The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 412 - 213: Fist to Fist

"We won’t think about the current score, we’ll play tonight’s game as if it’s the first of the series, everyone going all-out, fighting like men."

Before Game 3, Westbrook expressed determination in front of reporters during the Thunders’ open practice session.

On the night of the game, the Chesapeake Energy Arena was packed to full capacity.

During the opening ceremony, the cheers of the Oklahoma City fans filled the sky.

Despite being down 0-2, the team’s popularity gained from the past was still present.

Neither team made any adjustments to their starting lineups; Little Gasol won the jump-ball over Ibaka, giving the Grizzlies the first offensive opportunity.

The Grizzlies’ first offensive play of the evening was commenced by Randolph in the low post, and it was relatively simple, everyone else just clearing space for him.

Randolph’s first shot missed.

The Grizzlies didn’t go for the offensive rebound, quickly falling back on defense instead.

Then after stopping the Thunders’ offense, they didn’t push for a fast break as they had in the first two games, but slowly advanced upcourt, continuing with a high-low play between Little Gasol and Randolph, this time Randolph scoring from the low post.

It was as if the Grizzlies’ style of play had suddenly returned to the Hollins era.

At first, the fans in the arena didn’t realize this, but halfway through the first quarter, when they saw the Thunders only trailing the Grizzlies 15 to 16, they noticed tonight’s game was different from the past two.

They didn’t know the reason for the change, only feeling that the Thunders were playing better than they had in the last two games.

Not just the fans, from the players to the coaching staff, everyone on the Thunders’ side felt a bit puzzled.

Brooks could sense that the Grizzlies were slowing down the tempo tonight.

Are the Grizzlies playing it safe after a 2-0 lead?

That was the only reason he could think of.

After a somewhat confused first half, the Thunders tied the game with the Grizzlies at 46. freēnovelkiss.com

Then, after halftime, the Thunders came back with a different momentum.

They opened with a 6-0 run against the Grizzlies.

Clearly, Brooks, the master of motivational speeches, had powered up during the break.

However, just as the Thunders reached their climax and the fans’ momentum started to build, the Grizzlies suddenly increased their defensive intensity on the court.

Several rounds of successful defense, coupled with Hansen’s one-on-one plays on offense, the Grizzlies caught up the score once again.

This situation repeated three times in the quarter.

The cheers of the fans also fluctuated with the tides of the game.

It was a real challenge for the Oklahoma City fans!

But the good news was, at the end of the third quarter, they were only trailing the Grizzlies by 80 to 83, biting close on the score.

"This is the Thunders’ best performance of the series; Russell and LeBron seem to have finally found their chemistry," Brin lamented from the commentator’s seat.

While Hansen was resting on the sidelines, Tois handed him a stat sheet.

He was about to say he wasn’t James, but his attention was drawn to a column Tois was pointing at.

The free throw comparison for the night so far was 18 to 16, the Thunders only leading the Grizzlies by 2.

Hey, that’s actually an unexpected gain.

That being said, their 5-vs-8 situation might not be quite what they had thought.

In the regular season, the League might want to ensure the Thunders made the playoffs, but come playoff time, they just want the series to last a bit longer.

That aligns the League’s interests too, after all, the higher-profile the series, the more money earned from an extra game.

With 9 minutes left in the game, Hansen was substituted in early.

Brooks on the other end was vigilant, immediately bringing Afflalo in as well.

In the first play upon his return, Hansen backed down Afflalo, followed by a shoulder fake and turnaround jumper that went in.

Then the Grizzlies set up a 2-1-2 zone defense, with Hansen blocking James’ drive.

Turning back around, in the same spot, after seeing a double-team coming, Hansen broke towards the basket in the opposite direction, creating damage.

Little Gasol and Conley were substituted back in during the dead ball, earlier than usual for the Grizzlies’ rotation.

Brooks followed suit by switching back to his starters.

In the following few minutes, the situation on the court changed dramatically.

The Grizzlies not only increased their defensive intensity but also played more variably and fiercely as they had in the first two games.

It felt as if a Grizzly bear had awoken from a well-fed nap, baring sharp fangs and razor-like claws.

This sudden spike in intensity caught the Thunders off guard, quickly extending the lead to double digits.

This left not just the Thunders’ players but also the fans and even the referees somewhat stunned.

But this was exactly what Hansen had told his teammates to do after looking at the stat sheet.

It was time to turn up the heat!

The referees finally caught on, blowing a series of beneficial calls for the Thunders, but the Thunders remained unable to close the gap.

It might have been not until this moment that everyone realized the Grizzlies had been holding back earlier.

With a 48-minute game, they perhaps only needed five minutes, or even less.

Of course, all of this was predicated on the Grizzlies being significantly stronger than the Thunders.

Otherwise, the kind of onslaught the Thunders unleashed at the start of the second half would not be slow cooking, but rather feeding the enemy’s strength.