted quickly. Seeing that they were in good condition, they frequently created tactics to give them opportunities to play.

In the first quarter, the confrontation between the two became the main theme of the game.

Davis scored 16 points in a single quarter, setting a new high in a single quarter of his career playoffs.

Curry also scored 15 points, but perhaps to surprise, he only took 2 three-pointers, 2 of 1 shots, and most of the points came from breakthroughs.

The two were tied in scoring, as were the Pelicans and Warriors.

After one quarter, with a score of 30 to 28, the lead of the Pelicans is negligible.

In the second quarter, the court became a time for Thompson and Jokic to fight each other.

Thompson basically didn't take a shot in the first quarter. At this moment, Curry and Durant were resting off the court. Green used the ball-handling method at the top of the arc, and he made consecutive three-pointers without the ball.

In the first two rounds, Jokic faced Adams in one round and Cousins ​​in the other round. He didn't have much chance to perform, and he didn't even start this game.

Although he has a shy personality, he is not low-minded. Don't hold back your energy after coming off the bench, and he finally met a Pachulia who can be bullied.

With consecutive European steps and turning around, Pachulia was so shaken that he couldn't find his way, so he could only watch Jokic score various points.

At halftime, the two sides tied at 58.

The score of 58 points in the half is definitely not a low score in a game of this intensity.

Fans also watched the Finals-level halftime.

But many fans found that tonight's game was very different from what they expected.

And this difference comes from Tang Tian and Durant.

As the top scorer of their respective teams, Durant only took 5 shots in the half, and Tang Tian only took 4 shots.

Both of them seemed to be playing in the Buddhist system in the first half.

The fans thought that this situation would improve in the second half, but it turned out to be the same in the third quarter.

Curry and Davis continued to kill the Quartet.

Curry scored 30 points in three quarters, and Davis also scored 26 points on the opposite side. The second scorer of the two teams became the protagonist of the game tonight.

After three quarters, the two teams also tied at 80, and the fans watching were nervous and excited.

Just when the fans thought the game was going to continue like this, the situation on the field suddenly changed during the transition from the bench in the fourth quarter.

And the one who made all the difference was Pelicans sixth man Lou Williams.

Williams is the only player in the Pelicans who has returned from the trade of first-round picks in the past two years, but his performance in the first two rounds can only be described as average.

Like Jokic, under the new penalty scale, his thin body seemed very uncomfortable.

But in key games, he ushered in a recovery like Jokic.

He continued to change directions and break through to score, and even knocked Pachulia down. He personally played a wave of 8-0 and directly stopped the Warriors.

And that's not counting, when Holiday came back from the timeout to steal Livingston, Williams scored another 2 points in the fast break, and the Pelicans had already led by 10 points!

After Williams scored, he waved his hands, and the cheers in response were overwhelming.

This Iverson's disciple, this paragraph really has Iverson's demeanor.

Cole finally couldn't sit still. He called Durant up in advance, pulled him to talk for a while, and then motioned him to replace Green.

The Warriors attacked the frontcourt, and after everyone opened up, Durant caught the ball and hit Bo Yang on the high post on the right.

Bo Yang's defense is mediocre, but he has a high IQ and knows that his weakness is movement. Now he is desperately trying to push Durant out.

Durant didn't break through either, so he turned around and leaned back slightly.

This movement is not large, but his height and wingspan are too good, and turning out is a big open opportunity.

Bo Yang didn't even have time to pounce.

"Shh!"

Durant's shot is firmly pocketed!

Before the game, Green's big mouth always made people uncomfortable, but he was a little bit right. Durant's state has indeed been adjusted in place.

In Williams' frontcourt singles, he swayed and passed Livingston again. He is in a bit of a super state at the moment.

But Durant returned to defense, and the long arm interfered.

Williams' mid-air dodge pull bar failed to get the ball up.

Durant took advantage of the defensive rebound.

Many people know that Durant is a natural scorer, and he has never been selected for the defensive team in his career, so they think he is a player with strong offense and weak defense.

But in fact, Durant's wingspan and moving speed are historical relative to his height.

His defense was very similar to Tang Tian's last season, limited by his physical strength, he selectively gave up defense.

But if he really wants to use his strength to defend a round, not to mention the best in the league, he is also the best in the league.

Durant poured the ball to Livingston, and then settled himself in the frontcourt.

This time the Pelicans switched defenses, and Ariza switched to guard Durant.

He is also the best defense against Durant in the Pelicans except for Tang Tian.

Sure enough, Durant's first turn after receiving the ball was blocked and he had no chance to make a shot.

But Durant turned around again, ignoring Ariza who rushed over, and directly chose to make a strong shot!

The ball goes over Ariza's fingertips.

"Shh!"

Still in!

There was a commotion at the scene.

Durant didn't make many shots in the first three quarters, but he has already scored 4 points in this quarter.

Williams' breakthrough layup in the frontcourt caused Pachulia to foul, and he made two free throws to help the team stabilize the situation.

Durant turned around to catch the ball and wanted to play again, and the Pelicans went straight to double-team.

He returns the ball to Livingston, then reruns himself back to the three-point line.