EBE 409 Curry blocks the shot of the dominant center!
409 Curry blocks the shot of the dominant center!
After receiving the ball, Westbrook faced the defense of Rasul Butler.
Seeing that the attack time was about to end, he had no choice but to make a move.
Facing the defender, he forced a three-pointer.
"Bang!" Another sound of a ball hitting the rim rang out, and the basketball bounced off the hoop.
Because Su Hao was positioned on the perimeter, Perkins, who was positioned under the basket, got a huge rebound.
Perkins was extremely excited to get the offensive rebound because he knew that Su Hao was not under the basket at the moment, so he had a chance to complete the putback dunk.
However, something happened that no one expected.
Perkins, holding the ball with both hands and preparing to dunk, was suddenly blocked by Curry, who came out from the wing.
"What? What did I just see? Am I seeing things?! Perkins got blocked by Curry?!" Barkley exclaimed, covering his eyes.
"You read that right, it really was Curry who blocked Perkins! Or maybe Perkins' reaction was just too slow! He actually got blocked by Curry! That's something to criticize!" Miller laughed.
Curry blocked Perkins' shot, which even surprised Su Hao, who hadn't returned to the basket in time.
A guard who usually struggles to even dunk managed to block a big center; that's truly amazing.
It seems we'll have to give this guy some serious training after the competition.
Shocked, Su Hao immediately returned to the basket.
Just as Perkins grabbed another offensive rebound and was about to dunk again.
He was hit by the hat again.
This time, the one who blocked his shot was none other than Su Hao, who had quickly returned to the basket.
Su Hao leaped up like a tiger and forcefully pushed the ball away from Perkins's hands.
Perkins clearly hadn't expected to be blocked in a row, and he stared at Su Hao in astonishment.
Su Hao seized the opportunity to steal the basketball and quickly passed it to Curry, launching a fast break.
Upon seeing this, the audience cheered and applauded Su Hao's wonderful performance.
After receiving the ball, Curry quickly dribbled to break through, attracting the attention of the opposing defender.
Su Hao then took the opportunity to cut to the basket and received a pass from his teammate.
Su Hao leaped high, preparing for a one-handed dunk.
However, Durant jumped in time to try to block Su Hao.
Su Hao adjusted his posture in mid-air, switched the ball to his left hand, avoided the opponent's block, and then gently flicked the ball into the basket.
Durant, who had just tried to block Su Hao, was also stunned. He stared at Su Hao with wide eyes, as if he had seen something unbelievable.
Because the Su Hao he knew was a power player who relied purely on his physicality to play basketball.
But what he saw in this match was a Su Hao who perfectly combined strength and skill.
This surprised him; he had never imagined that Su Hao would have such superb skills and outstanding basketball IQ.
Su Hao is using guard-level skills to play center. How can he possibly play like that?
Two of the Thunder's three young stars had tried to block Su Hao's shot, but both attempts failed.
Now only Harden, the best sixth man, is left. Can he stop Su Hao?
Even after Su Hao scored that basket, the Thunder still had five seconds left to attack.
Although this time is short, it is enough for them to execute the tactic once more.
Thunder head coach Brooks stood on the sidelines, nervously considering his next move.
He gestured a few times to the court, indicating that the Thunder's three young stars should decide on the next tactics themselves.
The three young men from Thunder exchanged glances, their eyes gleaming with tacit understanding, as if they had already decided on their tactics.
They quickly spread out, preparing to launch the final attack of the second quarter.
The ball was passed to Westbrook, who dashed toward the basket like lightning.
Rasul Butler immediately closed in, giving Westbrook no space to break through.
However, Westbrook suddenly stopped and passed the ball to Durant, who was standing nearby.
After receiving the ball, Durant jumped and shot without hesitation.
Seeing this, David Lee leaped high, attempting to block Durant's shot.
But Durant, with his height advantage, still managed to shoot the ball despite David Lee's interference.
The ball traced a less-than-perfect arc in the air as it flew towards the basket.
All eyes were on the ball, anticipating the moment it would fall into the basket.
However, the basketball hit the top edge of the rim.
It popped out.
"Oh dear, what a pity about that shot. Durant was too hasty. If he could have adjusted a little before shooting, he could have easily made that last shot!" Yang Yi said with some regret.
“Yes, the ball should have been given to Durant a long time ago. Giving it to him now is obviously a bit late, and time is tight. We can’t blame him entirely for not making the shot, after all, time is limited!” Su Qun replied in a calm tone.
"The Thunder had no other choice. They had to give Durant that crucial shot because the other two players' shooting percentages were really unsatisfactory. Even if they couldn't make it, they had to try!" Coach Zhang explained with a smile.
The moment the basketball bounced off the rim, Perkins and other Thunder players under the basket jumped up to try and grab the rebound and dunk it in.
However, just as Perkins was about to touch the basketball, a hand suddenly reached out from the side and slapped the ball hard, sending it out of bounds.
The Thunder ultimately failed to capitalize on this opportunity, missing a shot in the final moments of the second quarter.
Furthermore, Perkins missed two consecutive putback opportunities, making things even more difficult for the Thunder, who were already trailing.
As the referee blew the whistle, the first half ended, with the Clippers leading the Thunder by a huge margin of 73-50, a total of 23 points, going into halftime.
Su Hao scored 40 points, along with 18 rebounds, 6 blocks, and 7 assists in the first half.
Even such incredible data was just ordinary data to Su Hao.
Because he had become accustomed to this kind of performance in previous matches.
After halftime, both teams' players prepared to return to the locker room for a short rest before the second half.
The Thunder players walked toward the player tunnel with dejected expressions, clearly disappointed with their performance in the first half.
They knew that if they couldn't quickly regain their form in the second half, the game would likely end in defeat.
However, on the other side, Su Hao returned to the locker room chatting and laughing with Curry.
Their outstanding performance in the game filled them with confidence, and they believed that as long as they maintained this form, the team could win the game.
Back in the locker room, the Thunder's head coach took out his clipboard and called all the players together.