Chapter 1 The Seventh Minute

About seven minutes into the first quarter, the Chinese team led 22-15.

Both sides made substitutions, and Yi Jianlian also went off to rest for the Chinese team.

At this point, the biggest advantage of the American team was reflected.

Cousins, Klay Thompson, and George, who came off the bench, were all All-Stars.

If the starters can't beat you, it doesn't matter, the substitutes come up and continue to do the job.

Other national teams are lucky to have three or four NBA players, but the American team has 12, and the rotations are all NBA All-Star level.

That's what makes them so terrifying.

Relying on the overall advantage of the bench, coupled with the Chinese team's declining touch, the American team still tied the score at 30 after three minutes into the second quarter.

The situation suddenly became unfavorable for the Chinese team.

This is the typical American team play style, wave after wave of offensive, layered on top of each other, making you unable to parry.

Durant faced Kelanbaike, the same signature turnaround jumper went in again, scoring his 15th point of the game.

He and Anthony were unsolvable on the international stage.

Tang Tian gestured to Kelanbaike to switch defenses.

In order to conserve energy, he hadn't been very involved on the defensive end before, but now he couldn't care less.

Get through this half, and there would be plenty of time to rest at halftime.

In the Chinese team's offense, Tang Tian hit a turnaround fadeaway jumper from the double team, returning an answerball to Durant.

The two sides were tied again.

When Durant turned around and found that his defender had become Tang Tian, he didn't reach out for the ball again.

Once bitten by a snake, ten years afraid of well ropes, that's still considered good.

In his two years in the NBA, especially last year, he had been beaten by Tang Tian.

The feeling of not being able to win at the beginning was the most realistic portrayal.

He wouldn't be stupid enough to go one-on-one with Tang Tian.

The ball was given to Anthony, who went one-on-one against Zhai Xiaochuan, and his sudden pull-up jumper missed.

As he got older, Anthony no longer had the scoring explosion of 37 points in a single game in London four years ago on the international stage.

Yi Jianlian protected the defensive rebound, and the Chinese team launched a counterattack. Tang Tian received the ball and drove to the basket, drawing a foul on Lowry.

Two free throws made, and the Chinese team surpassed the score.

In the American team's offense, Durant still didn't ask for the ball, and DeRozan's mid-range shot after receiving Lowry's pass went wide.

The Chinese team advanced to the frontcourt, and Tang Tian suddenly passed to Yi Jianlian, who hit a three-pointer.

In the blink of an eye, the Chinese team had a 5-point lead again.

Coach K frowned on the sidelines.

Durant was in good shape tonight, but after Tang Tian matched up with him, he didn't even take another shot.

No, he didn't even have the idea of asking for the ball!

This was very abnormal!

He shouted at Durant, signaling him to continue attacking.

Lowry passed the ball to Durant in the frontcourt, Durant tried to dribble past Tang Tian but failed, and passed the ball back to Lowry.

He was really afraid of Tang Tian after playing against him in the NBA!

Coach K was stunned on the sidelines.

This was the first time he had seen Durant so timid!

Even if he couldn't score, one-on-one against Tang Tian on the offensive end was a kind of consumption, which would also benefit the American team.

But Durant was really afraid to play!

Lowry was running a pick-and-roll with DeRozan, and DeRozan hit a mid-range shot after receiving the ball.

A collaboration between teammates from the Raptors.

This kind of offense helped the American team continue to score.

But whether it was the new generation DeRozan, or the older Anthony, their scoring stability and efficiency were a grade lower than Durant's now.

In the second half of the second quarter, both teams' efficiency began to decline. The Chinese team maintained a slight lead, leading the American team 46-41 at halftime.

At the end of the first half, deafening cheers erupted from the Chinese fans in the arena.

Putting aside how far the Chinese team could go in this Olympics, and whether the Chinese team could really beat the American team, just leading in this first half had already made history!

This Chinese team had really shown an unprecedented momentum!

Accompanied by the cheers in the arena, the Chinese team players walked into the player tunnel one after another.

Tang Tian and Guo Ailun were chatting and laughing.

He scored a game-high 23 points in the first half.

Originally, in the second quarter, he had prepared to be exhausted by halftime, but he didn't expect Durant to be afraid to play him!

As a result, his preparations failed, and his physical strength was unexpectedly preserved.

This made him feel a little dumbfounded.

During the halftime break, the atmosphere in the American team's locker room was a bit depressing.

For the Dream Team, winning the gold medal was the only goal.

But they only won Australia by 10 points in the first game, and France by only 3 points in the third game, and now they were being suppressed by the Chinese team!

They were constantly breaking their psychological bottom line!

If they really lost in the end, the fans in the United States would probably curse them to death.

It should be noted that the Dream Team VI, who were defeated in Athens, are still frequently dragged out and whipped to this day.

If they really lost, even if it was just in the group stage, they would be the next Dream Team VI.

"Kevin, you need to keep shooting, scoring, that's what the fuck you need to do, and that's what only you can do well!"

Green was talking to Durant at this time.

They hadn't yet fought side by side as teammates on the Warriors, but they had started in the national team first.

Green said a lot, and it must be said that he really had a way of motivating his teammates.

It could be clearly felt that Durant's fighting spirit had returned, and he also had the courage to face Tang Tian directly.

"That's right, keep going, keep going!"

He patted Durant on the chest at the end, spraying the latter's face with saliva.

Durant wiped his face, a fishy and salty taste.

But it was indeed effective.

Returning from the halftime break, the American team attacked first.

Durant went to the frontcourt and once again began to play one-on-one, breaking through Zhou Peng, and then hitting a tough 2+1 against Yi Jianlian while losing his balance.

The American team's bench cheered loudly.

Durant made the free throw, and the difference on the court was only 2 points.

"That's it! That's it! Give them some color!"

Green shouted at Durant as he retreated back to his half, looking more excited than him.

However, the American team's celebration did not last long, because Tang Tian turned around and scored a 2+1 on Anthony in almost the same way.

The same free throw made, and the Chinese team still maintained a 5-point lead!

"Answerball! Answerball!"

Green continued to shout at Durant.

Durant arrived in the frontcourt and saw Tang Tian switching to defend him again.

He hesitated for a moment, but still asked Irving for the ball.

Green's words at halftime had greatly encouraged him, and he had to face Tang Tian directly!

Facing the basket, he broke through, and after reaching the free throw line, he swung his arms around, his signature big loop layup.

Tang Tian's steal attempt failed!

After dodging it, his confidence doubled, he could score this ball!

He finally wiped the ball off the backboard, with a very high release point.

A sure shot!

But at the moment of the shot, a figure jumped up from behind him, and with one palm, directly slapped the ball onto the backboard!

A chase-down block! Tang Tian's chase-down block!