Dwight Howard's three-pointer at the critical moment undoubtedly surprised everyone.
Everyone knows that even though he was once the league's super center, he has always performed poorly in terms of free throws and three-point shooting. It can even be said that he has been repeatedly used by the opposing team as one of the weaknesses in the attack.
In this case, Howard still dared to force the shot, simply putting the entire Timberwolves' victory or defeat on his shoulders.
Not to mention the heart of head coach Norman Thomas, even the core of the team Zhao Feiyang couldn't help but look shocked after discovering Howard's move.
"Fuck!"
However, the next second when everyone was nervous, the three-pointer thrown by Howard accidentally hit the basket.
Uh-huh.
When the basketball hit the net, all the fans at the scene made unbelievable noises.
"This guy Dwight actually made a three-pointer?"
"No, this is impossible... This guy has never made a few three-pointers in two seasons in Houston, how can he do it now..."
"Damn! This guy's got some shit luck!"
Rockets fans were in mourning.
The Rockets players were also in a daze.
Including James Harden, who was most familiar with Howard, was a little stupid. Clint Capela, who could have pounced to interfere with the defense, was even more confused.
Originally, he had already chased Howard not far away. If he pounced on him forcefully, even if he couldn't block the shot, there would be some interference.
But he didn't think Howard could score, so in order to save energy at the last moment and to prevent himself from fouling Howard when he blocked the ball, he chose not to interfere.
"Wang Defa?"
"Damn it! Why did he just make the shot?"
In the Timberwolves' team bench, head coach Norman was not too excited. He just breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
On the other hand, a group of substitute players were overjoyed. They cheered and cheered for Howard on the court.
Zhao Feiyang also did not expect that after showing short-term excitement, he had no time to celebrate at all, but immediately devoted himself to defense.
105 versus 105.
The two sides ended in a draw.
There are only 44 seconds left.
Whoever can score will be more likely to win the game.
"Defend quickly!"
"Dwight, don't stand there..."
At the critical moment, Zhao Feiyang shouted, and this sound really reminded Howard, who was standing there and planning to celebrate the three-pointer with his teammates.
Other players also responded quickly, and all Timberwolves players entered a full-court marking state.
The Rockets got the ball out quickly.
This time, Patrick Beverley no longer controlled the ball, but directly gave the ball to Harden. It's just that he didn't rush to get through halftime. Instead, he stood not far away and pushed forward with Harden, ready to respond at any time.
The ball passed half court, and Harden looked for an offensive opportunity at the top of the arc.
At such a critical moment, the Rockets' tactics are also very clear, which is to give Harden the final offensive opportunity.
Harden motioned for others to pull away while taking the ball and standing at the top of the arc to attack.
Zhao Feiyang followed up, and the two of them got into a tit-for-tat stance!
All the fans in the Toyota Center stood up, and everyone was looking forward to the next moment.
Harden kept dribbling with the ball. When he started dribbling under his crotch, the fans knew that he was going to attack!
Zhao Feiyang also understood his intention very well. When Harden dribbled the basketball, he immediately reached out to interfere and put pressure on Harden.
The two faced each other, and Harden suddenly moved away with a fake move. His dribbling rhythm is very good. Even if Zhao Feiyang was prepared, he was stunned by Harden's move.
However, this time Harden did not dribble directly into the penalty area, but shot in a two-zone selection.
When he jumped up and was about to throw the basketball, Zhao Feiyang jumped up from the side and rushed towards him.
The bodies of the two people came into contact in mid-air. Harden obviously did not expect that Zhao Feiyang's defense would be so timely. However, at this time, the arrow was on the string and had to be fired. Harden could only try his best to adjust his body center of gravity and throw the ball at the last moment.
Snapped.
Zhao Feiyang failed to block Harden, but his hand still touched Harden's basketball. Even if it only touched a little bit, it interfered with the trajectory of Harden's basketball.
The basketball fell early.
There was an uproar.
The players inside had heard the noise early, and players from both the Rockets and the Timberwolves rushed forward to seize the ball.
boom.
Clint touched the basketball first, but he couldn't hold it firmly in his hand, so he slapped the ball and sent it flying to the backboard.
The next person to catch the basketball was Howard. As soon as his hand took hold, Clint slapped the ball away from the side.
This slap was somewhat suspected of being a foul, but the referee did not whistle it.
The basketball flew out of their control and was about to go out of bounds. At the critical moment, Adrian swooped and saved the ball back inside the line.
Snapped.
Adrian made a sharp hook and gave the ball to Andrew Wiggins standing in the right corner.
"Walk!"
"Quick attack!"
Wiggins shouted after getting the ball, and then he ran with the ball and accelerated.
The Rockets focused all their attention on Zhao Feiyang and did not pay much attention to Wiggins. Therefore, when Wiggins took the ball and sprinted towards the half court, only one player caught up to defend.
"Oops!"
Harden was so impressed that he took the lead and chased after him with other Rockets players.
Seeing Wiggins successfully rushing to the Rockets' basket, just when he was about to end the battle with a layup, a figure suddenly rushed from behind him.
The person coming was none other than Beverly.
He seemed determined to commit the foul, so he rushed forward and suddenly pulled Wiggins out of mid-air.
Wiggins almost lost his balance due to this tug, but at the last moment, he still threw the ball excitedly.
boom.
The basketball hit the left corner of the backboard, spinning in a circle under the nervous eyes of countless fans. It seemed that it would fall smoothly in the next moment, but at the last second it fell out along the edge of the basket.
call out.
The referee's whistle also followed.
Beverley committed a defensive foul and Wiggins was sent to the free throw line.
"Oh! No!"
"Just a little bit..."
The Timberwolves' bench players all shook their heads and sighed.
Rockets fans breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank God! Fortunately, there was no score..."
"Thanks to Beverley for his hard work. If it weren't for him, this goal would definitely have been scored..."
With all the fans watching, Wiggins stood on the free throw line.
The referee threw the ball into his hands.
Bang bang.
Bang bang.
Wiggins dribbled a few times in succession, as if he was looking for a touch. After completing these actions, he stood still with the basketball high and took a shot.
boom.
The first free throw bounced out of the basket.
There were cheers.
The Timberwolves players are helpless!
"No!"
"It's over! We don't have time now..."
Wiggins, who failed to make a free throw, also looked frustrated.
