On February 23, Beijing time, the NBA regular season ushered in a heavyweight matchup, and the Thunder sat at home to face the Clippers. The Thunder previously had a 37-17 record and ranked second in the West, while the Clippers had a previous record of 36-17 and ranked third in the West. The Clippers have won 33 of their last 43 games and once topped the West, while the Timberwolves and Nuggets all have a more than 80% chance of securing a top-four finish in the West, with the difference only being the internal standings. But truth be told, because the Lakers and Warriors are stuck on the brink of the play-offs, the first or second place in the West is not very good, after all, the Timberwolves and Thunder lack playoff experience. Previously, Leonard suffered an adductor injury and missed the Warriors game before the All-Star weekend, but his ability to play as an All-Star proves that the Clippers want to protect Leonard from the Warriors.
And in the words of Tyronn Lue, the team's Big Four are always in constant communication and are willing to make sacrifices for the sake of the team. The biggest attraction of this game, of course, is Wei Shao's return to the Russian city, in the pre-game introduction of players, Wei Shao won the applause and cheers of the fans, and when Wei Shao came off the bench in the game, the fans in the stadium gave a standing ovation! The Thunder have been in the top two in the West this season, with the top four in the league in offensive and defensive efficiency, the second in the league in two shooting percentages, and the fourth in the league in points per game1, ranked 28th in the league, previously lost to the Mavericks by 35 points, including a 16-point defeat to the Pistons, all of which were blown up on the inside. However, Alexander, the core of the team, is averaging 31 per game this season1 point 55 rebounds and 6With 5 assists, he is also recognized as the biggest favorite for MVP this season!
The Thunder starters are: Alexander + Keady + Dort + Jew + Holmgren. Clippers starters: Harden + Mann + Leonard + George + Zubac. At the beginning of the game, the Thunder was full of firepower, Keady forced Harden to throw and score, Dort stole Harden and counterattacked for a layup, Harden made consecutive layups, and Holmgren immediately responded with two three-pointers! The Thunder began to wrap Leonard early, Harden led Mann and Zubac to blossom inside and out, and Dort scored three points against Harden! In the middle of the period, George made a difficult step-back jumper, and Alexander opened up with a three-pointer. After Wei Shao came on the court, he fed Zubac, and George led the team to overtake, and Leonard also scored back-to-back points, and the Clippers led by as many as 7 points. But in the second half, Wallace and Wiggins rained three-pointers, Alexander blossomed inside and out, and Wei Shao sent the ball to Jayway with consecutive errors.
At the end of the first quarter, the Clippers trailed the Thunder 33-35. Back in the second quarter, Holmgren singled up Coffey, Wiggins continued to shoot a three-pointer, the Clippers relied on Powell's singles to barely stop the bleeding, and Holmgren hit an open three-pointer. In the middle of the period, Powell and Harden suddenly rained three-pointers, and the Thunder hurriedly called a stop! Coming back from a timeout, Powell continued to rain three-pointers, and Jaewell and Alexander responded singles! In the second half, George received a pass from Mann and hit a three-pointer, Thunder Dort and Alexander blossomed inside and out, Leonard hit a shot + a burning throw, and at halftime, the Clippers trailed the Thunder 59-61. Leonard had 12 points, Harden had nine points and seven rebounds, and Powell had 14 points; On the Thunder's side, Holmgren had 11 points and Alexander had 19 points and five assists.
At the beginning of the second half, Leonard increased his individual singles, and Zubac was also actively making up for the basket, but Dort continued to score three points, and Isaiacho continued to dunk in a row! Mann's three-pointer finally tied the score, and Isaiah Joe hit another three-pointer to stop the Clippers! In the middle of the section, George jumped to stop the bleeding, Dort trained George, Alexander stepped back for three points, Isaiacho received the ball and slid dunk, Powell couldn't prevent Alexander at all, and Zubac also ate hats in a row! In the second half, after Wiggins completed 2+1 against Leonard, Alexander and Keady scored 5 points in a row, and the difference was 12 points! At the end of the quarter, Kenrich continued to make a three-point shot, Powell finally hit a three-point shot to stop the bleeding, and after the third quarter, the Clippers 82-96 Thunder, Harden lost points while on the court, but Harden went off the court, and the Clippers were directly pulled apart, and Wei Shao was 1 of 9 in the first three quarters!
Back in the fourth quarter, Jayway pulled up a difficult rebound, Dort cut to the basket, Holmgren completed 2+1, the point difference went away by 20 points, and Hayward also got playing time. At the critical moment, Harden hit two three-pointers to stop the Thunder! In the middle of the period, Harden continued to make kills, and the Thunder also failed to challenge, but after that, Jayway's three-pointer, Dort's missed layup, and Keady's mid-range shot widened the gap again. George finally scored three points, but Alexander and Jerwell opened up a gap of more than 15 points, and the game lost suspense. In the end, the Clippers lost 107-129 to the Thunder, and the Thunder ushered in three consecutive wins.
According to the Clippers, George had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists on 6-of-16, Leonard had 20 points and 3 rebounds on 9-of-13, Harden had 17 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists on 5-of-9, Zubac had 13 points and 12 rebounds, Westbrook had 2 points and 5 assists, Powell had 19 points, and Coffey had 8 points and 3 assists. Thunder statistics, Alexander 31 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists, Holmgren 17 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists, Jay Wei 18 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocks, Dort 19 points and 3 rebounds, Keady 12 points and 5 rebounds. Wei Shao and George did not perform well, and the turning point of the Clippers' loss was in the second half of the third quarter, after Harden went off the court!
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