After Kayce entered the game, he first gave his teammates an offensive signal, then slowly dribbled the ball past half-court. Kevin Martin of the Sacramento Kings was primarily guarding Kayce.
After several continuous handoffs, Kostić came up to set a screen for Kayce.
Feigning a move to the right around the screen, he suddenly executed a large, in-front-of-the-body crossover, leaving Martin rooted like a statue.
At this moment, the Sacramento Kings' defensive attention was instantly drawn to Kayce. Jeff Green set a successful back screen, and Durant cut directly from the baseline. Kayce, seizing the opportunity, threw a precise lob pass, and the ball arrived exactly with Durant.
"Slam!" Durant finished with a two-handed alley-oop dunk and immediately signaled that it was a beautiful pass.
This was the difference between Kayce and Russell. Kayce, with his taller stature, had a better passing vision. At the same time, their dribbling styles were also different: Russell relied on straight-line acceleration, while Kayce was relatively flashier.
"That pass was too beautiful! The moment Durant started his cut, Kayce released the ball. The entire offense was executed perfectly!"
Ke Xiaofan wanted to exclaim 'good play' when Kayce first broke free from Martin, but by the time the alley-oop was completed, his commentary was a beat too slow.
"It's truly rare for a forward to possess such ball-handling skills. His passing vision is incredible!"
Ma Jian stopped pretending and went straight into praising him.
Harden was not unfamiliar with Kayce's performance, but he was a little relieved that he didn't have to guard Kayce at the moment.
When the Sacramento Kings attacked, Martin first felt the defensive pressure. His off-ball movement couldn't shake off Kayce's defense.
As a rookie, he had to go all out on defense, and Kayce was no exception. Moreover, the badge bonuses from Defensive Expert and Off-ball Movement Killer gave Kayce sufficient ability on the defensive end.
Martin had no choice but to receive the ball outside the three-point line. His continuous crossovers and in-front-of-the-body changes of direction couldn't shake off Kayce. The Ankle Guard badge allowed Kayce to quickly adjust his defensive center of gravity.
Kayce constantly covered Martin with his body. The opponent was not a power player, so Kayce had no physical disadvantage. Martin felt a bit embarrassed being defended like this by a rookie and considered trying to draw a foul.
However, as soon as he gathered the ball, Kayce went in for a powerful steal.
"Slap!" It was firm, accurate, and ruthless; he directly stole the ball. Martin was still complaining to the referee that it was a foul, but the baseline referee signaled that there was no problem.
Kayce didn't care about that; if there was no whistle, he charged forward. A large behind-the-back dribble shook off Harden, who was trying to steal the ball, and then a precise long pass found Russell, who had already run to the frontcourt.
Russell received the ball and took off directly, performing a one-handed tomahawk dunk.
"Slam!" After the dunk, Russell angrily pounded his chest. The fans in the arena were completely ignited by the two consecutive dunks and started roaring.
"That defense was quite good. Martin's continuous changes of direction couldn't shake him off. To be honest, being defended like that by a rookie is indeed a bit embarrassing."
Ma Jian had already entered 'Kayce praising' mode, and his words left Ke Xiaofan speechless.
This kind of fast-break offense was the Thunder's specialty. Russell was absolutely a master at transition plays; most people simply couldn't stop him!
He was too strong and too fast. Even with just straight-line acceleration, you couldn't do anything.
After another score, the Thunder's defensive intensity also picked up. Their rotation speed clearly increased, making it difficult for Martin to receive the ball. With 10 seconds left on the shot clock, Harden called for a screen, then executed a step-back, contested jump shot.
"Swish!" The three-pointer went in, helping the Sacramento Kings stabilize the situation.
The Thunder, on the other hand, started playing a drive-and-kick game. Russell's penetration disrupted the opponent's defensive rotation, passing the ball to Jeff Green on the perimeter, who then had no opportunity to pass it back to Durant.
Durant lightly faked, directly shaking off Desmond Mason, and then quickly passed the ball back out to Kayce on the perimeter against the collapsing defense.
After receiving the ball, Kayce immediately executed a crossover dribble, quickly pulling the ball back with his left hand. Martin was shaken off by this move. Seeing the opponent out of position defensively, Kayce took a sidestep and shot a jump shot from beyond the three-point line.
"Swish!" The ball went cleanly through the net. Kayce calmly patted his chest, signaling that Durant's pass was beautiful.
"A beautiful three-pointer! The rhythm of that shot felt so comfortable; you could tell it was going in!" Ke Xiaofan immediately offered praise after seeing the shot go in.
The Sacramento Kings' perimeter offense was not going well, and they tried to get the ball inside. Unfortunately, Jason Thompson was good at catching lobs but was directly defended by Kostić on a single-man drive. Kayce, seeing the opponent quickly retreating on defense, was not in a hurry and let Russell dribble past half-court.
Kayce again called an offensive play. Kostić came over for a screen. This time, Kayce accelerated directly with the ball in his right hand. Jason Thompson's defense was very aggressive, trying to disrupt Kayce.
But it was useless. With a flick of his right wrist, the ball went directly between Jason Thompson's legs and landed precisely in Kostić's hands. Kostić paused for a moment after receiving the ball, then immediately threw down a one-handed dunk.
"Squeak!" The ball went in, and the whistle blew. Jason Thompson also picked up a foul.
Kostić immediately came over to high-five Kayce in celebration. This kind of pass could currently only be made by Kayce on the team. The play was executed with effortless grace.
"A through-the-legs bounce pass assist! That was too beautiful! That pass was too beautiful!" Ke Xiaofan excitedly kept repeating the same phrase.
This offensive play also took Jason Thompson out of the game, as he was replaced by Spencer Hawes after committing two fouls.
After Kostić made the free throw, Coach Brooks also substituted Ibaka, letting him rest.
Seeing that the opponent had brought in the 216cm Hawes, Kayce immediately signaled a post-up offensive play to his teammates while retreating on defense.
The Sacramento Kings' substitution did have an effect. Hawes, using his height advantage, successfully scored 2 points in the paint, but the nightmare officially began.
The post-up offensive strategy was currently one of the Thunder's trump cards. The offensive space on the court was extremely wide open, and if they were shooting well, they could destroy the opponent's defense.
Coincidentally, after Kayce entered the game, Durant and Russell also entered 'brave' mode. For the next 3 minutes, Hawes was frequently targeted.
Kayce's mid-range shot after a screen, Durant's fadeaway jumper after a screen, Russell driving in after a screen to draw fouls, and Jeff Green's corner three-pointer after a drive-and-kick.
With continuous fast-paced offensive and defensive transitions, the Sacramento Kings repeatedly missed shots. The Thunder went on a 9-0 run, and the score quickly became 31-22, with the Thunder leading by 9 points.
With 2 minutes and 36 seconds left in the first quarter, Sacramento Kings Head Coach Paul Westphal called a timeout. He wanted to make substitutions and set up a defensive strategy.
But unfortunately, even after the timeout, there was no effect. On the Thunder's side, Ibaka and Jeff Green successfully defended the paint, while the Sacramento Kings' perimeter shots continued to miss.
The substitutes Omri Kaspi and Sergio Rodriguez were not defensive stalwarts either. They were carved up by Kayce, Russell, and Durant, who didn't even bother with screens and just drove past them directly!
In the final moments, there was another 6-0 run. The Thunder were already leading by 15 points in the first quarter, with 18 seconds remaining for the Thunder's last possession.
After a series of handoffs, Durant set a screen for Kayce, switching Kaspi onto Kayce, and also signaled his teammates to clear space for Kayce.
With 10 seconds left, Kayce began to dribble the ball between his legs rhythmically. The pace was not fast, but the rhythm was full of confidence. Kaspi saw Kayce suddenly accelerate with the ball in his left hand and quickly stepped forward to impede him, but he over-committed.
Kayce quickly pulled back, then executed a flashy, large-scale spin move with the ball in his right hand, directly breaking through Kaspi's defense.
While moving, he performed a fake pass and then went up for a shot, successfully deceiving Hawes, who was left standing still, and finished with a delicate layup.
"Swish!" The ball went in as the light came on.
"Woah! Ah!!! Ah!!!"
The audience at the Ford Center was completely ignited. With Kayce's shot, the Thunder ended the first quarter with a 39-22 lead, which practically meant the game was over.
His teammates excitedly patted Kayce, fully releasing their emotions.
Although Kayce also had a slight smile, he couldn't help but inwardly complain:
"It's over in one quarter? How am I supposed to grind badge experience for the rest of the game? These guys really hit hard against weak teams."