Chapter 322: The Miracle Child is indeed the Miracle Child

Westbrook exploded in the second half.

Although he is always considered to have a "brain that overheats easily," he found his touch in the second half tonight. Domestic fans like to call his stop-and-go mid-range jump shot a "zombie jump shot," but he was very accurate in the second half.

This gave the Thunder a brand-new offensive opportunity, and the offensive momentum unfolded continuously.

Westbrook's mid-range jump shot showed the world how terrifying it is when a top penetration expert has an accurate mid-range jump shot... especially when there is a top scorer standing next to him with unlimited shooting rights in all weather.

Therefore, although the Clippers' performance in the second half was much better than in the first half, and Nowitzki also brought out his peak state... the score still remained at 5 to 6 points.

The Thunder relied on the outstanding performance of Westbrook and Kevin Durant, plus the "home-court advantage," and the all-out efforts of the defensive players.

They kept leading the score.

Although Fan Xi comforted the young players in the locker room, it was indeed difficult to ask them to adapt to this intensity in a short time.

When there was 1 minute and 55 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Clippers requested a timeout.

Nowitzki was already panting heavily; he had played 34 minutes tonight, and for him, who had just returned from injury, physical fitness was a big test.

He needed some time to adjust.

Besides him, the Clippers' old players actually had various degrees of physical fitness problems; they had been half-playing and half-recuperating this season, and their bodies hadn't been wound up yet.

The young players were adapting to the playoff scale.

These situations would improve rapidly as time went on, but the problem now was... the Thunder didn't intend to give the Clippers time to adapt.

"Russell got a super stat line of 29 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks tonight. He performed very well. I think he already has the strength to become a superstar. The gap between him and Derek Rose, Jack Fan, and Kevin Durant is not as big as imagined."

Earl Johnson of the TNT channel used the timeout time to express his insights to the TV audience.

Undoubtedly, Westbrook's performance tonight was at a superstar level.

Fan Xi, Nash, Arenas, Billups, and Leonard, the Clippers changed many defenders, but none could stop his pace. He was everywhere tonight, and his passing, cutting, and shooting were extremely reasonable.

"Fan Xi only has 19 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block so far. He performed well, but he is not the protagonist tonight. The best player for the Clippers tonight is Nowitzki. Nowitzki has 33 points on the bill tonight."

Earl Johnson continued.

Charles Barkley also commented subsequently: "Jack's autonomous aggressiveness still needs to be strengthened. He must make a balance."

This left Fan Xi's die-hard fan Kenny Smith with nothing to say on the side.

He could accept a failure, but he felt Fan Xi should have done more.

Especially in such a game, how could he be outshone by Westbrook?

Fan Xi saw the exhausted old teammates on the bench and the young players who couldn't find the playoff rhythm.

96:102.

The team was still trailing by 6 points.

He knew he had to take on the responsibility of a leader. The game couldn't continue in the Thunder's rhythm.

"What should we do now?" Mike Brown asked Fan Xi in a low voice.

Fan Xi said softly: "Leave it to me."

At this time, the Energy Arena resounded with the shouts of the home fans: MVP! MVP! MVP!

The big screen overhead was playing highlights of Westbrook's scoring tonight, and more than 20,000 people shouted MVP to cheer for Westbrook.

This was undoubtedly a landmark game for Westbrook.

He needed a game to prove his superstar status.

This playoff game, whether from the opponent, the gimmick, or the importance, already met the conditions.

Next, he just needed to gently pull the zipper of the bag containing victory, and everything would be logical.

Westbrook was very excited; the thing he dreamed of was happening. He was about to become the fourth-greatest superstar of the new generation in this league: this title was plucked by stepping on Jack Fan's failure.

Fan Xi frowned, listening to the cheers on the scene.

This made him feel harsh.

Then, he asked Yao Ming: "Can you play?"

Yao hadn't appeared tonight; he thought he would sit on the bench until the end based on his positioning. But Fan Xi called his name at such a critical moment.

He didn't hesitate at all: "Can play. Can run."

Then, Fan Xi let DeAndre Jordan, Butler, and Arenas go on the court with him.

This was another brand-new lineup.

However, the TNT media didn't think highly of this brand-new lineup at all. Because the principle remains the same, if the Clippers don't have new strong points, they will still be very passive.

Putting on Yao Ming, taking off Nowitzki... can Yao, after a major injury, replace Nowitzki?

No one had an answer.

The Thunder brought on three insurances at the last moment.

Westbrook, James Harden, Kevin Durant, the three young stars were all present, and Ibaka and Perkins, two defensive interior players, sat in the paint.

When Yao Ming, this towering mountain, moved steadily into the paint, Perkins cursed.

Although he had some effect on limiting DeAndre Jordan tonight, he was also the most exhausted person in the arena. He not only had to deal with DeAndre Jordan and Kwame Brown, but now another Yao Ming had come.

This made him quite uncomfortable.

Yao Ming backed him down.

Although Perkins used all his strength behind him, and even started using small tricks.

But Yao Ming stood still. Although Yao Ming had never been the number one center in the NBA, all the number one centers in the NBA maintained awe for him. He was a classic center who truly possessed a full set of traditional center offensive manuals.

At the same time, Fan Xi and Westbrook were matched up at the top of the 3-point arc.

Westbrook was full of spring breeze at this time, his pride was evident, and he believed he was in the best competitive state of his career.

He said to Fan Xi: "Jack, God can't stop me tonight. I am unstoppable."

Fan Xi glanced at him.

He made a quick change of direction between his legs, and his eyes looked towards Yao Ming in the paint.

Westbrook thought Fan Xi was going to give the ball to Yao Ming; after all, Fan Xi hadn't taken his own shots for a while.

But he was deceived by inertia.

Fan Xi didn't pass the ball in, but accelerated in a straight line; he ran a pick-and-roll with DeAndre Jordan.

Immediately, like a hot knife through butter, Westbrook was instantly left behind. Fan Xi was like a sharp blade fiercely inserted into the paint, jumped up, and slammed the ball into the rim with the courage of ten thousand men... Boom!

The rim roared.

A clean and neat score.

The point difference narrowed to 4 points.

There was 1 minute and 49 seconds left in the game.

"What seed is God? Has he ever won a Finals MVP?" Fan Xi turned back and retorted to Westbrook.

Westbrook snorted coldly, not taking Fan Xi's trash talk seriously.

He quickly received the inbound pass, and 20,000 people on the scene cheered for him.

This was a scene of favorable timing, geographical convenience, and human harmony.

Fan Xi started a full-court press, beginning to pressure the defense from the backcourt. And he started chattering trash talk: "Russell. I bet you will pass the ball next, because you want to get a double-double. No, you will even rush in to grab rebounds; you want a triple-double. You want to get your first career triple-double in such an important game..."

Fan Xi chattered and disturbed Westbrook.

He wanted to disrupt Westbrook's thinking, and he was still saying: "Or, you want to get 30 points. A 30-point triple-double..."

Westbrook accelerated across half-court, and Fan Xi immediately stepped back to defend.

He left Westbrook's pace open, although Westbrook's stop-and-go mid-range was very accurate tonight. But Fan Xi still believed Westbrook's most destructive move was his penetration impact.

Of course, most importantly, Fan Xi couldn't defend his stop-and-go jump shot either. Fan Xi is good at defending penetration because he is a penetration master himself, able to make precise judgments in milliseconds.

Seeing Fan Xi set up this stance, Westbrook's mind was slightly restless.

He quickly attacked inward for a step, then stopped and jumped to shoot.

The moment Fan Xi saw him shoot, he turned and rushed to the basket... Bang!

Sure enough, the ball hit the iron.

Fan Xi jumped up. At this time, Perkins in the paint just used an elbow-framing action to push Yao Ming away, gaining a favorable offensive rebound position.

However, Fan Xi flew up and plucked the ball directly from the top of his head.

After landing, Fan Xi glared at Perkins fiercely.

By the way, he told DeAndre Jordan: "See? He's just a paper tiger."

Fan Xi's words made Perkins pout with anger.

But Fan Xi ignored him at all.

He strode towards the front court.

There was 1 minute and 23 seconds left in the game, Clippers ball, trailing by 4 points.

Fan Xi brought the ball to the front court, Yao Ming asked for position again, and Fan Xi passed the ball in.

Yao Ming received the ball and started backing down Perkins.

But at this time, because Yao Ming had lost weight, backing down Perkins, this heavy stationary center, was slightly difficult.

Just then, Fan Xi quickly cut in from the wing.

Yao Ming quickly passed the ball over. Fan Xi received the ball without stopping at all, threw it directly into the paint, DeAndre Jordan galloped in, caught the ball, and slammed it into the rim... Boom!

Another heavy dunk.

The score was only 2 points apart.

DeAndre Jordan finally let out an excited roar; he was out of state for the whole game, and now he finally seized the opportunity to lift his head and exhale.

Some confidence grew in his heart; he began to realize that Perkins was nothing to be afraid of, and didn't have three heads and six arms. His so-called dirty tricks and trash talk were just to make him feel fear.

"Is Jack Fan going to personally direct the final comeback? Is he going to prove his ability at critical moments again?"

Earl Johnson had already started shouting excitedly on TV, changing his previous tone, and said: "If Jack can reverse the victory at the last moment, then undoubtedly, he will be the second most powerful superstar of the new generation. However, the first most powerful superstar of the new generation is in Oklahoma."

While he was speaking.

Fan Xi was also full-court pressing Westbrook, and saying some trash talk: "It's time to give the ball to Kevin. If you don't pass the ball at this time, it's a bit impolite. You are not Kobe Bryant, and Kevin is not Shaquille O'Neal..."

Fan Xi's words were sharp, and every sentence attacked Westbrook's psychological defense line.

Westbrook's state of mind was indeed not as stable as his and Derek Rose's, which might be the reason why he had never become a superstar of the new generation.

Fan Xi was now grabbing his weakness and pulling hard.

Westbrook stopped at the top of the 3-point arc, and Fan Xi defended half a step away.

And at this time, Kevin Durant ran out to an open position, shaking off Butler.

Westbrook didn't hesitate and passed the ball over.

It seemed that Fan Xi's trash talk didn't interfere with him.

Durant received the ball, Butler immediately defended him closely, but Durant suddenly plunged forward with the ball, then stopped and jumped to shoot... At the moment he jumped, Arenas rushed over and made a stealing action at the waist.

Although it had no practical significance.

But for a shooting expert like Arenas, he knew too well the influence of this move.

The sudden action affected Durant's shooting rhythm.

Bang!

The ball hit the iron.

Westbrook and Fan Xi rushed into the paint at the same time.

Both jumped at the same time, grabbing the rebound at the same time.

They were similar in height, similar in wingspan, and similar in jumping ability.

Westbrook's some implicit talents were better.

However, Fan Xi's judgment ability was stronger.

He didn't grab the rebound directly, but tapped the ball onto the backboard with his fingertips... The ball hit the backboard again in the air, the trajectory changed, and he quickly landed, jumped up again, and plucked the ball down.

This is a typical Rodman rebounding method. Don't pursue grabbing it at once, but continuous jumping and tapping, you can always tap the ball in a direction favorable to yourself.

"You want a triple-double?"

Fan Xi steadily controlled the ball.

Time returned to within 1 minute.

The point difference was only 2 points.

Fan Xi had the ball.

He steadily pushed forward, and both sides returned to the same starting line.

Who wins and who loses is no longer as clear as it was at the last timeout.

Fan Xi held the ball across half-court, Westbrook flew over, and he also carried out a half-court press.

Fan Xi tangled with him, used a back-turn dribble to gain a breakthrough opportunity, strode out, entered the 3-point line with Westbrook's sticky defense, then stopped, made a jump shot action, and attracted Durant's double-team.

Just when everyone thought Fan Xi would pass the ball.

Fan Xi shot a fadeaway jump shot under the double-team of the two... bringing the difficulty to the extreme, almost surviving from a desperate situation.

The ball was thrown out from the crack... Fan Xi staggered after landing because of the huge fadeaway amplitude.

Swish!

The ball drew a beautiful arc and finally obediently fell into the net.

102:102.

Tied.

There were 35 seconds left in the game.

The two teams returned to the same starting line.

Fan Xi created offense continuously.

He played the Energy Arena to suffocation.

Beep!

The Thunder had to request a timeout.

Now, they needed to slow down.

The speed at which the offense and defense changed was beyond their imagination.

"This is a textbook superstar style of play. The Miracle Child is indeed the Miracle Child."

"Tonight will be the Duke Show of the City of Angels again."

"Next, it depends on the response of Kevin Durant and Westbrook." ===== CHAPTER 323 =====