Shortly after the start of the second quarter, the Oklahoma City Thunder's best sixth man James Harden hit a long outside three-pointer from beyond the three-point line to help the Oklahoma City Thunder. The score on the field was over. Although Indiana Pacers substitute shooting guard O.J. Mayo quickly responded with a layup, James Harden quickly scored four points in a row and seven points in a row after the start of the second quarter. At 30:27, the visiting team Oklahoma City Thunder led the home team Indiana Pacers by three points.
"If James Harden is guarded, the Oklahoma City Thunder's bench will lose a lot of offensive power. After all, it will be difficult for other bench players on the team to make much contribution to the team on the offensive end." On-field commentator Reggie Miller said so. []
"Nonetheless, backup point guard Derek Fisher and backup center Nick Collison both have some scoring ability, and Thapo Sefolosha also has a good outside three-point shot. Although Kevin Du The two leading stars, Lent and Russell Westbrook, are not on the court, but this does not necessarily mean that the Oklahoma City Thunder will be at a disadvantage." Mark Jackson, who is next to Reggie Miller, put forward raised his own objections.
"However, the overall bench strength of the Indiana Pacers is much stronger than that of the Oklahoma City Thunder. The reason why the Oklahoma City Thunder can reach the NBA Finals is mostly due to the outstanding performance of the Thunder's three young players. But the Indiana Pacers performed really well from all over the team," Reggie Miller countered.
"But no matter what, the Oklahoma City Thunder are still three points ahead of the Indiana Pacers." Mark Jackson said with a smile.
As soon as Mark Jackson finished speaking, Indiana Pacers substitute small forward Rudy Fernandez hit a long outside three-pointer from the corner three-point line that he is most familiar with, helping the Indiana Pacers equalize the score.
"Oh, both teams' outside three-point shooting feels very good!" Reggie Miller said in admiration.
Neither Reggie Miller on the sidelines nor Rudy Fernandez on the court expected that Fernandez's long-range outside three-pointer completely aroused James Harden's fighting spirit.
"You actually want to compete with me in mid-range and long-range shooting!" James Harden whispered to himself.
James Harden took the ball from Derek Fisher, faced O.J. Mayo in front of him, shook O.J. Mayo away with a realistic shooting fake, and instantly rushed to the Indiana Pacers inside. Rudy Fernandez quickly filled in, but was fouled by James Harden for a defensive foul. At the same time, James Harden made a layup, and then the referee Derek Stamford blew his whistle.
Rudy Fernandez put his hands on his hips and looked at James Harden helplessly.
And James Harden high-fived his teammates on the court in celebration one by one, with a fierce light in his eyes.
"James Harden really resisted the entire Indiana Pacers team by himself, and he did a pretty good job!" Mark Jackson said.
James Harden stepped to the free throw line and steadily made extra free throws. After the start of the second quarter, James Harden, the best sixth man of the season, had already scored ten consecutive points!
¡°It looks like Irvington is not in very good shape tonight!¡± Indiana Pacers head assistant coach Brian Shaw said to coach Larry Brown.
"Even if it is difficult for Irvington to guard James Harden, it would be good if he can contribute to the team on the offensive end." Coach Larry Brown said calmly.
However, after O.J. Mayo's breakthrough, he stopped and missed a mid-range shot. Oklahoma City Thunder substitute center Nick Collison grabbed the defensive rebound, and the Oklahoma City Thunder immediately launched a quick counterattack. Fortunately, Derek Fisher missed a long-range shot after receiving a pass from James Harden, and the Indiana Pacers escaped.
"Coach Larry Brown should have figured out a way earlier to stop the opponent's attack. Now James Harden's shooting touch is really hot!" Derrick Williams, who was sitting in the audience at the side of the court, said. said.
"The game has been played for more than four minutes in the second quarter, why haven't you seen Xu Nuo playing yet?" Ellen Page said this while looking at the Indiana Pacers bench.
But coach Larry Brown only replaced O.J. Mayo with Paul George, and even the two core players Danny Granger and David West did not return to the court. But on the Oklahoma City Thunder side, main center Kendrick Perkins is back on the court again.
"Kevin Durant and Russell Weiss"Neither Luke nor Luke returned to the court. It seems that coach Scott Brooks still plans to rely on James Harden alone to compete with the entire Indiana Pacers team! "Mark Jackson said.
"But Danny Granger and other key players of the Indiana Pacers did not show up on the court." Reggie Miller said with some disapproval.
Compared with O.J. Mayo, Paul George's physical fitness and explosive power are stronger, and he can use his body to restrict James Harden on the defensive end. James Harden's breakthrough layup failed to hit the rim due to interference from Paul George. After Tyler Hansbrough grabbed the defensive rebound, the Indiana Pacers immediately launched a quick counterattack. Point guard Darren Collison used his youth and speed advantages to beat the aging Derek Fisher and score a layup.
Just after Darren Collison hit the ball, Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Scott Brooks stood up and requested a timeout. Although James Harden scored ten consecutive points after entering the game, the Oklahoma City Thunder still only led the Indiana Pacers by one point.
After this timeout, the head coaches of both teams began to change players. Coach Larry Brown replaced three substitute players in one go. Only substitute power forward Tyler Hansbrough and substitute shooting guard Paul George remained on the court; on the Oklahoma City Thunder side, The two leading stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook also returned to the court, but James Harden was not replaced. The "Three Young Thunder" gathered on the court again.
Derrick Williams raised his head and glanced at the timer above the backboard, "Halfway through the second quarter, the two sides have just begun to make personnel rotation adjustments, but they really did it in the same way!" Derrick Williams said this.
Ellen Page didn't listen to what Derek Williams said, she just cared about the performance of the promise. Soon after Xu Nuo came on the court, he assisted Danny Granger to hit a mid-range shot. Ellen Page couldn't help but cheer excitedly.
Although the Oklahoma City Thunder's two superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have returned to the court, the team's offensive centerpiece still seems to be the team's sixth man James Harden. Kevin Durant relied on his personal control on the offensive end to help James Harden open up the offensive space, and passed the ball to James Harden when James Harden ran outside the three-point line.
¡°Don¡¯t give James Harden an open shot!¡± Xu Nuo shouted loudly as he rushed towards James Harden outside the three-point line. Seeing that Xu Nuo was already rushing toward him, James Harden raised the ball in his hand high, tricking Xu Nuo into jumping up to defend James Harden's shot. As a result, Xu Nuo knocked James Harden to the ground due to the huge inertia, and the referee Derek Stamford immediately blew his whistle.
"Promise got a defensive foul, and James Harden made three free throws!" Derek Stamford made a firm gesture, indicating that Promise had committed a defensive foul. Promise had no choice but to raise his hand, and the Conseco Arena was suddenly flooded with boos. , Xu Nuo couldn't help but frowned slightly.
Amid the boos and interference, James Harden stepped to the free throw line and made three consecutive free throws. At 37:37, the two teams returned to the same starting line again.
¡°Don¡¯t be discouraged by this foul, continuing to attack is the best choice!¡± Team captain Danny Granger said as he patted Xu Nuo¡¯s shoulder.
Promise dribbled to the frontcourt, and Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook immediately blocked Promise's path.
"Hey, wasn't Harden's hand beautiful just now?" Russell Westbrook asked Xu Nuo with a smile.
"Get out of the way, I want to go one-on-one with James Harden!" Xu Nuo said coldly.
"What did you say?" Russell Westbrook frowned.
At this time, center Roy Hibbert raised the high post to set a pick-and-roll screen for Xu Nuo. Xu Nuo took the opportunity to get rid of Russell Westbrook's defense, bypassed Roy Hibbert, and rushed forward with the ball. Russell Westbrook struggled to squeeze past Roy Hibbert, trying to defend Xu Nuo, but suddenly found that James Harden was already standing in front of Xu Nuo. Russell Westbrook had to quickly come to Paul George's side while looking at Xu Nuo and James Harden.
Xu Nuo looked at James Harden in front of him coldly, and slowly controlled the ball in his hand.