The Lakers offense comes again.
Zhao Chen dribbled the ball to the top of the arc and made a bull horns tactical gesture.
Jokic and Boban were put up at the same time, double cover.
Westbrook and Durant's defenses were separated at the same time, and Zhao Chen formed a gap in the middle and rushed directly in.
Durant continued to chase Zhao Chen, and Adams, who was under the basket, took a step forward and raised his hands, waiting for Zhao Chen to attack.
The Thunder are very familiar with Zhao Chen, and their defense is also very good.
It seemed that Zhao Chen had no chance, but Zhao Chen sent the ball to the right side of the basket.
Boban took off across Robertson, grabbed the pass from Zhao Chen with one hand and smashed it directly into the basket.
"frame!"
A perfectly coordinated alley-oop!
4 to 5.
After completing the dunk, Boban high-fived Zhao Chen to celebrate.
The return of several Lakers insiders really makes Zhao Chen less tired.
Robertson looked miserable, and he was dunked like this.
"Don't flank Zhao and limit his passing." Brooks shouted.
Thunder offense.
Durant used a change of direction to pass Covington and directly took the ball and rushed inside.
Durant saw that Boban was stuck by Adams, so he rushed directly to Jokic.
Durant's impact is indeed very domineering, but when he faced Jokic, the confrontation was slightly worse.
If Durant stops mid-range, Jokic can't guard him, but Durant wants to dunk.
"Snapped!"
Jokic smartly judged Durant's offensive method and jumped up hard to block the shot.
I didn't expect that he would actually cover me.
The rebound was picked up by Robertson who fell down. Robertson came up again, and Jokic took off and blocked the shot again.
Jokic looks chubby, but his core strength and continuous take-off ability are not bad at all.
This time Jokic bent down, picked up the ball, and protected it firmly.
Jokic used his elbow to protect the ball and knocked away Adams and Westbrook who wanted to counterattack.
"Well done!" Zhao Chen went over to encourage Jokic.
"Hey, don't try to score on me easily," Jokic said.
Jokic rarely talks trash and has always been a good boy. Even if he blocks a double shot, he is very low-key.
Durant kept his eyes on Jokic. He felt that the helpers around Zhao Chen were not as weak as he thought.
"Nice shot."
"This little fat guy seems to have improved again."
"He's slimmer than he was at the beginning of the season and he can jump higher."
"Although I'm lucky, being able to block KD is also very powerful."
Zhao Chen took Jokic's pass and led it over.
Zhao Chen knows very well that not only Jokic is improving, but other rookies are also improving at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Lakers offense.
Westbrook still chose not to let go of Zhao Chen's three-pointer and stayed close to Zhao Chen.
Westbrook is well aware of Zhao Chen's three-point terror.
As soon as Zhao Chen's three-pointer opened, the basic defense collapsed. On the contrary, the breakthrough was not so ruthless.
Zhao Chen adjusted his left side with a back dribble and rushed over.
Westbrook chased Zhao Chen, and Zhao Chen reached the free throw line and blocked Westbrook with his body. Westbrook did not dare to use force. Zhao Chen then accelerated twice and completely got rid of Westbrook and went to the basket.
Zhao Chen swam in and out like a fish, and suddenly paused and feinted. Adams and Ibaka were sent flying at the same time. After Adams and Ibaka were out of rhythm, Zhao Chen easily turned around and hit a layup.
Easy goal.
4 to 7.
Lakers fans were very excited, cheering and screaming.
Zhao Chen did not use the cover of his teammates, and played with the Thunder's defense one-on-one, leaving the Thunder defenders helpless.
"Zhao Chen has too many offensive methods, which makes it impossible for opponents to judge his offensive choices."
"Zhao Chen's footwork under the basket is very good. Ibaka and Adams were deceived."
"The Thunder are very aware of Zhao Chen's three-point shooting power and don't want Zhao Chen to open up on the outside. For this reason, they would rather be beaten inside."
Westbrook and Durant didn't say anything about the ball. Zhao Chen's difficulty in defending has been clear for a long time.
Zhao Chen had too many similar offenses last season.
For a scorer like Zhao Chen, if he can be below the average level, the restriction is successful.
Thunder offense.
Westbrook responded quickly. He passed Zhao Chen with a scissor step, and then broke through to the free throw line and made a zombie jumper!
"Uh-huh!"
Westbrook's improved zombie jump shooting percentage is the key to his scoring average rising to 28 points per game.
After scoring, Westbrook shouted to Zhao Chen: "Just let me shoot."
Westbrook is now very confident in his mid-range, and he is very good at grasping the rhythm of breakthroughs and shooting.
Zhao Chen can only limit Westbrook's defense, but cannot absolutely defend him.
At the beginning of the game, the two sides fell into a confrontation.
Both sides know each other's core very well, and the Thunder, playing away from home, did not allow the Lakers to easily open the score.
Zhao Chen was not flanked. Zhao Chen was always encouraged to play in singles. Of course, singles were to defend Zhao Chen's three-pointer. Zhao Chen could break through at will, and Zhao Chen was not polite. He would keep breaking out when he got the ball!
After entering the second lineup competition, the Thunder broke out for a while and once took the lead.
But soon, Zhao Chen stabilized the situation.
The Thunder's second lineup still has an old problem, and their offensive ability is insufficient.
After playing for a while in the second quarter, the Lakers gradually gained a certain advantage.
Brooks immediately replaced Durant. Durant was in great condition today. As soon as he came on the court, he continued to show off his power from beyond the three-point line, once again helping the Thunder overtake the score.
The fans at Staples Arena continue to encourage the Lakers. The Thunder are a very difficult opponent.
Throughout the first half of the game, Westbrook defended Zhao Chen with his whole body. Zhao Chen was very uncomfortable being defended, but Zhao Chen's score did not decrease. He just failed to connect his teammates well. Of course, this is also related to the overall state of the Lakers. , Zhao Chen passed a lot of open balls, but none of his teammates scored.
Of course, Westbrook's personal offense was not easy. Zhao Chen also restricted Westbrook and failed to prevent Westbrook's mid-range shots and breakthroughs. It was just that Durant on the Thunder had difficulty restricting him. This was the source of the Lakers' lagging behind.
Covington was directly beaten by Durant. Durant became more and more excited as he played. He was capable of breakthroughs and three-pointers. The first half of the game was over.
The score became 66 to 52, and the Lakers fell behind by 14 points at home.
Zhao Chen was somewhat restricted, but he was still the player who scored the most points for the Lakers. Zhao Chen scored as many as 30 points in the first half.
In the locker room, Zhao Chen wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel.
The Thunder's state today is so good that it's almost unbelievable, especially Durant, who seemed to go crazy when he met the Lakers.
"Zhao, you need to continue attacking in the second half. They are using Russell to consume you now, and the rest of us don't have a good chance." Scott said.
"Well, the coach is right, we need to continue to attack them, and we need to work harder on defense." Kobe also said on the side.
"Okay, I'll give it a try." Zhao Chen nodded.
After Scott and Kobe left, Zhao Chen silently muttered, "Use [Fiery Feel] (Advanced)!"
This is the first time Zhao Chen has used his fiery touch during the game.
Zhao Chen felt good today and could score 30 points in the half, but Zhao Chen felt that was far from enough!
If the Lakers want to defeat the Thunder in their current state, he still needs to do more.
A familiar force came...
