Vol 3 Chapter 219: Westbrook focused on scoring

With a 12-point lead, the Thunder entered the second quarter.
Westbrook looked excited. He has a hunch that he will play a very beautiful game tonight. Because he feels so good! 9 of 11 shots, including 1 of 3 three-pointers, 8 shots within the three-point line, all hits.
Donovan was not surprised. He knew what Westbrook was capable of. Although his scoring has dropped a lot this season, it does not mean that his scoring ability is worse than passing or rebounding ability. Westbrook just stood up and did things that other Thunder players did not do well, and there are not a few people who can score.
In the second quarter, Paul George took the lead with the team's rotation. Opposite the Warriors are Iguodala, Livingston and McGee facing the Thunder under the leadership of the two main players of Green and Thompson.
Once up, Green grabbed the Thunder's unsteady footing and made an empty catch for Iguodala at the top of the arc. But the ball was given a little short and was caught halfway by Paul George. After the steal, Paul George counterattacked with the ball himself, but his shot from beyond the right three-point line did not score.
The hands of both sides are very poor, and they have been fighting for several rounds. It wasn't until a minute and a half before the second quarter that Paul George broke the deadlock. He received a pass from Felton at a 45-degree angle on the right, and hit Thompson to the basket. Although Thompson's defense is very good, he has no advantage when facing Paul George. After all, Paul George himself is also a defensive champion, he knows how to break through the opponent.
This time, the Thunder passed the ball many times. They have been looking for opportunities, but the Warriors have never given them a chance. Finally, the ball came to Paul George's hands. He held the basketball high, leaning against Thompson on the right side of his body. With 7 minutes left in offensive time, Paul George suddenly accelerated, squeezed Thompson from the right, and jumped to the basket. Livingston doubled over immediately. But Paul George has completed the layup. Thompson jumped up to block Paul George's shot, but failed.
"Beep..."
The whistle sounded and Thompson defensively fouled. And the goal was finally scored.
Paul George waved his fist in excitement, then stood on the free throw line. Facing the noisy boos in Oracle Stadium, Paul George steadily dropped the ball.
Two plus one, make it!
This ball is very important. The Thunder's bench is not very good, so Paul George has always been leading the team to control the situation when Westbrook and Anlow are not on the court.
Looking back, the Warriors played patiently. The basketball conducts very smoothly in their hands, and except for the players holding the ball, the other players on the court are always running. Constantly looking for opportunities to end the offense.
However, the Thunder's defense is also quite tenacious. Especially Paul George, when he defended Thompson, the effect was very obvious. This time the offense was ultimately ended by Thompson. However, under Paul George's defense, the barely shot shots still failed to hit the basket.
Patterson grabbed the rebound and handed it to Paul George, and the Thunder began to counterattack.
Even though Westbrook is not on the court, the Thunder's fast break is still very threatening. After a few passes, Grant caught the ball on the baseline, started directly, and plunged into the Warriors.
This is the tactic that Donovan arranged during the break: hit the basket. The Warriors' defense has been relatively open for more than two minutes. Although their players move quickly, they are also very active in assisting and supplementing defenses. But the space given by the basket is indeed a bit big. In fact, the Thunder's current lineup, apart from Paul George's outside scoring ability, is not doing well. Others are very average. In this case, the Warriors can actually close the defense.
When Grant was about to fight to the free throw line, the referee gave Warriors coach Cole a technical foul. He may think that the referee's sentence was not very fair, and his temper came up and he went crazy. He thinks that his player did not foul the ball just now.
This is actually very common in the NBA. The referee's penalties can never satisfy both parties. It's not the first time Cole has done such a thing. Those who are familiar with him know that he likes to use this way to stimulate the alertness of the players.
But Paul George failed to score the goal. But Grant made two free throws to help the Thunder open the score to 17 points.
The Warriors continued to attack. They did not call a timeout because the points difference was pulled apart. Kerr still believes in his players. He thinks that the players can adjust ~EbookFREE.me~ Of course, 17 points behind the opponent, for the 30 minutes of the game, it is not a particularly big disadvantage.
Looking back, Livingston beat Felton back, which is an absolute advantage. But Livingston turned and leaned back and missed the shot, and the rebound was spotted to the top of the arc by West, but his strength was so strong that no one could catch it. Finally, Livingston received the ball after the center line and was blew back to the court by the referee.
Another mistake was added. In this game, the Warriors have made as many as 9 mistakes!
But in the subsequent offense, Thompson stole the breakthrough Grant, launched a fast break, and succeeded in a layup.
Donovan called a timeout!
Although the Warriors didn't play well during this period, the Thunder were also average. Almost 4 minutes later, he scored a 5-pointer.
After a timeout, Westbrook and An Luo played. Adams was limited by up to 3 fouls and was still sitting on the bench.
Westbrook, who was back on the battlefield, once again entered the first quarter mode. His hand feel did not cool down because of the 10-minute rest. As soon as he came up, West made a three-pointer facing the Warriors' second-highest team.
It seems that Westbrook in this game is going to focus on scoring. So far, he has scored 22 points, but only sent out 2 assists. Donovan didn't say much about this. As a head coach, he certainly hopes that his players will play according to their own tactics. But for these star players, they can have privileges when they perform well.
When Westbrook is focused on scoring, Anlu and Paul George can do less on the court. They can only put more energy on the defensive end. As a result, the Warriors' offensive pressure is even greater.