The Way of the Center

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"Defend! Defend! Defend!" Following the rhythm played by the live DJ, Thunder fans shouted orderly in the stands. Chesapeake Energy Arena has never been so big. People who didn't know saw this formation and thought the playoffs had already begun.

The cheering of the home fans can not only put pressure on the opponent, but also make the adrenaline of the home team players soar. After all, which bloody man would turn a deaf ear to such cheers.

Steve Nash flashed smartly after passing O'Neal's pick-and-roll, and broke into the restricted area, preparing for a layup.

Seeing that O'Neal didn't go down, An Jie decisively returned to the penalty area. After all, O'Neal was really no threat outside the three-second zone.

Nash looked back, no one followed up, so he made a layup.

Seeing Nash take off, Anjie came from behind and slammed the basketball Nash had just shot out of the baseline.

"Ah!" An Jie shouted towards the audience, and Westbrook immediately came over and gave An Jie a push. On the side of the stand facing An Jie, countless big heads of him were raised.

"Only three minutes after the start of the game, Ann sent his second block of the night! The cheers from the Thunder fans were not in vain. This young center was obviously affected!" Mike Breen said of the game He had been looking forward to it for a long time, so far, An Jie did not disappoint him.

The Suns sent the baseline ball, and Ricard's analysis on the phone was correct. The Suns slowed down a lot in this game, and they also began to slowly look for opportunities to increase their success rate.

O'Neal may publicly praise Anjie after retiring, but now, on the court, O'Neal will never give Anjie any face.

Because now, he's a professional player.

"Shaquille O'Neal and Anjie play singles! A collision between two giants!" Today, when outside players are raging in the league, there are few duels between centers that people can talk about so much.

The last time they played against O'Neal, the 36-year-old Shark was exhausted. But today, O'Neill is very excited!

Relying on his huge strength and weight advantages, O'Neal scored three times, five times and two times, and then slashed into the penalty area. Turning around forcefully and swiftly, An Jie didn't want to take half a step back, but he couldn't resist O'Neill's enormous strength.

The end result of this was that An Jie, who was unwilling to retreat, lost his center of gravity and fell directly to the ground. Stoudemire thought that Anjie was flopping again, and was trying to make use of the problem, but found that the referee did not blow his whistle.

Watching the only defender fall to the ground, O'Neal jumped with both feet, slammed into the basket vigorously on the spot, and the shark's iconic dunk!

Although he couldn't prevent it, An Jie, who didn't take half a step back, received applause from all the fans.

"Just hit like this!"

"You did a good job Ann, come on!"

Durant and Westbrook pulled Angel up from left to right. The young man fell and got up and continued to attack!

An Jie gave Westbrook a pick-and-roll, and when Westbrook was about to walk to An Jie's side, he suddenly changed direction and rushed in the opposite direction of the pick-and-roll. Fake pick and roll!

Nash didn't react in time, and forced himself to follow a change of direction, feeling a dull pain in his ankle.

After changing direction in time, Nash was bumped by Westbrook's shoulder before he could stand still. Nash lost his center of gravity and fell to the ground. He could only watch as the lightning-fast Westbrook flew away from him go.

These two goals are the epitome of the game between the Thunder and the Suns in the first quarter. The confrontation between the two sides was very fierce, and scenes of people turning their backs on their backs were frequently staged.

Stoudemire cut in quickly, and the power of "Little Bully" after wearing sports glasses was not affected in the slightest. Nash sees the situation and makes a pass. This is Stoudemire's favorite way of scoring, a dunk after catching the ball inside!

Anjie immediately left O'Neal to defend, which was exactly what Stoudemire wanted! Two tough insiders collided solidly in the air, but Stoudemire was "accidentally" defeated.

"Little Overlord" fell to the ground in embarrassment, An Jie staggered and stepped over him.

Stoudemire immediately got up to confront Anjie, but was hugged by O'Neill. Seeing this, Stoudemire did not give up looking for trouble, he cursed at An Jie, his mouth was very dirty.

An Jie didn't answer anything, because facing Stoudemire, verbal attacks could no longer satisfy An Jie.

Although An Jie fouled, his tough inside defense was exactly what the coaches and fans wanted to see.

Van Gundy crossed the sidelines with two dark circles under his eyes. Unlike Gentry, who sat firmly on the Diaoyutai, Van Gundy couldn't sit down for a second in this game. He had to go back and forth on the sidelines to relieve his anxiety.

In the next attack, An Jie deliberately found Stoudemire's point, and he was waiting for this opportunity!

With a back attack, Krstic hoisted the "big shark" out of the penalty area, and Anjie could go one-on-one with Stoudemire without any restraint.

When it was near the three-second zone, An Jie's shoulders began to shake from side to side, and Stoudemire didn't know which way the yellow-skinned boy would turn.

An Jie suddenly turned to the bottom line with a cross step! Stoudemire reacted quickly and quickly blocked.

"Damn!" When he had physical contact with An Jie, Stoudemire suddenly felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. An Jie's elbow was not clean when he turned around, but the referee was completely unaware of the slightly raised angle.

Angrily, Stoudemire deliberately pushed Anjie when he returned to chase the block. Of course, this was also very secretive.

Although An Jie got two free throw opportunities, he fell hard enough. You must know that the last time these two guys fought, An Jie saw blood. Therefore, such intense physical contact between the two was completely expected.

Thunder fans no longer remember that this is the first time An Jie has fallen in a game. Giardina in the stands and Catherine in front of the TV also clenched their fists, worried about An Jie's body.

As for Anjie himself, he would get up quickly every time and step into the court again, without any procrastinating movements, without any unnecessary nonsense.

This game may be the closest regular season to the intensity of the playoffs.

"This is simply a preview of the playoffs!" Many sports channel commentators also expressed such emotion.

The Suns and the Thunder are incompatible with each other, you come and go, the first team ends and the second team takes over, and the scene has not changed.

At the end of the first quarter, the score was 26-25. The Thunder fell behind by one point temporarily, but it was only because Nash scored an extra three-pointer.

"Increase physical contact! Defense harder! Defense, focus on defense!" The Thunder team has been very good offensively, and now Jeff Van Gundy can only emphasize defense.

On April 15, 14 games were played and 28 teams participated. But the ratings of no game can be compared with the ratings of the game between the Thunder and the Suns.

The Jazz and Cavaliers played like a play house, which really couldn't arouse the interest of the fans. However, Thunder and Sun's hard work has attracted enough attention.

Under the tit-for-tat confrontation between Anjie and Stoudemire, O'Neal has gradually become a supporting role.

But Westbrook's sudden effort made Anjie and Stoudemire a foil.

Winning is not just about Anjie. Everyone has to work hard to make it to the playoffs. Westbrook is not ignorant of this. After an exciting first quarter, Westbrook's offensive desire in the second quarter is even stronger.

Although this small guard's performance is not stable enough, he has shown his super impact more than once. When O'Neal took a break and Edmondson came off the bench, the Suns' inside line couldn't bear the impact of Westbrook.

Robin Lopez watched with disappointment when Admondson played. It was the 82nd regular season game, and Gentry still didn't give himself a chance. In the last more than a month, he almost sat on the bench!

A blue-and-white lightning flashed in front of him suddenly. Before Edmondson could react, he was fouled by Westbrook who jumped for a layup.

Clap your hands, get in position, and start the free throw. This youth army, which is mainly composed of rookies, showed their rare discipline in this game.

Watching TV, Morris took a sip of juice. In order to make his body adapt to the NBA, he has been using juice instead of beer for a long time.

This game made his blood boil. When An Jie fell down again and again, how much he hoped that the person who would pull him up could be himself. When An Jie was pulled to a high position and the interior defense was empty, how much he wished that he could stand up and help An Jie watch behind him.

Morris brought himself so completely into the court that every time the Thunder scored a goal, he would yelp with excitement. He can't wait to sweat in the NBA's frenetic arena.

Peggy smiled and looked at the two crazy men sitting on the sofa. If the little guy in her belly was also a boy, he might be like them in the future.

Anjie held the ball in a high position, and Westbrook immediately started when he saw this. Steve Nash already couldn't keep up with Westbrook's footsteps, and now Durant was in the same position, and Westbrook was missed again.

Stoudemire raised his arms, blocking Anger's passing lane. Unexpectedly, Anjie slapped the ball on the ground, and the basketball passed through Stoudemire's "open door" crotch, and bounced into the penalty area precisely.

Westbrook hit the horse and dunked the ball.

"Fifth ball! Twelfth point! Russell Westbrook! He's the new type at point guard!"

The Thunder are playing more and more smoothly, but the Suns have not yet adapted to the defense with frequent physical contact.

The Suns, who are good at running and bombing, slowed down to play positions today, but unexpectedly encountered such fierce resistance from the Thunder. Many Suns players, including Stoudemire, have lost their sense of offense under such a defense.

Nash made 1 of 4 shots and Stoudemire made 0 of 3 shots. Except for O'Neill's slightly better 3-of-5 shooting, the offense of others can be said to be completely contained.

"Fortunately, O'Neal charged inside for the Suns, but the old Shark is obviously not the guy who can take over the game on his own. Although he performed well, the Suns are in big trouble!"

Draw, 2 points, 3 points, 5 points. When the intermission came, the Thunder overtook the Suns by 13 points with the performance of the three players!

41 to 54, the players of the Suns were out of breath, while everyone on the Thunder team was still full of fighting spirit. Returning to the locker room with a huge lead, the morale of everyone on the Thunder team was boosted.

The temporary intermission also relieved the hearts of the fans who were beating wildly. Giardina blushed and panted heavily. She jumped up and down with the fans at the scene, shouting frantically, making herself sweaty from exhaustion.

Everyone hopes that their every move can bring motivation to the fans. Actually, it does work. How could the atmosphere of the game be so intense if it weren't for the fans building momentum.

Throughout the 08-09 season, there is still the last half. The ending of Anjie's rookie year depends on the direction of the next 24 minutes.

The fighting spirit of the three thunderbolts did not fade away due to the decline in physical strength and the big lead. On the contrary, they were eager to try! (To be continued.)