One Guard

With the warm-up of the first two games, today's third matchup, Chesapeake Energy Arena is naturally full of people.

Like in Dallas, Thunder fans wore blue T-shirts, and the stands at the Chesapeake Energy Arena became an "endless" sea. But today, it is Yiyang and the Mavericks who will face the stormy sea. They are like a small boat sailing in the storm. If you are not careful, it may sink to the bottom of the sea.

"The team's attendance should break the record today, right?" In the luxurious box of the arena, Thunder team owner Clay Bennett looked at the fans who were almost flooding the stadium under his nose, and even couldn't believe himself. s eyes.

Before he decided to move the team away from Seattle and move to this "no shit" Oklahoma City, few people were optimistic about the team's development prospects.

"There is no basketball market in Oklahoma!"

"No star would want to play somewhere like Oklahoma."

"Bennett must be crazy to abandon Seattle and start a new team in Oklahoma!"

At that time, the whole world was ready to watch Bennett and watch the jokes of the Thunder. Even the famous NBA superstar Gary Payton, who was once stunned by Yiyang's dunk performance on the street, was full of hostility towards this team. He claimed that he would not have his jersey retired by the Thunder, nor did he want to acknowledge the history of the Thunder.

"I would rather wait until the age of 70, until Seattle has a Sonics team again, and I will not let the Thunder retire my jersey!" In the face of reporters' interviews, Payton can say that he did not save face for the Thunder at all.

But it's only been a few years? The small team that was not optimistic at the beginning replaced the giants like the Lakers and Spurs and became one of the participants in the Western Conference Finals! And Oklahoma, a city that "doesn't shit", has become one of the venues for the NBA Western Conference Finals.

These things were absolutely unimaginable to the people at that time. Sometimes, however, reality is crazier than imagination.

In order to express his respect, today Bennett also asked the team general manager Presti to invite Payton to watch the game. But the outspoken Payton didn't even think about it, and rejected the invitation on the phone.

Bennett originally prepared this luxury box for himself and Payton, but now, only he and his assistant are in the room.

But judging from his expression, Bennett, who was staring at the court with a red wine in his hand, didn't seem disappointed at all. This is our Western Conference Finals, it doesn't matter if you come or admit it!

field,

Players from both sides are in the final warm-up. However, in the warm-up phase, the shooting percentages of the two teams did not seem to be very high. This question does not explain anything. After all, the state and mentality of the players after the game are very different from what they are now, and this difference will also change the shooting percentage of the players. But Carlisle is a little worried. His team is a team that relies on shooting as its main scoring method. If the player shoots badly, it will be a fatal blow to the Mavericks.

But Carlisle's worry only lasted for a while, and then slowly disappeared. Because today, he didn't plan to shoot the Thunder to death, but planned to rely on defense to win!

The warm-up time was over, and players from both sides surrounded the head coach. Yiyang turned his head sideways in the crowd, looking at Harden who was still wearing training clothes and was about to come off the bench. The last game, it was the guy who gave the Mavericks their first home loss in the playoffs.

"Also!" Seeing Yiyang looking away, Carlisle yelled.

"Concentrate, your opponent at the beginning was Westbrook!" Carlisle had to remind that Harden was not Yiyang's only opponent.

"I know, boss. Don't worry, I won't be distracted."

Under the urging of the referee, the starting players of both sides appeared on the field. At the same time, the fans in the stands all stood up. There is a tradition at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma that fans will stand at the beginning of the game and will not sit down again until the team scores the first goal.

This majestic momentum will bring great confidence to the Thunder players. At the same time, it will also bring pressure to the away team.

James Harden sat off the court temporarily, and Yiyang's attention returned to Westbrook. Westbrook, who looked very excited to return to the home court, did not seem to be affected by not being able to play in the fourth quarter of the previous game.

"OKC! OKC! OKC!..." The fans shouted in unison. Amidst the noise, the referee approached Chandler and Perkins, two strong men, and threw the basketball high!

The key battle in Oklahoma officially begins!

Today, Perkins won the first attack for the Thunder. The ball fell into Westbrook's hands, and the No. 0 defender couldn't help but advance quickly, trying to sneak a goal!

But with Yiyang here, how could Westbrook get an easy chance to score? Just after crossing the midfield line, Yiyang's figure with arms outstretched appeared in front of Westbrook again!

Today, Westbrook did not rely on his body to charge hard, but threw the ball to his teammates after encountering obstacles, trying to get better opportunities by running.

In fact, there is nothing wrong with this guy Westbrook playing, but he is too impulsive. As long as he can stay calm on the court, Westbrook's role will be infinitely magnified.

After passing the ball to Sefoloza, Westbrook's running restrained the Mavericks' defense, which also gave Durant a chance to run back and catch the ball!

Although Marion is a veteran with considerable experience on the defensive end, he also judged Durant's counter-running direction correctly. But once Durant, who is tall and long, takes a step, Marion can't catch up at all!

After taking three big steps, Durant ran to the mid-range position on the right and received the basketball. Faced with Marion's forward jump, Durant calmly took a step back, retreated beyond the three-point line, and then shot the ball slightly backward.

Durant already has a huge advantage in height and wingspan, and now he still leans back to shoot, which makes Marion even more unable to complete the interference.

In this way, the basketball crossed a parabola, as if it had been accurately calculated, and fell steadily into the frame!

"nice shot!"

"Nice job, KD!"

"Come on, we are the best!"

In the stands, Thunder fans danced with excitement. Of course, after scoring a goal, they were finally willing to sit down obediently.

It wasn't until the fans sat down that Kenny Smith and Barkley finally saw the scene clearly. Just now, there were so many people standing around with their arms raised high, and the two of them couldn't see anything at all.

"Two smooth transmissions brought 3 points to the Thunder. Today, their offense looks very smooth, without sloppy, and Westbrook seems to no longer stick to the ball. If the Thunder can continue to play like this, they I won't be surprised at all if I have a winning streak."

For the Mavericks to attack, in the first two games, the combination of Yiyang and Nowitzki has attracted much attention, and the two have indeed shown impressive performances. The cooperation between him and Nowitzki is even called "International Connection" by fans!

Today, Nowitzki is naturally very active. As soon as he ran beyond the three-point line, he stopped his footsteps.

Ibaka thought that the Germans were going to go inside, so they retreated quickly. But unexpectedly, Nowitzki didn't sit in it, and Ibaka was so scared that he quickly posted it.

Sure enough, Dirk Nowitzki was just in position when Yiyang's ball was delivered! Facing Ibaka's defense, Nowitzki directly raised the basketball, as if planning to catch the ball and shoot!

Ibaka quickly raised his center of gravity and raised his arms high. But Nowitzki just feinted, made a shot fake and then moved to the basket.

Ibaka's reaction was not slow either. After seeing that he was deceived, he did not lose his position, but stuck close to Nowitzki.

Dirk held the ball with both hands, walked slowly and made a three-step throw. However, because Ibaka put too much defensive pressure on himself, it was difficult for the Germans to adjust their shots during the confrontation. So, the Mavericks and Nowitzki's first shot was rejected by the basket!

Thankfully, Chandler got in early. At this moment, he is holding Perkins tightly behind him. If this is not a long rebound, Chandler should have no problem grabbing the rebound!

Westbrook originally planned to find a direct fast break route, but he saw Yiyang suddenly rushing towards the basket!

Westbrook screamed in his heart that it was not good, and immediately followed, that guy's goal was to rebound!

The basketball hit the rim and began to fall slowly. Ibaka is still far from the basket, and Perkins is blocked by Chandler. Under the basket, the two tall men jumped almost at the same time, and Perkins stretched out his arms, eager to catch the basketball from behind Chandler.

Just when the hands of both sides were intertwined and getting closer to the basketball, a blue figure suddenly jumped out and caught the rebound before the two insiders.

In the next second, another white figure suddenly flashed. The guy in the white No. 0 jersey raised his arms high and seemed intent on grabbing the rebound, too. Unfortunately, the ball is in Yiyang's hands now, so what to do can only be said after everyone hits the ground.

Westbrook's body began to fall, and he was still trying to quickly block Yiyang's layup space after landing. But the guy suddenly widened his eyes, his face full of horror.

Yiyang didn't wait for the ground to attack the basket, but the moment he caught the rebound, he took advantage of the opportunity to dunk the ball into the basket!

"The dunks from the guards are also very accurate in judging the basketball's placement! Westbrook should not be distracted, he should stick to his position! At least in this way, it is impossible to grab rebounds! You know, the rebounding , It’s not just about the inside players.”

At the beginning of the second round of the game, Yiyang's putback made Barkley, who was a little hoarse, couldn't help screaming again. But the people around him were obviously not so excited.

Seeing Yiyang complete a dunk that lifted vertically like a helicopter, the Thunder fans booed Yiyang without exception. But just like what Yiyang said to Terry yesterday, he doesn't care what other people think, or even whether people like or hate him. The only thing he cares about is winning! From every confrontation, every round to every game. Yiyang's goal will never change.

Seeing that Westbrook was dunked by Yiyang because he didn't get a good position, Brooks was a little angry, but he couldn't express it. If a coach loses his temper casually in front of young people, it will greatly affect the players' self-confidence.

"This is a common problem of young teams, this is a common problem of young teams..." He could only keep talking to himself to comfort himself. If Brooks couldn't regulate his emotions, he might have been angry. Died on the training ground, it is impossible to persist to the Western Conference Finals.

The Thunder attacked, and Westbrook chose to pass the ball. After receiving the ball, Sefolosha prepared to pass it on to Durant, but found that Durant had encountered a double-team from the Mavericks and hadn't run out of space to receive the ball yet. There is no way, the Swiss had to hang the ball directly to Perkins.

After all, when Durant was double-teamed, Perkins was temporarily unmarked.

However, Yiyang, who followed Westbrook halfway, suddenly turned around and ran in the opposite direction. Westbrook was stunned for a moment, but then he realized that the Chinese wanted to intercept the pass!

"Be careful!" Westbrook yelled, Perkins turned his head and saw Yiyang running towards the ball.

Naturally, Perkins would not sit still, he hurriedly stepped forward, ready to take the initiative to respond to the pass. However, what shocked Perkins was that the Chinese was still one step faster!

"Top prediction!" Seeing that Yiyang slapped away Sefoloza's pass to Perkins, the word "top" immediately appeared in Kenny Smith's mind.

It seems that Yiyang is marking Westbrook, but in fact, the details of the entire half cannot escape Yiyang's eyes! Sometimes point guards can not only lead the overall situation on the offensive end, but also on the defensive end!

The ball was intercepted halfway, and Yiyang naturally went wild with impunity. At this moment, he is an American muscle car with full horsepower, rampaging on the court, no one can stop him at all!

The fans just blinked, and Yiyang had already rushed to the frontcourt. He bent his legs slightly, and then exerted force suddenly, "catapulting" himself into the air.

Time seemed to slow down at that moment, Yiyang glides in the air, feeling the air passing by his face. The way the fans opened their mouths in surprise also turned into slow motion.

Yiyang stretched his arms as far as possible, and the basket was getting closer and closer to him... In the end, it was within reach!

"Bang!" Grabbing the frame with one hand, dunking the ball in, Yiyang landed smoothly. In order to maintain balance under the huge inertia, Yiyang even opened his arms.

This makes him look like a falcon of prey, as if preparing to drag its prey into the air.

After the feet touched the ground, the air began to flow quickly, and everything around them returned to normal. But Yiyang still couldn't hear the sound, because at this time everyone in the Chesapeake Energy Arena was shocked into silence!

"How is this possible!? An ultra-long tomahawk-style dunk one step inside the free throw line!" Even Kenny Smith, who had seen countless exaggerated scenes, couldn't keep his mouth shut for a long time.

Jumping and dunking from the free throw line is actually not difficult for many NBA-level dunkers. But very few people will use it in actual combat.

But having said that, Yiyang doesn't seem to be a general in people's minds? But this guy has already staged two earth-shattering dunks in a row!

This is why at this time the entire arena can only hear the sound of people breathing with their mouths wide open.

After the dunk, Yiyang looked at the Thunder's bench. He and Harden met each other's eyes.

"When will you come? I will accompany you anytime!"