Although the two teams were evenly matched in the first quarter, the Nets immediately launched a 12:4 attack wave in the second quarter, widening the point difference in the blink of an eye.
Kevin Durant is starting to exert his strength.
Scoring 10 points in the first quarter was just a warm-up for him.
As soon as the game entered the second quarter, Durant immediately showed his strong offensive ability. Ingram couldn't guard against various mid- and long-range shots.
The LV gap between the two sides is too huge.
"It's not very good...it seems like Brandon still has some practice."
Seeing this scene, Wang Feng couldn't help but shake his head.
There is absolutely no problem with Ingram's talent, it just needs time and experience to further refine it.
Durant's touch has become completely hot, and he continues to let Ingram defend, but the result is only allowing the opponent to score more points.
Therefore, during the retreat, Wang Feng made a gesture toward Ingram to change defense.
…
"Humph, it's finally your turn, Wang Feng!"
Looking at Wang Feng standing in front of him, Durant didn't show any surprise.
In the Lakers, Wang Feng is the player with the strongest defensive ability. This is the consensus of the entire league.
In fact, Durant felt a little unhappy when he discovered that Wang Feng was not guarding him from the very beginning.
What do you mean? Are you looking down on me?
It is precisely because of this that Durant went all out to beat Ingram, letting the Lakers and Wang Feng understand that Durant is not a rookie that can be guarded by just any cat or dog.
And now, he got his wish.
"What? It seems like you feel good today."
Wang Feng looked at Durant in front of him and couldn't help but laugh: "The half is not over yet. You have almost scored 30 points. Are you interested in breaking your own single-game scoring record?"
Durant's highest score in a single game so far is 54 points, which was the number of points Durant scored with the Thunder in 2014.
As a top scorer in history, his highest career score is only 54, which is somewhat surprising.
There's nothing you can do about it, physical fitness is the biggest factor limiting Durant's performance.
Durant ignored Wang Feng's verbal provocation. He knew it was a provocation and Wang Feng wanted him to continue playing singles with the ball.
It's also about defense. Wang Feng's defense and Ingram's defense are two completely different concepts.
Since Wang Feng entered the league, Durant has been fighting against Wang Feng for several seasons. Of course, he knows Wang Feng's defensive strength, so there is no need to force a competition now.
But Durant was feeling hot at this time and was unwilling to waste this rare opportunity.
So Durant, who was standing in the top arc with the ball, slightly raised his hand to make a gesture to call for a screen.
Jarrett Allen on one side saw this and immediately came out of the paint to provide a pick-and-roll screen for Durant.
At this time, the Lakers' interior line has been changed from Lopez to Howard.
Compared with mobility and frame protection ability, Howard is much better than Lopez, but he is limited to the category of inside center.
At his peak, Howard was an out-and-out monster. He had the size and stature of a center, but also had the explosiveness and agility of a defender. His sprinting speed in three quarters of the game was astonishing. This is why Howard at his peak was able to be beaten by the league.
It is called the capital for James alone.
But now, injuries and age have caused Howard to lose his former courage. Relying on his advantages in weight and experience, it is already a very good thing that he can still be active on the court as a blue-collar player.
.
Once Allen separates Wang Feng and Durant in a pick-and-roll, creating a situation where Durant challenges Howard, there is a high probability that Howard will not be able to guard against Durant, who is in hot shape.
However, a scene that no one expected happened at this time.
Allen came to Wang Feng's right side and positioned himself to form a pick-and-roll screen.
Durant immediately circled the right side and prepared to attack the frame directly.
But he had just come from Allen's right, and before he could speed up, a figure followed him and blocked him.
Looking at the familiar figure in front of him, Durant couldn't help but be slightly startled.
Wang Feng?
Wasn't he blocked by a pick-and-roll? How could he appear here? So quickly?
Durant had to stop and couldn't help but turn his head and glance at Allen, with a hint of reproach in his eyes.
"How did you block this cover? How come you didn't even block anyone?"
At this time, Jarrett Allen also looked confused.
He didn't even understand how Wang Feng got around him. He was very sure that he had definitely taken a good position just now.
Jarrett Allen's position in the Nets is similar to that of Capela in the Rockets. He is a standard blue-collar player who protects rebounds, defends the basket and the frame, screens teammates in pick-and-rolls, and passes the ball to eat the pie.
That's his job on the field.
Pick-and-roll is his essential basic skill. How to screen at the right time and what positioning can block the opponent to the maximum extent. These are the main contents of Allen's daily training.
Because of this, his pick-and-roll quality is actually very good, especially combined with his 2.11-meter height and wide body, which is definitely more than enough to block a player.
He was filled with doubts, but Jarrett Allen immediately adjusted his position and returned to Wang Feng to cover the screen.
But in the next second, Wang Feng quickly bypassed his pick-and-roll and came to Durant first.
Jarrett Allen: "???"
The pick-and-roll failed twice in a row, and the tactics could no longer proceed at all.
As the game time ticked by and a violation was imminent, Durant didn't think much about it and could only bite the bullet and shoot a jumper.
Although he has an advantage in height and wingspan, Wang Feng's jumping is so good. The moment Durant took off, Wang Feng suddenly jumped high and almost interfered with Durant's shot.
Although the basketball was thrown out dangerously and was not physically affected, the defensive shock badge was already in effect.
"box!"
The shot missed the frame, and the rebound was protected by Kuzma. The Lakers attacked. Wang Feng also played a pick-and-roll screen. Howard completely blocked George, and while Allen stepped forward to cover up the defense, Wang Feng was in the distance.
Take off from a position one step away from the three-point line.
"brush!"
There was a crisp sound of the net being brushed, and it was also a shot from outside the three-point line. Wang Feng hit it accurately.
With the blessing of multiple shooting badges such as marksman, hot zone hunter, and long-range turret, Wang Feng's three-point stability is far better than Durant!
"Something's wrong...what's going on?"
Durant frowned in confusion.
In the round just now, Wang Feng's behavior was a little too abnormal when facing the pick-and-roll.
The pick-and-roll screen was one of the most commonly used moves by Durant when facing Wang Feng in the past few seasons. After all, the pick-and-roll screen can avoid direct confrontation between him and Wang Feng, and it can also save him energy, giving him the best of both worlds.
In the past, this trick had always been tried and tested, and the effect was very good, but why did it suddenly not work today?
Of course Durant didn't know that this summer, after the Men's Basketball World Cup ended, Wang Feng, who won the championship gold medal, immediately drew a purple defensive badge, a pick-and-roll dodger.
At the same time, in order to activate the Purple Hall of Fame-level pick-and-roll dodger, Wang Feng spent a lot of free allocation points to directly enhance the pick-and-roll defensive IQ in the value panel to 90.
With super high ability value and the top purple badge, Wang Feng is now the league's top pick-and-roll defense expert.
No matter when facing any player who is good at pick-and-roll coverage, Wang Feng can use the fastest speed and the shortest distance to get around and catch up with the original defensive player!
Of course, a badge does not mean invincibility, even for the top Purple Hall of Fame pick-and-roll dodgers.
If the opponent gets aggressive and directly uses a double pick-and-roll screen, then even Wang Feng will be powerless. No matter how powerful the effect of the badge is, it must abide by the rules of physics.
But in a normal game, who would frantically use a double pick-and-roll screen?
At least now Durant would never think of or choose to call a double pick-and-roll screen.
He was just reluctant to call for pick-and-roll coverage again, and this time he did not let Jarrett Allen, who failed two consecutive pick-and-rolls, come to cover, but chose Paul George.
But George was equally difficult to use. Even because his body was thinner than Jarrett Allen's, it was easier for Wang Feng to get around George than around Allen.
"..."
Seeing Wang Feng quickly bypassing the pick-and-roll and blocking him in front of him again, Durant was a little at a loss. It was unwise to directly attack Wang Feng alone, so he could only choose to pass the ball to George, who had just failed to pick-and-roll.
George was also surprised why Wang Feng's movements around the cover were so agile. It felt like he had practiced countless times.
At this time, the game was still going on, and time did not allow George to think too much. Facing Kuzma's defense, he quickly broke through with the ball and then stopped for a jump shot.
Kuzma's defense was very good, so George also failed to hit the mid-range shot.
In the next few rounds, facing Wang Feng, Durant never had a good offensive opportunity, and could only let George and Irving take charge of the offense.
But the offensive efficiency of these two people is obviously not comparable to Wang Feng.
The advantage gained with great difficulty was quickly eroded away.
Soon, half the game was over.
The Nets were already almost leading by double digits, but at halftime, the score was not only not leading, but actually fell behind by 2 points.
The scores of the Lakers and Nets were 68:66 respectively.
On the court, the fans at home of the Nets looked a little confused.
How did this happen?
Durant obviously played strong in the first half of the second quarter, scoring 16 points in 7 minutes, helping the Nets establish a nearly double-digit advantage.
However, as Wang Feng switched defense, the situation took a turn for the worse. In the next few minutes, Durant only scored 2 points with free throws. On the contrary, the Lakers, led by Wang Feng, continued to score and finally completed the lead.
Although Durant had scored 28 points efficiently at halftime, everyone with a discerning eye knew that 26 of Durant's 28 points were scored under Ingram's defense. Facing Wang Feng, he only scored 2