Vol 3 Chapter 693: Never underestimate the Spurs

"Super Heavy Artillery (
What everyone did not expect was that the Thunder's summit in the West this time was just a short experience. Because, on the third day they easily defeated the Magic, they were defeated by an old team!
The San Antonio Spurs are an amazing team. In fact, the Spurs have started to go downhill in the past few seasons. But whenever everyone thinks they are about to start rebuilding, they will re-show the demeanor of the top three in Texas. You know, the San Antonio Spurs have not missed the playoffs for more than 20 years.
This season, the Spurs did not show bad form at the beginning. Compared to the Los Angeles duo, Houston, Oklahoma and other Western teams that were widely discussed before the start of the season, their performance is indeed very good. But even so, everyone always thinks that as the season progresses, the Spurs will be overtaken by the teams behind them. Aldridge and DeRozan are both All-Star players, but one is older and one goal is obsolete. It is difficult to lead the Spurs further! Perhaps, the time to continuously enter the playoffs will be fixed in 21 years.
But such a team defeated the first Thunder in the West. Moreover, the process of their victory was not difficult!
It feels like the Spurs play exceptionally well every time they encounter the Thunder. Especially Aldridge!
At the beginning of this year, the Spurs and the Thunder fought a battle in San Antonio, and the combined score of the two sides reached 324 points! In that game, although the Spurs regrettably lost at the end, they were able to score nearly 160 points under the Thunder's defense last season. The Spurs' state is really terrifying. On that night, Aldridge scored a career-high 60 points.
In this game, Aldridge broke out again. Playing 38 minutes, scored 43 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks. Aldridge's performance is quite explosive!
In this game, the head coaches of both sides continued the starting lineup that had played well before.
The Spurs are led by DeRozan and Aldridge, Lyles on the inside, and Murray and Forbes on the back. On the Thunder side, Westbrook and Anlow led Robertson, Gallinari and Adams. The Spurs still let Aldridge play the fourth position this season, and Donovan also took Robertson to the third position to limit DeRozan.
In contrast, the Thunder's strong point is on the perimeter. Although Murray and Forbes defend well, they still lack a bit when facing a backcourt combination like Westbrook and Anlow. But the Spurs have an advantage inside. Aldridge's favorite thing is to face a slower inside player like Adams. And in the fourth position, Gallinari does not have the ability to greatly affect him.
After the game started, the two sides fought very fiercely. The coaches of both sides are very aware of their strengths, so Aldridge and Anlo began to compete with several players.
The first wave of rhythm was played by the Spurs. When the two sides scored 12:12, Murray shot a cold arrow outside the three-point line, which opened the prelude to the Spurs. Subsequently, Anluo made a fall-back jumper in the right elbow and missed the Spurs' chance to continue to open the score. The Spurs did not waste this opportunity. DeRozan quickly advanced with the ball, rushed to the free throw line and rushed to the free throw line, bypassing Robertson, who was in the past, to score the ball.
17:12
The Spurs opened the point difference to 5 points.
Subsequently, Anlo responded with a three-pointer, and DeRozan turned his head back and scored a three-pointer. The Spurs kept the lead firmly.
In the last three minutes of the first quarter, the two sides began to change into their rotations. When Alexander came off the bench for consecutive layups, he helped the Thunder to catch up to one point. At this time, Aldridge, who re-appeared, made two dry jumpers to stabilize the situation. At the last moment, An Luo hit a three-pointer from the right wing, and the Thunder trailed 30:32 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Thunder won. In the first half, both sides were on the bench. The Thunder can get the upper hand in this quarter, and the credit has to be counted on the players who came out of the bench. These two guys, Alexander and Grant, have already stretched the Spurs. Coupled with the flashes of inspiration from Noel and Ferguson from time to time, the situation is even more difficult for the Spurs. They can only put Aldridge and DeRozan on the court ahead of time. However, although these two players have played well, they are still helpless under the internal and external attacks of Anlow and Westbrook.
At the end of the first half, the Thunder had completed the overtake. Of course, they didn't lead much, after all, the score was fixed at 59:54.
At the beginning of the second half, the Spurs launched their most violent offense. The first to raise the flag to charge is Murray ~ EbookFREE.me~ This guard who entered the league in the same year as An Luo, although not able to become an All-Star like the latter, but his ability is also honed. Subsequently, Aldridge began to play hard inside. Neither Adams nor Noel can restrain each other well.
In addition to the strong offensive performance, the Spurs also put a lot of effort on the defensive end. Their strategy is to pinch Anro, Forbes defends closely, and DeRozan doubles at any time. I have to say that the Spurs players may not be able to attack, but their defense is very good. Under the "care" of Forbes and DeRozan, even if Anluo has various scoring methods, it is difficult to use them.
Of course he can pass the ball, but his teammates feel not so good. Especially Gallinari, this "Italian Cannon" did not find the right focus throughout the game, maybe Aldridge gave him too much pressure!
At the end of the three quarters, the Spurs led by 90:86 by 4 points.
The Spurs' leading 4 points did not seem to be an advantage, but the Thunder lost only 4 points in the end.
In the last quarter of the game, because Anluo played almost the entire quarter in the third quarter, Donovan was pressed on the bench for nearly 5 minutes. In fact, according to Donovan's idea, this time will be longer. But the situation on the court has become very unfriendly to the Thunder.
By the time An Luo played, they had fallen behind by double digits.
In the next few minutes, An Luo began to show off his power. Hand up the knife and hit 4 three-pointers. But the situation has not changed much! Aldridge, DeRozan and Murray helped the Spurs stabilize their advantage. When Anlo scores, one of these guys will always stand up and respond.
In the end, the Thunder lost the game 118:122 away.