The two leading stars had just met, and their eyes met each other, and sparks soon appeared. The air was filled with the smell of gunpowder, announcing that the upcoming duel would definitely not be that simple.
The referee brought the ball to the center circle, confirmed the position of the two people, nodded, and then held the whistle in one hand and the ball in the other, and the time for the jump ball began to count down.
The two of them bent their knees and stretched out their hands in the direction of the ball. They held their breath and waited quietly for the moment the ball was released, so as to gain the opportunity to immediately grab the ball.
At the same time, the audience in the auditorium also felt extremely nervous. After all, what the Mavericks were facing this time was the Thunder, which was at its peak. The Thunder, which topped the league with 14 consecutive victories, undoubtedly had all the advantages before the game. .
As the home fans of the Mavericks, how could the spectators on the sidelines not feel worried? It is precisely because of the Thunder's Lu Yao, Lu Yao's unsolvable offense, and flawless defense that not only made the offensive players feel suffocated, but also made the court feel uneasy. The audience on the other side can also feel suffocated.
In the opening game, the Thunder somehow managed to overpower the Mavericks in terms of momentum.
Beep! As the referee blew the whistle in his hand, the harsh whistle reached everyone's ears and stimulated their nerves. At the same time, the ball in the referee's hand was also thrown into the air.
Lu Yao and Nowitzki, who had been waiting for a long time, took off at the same moment and stretched out their hands towards the ball that was thrown into the air. Both of them wanted to grab the ball before the other party.
But after all, Nowitzki is now older, his career has reached 17 years, and his physical function is far inferior to that of the MVP season in 2007, so in terms of jumping, Lu Yao is a little further than Nowitzki.
What's more, Lu Yao's wingspan, height, etc. are all superior, and Nowitzki has almost no advantage. The only thing that can be said is that he can take off at the same time as Lu Yao.
There is no doubt that Lu Yao touched the ball in the air before Nowitzki and pointed the ball into his own half.
Westbrook, who had been waiting for the opportunity for a long time, immediately stepped forward and took the ball into his arms. After protecting the ball in his arms and making sure that no one could threaten him, Westbrook dropped the ball steadily.
The Thunder won the jump ball, which also announced that the Thunder had taken the initiative in the opening. With Westbrook taking the ball, the game officially began.
Westbrook dribbled the ball slowly across the half court. While dribbling the ball forward, Westbrook also did not forget to find the position of his teammates on the field. He made preparations for personal offense and passing. His main focus was stability.
At this moment, Lu Yao used the cover of his teammates to cut from the wing to the outside line. Nowitzki, who was chasing behind him, was blocked by Ibaka in the pick-and-roll, slowing down his pace.
This was an excellent shooting opportunity for Lu Yao, and Westbrook passed the ball directly to Lu Yao's hands without hesitation.
After Lu Yao received the ball, he lived up to expectations. He directly jumped forward and made a decisive three-pointer from Nowitzki. After the ball drew a beautiful arc in the air, it hit the rebound and hit the basket.
Hitting a 3-pointer in the opening game was considered a routine operation for Lu Yao. It not only helped the Thunder gain an advantage in the opening game, but also greatly increased the Thunder's momentum.
But Dallas also has a shooter who is as good as Lu Yao, and that is the German tank Nowitzki. His outside shooting ability is the best in history.
Just like now, the latest point guard traded by Dallas is also the opponent Lu Yao encountered not long ago, Rajon Rondo.
Last night, the Dallas Mavericks completed a trade with the Boston Celtics, and Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo was sent to the Dallas Mavericks to become the Mavericks' new point guard.
After the Thunder's rapid rise, major teams have also strengthened their lineups to prepare to face the unstoppable Thunder in the playoffs, including the Dallas Mavericks.
Director Long's ball control is naturally stable. Even though he received special care from Westbrook just after halftime, Director Long still showed no sign of losing the ball. This is the ball control skills of a top defender.
In order to consume less energy, Westbrook chose to change his defensive method, from the original pressing to a method of letting go of shots but not sudden attacks.
This also gave Coach Long an opportunity to find a way to connect the team. Rondo was dealing with Westbrook's defense while checking the positions of his teammates on the field.
At this moment, Coach Long saw the wing Nowitzki blocking Ibaka with his back, waving towards Rondo for the ball.
Although this is only Rondo's first game with the Dallas Mavericks, a point guard of his level has an extremely keen sense of timing for passing the ball. He will never let go of the opportunity to pass the ball to create an offensive opportunity.
At this moment, Coach Long decisively passed the ball to Nowitzki. Nowitzki received the ball with his back. The familiar feeling in his bones suddenly emerged, and he turned around to face Ibaka. , shooting in a peculiar fadeaway jumper.
Put one foot on the ground, curl up the other foot, and shoot quickly. This is Nowitzki's unique skill, the independence of the golden rooster.
In 2011, Nowitzki relied on his golden rooster to be independent and kept scoring goals one after another on his opponents. Finally, he destroyed the nascent Heat Big Three's championship dream in the finals and became the first player in the history of the league. This is the only myth of a single-core championship.
Dallas fans are naturally very familiar with this move. As long as Nowitzki uses the golden rooster independently, then for Mavericks fans, this goal is a sure thing.
Sure enough, after spinning for a moment, the ball in the air fell steadily into the basket.
The opening two goals from Lu Yao and Nowitzki announced the beginning of the next two sharpshooters' confrontation.
After Nowitzki scored the Golden Rooster, Lu Yao followed closely behind and came to the three-point line. Facing the double-team of the Mavericks, he made a three-point pull-up jumper. The shot was extremely decisive and blocked with one sword. throat.
At this moment, the goal seemed to be in Lu Yao's bag. This goal was in Lu Yao's bag.
Less than a minute into the game, Lu Yao hit two consecutive three-pointers, showing the Thunder's momentum.
But the Mavericks, who were sitting at home, couldn't show weakness at all. Nowitzki hit two consecutive mid-range shots, tying the score and thinking about the Thunder in front of him declaring his home court status.
In the first three minutes, the two teams were tied at 11:11. It could be said that they were evenly matched, and no one could take advantage of the other.
The current game is in desperate need of a game-breaker.
The ball was handed over to the Thunder. Lu Yao received the ball and slowly advanced towards the frontcourt. He waved to his teammates to signal that he wanted to attack personally.
