After the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Golden State Warriors, the entire league was surprised by their performance. After all, the Golden State Warriors won the championship last season and did not lose even against the Cleveland Cavaliers led by LeBron James, which is enough to prove that they are indeed very strong.
Perhaps it was also the confidence brought by this victory that the Minnesota Timberwolves also performed very well in the next few games.
They won the next six games.
Their seven-game winning streak at the start of the season suddenly propelled them to first place in the Western Conference. This made all playoff teams regard them as a potential threat.
After winning seven consecutive games, the Minnesota Timberwolves face their eighth opponent, this time the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Thunder's starting record is not bad, ranking third in the Western Conference. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook still maintain their previous strong state. The combination of the two is still the biggest threat to the Western Conference teams. one.
call out.
On match day, the Target Center Arena was overcrowded, and countless fans poured into the venue to watch the game. After the team's winning streak, the Timberwolves' tickets have been in short supply. Even if the unit price is increased on the original basis, the enthusiasm of the fans still cannot be stopped.
Because the number of fans has increased, the atmosphere in the stadium is much better than before. Fans' slogans and cheering signs can be seen everywhere.
"We must win today's game. This is our eighth consecutive victory..."
"come on!"
Head coach Norman Thomas lectures the players.
Everyone put their hands together, cheered a few times, and then the main players came on the stage, while the substitutes sat back on the team bench.
The Thunder's starting lineup also came on quickly.
Jump ball from both sides.
Snapped.
Dwight Howard once again took the lead and slapped the basketball. The ball fell into the hands of his teammates, and Zach LaVine held the ball across half court.
As soon as halftime passed, Thunder's Russell Westbrook immediately came up to defend. The two faced each other, and Zach LaVine was almost intercepted by the former's surprise attack.
Snapped.
Facing a defender like Russell Westbrook, who has explosive physical fitness and is fast enough, Zach LaVine did not fight hard with the opponent, but transferred the ball away.
boom.
The basketball fell into Zhao Feiyang's hands.
The Thunder player who came up to defend was Andre Robertson. The opponent was extremely serious and stretched out his hand to constantly test Zhao Feiyang. It seemed that he might snatch him at any time.
Zhao Feiyang was not in a hurry, holding the ball and sprinting to the right, making a gesture to ask Dwight Howard to come up and help him cover. He planned to cooperate with Dwight Howard.
However, Dwight Howard seemed reluctant. He had the same attitude as before. He stood there and made no movement. Not only did he have no plan to pick and roll, but he even asked Zhao Feiyang for the basketball.
Fortunately, his teammate Gorgui Dieng reacted quickly. After seeing that Dwight Howard was motionless, he took the initiative to cover Zhao Feiyang.
At this moment, Zhao Feiyang took advantage of the opportunity to throw away the defensive player and entered the penalty area.
When he threatened the penalty area and was about to take action, the Thunder's big inside player Steven Adams could only choose to cover up.
Sure enough, in the next second, Zhao Feiyang threw the ball.
Gorgi Diang followed up and jumped high, caught the ball in mid-air and dunked the ball hard into the basket.
boom.
The ball went in.
The crowd cheered.
The only one who is unhappy is Dwight Howard. As a traditional center, he obviously prefers singles and prefers his teammates to send the ball directly to him, although he is no longer in his peak state.
"Dwight, we need to cooperate...Man, I believe in your personal ability, but we can't always play like that...The style of the league is changing now..."
"No, I think I made the right choice. I can still play... didn't we win the previous games without so many pick-and-rolls?"
"But most of those teams are weak teams. Can we win once and continue to win on behalf of the team? What if we get to the playoffs? I'm not denying your singles, I just think we need to prepare more Countermeasures..."
"If you play too many singles, our opponents will definitely target you in the playoffs. What will we do then?"
When Zhao Feiyang asked this question, Dwight Howard said nothing, just shrugged and quickly ran towards the half court.
It was the Thunder's turn to fight back.
Russell Westbrook attacks with the ball.
As soon as halftime passed, he suddenly changed direction and headed towards the basket.
Russell Westbrook was very fast and entered the two zones in the blink of an eye. He was about to pass the ball to Steven Adams under the basket, but after Dwight Howard blocked the opponent, Russell. Westbrook did not throw the ball, but threw the ball with a pull shot.
Snapped.
The basketball board falls into the basket.
Throughout the first quarter, both sides' offense was very fast.
Whether it is the combination of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, or the strong personal abilities of Zhao Feiyang and Dwight Howard, both sides are playing well.
By the end of the first quarter, the score between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Oklahoma City Thunder was 30-31.
The Thunder lead by 1 point.
When the second quarter began, both sides replaced substitute players.
After the Timberwolves gradually took the lead, the Thunder had to replace Kevin Durant and other main players. As soon as they came up, the Timberwolves could only let Zhao Feiyang go up and hit him.
With 3 minutes left in the first half, Zhao Feiyang played again.
After playing, he temporarily came to the No. 1 position to organize the team's offense. The Timberwolves served, and Zhao Feiyang dribbled the ball to the half court.
This time he encountered Russell Westbrook's defense.
Zhao Feiyang deliberately slowed down to make the opponent relax their vigilance and think that he was about to take a shot. As a result, the next second, Zhao Feiyang suddenly rushed to the basket from the right side.
Russell Westbrook didn't expect it and reacted immediately to follow up.
Upon seeing this, the Thunder's inside players hurriedly blocked the front. As a result, under the attack one after another, Zhao Feiyang just made space in mid-air and threw the ball towards the basket.
Although he was not blocked, the throw failed and the basketball bounced directly off the rim.
boom.
The moment the basketball fell out, Zhao Feiyang was already ready. After landing, he rushed to the basket at lightning speed. Before other players jumped to grab the rebound, he caught the basketball and tipped the ball into the basket. in the basket.
Uh-huh.
The ball went in.
There were constant cheers.
But the moment Zhao Feiyang landed, his foot accidentally stepped on the instep of his teammate Gorgi Diang. Although it only rubbed a little, it still made Zhao Feiyang look painful on his face.
