The era of point forwards in the NBA

Chapter 222 Why do you all persecute me (please subscribe, ask for a monthly pass)
At the end of the first quarter, the Magic led the Thunder by 28 points 17 to 11.

In this quarter, Pietrus scored 4 of 3, including 1 three-pointer, and scored 7 points.Carter also made 4 of 3, 2 of 2 free throws, and scored 8 points in a single quarter. Howard played well at the basket, 3 of 3, 6 points and 5 rebounds. Unfortunately, he missed both free throws.

With such a performance, the Thunder couldn't keep up with the rhythm at all.

After Lin Yue and Curry were replaced, Durant couldn't help himself. He made 5 of 2 in a single quarter, 4 of 2 free throws, and scored 6 points, but it didn't solve the problem.

Not only him, but everyone else's shooting percentage is not high. The complete Magic team is still stronger than the Thunder team in terms of strength.

At the beginning of the second quarter, the Thunder replaced the substitute lineup. This time Brooks let Lin Yue and Curry play at the same time, hoping to recover some points in the rotation stage.

The Magic put Lewis and Carter on the bench. Carter felt good after returning, so Van Gundy asked him to play more.

On the bench of the Magic, Van Gundy smiled and didn't panic at all. He will win this game.

Unsurprisingly, the Thunder were affected by their state in the first quarter. Perhaps mentally they had a strong desire to win, but their bodies could not support them.

"Stephen, you can't win the ball if you go on like this. You can try to shoot more penalties. I can only hope for you." Lin Yue said to Curry before going on the court.

Curry nodded heavily, and he also knew that the current situation was not good for them.

With the Thunder's possession, Lin Yue dribbled the ball across half court, and then passed the ball to Curry. The two played a screen outside the three-point line to cooperate. Curry made another three-pointer, but unfortunately, the ball was still wide.

The Magic continued to advance. Carter held the ball and rushed to the inside of the Thunder. Lin Yue wanted to block him from behind, but Carter made a reverse layup to avoid Lin Yue's block and scored the ball.

Lin Yue is really convinced, this guy is worthy of being a dunker, and he immediately admires his ability to stay in the air.

Carter's personal ability is definitely a big improvement for the Magic. Last season, they lost in the finals because no one could match up with Kobe. They will make a comeback this season.

In this quarter, the Magic's offensive continued unabated. Lewis and Carter each scored another three-pointer to stop the Thunder.

"KD, go ahead. We need to start with defense first, and we must limit the opponent's three-pointers." Brooks said. At this stage, the Magic's three-pointers are terrible.

The timeout ended, and the Thunder replaced Durant. At this time, the point difference was 15 points. The rhythm was about to collapse, and the defense must be stabilized.

The Magic used a lineup of one big and four small. Howard didn't play, but Gortat, the Polish hammer, plus "White Chocolate" Williams, Redick, Lewis and Pietrus, three artillery and an organizer. Gortat only needs to be responsible for rebounding.

But Howard is not on the court, and Gortat's rebounds can't grab Ibaka.

The Thunder wanted to launch a counterattack. Durant, as the leader of the team, led by example, personally passed Lewis with the ball, went to the basket, caused a foul and scored the ball at the same time, 2 plus 1.

"KD's ball is great, and he can throw the ball in when his body is out of balance." Reggie Miller said that the Thunder now need someone to stand up and score.

After the extra penalty was scored, the score came to 50 to 38, and the Thunder trailed by 12 points.

"However, the current lineup of the Magic has made it clear that they are shooting three-pointers. They want to shoot the Thunder to death. If they don't defend well and allow the opponent to shoot three-pointers, the point difference will only increase." Reggie Miller is a famous three-pointer himself, and he knows the power of three-pointers very well.

Howard was drinking water and watching the excitement off the court. The current advantage allows him to rest a lot. The performance of the Thunder is just like that. The last win was purely a fluke.

He began to underestimate the enemy, but this will not affect the situation on the court.

Redick runs from left to right to catch a pass from Williams and jumps up for a [-] without even stopping to make adjustments. That's the way he shoots.

Really continuing the catch-and-shoot style.

"Bangdang."

The opportunity came out, and the ball might be slightly off.

"Shit!" Redick complained. Isn't this court poisonous? Half a ball will pop out of the frame. Isn't that funny?
Lin Yue breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the goal was missed, otherwise he would have been overwhelmed by a series of three-pointers.

"It's up to him." Lin Yue looked at Redick's back and said to himself, he kept missing shots in the last game, creating many chances for the Thunder to counterattack, so we should not gamble on this one.

Lin Yue has already figured out how to induce the opponent to shoot, but now it is time to solve the problem of offense.

The Thunder's three young men are on the court at the same time when the Thunder's offensive efficiency is the most efficient. Since Lin Yue came to the team, the chemical reaction of the three of them is different from that of others. It seems that there is no so-called running-in period.

Lin Yue hit the ground pass to Durant, and Durant made a sudden pass to Curry, but this time Curry did not make a direct shot, but made a fake pass to Lin Yue who made an air cut, and the latter scored a layup.

The cooperation of the three pierced through the Magic's defense. They once thought that Curry should have shot the ball, but they were still passing the ball.

50 to 40, the point difference returned to 10 points, and the atmosphere on the scene became dignified again.

In this round, Lin Yue deliberately slowed down by half a beat when chasing the running Redick to give him room to throw the ball.

After "White Chocolate" saw Redick who was open, he passed the ball directly, and then caught and shot again.

At this time, Lin Yue followed up to defend.

From everyone's point of view, Lin Yue missed the ball, and the defense behind him had little effect, because Redick had finished his shot, and the interference at this time was just a show, unless you could block it.

Lin Yue is not a non-human with his own flash, playing fantasy basketball, no one can block the ball.

Redick smiled when he shot, and made a three-point gesture after the shot, just so confident.

"Bangdang."

"Hey, no, this goal didn't go in." Redick was embarrassed. He did all the handsome celebration gestures, but he didn't go in. The fans at the scene started covering their mouths and laughing, even if it was their own player, but this is too funny.

Oops!
Redick's expression is like this word, embarrassing and uncomfortable, is this still the home court, the venue where he has thrown tens of thousands of balls, why is his luck getting worse?

Lin Yue snickered and dribbled the ball across the court. Sure enough, he could only bet on his failure to make the shot, and only then would he have the hope of winning.

Ibaka under the basket received a pass from his teammate, turned around and threw a shot, the basketball hit the backboard and got into the net, and the Thunder scored two more points.

50 to 42, the point difference is only 8 points. Seeing the gradually approaching point difference, everyone in the Thunder team finally rekindled their determination to win, and if they want to catch up, they will catch up with all their might.

This round, Lin Yue gave Redick space again, but even though Redick reached out for the ball, no one passed it to him, and everyone in the Magic team seemed to be aware of something.

In the end, the ball was thrown by "White Chocolate" Williams himself, and the key is that the ball was scored.

The fans at the scene were happy, and the teammates on the field were happy, but Redick didn't even smirk.

"If a point guard can make shots by himself, why pass it to you." Redick's voice sounded in his heart. At this time, his eyes changed and he became serious.

In the past few seasons, he has not played well. He finally had a good season, but he fell off the chain when he met the Thunder. I don't know if he was cursed or not.

If they can't get in, then they can't be allowed in either.

The moment Lin Yue received the return pass, Redick's figure suddenly appeared, trying to break the ball.

Lin Yue was taken aback, but he held the ball firmly, the ball was still in his hands, and Redick's movement of the ball was too big, leaking a defensive loophole. After Lin Yue passed it easily, he took a step forward and made a mid-range shot, making a steady hit.

53 to 44, the point difference is still within 10 points.

The old Van Gundy couldn't take it anymore. This guy's problem was a little obvious. It's better to call a timeout and replace him, otherwise the good situation may be overturned.

After the timeout, the Magic's lineup changed to Williams, Carter, Pietrus, Bass and Howard, and changed to a more stable lineup.

Redick sat on the cold bench, depressed, "Why are you all persecuting me?"

What a terrible word.

After the big breakthrough is gone, the Thunder will face many problems. The Magic lineup has become taller, and they can no longer get easy scoring opportunities. Secondly, they need to deal with the inside problem, if they deal with Howard.

Use the "slash tactics" again?
Lin Yue hesitated. He didn't let Ibaka do this rashly. He chose to observe first to see how the opponent would attack.

The Magic were not obsessed with three-pointers this time. Carter, as a receiver, gave the ball to Howard, who was behind him. As expected, they didn't need to take the risk of three-pointers in the lead. They just continued to rely on the inside to play an advantage.

Ibaka couldn't stand it, so he had to foul in desperation.

Howard stood at the free throw line, and some Thunder fans began to whistle. He missed two free throws in the first quarter and was the only hope for the Thunder to overtake the score.

Howard is calm in his heart. I don't know if the number of times he has stepped to the free throw line has increased sharply recently. Instead, he is somewhat familiar with shooting from this distance.

For the first free throw, Howard took aim for a while and didn't dare to use too much force when he shot. Most of his practice was too strong. The basketball hit the back edge and popped out. This time he withdrew his force.

However, the force was too strong, and it was almost another free throw.

Lin Yue was even more nervous than Howard, so he waited for the result of the second penalty to make a judgment.

"It's okay, believe in yourself, you can do it." Howard encouraged himself, held his breath, and shot again.

Everyone's attention was attracted by Howard's free throw. The basketball did not pop out of the basket after hitting the back edge, but bounced a few times on the back edge.

Then it fell into the net.

The scene was still silent. Suddenly, all the fans applauded and screamed. Those who didn’t know thought that the Magic had won the game. If anyone’s free throw made the audience so excited, it would be the big shark in Cleveland besides World of Warcraft.

"Nice!" Howard raised his arms in celebration, and finally scored the first free throw of the game. It was not easy.

Tears!

This goal also completely dispelled Lin Yue's idea of ​​deliberately fouling. After scoring the goal, Howard's confidence would increase greatly, and the effect of using this trick later was not so obvious.

54 to 44, the point difference returned to 10 points.

Durant missed the mid-range shot this time, and Pietrus seems to be better than Lewis in defending Durant. Durant's style of play has been seen through, and Pietrus was not fooled.

At the end of the half, the score came to 61 to 47. Facing the Magic team with both offense and defense, the Thunder's offense seemed a little weak. Sure enough, the continuous back-to-back made their state fluctuate.

Even the most stable point, Kevin Durant failed to help the team overtake the score in one fell swoop, and the Thunder's small offensive wave was resolved.

The old Van Gundy is still not confused. It can be clearly seen that after replacing Redick, the team's offensive efficiency is even higher.

Carter's touch today is really good. He made 8 of 6 in the half, 3 of 2 three-pointers, and two free throws. He scored 16 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal. The plus-minus value was as high as +14.

(End of this chapter)