In the first half, the Golden State Warriors performed poorly. As the core of the team, Stephen Curry's three-point shooting touch seemed to suddenly disappear, and Klay Thompson, who played the second position, was no longer as fiery as before. In terms of touch, only Kevin Durant can score some points in isolation from time to time.
However, his scoring alone cannot support the Warriors' situation, especially with the Minnesota Timberwolves' stable performance. The misfire of the Warriors' two core players has undoubtedly become their biggest problem.
By the end of halftime, the score between the two sides was 60-45, with the Timberwolves leading the Warriors by 15 points.
Such a result simply plunged the Warriors into extreme self-doubt. Even Coach Cole, who has never lost his temper very much, stood on the sidelines to direct the whole process this time, and shouted to the players on the court from time to time. In short, Not a single second fell behind.
On the other hand, for the Timberwolves, the more leading the team is, the more confident the players are playing. After Zhao Feiyang took the initiative to share the ball with his teammates, Zach LaVine and Derrick Rose's long-range shooting skills once again improved in this game. After playing, the two continued to help the team score with three-pointers, which also made the Warriors' restrictions on them increasingly ineffective.
If it weren't for the fact that Andrew Wiggins' third position couldn't completely restrict Durant, I'm afraid the Warriors would have lost even more points.
Beep.
Half time.
There is harmony in the Timberwolves locker room, the players are extremely happy, and many are already looking forward to the upcoming victory.
As for the Warriors, the internal atmosphere within the team is extremely bad. Draymond Green and Durant quarreled from time to time. The two accused and ridiculed each other, which once caused a dispute within the Warriors.
Coach Kerr was very angry about this situation. He stopped Green and Durant and scolded the two of them. This was able to completely calm down the team's messy situation.
"Oh! God! Look what game you guys played... We lost by 15 points just after halftime... I don't know what you did today..."
"Even if we don't feel good, we still have other ways to attack. This is by no means the main reason for the problem...Draymond inside, what are you doing? That guy Adrian is just deliberately irritating Yours, can’t you just ignore his every move?”
"Andre, I need you to go out there with Kevin in the second half... We need more shots... Even if we don't make the shots, we have to find a way to rebound the ball to ourselves. In hand..."
Coach Cole gave a meal.
But the Warriors players all lowered their heads and didn't know what to say.
In this atmosphere, Zaza Pachulia, who was sitting in the corner, finally remembered what team general manager Bob Myers said to him that day.
"If I don't do it, I'm afraid I might leave the NBA after this season! This is an opportunity for me... Although my family is not short of money, basketball is my passion I have to do this for my career..."
"Every team needs a villain, even Michael Jordan has a guy like Rodman next to him...so now it's my turn to be the villain! Not just for the Warriors, but also for For myself, for me to win a championship before the end of my career..."
Beep.
The second half comes.
The third quarter begins for both sides.
The Warriors did not dare to relax this time and directly sent their core lineup to face the Timberwolves. Similarly, in order to continue to maintain their lead, the Timberwolves did not make much adjustments to their lineup.
The ball is in the Warriors' hands.
Stephen Curry held the ball through half court, and when he got the ball, he started to advance.
After arriving at halftime, Zhao Feiyang went up to guard Curry personally. Under his interference, Curry did not choose to take a rash shot, but entered the two zones through Green's pick-and-roll with the ball.
When approaching the penalty area, Adrian also came out to defend and interfere with Curry's shot. When Curry saw this, he still did not choose to force it. Instead, he passed the ball to Durant with a quick pass at the critical moment.
After getting the ball, Durant rushed into the basket from the wing. Faced with Wiggins' interference, he chose to hold the ball and dunk with one hand.
boom.
A dunk stunned the entire audience.
Durant also successfully scored a two-pointer for the Warriors.
It was the Timberwolves' turn to fight back.
Zhao Feiyang advanced with the ball himself, and after reaching the half court, he cooperated with LaVine. First, LaVine blocked it, and then Zhao Feiyang pretended to pass the ball to get rid of Curry and successfully entered the two zones. Seeing that Zhao Feiyang was about to rush into the basket, Pachulia, who was standing on the left side of the backboard, also became a little excited at this time. .
"Now that he is here, choose him!"
Without saying a word, Pachulia subconsciously rushed to defend Zhao Feiyang.
It's just that Zhao Feiyang didn't intend to get close to him at all, and directly threw the ball decisively with a throw.
Uh-huh.
The basketball fell steadily into the basket.
Before Pachulia had time to make a move, Zhao Feiyang's ball had already entered the basket smoothly.
"Damn it!"
Pachulia cursed in her heart, but pretended to be fine on the outside.
The game continues.
The Warriors continued to attack.
This time Durant passed the half court and held the ball for a fast break. Wiggins and Adrian double-teamed him at the same time. The double-teaming between the two was somewhat effective, and they successfully interfered at the last moment when Durant threw the basketball. To him, he failed to score this goal.
After getting the ball, the Timberwolves did not rush to play in isolation. Instead, they gave the ball to Zhao Feiyang and allowed him to hold the ball to delay time. At the same time, it also helped the Timberwolves players save energy.
The ball passed half-way, and Zhao Feiyang was one-on-one at the top of the arc. Facing Curry, who was coming up to guard him, Zhao Feiyang made a sudden move and pulled away. Curry didn't expect it, and he jumped up subconsciously. Feiyang took advantage of the situation and sent him flying into the two zones.
This time Pachulia planned to cover up the defense again, but there was really a little distance between him and Zhao Feiyang, and Zhao Feiyang had no intention of getting into the basket. So, Pachulia could only watch as Zhao Feiyang used a quick shot Stop the jump shot and throw the ball into the basket.
Uh-huh.
The ball went in.
Seeing that the third quarter is gradually coming to an end, there is still a double-digit point difference between the two sides. Now the Warriors are really anxious.
At this time, LaVine was replaced and rested. Zhao Feiyang returned to the second position again, and Rose took the place and advanced with the ball.
There is only the last 1 minute and 09 seconds left before the end of the third quarter.
This time the Timberwolves attack.
When Rose reached half court, he was interfered by Thompson and slapped the ball away. Fortunately, Zhao Feiyang reacted quickly and rushed forward to grab the ball.
After getting the basketball, Zhao Feiyang transferred the ball to Wiggins on the wing.
Wiggins rushed to the basket with the ball, and faced Durant and chose to break through in singles. As a result, Durant interfered with the layup, and the thrown basketball hit the backboard and bounced out.
Fortunately, the rebound was picked off by Ibaka.
At this time, Zhao Feiyang had already rushed to the half court, and Ibaka immediately threw the ball into Zhao Feiyang's hands.
Snapped.
Zhao Feiyang, who stood at the three-point line in the left corner of the basket, successfully caught the ball.
The moment he was about to throw the basketball, Pachulia moved. He was not far away from Zhao Feiyang, but when he saw Zhao Feiyang take action, he decisively chose to pounce on him.
Although he failed to interfere with Zhao Feiyang's shot, he quietly turned his head to look at the basket before Zhao Feiyang landed, and at the same time placed his feet in the area where Zhao Feiyang landed.
