Vol 3 Chapter 446: Defensive downshift

Two days later, the Thunder ushered in the first game after Robertson was absent. They played against the visiting Golden State Warriors at home.
This is another focus battle that the entire league is paying attention to. All along, the Warriors and the Thunder have been regarded as the two teams most likely to advance to the Western Conference Finals this season.
However, both teams have been plagued by injuries recently. There is a Robertson missing on the Thunder side; on the Warriors side, it is Kevin Durant who missed the game due to injury. And before that, Durant had already taken a break. It is worth mentioning that every time the Warriors come to Oklahoma, Durant is the center of the topic. At the beginning of his career, too much grievances were left behind. But since Durant and Green had an upset this season, those Oklahomaians who have scolded Durant have given him the greatest support. After Robertson was injured, Durant was the first superstar to utter a prayer for him.
This time, although Durant was unable to play, he still came to the Chesapeake Energy Arena with the team to watch the game. When the director's camera hit his face intentionally or unintentionally, Durant finally heard the applause from Oklahoma. Although scattered, it was hard to be valuable.
In this game, the Warriors performed very well.
Cousins ​​has become the most important reinforcement for the Warriors this season. After a period of repetition, he has been in very good shape recently. The Warriors are honing out the fighting power of their luxurious lineup. There is no doubt that they will be in their best form once they enter the playoffs.
Although Durant was missing, the Warriors played well with the team in this game with the Thunder. Curry and Thompson hit three-pointers shortly after the opening. They are also quite strong defensively, which caused a lot of trouble to the Thunder. In the first five minutes of the game, the Thunder made a three-pointer except for Anluo, and only Adams received a pass from Westbrook and scored a goal. They were beaten by the Warriors with a 16:5 offensive climax. After that, Thunder fell into a long journey of chasing points.
As Paul George's hand picked up, the Thunder played a very good offensive rhythm in the second quarter. But their defense does have a lot of problems, which can hardly limit the Warriors' pass and cut cooperation and successive pick-and-roll screens. Grant didn't feel comfortable playing next to the Big Three at all. It is not the first time he has been promoted to the starting lineup, but this time, perhaps the Thunder has given him too much responsibility.
At the end of the first half, the Thunder were still 11 points behind the Warriors. This point difference was once expanded to as much as 20 points by the Warriors, but it was shortened again under the output of Anluo and Paul George. But they can only do this!
In the second half, the Warriors' touch began to decline. The Thunder finally seized the opportunity and tied the score in one go. However, Cole paused in time and interrupted the Thunder's offensive. After returning from the timeout, Curry made a super-long three-pointer against Westbrook, announcing his return. As the Thunder's shooting percentage in the second half increased by a large margin, the two sides remained deadlocked until the second half of the final quarter.
The turning point of the game was a conflict. In the counterattack, Westbrook easily broke through the Warriors' unformed line of defense, hitting the basket to face Green and dunking. Of course, Green didn't want to be slapped by the opponent. Apart from anything else, the two slapped the ball and pressed it down. This was naturally an inappropriate foul. Westbrook got up and grabbed Green's jersey, and then the two began to spray each other. The good thing is that although the two of them were very emotional, they didn't do anything. In the end, one person got a technical foul, which calmed down this conflict.
After that, the Thunder's shooting percentage plummeted. Especially Westbrook, who hasn't got a share since then. Although he tried to strike a few times, he stopped shooting. But the situation of the game has tilted in a direction that is not conducive to the Thunder.
In the end, the Thunder lost the game. This is the first time the Thunder have lost to the Warriors this season, and there is still no Warriors from Durant. Although the overall performance of the Thunder is very poor, it can still be seen that the collapse of the defensive system has given the Warriors too many opportunities. Anlow, Westbrook, and Paul George are all defensively, but they lack a core axis. This can be seen from the matchup between Thompson and An Luo. When one-on-one with An Luo, Thompson only scored 6 points. But when the Warriors' other players participated in the offense, Thompson's points increased very quickly.
This kind of thing happened again in the subsequent game between the Thunder and the Heat.
On March 18th, the Thunder played against the Heat at home. First in the West vs. eighth in the East, the Thunder's win is very big. However, the Heat, which is hovering on the edge of the playoffs, has exploded with a very strong combat effectiveness ~ EbookFREE.me ~ Especially Wade, his efficiency surpassed all the players on the court. That hot state is not at all like someone who will retire after playing this season.
Westbrook was automatically suspended. The last technical foul he received was the 16th this season. Therefore, he can only watch from the sidelines.
Without Westbrook's offensive engine, the Thunder are trapped in a cycle of singles between Anlo and Paul George. Of course, the two guys are in good condition. At the beginning of the game, they teamed up to make a 15-0 offensive climax. In the first 5 minutes of the first quarter, the Heat didn't get a share. It didn't change until Wade and Dragic came on the bench. By the end of the first half, the Heat chased the score to 56:59.
In the third quarter, the Heat maintained their momentum. Wade and Dragic, a pair of double shots from the Heat's backcourt a few years ago, stood up from the bench and used their breakthroughs and three-pointers to help the Heat one by one when the Thunder's shooting rate dropped. Points will lead the score. By the end of the third quarter, the Heat had led the Thunder by 11 points.
In the last quarter, the Thunder made a very tenacious counterattack. With 1 minute and 52 seconds left in the game, Anluo made a three-pointer to catch the score to 107:110. But after that, Wade used the cover of his teammates to get rid of An Luo and hit the basket and made a layup. Subsequently, Paul George made a mistake in receiving the ball from the right bottom corner and stepping on the line, which made the Thunder lose another chance to approach the score. The Heat expanded the score to 7 points.
In the end, the Thunder lost the game. They were defeated by two veterans on the bench!
After this game, the Thunder's record in March became 6 wins and 5 losses. This is the first time the Thunder have encountered such a situation, and it is also the first time the Thunder have lost three games in a row.