After driving into the paint, Chen Xi found an opening and quickly passed the ball to AD.
AD caught the ball and immediately leaped toward the basket.
He was fouled in the air by Claxton, then went to the free-throw line and made both shots.
The pace of the offense remained fluid for both teams, and the score continued to climb at a brisk pace.
For the Nets, the pull of their Big Three created plenty of offensive opportunities through their teamwork.
The Thunder, meanwhile, were content to stick to one approach and hammer the middle with pick-and-rolls.
Chen Xi's shooting threat and Davis's threat as a roller disrupted the Nets' defensive formation, with excellent results.
One thing was clear: Bane and Green, lurking on the wings, both got plenty of offensive chances midway through the Third Quarter.
That proved the threat posed by the two core players' pick-and-rolls in the middle had genuinely affected the Nets' rotations, both inside and out, tearing their defense apart.
The only downside was that the two weren't ideal when it came to finishing.
Bane had made two of his four three-pointers, while Green had made one of three.
They had combined for just three made threes in response. That wasn't terrible, but it still left something to be desired.
Under the circumstances, the gap between the teams inevitably began to shrink.
With two and a half minutes left in the Third Quarter,
George caught Harden's pass on the perimeter and knocked down another three for the Nets, putting them ahead and giving them the lead once more.
Donovan promptly called a timeout.
During the break, he took out Alexander and Green, who had been shooting poorly, and made the bold decision to bring in young Grimes. He also put Batum on the floor.