On the second night, it was dark in Oklahoma, but the Energy Center alone was filled with a noisy atmosphere.
Tonight is the Thunder's home game against the Timberwolves.
The Timberwolves have been extremely strong recently, winning four consecutive victories and ranking fourth in the Western Conference.
What's more, the Timberwolves have No. 1 pick Wiggins, which can be regarded as making up for the loss after losing Love.
A long time ago, Wiggins had promised that he would have a chance with Lu Yao, and now, that opportunity has finally arrived.
Lu Yao chose this game, which means that this game will be a head-to-head showdown between the best rookie of the season and the top pick of the season.
This can't help but attract the attention of many people. Although it is still warm-up time, the energy center is already full at this moment.
What's more, after this game, the All-Star votes will be opened. At that time, many fans will rush to the voting website to vote for their favorite stars.
Naturally, these two rookie players will receive a lot of votes.
But in terms of popularity, Lu Yao still completely crushed Brother Zui.
But who is strong and who is weak can only be determined after this game.
Lu Yao came to the court from the player tunnel and was doing warm-up exercises with his assistant coaches, trying to restore his best competitive condition before the start of the game.
Although Lu Yao now has many skill packages and the blessing of the peak Durant template, this does not mean that he can despise these seemingly insignificant but extremely important events.
Lu Yao received a pass from the coach, came to the bottom of the basket, raised his hand and made an explosive one-handed dunk.
After landing, a voice of praise came from behind Lu Yao.
"nice shot!"
Lu Yao turned his head and saw a man with a simple smile and no malice standing on the sidelines, watching his warm-up training.
And this person is none other than Brother Wiggins.
Seeing Wiggins arriving, Lu Yao showed a smile on his face, came to Wiggins, shook hands with him and talked happily.
"Andrew, you look like you're in good shape tonight."
Brother Zui smiled and scratched his head, and responded in the same way: "You too, it was a pity a few days ago that you had a rest in that game against the Thunder, otherwise our duel would have been earlier."
Lu Yao spread his hands and said, "It doesn't matter. At least in this game, I won't miss our duel."
"Andrew, I hope you can let me have a good time tonight."
"The same to you."
At this moment, the emerging No. 1 pick and the highly popular rookie were chatting and laughing happily on the sidelines. Their eyes showed pure appreciation for each other, without much malice.
Lu Yao naturally liked an honest man like Brother Zui very much.
In his previous life, one of his favorite players was Andrew Wiggins.
Now that he can face off against Brother Zui, Lu Yao is still a little excited.
Wiggins' talent is naturally one of the best in the league.
But Wiggins' personal ability depends entirely on his attitude.
At that time, Wiggins was nicknamed the Health Mamba because he drank wolfberry water on the sidelines and had an easy-going professional attitude. He usually averaged a stable 17 points per game.
When Wiggins gets serious and leads the team to win games, fans will call him a broken thermos.
Wiggins' single defense ability is comparable to that of the robot Leonard. In the next 22 NBA Finals, Wiggins will rely on his ultimate single defense to limit the opponent's star Tatum, thus prompting the team to win Championship.
However, Wiggins is still young now. If he wants to restrict Lu Yao, he is still a little too thin and young.
But for Lu Yao, no matter whether Brother Zui wins or loses, he is Lu Yao's respectable opponent.
Since Brother Zui took the lead in challenging him, Lu Yao would naturally respond.
Soon, the warm-up time was over, and the main game, which the spectators were waiting to see, was about to come.
The starting players of both sides came to the center circle and executed the jump ball tactic. It was the Thunder's Lu Yao and the Timberwolves' Gorgui Dieng.
As soon as Ji Ang came up, he was a head shorter than Lu Yao, which made him half a beat behind before the game started.
The referee came to the center of the center circle, holding the ball with one hand and the whistle in his mouth with the other.
The two men bent their knees and stretched out their hands in the direction of the ball, ready to jump up and fight for the ball at any time.
"Beep!" With a piercing whistle, the ball was thrown into the air, which also represented the official start of the game.
The two jumped up at the same time, but Lu Yao crushed the opponent's Ji Ang in both bounce and wingspan.
As soon as the result of the jump ball came up, it seemed that the suspense was lost.
Lu Yao picked up the ball in the air and threw it directly towards his own Westbrook.
Westbrook received a pass from Lu Yao and quickly advanced forward with the ball alone. His main goal was to catch the Timberwolves off guard.
The Timberwolves also reacted quickly, and LaVine quickly stuck to Westbrook's side to block his breakthrough.
Did you ever think that besides choosing personal offense, Westbrook could also choose another option.
That's a pass!
After Lu Yao landed from the air, he sprinted directly towards the basket in the frontcourt, cut inside, and waved to Westbrook for the ball.
The two naturally understood each other, and Westbrook passed the ball directly to Lu Yao, who had already reached the free throw line.
Lu Yao took two steps forward with the ball, jumped up, and dunked with an exploding tomahawk, slamming the ball into the basket!
Suddenly, the entire Energy Center Arena burst into cheers that could lift the ceiling!
Wonderful connection from Lu Yao and Westbrook! It is full of fun to watch, and the goal at the beginning is enough to book the top ten goals of the day.
Lu Yao and Westbrook high-fived in celebration. Their connection not only helped the Thunder score the first goal of the game, but also created the momentum from the Thunder.
Oklahoma’s home atmosphere is not for nothing.
At this moment, the auditorium was filled with a sea of blue. The fans held up signs with the images of Thunder players and cheered loudly!
Soon, the ball was handed over to the Timberwolves. Dieng on the bottom line took the ball. After reaching the bottom line, he passed it back to LaVine for organization.
The offense from the Timberwolves began.
LaVine took his time and brought the ball across the half court. Facing Westbrook's defense, which was ready to step forward at any time, he seemed unhurried and organized the team's offense in a steady and orderly manner.
The Timberwolves continued to conduct transmission and did not leave many flaws for the Thunder.
Judging from the current situation of the Timberwolves in this game, the offensive state is indeed very good.
At this moment, Kevin Martin slipped out from the baseline and received a pass from Wiggins.
Kevin Martin used his crooked machine gun shooting posture. Although the posture was strange, he was extremely accurate.
The ball hit the ball steadily and the two teams were tied.
