The Clippers still used their usual starting lineup. Although Old Dunleavy was dissatisfied with the game attitude of some veterans, the other players' abilities were indeed lacking, so he still had to use those people.
The backcourt remained Baron Davis and Rasual Butler, the frontcourt was Al Thornton and Marcus Camby, and the center was Chris Kaman.
The Thunder also used their old lineup, with Russell and Kayce partnering in the backcourt, Durant and Jeff Green in the frontcourt, and Kostić at center.
Young guys recover quickly. After a night's rest, they had basically all recovered. Kostić had been on the bench for the second half of the game against the San Antonio Spurs, so he had plenty of energy.
After Kayce dribbled past half-court, Rasual Butler immediately came up to defend him. In their previous encounter, he had thoroughly experienced Kayce's strength, so his defense was naturally extra focused.
While protecting the ball, Kayce made an offensive gesture. Russell immediately came over for a handoff. After passing the ball, Kayce also started his off-ball movement.
At this point, Jeff Green had also moved up to participate in the transition play. After running two figure-eights, Kostić came up for a screen. Chris Kaman quickly followed out.
After the screen, Kayce noticed that Durant had already shaken off his defender off-ball and sent a high lob pass directly while on the move.
The ball and player arrived simultaneously. Durant, with an alley-oop, slammed it down with one hand!
"Clang!" A fluid offense.
"Oh!!! Ah!!!"
Seeing such an exciting first possession from the home team, the live audience at the Ford Center immediately let out enthusiastic cheers.
Durant, who had just dunked, immediately gave Kayce a thumbs-up. That pass was indeed comfortable.
"Exquisite teamwork, absolutely brilliant! The young guys are getting better and better!"
Home commentator Twin immediately praised the offensive cooperation loudly.
This was the game plan coaching staff had arranged for Durant before the game: reduce meaningless isolation plays and ball-handling, and instead use more screens to create reasonable offensive opportunities.
Rookie Russell's passing and organizing abilities were slightly weaker, so last season, the team basically relied on both of them to take turns shooting.
But Coach Brooks no longer had to worry this season. With Kayce's arrival, he suddenly had a plethora of tactics at his disposal.
The Clippers still started by attacking the interior. After several consecutive passes, Baron Davis directly passed the ball to Chris Kaman in the low post.
The latter received the ball, backed down twice with a clang, and then executed a turnaround hook shot.
"Swish!" A low-post two-pointer went in.
Kayce saw this situation and knew that every team facing the Thunder now would definitely start by attacking the paint. The defense at the 4 and 5 positions indeed had some problems, but due to limited ability, coaching staff didn't have many solutions.
On the offensive possession, after Russell dribbled past half-court, Kostić immediately came over for a screen. Russell accelerated directly with a right-hand dribble, instantly blowing past Chris Kaman, who was playing up on defense.
Marcus Camby was just about to go for a double-team, but Russell had already taken off, executing a one-handed tomahawk dunk!
"Clang!" A powerful dunk after a drive.
Russell's breakthrough speed was indeed astonishingly fast. He took off in just a few steps, completely defying logic.
"Russell with a spectacular one-handed dunk! Too fast! Marcus Camby's help defense hadn't even arrived, and he'd already slammed it home!"
Commentator Twin began to sing praises for Russell.
"Good shot, Russell! Put more effort into defense!"
While Russell was still hyped, Kayce quickly gave him a pep talk on the way back, as it was unrealistic to expect Kostić to suddenly become an interior defensive anchor. They still had to find solutions on the perimeter.
Hearing Kayce's shout, Russell immediately patted his chest, signaling that he was fine.
The Clippers' perimeter players began to feel the defensive pressure. Baron Davis was relentlessly hounded by Russell, and in desperation, he immediately passed the ball to Al Thornton for a transition.
Seeing Marcus Camby calling for the ball in the low post, he immediately passed it over. The latter received the ball and, using his height and experience, executed a low-post back-down, turning around for a successful layup.
Jeff Green still couldn't stop the big man's low-post offense; his one-on-one defense was indeed ineffective.
After Kayce dribbled past half-court, he immediately executed another handoff with Russell. After the off-ball Durant came off a screen, Kayce threw a lead pass.
Durant received the ball on the move and immediately accelerated. After crossing the free-throw line, he suddenly executed a behind-the-back dribble, shaking off Al Thornton's entanglement, and pulled up for a jump shot.
"Swish!" A mid-range shot went in easily.
Kayce gave Durant a thumbs-up—a smart offensive choice, changing rhythm to shake off the defense, and a pull-up jump shot, saving time and effort!
This offense took only 10 seconds to score. This was the Thunder's offensive rhythm; Kayce wanted to push the pace.
On defense, Rasual Butler wanted to do a handoff to transition the ball, but Kayce's defensive pressure was too strong, and this handoff didn't work out.
Fortunately, Al Thornton successfully received the ball, and Baron Davis quickly signaled to pass the ball inside. Chris Kaman's receiving position was poor this time. Seeing that the shot clock was running out, he directly took a mid-range shot.
"Bonk!" It clanked off the rim.
Jeff Green secured the rebound and immediately passed it to Kayce. By then, the Thunder's fast break was already in full swing.
The Clippers also desperately hustled back on defense, but unfortunately, their interior players were slow, and their defense wasn't set up correctly.
After Kayce crossed half-court, he saw Marcus Camby defending him. He executed a cross-body dribble with his left hand, then accelerated and drove with his right hand. Marcus Camby quickly retreated a large step.
However, Kayce suddenly pulled the ball back between his legs and then pulled up for a mid-range jump shot.
"Swish!" The two-pointer hit steadily. This offense was still very quick, completed in just 8 seconds.
Marcus Camby looked at the situation with a bit of helplessness; his movement truly couldn't keep up. But he didn't want to admit defeat verbally:
"Kayce, that wasn't a good shot selection. You should slow down, organize the offense, and find an open shot."
"But I made the shot, buddy. Successfully putting the ball in the basket, that's my mission!"
Kayce responded with a smile. He didn't want the opposing old guys to grind out possessions; the fast break had to be quick.
Over the next three minutes, the Clippers found that the Thunder played faster and faster, making consecutive shots, while their own offense became stagnant.
Baron Davis was thoroughly entangled by Russell, unable to organize the offense, and could only rely on the two big men to force their way in.
On the offensive possession, Durant received another pass from Kayce and executed a cross-body dribble directly while on the move.
The huge range of motion instantly shook off Marcus Camby's defense. After driving into the restricted area, he switched hands for a layup, easily putting the ball in.
With that basket, the Thunder led 16-10 by 6 points. There were still 6 minutes and 51 seconds left in the first quarter. Old Dunleavy couldn't stand it anymore and called a timeout directly.
"Kevin, maintain this offensive rhythm, very good! Guys, on defense, we need to continue to pressure their perimeter. No need for interior help defense, just secure the rebounds!"
Coach Brooks was very satisfied with the team's performance, especially Durant, who had already scored 8 points, shooting 3 for 3 from the field and 2 for 2 from the free-throw line, playing exceptionally efficiently.
Durant had completely given up on isolation plays with the ball; all his scoring came from receiving the ball after screens and attacking. This method completely unleashed his finishing ability.
After the timeout, Old Dunleavy brought in Craig Smith, a forward, replacing Rasual Butler. With no one else to substitute in the paint, he could only bring in a forward to strengthen perimeter defense.
At the same time, Baron Davis also began to increase his aggressiveness. Since passing and organizing were difficult, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
At this point, the Clippers' offensive pace also began to quicken. Kayce saw this situation and was delighted. "They're just playing wildly! This pace is the Thunder's favorite."
After a screen, Baron Davis immediately took a step-back three-pointer, hitting it over Russell's defense. The Thunder quickly inbounded the ball, and Kayce swiftly dribbled past half-court. Russell immediately received the ball via handoff.
No screen needed. After receiving the ball, he immediately executed a quick-step drive, accelerating directly in a straight line, shaking off his defender. Marcus Camby immediately came over for help defense. Russell noticed this and directly passed to Jeff Green in the corner.
The Clippers' defensive rotation was in place, but after two consecutive quick passes, Kayce received the ball wide open beyond the three-point line and immediately pulled up for a jump shot.
"Swish!" The open three-pointer went in steadily.
"Oh, ah!!! Ha, ah!!!"
The live audience immediately cheered. Everyone loved to see this kind of response shot: you make a three-pointer, and I respond with a three-pointer. Tough!
This offense also took only 12 seconds. Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman vaguely felt a sense of unease. They didn't like this offensive pace and quickly signaled to Baron Davis to slow down.
But unfortunately, Baron Davis felt his shot was hot and kept shooting. Over the next 3 minutes, both sides engaged in an offensive shootout, but the score difference remained 6 points.
At this point, Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman were both a bit displeased. They weren't touching the ball and were just running back and forth. Look at Kostić on the other side; he was feasting on those easy baskets!
On the offensive possession, after Kayce received a handoff from Russell, he accelerated and drove with his left hand. Craig Smith was desperately pushing against him on his side.
But while in motion, Kayce suddenly executed a behind-the-back dribble with his left hand, shaking off the defense, and then pulled up for a jump shot.
"Swish!" The mid-range shot went in easily.
Durant watched from the side, amused. After the basket, he immediately came over to high-five Kayce. Kayce had stolen his move with that shot.
Coach Brooks also called a timeout. He had to substitute Kostić to give the big man a breather.
"Kayce, that move you just used was pretty good. Of course, your range of motion was still a bit small!"
Durant said, teasing Kayce while drinking water.
"Our body types are different, but trust me, Kevin, I've mastered all your moves!"
Kayce wiped his sweat and responded with a smile.
"Haha, I really shouldn't have played so many one-on-ones with you. You learn too fast!"
Durant laughed when he heard Kayce's words. There was no helping it; Kayce was the most familiar with his playing style on the team. The two played several games every day, with an even record so far.
After the timeout, Ibaka came in, replacing Kostić. The Clippers also took out Baron Davis and brought in Sebastian Telfair. Old Dunleavy hoped the pace could slow down.
But unfortunately, after Sebastian Telfair came in, he couldn't defend Russell on offense and was continuously blown by.
Russell even used fancy moves like the scissor-dribble, blowing past his defender in one step, directly charging into the opponent's restricted area. Seeing the defense collapse, he immediately threw a grenade pass to Kayce on the perimeter.
Kayce saw that Russell's drive was beautiful, and he took a jump shot directly over the defense.
"Swish!" The three-pointer went in. Good luck, it might even make the top 10 plays of the day.
Seeing Kayce score, Russell was also happy. He just drove in and kicked it out. Assists were that easy.
For the rest of the time, the Thunder became increasingly efficient, and coupled with the Clippers' chaotic play, the score difference quickly widened.
By the end of the first quarter, the Thunder led 34-22, a 12-point lead. Durant had also awakened, scoring 16 points in a single quarter with a perfect shooting percentage.
During the break between quarters, Kayce drank water continuously while complaining to himself:
"The Clippers are still soft after all. Clocking out after one quarter, it's going to be hard to pad my stats this game..."