Kobe caught Harden's hesitation for half a second, stepped forward, turned around and took off, kicked out his right foot slightly, and shot a fadeaway jumper.
"Uh-huh!"
The shot was a solid hit again.
7:11.
"This is singles, young man."
Kobe looked at Harden and said loudly after scoring.
Harden smiled helplessly, his smile full of bitterness.
He knew that Kobe's post-up was his signature move, but only after experiencing it personally did he realize that Kobe's post-up was far more delicate and varied than he imagined.
In the two seasons with the Thunder, most of the time he had his own teammate, Swiss Army Knife Sefolosha, to defend Kobe. Therefore, this duel, strictly speaking, is the first PK between him and Kobe.
Seeing that Kobe's hand was hot after the start, McHale called a timeout in order to cool down Mamba's hand.
In the live broadcast room, Yang Yi was full of praise for Kobe's opening four-hit game.
"It can be seen that Kobe is serious today. After the start of the game, Kobe faced Harden. On the offensive end, it can be said that he got everything he asked for. On the defensive end, he also completed a steal from Harden in single defense, which made Harden lose his temper."
"Harden came to the Rockets this season, and it can be said that he has made rapid progress, his average data per game has increased significantly, and the team's record is also excellent.
Fans are talking hotly, saying that Harden is already the third shooting guard in the league, and ah, he is chasing the two in front. "
"We played against the Heat a few days ago. Although the Rockets lost, Harden did not lose, and he played back and forth against Wade.
But this time facing Kobe, the serious Kobe still made people feel that he is still old and hot, and Harden is still practicing. "
On the bench, McHale quickly made adjustments:
"Ariza, next you are responsible for keeping an eye on Kobe and don't let him catch the ball easily."
"Don't panic, Kobe's shooting percentage can't always be this high. He is old and has firm belief in defense.
James (Harden), you defended very well and continued to exert our energy on the offensive end. Let's go, let's go! "
After the timeout, the Rockets attack.
Jeremy Lin held the ball at the top of the arc to observe the movement of his teammates. Parsons, who was standing in the bottom corner, quickly moved to 45 degrees outside the three-point line and set an off-ball screen for Harden. Harden used the screen to quickly cut inside.
Kobe and Ci Shiping focused on Harden and moved inside together. The two defensive players did not switch positions in time, and Parsons was missed.
All this was seen by Jeremy Lin. He watched Harden cutting in and passed a cross pass to the unmarked Parsons.
Parsons stayed in place after the screen, received the basketball steadily, and hit a three-pointer with his hand.
"Uh-huh!"
The basketball was a solid hit again.
10:11.
"Parsons is really good. He has improved rapidly this season. As a second-round pick, he has already reached the top ten level in his class."
Yang Yi took advantage of every opportunity.
"Indeed, these two three-pointers are really crucial. Kobe was in such good shape at the beginning, scoring 9 points on 4-for-4 shooting. Looking back, he was 1 point ahead of the Rockets."
Yu Jia responded.
Ci Shiping raised his hand to indicate that the ball was his problem.
Gasol patted his old comrade and said:
"The young forward on the opposite side is quite accurate. You don't need to defend too deeply. We have Warcraft and me on the inside."
Artest nodded and ran forward.
When the Lakers attacked, Ariza was very tight, waving his long arms around, and his feet were also fast. Kobe got rid of it twice and still failed to catch the ball.
Upon seeing this, Nash launched Plan B.
Ask Warcraft to put up a screen, and Nash uses the pick-and-roll to face Asik. Asik's retreat position to prevent the pick-and-roll this time is too high.
Nash threw the ball high while walking, and the monster jumped up high, grabbed the basketball in the air, and smashed the ball into the basket with one hand.
"Boom!"
Air connection, World of Warcraft comes out of the cage!
10:13.
The goal once again ignited the Staples Center, and the fans stood up and applauded.
This is what they are looking forward to this summer, and that's right. The Lakers don't need you to post up. You can just do the pick-and-roll and wait for the alley-oop.
Looking back, Jeremy Lin faced Nash with the ball and used his excellent explosive power to pass Nash in one step and break through to the inside.
Facing the basket guarded by Warcraft, Jeremy Lin still didn't have the courage to challenge, so he chose a throw to finish.
But he still underestimated Warcraft's bullet speed and wingspan, and his throw was actually blocked by Warcraft.
Although Warcraft had back surgery in the summer, his jumping was not affected much.
You know, this guy's maximum reach in his peak period was an astonishing 3.82, which was only 13 centimeters away from the top edge of the backboard, which was 3.95!
Ci Shiping controlled the ball and allowed Nash to organize the offense.
Facing the Rockets' quick retreat, the Lakers' old arms and legs really didn't have the hardware capital to counterattack quickly.
Nash started the pick-and-roll again. This time, in order to prevent the Lakers' alley-oop connection, Asik's defensive position was further back, giving Nash more space for mid-range shots.
Nash saw this and took a decisive shot, hitting steadily from mid-range.
10:15.
Jeremy Lin was a little helpless. He couldn't keep up with Nash. The reason was that the quality of the cover provided by Warcraft was too high.
With his generous body, he firmly blocked Shuhao who wanted to squeeze through, creating an open mid-range opportunity for Nash for at least one second.
In the next few offenses, the Rockets tried more mid- and long-range shots.
There was no other reason. The defense built by Warcraft and Gasol was too terrifying. Neither Harden nor Jeremy Lin could score the ball when they broke through.
However, except for Parsons, several other starters collectively failed to hit the mark.
On the defensive end, Ariza did a good job defending Kobe, who had to put in a lot of physical effort to catch the ball.
But the Lakers' inside advantage gradually emerged, and Nash's reasonable control of the ball helped Warcraft continue to win.
Gasol faced the immature Parsons, and it was effective to hit high.
The disadvantage inside was so great that the Rockets players could only foul. After 7 minutes in the first quarter, Asik and Parsons received two fouls each and were forced to leave the game.
Motiejunas and Butler went into battle, but the effect was also poor. There was no way, the Lakers' black and white inside were too high.
Seeing the Rockets' insiders being ravaged in every possible way, Xu Xin frowned in the stands, and some bad memories came to his mind.
It seems like we are back to the Lake Fire Game 7 in 2009, when the 1.98 Haiye faced off against Gasol and Bynum.
With 3 minutes left in the first quarter, the Rockets trailed by 12 points at 16:28.
Fortunately, it was soon time for the normal rotation.
Howard and Gasol took a rest and were replaced by Jordan Hill and Antawn Jamison. The Rockets' internal defensive pressure dropped sharply.
Butler faced Jamison and broke through continuously with the ball, either scoring a layup or causing damage.
The defensive success rate also improved instantly, and Staples was best known for his quick counterattack.
With Butler scoring consecutive points, at the end of the first quarter, the score between the two sides reached 26:32, and the Rockets narrowed the point difference to 6 points.
