Vol 3 Chapter 209: Voting ends

With their attitude, the Thunder proved that the loss to the Phoenix team was just an accident. Like a tiger, occasionally, it still squints for a while.
The battle with the Blazers, although the process was not smooth sailing, but in the face of setbacks, Thunder used its own practical actions to let people see their abilities. Although the Blazers are missing Lillard, the players are not doing well. They have 3 players with more than 20 points. CJ Mike Corum had 27 points and 7 assists, Shabaz Napier had 21 points and 5 rebounds, Joseph Newkic had 20 points and 8 rebounds, Al Aminu also had 10 points and grabbed them. 7 rebounds.
The Thunder players are even better. Westbrook almost had a triple-double, scoring 22 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds. Paul George had 22 points, Anlo had 29 points and 5 steals, and Stephen Adams had 16 points and 6 rebounds.
Therefore, they became the final winner. The only pity is that Terrence Ferguson, who performed well before, was very poor in this field. In nearly 20 minutes of playing time, he didn't score a point and instead committed 6 offenses. It can be seen that he especially wants to play two eyes on the defensive end. But in many cases it was too aggressive and caused many unnecessary fouls.
But the final result is still gratifying.
What makes everyone happy is that the team's defense has not been affected when the team is at a disadvantage and the offense cannot be opened. At the critical moment, someone stepped up to help the team tide over the difficulties. This is the temperament of a strong team.
After playing a game in Oklahoma City, the Thunder hurriedly embarked on another road trip.
On January 10, after a battle between Portland and the Trail Blazers, they once again met the Minnesota Timberwolves.
This time, the Thunder finally stumbled.
In fact, the two teams played very anxiously in the first half. Judging from the situation, the Thunder's players did not lose strength due to back-to-back reasons. On the contrary, as soon as he came up, he turned against the guest and launched a strong attack.
In the first 3 minutes of the first quarter, Westbrook and Adams continued their pick-and-roll coordination at high positions and caught each other off guard. Although Towns' talent is very strong, he still lacks some experience and enthusiasm on the defensive end.
However, Butler then led several young men in Timberwolves and launched a strong counterattack. He first received Teague's turn in the right elbow zone and slid directly to the baseline to force it up. Although Adams and Paul George's front and rear flanking has blocked almost all layup routes, Butler made a big draw and hit the board.
Jimmy Butler does this kind of thing. When the opportunity is good, he usually doesn't make a move. With that energy, it is better to defend. Perhaps that would show his toughness even more.
Next, he received the ball on the right. But Paul George and Grant directly bet him to the bottom corner. This time he was hard to fly with his wings. But Gibson, who was emptied, got a chance. After he received the ball, he pulled it up as a jumper.
The Thunder seems to be suddenly cut off during this period of time. Except for Westbrook's abrupt strike, at other times, it didn't play at all. After 12:0, the Timberwolves returned a wave of 13:2.
Next, the two teams fell into a tug of war. Just like a turn-based game, you play a wave, I play a wave. The Thunder hit a 32:28 in the first quarter, and the Timberwolves also returned a 32:28 in the second quarter. It's as if it was negotiated in advance, and the cooperation is seamless.
However, in the second half of the game, the Thunder situation took a turn for the worse.
In the third quarter, the Timberwolves strengthened their defense. Under the leadership of Butler, the young people in Minnesota played very hard against their previous appearance of "three wolves". They have been looking for a physical confrontation, even an off-the-ball player like An Luo has not escaped. After the Timberwolves entangled in the game for half a quarter, the Thunder players finally suffered from exhaustion. The sequelae of back-to-back once again restricted the performance of these players.
After Anluo made a three-pointer, the Thunder led the Timberwolves by one point 71:70. But this is the last time they have taken the lead in this game.
Subsequently, the Timberwolves hit a 17:4 attack wave, opening the gap with 87:75.
This wave of attacks is very deadly. In the last few minutes, the Thunder failed to find an offensive rhythm. They only scored 15 points in the third quarter. Although half of the game was played on the bench, the state was still a bit too bad.
In fact, the Thunder still have a chance to reverse. After all, they are only 12 points behind. But Donovan was overly cautious in arranging troops again. He was initially denied Westbrook and Anlow. So lost the best time to chase.
Of course, for Donovan, his sight is no longer limited to a certain game at the moment. The health of the players has always been an important reason for his formation.
No one accuses the Thunder for losing back-to-back games~EbookFREE.me~ Under such a schedule, changing to certain teams has already started taking turns. But Donovan did not do that. He still let his players play and did not choose to give up the game.
After two days of rest, the full-blooded Thunder easily defeated the Hornets led by Kemba Walker in Charlotte. Then he returned to the Chesapeake Energy Arena and defeated the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Lakers.
However, the team's three-game winning streak is not the thing that the Thunder fans are most concerned about.
Before the Thunder and Kings game, the NBA officially announced the final results of the 2018 Los Angeles All-Star Game fan vote.
In the fan vote, James was again the top vote, with a total of 2,638,294 votes. Antetokounmpo ranked second with 2,530,211 votes. Curry ranked third with 2,379,494 votes. Durant ranked fourth with 2,238,406 votes. Irving ranked fifth with 2,170,833 votes. Ginobili got 1,808,860 votes, ranking sixth.
Anluo made a great effort later and finally ranked 10th with 1,605,984 votes. But in the western backcourt, it is still behind Curry, Harden and Westbrook.
It's impossible to start. Anluo can only pin his hopes on the coaches and select him on the bench.
During this time, NBA fans are paying attention to and discussing the All-Star.
For the Thunder, Westbrook basically missed the start. This season, the Thunder's record is indeed very good, but Westbrook has sacrificed too much. Compared with Harden, his statistics are much worse. Moreover, the Rockets' record does not have to be much worse than the Thunder. As for Curry, the popularity is too high.