Kayce had already contributed a series of spectacular plays in this game, including a dunk over a player, a crossover, and a pinpoint pass, which sent the Chinese audience across the Pacific into a frenzy.
"He's too strong! I'm going to become a Thunder fan. Their style of play is completely different from other teams. Kayce is so handsome!"
"I was wrong. Before, I thought Kayce was just a bit stronger than Sun Yue, but now I think he's a shooting version of James!"
"Did you notice the chemistry between Durant and Kayce? These two easily broke down the Portland Trail Blazers' players one-on-one. As long as their shot is falling, scoring is too easy!"
"Russell's style of play is explosive too. Blake gave him a step, and he still blew right past him! The Thunder's games are so exciting to watch!"
Kayce is too handsome! Brothers, I want to buy a Thunder jersey, that training uniform they wear when they enter. Where can I find a similar one?"
Sina Sports saw an increasing number of viewers, and soon, the netizens and fans noticed the live stream kept freezing.
"What kind of trash website is this? The game froze more than 10 times. Can this website even be used in the future?"
"The person upstairs should be content. It's good enough that we can watch it. For the Detroit Pistons' game last time, I searched for a bunch of resources, and not a single one worked."
"I strongly recommend that CCTV broadcast more Thunder games! I never want to watch games on Sina again."
"CCTV will broadcast the next game, the one against the Los Angeles Lakers. I've been looking forward to it for a long time."
"If the Thunder beat the Los Angeles Lakers, that would be really interesting."
"With Kobe on the Los Angeles Lakers, how can the Thunder win? Beating a weak team is easy!"
"Hehe, your Kobe can only win championships by riding on others' coattails. What are you so proud of?"
"Does James have a championship? If he has nothing, then shut up. He plays relying on his body; his moves are too ugly, and yet people still like that."
While the Sina live stream was lagging terribly, Kobe and James Fans on Hupu Forum once again started a new round of battles!
Coach Brooks was actually very conservative with his rotations during the regular season. The fourth quarter still started with the same lineup, and Kostić was already looking a bit tired.
The Portland Trail Blazers brought in Andre Miller and Travis Outlaw, both of whom were decent defenders. To catch up, they first needed to play defense.
Roy, with the ball, felt a headache looking at Kayce. He had a terrible game. After a screen, he passed directly to Aldridge cutting to the basket. Roy had completely lost confidence in his shot for this game.
Aldridge, after receiving the ball, was constantly harassed by Jeff Green and passed the ball back to Outlaw on the perimeter. The latter, after receiving the ball, took one dribble and pulled up for a shot. Durant contested his shot, but he still made it.
Playoffs-level teams wouldn't give up easily. The Portland Trail Blazers were not like the Kings, who would readily concede defeat.
Russell brought the ball across half-court and executed a handoff with Kayce. Jeff Green came up to set a screen and quickly popped out. Aldridge's defense was a step slow, and Kayce immediately delivered a behind-the-back bounce pass.
Jeff Green, upon receiving the ball, shot without hesitation, a jump shot from beyond the arc.
"Swish!" It went in cleanly.
Kayce knew that Aldridge on the Portland Trail Blazers side was starting to struggle with his movement, so he naturally wanted to exploit that point.
The Portland Trail Blazers' offense still went to the interior. Aldridge and Oden executed a high-low play. Oden, battling a tired Kostić, managed to score a difficult basket.
Kayce brought the ball across half-court and first did a handoff with Durant. The latter found Outlaw's defense very tight and signaled for Russell to come get the ball.
As soon as Russell got the ball, Jeff Green immediately came over to set a fake screen, which made Aldridge very uncomfortable because Russell had already accelerated in a straight line into the paint.
Oden hurried over to help defend. Russell faked a shot and then made a real pass, successfully feeding Kostić for an easy score.
The fourth quarter was a battle of wills for both sides. The Portland Trail Blazers attacked the paint, and if they couldn't score, they tried to get to the free-throw line, then came back and defended fiercely.
The Thunder exploited Aldridge's slow speed and the weakness of their interior rotation. Kayce, Durant, and Russell took turns attacking, Jeff Green poached from the outside, and Kostić scored easy baskets inside.
After more than 6 minutes of play, the score difference was still 15 points. On a Thunder offensive possession, Kayce once again signaled Jeff Green to set a high screen.
Seeing that Aldridge couldn't get up to defend, Kayce launched a surprise three-pointer from beyond the arc.
"Swish!" The three-pointer went in cleanly.
The home crowd was completely hyped, cheering and shouting loudly for their home team.
McMillan called a timeout. It seemed the Portland Trail Blazers were going to retreat, as there wasn't much time left in the game, and letting the starters expend more energy would be counterproductive.
Indeed, after the timeout, the Portland Trail Blazers' bench players came on. Coach Brooks immediately called another timeout and took off his starting lineup.
After being substituted, Kayce sat on the bench and started chugging water. He had expended a lot of energy in this game; Roy had defended him relentlessly in the fourth quarter.
Kayce's playing time increased significantly in this game, and he recorded a huge double-double with 23 points, 8 rebounds, 16 assists, and 2 turnovers.
The more Coach Brooks watched Kayce, the more he liked him. This was the basketball he had envisioned; last season's games were a nightmare!
Russell shot 7-for-13 in this game, 0-for-1 from three, and 9-for-10 from the free-throw line, playing efficiently to get 23 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 turnover. The later it got, the more energetic he played.
Durant shot 9-for-16, 1-for-3 from three, and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, getting 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 1 assist. After Kayce came on, he focused on finishing plays, even scoring 13 points in the third quarter alone, breaking down the opponent.
The game finally ended with a score of 105 to 95, with the Thunder defeating the Portland Trail Blazers at their home court.
The Ford Center was a sea of joy. Last season's 23-win bottom-feeder team had turned things around this season, defeating a Playoffs team. The fans were ecstatic.
After the game, players from both teams greeted each other. Roy simply hugged Kayce briefly and then turned to walk back to the players' tunnel. It was clear he was in a terrible mood tonight.
In the Thunder locker room, everyone was in high spirits. Winning felt great. With the hype music playing, Russell danced gracefully, and Kayce, shirtless on the side, almost burst out laughing.
What kind of terrible dance moves were those? No wonder fans asked him not to dance anymore...
Everyone calmed down when the team staff brought some media reporters into the locker room.
Kayce saw Zhang and a few others approaching and quickly put on his training uniform. It would be impolite to do an interview shirtless.
Zhang's entourage couldn't help but gasp when they saw Kayce's muscular upper body. It wasn't visible when he was wearing clothes; he was incredibly strong.
Zhang chuckled and said directly:
"You don't have to put on a shirt; we're not that particular. Today you got a splendid huge double-double. How many points would you give yourself this time?"
Kayce didn't hold back and spoke truthfully:
"I'd reluctantly give myself a 7. Actually, I could have played better in the second half, but Roy of the Portland Trail Blazers played very good defense, which resulted in me not having many opportunities in the second half."
Kayce was speaking from the heart. Roy's experience and strength were better than his. When defending him, he successfully limited him most of the time, so Kayce didn't attack much in the second half either.
Fortunately, Durant's shot was decent today. If he had entered "Brick Brothers" mode, this game would have been lost nine times out of ten, as the opponent's interior strength was superior.
Zhang was stunned again upon hearing this and couldn't help but think:
"You gave yourself a 7 for this huge double-double. So, to get an 8, you'd have to get a triple-double."
If Kayce knew Zhang's thoughts, he would definitely agree. Without a triple-double, it couldn't be called splendid!