"The Los Angeles Clippers' interior defense, in Russell's eyes, is clearly not enough!"
From the commentary booth, O'Neal couldn't help but say, after seeing Westbrook break through and score another layup, "This star, who grew up in Los Angeles, is scoring wantonly in the Clippers' paint!"
"Similarly, the Oklahoma City Thunder can't defend Kai Chen either!"
Smith also declared, "Look at Kai Chen's offensive efficiency today; besides one missed three-pointer, every other shot has gone in!"
In the first quarter, Russell Westbrook scored 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists with his unparalleled individual skill.
On the offensive end, he displayed the strength of a "Triple-Double King."
Kai Chen, on the other hand, once again scored a high of 20 points in a single quarter, while also tallying 3 assists.
The Los Angeles Clippers also temporarily led the Oklahoma City Thunder 36:34 at their home court, a 2-point lead.
Although the Clippers were currently leading, the two commentators clearly saw the differences between the two teams.
For the Thunder, their star player Russell Westbrook was leading the offense, and his deputy Paul George was also assisting him.
In contrast, for the Clippers, Kai was dominating alone.
Lopez and Jeff Green in the paint were being defended so well by Adams and Grant that they were getting headaches.
The Thunder's interior defense is definitely underestimated.
With Adams and Grant guarding the paint, it was indeed very difficult for the Clippers to open up the game relying on Lopez and Jeff Green.
"Coach, let's go with the small-ball lineup directly in the second quarter!"
On the Clippers' bench, Kai stood up and chatted with Doc Rivers.
This was also a tactical decision they had previously agreed upon.
In the past few games, the Clippers' small-ball lineup had performed exceptionally well, even holding its own against the defending champions, the Warriors.
"No problem, you and them go on together in the second quarter!"
Doc Rivers patted Kai's shoulder, "Next up, it's your showtime!"
Regarding the Clippers' small-ball lineup, Doc Rivers had to admit that Kai indeed commanded it better than he did.
Especially Grayson Allen, when he was on the court with Kai, he got excited as if he had been injected with a stimulant...
Soon, the break between quarters ended, and the rotational lineups took the court!
"Crazy!"
When seeing the starting lineups for the second quarter, Smith in the commentary booth was a bit surprised, "Coach Rivers put Kai Chen back on the court right at the beginning of the second quarter!"
"Isn't this a bit too early!"
O'Neal also questioned, "The Thunder's starting lineup won't be back on the court until at least the middle of the second quarter."
"By that time, Kai's stamina will have declined, which might very well affect the rest of the game!"
Just as O'Neal said.
If Westbrook and George were to exert themselves, the game's momentum could very well shift irreversibly!
Thunder Head Coach Donovan also thought of this point.
He looked at Doc Rivers, who was calmly seated on the bench, with a puzzled expression.
Based on his understanding of Doc Rivers, this kind of personnel usage was not his usual practice.
If it were Tyronn Lue, perhaps it could be explained.
Could it be that Doc Rivers' thinking had gone awry because of the team's excellent past record?
But no matter what, this was definitely an opportunity for the Thunder.
"Russell, Chris, you two rest well!"
Approaching the two, Donovan reminded them, "When you two come on, that will be our moment to secure the victory!"
On the court,
Los Angeles Clippers' ball possession.
Kai took on the role of point guard for the second unit, slowly advancing the ball from the backcourt.
Seeing Kai getting closer, Diallo, who was guarding him, felt a bit intimidated.
After all, he was responsible for guarding the league's hottest star, the player at the top of the season's scoring list.
With Diallo's defensive ability, not getting beaten too badly would be considered a passing performance.
However Kai, with the ball, did not choose to directly go for an isolation play.
He held the ball at the top of the arc, waiting for his teammates to run their routes.
Spotting the right moment, he threaded the ball directly to Grayson Allen, who had cut out to the left side.
The latter, after shedding his defender with a screen, confidently shot a three-pointer!!
"Swish!"
The basketball arced beautifully through the air, then swished through the net!!
"Grayson Allen might be an underestimated three-point shooter!"
From the commentary booth, Smith said, "This season, he has a three-point shooting percentage of nearly 48 percent, which is an extremely high statistic!"
Turning back!
Grayson Allen immediately pressed Schroder tightly, applying immense defensive pressure.
Schroder didn't have time to adjust, made a passing error, and directly turned the ball over to Kai.
How could Kai Chen not accept such a generous gift??
After gaining control of the ball, Kai accelerated with the ball to the frontcourt, and after drawing the attention of three Thunder defenders, he passed the ball to Lou Williams, who was positioned on the perimeter!
Lou Williams caught the ball, glanced at the hoop, and then shot a wide-open three-pointer!!
It went in too!
After scoring, Lou Williams gave a thumbs-up to Kai, who had assisted him.
Indicating that it was a beautiful pass!
At the same time, at Duke University, inside the campus basketball gym.
"Kai is not just a super scorer!"
It was already evening, but there were still players training in the basketball gym.
And this person was none other than Zion Williamson, hailed as the "successor to LeBron."
Ever since seeing Kai's indescribable performance on the NBA court,
As Kai's junior, Zion was deeply inspired, and he also often trained late into the night.
"Zion, are you watching the Clippers game?"
RJ Barrett, who had just finished showering, walked over and sat beside Zion, "Kai Chen didn't explode again, did he!?"
"Still the same, his scoring is still unstoppable!"
Zion said earnestly, "However, from the beginning of the second quarter, he changed his style of play."
"His ability in organizing and passing is also very strong!"
"This is too crazy!?"
When RJ Barrett turned his attention to the NBA broadcast, the game between the Clippers and OKC had already entered the middle of the second quarter.
Westbrook, guarding Kai with the ball, had an extremely grim expression.
At the beginning of the second quarter, after switching to the small-ball lineup, Kai Chen, playing as the team's point guard, continuously fed his teammates with passes, relying on his offensive deterrence.
Whether it was Grayson Allen, Lou Williams, or even Joel Simmons, they all capitalized on their wide-open three-point opportunities.
The lead was quickly extended.
Seeing the situation turn sour, after only three minutes, Head Coach Donovan put the team's entire starting lineup back on the court.
"Boy, if you have the guts, go one-on-one with me!"
Westbrook, tightly guarding Kai Chen, spoke rapidly, "Don't always pass the ball. I'm right in front of you. If you have the guts, attack me!"
"I guess lil bro"
Kai replied with a smile, then, after a three-threat pump fake, quickly shook off Westbrook's defense and drained a pull-up jump shot from mid-range.
"Again!"
"If you have the guts, attack me one more time!"
"You said it, Westbrook!"
It was precisely because of Westbrook's provocation that the latter half of the second quarter became Kai's public execution of him.
In the face of Kai's unstoppable scoring, even Westbrook, with his overflowing mental fortitude, quickly succumbed.
"Everyone, clear out for me!"
After being continuously targeted by Kai for isolation plays, Westbrook could no longer hold back. For the last possession of the first half, he directly signaled everyone to clear out.
All the humiliation he suffered from Kai, he was going to unleash on Beverley.
There was no other way, Kai was just too tough; Westbrook couldn't find any fault with him.
With 7 seconds left on the shot clock, Westbrook started from the top of the arc, quickly changed direction to shake off Beverley, and then shot a zombie fadeaway three-pointer from beyond the arc!!
"Swish!"
The basketball, like a blade unsheathed in mid-air, delivered a fatal blow!!
"Motherfucker!!"
After scoring, Westbrook pumped his arm and fiercely unleashed some words towards the audience on the sidelines.
However, as he was celebrating, Lopez quickly inbounded the ball to Kai Chen from the baseline.
Seeing Kai with the ball, the Thunder players on the court suddenly realized that the first half of the game was not yet over.
With 3 seconds left, the Los Angeles Clippers Fans in the arena also stood up collectively.
As tens of thousands of fans in the arena stood up and watched, Kai dribbled past half-court, and just before the first half expired, he launched an ultra-buzzer-beater three-pointer!
"Beep!"
As soon as the basketball left his hands, the red light signaling the end of the first half simultaneously lit up.
Under the gaze of tens of thousands of fans in the arena, the basketball arced extremely high, then swished through the net!!
"Boom!"
In an instant, the entire Staples Center erupted!
At the same time, Kai, who had just made the ultra-buzzer-beater three-pointer, didn't forget to turn and look at a bewildered Westbrook:
"Welcome to Los Angeles!!"
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