Now, the offensive roles switch, and it's the Thunder's turn to host the offense in this round.
Westbrook advanced to the top of the arc, and he was facing Rose.
Rose licked his lips. The previous offensive mistakes must be made up for on defense.
Unexpectedly, Westbrook did not give him this opportunity.
After all, the current Thunder don't just rely on the singles of the Thunder's second young master.
Westbrook pretended to break through, but turned his hand and handed the ball to Robertson at the 45-degree three-point line.
On the other side, Lu Yao on the wing has reached the bottom corner through the pick-and-roll of Neptune Adams.
Robertson had quick eyes and quick hands and handed the ball directly to Lu Yao who ran out of the space.
Lu Yao received the pass, looked at Gasol rushing towards him, smiled slightly, and then decisively shot a three-pointer.
After all, Gasol was a step too slow and could only watch the ball fall into the basket.
Less than half a quarter into the game, the Thunder already had a huge 12:0 advantage.
Seeing that the Bulls were still scoreless, Thibodeau's face turned green with anger.
He really didn't expect that Lu Yao was so versatile.
There are three-pointers, breakthroughs, ball control, and a huge defensive range that covers an area.
This Chinese player is simply a monster.
Thibodeau can already feel that this player will change this era.
In the CCTV live broadcast room, Yang Yi saw Lu Yao's three-pointer hitting the net, and he did not hesitate to praise him.
"In less than half a quarter, Lu Yao has already scored 12 points, and also has two blocks and two rebounds. What Lu Yao has shown us since the beginning can definitely be said to be an MVP performance!"
"Who would have thought? A player with such outstanding performance would be a rookie with only a ten-day short contract, let alone only played two games!"
Thinking of this, Yang Yi couldn't help but feel faintly proud.
Their Chinese players have gradually reached a trough since Dayao retired.
And the appearance of Lu Yao allowed thousands of Chinese fans to see the dawn of revival!
In the next game, Lu Yao restrained himself a little and began to distribute the ball to his teammates to stabilize the rhythm.
The Bulls' decline lasted for a whole season, and they were beaten by a humiliating score of 34:8 in the first quarter.
In the first quarter, Lu Yao scored 21 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists with a super high efficiency of 8 of 9, plus 3 blocks. It can be said that he is truly both offensive and defensive!
The whistle sounded at the end of the first quarter and Lu Yao returned to the bench.
The fans in the Energy Center were already excited, and the MVP's voice almost lifted the ceiling of the arena.
Lu Yao pointed to the sky with one hand and responded to the cheers of the fans.
In the TNT commentary box, Kenny Smith looked at Barkley, who looked as ugly as if he had eaten shit, and laughed loudly.
"Charles, I told you before the game started, if you look down on a young man like you, you will regret it."
"Is it possible that this time you still want to kiss the donkey's butt like before?"
Barkley gritted his teeth in anger. More than ten years ago, he was completely skeptical of Yao Ming, who had just entered the league. He even had a famous scene of kissing a donkey's butt.
Unexpectedly, more than ten years later, he would be severely slapped in the face by a Chinese player.
Barkley scratched his bare head angrily and said, "It's only the first quarter and we can't tell. We'll see when the game is over."
Kenny Smith smiled and agreed, saying something that petrified Barkley.
"Whose ass are you going to kiss this time?"
Barkley: "Farke!"
The morale of the players on the Bulls' bench was low. They were hit by a huge 26-point deficit in the first quarter, which was a huge blow to whoever came.
Rose lowered his head and remained silent. In this quarter, he was limited and in a sluggish state, making only 1 of 4 shots and making two turnovers.
Gasol made all three shots and only picked up one rebound.
Not only in scoring, but also in rebounds, assists, blocks and steals, the Thunder crushed the Bulls.
Seeing the players' low morale, Thibodeau angrily slapped the tactical board.
"Wake up, everyone."
"It's only the first quarter now, we still have a chance!"
"If you lose points in the first quarter, get them back in the second quarter!"
Thibodeau's scolding was a bit of a wake-up call for Rose and Gasol.
Thibodeau continued to give impassioned speeches, saying it was his job as a coach to encourage his players.
Soon, the break ended and the second quarter began.
The ball is in the Bulls' hands.
The Bulls lineup has not changed, and they have not given up hope of winning.
Lu Yao had already taken a break and was sitting on the bench with Durant, who was also taking a break, chatting and laughing.
Westbrook was left on the court to lead the team alone with four substitutes.
As soon as he came up, Rose hit a mid-range shot in front of Westbrook, setting off the Bulls' counterattack.
The Bulls' starting lineup broke out. In just three minutes, the Bulls scored 11:3 in a single quarter.
Although Westbrook also felt hot, he was ultimately unable to support himself, and the Thunder's substitutes were defeated.
With Rose hitting a three-pointer and two free throws, the Bulls chased the score to 10 points.
At this moment, with three minutes left in the second quarter, the Thunder called a timeout.
Soon, the Thunder made substitutions.
Lu Yao and Durant took off their jackets and walked onto the court.
At the same time, Westbrook came off the court and was replaced by sixth man West.
The Bulls' lineup remains unchanged and they are bound to get the score back.
Soon, the game starts again!
The ball was handed over to the Thunder, and Durant served from the baseline to West, who was in charge.
West dribbled the ball across half court and handed the ball to Lu Yao at the top of the arc.
The main defender is Butler. Butler's offensive ability is still lacking, but his outside defensive ability is indeed outstanding.
What's more, there are Noah and Gasol who come on the inside as substitutes to look after Butler.
Unexpectedly, Lu Yao didn't want to have too much entanglement with Butler.
If you want to guard against my breakthrough, then why don't I just shoot?
Lu Yao raised his hand in front of Butler and hit a pull-up three-pointer. The knife fell with his hand.
After the ball drew a perfect arc in the air, it hit the net hollowly.
"Huh?" Butler was stunned.
You say an open three-pointer is fine, but is such a decisive pull-up three-pointer really possible with this body?
In this world? Is there really another person like Durant?
Even Rose found it incredible. The Bulls had reached the limit of defense on this goal!
Thibodeau on the sidelines wiped his eyes and took a deep breath after confirming that he saw it correctly.
Perverted, really perverted.
9 out of 10, 21 points!
Among them, 7 shots were taken from the outside!
Thibodeau couldn't help but sigh in his heart, it was simply an unsolvable outside shot!
As soon as Lu Yao comes on the court, the advantage that originally belonged to the Bulls will gradually tilt towards the Thunder.
Lu Yao's ability to influence the game is really terrifying!
