Champion, please stay!

Chapter 223, Section 221: Easy Connect, Crushing the Second Young Master!
"Faced with absolute talent, teamwork pales in comparison... Quest: Talent Overpowers You? Triggered."

Objective 1: In the third quarter, your combined score with Stephen Curry must exceed the combined score of Westbrook and Durant.

Objective 2: You need to lead your team to a lead of at least 5 points in the third quarter.

Reward: 1 random physical attribute point.

"Talent over the top..." Yi Shui felt that this phrase was quite fitting to describe the Thunder's performance in the first half.

With mediocre offensive tactics, average defensive coordination, and average coaching ability, the Thunder have managed to achieve a 45-win season in the Western Conference and are still on the rise. This is all thanks to trading Ray Allen and accumulating a bunch of drool-worthy young talents over the past few years of tanking.

Yi Shui was confident in his ability to outscore Durant, but his first instinct was to ask himself – would it affect his chances of winning?
The answer is no. Although the team emphasizes defense, winning still depends on offense. Defense is just an auxiliary measure, and this situation will continue for a long time until... the small-ball era, when defense will be just an auxiliary measure for the entire league.

Plus, the elementary school kids and Westbrook are going head-to-head...that's just fantastic!

Last year, if Yi Shui had a scoring mission, he definitely wouldn't have wanted to bring Curry along. In his rookie year, Curry was a pure tactical scorer. When he was on fire, he could score 20 points, and when he was off fire, he could only score 5 points out of 10 shots. Even the rims at Madison Square Garden wanted to go to Los Angeles to trade for points.

But recently, Curry has been scoring very well. Tonight, just looking at his scoring, he was clearly better than Westbrook. He played 19 minutes in the first half, shooting 4 of 9, including 2 of 5 three-pointers, plus 3 of 4 free throws, for a total of 13 points and 2 assists.

易水首节13分、第二节7分，半场20分5板2助攻，他们俩半场合砍33分！虽然第三节单算，但加一起胜算也更大！

...

After halftime, D'Antoni substituted Duhon, Curry, Yi Shui, Gibson, and Ben Wallace.

I tried it in the first half, Duhon and Hughes, it didn't matter much who guarded Westbrook.

Compared to Hughes, who can only stand still in half-court offense and at most move around the sideline to shoot three-pointers, Duhon, who has a certain ability to move around and is better at shooting off-ball screens, is more effective.

Two blue-collar players in the paint enhance the defense.

When Yi Shui returned to the locker room, he suggested that they should go all out with the opponent in the third quarter, and D'Antoni agreed.

In the second quarter, the Thunder only managed to maintain a stalemate before gaining momentum, a typical pattern for a young team.

D'Antoni is all too familiar with this; last season, many of their victories were won by building momentum, so they absolutely cannot allow the Thunder to truly gain momentum in the third quarter.

The Thunder are just emerging, and with nothing to lose, they can fight fearlessly.

The Knicks have already put on their shoes and are currently at the top of the league standings.

If the opponent catches up or takes the lead in the third quarter, the final quarter will be difficult. D'Antoni is not afraid of playing crucial shots, though; he has Yi Shui and Curry.

But the other team also has Durant!

D'Antoni remembers the Thunder's game against the Magic earlier this month. The opposing coach, Scott Brooks, called two timeouts with 2.3 seconds left. After Durant recovered, he hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give the Thunder a 111-110 victory over the Magic.

When both sides have clutch shots, neither coach is willing to go to that level. Fisher has proven that even with only 0.4 seconds left, a comeback is possible.

Watching Yi Shui and Curry's retreating figures as they entered the game, D'Antoni sighed to his assistant coaches, "A rapid rise can also be a problem."

Mark Jackson: How about I take over?
Yi Shui looked at the opposing lineup: Westbrook, Sefolosha, Durant, Jeff Green, and Ibaka.

He had seen media reports criticizing Scott Brooks for winning purely based on player talent, saying that he would bring on his five most talented players whenever the team fell behind, and that was indeed the case!
They called it "giving them more opportunities to train," and fortunately, these few people truly deserve the title of "the number one genius team."

However, with this lineup... Yi Shui called over his two inside teammates and gave them a few words of advice.

The third quarter began with the Thunder taking the lead.

Westbrook takes the first possession of the second half!
Last season, Durant was furious about suddenly losing his primary offensive option, but the new head coach was willing to give Westbrook more opportunities, and the management and Oklahoma City fans also preferred Westbrook, so there was nothing he could do.

After winning games at the start of the season, he found that Westbrook's style of play was indeed helpful for him, who was not yet physically fit and lacked the ability to initiate attacks with the ball. It allowed him to handle a lot of ball possession and activate his teammates on the wings and in easy baskets, so he gradually accepted it.

Halfway through the game, Durant had already realized that Yi Shui wanted to wear him down at the start. Fortunately, Westbrook stepped up in time. He didn't want to think too deeply about why he stepped up, as it would be unpleasant. In short, his role was to prevent Yi Shui from wearing him down.

Right now, Westbrook needs to step up and lead the team to hold the line; he needs to make the crucial plays!

Westbrook drove past Durant, and Yi Shui was brought to the high post by Durant, so he didn't dare to leave the space. Curry on the wing didn't collapse to help defend, and Westbrook drove straight to the basket, forcefully rising for a floater over Gibson's help defense...

Ben Wallace left Ibaka open and collapsed the defense to block... He didn't block the shot, but he forced Westbrook to change his floater into a push shot, which he missed!
Gibson grabbed the defensive rebound before Ibaka could rush in!

The Thunder's lineup is quicker on defense, and everyone is very aggressive.

However, during the defensive retreat, Westbrook scolded Ibaka: "Sergi, why didn't you cut in just now? If you had gotten into position, I could have passed the ball to you!"

Ibaka knew it was his fault and responded with a sound of agreement... but at that moment he genuinely didn't know where to stand.

When he played in Europe, he was a pure defensive player, responsible for offensive rebounding, defensive rebounding, and fast break follow-up. In half-court sets, he was not allowed to enter the crowded area under the basket, as that would affect the scoring of the core center and the penetration of his teammates on the perimeter. He almost never developed his scoring ability. In the 07-08 season, he averaged 10 points per game in the Spanish second division and 7 points per game in the Spanish A-League last season.

So far this season, he has averaged 18 minutes per game, scoring 5 points and 5.4 rebounds. His scoring relies entirely on putbacks, catching easy baskets, and driving to the basket... sometimes which actually blocks his teammates' space to attack the basket.

Yi Shui took advantage of this!
He recalled that Ibaka was heavily criticized early in his career for always digging holes on offense.

Two famous battles, one in the 11 Western Conference Finals, where Ibaka shot 39% against Nowitzki's strong defense in the low post. In the do-or-die Game 5, a huge disaster occurred. With Westbrook and Durant both scoring 13 points in the first half, Ibaka only made 1 of 6 shots, preventing the team from gaining an advantage. He was benched in the second half. The team finally gained an advantage in the third quarter, but Nowitzki had a superhuman performance in the final quarter, scoring 5 points in the last 48 seconds to seal the victory for the Thunder.

Another instance was the 12 NBA Finals, where Ibaka had an even worse game. He couldn't break through James's defense no matter what. Domestic commentators were complaining that Ibaka used a fake move to cut around James, who had gained weight and couldn't keep up with his lateral movement.

It wasn't until the summer of 12 that Ibaka's offense improved after he worked hard to develop his mid-range shot. However, the fully-equipped Spurs team arrived in the 12-13 season, followed by Westbrook's season-ending injury, Durant's season-ending injury, and Ibaka's own athleticism deteriorating due to playing with pain-relieving injections.

After Serge Ibaka successfully transformed into a stretch four, the Splash Brothers have arrived...

In this timeline, the Thunder drafted Griffin, and Ibaka, who is currently not highly regarded, will become what he is like in the future. Yi Shui doesn't know.

In any case, Ibaka's offensive capabilities are completely negligible right now!

Ben Wallace, running up the field, was amazed. Ibaka played for 5 minutes in the first half, and he was sitting on the sidelines at the time. He had noticed that Ibaka's attacking positioning was like a headless fly, but he didn't expect it to be this bad.

In transition, Du Hong receives the ball, dribbles it out of the three-point line, and passes it to Curry. When not advancing the fast break, Du Hong's ball protection stability and ability to seize opportunities are not as good as Curry's, so he doesn't take the ball.

Yi Shui positioned himself at a 45-degree angle on the right... Hey, the backpack isn't fooled!
Durant positioned himself behind Yi Shui, no longer attempting to block or flank him.

Yi Shui patted Curry's right elbow, turned to the left, blocked Durant's drive, Curry lobbed the ball to Yi Shui in time, and Yi Shui received the ball in the elbow area... Ibaka came to the rescue!

Offensively, Ibaka is a liability, but defensively, after two years of training in Europe, he was already a ready-to-play player when he entered the NBA, averaging 1.3 blocks in 18 minutes per game. His block efficiency ranks seventh in the league, behind Oden, DeAndre Jordan, Thabeet, Yi Shui, Howard, and Andrew Bogut!

Unlike DeAndre Jordan, who only knows how to block shots, or Thabeet and Bogut, who lack mobility, Serge Ibaka possesses physical attributes, defensive awareness, and fundamental skills!

Ibaka timed this attack perfectly, blocking the Yi River!
Jeff Green also quickly moved to the left side of the restricted area to intercept Yi Shui's pass.

But Yi Shui didn't stop. He received the ball and slapped it to the left, taking a big step to the side and coming to the front of the basket!

Ibaka didn't lose his position and moved laterally to catch up. Jeff Green also shrank in, blocking Yi Shui outside the top of the restricted area. Yi Shui jumped to meet the two of them!

A high, powerful throw... and it goes in!
A sideways pull-up jumper? Durant, who was chasing behind, was dumbfounded.

He was certain that this move was McGrady's tactic for quickly shooting three-pointers from the outside!
The effect is similar to a pull-up jumper, with a quicker lateral movement to avoid confrontation, and an even quicker jump to avoid interference... which Yi Shui used to attack the basket at close range?
Wow... I have to watch the video again when I get back, it was so cool! I have to learn it!
This is much more effective than using this move for long-range shots. With their height and athleticism, they can jump from this distance and the basket will be right in front of them!

During the offensive and defensive transition, Durant was entangled by Yi Shui again when he reached the three-point line.

He already understood Yi Shui's intention to wear him down in a prolonged fight. If he couldn't win in hand-to-hand combat, couldn't he at least run away?

When Westbrook drove to the basket, Durant coordinated perfectly, finding Ibaka, who was guarding Ben Wallace, to set an off-ball screen.

Ibaka is familiar with this. In Europe, his off-ball offense in half-court sets mostly involves setting screens on the perimeter. However, the Thunder's current head coach doesn't assign him much of that role. He usually plays alongside Durant and Jeff Green, and the two forwards from the same draft class often like to set screens for each other.

Ibaka held off Yi Shui steadily, and as Durant had predicted, Ben Wallace quickly switched to defend him... Then he saw Yi Shui turn around and chase after the charging Westbrook!

Durant yelled a warning to Westbrook, but the crowd erupted in deafening cheers.

Westbrook rushed to close range and jumped towards Gibson, who was pressing forward to cover. Hearing the cheers from the fans in the frontcourt, he thought they were impressed by his sharp breakthrough.

Snake-type players are always extremely confident.

Westbrook held off Gibson's desperate defense and powerfully laid the ball off... "Thud!"

Yi Shui slapped him against the basketball hoop!
Westbrook, momentarily distracted in mid-air, lost his balance upon landing and fell hard on his backside. Seeing this, Yi Shui quickly passed the ball to Du Hong, initiating a counterattack, making it 5 against 4!

Under Du Hong's guidance, Gibson, Yi Shui, and Da Ben launched a three-pronged attack!

Duhon's lack of chasing ability can be ignored, but when the three frontcourt players get going, the tallest one in the middle is the fastest, and the two wings are also muscular men. The Thunder's four players at positions 2-5 collectively gather in the middle, blocking the opponent's three main forwards.

Curry received the pass at the top of the arc, pulled up for a three-pointer... and it went in!
第三节开局5比0，比分62比51，尼克斯队领先优势扩大到11分！
Yi Shui saw the '5-0' scoreline flash by and excitedly high-fived Curry.

Is that all?
Back in the backcourt, Yi Shui caught up with Durant who was running over. He saw that Durant did not run directly to the sideline, but instead stayed a big step away from the three-point line to ask for the ball.

No, this is just the beginning!
Yi Shui moved to the three-point line to defend, and Durant received the ball, so he couldn't make contact with him.

This is an epic enhancement to the rules for perimeter one-on-one players, and he doesn't see anything wrong with it; he can also enjoy the benefits when he's attacking from the perimeter with the ball.

Durant made a crossover dribble, but his first step failed to shake off Yi Shui. He was squeezed into the three-point line, then stopped abruptly, sped up, and... pulled to the side!
He suddenly took a step to the right of the three-point line, jumped, and launched a long two-pointer!

Durant wasn't very familiar with this move; he relied purely on his physical abilities to execute it. His rhythm was affected, but he successfully shook off Yi Shui's close defense... and it went in!
This play reminded the Knicks' coach and players who were on the team last season of Yi Shui during their rookie year.

If conventional techniques are insufficient to shake off the defender, then use your physical attributes to overpower them; you can make the shot even without rhythm!

Compared to Yi Shui in his rookie year, Durant in his third year is clearly more outstanding.

But... their emperor is already in his second year!

During the transition from offense to defense, Curry passed the ball directly to Yi Shui at a 45-degree angle on the right side of the court.

Durant focused on shooting and didn't go up to contest the shot, knowing it was useless and would only wear him down more.

Yi Shui made a strong drive, and Durant kept up with the first step. Yi Shui withdrew his feet and made a gathering motion with his left hand. Durant immediately pressed forward to defend the shot. Yi Shui passed the ball to his left hand, but instead of catching it, he flicked the ball to the left front with a backhand, stepped back with his right foot, brushed past the pressing Durant, and drove into the paint!
Ibaka's blocking was timely and effective, and he was able to limit Yi Shui's jump. However, there was no big center behind him to cover the air!

He could only watch helplessly as Yi Shui charged forward, defying the challenge, and tossed the ball into the basket over his head.

Two players whose heights are a mystery, but who are nonetheless the tallest on the court, have resumed their one-on-one duel!
Sometimes, fielding the best defensive players doesn't guarantee a good defense.

Serge Ibaka is indeed the Thunder's best interior defender, but with a barefoot height of 206 cm, a wingspan of 221 cm, and a weight of 106 kg, his size is not comparable to Yi Shui's.

He can only rely on his mobility and defensive awareness to stick close to Yi Shui, but he can't play a very good defensive role. Jeff Greennu can do that if he tries hard.

Scott Brooks deployed a three-forward lineup, which in theory would allow for faster rotations and more effective help defense on outside shooters and off-ball cutters, as well as better defense against fast breaks. However, this is not the case in reality. Yi Shui can treat their interior defense like their own backyard!

Ibaka tried to extend the ball out earlier, but Yi Shui passed it! After a third of a season as a pair, Ben Wallace and Gibson are already adept at exploiting Yi Shui's close-range crosses.

Moreover, with Ibaka on the court, it became a 5-on-4 offense. Whenever Durant drove, Ben Wallace would move inside, leaving Ibaka wide open.

Durant has improved his driving ability, but he can't compare to Westbrook. Even Yi Shuilai couldn't do it. He can only rely on long-range shooting from the outside.

It was only by relying on his good shooting touch and a "what the heck, I'll shoot first" mentality that Durant was able to make decisive and accurate long-range shots, barely managing to compete with Yi Shui's inside-outside shooting.

Fortunately, Scott Brooks wasn't too stubborn. When Durant's close-range pass was intercepted and knocked out of bounds by Gibson, he promptly substituted Krstic for Ibaka. With Krstic on the court, the Thunder's interior defense weakened, but at least he's a seven-footer. Since joining the Thunder, he's gained weight to 115 kilograms, increasing his height and size under the basket, thus enhancing his threat to drives to the basket.

But that's secondary. At most, it can deter Ben Wallace and Gibson from scoring easy baskets. Yi Shui's footwork is not good enough to keep up with the drives, and his ability to defend and rebound offensively has declined.

His most significant contribution is the improvement on the offensive end. Krstic's shooting range can be expanded to long two-pointers, with a 45% shooting percentage from close range, 38% from mid-range shots, and 41% from long two-pointers... After all, before the major injury, he was a player averaging 15+ points per game. After his athleticism was impaired, he went from a 109-kilogram agile white center to a stationary shooter.

The head coach made timely substitutions, and Durant withstood the fierce attack from Yi Shui at the beginning of the third quarter, keeping the score close and preventing the Knicks from pulling away!

Just like at the start of the first quarter, Yi Shui had the upper hand in one-on-one battles with Durant, but Durant was now able to go toe-to-toe with him and could no longer exert the same dominance as last season.

However... he was even more excited, enjoying the duel with Durant!
With 4 minutes and 37 seconds left in the game, Durant drove into the paint, and Curry blocked him in the elbow area this time. Yi Shui, who had caught up, also blocked the shooting space, but fortunately, he passed the ball out in time, and Sefolosha received the pass in the corner and hit a three-pointer, narrowing the gap to 10 points.

The score was 75-65. After the Knicks started the third quarter with a 5-0 run, Durant and Yi Shui scored 9 points and 1 assist, while Yi Shui scored 11 points. In addition to Sefolosha's three-pointer, Jeff Green and Gibson each made a putback.

The fans were entertained, and the other players on both teams were also excited to see their best players going head-to-head with the opponent's best players in a back-and-forth battle.

But the two of them were exhausted.

When the Knicks went on offense, Yi Shui was unable to shake off the defense this time. Facing a double-team from Jeff Green and Durant, he rose up and took a fadeaway shot... but his elbow struck the inside of the opposite side with too much force.

Krstic blocked Swift, who came off the bench, and secured the defensive rebound.

When Krstic came on, offensive rebounding worsened, but defensive rebounding was better.

When the Thunder were on offense, Durant was the first to pass the ball out and spread out to the left sideline, which is the weak side for Westbrook.

Similar to Du Hong's positioning when playing one-on-one in Yishui, he no longer participates in the offense; he shoots when the ball comes his way, and otherwise just coasts along.

After holding back for a while, Westbrook decisively launched an attack, broke through and passed the ball... Jeff Green received the baseline pass and made a jump shot!

When the Knicks went on offense, Yi Shui also handed over possession of the ball to create space and draw defenders away from the defense.

He's likely not to gain a clear advantage in the head-to-head phase, and he's mentally prepared for that. He might score more points than Durant, but for the team to truly pull away, it all depends on Curry tonight.

Curry was also eager to start, setting a pick-and-roll with Swift to initiate the attack. Facing Jeff Green's switch defense, he created a rhythm difference, pulled up for a jump shot on the right side of the free-throw line... and it went in!
With Ibaka off the court, while the Thunder's individual defensive abilities are all quite good, they haven't formed a system. Zone defense is nonexistent; one-on-one defense is just one-on-one plus help defense in the paint, and defending pick-and-rolls is just switching. Moreover, because the players' individual defensive abilities are good, their defensive discipline is good, and they have confidence in their teammates, they won't double-team recklessly.

This is the perfect shooting environment for Curry.

However, this time, Curry was unable to dominate Westbrook as much as he did in the first quarter.

The Thunder kept the score close in the second quarter thanks to their talent, and at the start of the third quarter, Durant and Yi Shui went back and forth. Although they couldn't fully unleash their momentum, their upward trend continued.

Jeff Green made runs to receive the pass, Krstic and Sefolosha held their positions to receive the pass, Durant drew Yi Shui's attention...

Watching Westbrook's simple, crude, and unskilled style of play, yet he was able to go toe-to-toe with Curry's pick-and-roll offense, Yi Shui felt that the world of competitive sports was truly unfair, where a good physique was everything.

He glanced at Durant, then thought of himself, and became even more certain of his thoughts.

The news he's seen these past few days comparing Curry and Westbrook all say that Westbrook's future potential is higher than Curry's, and that as long as Westbrook develops his skills, he'll be far ahead.

Unfortunately, it seems that the turtle (referring to a player) couldn't develop the necessary skills, while elementary school students' shooting ability is unimaginable to people today...

However, right now, if Westbrook gets into form, his performance is no worse than Curry's. If Curry is having a bad day, he might not be a match for him. Fortunately, Curry has been in excellent form lately.

In the matchups between Yi Shui and Durant, and Curry and Westbrook, the two matchups took turns firing away, and the score fluctuated.

The fans at the stadium were very excited, but the players on the field were under increasing pressure.

Curry knew that if he couldn't outrun them this time and they got the momentum going, they could be overwhelmed in the final quarter.

Westbrook and Durant both knew that if they couldn't withstand the star-studded showdown at Yishui, they might be swept away in one fell swoop.

Even Westbrook, a player known for his snake-like abilities, was incredibly nervous at this moment, and naturally everyone else on the court was just as tense... No!

Not everyone, Westbrook could clearly sense that someone was enjoying this game – the Great One!
He has met many players who enjoy the game, but Kobe and Anthony are the ones who left the deepest impression on him.

But it's different from Kobe's confidence that he can make the next shot no matter how many times he misses, and it's also different from Anthony's arrogance that believes he is the best one-on-one player in the world.

This guy, when he gets tired, he just stands there with his hands on his hips. When he has a chance to launch a counterattack, he rushes in. When it comes to one-on-one, he only has eyes for the basket, as if he is enjoying the moment of shooting the ball!
With the third quarter drawing to a close, Durant, off the ball and using a screen, hit a long two-pointer over David Lee, who had come off the bench.

Then David Lee's one-on-one post-up was disrupted by Nick Collison's help defense, who had a height advantage. Westbrook grabbed the defensive rebound and passed the ball to Sefolosha in the half-court set, who then hit a three-pointer.

雷霆队打了尼克斯队一个5比0，将11分分差缩小到6分，80比86落后，和对面在第三节打平了！
When Ben Wallace goes down, the rim protection becomes worse, and the wing receiving pitchers are not as good as the opposing team's... D'Antoni is so envious of the opposing team for getting Sefolosha.

Yi Shui was equally annoyed. A wing catcher with a 41% shooting percentage was better than Duhon, Hughes, and Webster! However, although he knew that Sefolosha would become a quality 3-and-D player and play in the NBA for many years, he couldn't possibly remember that the Thunder could get such a guard for free. Last season, a team had made an offer for Sefolosha, but the Bulls treated him like a treasure and wouldn't give him a penny.

It's the Knicks' turn to attack.

The Thunder players were incredibly excited at that moment. Players like Westbrook, Sefolosha, Durant, and Jeff Green, who had been playing non-stop for a quarter, seemed to have all their fatigue swept away.

With just over a minute left, they need to defend if they want to narrow the gap further! Even if they can't continue to reduce the gap, they need to keep the score close so they have a better chance of a comeback in the final quarter!
For the Knicks, the current lineup on the court is Curry, Webster, Yi Shui, David Lee, and Swift.

Yi Shui arrived at a 45-degree angle on the right.

This quarter was even more difficult than he had imagined. He felt it wasn't this hard even when he faced Anthony against the Nuggets. Although Durant wasn't as physically strong as Anthony, his height and wingspan were far superior. If he and Anthony's stamina declined, he could rely on his size advantage, but against Durant, that wouldn't work! The opponent was even taller than him, and had a shorter neck…

After his teammates were in position, Yi Shui waved for the ball.

After receiving a pass from Curry, Yi Shui straightened his body, faced the basket, and jumped to shoot a three-pointer over Durant!
Since his stamina is waning and he can't shake off Durant's outside interference, and it's difficult for him to continue his strong attacks after driving in, he should just shoot! He should put his energy into shooting!
Durant was caught off guard by the shot. He had hardly ever taken a pull-up jumper tonight, and Yi Shui had missed his first two pull-up three-pointers. He didn't expect the opponent to suddenly make such a move at this crucial moment. He tried to jump up and press forward to interfere, but he didn't have time!
The ball flew over Durant's head, tracing a beautiful arc before falling into the basket!

The Knicks scored 32 points in the third quarter, bringing their lead to 9 points, 89-80!
In transition, Durant has no choice but to attack!

Westbrook's drive and dish could create shooting opportunities for Sefolosha or Jeff Green, but Durant had more faith in himself at this moment.

After receiving the ball, he chose the same playing style as Yi Shui, responding with a pull-up jumper!
But before he could react, Yi Shui anticipated his thoughts and the interference was perfectly executed!
Durant's forced fadeaway three-pointer missed!

Curry grabbed the defensive rebound by pulling his elbow towards the basket. Without hesitation, he mustered all his strength and launched a counterattack!

Yi Shui also rushed forward with all his might. Durant turned around and couldn't keep up. Yi Shui rushed to the frontcourt and successfully pushed Nick Collison and Westbrook, who had retreated to the defense, into the paint.

Curry advanced to the frontcourt, faced Jeff Green who had retreated and rushed out, and took a fast three-pointer... He was lucky; the momentum from the pull-up shot was a bit too strong, but the direction was right. It bounced off the rim and fell into the basket!
The Knicks extended their lead to 12 points, 92-80!
When it was the Thunder's turn to attack, Westbrook couldn't hold back and went straight for it, playing really tough. He drove into the paint, facing Swift's help defense, and launched a floater... The ball spun around the rim and fell into the basket, barely making it.

Curry urged David Lee, who was retrieving the ball, to inbound it quickly, and then continue the fast break after receiving the ball.

At that moment, he judged that if he charged forward, the opponent wouldn't be able to form a defensive formation!
Just as Curry predicted, once they got going and started charging forward, the opposing team, whose stamina was also waning, broke down in defense!
In terms of defensive intensity, the Thunder are better than the Knicks, but in terms of system completeness, they really can't compare to the Knicks; they rely on individual ability to carry the team.

Curry, who had just hit a three-pointer, was double-teamed by Westbrook and Sefolosha on the left side of the top arc. He passed the ball to Webster, who was running over. Webster faced Jeff Green's help defense and passed it to Yi Shui, who was coming up on the right side with David Lee's screen.

Durant darted around David Lee and lunged at Yi Shui. Yi Shui turned around and was bumped by Durant, but without stopping, he pushed aside Durant's arm, jumped, and launched a three-pointer...

'Braking Genius' triggered, Yi Shui suddenly stops to receive the ball, turns and jumps for a three-pointer, explosiveness +2, spring speed +2!

This slight increase in explosive power, which usually has little effect, made up for the lack of power in Yi Shui's attack after the confrontation!
As the referee blew his whistle, the ball slammed into the basket.

The referee signaled that the goal was valid, and Durant committed a defensive foul!

3+1!

When Curry led the team to charge forward, the fans in the arena cheered, and at this moment, the cheers rose even higher!
Yi Shui, Curry, Yi Shui... Yi Shui hits three consecutive three-pointers!

The Knicks extended their lead to 13 points, 95-82, and Yi Shui had an extra free throw!

Durant watched as Yi Shui and Curry made the same head-tilting and pouting gesture, making a "tsk tsk" sound, and felt like he was about to explode!
Immediately afterwards, chants of "MVP" echoed through Madison Square Garden once again, and Yi Shui made the free throw.

The Knicks' lead has reached 14 points!
With Westbrook missing a tough three-pointer over Webster, the score was 96-82 after three quarters!

...

"Talent overpowered?: "

In the third quarter, you scored 21 points, Curry scored 10 points, Durant scored 16 points, and Westbrook scored 9 points. You and Curry defeated Durant and Westbrook 31-25.

The team led 39-31 in the third quarter, an 8-point advantage.

恭喜获得奖励：随机身体素质点1个，已自动使用……恭喜获得体力+1，你的体力由92提升至93，你的体力天赋上限由95提升至96。”

I don't know if it was just my imagination, but after taking a break and receiving my reward, Yi Shui felt like she had regained some of her energy.

Once your stamina reaches 90+, the rate of increase slows down.

According to Clark, there is a period of rapid improvement in physical strength after entering the professional arena, but after a certain period, it is no longer possible to make significant improvements through training. One can only wait for age to pass and for physical functions to naturally reach their peak, which usually occurs between the ages of 24 and 26.

Once you reach your peak, you start to decline, and at that point you have to rely on self-discipline and hard work to slow down the decline in your physical strength.

This matter should be left to Clark, a professional, to consider. There is already a mature system in this area, and the team is not short of money. They can do whatever they want. Besides, he is only 22 years old and does not need to consider this at the moment.

When Kobe was 34-35 years old, if he hadn't ruptured his Achilles tendon from playing too hard, he would still be at the tail end of his physical peak, playing an average of 38 minutes per game and achieving his highest scoring efficiency of his career with Nash passing him the ball.

James is over 40 and can still run fast breaks.

Back on the bench, Yi Shui put aside his distractions and focused on the game.

The game isn't over yet. Although they're leading by 14 points, they still need to be cautious against a group of young players under 25.

However, the Thunder failed to regain momentum after the start of the fourth quarter.

The three-point barrage from Yi and Ku combined completely shattered the morale of the Oklahoma City youth team!

In the first 11 minutes, the two teams were tied 29-29. At that time, everyone on the Thunder team felt that a comeback was possible and that they were about to gain momentum.

But just as they were gaining momentum, Yi Shui and Curry hit three three-pointers in a row, scoring 10-2 in just over a minute!

The Thunder players felt like they were just one step away from reaching the summit of a mountain, but then they lost their footing and fell off a cliff!

The Thunder only scored 24 points in the final quarter, all of which were scored by Westbrook's impulsive drive and pass.

For the Knicks, Yi Shui and Curry were really tired. Yi Shui came on to draw attention, while Curry was substituted out and rested for most of the quarter. He was only brought back in in the second half of the quarter when Westbrook tried to launch another counterattack.

Chalmers and David Lee led the offense, but their performance was mediocre, with the Knicks scoring only 22 points in the quarter.

At 10:23 p.m., the final whistle blew.

首节13分、第二节7分、第三节21分、末节4分，易水33投16中，其中三分球11中5，加上8中8的罚球，易水狂轰45分11板5助攻。

力压首节12分、第二节6分、第三节15分、末节6分，全场拿到39分8板5助攻的杜兰特！

加上库里上半场13分、第三节10分、末节3分，拿到26分5助攻，得分上压了末节拿到7分后、全场拿到25分10助攻的维斯布鲁克一丢丢……

Yi Jianlian and Kuzma combined for 71 points, outscoring Durant and Westbrook, who combined for 64 points, as the Knicks defeated the Thunder 118-106, a 12-point advantage!

(End of this chapter)