Durant didn't have many good opportunities with or without the ball, so he started to cooperate with Westbrook.

He scored points with a big loop layup after a backdoor cut, or a direct jump shot after catching the ball and turning around.

But the intuitive thing was that he didn't look comfortable on the court, and his scoring efficiency was significantly lower than usual.

Throughout the first quarter, Tang Tian was like a piece of chewing gum that couldn't be shaken off, making him feel uncomfortable all over.

His performance also put the Thunder in a disadvantageous position. About nine minutes into the first quarter, the Thunder were already behind 12-20.

At this time, both sides began to rotate players. Duncan and Parker were off the court for the Spurs, and Ginobili came on as a substitute.

Westbrook was also off for the Thunder, and Harden came on.

These were all routine rotations, but Durant stayed on the court for the Thunder.

Scott Brooks was Durant's mentor, and he wanted his prized disciple to stay on the court and find his form.

And Brooks had another consideration.

Durant was good at running without the ball, and had always been the core of the team. He averaged more than 38 minutes per game in his career, and was approaching 40 minutes this season, so his stamina was not a problem at all.

On the other hand, Tang Tian was only playing in his second game as a starter, and he had also watched the Spurs' previous game video before the game. Tang Tian's stamina declined in the second half, and his performance fluctuated more.

If Popovich kept Tang Tian on the court, then Durant's space to play would definitely become larger as the game went on.

Conversely, if Popovich replaced Tang Tian, then Durant's space to play would be even greater.

Durant's big loop layup drew a foul on Tang Tian, giving him two free throw opportunities.

Popovich called Tang Tian to the sidelines at this time and asked about his physical condition.

"No problem at all."

Tang Tian gave a very affirmative answer.

The Masked Man's skill was worthy of being blue-level. He had basically been defending Durant with all his strength this quarter, but he still felt very energetic.

This was really like having a spare stamina bar.

Durant made both free throws, helping the Thunder narrow the gap to 6 points.

Back on the Spurs' offense, Ginobili slithered past Harden and scored a layup, still an 8-point difference.

With Durant on the court, Harden didn't have many opportunities to shoot. He dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and saw Durant waving his hand.

Although he was a little unwilling, he still had to pass the ball over.

Durant continued to hold the ball and attack Tang Tian. He broke through very resolutely, but Tang Tian's defense was also very tight, and he was forced to stop.

Tang Tian covered him and there was no chance. With the offensive time running out, he took a difficult turnaround fadeaway jump shot that missed.

The defensive rebound was taken down by Splitter, and the Thunder's offense once again failed to score.

"How did he do it?"

Barkley shouted with his mouth wide open at this time.

Smith and O'Neal looked at him with puzzled expressions, wondering what was so surprising about this ordinary round.

"Didn't you notice? His defense just now was so... perfect."

Barkley continued.

"Charles, he's been doing this since the beginning of the game."

Kenny Smith reminded him.

"That's the problem, he's been doing this all quarter, but he's still maintaining such a high intensity of defense!"

Barkley's words immediately reminded Smith and O'Neal, and the two of them then reacted one after another.

This kind of clinging defense was particularly exhausting, and it was really unbelievable that Tang Tian could persist until now.

"He must have put in a lot of effort off the court."

O'Neal gave an explanation. He was the one who disliked training the most, so his stamina was a big problem in the later stages of his career. This was also a kind of feeling after retirement.

The game on the court continued, and Durant continued to force attacks in the last two minutes, but the effect was similar to before. Although he still scored points, his efficiency was still very low.

At the end of the first quarter, the Thunder trailed the Spurs by as many as 12 points, 18-30.

Durant scored 12 points in the first quarter, but only made 4 of 11 shots, which was completely incomparable to his usual efficiency.

He was really in trouble tonight.

Durant was off the court in the second quarter, and the Thunder's main offensive point shifted to Harden.

Harden's state tonight was completely different from the preseason. Whether it was breaking through or passing the ball, he was obviously decisive and resolute, and his finishing was also perfect. He had improved a lot compared to the beginning of the season.

The Thunder also narrowed the point difference bit by bit under his leadership.

Harden played the entire second quarter, contributing 13 points and 3 assists in a single quarter. Under his leadership, the Thunder continued to chase points, trailing the Spurs by 6 points at halftime, 40-46.

"Kevin, keep the rhythm, he can't keep up with you the whole game."

In the locker room during the intermission, Brooks encouraged Durant alone.

Among the four young players, Durant had the highest talent and ceiling, and he was also the one he relied on the most.

Harden's excellent performance was just a temporary outburst in his eyes. The team still needed Durant to find his form if they wanted to win.

Harden was on the side at this time, and he had some thoughts in his heart when he heard what Brooks said.

In all honesty, he was the third overall pick, only one spot less than Durant.

Back in the second half, the Thunder adjusted their strategy and focused on attacking Westbrook as soon as they came up.

Westbrook carried a bomb bag and kept attacking the Spurs' inside line, forcing the Spurs' defense to shrink.

At this time, Durant used the pick-and-roll to get opportunities to hit consecutive mid-range shots, scoring 5 points in a row.

Brooks really relied on Durant, and Westbrook's strong breakthrough was paving the way for him.

However, Westbrook regarded Durant as a brother, and was also very resolute when executing tactics.

Tang Tian noticed this, and he completely ignored the others, directly sticking to Durant and forcing him to steal the ball.

Durant now couldn't pass the ball, had limited means of one-on-one offense, and his dribbling skills were not high. After being forced by Tang Tian for several consecutive steals, he almost made mistakes several times, and could only rely more on scoring without the ball.

This kind of game lasted for another whole quarter, and the situation on the court was the same as at the beginning.

Durant scored in an inefficient way, and the Thunder were once again in a passive position on the court.

In the last attack of the third quarter, Durant continued to dribble the ball outside the three-point line and took a step towards the left side.

This time, Tang Tian's dynamic vision was accurate enough, and he directly pounced and stole the ball.

Durant directly became a human-ball separation, the person passed, but the ball was gone!

Tang Tian's steal was very sudden, and the others didn't react at all. He directly held the ball and scored a one-stop buzzer-beater layup.

This ball also helped the Spurs lead the Thunder by a full 15 points at the end of the third quarter.

"Isn't he fucking tired?"

Looking at Tang Tian, who was still sprinting down for a fast break after the steal, Barkley couldn't help but swear. This was a person who had been in constant strong confrontation with Durant for three full quarters!