On the Thunder bench, head coach Scott Brooks was taking the time to lay out tactics for his players.
"Russell, you have to understand that we are a team. To reduce the damn singles, you have to drive your teammates to score."
After Westbrook heard the head coach's roar, he nodded repeatedly to express his understanding.
Brooks was relieved when he saw this.
He was really afraid that Westbrook would not listen to the warning and hit him randomly. Now it seems that this guy's mind is not overheated and he is still awake.
After solving Westbrook's problem, Brooks continued to deploy tactics.
"The most important thing at this stage is that we have to open up the offense and you have to create scoring opportunities for Kevin."
After Brooks finished speaking, he quickly pointed and drew on the tactical board, arranging pick-and-roll, screen and other tactics for the players.
After laying out the offensive tactics, Brooks emphasized the defense.
In the first two or three minutes, they allowed the Warriors too many easy scoring opportunities, and the defense undoubtedly failed.
"Kendrick, you can stay and fight for offensive rebounds. Others must quickly return to defense and not give the Warriors a chance to counterattack."
After Brooks arranged the defensive tactics, he asked the players to prepare for the game.
Not long after, the timeout ended and the game continued.
After receiving the ball, Westbrook quickly dribbled toward the frontcourt.
In the high post area on the right, Perkins stepped forward to provide an off-ball screen for Durant.
Durant took the opportunity to get rid of the defense, ran to the free throw line, received the pass, immediately picked up and threw the basketball in his hand.
Chandler retreated to the penalty area and failed to change defense in time.
"Uh-huh!"
The basketball hit the net and made a steady hit!
2:7!
The Thunder broke their scoring drought and achieved zero breakthroughs.
The ball transitions and the Warriors attack.
After Morrow dribbled the ball across half court, he immediately passed the ball out and then ran to the left corner.
Outside the three-point line on the right, Sun Yi received the pass, glanced at Seflosa in front of him, released the ball directly, and quickly made a large crossover.
Seflosa reacted quickly and immediately moved to his right, hoping to block Sun Yi's breakthrough route in advance.
Seeing this, Sun Yi immediately pulled the ball back, then stepped sideways to the right to distance himself from Sevlosa, then pulled up and shot a mid-range jumper.
Seeing this, Sevlosa could only shake his head helplessly and watched Sun Yi's projection.
Swish!
Hollow into the net!
2:9!
The audience suddenly burst into applause, and cheers and shouts resounded throughout the arena.
Looking back, Westbrook used the pick-and-roll to break into the penalty area. After attracting the defense, he passed the ball through the gap to Perkins who rushed to the basket.
Perkins received the pass, immediately jumped up and hit the board.
4:9!
The Warriors quickly sent a baseline ball. After receiving the ball, Sun Yi accelerated and reached a position about half a meter away from the three-point line and attempted a super long three-pointer.
Bang!
The basketball bounced out of the frame and missed!
The Thunder protected the backcourt rebound and launched a defensive counterattack.
The Warriors' players retreated very quickly, giving the Thunder no chance for a fast break.
Falling into a positional battle, Durant quickly moved without the ball, trying to get rid of Sun Yi's defense with the help of his teammates' cover.
Sun Yi learned from the previous lesson and did not stick to Durant. When encountering a pick-and-roll, he directly squeezed past or went around in advance.
Seeing this situation, Westbrook had no choice but to do it by himself, and then accelerated into the three-point line.
Teacher Tony, who was defending near the free throw line, took small steps to meet him.
Peng!
Westbrook's shoulder hit Tony Allen's chest. He wanted to move forward, but he refused to move. In desperation, he could only stop and shoot the "zombie jumper".
Teacher Tony was worried that the guy on the opposite side would cause a foul, so he did not jump up, but raised his hands to interfere.
"when!"
The basketball hit the front edge of the basket and bounced out.
Under the basket, Chandler grabbed the rebound, found Sun Yi and passed it over.
When Sun Yi received the pass and was about to speed up, he saw Seflosa running forward to defend.
At the same time, he also saw that the other Thunder players retreated quickly and the fast break was impossible.
Falling into a positional battle, Sun Yi dribbled slowly to the top of the arc and directed his teammates to move.
Morrow ran towards the left corner, while Teacher Tony ran towards the right three-point line.
Chandler brought Perkins to the left side of the penalty area.
David Lee ran to the mid-range area on the right side and leaned on Yin Baka to reach for the ball.
After the space opened up, Sun Yi immediately lobbed the ball over.
David Lee received the pass, turned around and faced Yin Baka in singles. After raising his hand and making several fake moves, he jumped up and shot.
Yin Baka defended very smartly, not jumping, but raising his arms to interfere.
The basketball missed the mark after hitting the board and bounced out of the frame.
Durant rushed back to the penalty area to grab the rebound, and immediately threw the ball toward the front court after landing.
Westbrook, who was on a fast break, received the pass, accelerated to the basket, rose into the air, and dunked the ball into the basket with one hand.
Sun Yi, who retreated from defense, immediately picked up the basketball on the floor, quickly exited the baseline, and threw the ball forward like a quarterback.
Chandler, who had not yet retreated from defense, received the pass, rushed to the basket, stood up, and dunked the ball into the basket with both hands.
In the next few rounds, the two sides fought back and forth, and the game fell into an anxious state.
When the first quarter of the game lasted about 6 minutes, the head coaches of both sides made substitutions and adjustments.
The Thunder replaced Sevlosa, Yin Baka and Perkins and replaced Harden, Collison and Muhammad.
The Warriors replaced Morrow, David Lee and Chandler and replaced Brewer, Battier and A-Lian.
After substitution adjustments, the Warriors attacked.
Sun Yi dribbled to the outside of the three-point line and faced Durant's defense.
Although he has the confidence to beat Durant alone, that kind of offense is not a good choice.
So, Sun Yi waved to the inside and called for pick-and-roll cooperation.
Arab Lian immediately ran forward to pick and roll, blocking Durant sideways.
Upon seeing this, Durant immediately took a few steps back, bypassed the pick-and-roll and pursued the defense.
But Sun Yi did not break through in the direction of the pick-and-roll, but rushed into the three-point line in the opposite direction.
Muhammad immediately switched defense, but Sun Yi accelerated and passed him cleanly.
Sun Yi accelerated into the penalty area, jumped into the air, and dunked the ball into the basket with one hand.
In transition from offense to defense, the Thunder attack.
Harden advanced with the ball and came to the top of the arc to organize the attack.
Durant immediately ran to the mid-range area on the right side, leaning on Battier to reach for the ball.
He can't beat Sun Yi alone, but he is more than enough to beat veteran Shane Battier in singles.
Harden saw this and quickly passed the ball with quick eyes and hands.
Durant caught the ball and turned around, then immediately pulled up and threw a slightly backward eight-ball.
Shane tried his best to interfere, but the effect was minimal.
The basketball hit the net!
The Warriors immediately retaliated. Sun Yi broke through to attract double-teams, and assisted Battier, who was ambushing in the left corner, to hit a three-pointer.
The Thunder were also not to be outdone. Durant once again made a success in singles, hitting a mid-range jumper and recovering 2 points.
Seeing that Durant was about to shoot away, the Warriors immediately changed their defensive strategy and adopted a double team.
In the next few rounds, Durant didn't score so easily. He was harassed and flanked from time to time, and the offensive rhythm was disrupted.
Other Thunder players failed to seize the opportunities created by Durant being double-teamed.
The Warriors' defense was too small, and the Thunder simply couldn't get to the basket and missed a good opportunity to chase points.
In this way, the first quarter ended, and the score on the big screen was 22 to 27. The Warriors led by 5 points entering the second quarter.
