Hurting Each Other

This time, Holiday drove the ball up the court. Faced with the Thunder's rapid retreat on defense, he hesitated for a moment and decided against forcing a shot.

Instead, after looping around, he passed the ball back to Butler at the top of the key, letting him reorganize the offense.

Butler caught the ball at the top of the key, with Chen Xi defending him after a switch.

He dribbled twice in place, then took a step back and moved the ball over to Little Sabonis, who had curled out to the side.

Little Sabonis caught it and immediately passed it back to Butler, who was cutting inside.

A simple, obvious give-and-go.

But they were being a little too presumptuous.

Chen Xi was right between the two of them!!

Chen was averaging 2.1 steals per game this season, putting him near the top of the league's steals rankings!

That pass back was so obvious it was practically insulting.

Old Chen reacted in a flash. Turning sideways, he swatted the ball away, then sent it straight to Green, who crossed paths with him and charged toward the other end.

Jeff Green caught the ball and pushed forward at once. Once he reached the front court, he deliberately changed his angle and pace, misleading Redick as he chased him down, then gently lobbed the ball toward the basket.

Westbrook followed right behind him, leaping into the air to catch the ball and slam it down with force, finishing off the fast-break counterattack.

Two points!

Westbrook's roar as he landed seemed to announce that the Thunder Team's comeback was about to begin!

Redick went out of bounds along the baseline and inbounded the ball to Holiday.

Holiday brought the ball across half court again and went back to Butler.

Butler continued to run