Coach Brooks had Kayce replace Thabo Sefolosha, and Ibaka also replaced Jeff Green, maintaining the height of the lineup.
On the Utah Jazz side, Sloan also replaced Deron and Okur with Ronnie Price and Kosta Koufos, a direct matchup substitution, allowing Okur to catch his breath after running so hard for the past few minutes.
Kayce was currently using Spanish to tell Ibaka to set a back screen for Durant. Durant successfully popped out to receive the ball under the screen, then immediately drove in with a quick step. Koufos in the paint rotated very quickly, and Durant passed the ball back out to Kayce on the perimeter.
Ibaka came up for a pick-and-roll. Kayce faked going right, then executed a fancy, quick spin, accelerating with the ball in his left hand to break through Ronnie Brewer's defense.
The spin move was too fast. Boozer was just about to collapse on defense when Kayce made a hidden bounce pass with his left hand to a cutting Russell. Russell caught the ball and immediately soared into the air, colliding with the newly entered Koufos and slamming the ball in forcefully.
"Wham!" The dunk made the hoop shake, and Russell roared to the sky.
"Wow!"
The live audience cheered. This dunk was too brutal, a guard dunking over a center; the scene was too spectacular.
"Koufos was directly dunked over! Russell is too violent, I love this kind of offense! Kayce's pass was perfect!" Live commentator Twin was already shouting excitedly.
This tactic was actually something Kayce often ran with Russell during their UCLA days. Normally, Russell would pass to Kayce, but coaching staff found Russell's passing a bit rough, while Kayce's passing was excellent, so they switched roles.
Coach Brooks also noticed this. This tactic was designed to draw Kirilenko out. Durant could spread the floor for the team, which would unleash Russell's off-ball cutting ability.
Russell, on his way back on defense, signaled that it was a beautiful pass, but Kayce remained calm. With his current physical attributes and basketball skills, he felt no pressure against ordinary role players; being limited one-on-one was simply not going to happen.
Ronnie Price was also a good point guard, still avoiding turnovers against Russell's suffocating defense. After a pick-and-roll, he passed to Boozer, who again took a long-range mid-range shot, which Ibaka bravely contested, with good effect.
"Clang!" It was a miss. Center Kostić secured the rebound and immediately passed to Kayce.
Dribbling quickly past half-court, Kayce called for another pick-and-roll from Ibaka. After a behind-the-back dribble, he drove directly to the right, accelerating.
Boozer's footwork was a bit slow. Koufos wanted to come over to help defend, and in that moment of hesitation, Kayce threw a high lob pass.
Kostić leaped high for an alley-oop, slamming the ball into the basket.
"Wham!" Although it wasn't a ferocious dunk, the live audience still gave a huge cheer.
This was the advantage of height and long arms. Boozer was a bit short, and Koufos's defensive positioning was problematic. Kayce instantly seized the opportunity and delivered the alley-oop.
Coach Brooks was secretly delighted. This was the point guard he wanted: talented, strong in execution, and the team's offensive spacing was currently excellent. When necessary, he could substitute the center for a forward lineup, all capable of shooting.
The Utah Jazz called a timeout. It seemed Sloan needed to talk to the team about defense and make some substitutions.
"Good, Kayce, maintain the rhythm. Ibaka, pay attention to help defense. Their interior movement speed isn't fast. Everyone play well for these last 3 minutes." Coach Brooks waved his hand, and all the reserves came onto the court.
Kayce and Eric Menor partnered in the backcourt, Nick Collison and Ibaka formed the frontcourt, and rookie Byron played center. This reserve lineup had good height but was a bit slow in movement.
The Utah Jazz also brought in their reserve lineup: Ronnie Price and Wesley Matthews formed the backcourt, Kyle Korver and CJ Miles played forward, and Koufos played center, increasing their movement speed.
Sure enough, the Utah Jazz sped up their ball rotation on offense. After continuous passing, Korver took a 3-pointer from the perimeter.
"Clang!" It was a miss. He still needed to find his touch after just coming in.
Kayce grabbed the long rebound and immediately pushed for a fast-break. Matthews stuck close to Kayce, trying to force a turnover, but this kind of physical contest was completely ineffective.
Kayce suddenly stopped outside the three-point line, dribbled with his left hand, raised his center of gravity, performed a crossover dribble, then a quick in-and-out dribble. This wide-ranging change of direction directly shook off Matthews. Koufos in the paint had no choice but to step up again.
Kayce, facing the defense, executed a fake shot and real pass, and a trailing Ibaka slammed it in.
"Woah, beautiful pass, Kayce!" Ibaka shouted excitedly after the dunk. Matthews felt like he had been schooled by a rookie and was losing face a bit.
The Jazz's Price organized the offense. With this lineup, everyone on the perimeter could shoot, and they were quick on their feet. After continuous drives and dish-outs, Matthews, facing Kayce's close-out defense, took a jump shot from the three-point line.
"Swish!" It went straight through the net. The Thunder's rotation was slow on this play; Kayce's close-out was too late.
Matthews retreated on defense, looking at Kayce and shouting, "Welcome to the NBA, rookie!" After being easily beaten on the previous possession, he felt he been humilliated, so he needed to get some back.
"???"
Kayce looked puzzled. How could he show off like this? What's a reserve role player so proud of?
Kayce gave the ball to Menor, then dribbled it past half-court, signaled to his teammates, and immediately called for the ball in the low post. Menor lobbed the ball to Kayce. After catching it, he immediately went into a triple threat. Matthews, afraid of a pull-up jumper, stepped up to defend him closely.
But Kayce quickly put the ball down, executed a cross-step dribble, quickly pulled it back with his right hand, and then used his left hand to back down Matthews twice, reaching his shooting hot zone, and quickly gathered the ball.
A shoulder fake directly shook off Matthews, and he turned around for a fadeaway jump shot.
"Swish!" It went straight through the net. The entire sequence of movements was fast and fluid. Kayce just shrugged at Matthews, indicating how easy the shot was.
"Wow, what did we see? That footwork, that fadeaway, it's like Kobe!" Commentator Twin exclaimed in admiration.
Matthews looked at Kayce's handsome face, his anger flaring. He was an undrafted player, barely making it into the NBA, and he was already jealous of high-draft-pick rookies. He just casually trash-talked the rookie, only to be taught a lesson by Kayce again.
His teammates also saw that Matthews was upset, so they looked for him more on offense. As a result, Matthews got a bit heated. Facing Kayce, he took the ball and drove straight in, but when Ibaka came to help, he had no choice but to throw the ball out.
Kayce anticipated the pass, stole the ball, and quickly dashed towards the opponent's half-court, driving to the basket and laying it in over the retreating Kyle Korver.
At this point, there were 36 seconds left in the first quarter, with the Thunder leading 25-20.
Price signaled his teammates to slow down and play for the last possession. The Jazz found an opportunity through a pick-and-roll, and the ball was eventually passed to Korver in the corner, who immediately shot a three-pointer.
"Swish!" It went in cleanly. Korver's shooting was indeed excellent.
Menor quickly brought the ball past half-court, then used Byron's screen to drive directly into the paint. Facing the help defense, he passed the ball to Kayce in the corner. With 6 seconds left, it was a familiar last-second shot.
Kayce's pump fake almost made Matthews jump. He held the ball in his right hand, feigned a drive, then took a quick step back, and shot a jump shot directly from beyond the 3-point line.
"Swish!" It went in easily. This shot was right in front of the Thunder's bench, and after it went in, Russell was screaming excitedly nearby.
"Can someone of your caliber even play in the NBA, rookie?" Kayce said to Matthews with a slight smile.
This completely broke Matthews' composure. He was an undrafted player who almost didn't make it to the NBA. He immediately went to push Kayce, but the Thunder's bench saw his action and immediately surrounded him.
"You just wait, rookie, I'll teach you a good lesson!" Matthews still stubbornly refused to back down.
Kayce was completely speechless. Some people just can't stand it when you perform better than them; they're kings of trash talk. He didn't reply, just pursed his lips and made a helpless expression.
"It seems our Best Rookie and the opposing player are having a little conflict, haha, I love Kayce's performance!" Commentator Twin was already hyped, directly awarding the Best Rookie title to Kayce.
The first quarter ended 28-23, with the Thunder in the lead. Kayce performed excellently, going 3-for-3 with 7 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists. Coach Brooks was very satisfied.