Chapter 923: Already Separated After Arriving at Guanyin?

The referee's whistle sounded, and Adams struggled to get the ball over Davis' head and back into the Thunder half.

As Westbrook's best partner, coupled with his status as a forward, he is called a series of nicknames such as Duck Egg and Godei Egg by Thunder fans.

As he showed when communicating with Westbrook in the locker room, he is now Westbrook's most trusted and trustworthy teammate.

Westbrook advanced to the frontcourt with the ball, Sabonis and Oladipo opened up on both sides, and Adams mentioned a high pick-and-roll.

After the pick-and-roll, Westbrook took the ball and rushed in directly.

This is the Thunder's typical play style this season. It is the same as Tang Tian's tactics in the last game, simple and straightforward.

However, Westbrook failed to break into the Pelicans penalty area.

It's not that he's not fast enough, but that the Pelicans were clearly prepared.

Jokic shrinks to the basket, Holiday double-teams from behind, and even Tang Tian also surrounds him.

With three people double-teaming him, he was only two people away from the BOX-1 that Tang Tian had enjoyed.

Westbrook had no chance and could only return to the three-point line while dribbling the ball.

After returning to the three-point line, he continued to pick and roll Adams. This time he accelerated with all his strength, but still failed to break through the defense.

In the end, he chose to take a shot against the defense. He was almost caught and the ball hit the frame.

Jokic blocked Westbrook's shot, and Tang Tian took advantage of the situation to get the defensive rebound.

Jokic's forward skills are becoming more and more sophisticated.

The Thunder's first offense failed, and the Pelicans used the same tactics.

Jokic brought up the high position to screen Tang Tian. After the split, Jokic walked out and Tang Tian went in to kill.

The Thunder also contracted the double team, and it was a four-man contraction.

Tang Tian returned the ball to Jokic, who shot from mid-range.

"Uh-huh!"

Jokic made a steady hit from the open mid-range.

The Pelicans came out on top.

Same tactics, different results.

This is the gap in lineup and strength between the Thunder and Pelicans.

Robertson's defense is top-notch, but he has almost no shooting, Adams has no mid-range, and Westbrook's own shooting is unstable.

To deal with double teams, Westbrook has no other choice but to give up the offense.

But Tang Tian has many choices. His passing awareness and ability allow him to pass the ball to the player with the best opportunity as soon as possible.

Looking back, the Thunder used the same offensive tactics. This time Westbrook did not force the ball. He jumped up from the double team and returned the ball to Adams.

Adams took a step forward with the ball, but Jokic had already stopped early, and his shot was interfered with and missed.

However, he took off the second time to grab the offensive rebound, squeezed Jokic away and tipped the ball into the basket.

The overall strength of the Thunder's lineup is not as good as that of the Pelicans, but Adams has an advantage in the frontcourt.

In the Pelicans' offense, Tang Tian also made another breakthrough with the ball.

This time Robertson did not double-team him. Tang Tian chose to stop suddenly and turn around when faced with the double-team.

Adams couldn't react, and Westbrook, who was helping to defend, was limited in interference due to his height.

"Uh-huh!"

Tang Tian's signature back look is picturesque and hits the target steadily.

Looking back, Westbrook also held the ball and broke out again to score Adams. Adams' shot missed this time, and he tried to steal again but was blocked by Jokic.

Tang Tian jumped up to collect another defensive rebound.

No matter how strong Adams' frontcourt is, he can't have it every possession.

After Tang Tian got the defensive rebound, the Pelicans counterattacked. Tang Tian passed the ball from the backcourt to Holiday, and Holiday followed up with Davis, who scored with a one-handed dunk.

There was a commotion on the sidelines.

6 to 2.

The offenses of both sides after the start were like mirror images. They really answered the fans' words. This is holding a mirror to identify who is the real Monkey King and the fake one.

But the results seem to have come out.

All of Westbrook's statistics are at zero, while Tang Tian has already contributed 2 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, and the other 2 points are also indirectly related to him.

These opening rounds became a microcosm of the first quarter.

After one quarter, the Pelicans led the Thunder with a score of 32 to 16.

Tang Tian made 5 of 7 in a single quarter, contributing 13 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. Westbrook made 1 of 6, 3 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists.

"Russell is a very good player, but unfortunately he is opposite Don. That cannot be described as outstanding, but as a great player."

During the break, the commentators on the sidelines couldn't help but sigh.

The real and fake Monkey King in Journey to the West went through Guanyin Bodhisattva, Jade Emperor, King Yama, King Ksitigarbha, and it was not until Tathagata that the true and false were distinguished.

But Tang Tian and Westbrook, after finishing this quarter, had just arrived at Guanyin Bodhisattva, and they had already distinguished the true from the false!

Fans' comments on social media also became overwhelming at the end of the festival.

Sure enough, as they expected, Westbrook was a fake Monkey King, and the fake was a bit complete, and his true colors were revealed in front of the real Tang Tian.

During the break in the second quarter, both Tang Tian and Westbrook rested off the court.

Westbrook looked at the court with dull eyes.

Adams was also silent.

The scene in front of them was obviously not what they wanted to see.

On the other end of the court, Davis and Tang Tian were talking and laughing.

"Everyone knows you are the real one, and now everything has been proven."

As Tang Tian's Pippen, Davis was sincerely happy for Tang Tian at this time.

Although this was all within his expectation.

Tang Tian smiled and said nothing

He glanced up at the scoreboard, then looked back at Westbrook next door.

He is familiar with Westbrook and knows that the latter is no less competitive than Butler.

It is definitely impossible to say that Westbrook admits it tonight. Unless his hand feels so cold all the time, there will definitely be an explosion.

At this moment, the situation on the field suddenly changed.

The Thunder's Oladipo came up with a touch, shooting inside and outside and passing the ball, leading the team to a 10-2 offensive, suddenly closing the point difference to single digits.

Stevens reached out and called a timeout.

When there is a gap in strength between the two teams, a special force is needed to make up for the gap.

JR Smith in the last game and Oladipo in this game, these players who performed averagely during the season, all played such a role when facing the Pelicans.

And maybe because the opponent is the Pelicans, they are particularly energetic.

After returning from the timeout, Jokic and Brogdon caught the ball in a pick-and-roll and scored a goal, stabilizing the situation on the court.

But Oladipo continued his hot form, broke through to the basket and scored an answerball.

In the next round for the Pelicans, Brogdon broke into the paint to cause damage and also scored two free throws.

After the Thunder closed the point difference to 8 points, the situation on both sides became stalemate.

This quarter lasted for more than four minutes, and the score between the two sides was 40 to 32, still an 8-point difference.

Both sides gradually replaced their main players on the field.

The on-site photographer once again showed split shots of Tang Tian and Westbrook.

Tang Tian's expression still looked calm, the same as before the game, but there was determination in Westbrook's eyes, and he looked like he was going to fight for his life.