After making two free throws, the Thunder once again opened the score to about three points, ensuring that the Rockets could not directly gain the lead.
At the same time, the Thunder's defense is also cautious, not only ensuring that no defense is missed, but also guarding against Harden's fouls.
Seeing that Lu Yao was out of breath, Donovan quickly called the first timeout of this quarter.
This pause is very simple, just to buy Lu Yao time to rest.
It seems that Donovan is also very smart and has learned the essence of Tyronn Lue next door.
You have to hold them in this way to protect your thighs. What to do if your thighs get tired? This is a concept that Donovan and Tyronn Lue also pursue now.
Lu Yao drank some water on the court and replenished some energy. At the end of the timeout, he stepped onto the court again.
And a few times, the ball was given to the Rockets. The Rockets served from the sideline. After Howard handed the ball to Harden, he came to the backcourt for tactical placement.
Harden, on the other hand, brought the ball to the top of the arc and dribbled the ball unhurriedly from his hips, which put a lot of pressure on Robertson, who was defending.
Lu Yao stood at the free throw line. If he wanted to maintain the score, Lu Yao must perform something on both ends of the offense and defense.
What's more, his mission in this game is not only to win the game, but also to block 5 shots.
At this moment, Lu Yao seemed to be the manager of a hot pot restaurant, wanting to serve some hot pot to the Rockets players on the opposite side.
Sure enough, after Harden shook Robertson away, he broke through to the inside. This breakthrough directly ran into Lu Yao, who was defending.
The two collided head-on, and the scene was naturally a little awkward. Harden decisively pulled from the inside to outside the three-point line.
In this way, it is convenient for him to carry out large-scale attacks.
But in front of Lu Yao, all tactics of fighting big and small are ineffective.
After all, Durant back then was able to defend both inside and outside. Now Lu Yao is not only stronger, but also has a longer wingspan than Durant.
So defensively, Lu Yao is still confident that he can guard Harden.
Harden kept trying to break through, but Lu Yao's ape-like wingspan made Harden dizzy and at a loss. He could only keep pulling from inside the line to outside the line, and kept pulling with Lu Yao.
Lu Yao was naturally happy to see such a scene. After all, it was not him who was panicking, but Harden.
Sure enough, Harden saw that there was not much offensive time left, so he directly chose to take a step back, preparing to directly meet Lu Yao's three-pointer.
But Lu Yao is not Robertson. His wingspan is enough to cover the sky and scare offensive players.
Lu Yao's big hand was directly placed on the long ball in Harden's hand.
This also means that Harden's shot was blocked by Lu Yao.
The ball fell to the ground. Lu Yao ignored the stunned Harden and directly grabbed the ball and launched a fast break towards the frontcourt.
The frontcourt was naturally empty. Lu Yao rushed into the paint and hit a reflexive one-handed dunk. It was full of spectacle and directly brought the atmosphere of the entire Energy Center Arena to its peak.
The Energy Center suddenly burst into deafening cheers, and the audience on the sidelines stood up excitedly and raised their hands in the air.
With Lu Yao's dunk, the Thunder opened the score to 5 points.
After Harden was blocked by Lu Yao, he seemed to have been taken away from his soul. In the next three shots, all of them were black.
This also gave the Thunder many opportunities. The Thunder fought hard and defeated Rockets Nash.
Without Harden, the Rockets' offensive end was like a broken string, making no sound at all.
On the other hand, for the Thunder, Lu Yao felt hot and hit two three-pointers in succession, directly opening the score.
But two minutes later, Harden's touch gradually recovered, and he also hit two three-pointers, helping the Rockets get the score back to five points.
But Robertson's state is also catching up. On the outside, Robertson almost locked Harden.
Harden's touch gradually became colder, and his subsequent shots had a lower and lower hit rate.
After halftime, the score had been stretched to 15 points.
A 15-point difference is a big challenge for the Rockets, who are currently on the verge of falling apart. Rather, it is an impossible challenge.
In the second quarter, Harden made 3 of 8 shots and only scored 8 points. He felt extremely cold and made 4 turnovers in a single quarter.
At this moment, Howard seems to have become a transparent person, with no effect at all. The effect he brings to the Rockets is to barely restrain Lu Yao.
But in the end, he could only watch Lu Yao send the ball into the basket.
Looking back at the Thunder, Robertson, who recovered in the second half of the quarter, posted three steals in a single quarter on the defensive end, which can be said to have locked up Harden. Make amends.
And West felt hot, hitting 3 of 3 three-pointers in the second quarter. With the space opened by Lu Yao, role players like them can play a greater role.
The rest, such as Ibaka, Adams, etc., all participated in scoring in the second quarter.
But the strongest person in Thunderbolt is undoubtedly Lu Yao.
In the second quarter, Lu Yao continued his invincible performance in the previous quarter, scoring 16 points in a single quarter. Adding up the scores in the two quarters, Lu Yao's current personal score is 33 points.
He scored 33 points at halftime. One can imagine how desperate Lu Yao's defensive players were when facing Lu Yao's attack.
Howard: You're right
Ariza: You are right
No, it should be said that the entire Rockets team felt desperate, because no matter how hard they tried, Lu Yao was able to destroy the Rockets' defense.
In the third quarter, the Rockets showed signs of decline and were chased and beaten fiercely by the Thunder.
Harden's 1-for-6 performance in the third quarter also announced that he, the protagonist, had withdrawn from this opera early.
From this moment on, it became Lu Yao's performance time alone.
Lu Yao scored 15 points and sent 4 assists in the third quarter. He also made great achievements on the defensive end, with 2 steals and blocks in a single quarter.
In total, Lu Yao's current statistics are 48 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals, 7 blocks, and 1 turnover.
With the Rockets pressing the whole court, Lu Yao was able to make only one mistake in three quarters, which was already a top performance.
There is no doubt that in the third quarter, the score was completely opened by the Thunder.
100:79, the Thunder led by a big score. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the game had already entered garbage time.
Harden sat on the bench with a bitter look on his face, glancing at Howard aside from time to time with a hint of complaint in his eyes.
At this moment, Howard didn't dare to speak. After all, who would take the blame in this game, he would definitely be the first to take the blame.
The entire fourth quarter seemed extremely boring.
The Thunder won this game with almost no suspense.
