One Guard

An hour ago, when the Thunder took a 17-point lead at halftime, no fans at the scene expected that the final outcome would be like this.

Durant performed well, but the Mavericks played in disarray. The Thunder's victory at home seems to be a sure thing.

However, Yiyang and his teammates spent the second half of the game prying out the nails on the board one by one.

"The game is over. Under the leadership of Yi, the Dallas Mavericks completed a desperate counterattack. After falling behind by 17 points at halftime, they successfully reversed the game and defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder. After the Thunder did not have Westbrook, their strength was reduced. It is obvious to all. The performance of the Thunder's role players at critical moments is far less good than that of the Mavericks' role players. You know, even Troy Murphy, a guy who is almost forgotten by people, hit a key three-pointer as soon as he came on the court today. No. I don’t admit it, but the performance of the Mavericks in the second half of the game was indeed amazing. I don’t know what coach Carlisle said to his players during the halftime break, but in the two halves, the Mavericks’ performance was completely different from two teams.” Charles. Barkley was very happy to see the Mavericks create another miracle. The incredible expressions of Thunder fans in the stands made Barkley feel inexplicably happy.

This kind of misbehavior at the opponent's home court was something Barkley liked to do when he was a player. That's why he feels happy.

After Durant came off the court, he viciously smashed the towel to the ground. He couldn't believe that this victory was snatched away by the Mavericks. 35 points, 15 rebounds, 50% shooting, 26 crazy shots in the game... Durant did everything he could, and shouldered the responsibility of being the star player without hesitation.

However, the Mavericks used five players to score in double figures, proving the feasibility of team basketball in the playoffs. The playoffs are indeed a stage for star players, and the role of Yiyang as a star is to make his teammates better.

Although the game was played at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, after the game, the away Mavericks players became the favorites. Each of them was surrounded by reporters. Even Yi Jianlian was no longer surrounded only by CCTV's special reporters.

When Nowitzki was asked by reporters how he scored 18 points under Ibaka's tight defense, the German smiled softly. "Why else? As long as I run out of space, Yi's pass will always be delivered immediately. All I have to do is just shoot."

The German spread his hands and gave all the credit for the goal to Yiyang. Nowitzki has long since fulfilled his promise and handed over the entire Dallas Mavericks to Yiyang.

Nowitzki praised Yiyang in front of reporters, which is actually understandable. Without Yiyang's speech at halftime, without the opportunities he fought for by falling down again and again on the court, without his elusive eye fakes and wonderful passes, it would have been impossible for the Mavericks to reverse the game after falling behind by 17 points. It's impossible.

Durant was on full fire today. With unlimited firepower, he was like no one on the court. Fortunately, the Mavericks have an MVP-level player who can compete with the three-time scoring champion.

Losing the game in a reversed form at home, the morale of the Thunder players was greatly hit. Is it true that after losing Westbrook, the Oklahoma City Thunder will be unable to move forward in the Western Conference?

Thunder players and fans are definitely not willing to accept this fact, but to outsiders, the Thunder's elimination seems to have been determined for a long time.

After Westbrook's injury, the Thunder are no longer favorites to win the Western Conference championship. Among the predictions of ESPN's 16 experts, 14 people chose the Mavericks to win this series.

The Mavericks have Yiyang, the all-powerful MVP, and Dirk Nowitzki, who despite his decline in form, is still one of the best power forwards in the league.

various unfavorable factors,

The Thunder were not favored before the game. Now that they have lost the first game, the entire Thunder team is even more flooded with saliva from the outside world.

Carlisle now sympathizes with Brooks because he knows how painful it is for the team to be underestimated by the outside world. Especially since the Thunder only reached the finals last year and achieved 60 wins this year. The result has now reached a low point, and the huge gap will definitely be difficult for players and coaches to accept.

But professional basketball is always cruel, and Carlisle cannot let the Thunder go just because he feels the same way. Even if he is willing, his No. 1 defender will definitely not agree.

"The Thunder are very strong, and Durant is also a great player. But in the game, we will definitely do our best. Victory is the only thing we pursue."

At the press conference, the low-key Yiyang could not suppress his desire to win. The revenge of last year must be avenged this year! Debts must be paid, this is Yiyang's code of conduct.

"We will not give up the victory. This game has passed, but the Mavericks will not taste the sweetness again." On the other side, Durant, who lost the game, was also very tough. This year, Durant and the Thunder's goal is a championship. Even if Westbrook gets injured, that goal won't change.

They have longed for the championship for too long. Ever since they tried the finals last season, the championship has always been the yearning of the young Thunder. They have been on a roll this year, and no one expected that something like Westbrook's injury would happen in the playoffs. Now that we have come to this point, who is willing to give up the pursuit of the championship, give up the efforts of a season and settle for the status quo?

Yiyang doesn't want to lose, and Durant doesn't want to lose either! Their goal was the O'Brien Cup, and the Western Conference semifinals obviously did not meet their expectations.

The press conference after the game undoubtedly made the reporters extremely excited. Durant, the scoring champion in the three worlds, and Yiyang, the MVP of this season, are completely at odds! In the past, when the Thunder and Mavericks were mentioned, the first thing people thought of was the duel between Westbrook and Yiyang. But this time, it's a war between Yiyang and Durant!

The next day, the front cover of the "Dallas Post" was a huge close-up of Yiyang and Durant facing each other. Almost everyone in the streets of Dallas picked up this newspaper and started reading it. The detailed analysis of the series in the "Dallas Post" seems to have caused the print media to rear its head again. The citizens of Dallas fell in love with the traditional reading method of reading newspapers overnight, and put down their mobile phones one after another.

The biggest reason for this is because the "Dallas Post" published a short excerpt of Yiyang's exclusive interview after the game. It can be seen from this that Yiyang's influence in Dallas is so great that it has even surpassed basketball itself.

The game between the Mavericks and the Thunder has gradually become a personal war between Yiyang and Durant. Which of these two young men is better has become a topic of discussion among the people. The Mavericks and Thunder met in the playoffs before, each eliminating the other once. Such historical records undoubtedly leave huge suspense for the third collision between the two sides.

Just one day after the Thunder lost the first game, the two teams' old enemies reunited again at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Before the start of this game, Thunder coach Scott Brooks was very helpless about the loss in the previous game. He listed many great players in history: Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, "Magic" Johnson, Isiah Thomas, etc. These people have one thing in common, which is that they can stand up and save the team at critical moments. . Yiyang is exactly such a player now. This season, the Mavericks have been saved by Yiyang countless times. Brooks believes that players who cannot shoot key shots will not become great players, and Yiyang is moving towards greatness.

Of course, just because Brooks said this doesn't mean he's raising a white flag of surrender. At the end of the interview, the young coach did not forget to add: "Kevin Durant, he is also one of the great players who can stand up at critical moments!"

It can be seen that Brooks still has confidence in the Thunder and Durant. You have your Yiyang, and we also have our savior.

Under the crazy reports of the media and the strong desire of the two teams to win, the second matchup was very difficult from the beginning. The game lasted 9 minutes, and the largest gap between the two teams was only 2 points.

But after the game entered the second half, the turning point occurred again. Durant's performance is still eye-catching, but the performance of others on the Thunder team has fluctuated.

Reggie Jackson made consecutive mistakes, Kevin Martin's crooked shot lost his sight beyond the three-point line, and Fisher made several key shots, but they were all rejected by the basket.

In the third and fourth quarters combined, the Thunder turned the ball over 15 times. And with Yiyang, a master of counterattack, most of the Thunder's mistakes directly resulted in lost points. If Durant hadn't produced nearly a triple-double, the Thunder would have dug their own holes in the third quarter.

After three quarters, the two sides alternated the lead many times, with the largest gap being only 7 points. The competition in the fourth quarter was still fierce, and the two teams had to decide the winner at the last moment. But it was obvious that the Mavericks had taken advantage of the Thunder's mistakes at this time.

When the game was about to end with 50.3 seconds left, the Mavericks had already taken a 5-point lead with Yiyang's three-pointer and a breakthrough ball. At the critical moment, it was Durant who carried the banner again. He tried a quick shot from beyond the three-point line and failed to hit.

Fortunately, Ibaka has quick eyes and quick hands and pocketed the offensive rebound. The Congolese didn't hesitate after getting the ball and wanted to throw the ball directly to Durant. But unfortunately, Ibaka seemed to be too impatient. His pass was too big and too fast for Durant to react.

The basketball flew out of bounds past Durant's fingertips, and the Mavericks had the ball! Ibaka's mistake almost ruined the Thunder's efforts for the entire game!

"20 turnovers in the whole game! I think this is the difference between having an excellent point guard and not having an excellent point guard." Mike Breen shook his head. If the Thunder also had a Yiyang, their offensive passing would not be the same. So messy. Not all No. 1 positions can handle the team's offense in an orderly manner. Reggie Jackson is a cavalryman, but he is still far from being excellent.

In the last 42 seconds, neither side scored a goal, and the 5-point difference remained until the end.

Durant scored a near-triple-double with 30 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists, but today his shooting percentage was only 37%. On the other hand, Yiyang scored 27 points, 13 assists and 3 steals, which seemed not as gorgeous as Durant. But with a 65% shooting rate and only one turnover, Yiyang's efficiency far surpassed Durant's and allowed the Mavericks to win the game without any danger.

When the game ended and the score was fixed at 95-90, the Thunder fans almost shed tears! They lost all two home games and are about to play the next game in Dallas. And in Dallas, the situation is likely to get worse than it is now! Who knows if the Thunder will still be in the playoff picture when they return to Oklahoma for their next game.

Although the series is not over yet, this year's MVP Yiyang is clearly ahead of Durant, the three-time scoring leader in this matchup. After returning to Dallas, if Durant wants to win back a victory, I'm afraid it won't be that easy.

Who is better, the three-time scoring champion or the MVP? Half of the answer has already surfaced...