The day after the follow-up visit, Lu Yao took a plane back to Oklahoma alone.
And tonight, their opponent will be the Golden State Warriors at their peak.
The current Warriors have the Golden State Iron Triangle and the capable Xuan Ming duo. After winning against the Bulls last night, they have already surpassed the Cavaliers and reached the top of the league.
The Cavaliers lost to the Pacers and dropped two places in the rankings. They were surpassed by the Thunder, who did not play a game, and fell to third in the league.
And tonight is a game that determines who will be the new number one in the league.
It was the Warriors who continued their invincible streak and ended the Thunder's winning streak. The record gap with other teams continued to widen, and the Thunder scored 7 consecutive victories and topped the league.
There is no doubt that this game has become the focus of tonight's focus.
And there are two extremely important people in these two teams.
That is Lu Yao and Curry.
The MVP list for this period will be awarded after the game.
In the outside world, these two people, together with James in the East, are recognized as strong contenders for the first place in MVP.
But James was in poor form in last night's game. He only made 5 of 14, scored 13 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Naturally, he did not have the strength to compete with the above two people.
Curry continues to maintain his invincible posture this week, averaging 33 points and 6 assists per game and shooting 50 from three-point range.
The Warriors currently have a six-game winning streak, which is the same as the Thunder's six-game winning streak.
Needless to say, Lu Yao is a player who has reached the peak of his career since his debut. Currently averaging 32 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists per game, he is synonymous with being an all-around warrior.
Undoubtedly, this game will determine who can win the first place in the MVP list tonight.
Before the game, it naturally aroused heated discussions among many people.
Major news media also began to publish predictions about this game.
ESPN: Tonight! MVP list will be released soon! Will Curry continue to maintain the top spot in the MVP list, or will Lu Yao take the top spot?
Sports Illustrated: A showdown between the best! Currently, both the Warriors and Thunder have won six consecutive games. Who will have their winning streak ended or will they win seven consecutive games?
Fox Sports: The long-awaited matchup! Curry has already said that he is looking forward to Lu Yao's challenge.
In a video released by Fox Sports, Curry was interviewed by reporters in the Warriors training facility.
"Stephen, what do you think of tonight's game?"
Curry pouted, spread his hands and said, "Do I think so? We will definitely continue to win."
"Really, Stephen, how should you deal with Lu? After all, many teams have suffered defeats because they were unable to deal with Lu."
Curry chuckled and said confidently: "Why should we deal with him? Our offensive firepower is stronger than theirs, so it should be them who deal with us."
"I'm looking forward to the one-on-one scene between Lu and me. I just hope he can guard my three-pointer. I'm looking forward to his challenge."
Curry's speech is undoubtedly a provocation to Lu Yao.
After all, during the Lu Yao trade controversy, Curry once said that the Warriors did not need Lu Yao.
Now it seems that the grudge between these two people was settled a long time ago.
Immediately afterwards, videos about Lu Yao also circulated.
"Oh, I feel like we will win tonight, because the Warriors' defense is really weak."
"As for Curry, don't worry. The ball in his hand cannot escape my grasp. I have been called a shooter who can only make floating shots from outside. How can a shooter be afraid of a shooter?"
"This time, we not only want to win the number one position in the league, but I am also determined to be number one in the MVP list."
…
Night, Energy Center Arena.
The countdown to the start of the game between the Warriors and Thunder has entered.
Lu Yao and Curry appeared on the court and were doing warm-up training.
Everyone with a discerning eye knows that this game will be their performance.
The major commentary booths are also equipped with the highest configurations. TNT's live treasure duo and CCTV's Yang Yiyujia are all top-notch commentators in recent times.
Just during the warm-up time, the stadium was already full of people.
It can be seen that the popularity of this game is high enough to attract the attention of the entire basketball world.
Some people even claim that if the Warriors and Thunder are not in the same half of the playoffs, then this will be a preview of the Western Conference Finals.
There are three strong teams competing for the championship in the Western Conference this year, one is the Spurs, another is the Warriors, and the third is the recently rejoined Thunder.
People thought that judging from Durant's frequent injuries this year, the Thunder might not be able to go too far, but the emergence of Lu Yao changed everything.
It can be said that Lu Yao is really the savior of Thunder.
In the CCTV commentary box, teachers Yang Yi and Yu Jia were discussing the situation of this game.
"Teacher Yang Yi, who do you think will be the winner of this game tonight?"
When Teacher Yang Yi heard this sentence, he couldn't think of an answer for a while and said.
"With all due respect, I really can't choose the winner of this game. After all, as you can see, these two teams are very strong teams, and both have stars with superior personal performance."
"And their opponents do have a lot of strong teams, so there is not much water in the record, but if you ask me, I will support the Thunder."
"After all, Thunder's Lu Yao is our own family member in China, and our family must stand up."
Yu Jia nodded and agreed: "Yes, I also support the Thunder. I hope that tonight, the Thunder can end the Warriors' winning streak and reach the top of the league."
"I hope we can see that our Chinese name will appear at the top of the MVP list historically."
Speaking of this, I can't help but arouse the pain of many Chinese fans.
Even Yao, who was at his peak, only entered the MVP list briefly and did not even touch the top three positions.
But now, Lu Yao will become the first person in history. Such a moment is coming, how can it not be exciting?
Therefore, many Chinese fans still prefer Lu Yao.
As the warm-up time ends, the game officially begins.
Bogut and Lu Yao came to the center circle and prepared to jump the ball.
The referee came between the two, holding a whistle in his mouth, ready to throw the ball into the air at any time.
"Beep!"
With a piercing whistle, the ball was thrown into the air, which also touched the nerves of the two people.
But in terms of reflexes, Lu Yao is naturally better, and Lu Yao's static talent simply crushes Bogut.
Before Bogut took off, Lu Yao had almost touched the ball in the air.
There is no doubt that the ball was stolen by the Thunder.
This is their fifth consecutive game with a jump ball victory.
