The team was united, and O'Neal gave a rare speech on the plane.
"Brothers, tonight's game against the Knicks is Jeremy Lin's battle to clear his name against his old club.
I know everyone didn't sleep well last night. Several brothers said that the fighting next door was fierce and they were too noisy to sleep.
But this does not affect our fighting spirit and determination to win the game.
We must play the basketball that belongs to the Rockets, show our toughness, and win, and give it to Jeremy Lin and KG! Go Rockets! "
O'Neal Jr. said passionately.
Xu Xin nodded in agreement after hearing the previous words, sighing that O'Neal was worthy of being a veteran on the battlefield and had a way of boosting morale.
But what the hell is the last sentence about giving the victory to KG? He was injured by you, and the Knicks said he will not bear the blame.
If you really want to calculate it carefully, it is only because Gua needs to settle a debt with Garnett.
Xu Xin couldn't help but laugh when he thought of this. He couldn't hold himself any longer.
But O'Neal's brain circuit is obviously not aware of this level. He doesn't care about that, he just goes up and does it.
When the game started in the evening, O'Neal Jr. kept his word and fulfilled the toughness he expressed on the plane in the morning. He came on as a substitute to face the "boxing champion" Tyson Chandler and fought like a tiger.
In less than half a quarter, he received three fouls and went to rest.
Fortunately, most of the Rockets players were not affected by O'Neal, and the defensive scale is still very good.
However, today's referee is the famous Foster. Under his whistle, the home whistle is indeed a bit too serious, and many goals are result-oriented.
If the Knicks miss a shot or layup, the referee delays the whistle for one second.
It feels like tonight, you have to get two points in this round, even if the King of Heaven comes, it won't work.
Xu Xin scratched his head.
In this intermittent and not smooth rhythm at all, it is difficult for the Rockets players to maintain a good state.
Only Jeremy Lin performed stably. It seems that the old boss has the buff blessing.
In fact, the Knicks players are not in good condition, but they have whistles.
Relying on 15 more free throws than the Rockets in the half, the Knicks successfully led the Rockets by 8 points, 50:42, entering the halftime period.
In the second half, the situation remained unchanged.
Harden, Butler, Tucker, and Asik received their fourth fouls one after another. Four of the five starting players were forced to be replaced, which completely disrupted McHale's rotation order.
O'Neal Jr., who came on the court, was called even more serious. After being called for a foul in another confrontation with Chandler and receiving his fifth foul in total, O'Neal couldn't bear it anymore.
Running towards Foster roars:
"Last round he was so defensive against me and you called me an offensive foul. This round I'm so defensive against him and you're calling me a defensive foul. That's a double standard!"
Foster frowned, blew the whistle, made a hand gesture, and got a technical foul!
O'Neal Jr. completely broke his defense and continued to angrily criticize Foster:
"You want to be famous, right? Tonight is Jeremy Lin's battle with his old boss. You are not the center of attention, and you will never be the center of attention.
I know exactly what you have in mind, Xiao Jiujiu. If you want to gain traffic by blowing a whistle, I tell you, you should never think about it in this life.
You will never be the main character, not ever, you are just a fucking clown! "
O'Neal Jr. spoke his mind directly. He felt comfortable scolding, but after the scolding, he took a bow.
Foster was so angry that his nose was crooked, the whistle blew loudly, he made a T sign, then threw his arm back like a grenade, and handsomely drove away O'Neal.
O'Neal Jr. is still chattering:
"You're a fucking clown, but your wife is pretty good. I'm going to cuckold you sooner or later, so just wait!"
The fans at the scene booed,
"Get down!"
"get out!"
"Hahaha!"
Under the overwhelming boos, O'Neal walked back to the locker room "gloriously".
"Brother Melon" Anthony smiled and scored 2 points.
The Rockets are already behind by double digits.
Of course, this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that Asik committed 4 fouls, O'Neal Jr. was expelled, the team's third center is playing in the Development League today, and the team has no one available inside.
The Knicks relied on their inside advantage to hit a 12:2 spurt. At the end of the third quarter, the Rockets trailed by 20 points.
In the fourth quarter, Harden regained his form and played consecutive singles to help the Rockets chase points. The point difference was once close to 5 points.
At the critical moment, Foster stood up again.
Harden made a very small elbow movement when changing direction in front of his body.
Because he didn't exert any force, just to gain shooting space, his movements were very hidden.
But the acting skills of J.R. Smith, who was guarding him, came to the fore. The moment Harden raised his elbow, he leaned back and fell to the ground, clutching his groin and unable to stand up in pain.
The fans at the scene were confused and booed Harden.
Harden's eyes widened, what's going on? In broad daylight, the world is clear, JR, how do you do this?
Foster caught the opportunity, trotted over, and directly gave Harden a second-level flagrant foul without checking the replay.
The whistle sounded, the hand flicked, the same action was repeated, and Harden was expelled.
Harden was very aggrieved and kept explaining to Foster, but Foster was never an easy person to talk to. He didn't care about this or that. He urged Harden to leave the game quickly. He also wanted to be on the hot search list!
Yes, O'Neal's words spoke of his pain. He wants to make a name for himself in the Big Apple tonight. He wants everyone to know that he, Foster, has the final say as to who wins the game.
McHale watched from the sidelines and stamped his feet. He wanted to rush up to greet Foster's eight generations of ancestors, but the reason in his heart forced him to calm down.
There is no other reason. At this time, he also has a technical foul!
This requires another technical offender, and he will also be expelled. The team is leaderless, and this game is basically settled.
Fortunately, the Rockets' strength is not what it used to be. They went from being leaderless at the beginning of the season to Harden's single-core leadership, and now Harden and Butler's dual-core leadership.
Although Harden was expelled, the Rockets still have Butler.
The last five minutes of the game almost became a PK between Butler and Anthony.
Facing the peak Melo, Butler was not inferior to the opponent in any way, and the two fought back and forth.
The point difference is always between one over and two overs.
At the critical moment, Foster stood up again.
The Knicks attacked, Anthony came to the low post to post up Butler, half-turned to the baseline and then turned to the top line, stepping up and down to complete the finish.
The basketball knocked out of the frame.
Butler was about to take off to collect the rebound when Foster's whistle sounded again.
Butler received his sixth foul and was also sent off.
Butler put his hands on his head, his face full of disbelief. He had guarded this ball to the extreme. If he had more control, what would be the difference from watching Anthony go for a layup?
