The game between the Clippers and Thunder was interrupted for about five minutes after this episode.
The on-site commentators shook their heads, "The irritable Smart once again threw popcorn at the referee."
"I guess starting with this game, popcorn is going to be banned in stadiums around the league."
"Popcorn has become a banned weapon in NBA games."
"We promise not to use popcorn first."
Generally speaking, as an entertainment competition, it is still very happy to have such small episodes occasionally.
The originally intense atmosphere of the game was interrupted, and the tense nerves relaxed.
Tyronn Lue took this opportunity to pour a big mouthful of chicken soup at the players, asking everyone to cheer up, for Smart!
For Smart again.
The last time Smart got the Clippers into the playoffs, Min Congda almost committed suicide.
Of course, Min Congda will definitely not care this time.
Love wins or not, the fine in this case is definitely inevitable.
Paul George stood on the free throw line and made one of two free throws.
There was so long a gap that his hands became cold.
The second free throw missed, but Randolph grabbed the offensive rebound.
Successful tip-in under the basket! The Clippers lead 79:73, leading by 6 points!
Westbrook dribbled the ball slowly across half court.
The rhythm of both sides slowed down again.
Pass the ball to Gordon, Gordon catches the ball and beats Harden one-on-one!
He screamed when he reached the basket, causing a foul on Gasol.
It is really difficult for the Thunder, who have three singles players in Gordon, Westbrook, and Durant, to contain their offense.
Gasol felt a little wronged during this ball. He didn't take off, he just stayed close to Gordon. How could he get a foul?
He complained to the referee, but Fitzgerald gave Gasol a T, a technical foul!
Durant went to the free throw line and scored one free throw first, followed by Gordon's two free throws. 79:76, the Thunder was close to the score.
This goal caused great dissatisfaction among the fans and the Clippers coaching staff. Tyronn Lue protested at the referee.
"Why do you need to add another technical foul! What are you doing!"
"I don't mind adding one more, I'm just officiating the game, not doing anything!"
Fitzgerald was pretty tough.
Obviously he was still angry, Min Congda's trick just now was really hurtful to his self-esteem.
And Fitzgerald is a young and energetic referee who dares to call penalties. Now that Min Congda has been ejected, he can only vent his anger on the Clippers players.
Fitzgerald is not afraid of the boos from the fans at all. He has been blowing the whistle since he was 18 years old and dares to ignore others.
And compared with many referees, Fitzgerald has a good relationship with NBA executives, and he is likely to serve in a management position for league referees in the future.
Such a promising young man certainly doesn't have a good temper.
Steve Kerr pulled Tyronn Lue and said, "Don't mess with this guy, let's finish the game."
Tyronn Lue said: "What is this kid's background? He was so arrogant when he was called. I think Smart hit him right. He shouldn't have used popcorn, but a grenade."
"His father is the chairman of the New Jersey Basketball Referees Association. He has cooperated with the NBA all year round and has hosted referee training for many years. You know."
"I see... Shet, there's going to be trouble tonight's game."
Tyronn Lue knows that being targeted by referees is never a good thing.
There is still more than one quarter of the game. If the Clippers want to win the Thunder, they must be careful.
Otherwise, at the critical moment, if the referee makes a little stir, the result of the game will be completely reversed.
Tyronn Lue's skills and tactics are so-so, but he is very talented and knowledgeable in game rhythm, morale and understanding of people's hearts.
After Gordon made the free throw, he immediately made personnel changes, replaced Harden, let him rest, and replaced Butler.
Originally, he wanted to replace Milicic with Gasol, but when he thought about Milicic's inside defensive actions, wasn't it a whistle?
Therefore, Bonner was used to replace Gasol. Obviously, using Bonner to deal with Perkins was a good countermeasure.
In this way, the Clippers have put together a very special lineup: Bonner, Butler, George, Randolph and Curry.
This lineup is no longer a high-post pass-cut combination, it has become a pick-and-roll-shooting combination around Curry Randolph.
Randolph and Bonner began to repeatedly cover Curry, while George and Butler responded on the weak side.
Either squatting outside the three-point line and waiting for an opportunity, or cutting to the basket.
Compared with the Harden-Randolph combination, the Curry-Randolph combination pays more attention to shooting after the pick-and-roll. Curry is the absolute core of the offense, and Randolph serves as a support, mainly outside.
As for the Harden-Randolph combination, Randolph is more in the low post, and Harden is the core of the organization and offense, distributing more balls and taking fewer shots.
Of course, this kind of tactical selection and allocation is made by the players themselves based on their feelings and experience.
Tyronn Lue doesn't understand either. Anyway, I've arranged my troops like this. It's up to you how to beat you.
As a result, Curry used a double screen to ignore the defender, and hit a three-pointer from the right side at a 45-degree angle!
Durant then broke through the basket and dunked in the middle.
The Clippers counterattacked quickly. Curry once again used a high pick-and-roll screen, found a gap and went to the basket, and succeeded in picking up the basket!
When facing Bonner, Perkins's weaknesses in moving slowly defensively and not being able to follow up in time were clearly revealed.
If he had squatted under the basket and waited for Curry in advance for this ball, Curry would definitely pass the ball to Bonner. Bonner would open his hand for a three-pointer from a familiar position, and the Thunder would be even more unbearable.
But without Perkins on the court, what about protecting the basket inside and rebounding in the backcourt?
The Thunder will definitely regret at this moment why they canceled the Tyson Chandler deal because of an injury test.
Look at Chandler's performance in last year's Western Conference Finals and Finals. If he was with the Thunder last season, it was probably the Thunder that entered the Finals.
All I can say is that this is fate.
After Curry hit the basket, Westbrook passed the ball to Gordon.
But Gordon didn't take advantage of Jimmy Butler this time.
Butler stalked Gordon like a mad dog and defended very cleanly.
Gordon made continuous dribbling errors under his crotch and stole the ball to counterattack!
Jimmy Butler picked up the ball and threw it into the frontcourt. Curry caught the ball and passed it long to George.
George counterattacked and dunked successfully!
Paul George dunked a lot tonight!
After scoring, George opened his arms and flew on the court like a bird.
Tonight is definitely a night of transformation for him, and he will embark on a path to stardom from now on.
However, at the small forward position, there are indeed too many mountains in front of him.
There is one right in front of you, Kevin Durant.
In the third quarter, the Thunder's last offense.
Durant received a pass from Westbrook, faked a little, broke through, made an emergency stop, and hit a mid-range jumper.
George stepped on the spot and kept up with Durant's every rhythm, but still watched the ball fall into the basket and scored two points.
Then the Clippers missed an outside shot and the third quarter ended.
86:80, the Clippers led the Thunder by 6 points at the end of the third quarter.
But Durant has scored 30 points in three quarters.
He was in hot form tonight, and his shooting was like a scythe, collecting points.
The Clippers have three young No. 3 positions, and no one can stop him from scoring yet.
Some people died, but not completely...
