NBA: Magic Johnson opens the season, crowned MOP

"Well done boy!"

"Big heart temperament, you remind me of that killer in the cornfields of Indiana……"

"What an amazing rookie!"

"You are great Joey……"

"……"

On the Spurs bench, these cocky old guys didn't care that this was a crucial moment of the game and that they were two points behind. They excitedly ruffled Joey's hair into a mess right in front of old man Popovich.

The old man also watched this scene calmly without saying anything.

But when he looked at Joey, his satisfaction was even greater.

To be honest, neither he nor GDP, nor other old players of the Spurs, attached much importance to the outcome of this game against the Thunder.

Popovich and the coaching staff behind him have already begun researching the opponent teams of the Spurs' Western Conference playoffs this season.

This determines the"ranking" of the Spurs' regular season record."……

The old man was very calm. He did not arrange tactics as quickly as Brooks, the coach of the Thunder team. He just replaced Green at this critical moment, so that Leonard, who had better defense and more chemistry with Joey, could play the small forward position.

Parker played as a shooting guard, mainly targeting the relatively weak back line of the Thunder team.

Joey was transferred to the point guard position where he was best at controlling the game, while Duncan and Bonner, who could open up space, were responsible for partnering in the interior.

The timeout time passed quickly, and the players of the two teams stepped onto the battlefield again.

The Thunder team had the ball, and there was one minute and ten seconds left in the game.

Durant got out of the right side with a screen at a 45-degree angle and received the serve. Facing Leonard, who was defending tightly and looked paralyzed, he easily broke through the"robot" defense that had not yet installed the highest program with just an exaggerated change of direction.

Facing Joey's decisive double-teaming and Duncan's backup defense, Durant did not choose to pass the ball. He connected his crotch and changed direction to avoid Joey's hand that was about to steal the ball. He was one step ahead and shot a mid-range shot against Duncan's defense - bang!

"Swish——"

Under the eager gaze of the fans, the basketball bounced high on the rim and then fell straight into the net, splashing a wave.

Chesapeake Energy Arena was immediately filled with cheers, and jerseys and huge banners with Durant's name were held in an endless stream. At this time, Durant became the real master of Oklahoma City!

After scoring this crucial goal, Coach Brooks on the sidelines also breathed a sigh of relief.

Durant high-fived his teammates expressionlessly and retreated. Joey stared at the former's expression, as solemn as a lion fighting for territory - the scenes of being beaten in the preseason appeared in front of him.

The boos of away fans, Durant's disdainful expression, and the unanimous pessimistic comments of outside basketball commentators...

Joey took a deep breath and dribbled across half court. At this moment, the one who opened his hands in front of him was Russell Westbrook, the second-team player of the NBA last season. He calmly handed in a screen, Bonner moved up, and Westbrook seemed to have eyes behind his head, skillfully bypassing the pick-and-roll.

But Joey was no longer in sight. It turned out that Joey had just typed���The hand gesture is a tactic of the Spurs' No. 3 high-post player, using the pick-and-roll to break through to the other side of the defender.

Ibaka was concerned about the presence of Duncan behind him and did not choose to help defend. Joey, who had the bonus of the bronze lob master badge, easily made a lob shot.

97:99!

In the next round, Durant took a direct step back three-pointer and scored a"three plus one" in the face of Leonard's defense!

The enthusiasm of the Thunder fans in the audience was completely ignited by this ball, and the fans from all directions"MVP"The cheers almost blew the roof off the stadium!

ESPN commentator Mike Breen, who was commentating on the game, said with emotion:

"In the past few seasons, Kevin has used incredible goals time and time again to tell us that the second decade of the league will be dominated by him and LeBron!"

"Kevin, Cameron, LeBron, Paul, Andre……"

"The era of forwards is coming!"

Durant scored the free throw, and he had entered the"Grim Reaper" mode, swinging his sickle and ruthlessly tearing every defensive player to pieces!

97:103, the score was pulled to six points, and there were 43 seconds left in the game.

The Thunder were in high spirits, while the Spurs were in decline...

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the possibility of the Spurs taking the victory from the Chesapeake Energy Arena in this game was very low!

But Coach Brooks off the court noticed something was wrong.

The Spurs they met last season were not like this...

No matter how much Coach Popovich liked a rookie, he would never let this Asian guard, who was just playing his second game in his career, play the entire fourth quarter that decided the outcome!

He looked at the Spurs bench sitting on the Diaoyutai, Popovich looked calm and composed, but he was puzzled.

Forty seconds and six points. Unless you call that sleepy guy and the killer in the cornfield over... otherwise, Brooks would never believe that the Spurs can win!

After all, in the long history of the NBA, the Spurs have always been the ones who have been reversed. Stability, low-key, calmness, and strictness...are both advantages and disadvantages for the"silver-gray" Spurs.

Popovich did not call a timeout. He just watched everything that happened on the court silently, as if it had nothing to do with him.

Joey broke into the paint with the help of a screen. The quick stop jump shot missed, but fortunately Stone Buddha blocked Ibaka and Perkins under the basket at this time. Leonard relied on his youth and strength to rush into the inside and grab this important offensive rebound.

After exchanging glances with Joey, he handed the ball to the latter.

Following Joey's instructions, he ran to the corner and made an off-ball screen for Parker.

Parker was ready to receive the ball at any time, and quickly shook off Westbrook's pursuit. Harden suddenly rushed out at this time, trying to block Joey's passing intention.

Unfortunately, the latter was just a fake move, a fake real breakthrough, easily breaking through Durant's defense in front of him, and rushing to the basket like a lightning.

Ibaka, who had been waiting for a long time, sat down He was at the basket, looking for the right moment to block Joey's shot.

Under the attention of all the fans, Joey jumped up with the ball, and Ibaka jumped hard, and the two of them collided heavily.

Surprisingly, Joey, who was obviously thinner, was not knocked away by Ibaka, and folded his body into a twisted posture. When Ibaka gradually couldn't overcome the gravity and began to fall, Joey was still rising!

At this time, Joey shot.

The silver powerful terminator lit up!

He pulled the ball back to his waist, waited until Ibaka began to fall, glided to the other side of the basket and pulled the rod -

Ibaka propped up with both hands, trying to block this ball……

""Swish!"

Just a little bit, really just a little bit, Ibaka, who almost won the Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) last season, finally failed to block the ball and watched Joey score.

At the same time——

""Whistle!"

The whistle sounded, and a"2 plus 1" was scored.

"What a great goal!"

McBrin pumped his fist excitedly

"MJ's iconic pull-up layup - The Move!"

""Pretty boy!"

Duncan, the most sultry old man in the Spurs,"touched" Joey again at this moment - it was already unknown how many times Joey fell into the"devil's clutches" in this game.

Joey broke free from his palm, shook hands with Parker, Leonard and others, and then walked to the free throw line.——

""Swish!"

Steady hit!

There were still 28 seconds left in the game. As long as the Thunder dragged the offensive time to the end, the Spurs would only have four seconds left.

Popovich still didn't call a timeout. Leonard was about to foul the moment Durant received the serve, but was stopped by Joey:

"Defense!"

He said briefly and turned away to defend.

Leonard was stunned. He didn't know why he listened to Joey's words.

The latter found Durant, and Popovich's face on the sidelines finally changed.

"Call a timeout and put me in, Greg.……"

Dio, who was standing by, felt that he had regained some strength and volunteered to

"The young people have been fighting for so long, I, an old man, can’t fall behind!"

"Don't worry about it, man. It's just a regular season game. Winning or losing doesn't mean anything.……"

Popovich didn't even turn his head, just staring at the game on the court, or more precisely, at Joey, who was wearing the Spurs' No. 3 jersey.

Is he the kind of player we've always needed?……

………

"Hey rookie, I have to admit, you are indeed a different guy!"

Durant paid attention to the time while spraying what he thought was advanced"trash talk" with Joey in front of him."

"But you have to know that we are the kings of the West. Last season, it was me who led Oklahoma to defeat you and reach the finals. You can't beat me.……"

"You can't beat LeBron.……"

Durant was silent instantly.

Unexpectedly, this taciturn rookie successfully choked him with the first words he said to him in this game.

""Sharp-tongued rookie"

Durant's face quickly darkened.

LeBron James, a"mountain" that has dominated his career for five years since he entered the league!

Among players in the same position, the two are called the"big and small kings" of the league, and are always compared by the outside world.

In the finals last season, the Miami Heat led by James swept the Thunder led by the three young players with a total score of 4:1, which has been his nightmare throughout the offseason.

"Boy, you succeeded in pissing me off!"

Durant was a little angry, and he decided to teach this ungrateful rookie a lesson.

So, instead of choosing the safest way to shorten the game time, he called a pick-and-roll.

Ibaka quickly stepped forward to cover, and with the help of the screen, Durant went straight into the paint.

Duncan switched defense in time, and Durant was not in a hurry. He dribbled the ball with his back to create space and was about to shoot - snap!

There was a crisp sound of cutting the ball, and Durant felt a huge force coming, and the basketball in his hand was directly pulled away.

No!

Durant looked back and saw Leonard coming from the bottom corner at some point, and"snatched" the basketball from his hand while he was distracted.

Yes, that's right,"snatched" it away!

""It's Kawhi!"

There was a cheer from the Spurs bench. Popovich, who had been paying full attention to Joey, looked at Leonard who had made the"fatal steal".

The basketball was given to Joey, and all the Thunder players quickly returned to defense, including the stunned Durant.

Joey rushed with the ball, facing the joint defense of Harden and Westbrook, and forcefully used his body to break through, and was about to make a layup -

Durant came from behind and jumped high to block the shot, but Joey was just a fake move.

Without looking at the person, he passed the ball to Duncan who was following up, and the"No. 21 rookie" took the ball and was about to dunk over Durant.

"boom——"

A huge impact force came from behind, and Duncan, who had just finished shooting, was directly knocked away, and the basketball was nailed hard on the backboard. The person who came was none other than last season's DPOY selection team runner-up, Serge Ibaka!

The man with a length of 28 meters directly knocked the 36-year-old"old man" Duncan away. At the same time——

"Whistle!"

The Thunder referee at home could not ignore such an obvious foul. He gave Ibaka a shooting foul and a first-degree flagrant foul.

Joey frowned and looked at the indifferent"Er Ba Ka" with a dangerous look.

Bang - he rushed forward and pushed him away. His strength was so great that he even knocked down Ibaka, who was caught off guard and a size bigger than himself.

"What are you doing, rookie!"

"Want to fight?"

"Fuck, are you crazy, little brat?"

"……"

The Thunder players were not to be trifled with. Perkins, Westbrook and other aggressive and loyal guys surrounded them.

The Spurs players behind Joey saw that the situation was not good and rushed forward one by one. However, most of them were veterans who had been in the league for many years and naturally would not be so impulsive - their purpose was to break up the fight.

The referees also blew their whistles quickly and intervened between the two groups.

"I'll chop off your head, you bastard.……"

Ibaka, who was pushed down, also reacted. He was not a good-tempered person and became furious instantly.

He had been annoyed with this rookie for a long time. He had just used himself as a backdrop and scored a two-plus-one on his head. Now he was actually provoking him and pushing him down in public! Do you really think that the toughest man in Congo is made of mud?

If there were not many players and referees stopping him at this moment, he would even want to take out his"28 big gun" and teach Joey a lesson.

Joey did not curse back, but just clenched his fists and stared at the former with a cold look.