The era of point forwards in the NBA

Chapter 274 The League's No. [-] Small Forward

After the third quarter, the Thunder entered the fourth quarter with a slight advantage.

The impact of Curry's return on the Thunder is intuitive, but they are still not as good as the Cavaliers in terms of overall strength due to their incomplete lineup. The presence of the three players at the same time does help on the offensive end.

Coupled with the decline in James' touch in the third quarter, when his three-pointer lost the threat, the Thunder also had a chance to overtake.

The busy schedule of this season makes the strong teams lose. At this stage, the top teams in the league have not widened the gap with other teams, and upsets often appear.

Judging from the current situation, there may not be a team that can reach 65 wins this season.

The fourth quarter is about to start. James sits on the bench to guide his teammates. He has played a lot of time and now needs to rest temporarily. The first half of the fourth quarter has to be handed over to others.

O'Neal also has to stay on the bench, his playing time is limited, and there is a high probability that he will return to the court at the same time as James.

The starting lineup in the fourth quarter was led by Mo Williams and Richard Jefferson, two All-Star players. The Thunder team was naturally led by Lin Yue.

Ibaka and Livingston will also help provide fire support.

This strong dialogue will usher in the final contest.

Since the Thunder are not favored by the fans, it is difficult for them to break out of the West. Perhaps they will have to wait until next season to see the peak match between James and Durant, so this game is particularly important.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, players from both sides returned to the court.

Cavaliers fans offered their voices to cheer for the home team.

The current score of the two teams is 78 to 79, with the Thunder leading by one point in the away game.

James and O'Neal are the two most difficult points for the Thunder to deal with not on the court. If the Cavaliers want to overtake the score, they have to rely on the offensively strong and defensively weak Mo Williams.

Durant and Curry are not on the court for the Thunder, and the Cavaliers' defensive pressure is not so great.

The two sides immediately engaged in a battle on the court. Lin Yue assisted Livingston and made a mid-range shot. Mo Williams made a breakthrough layup and scored two points.

Ibaka grabbed the offensive rebound from the basket and put the ball in the net on the second attack.

Jefferson's air cut helped the Cavaliers bite the score.

The two sides come and go, and the difference cannot be opened at all.

……

With 7 minutes left in the game, the lagging Cavaliers called a timeout first. They needed to let the main players such as James and O'Neal return to the court to strengthen the defensive end.

The Thunder also replaced Durant, Curry and others, and the offensive end was further improved.

The mirror image substitutions of both sides means that the game has entered a critical moment.

After James returned to the court, he began to hit the basket, using his strong body to make a way. The Thunder couldn't defend the inside line, so they had no choice but to use fouls to interfere with the opponent's goal.

James really didn't lose the chain of free throws at this critical moment, making two free throws and two goals.

The score of the two teams became 86 to 86, returning to the same starting line.

Curry dribbled forward, and Mo Williams reached out to interfere with Curry's dribble while retreating.

The rest of the Thunder were already in position in the Cavaliers' half, and Curry dribbled the ball to Lin Yue at the top of the arc.

Lin Yue dribbled inward twice, and passed it to Durant again.

Even though James was defending Durant, the ball eventually returned to Durant.

This is Brooks' tactics. He knows that Durant has always regarded James as his benchmark. As a top small forward, Durant has always hoped to beat James head-on.

Although the Thunder beat James this season when Durant scored 40 points in a single game, that was just the beginning. In the records of the two teams' matches, James still has far more wins than Durant.

The trouble should end it.

When Durant's strength can defeat James, he will let go of his obsession.

At this time, it is obviously not possible.

Durant held the ball in a three-threat posture, and James was firmly attached. With his lateral speed, it was not easy for Durant to get past him.

Several large changes of direction failed to shake James, and in the end Durant chose to pull.

James' defense is in place, but Durant feels recovered at this time, and as the game progresses, his state is getting better.

The ball still drilled into the net.

88 to 86, the Thunder lead by two points.

The next two possessions came without the ball, with Mo Williams catching a pass from James with a [-]-point shot wide of the hoop.

The Thunder's fast break also ended with Curry's counterattack and missed a three-pointer.

James took the ball across the court again, and this time he still signaled his teammates to pull away.

Facing Durant, who is not weak defensively, he chose singles.

Familiarly walking on the left to break through, without any fancy movements, James just used a crotch dribble to find the rhythm of the offense and suddenly accelerated.

Obviously, this is not the first time Durant has encountered this situation, and he quickly followed suit.

Although James' speed is not top-notch, but his strength is, after knocking Durant away, he forced the ball into the basket.

At the same time, it caused Durant's foul. This is where James is strong. Even if he is disturbed, his layup will not be deformed.

Then, he blocked Durant's layup in defense.

After going back and forth, the Cavaliers regained the lead.

As James hit another three-pointer with the help of his teammates, the score became 92 to 88.
After a few rounds, James' influence on both ends of the offense and defense made the Thunder feel suffocated.

No wonder James is both an MVP favorite and a top dopy this season.

The influence of offensive and defensive players on the game can be seen.

Brooks called a timeout to help the Thunder re-plan their offense.

Lin Yue felt the pressure from the shouts of the fans. This is the strength of the league's top small forward, the real man of heaven, James.

Combining organization with offense and defense, Lin Yue is ashamed of himself.

An idol is an idol, even if you finally stand on the same stage, you can understand the gap between yourself and the other party.

After the timeout, the Thunder launched an offense.

After a few defense changes, O'Neal actually matched up with Lin Yue who was dribbling at the top of the arc.

"Shark" O'Neal, this player Lin Yue is naturally very familiar with, and it is his honor to be able to play against the old O'Neal.

At its peak, the opponent's dominance at the basket was superb, and he was a strong contender for the number one center in history.

Fortunately, the opponent was not at the peak. After Lin Yue shook continuously, O'Neal's center of gravity began to affect his movements.

Then, with a retreating jumper, O'Neal had no time to keep up with the defense, and watched Lin Yue throw the ball.

"Shh!"

Lin Yue beat up the old senior with the way he was good at.

92 to 90, the score is still anxious.

At this time, the defensive intensity of the two sides continued to increase, and the Cavaliers showed their playoff confrontation intensity.

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(End of this chapter)