Artest's five fouls led to a chain reaction, forcing Kobe to play at the small forward position.
Head Coach Phil Jackson scanned the bench; Vujacic was too inconsistent, Jordan Farmar was too short. In desperation, he waved his hand, deciding, "Shannon Brown, you're up."
It was still a lineup of one big and four smalls. Phil Jackson stepped forward to instruct Shannon Brown.
"Brown, your task on the court is to strictly guard Kayce. Pay attention to his off-ball movement, and make sure to communicate with your teammates on defense once you're in."
Shannon Brown had a premonition that he wouldn't be able to guard Kayce, but at this moment, he could only nod, indicating he was fine.
The small conflict between Durant and Artest brought the Thunder a benefit: everyone could catch their breath. The pace of the third quarter was very fast, and all the Thunder players had expended a lot of energy.
"Kostić, take a rest. Ibaka, focus on rebounds when you're on the court. Maintain this offensive rhythm; we're only a little over a quarter away from victory. Hang in there, guys!"
Coach Brooks seized the opportunity to motivate his players. Kayce's physical condition was still very good, as he had spent most of the third quarter in the corner. Russell was a stamina monster, and only Durant started to breathe heavily.
When both teams returned to the court, Kobe used Gasol's screen to easily sink a long two-pointer from the right elbow of the free-throw line, helping the Lakers stabilize the situation.
When it was the Thunder's offense, Kayce noticed that Shannon Brown was guarding him, and his eyes lit up. As soon as they crossed half-court, he immediately signaled an offensive play to his teammates.
When Russell had the ball at the left 45-degree angle of the three-point line, Durant was at the top of the arc, and Jeff Green moved up to the right 45-degree angle of the three-point line. Kayce cut horizontally along the baseline from the right corner, executed a cross-screen with Ibaka under the basket, and then called for the ball in the low post.
Kayce's post-up might not have been aggressive enough for Kobe, but against Shannon Brown, with an advantage in height and weight, he easily established position near the baseline paint, receiving the pass from Russell.
After catching the ball, he took a step towards the high post, pulled the ball back with his right hand, quickly gathered it, and released a fadeaway.
"Swish" The two-pointer easily went in.
After scoring, Kayce didn't even look at Shannon Brown. He smiled and shrugged at Kobe, indicating that he was also very good at the fadeaway.
This action ignited the tempers of both Shannon Brown and Kobe.
The 13-point difference caused the Lakers to increase their outside shooting, but two opportunities arose, and Odom's shots clanked off the rim. As a result, the Thunder launched another fast break, forcing an early foul and sending Russell to the free-throw line.
Head Coach Phil Jackson watched helplessly from the sidelines. Fisher had made 2 of 3 three-pointers in the third quarter, truly contributing his firepower on offense, but his footwork on defense simply couldn't keep up.
By the end of the third quarter, it was 91 to 76, with the Thunder already leading by 15 points.
During the break, Kobe sat on the bench, somewhat depressed. The Lakers' offense could still score, but their defense was on the verge of collapsing. The Thunder were shooting too accurately, always making their response shots.
Shannon Brown cautiously glanced at Kobe, then silently lowered his head to wipe away sweat. After he entered the game, Kayce became active again, going to the free-throw line multiple times in the final minutes. He truly couldn't guard him.
Coach Brooks remained very cautious in the fourth quarter, only taking out the fatigued Durant and replacing him with Thabo Sefolosha. All other starters remained on the court.
The Lakers also put all their starters in for a final push of a few minutes, to give the home fans a proper showing.
In the fourth quarter, during the Thunder's offense, Kayce started to target Artest, and finally received a satisfactory reward.
After receiving the ball at the left 45-degree angle of the three-point line, facing Artest who had switched onto him, he used a left-hand cross-step dribble to pull back, then a right-hand between-the-legs crossover, and accelerated past Artest, leaning on him.
Changing pace while driving, he patted the ball once with his left hand, suddenly executed a between-the-legs crossover, quickly faked a pull-back with his right hand, then twisted his body, quickly gathered the ball, and faked a shot.
Artest was directly faked into the air. Kayce quickly leaned into him with his body, casually tossed the ball, and shouted loudly:
"And one!"
"Squeak!"
Although he shot with too much force, almost hitting the shot clock in embarrassment, the referee still called a shooting foul, and Artest fouled out with 6 fouls.
Durant was overjoyed on the sidelines, waving at Artest and wildly shaking his towel, muttering:
"See you on Twitter tonight, you barking puppy!"
Fortunately, the Staples Center was filled with boos, and Artest didn't hear Durant's shouts, otherwise, the two would have been at each other again.
Kayce stood casually at the free-throw line, adjusted his breathing, and calmly made both free throws.
With a 17-point difference, the two-point shots were no longer enough, especially since the Thunder always managed to make their response shots. After Durant came on and increased his score to 30+, with 4 minutes and 22 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Phil Jackson called a timeout, signaling a retreat.
Subsequently, Coach Brooks also substituted all his starters, and the game entered garbage time. When the clock ran out, it was 115 to 100, with the Thunder defeating the Los Angeles Lakers on the road, reclaiming the top spot in the Western Conference.
After the game, Kobe looked serious. After a brief hug and handshake with the Thunder players, he walked directly to the player tunnel. It was clear that he was very dissatisfied with the outcome of the game.
14 of 26 from the field, 12 of 14 from the free-throw line, 40 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists. Although he also had 3 turnovers, Kobe still played exceptionally well in this game.
After the game, in the Thunder's locker room, everyone was joyful. They finally got their revenge. Last time, they were dominated by the Lakers' twin towers, but this time, they played the twin towers off the court.
After winning the game, Coach Brooks was secretly pleased, but it wasn't time to relax yet, as there was still a back-to-back game to play.
"Alright, boys, excellent performance! I said we are already a strong team. Now is not the time to relax. Stay in good form, get a good rest tonight, and we will return to Oklahoma City with a two-game road winning streak!"
"Oh yeah! Ah!"
Kayce also happily joined in the shouting with everyone. Winning against the defending champions felt truly great!
Kayce wanted to rest early tonight. Although he had B+ level functional drinks to help him recover his stamina, going to bed and waking up early would help him maintain his feel for the game. He also wanted to see the experience gained from tonight's game badges.
Although the hotel's big bed wasn't as comfortable as the one in Oklahoma City, Kayce quickly washed up, lay on the bed, and soon drifted off to sleep. Tonight's game had taken quite a toll on him.
In the Dream Training Space, after Kayce called out the control panel, he saw two new notifications on the Achievement Room, and couldn't help but exclaim:
"The Lakers experience pack truly lives up to its reputation!"
After entering the Achievement Room, he first briefly checked the experience status of each achievement badge, then looked at the two newly produced badges of the same color, lightly touching them to view their attributes:
Achievement Badge [Fadeaway King]: 4/50
Enhances the ability to perform post fadeaway.
Achievement Badge [Perpetual Motion Defender]: 6/50
Reduces stamina loss when defending intensely.
Seeing the attributes of the two new badges, Kayce immediately grinned. One for offense, one for defense, simple and effective.
"Haha, if only I could keep playing against the Los Angeles Lakers. If I played 82 games against the Los Angeles Lakers, I'd take off in one season!"
The Phoenix Suns achieved a record of 46 wins and 36 losses last season, unfortunately finishing 9th in the Western Conference and missing the Playoffs. O'Neal's two years with the Phoenix Suns did not lead to a fundamental improvement for the team.
With O'Neal's departure, the Phoenix Suns returned to their previous style of play this season. The 35-year-old Steve Nash still maintained good competitive form. Before this game, the Phoenix Suns had an 18-10 record, ranking sixth in the Western Conference.
Head Coach Alvin Gentry was a bit worried before the game. They had just lost by a large margin to the Cavaliers in their last game, and now they were facing the Thunder, who had even better athletic talent. Thinking about the Thunder's backcourt, Coach Gentry became even more frustrated.
"I hope the opponent's back-to-back game means their touch isn't good. This game won't be easy..."
After getting off the plane, the Thunder players, except for Jeff Green and Kevin Durant who hadn't fully recovered, were all full of energy. This was the last game, and after it, they could go home for Christmas. Everyone was in high spirits.
After lunch, the afternoon training session still focused on recovery. Coach Brooks didn't give many tactical instructions because he felt that the Thunder were also very good at playing fast-paced games, so they could just play normally.
"Shit! Why aren't their energy levels affected? We clearly played the same game!"
Kevin Durant watched Kayce and Russell intensely playing one-on-one nearby, and asked with a frustrated look.
"Kevin, everyone's talent is different. Kayce and Russell are stamina monsters. Back-to-back games are nothing to them."
Jeff Green stretched his sore muscles and answered Kevin Durant's question with an envious tone.
What you said makes so much sense. Kevin Durant was speechless. Although he had scored 30+ in several consecutive games recently, he noticed that many media outlets, in addition to praising him, were also singing praises for Kayce.
Especially ESPN, calling Kayce a historic-level rookie, Jordan's successor, and the face of the league for the next decade, practically deifying him. Kevin Durant was green with envy, as he was clearly the core of the Thunder.
"I need to train harder on my stamina during the offseason, and I need to tell Coleman to speed up with the media company. No one is going to take my position as the boss!"
"Shit! I need to improve my ball-handling too. It feels like Kayce's driving ability has improved again."
Kevin Durant watched Kayce easily shake off Russell and make a smooth layup. After secretly feeling envious, he arranged a bunch of training items for himself. Being the boss of the Thunder was not easy at all.
The Footprint Center was packed tonight. Leaving aside their record, in terms of the watchability of their play, the Phoenix Suns were definitely among the best. Their dazzling fast breaks and explosive dunks deeply attracted Phoenix local fans to buy tickets and watch the game.
Before the game, in the Thunder's locker room, Coach Brooks simply instructed his players:
"Guys, the pace of this game might be very fast, but what we need to pay attention to is reducing our turnovers, and at the same time, controlling long rebounds. Russell, pay attention to Nash's pick-and-roll offense."
"Kayce, control our offensive rhythm. Come on, boys, win this game and end our Christmas schedule perfectly!"
"Yeah! One, two, three, family!"
The Phoenix Suns' home atmosphere was extremely lively. When the live DJ was loudly introducing the visiting team, the audience gave huge boos to the Thunder's trio.
After the players from both sides greeted each other, Kostić and Stoudemire went to the center circle to prepare for the jump ball.
"The game begins! Stoudemire won the tip-off for the Phoenix Suns. Nash immediately ran a high pick-and-roll with Channing Frye. Frye shot directly from beyond the three-point line and scored! The Phoenix Suns' first possession was too fast."
The Suns commentator finished describing the Phoenix Suns' offense in one breath and couldn't help but exclaim.
Kostić hadn't even come up to defend the pick-and-roll yet, and the opponent had already shot. Nash's bounce pass was perfectly placed, and Channing Frye's rhythm from catching the ball to shooting was very fluid.
The Thunder's first possession was still Russell's high pick-and-roll tactic. If Nash's offense was S-level, then his defense was only B+. Moreover, Nash was already 35 years old, and Russell loved to play against veterans.
Kostić came up for the pick-and-roll, and his teammates opened up offensive space for Russell. After the pick-and-roll, Russell easily shook off Nash's defense, dribbled with his left hand for two big steps, and then pulled up for a jump shot from the left elbow area of the free-throw line.
"Swish!" The two-pointer went in easily.
The Phoenix Suns quickly inbounded the ball. Nash received it and quickly dribbled past half-court. All of the Phoenix Suns players spread out on the perimeter, and Stoudemire set a high pick-and-roll.
Nash drove to the left side, leaned on Russell with his body, and while moving, flicked his left wrist, making a subtle bounce pass to Stoudemire, who was cutting to the basket.
The latter received the ball, dribbled one step with his right hand, turned smoothly, shook off Jeff Green who was defending him, and slammed the ball with his left arm!
"Clang!" Stoudemire's signature turnaround dunk under the basket.
"Too easy!"
After the dunk, Stoudemire, while retreating to defense, loudly provoked the Thunder players.
"Ah!!!"
The Footprint Center immediately erupted in a huge cheer. Fast and flashy offense, Phoenix fans never tired of watching it!
The Thunder also quickly inbounded the ball. After Russell dribbled past half-court, a simple Spanish pick-and-roll, Kostić's back screen, allowed Kayce to easily pop out and receive the ball.
Jason Richardson was half a beat slow on the chase-down defense. After Kayce's convincing pump fake, the opponent was directly sent flying. Shaking off the defense, Kayce held the ball in his left hand and strode towards the opponent's restricted area.
Ignoring Channing Frye's block under the basket, he jumped fully with both feet, tensed his body, pulled back his left arm, and delivered a powerful one-handed slam dunk!
"Clang!" The ball was forcefully slammed into the hoop.
Channing Frye was knocked away by Kayce after the mid-air collision. Fortunately, Kostić, who was behind him, caught him.
"Too easy!"
After the dunk, Kayce, facing the boos from the entire arena, shouted provocatively at the Phoenix Suns players with a relaxed expression, while secretly thinking:
"Showing off, I'm very familiar with this!"