Vol 3 Chapter 90: Road trip (Happy New Year!)

Victory is hard to come by, and winning streak is even more joyful.
　　 Especially after experiencing a losing streak, this three-game winning streak is very important for the Thunder. Both the psychological aspects of the players and the public opinion have been greatly improved, and the depression during the three-game losing streak was wiped out.
　　 However, the difficult schedule is about to begin again. Starting on the 14th, the Thunder players have to wander outside for 12 consecutive days, playing 6 away games.
　　 And their opponents are quite strong. The Clippers, Warriors, and Jazz are all top teams in the Western Conference. It is difficult to retreat from the whole body, but anything is possible.
　　 Before the departure, the Thunder did a detailed inspection of the players' physical condition. After all, the schedule is close to half, and various injuries are emerging one after another. Many teams who want to make a difference in the playoffs pay special attention to the health of their players. Even many teams have begun to let players take turns.
　　 Donovan didn't want to do that. But before the start of this long road trip, he must investigate whether his players have health risks.
　　 On January 14, the Thunder was a guest at Minnifinda to challenge the Timberwolves. Although LaVine is absent, the Timberwolves are in good shape recently. In the last game they successfully restrained Harden and won. Now, the momentum is strong.
　　 But in the previous confrontation, the Thunder had the last laugh. After all, their strength still needs to be stronger.
　　 It is a pity that this time, the Timberwolves did not become a Husky again. With the excellent performance of Towns and Rubio, the Thunder had to accept a defeat.
　　 In the first quarter, the Timberwolves played very strongly. Especially Towns, who is not afraid of Adams at all, is omnipotent with strong play at the basket, three-pointers from outside, and rebounds and blocks. If it weren't for Anluo's 6 points in the last minute, they could lead the Thunder by double digits.
　　 In the second quarter, both sides sent a substitute lineup. An Luo began to show off his power, a wave of 10:0 to overtake the score. Especially his ultra-long three-pointer against Belica instantly ignited the momentum of the thunder.
　　 At halftime, the Timberwolves trailed the Thunder by 8 points. According to their usual style, the third quarter should collapse. Unfortunately, today's Timberwolves are uncharacteristically. They played in the third quarter the most beautiful game of the season so far. The defense is fierce, the breakthrough is sharp, and the shot is accurate.
　　 As soon as he came up, Towns scored 7 points with a penalty, Rubio hit a mid-range shot, and Rush, who replaced LaVine's starter, succeeded in a three-pointer, and the Timberwolves played a wave of 13:0 to regain the advantage.
　　 On the defensive end, relying on the experience of successfully limiting Harden in the last game, Westbrook, who they focused on "care", made 6 turnovers. The entire team's offense was in chaos. The few three-pointers that Anluo made were just a drop in the bucket.
　　 In the fourth quarter, Westbrook assisted An Luo for two points and reached a triple-double. But it has not been able to reverse the situation. With 2 minutes left in the game, after Towns screened for Wiggins, he pulled out the top of the arc and hit a three-pointer, re-opening the difference to double digits, and also killed the game.
　　 In the end, Thunder's six-pass journey began with a failure. Westbrook's "quadruple double" has become a joke for countless people this night. The Timberwolves' defensive strategy for the Thunder also pointed out a direction for other teams to explore.
　　 Cut off Westbrook's connection with other players. As long as he can't pass the ball as he wants, it is a defensive success. After all, as the leader of the team, it is also the number one position, and the ball must be concentrated on Westbrook.
　　 An Luo's three-pointer is accurate, but there is no way if he can't get the ball. In this game, Anluo and Kanter played well enough with the substitute players!
　　 Leaving Minnefanda, the Thunder rushed to Sacramento again without stopping. This is their second away game against the Kings this season. The last time it ended was not good.
　　 In that game, Cousins ​​singled out the Thunder's inside group. Despite Westbrook's crazy offensive from the outside line, he eventually lost.
　　 This time, Cousins ​​is still outstanding. The audience scored 31 points, plus 11 rebounds and 7 assists. However, this game was just like playing the Nuggets a few days ago. Both sides didn't defend much, instead they played a confrontational attack.
　　 Therefore, from a statistical point of view, the Kings players performed well in the game. In addition to Cousins, Rudy Gay had a rebound, Darren Collison had 21 points and Anthony Tolliver had 10 points.
　　 But the Thunder are playing better here.
　　 Westbrook is still almighty. In addition to the inaccurate three-pointers, his mid-range and basket shooting percentage are high. Of course, the assists and rebounds did not fall. After three quarters, he was only 2 rebounds away from a triple-double.
　　 On the offensive end, it was An Luo who performed more prominently. His shooting feels hot today. After playing in the second half of the first quarter, he hit three-pointers at a 45-degree angle on the right.
　　 Thanks to the loose defense of the Kings, An Luo shot easily. Ty Lawson, who was against him, directly let him take a big step, and he couldn't even make a shot.
　　 In the last quarter of the game, Westbrook, Oladipo and Anlo played at the same time. With a lead of nearly 10 points~EbookFREE.me~ a wave of 26:5 opened the difference to 30 points! The game entered garbage time.
　　 In the end, the Thunder defeated the Kings very strongly in the away game and avoided losing streak.
　　 Westbrook hit his 20th triple-double this season. He had a rebound, 10 assists and 4 steals. In addition to him, Anlo 28 points, Oladipo 20 points, Kanter rebounds off the bench, Adams rebounds.
　　 Facts have proved that after letting go of the Thunder, the attack power is not weaker than other strong teams. The most frightening thing is that the Thunder also retained their tough defense.
　　 The next day, the Thunder headed to Los Angeles to fight the Clippers again.
　　 Prior to this, the Clippers had achieved six consecutive victories under Paul's leadership. The Thunder defeated the Kings yesterday, but the inside pillar Adams was accidentally injured and missed the game. Without Adams, the Thunder are tight inside. They have absolutely no way to restrict little Jordan, and can only do whatever they want.
　　 Westbrook's performance was also affected. Rivers obviously got inspiration from the Timberwolves. They cut off Westbrook's connection with his teammates and forced him to continuously score through individual singles.
　　 Under Paul's leadership, the Thunder have been in a passive situation. Towards the end of the second quarter, Paul was unfortunately injured, which became a turning point in the game.
　　 Without Paul's Clippers, he can no longer withstand the Thunder's attack. Although Felton and Jordan played well, they still couldn't change the ending.
　　 Finally, the Thunder seized the opportunity to reverse the game. Won two consecutive victories.