67. Who will defend Wu Dawei
Byron Scott's substitution this time was targeted, of course, to curb James Harden and Westbrook teamed up to lead the Thunder to launch a fast-paced offense, thus dragging down the Cavaliers.
So Wu Dawei's mission to play is very simple, and naturally he gave the Thunder a fatal blow when the opponent tried to open the rhythm of the attack!
After Wu Dawei re-played in the second quarter, it happened to be the Thunder's offense. The two-point guard lineup formed by Westbrook and Harden made their outside firepower extremely strong. Naturally, the two of them will become the focus of the Cleveland Cavaliers' next targets to be guarded.
After both sides adjusted their personnel, the Oklahoma City Thunder had the ball. They quickly played the advantage of a double point guard. Harden and Westbrook took turns to attack the inside and tear open the Cavaliers' defense.
Countless breakthrough passes finally helped the Thunder score two points, but this is not enough to alleviate the current dilemma facing the Thunder.
32:24, the score difference is still as much as 8 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder will face the Cavaliers' offense next.
Kyrie Irving's previous performance of breaking through and shooting was enough to make Thunder players feel a split headache, not to mention that Byron Scott also replaced Wu Dawei, who had once killed all over the field in the first quarter.
Westbrook can be responsible for defending Kyrie Irving, and Westbrook is also very confident about whether he can defend the left; but the remaining question is who will defend Wu Dawei, and who in the Thunder can be sure to defend Wu Dawei?
This became a problem. After the Cavaliers passed half, Wu Dawei's appearance made Kyrie Irving, who was originally the first offensive point, immediately retreat to the second line. Kyrie Irving got the ball and quickly passed it to Wu Dawei.
Facing the Thunder veteran Collins, Wu Dawei took a big step forward after getting the ball, then jumped to shoot, and then took off his 16th point in the game. Although Collins' height and weight were not at a disadvantage in front of Wu Dawei, he appeared more at the No. 4 or 5 position. Facing Wu Dawei at the No. 3 position, he always struggled in terms of speed.
He naturally did not dare to be too far ahead of Wu Dawei's defense, but this made Wu Dawei easily shoot at mid-range shot. This was already the first point Wu Dawei got in the shooting. Anyway, Thunder coach Brooks was very annoyed when he saw this.
"Don't be on the way! Keep it on the way! Don't give him a gap!"
Brooks' furious voice resounded throughout the game, but at this time it was the Thunder's offense. James Harden quickly broke into the frontcourt with the ball, completed a two-for-one cooperation with Westbrook, and then scored the ball.
34:26, the score difference is still eight points. The Thunder's double point guard is still extraordinary. At least for a while, they temporarily stabilized the score difference and did not continue to expand.
In the next round of defense, the ball was handed over by Kyrie Irving to Wu Dawei. This time Collins did not dare to be too far from Wu Dawei anymore. The head coach roared in anger before and had already reminded him.
So even though his pace couldn't keep up with Wu Dawei, Collins had to bite the bullet and stubborn. Wu Dawei certainly knew that this was an unequal match. The previous fight with Collins also made Wu Dawei know that the opponent's speed was not only not as fast as him, but was even a little slower.
After Wu Dawei called his teammates to make a pick-and-roll for him, he swung the ball directly to the wing, and then rushed towards the inside line with a diagonal stab! Although Collins tried his best to try to keep up with Wu Dawei's pace, due to his own speed, he could only look at Wu Dawei's back and look beyond the reach.
Wu Dawei rushed into the inside and faced the young player Byron Mullens, he flew his shot. He made Mullens, who was eager to make a contribution, jumped up, and then scored a time difference, scoring another two points in the inside
36:26.
Seeing that the team was slow to catch up with the score, not only the Oklahoma fans in the Ford Center were anxious, but also the head coach Brooks on the sidelines felt a little tricky. He knew that he could no longer leave it alone. Although there seemed to be no candidate in the team who could defend Wu Dawei, he had the bargaining chips to compete with Wu Dawei.
Kevin Durant was then sent back to the court by Brooks. This is also the best way for Brooks to fight Wu Dawei. Relying on Kevin Durant's extremely strong firepower on the offensive end, he restrained Wu Dawei's energy.
Kevin Durant made a contribution immediately after he reappeared. He relied on the successive pick-and-rolls of his two teammates outside the three-point line and found a gap for shooting. He raised his hand without hesitation!
36:29, this goal really made Oklahoma fans feel relieved. However, it did not put too much pressure on the Cavaliers, because Wu Dawei then assisted Kyrie and Irving on the offensive end to score.
38:29, the Cavaliers still control the advantages on the court.
However, Kevin Durant scored again. Facing Wu Dawei's defense, Kevin Durant had learned to act unwillingly. Once again, relying on the jump shot after the pick-and-roll, Kevin Durant scored two points on the offensive end.
38:31. Although Wu Dawei's prediction ability always allows him to keep up with Kevin Durant's actions in any situation and understand every intention, Kevin Durant also has his own advantage, that is, his height is long and his arms are long.
As a No. 3 player, Kevin Durant is much taller than Wu Dawei in height, which makes Wu Dawei difficult for him to block his shooting. In addition, Kevin Durant's super long arm span makes it much more difficult for Wu Dawei to block him!
So after being scored two goals in succession by Kevin Durant, Wu Dawei turned his attention to other directions, so he naturally couldn't just seek blocks. That could indeed inspire morale, but it was a bit difficult.
The Cavaliers missed the next offense, giving the Thunder a chance. Kevin Durant, who had previously scored consecutively, got the ball again and faced Wu Dawei's defense. He made consecutive shots and scored points, giving Kevin Durant a great increase in his self-confidence!
This time, he still planned to do the same thing, preparing to rely on a pick-and-roll and then score a jump shot.
Wu Dawei also understood Kevin Durant's idea, and this time he was not going to block the other party. When Wu Dawei saw Collins running towards him from the corner of his eyes, Wu Dawei found that Kevin Durant in front of him was also beginning to move.
He began to move towards the direction Collins ran, and at this moment, Wu Dawei suddenly stepped forward! Durant was just about to make a hand-dribble in front of the body, and then used the pick-and-roll to throw away Wu Dawei.
But I never thought that just as soon as I was doing the move, Wu Dawei jumped up like a cheetah! Then he slapped off the ball in his hand, and then the situation got out of control!
Wu Dawei seized Kevin Durant's weakness. His tall and strong man did make Wu Dawei feel extremely difficult when blocking Kevin Durant; but at the same time, Wu Dawei also knew that a tall and strong man meant Kevin Durant's extremely high center of gravity when dribbling, which gave Wu Dawei the opportunity to steal.
When Wu Dawei completed a steal against Kevin Durant at the top of the three-point line and rushed to the frontcourt, no one could stop him from advancing.
After rushing through the half, Wu Dawei jumped in the air in the disappointed eyes of the Oklahoman, and then a powerful and heavy slash resounded throughout the game! This was the second tenth he got in this game!
The second quarter game has just started less than half of the time. Wu Dawei has scored 20 points with his performance at the beginning and his current performance!
His performance is the best in the game!
40:31, the score difference was pulled back to as much as nine.
This seemed to have become an unsurpassable gully tonight for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and also made the tone of this game always controlled by the Cleveland Cavaliers who played away.
Such a scene will inevitably disappoint some people who had high expectations for the Oklahoma City Thunder and Kevin Durant before the start of this game. Wu Dawei scored 20 points in just one and a half minutes!?
What kind of rhythm is this?
Anxious writing is written on the face of every Oklahoma fan. Of course, they do not want to be a footnote to the nine-game winning streak of the Cleveland Cavaliers, but in the face of the current situation on the court, they all feel helpless.
No one in their team can limit Wu Dawei's performance, which is the key to the current problem. Even Kevin Durant, whom they trust the most, cannot do this. However, Kevin Durant's performance against Wu Dawei after he came on the court still left some hope for the Oklahoma City Thunder fans.
After all, Kevin Durant had scored 5 points in a row on Wu Dawei, and he has scored 12 points tonight.
Although the game was just halfway through the second quarter, the Cavaliers firmly controlled the situation on the court; but after all, the game was not even finished in the first half, and the Cleveland Cavaliers did not lead by 20 or 30 points, so it can be said that they are still full of variables.
After all, no one can guess what will happen in the end until the last moment of the basketball game. Perhaps the Thunder broke out in the entire second half and staged a Jedi counterattack.
However, watching Wu Dawei, who is lively on the court at this time, whether such a drama can be staged in the end, the fans of the Oklahoma City Thunder are in a vague mood. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian to vote for recommendations and monthly votes.
Chapter completed!