บท 253: Chapter 253: Western Conference Finals - Win Against Thunder
Perhaps this was the Suns' secret weapon.
Moreover, this strategy couldn't be easily copied by other teams unless they had Wade Dong. Knowing the strategy wouldn't be of much use without him.
Players like Curry, Harden, and Irving, who had only been in the league for a few years and hadn't yet established themselves, basically lived in Wade Dong's shadow.
Before the game, Wade Dong had said that Tucker was the Suns' secret weapon against the Thunder, and he was the best defender against Harden.
As long as Harden was on the court, Tucker would be there to guard him. Even in a one-on-one substitution, the Suns would still come out on top. The remaining threats were Durant and Westbrook, and the Thunder's strength lay in their individual abilities. Containing these two players would essentially win the game.
The reason the Suns lost to the Thunder in the regular season was the difference in game intensity.
...
Harden missed another step-back shot and started to feel anxious.
His beard twitched as he glared at Tucker. Tucker's targeted defense was making him sick.
The Suns attacked.
Wade Dong drove to the basket and then passed the ball behind his back, delivering it precisely to Curry.
Westbrook came over to help defend.
Curry slightly shifted his body, causing Westbrook to stumble, and then Curry dribbled the ball around his waist and stepped back to the other side for a three-pointer.
"Swish!"
The ball went through the net.
Although it wasted an assist from Wade Dong, it was still the best choice.
As they ran back on defense, Curry high-fived Wade Dong.
With only 17 seconds left in the second quarter, the Thunder organized their final attack.
Durant dribbled from the backcourt to the frontcourt, slowly running down the clock. Everyone guessed that Durant would take the last shot, so Wade Dong was defending him.
Wade Dong saw Durant's confident demeanor and decided to use a bottle of 'Prophecy Potion.'
The upcoming play flashed through Wade Dong's mind.
He saw Durant perform a wide crossover, followed by a behind-the-back dribble to get past Wade Dong, and then Durant pulled up for a three-pointer over Wade Dong's outstretched arms.
"Is that so?"
Wade Dong now understood Durant's move! He was about to get posterized by Durant!
At this moment, Wade Dong also realized the most significant use of the 'Prophecy Potion' - he could see if the upcoming shot would go in or not.
Of course, most players would simulate their moves in their minds before executing them, meaning that as long as Wade Dong didn't change his defensive move, Durant's initial offensive moves wouldn't change.
Sure enough, with six seconds left on the shot clock, Durant performed a wide crossover, bringing the ball to his left hand.
According to conventional thinking, Wade Dong should move to Durant's left to prevent him from driving to that side. So, Durant followed up with a behind-the-back dribble, bringing the ball to his right hand.
However, what happened next caught Durant off guard.
Wade Dong didn't move during Durant's crossover, but as soon as Durant dribbled behind his back, Wade Dong extended his hand and stole the ball from Durant's right hand.
There were only three seconds left in the first half.
Wade Dong took a step forward, dribbled towards the frontcourt, and shot a three-pointer two steps away from the three-point line.
"Beep!"
The referee's whistle sounded.
"Swish!"
The ball went through the net after the whistle.
Suns led 56-41!
The Suns were up by 15 points at halftime.
Durant was the best performer for the Thunder in the first half, scoring 17 points on 6-9 shooting, almost half of his team's total points.
However, Harden was having a subpar game... Tucker had shut him down.
...
The first half ended, and Harden, who had watched Wade Dong's game footage, realized that his step-back move was inspired by Wade Dong. But he still couldn't understand why Tucker was so familiar with his moves.
Especially when it came to drawing fouls!
These moves were rarely seen from Wade Dong, so how did Tucker know about them?
...
The atmosphere in the Suns' locker room was great.
Tucker, in particular, was excitedly jumping around. Although Harden was still the Thunder's third-best player, his scoring average was even higher than Westbrook's.
Tucker was thrilled that he could defend Harden, and he had Brother Dong to thank for it.
Without Brother Dong's week-long special training, he wouldn't have been able to defend Harden so well.
...
The second half began.
Harden, who had been playing like he was sleepwalking, remained on the bench, and when Tucker saw this, he turned around and signaled for Green to come in.
After Durant got the ball, he hit two three-pointers, but Wade Dong responded with a three-pointer of his own.
He couldn't let his brother bear the burden alone!
Westbrook also attempted a three-pointer after Durant's two made threes.
"Clang~~~"
The ball hit the rim and bounced off.
Green grabbed the rebound and passed it to Curry, who dribbled up the court and pulled up for a three-pointer over Westbrook.
"Swish!"
The ball went through the net.
Suns led 65-47!
The Suns were up by 18 points.
After Curry's three-pointer, he high-fived Wade Dong. In the locker room earlier, Wade Dong had said that if Curry could get his three-point shot going, the Suns would be unbeatable.
The Suns maintained a 20-point lead for most of the game.
Until the start of the fourth quarter, when both teams' starters sat on the bench, and Nash led the bench players to extend the lead to 30 points.
With such a huge lead...
Wade Dong, Curry, Durant, and Westbrook didn't need to return to the court.
Gentry also made adjustments to the lineup, bringing in Varick, Whiteside, Middleton, Tucker, and Green.
...
The last eight minutes of the fourth quarter passed in a flash, as the garbage time in the game went by quickly.
"Beep!"
As the head referee blew the whistle, the game ended.
Suns won 117-96!
The Suns beat the Thunder by 21 points at home, and this was because Varick and the others didn't have much offensive desire. Otherwise, the margin of victory would have been at least 40 points.
Game Stats:
Wade Dong: 37 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 steals, 4 blocks.
Curry: 29 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 0 blocks.
Durant: 31 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block.
Westbrook: 21 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals, 0 blocks.
...
In this game, Harden's performance was somewhat inconsistent, but Westbrook and Durant played well.
In the star matchup, Durant narrowly lost to Wade Dong, but Westbrook, who recorded a triple-double, wasn't outshone by Curry. The real reason for the Thunder's loss was their bench!
After the game.
Many sports reporters wrote that if the Thunder couldn't solve their bench depth problem, they would struggle to beat the Suns.
Losing the first game of the Western Conference Finals by a large margin was a significant blow to team morale.
Of course, the sports reporters were just stating the obvious. It was already the playoffs, and they couldn't trade players, so how could they solve the bench depth issue?
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