Durant had just sat down when a team staff member handed him a bottle of water.

He took it but didn't drink immediately, instead unconsciously gasping for air several times.

Damn it, this Tang Tian could really run!

And he was still full of energy on the court.

Wasn't it said that Asians generally lacked stamina and had short bursts of energy?

How was Tang Tian more persistent than him?

Durant was a little depressed, but he quickly saw the bright side.

He scored 16 points in this quarter, and it might not be a bad thing to come off early for a rest.

After all, there were four quarters in the game, and if Tang Tian kept playing like this, he would run out of energy sooner or later.

At the end of the first quarter, the score was 27 to 22, with the Thunder leading by 5 points.

The second quarter started with intense play from both teams' substitutes for two minutes, but neither side scored.

Brooks saw the momentum shift and substituted Durant back into the game.

Popovich also re-substituted Tang Tian.

Durant saw Tang Tian walking towards him and a smile appeared on his lips.

He came off with two minutes left in the first quarter, so he had rested for three to five minutes on the bench.

But Tang Tian played the entire first quarter, and after sitting for only two minutes, he was back on, so his stamina must be greatly depleted.

Perhaps his stamina would become a problem before the second half even started.

Durant entered the game, and the Thunder's offensive focus immediately shifted from Harden to him.

He ran off the ball and hit a difficult fadeaway jumper over Tang Tian's defense.

"Swish!"

His touch was really good tonight.

After scoring, he glared down at Tang Tian, wanting to intimidate him with the gaze of the Grim Reaper.

But Tang Tian completely ignored him and ran straight to the backcourt to inbound the ball.

What a wasted glare.

The Spurs' offense.

Tang Tian kept running.

Tonight, he was focused on running Durant.

Having suffered in the first quarter, Durant didn't pressure him as tightly as he had before.

But with that slight relaxation, Tang Tian used Diaw's screen to slip out and catch and shoot a three-pointer.

"Swish!"

The three-pointer went in!

If he wasn't pressured, Tang Tian would just shoot and score!

Fortunately, he had slept well the night before, Tang Tian had conserved his energy, and with the Masked Man skill, his stamina was not a problem at all.

Durant was a little frustrated.

How was this... a little different from what he imagined?

Tang Tian had rested two minutes less than him, but how did his stamina seem even better than his?

This was unscientific!

Durant put all his energy into offense in this quarter, scoring another 12 points, for a total of 28 points in the first half, his Grim Reaper aura overflowing.

But Tang Tian also scored 9 points in this quarter, making 3 of 5 three-pointers.

The Spurs also narrowed the gap by 5 points, tying the Thunder 53-53 at halftime.

Durant's scoring performance in the first half, the Spurs' continuous chase, both sides played at a Western Conference Finals level in the first half, and the fans in the arena were thoroughly entertained.

After the first half, both teams returned to the locker room to rest.

"Coach, let Russell and James take the lead in the second half," Durant proactively suggested to Brooks in the locker room.

Brooks was stunned when he heard this.

Durant had scored 27 points in the first half, his scoring momentum was strong, why did he suddenly say he didn't want to lead the offense?

"The Spurs will definitely focus on guarding me in the second half, we might as well take the initiative to change things up," Durant said.

Brooks' eyes lit up, Durant, how did he suddenly understand how to analyze the opponent's mentality?

"Okay."

He agreed to Durant's suggestion.

Durant had used a lot of energy in the first half, so it was good for him to recover in the third quarter.

Durant felt a pang in his heart when he saw Brooks nod.

As a scorer, suggesting not to lead the offense after scoring 28 points in the first half was not his style at all.

He was a natural scorer!

But scoring 28 points and still being tied showed that this approach wasn't working.

More than scoring, he wanted to win now!

The championship, Scarlett, the pinnacle of life was within reach, how could he give up easily!

And the extra stamina he had could also be used to defend Tang Tian.

He didn't want to score forty-five points, but have Tang Tian score 30 on the other end.

Both sides didn't make any changes to their starting lineups after the halftime break.

The Spurs attacked first in the second half.

The Spurs continued to run the hammer play, and Tang Tian continued to run the plays.

It was at this moment that there was a noticeable change on the court compared to the second quarter.

Durant was closely guarding Tang Tian, and he was giving it his all.

Tang Tian didn't get any open looks after running several plays in a row.

The Spurs' ball went inside, Duncan's shot was interfered with by Ibaka and missed, and Perkins grabbed the defensive rebound.

The Thunder attacked to the frontcourt, and there was another new change on the court.

Durant didn't actively run to get the ball, but stood on the wing outside the three-point line to create space.

Westbrook was running a pick-and-roll with Ibaka!

The Thunder's offensive focus had changed!

Popovich reacted quickly, immediately signaling the team to play a 2-3 zone defense.

Harden wasn't on the court now, and if Durant wasn't leading the offense, then Sefolosha and Westbrook's three-point shooting abilities were both inconsistent.

The Thunder's spacing on the court wasn't actually good.

Westbrook's drive to the basket was interfered with by Diaw's help defense and he missed, and Duncan grabbed the defensive rebound.

The Spurs attacked to the frontcourt again, and Tang Tian's movements continued to be closely guarded by Durant.

Durant wasn't playing offense, he was playing defense instead!

At this time, Durant was light, fast, with long arms and legs, and his defense was underestimated.

Especially when defending a swingman like Tang Tian, he was very effective when he went all out.

Tang Tian still didn't get a scoring opportunity.

But he didn't care at all, and even felt a little happy.

His tactical intention for this game was to run Durant, and Durant was doing exactly what he wanted.

The Spurs scored two points on a Parker drive.

Although Tang Tian didn't take a shot, his spacing was good, plus Brooks' reaction was slower than Popovich's.

The Spurs took the lead.

With Durant not leading the offense, the Thunder's scoring efficiency dropped a lot.

On the other hand, Tang Tian wasn't the main offensive point for the Spurs anyway, and their offense was still well-organized.

As a result, the Thunder's halftime adjustment failed to work, and they were outscored 25-15 by the Spurs in a single quarter, falling behind the Spurs by 10 points!

Durant was panting heavily after running with Tang Tian for a quarter.

"Kevin, take a rest," Brooks said to Durant during the break.

"No!"

Durant's answer was very direct.

Falling behind the Spurs by 10 points, and asking him to rest, was asking him to sit and watch the team lose!

Brooks didn't say anything more and took out the tactical board to set up the plays.

The Thunder adjusted their tactics in the fourth quarter, allowing Durant to become the main offensive player again.

Durant continued to display the power of the Grim Reaper, hitting consecutive mid- and long-range shots, forcibly narrowing the point difference to single digits.

The Spurs' offense, Tang Tian continued to run around the screens.

Durant chased closely behind him.

He was taking care of both offense and defense.

Durant lunged over when Tang Tian came out of Splitter's screen.

"Blegh!"

But what came at him was a mouthful of food residue.

Durant... threw up!

ps: I'm going to take Little Eggplant for a bath and massage later, I probably won't have time to write in the morning, so I'll write a chapter early.

ps2: Zhou Qi was cut... I hope he can find a team where he can get playing time, it's really not easy for Chinese people to break into the NBA.