It is crucial for the Thunder to keep Westbrook calm. After Durant and Yin Baka left the Thunder, Westbrook is the real core of the Thunder.
But that's it, the Thunder's upper limit is just like that. This can be known from the Thunder's performance in the next few years. After leaving the Thunder, Westbrook also started his wandering career, playing for the Rockets, Wizards and Lakers.
Without Westbrook taking the lead, the Thunder's offense was still guaranteed, but the point difference between the two teams did not narrow. In the following time, Li Hao always stayed close to Westbrook, preventing him from getting the ball comfortably.
When the Lakers attacked, the threat Oladipo brought to Li Hao was far less than the threat Li Hao gave to Westbrook. Therefore, the Thunder performed well overall and the Lakers did not further expand their lead.
At the end of the first half, the Lakers entered the halftime break with a score of 70:58.
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"Although the game against the Thunder was the Lakers' third game of the new season, we can still see many things that are different from last season." Everyone was a little surprised that the Lakers could lead the Thunder, who were in good form, by 12 points going into halftime.
Although the Thunder's strength is greatly reduced in the new season, even so, the Lakers cannot bully them, not to mention that Westbrook's performance in the first two games was very explosive.
"Indeed, almost all the Lakers' tactics this season revolve around Li, and Li has no discomfort and even plays the role of core and leader very well." In the first two games, the Lakers' offensive success was all under the leadership of Li Hao. came out, and Li Hao can not only score by himself, but also help his teammates score.
Let's put it this way, Li Hao can make his teammates better. In fact, Li Hao has done this before, but it is not as obvious as this season.
The main reason for this situation is that the core of the Lakers last season was Kobe. Even an old Kobe who is about to retire is not the second-year Li Hao Kobe.
What's more, Li Hao's personal strength has further improved. Compared with last season, Li Hao's personal strength has also been greatly improved. It's just that outsiders can't see the value. The regular season has just begun, so everyone is not so intuitive.
"If Dwight can make changes, then this Lakers team may be really different from previous years," Kenny Smith said.
"I'm kind of looking forward to Dwight's return now." Barkley is obviously watching the excitement and not taking it too seriously.
"Hey~~Shaq? What's going on? Aren't you supposed to have a lot to say every time you talk about Dwight?" Finding that there was no reaction when he mentioned Howard O'Neal, Barkley immediately realized that something was wrong.
"I refuse to say anything about Dwight until he comes back," O'Neal said.
"Wow~~~Is this the Shaquille O'Neal I know?" Barkley joked.
"I know, Shaq must have used his relationship with the Lakers and Lee to get some inside information," Kenny Smith yelled.
"I didn't, don't talk nonsense," O'Neal immediately denied.
However, no matter how much O'Neal denied it, it was useless. In the following time, several people attacked O'Neal together until the players from both sides returned to the court.
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"Guys, let's win this game in one fell swoop." Li Hao prepared to settle the battle in the third quarter.
On the other side, the Thunder were also ready to counterattack, but Westbrook was holding his breath to prove himself and prove it to Durant who was leaving.
However, when the game officially started, Li Hao gave Westbrook a head-on blow. Westbrook wanted to prove himself, but Li Hao didn't need to prove himself. In a basketball game, there is always only one real victory.
brush--
Super long distance LOGO three points.
"Taking the lead, Li Hao hit another iconic long-distance three-pointer." Although I have seen it many times, it still makes people feel a little incredible.
"Brother Ritian is awesome." Because today is Sunday, almost all the fans watched the game in front of their TVs and computers in the morning.
"This is Li Hao's fifth three-pointer in this game, 6 shots
5. Li Hao’s three-point shooting in this game was very explosive.
The Thunder should have remembered the 15-point gap. In fact, it was indeed the case. Westbrook held the ball and shot directly from outside the three-point line. To be honest, even though Li Hao was concentrating on it, he still couldn't react immediately. Westbrook This shot was so decisive and unexpected.
What's even more exaggerated is that the goal was scored, and the 15-point difference instantly changed to 12 points.
Westbrook also had a blast from three-point range today, making 2 of 2 shots, a 100% hit rate.
However, such an explosive shooting rate did not continue, and was even broken in the next wave of offense. Li Hao first used a strike to pay tribute to Kobe, who retired a few months ago. Then Westbrook also broke his own record of 100% three-pointers. Record.
Then the two sides fell into a strange circle. Oladipo made three three-pointers and knelt down three times in a row. Wade, who faced him, was not much better, making zero of two three-pointers.
If you just hit the iron, it's okay. It's very common to hit the iron for a period of time in basketball games. The real strange circle is because everyone keeps throwing three-pointers from the outside.
After Wade hit two irons in anger, it was Ingram and Randall's turn. Even Yi Jianlian pulled out a three-pointer, while the Thunder mainly focused on the outside trio.
The iron circle was started by Li Hao, and it was finally ended by Li Hao. At 7 minutes and 11 seconds of the third quarter, when Li Hao entered the paint area with the ball, he ended this crazy wave with a small throw when faced with the interception of Neptune. Three-point strike.
After Li Hao used this small throw to pull everyone back from the three-man hanging circle, the two sides returned to the normal rhythm of the game. Basically, you score one goal and I score one.
However, this is not a bad thing for the Lakers, because with their accumulated advantages, the Lakers always lead the Thunder by 14 points, and this 14 points remained until the end of the third quarter.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Thunder's bench took the lead in launching a counterattack. A certain idiot scored frequently. At the critical moment, Russell stood up.
Russell performed very well in the first three quarters, scoring 4 points in three quarters. In the last quarter, Russell exploded and scored 8 points in a row, ultimately helping the Lakers to save 10 points when the main players of both sides returned to the court. The advantages.
10 points may not seem like much, but it is enough for the current Thunder. If this Thunder also has Durant and Yin Baka, it may not be safe, but this Thunder now only has Westbrook.
Although Westbrook returned to the court and played very hard, even frequently completing layups under Li Hao's close defense, the point difference between the two sides never narrowed, because there were also people on the Lakers' side who could score.
<, the Lakers won this game with an 11-point advantage, ushering in their third consecutive victory and handing the Thunder their first defeat of the season.
And Li Hao also ushered in a new season playing time. He played 36 minutes, made 11 of 20 shots, 5 of 8 three-pointers, and 5 of 5 free throws. He scored 32 points, 10 assists, 12 rebounds, and 2 steals. 2 blocks.
Westbrook's performance on the Thunder's side was much worse than that of Li Hao, scoring 22 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block.
