The game was barely underway, and the collision nearly sparked a conflict, making the atmosphere intense from the start.

The referee issued only a cautionary whistle.

Durant, visibly annoyed, immediately backed down against Tang Tian, calling for the ball.

Westbrook passed him the ball.

Durant turned and shot.

Tang Tian provided ample interference.

"Clang!"

Durant could score against anyone with mismatches, but against Tang Tian, he felt as frustrated as when playing against Tony Allen.

In terms of defensive pressure, Tang Tian's better height and wingspan gave him even more trouble than Allen.

Parker drove to the basket and scored.

In return, Westbrook directly passed the ball to Durant.

He was close enough to Durant earlier to hear everything Tang Tian said, and it was too much.

Durant had to respond forcefully.

Durant thought the same thing. He dribbled the ball, waiting for his teammates to clear out, and then drove down the left.

Tang Tian cut off his path, and Durant stopped and pulled up for a jumper.

"Clang!"

Tang Tian's interference was on point, and Durant felt off when he released the ball.

A fan on the sideline spread his hands, looking confused.

Durant's performance was completely different from the last game.

Duncan drew a foul on Perkins on a drive to the basket.

After making both free throws, the Spurs took a 4-0 lead.

Durant caught the ball in the frontcourt and immediately took a three-pointer.

Tang Tian completely anticipated it and almost stole the ball.

Durant avoided the steal, but his three-pointer was short, hitting the front of the rim and bouncing out.

The sidelines buzzed with excitement.

The Grim Reaper, who had scored 53 points in the last game, missed his first three shots in this game!

The Spurs executed a play in the frontcourt, and Green hit a three-pointer.

7-0.

The rhythm of the game seemed a little off.

Durant finally made his fourth shot over Tang Tian's defense.

His scoring efficiency was completely different from the last game.

With a little over seven minutes left in the first quarter, the Spurs led the Thunder 16-6, with a 10-point lead on the road.

Durant was 1-for-8, making people feel like they were watching his rookie season again.

Brooks called a timeout.

When Durant went to the bench, Harden had a whispered conversation with Westbrook.

After Westbrook nodded, he turned to Durant.

"Don't listen to him; he's trying to bait you."

Westbrook was straightforward, but Harden was the most perceptive about Durant's sensitive personality, and he gave the timely reminder.

He had also become smart, using Westbrook as the messenger.

When the timeout ended, Harden replaced Sefolosha.

Harden organized the offense in the frontcourt and passed the ball to Durant when he ran into a mismatch.

Durant faced Green's defense and scored with a pull-up jumper.

His touch wasn't actually bad; his earlier misses were mostly because he was guarded by Tang Tian.

Tang Tian, like him, was on the slender side, making him the kind of defender who could contain him.

The Spurs' offense in the frontcourt didn't score.

In return, Durant ran to catch the ball against Leonard, made a pump fake, and then accelerated down the left, finishing with a euro-step layup.

He scored 4 straight points after the timeout, helping the Thunder narrow the deficit to 6 points.

After the basket, Durant roared at the sidelines.

"He's back! He's back!"

Fans on the sidelines shouted.

In those two possessions, they saw the Grim Reaper who dominated the last game again.

Popovich got up and walked to the sidelines. Leonard's overall defensive ability wasn't worse than Tang Tian's.

But defense really depended on the opponent. If the opponent was James, Leonard could match up, but now the opponent was Durant.

The Spurs' offense in the frontcourt still didn't score, and the momentum started to shift towards the Thunder.

"Let's.go! okC!"

The in-arena DJ timed it perfectly, leading the crowd in cheering for the home team.

The atmosphere was electric.

"Are you just going to avoid me like a coward?"

Tang Tian trash-talked Durant again.

After drinking with Popovich, he had decided to be a complete villain tonight.

Durant ignored him, listening to Westbrook's words.

When Tang Tian saw that Durant didn't react, he went around a screen and stuck to him, immediately increasing the intensity.

"Scarlett won't like a coward, not if you don't even have the courage to face me."

"Shut up! Shut up!"

Durant was indeed the sensitive person. Although he didn't physically retaliate this time, he started to respond verbally.

Shut up?

No way!

If Durant hadn't reacted, Tang Tian might have taken a break to consider what to say next.

But now that Durant was annoyed, it was time to ramp up the pressure!

"And even if you win the championship, it won't matter. I know Scarlett very well; she doesn't think much of you."

"You know her well?" Durant glared at Tang Tian.

Tang Tian nodded.

"She used to chase after me, but I rejected her."

"Shit! You're lying!"

Durant couldn't take it anymore and stopped to spit on Tang Tian's face.

"Stay calm, Kevin!"

Harden shouted at Durant when he saw it.

Tang Tian looked at Durant and nodded.

He wasn't lying, even though it was something from his past life, but it had happened, and he had no reason to deny it!

Durant was about to explode and immediately backed down to call for the ball.

Westbrook, as a good brother, passed him the ball in time.

Durant chose to post up hard.

"Snap!"

But his post-up skills weren't as good as James', and Tang Tian, with a semi-front steal, directly stole the ball from his hand!

The Spurs launched a fast break, with Parker sprinting to the frontcourt and then passing the ball back to Tang Tian, who followed up with a dunk.

The point difference returned to 8 points.

Westbrook dribbled the ball forward, and Harden ran to Durant's side at this moment, trying to persuade him to calm down.

But Durant couldn't listen to Harden's advice at all.

If what Tang Tian said was true, then what was he?

Going after a woman who was chasing after a rookie that she couldn't even see?

The words sounded awkward, but it was painful once he understood it!

This was even worse than being a backup.

He continued to try to force his way against Tang Tian, who didn't panic at all, gradually getting into defensive position. Durant's pull-up jumper still missed!

Putting aside Tang Tian's defense, his own offensive rhythm had been disrupted.

In the Spurs' offense in the frontcourt, Tang Tian circled out to catch the ball, waited for Durant for a moment, and shot, drawing a three-point foul.

Durant immediately got angry, first pushing away Tang Tian, who he had fouled, and then grabbing the referee and shouting.

The referee had already experienced Paul's verbal abuse in the previous round and didn't give Durant a chance, immediately issuing a technical foul.

Brooks quickly called another timeout and pulled Durant to the sidelines.

Popovich was already smiling like a child at the far end.

Tang Tian was really talented!