Chapter 704 Tang, You Have to Guard Against Durant

That night, Chesapeake Energy Arena was sold out.

The team welcomes Durant back this season, plus it is a duel between Tang and Du. Fans will not miss this game.

Similar to Durant's idea, the focus of the league is now on the Warriors, Pelicans and Cavaliers, and even the Spurs, Rockets and Mavericks.

They need to use a victory like this to return to the focus of the league, just like they did during the Four Young Masters.

After the opening ceremony, the starters for both teams were announced one after another.

The Pelicans still have their regular starting five.

Partnering with Westbrook in the backcourt for the Thunder is sophomore Andre Robertson, with Durant and Ibaka on the front line and center Adams.

With the growth of Robertson and Adams, the paper strength of this starter is no weaker than that of the opposite Pelicans.

Adams jumped past Davis, and the Thunder got the chance to attack first.

Westbrook organized in the frontcourt, and Durant ran out without the ball to catch the ball and hit from mid-range.

The only thing the Thunder gained last season was that Westbrook developed good organization and passing abilities.

He and Durant haven't played together for nearly a season, but the cooperation on the ball just now was better than ever.

This is his improvement in passing ability.

In the Pelicans' offense, Jokic held the ball at the top of the arc. Tang Tian cut in to catch the ball and was double-teamed, and distributed the ball to Jokic at the top of the arc.

Jokic was assisted by defense and then passed to Ariza.

The Thunder's defensive rotation on this ball was good, and Westbrook pounced on Ariza.

Ariza shot directly against the defense.

"Bang!"

The basketball was interfered with and hit the frame.

Ibaka protects the defensive rebound.

The Thunder counterattacked defensively, and Durant caught the ball and made a pull-up jumper from Davis.

There were constant cheers.

The Thunder started 4-0.

Stevens walked from the bench to the sideline and yelled at the Pelicans players to pay attention to retreat.

They have won every game in the past five games. Although he has been emphasizing, the Pelicans inevitably slacked off.

Ariza's shot selection just now was a little overconfident, and the Pelicans' retreat on the ball just now didn't meet his requirements.

Jokic and Holiday made a mistake in frontcourt cooperation and the ball went out of bounds.

There was constant booing at the scene.

With the Pelicans in this state, the Thunder have a great chance of winning tonight!

"Defend! Defend well!"

Stevens did not call a timeout, but continued to remind his players on the sidelines to defend.

His continuous reminders finally worked, and the Pelicans' defensive intensity increased significantly.

Westbrook's layup was interfered by Davis, and Jokic protected the defensive rebound.

The Pelicans played a defensive counterattack. Tang Tian received a long pass from Jokic and scored a layup, breaking the scoring drought for the Pelicans.

Stevens reached out and applauded from the sidelines.

That's what he wants to see, and that's why he took the lead in coaching this team's defense.

The offensive state may be good or bad, and the hand feel may be good or bad. Even in games where the player is in good form and feels good, there will be periods when he cannot score points.

Defense is the easiest way to solve the problem.

If you can't score points, the way to prevent the situation from getting worse is to prevent your opponent from scoring points either.

Not to mention that there will be defensive counterattack opportunities like just now.

The Pelicans continued to show their defensive ability and prevented another wave of offense from the Thunder, and Davis got a defensive rebound.

However, the Thunder retreated in time this time, and they did not give the Pelicans a chance to directly play the fast break.

The Pelicans pressed into the frontcourt and Tang Tian sent a second pass to Holiday who cut through from the baseline.

Holiday had a good layup opportunity.

However, after his shot, the ball rolled around the basket and came out again.

Ibaka recovered and protected the defensive rebound.

Compared with the Pelicans' offense tonight compared with past games, it is indeed out of offensive state.

But just like Stevens asked, if the offense doesn't work, then focus on defense.

The Thunder were almost guarded for another 24 seconds. At the critical moment, Durant turned around and hit a fadeaway to break the scoring drought.

"I'm back!"

After scoring the goal, he turned around and roared at Tang Tian.

This roar from the ground was the emotion he had been holding back for a whole season.

He is back. Last season, he wanted to defeat Tang Tian and let the fans get to know him again. Unfortunately, he ended up injured for the whole season.

Now that he is back, he wants to prove that he is still Durant, the best swingman.

But in the next round, Tang Tian hit Robertson with a back from the high post, and also turned around and hit a fallback shot while being double-teamed.

Tang Tian didn't yell or yell, but immediately turned around and retreated.

It's as if his score just now couldn't be more ordinary.

Durant's eyebrows stood up in anger. In the next round, he continued to play Ariza in isolation, stopping suddenly and then going in again.

He has been in very good shape since returning from injury this season.

However, in the Pelicans' offense, Tang Tian carried a bag of explosives and made a layup, causing Adams' defensive foul and two extra penalty opportunities.

After making two steady free throws amidst the noise on the field, he helped the Pelicans continue to cling to the score.

These rounds became a microcosm of the first half of the game between the two sides.

The Pelicans were in poor offensive condition, and Tang Tian stepped up to take over the game.

As for the Thunder, because the Pelicans' defense is very strong, the ball is more concentrated in Durant's hands.

In the duel between Tang and Du, just as the fans expected, the two staged a high-scoring battle in the first half.

Tang Tian scored 20 points and Durant scored 21 points. The two scores were evenly matched. The Pelicans and the Thunder tied at 45 at halftime, which was also evenly matched.

After halftime, the players from both teams returned to the locker room to rest.

In the Pelicans locker room, the first thing the players did when they returned to the locker room was to wipe their sweat with a towel.

High-intensity defense requires a lot of physical strength.

This is also the most difficult situation they have encountered since the beginning of the season.

Stevens glanced at his players.

Although he knew that the performance in the first half was related to a loose mentality, he did not blame the players for their offensive performance.

"Don, in the second half you will defend Durant."

Stevens spoke to Tang Tian.

His words aroused surprise from Williams on the side.

Tang Tian is the core of the Pelicans' offense and scored 20 points in the first half. Stevens actually asked him to guard Durant. Such physical strength...

"no problem."

Before Williams could speak, Tang Tian nodded.

The Pelicans' defense is now much stronger than last season. As long as he can choke Durant in the second half, the Thunder's offense will be finished.

"AD, Nikolai, Zhu, you have to step up and score more. I believe you will adjust your state in the second half."

Stevens then addressed the rest of the starting lineup.

If he asked Tang Tian to defend Durant, he would definitely not let Tang Tian focus on the offense.

If Tang Tian is not allowed to go, someone else has to go.

The first half was due to slack and other players were in poor condition, but a half-time break was enough for them to adjust.

That’s it for today. Good night, commanders. Have a sweet dream.