Vol 3 Chapter 274: Own rhythm

At the end of the first half, the Thunder fell behind by 6 points.
The score is not much, but the situation has been very passive for the Thunder. The Pelicans rely on Davis to score at the basket much easier than the Thunder. The reason why the Thunder can bite the score is still relying on Paul George and Westbrook who only missed the shot. An Luo makes a shot once in a while, and the effect is very average.
The momentum of the Chesapeake Energy Arena has not become low because of this. This season's Thunder, the third quarter is their most anticipated moment. Many nights everyone can see this scene: those visiting teams from afar played very well in the first two quarters, and the Thunder fell behind for a while. But after the intermission, the Thunder, like a lion waking up, attacked with all their strength and reversed the situation. Even those who take away the game are not few. So everyone gradually formed a habit, no matter what the situation, everything waited until after the third quarter.
During the intermission, Donovan took his players back to the locker room for the first time. The situation in the first half was not optimistic, but he already had an idea in his mind. We must hurry up to sort out these guys who can't see the situation.
"Guys, we played well in the first half!"
Donovan opened his mouth, making everyone very puzzled. They knew how they did in the first half. Although he insisted on biting the score, he was suppressed by the Pelicans, which really shouldn't be.
"Obviously, we lost our rhythm on the field. We were taken into position by the opponent and fell into the opponent's rhythm. The fast break did not start, and the off-ball screens between each other were also seriously interfered by the opponent. , The cooperation is not smooth enough."
This is like what Donovan said in this situation!
"There are a lot of problems, but we are only 6 points behind. Our defense is still there. Although Davis has more serious problems with this point, he did a great job of suppressing Holiday and Moore. So I think we played well. Not bad!"
It's time for a turning point! An Luo muttered to herself in her heart.
"But we can do better! Next we have to..."
As expected, Donovan was not as satisfied with the players' performance as he said. He began to make a series of arrangements around defense and offense. However, the head coach can only make plans. The key to what he can be like depends on the performance of the players.
At the beginning of the third quarter, the main players of both sides returned to the court.
In the first minute, nothing changed. Davis and Paul George are still the focus on the court. The former has scored 25 points! The latter also has 20 points. It seems that these two people are still the arrows of the two teams in the second half.
But then, there were some changes in the game. The Thunder no longer go to hard top Davis, but start from the source. They started targeting Rondo. Blocked his pass, then let Rondo go to shoot. When it comes to perimeter defense, the Thunder are no weaker than the Pelicans.
Under this strategy, Davis' situation became awkward. The defense against him relaxed, but the ball was difficult to pass into his hands. Throughout the second half, his connection with Rondo was very rare. This is fatal to the Pelicans system. Rondo has never been a number one player known for scoring. Including in the series with the Blazers, his role is to organize and defend. Now that the Thunder is forcing him to score, he really hit the spot. Robertson switched directly to the outside defense of Rondo, and he couldn't stand Davis anyway.
The changes in the Thunder are not just on the defensive end, their offensive strategy is also very different. The ball is more in the hands of Paul George, but Anluo has never stopped. Including Robertson, Adams, Westbrook, too, have been helping the other two guys. The entire Thunder moved, and everyone participated in the offense. Only live water can raise fish. After the Thunder players on the court moved, the Pelicans' players also moved. Ten players are on the court, and the scene looks a bit chaotic.
Thunder likes fighting this kind of chaos the most. Anlow, Westbrook and Paul George are all players who are very good at seizing opportunities. They have always created space for hands through partial cooperation. So those games won by the Thunder will never be the result of the two sides falling behind.
After Robertson took the ball from the left three-point line, the space in front of him was actually relatively loose, but Robertson didn't like to shoot three-pointers. He took the ball a few steps to the top of the arc, then handed it to Westbrook. After the latter received the ball, his eyesight was quick and he pushed the ball directly ~EbookFREE.me~ to find Paul George in the left corner. Moore was blocked by Roberson, and Holiday could only let An Luo go to make up the defense. Of course, the Pelicans did a good job of defensive rotation, after Holiday passed, Rondo immediately made up for Anlo. But under such a transfer, Westbrook cut straight to the basket from the top of the arc. After receiving the ball, his right hand passed around Davis's waist and assisted Adams for a dunk.
Such offenses were repeatedly staged in the third quarter. Slowly, the Pelicans were gradually brought to their own rhythm by the Thunder. Although the Pelicans are still very strict with An Luo, it is this attitude that Donovan will count. Anluo took Holiday all over the field, seeming to be desperately looking for opportunities to shoot, but in fact he was pulling space for his teammates. Under such circumstances, Westbrook turned out to be the assaulter for the Thunder in the third quarter. In fact, with Westbrook's ability, scoring is not difficult. Especially in such a situation, his air cuts, breakthroughs, and cooperation with Adams at the basket are quite helpful to the Thunder.
Now it was Gentry's turn to be anxious. Thunder's adjustment suddenly disrupted his plan. And completely avoided the strong points of his lineup. He himself knows Rondo's abilities and shortcomings, but in the previous games he has been using the strong offensive firepower of Davis, Milotic and Holiday to cover up this. But now it is magnified by Donovan. In this period of time, he has seen many times that Rondo was completely emptied. What is even more annoying is that Rondo started to hesitate when he took the ball again after his continuous ironing.
With An Luo hitting a long three-pointer at the end of the third quarter, the Thunder hit the opponent 39:24 in this quarter. Not only smoothed out the 6 points behind, but also surpassed the nearly double-digit score.