The two sides returned to the same starting line again.
"You taught me these steps."
In the box, Drexler looked at Olajuwon and said.
"Exactly down there."
Olajuwon looked proud.
"You don't know how to hide your skills. Now it's better. You've learned how to shoot rockets."
Drexler said with feigned disgust.
"I've already retired. If these guys can't beat me, it's because they're not good at it. It has nothing to do with me."
Olajuwon spoke eloquently.
Xu Xin, who was on the side, couldn't help laughing when he heard the two people quarreling. The two Rockets stars, whose combined ages are almost equal to those of the Rockets' starting five, also have such a cute side in private.
On the court, Jeremy Lin sped up the offensive tempo, and the Lakers' offensive tempo also accelerated a few points. It was a lively exchange between the two sides.
The offensive and defensive rhythm accelerated, and the Rockets were the beneficiaries. Harden and Butler hit chasing three-pointers one after another, and Jeremy Lin also scored in a quick break counterattack.
The Lakers only relied on Kobe to hit a mid-range shot, and the rest of their attacks were in vain.
At 64:58, one went down and the other went up, and the score difference was once again widened.
As Gasol's pass was almost intercepted by Jeremy Lin and hit the baseline, D'Antoni and the referee signaled a timeout.
It’s been too chaotic during this period and I need to calm down.
"Don't follow the rhythm of the Rockets, slow down the rhythm and improve your success rate."
D'Antoni said.
"Steve (Nash), come down and take a breath. Enter Meeks. Your mission is to lock Jeremy (Jeremy Lin) in and not let him break through easily."
D'Antoni continued.
The Lakers generals nodded and calmed down.
Kobe took over the conversation and said loudly:
"We are the Lakers, we have to play our own style! 123, go lakers!"
When everyone heard Kobe's voice, the fire in their hearts was rekindled and grew stronger. They stretched out their hands and stacked them together, shouting and cheering.
After the timeout, the game resumes.
Kobe controls the ball, slows down the pace of the game, plays steadily, and pursues success rate.
Even if the Rockets are still pushing counterattacks and switching offenses, they no longer blindly chase the Rockets' fast pace. Instead, they use precise passing to reduce mistakes, retreat quickly to force the Rockets to slow down, and drag the Rockets into positional battles bit by bit. middle.
Gasol hit high, Meeks lived up to expectations and hit a three-pointer, and the point difference was once again caught up.
This time it was McHale's turn to call a timeout to adjust.
"This game is so exciting. Both sides are fighting each other. It is not only the competition between the players on the field, but also the battle of wits and courage between the coaches of both sides."
Yang Yi commented.
After returning from the timeout, McHale made bold adjustments, leaving only Butler in the starting five, replacing O'Neal, Tucker and Ariza, as well as the eagerly awaited new player Patrick Beverley.
The Lakers responded to all changes by staying the same. Kobe, Iguodala, Gasol, McGee, and Meeks, the five of them had very good results during this period, and D'Antoni decided to continue using them.
Tucker sent a baseline ball, Beverley advanced with the ball, came to the frontcourt and handed it to Butler.
They practiced this lineup frequently during training. O'Neal stood outside the three-second zone and wandered back and forth, taking on the tasks of screening, rebounding and mid-range shots.
Tucker, Ariza and Beverley all stretched outside the three-point line, preparing to catch the ball and shoot.
Butler is the core ball-handler, and it is up to him to decide whether to go it alone or break through and distribute the ball to create opportunities for his teammates.
Butler holds the ball at 45 degrees on the right side and clears one side for singles.
Iguodala stood up and stood ready. Butler shook his head violently and faked his eyes, which made Iguodala's eyes dazzle. In a dazed moment, he accelerated from the right side and penetrated into the paint. Facing the McGee's defensive aerial confrontation, the ball bypassed McGee's midfielder and passed to O'Neal Jr.
Facing the empty basket, Little O'Neal hung on the basket with both hands and dunked the ball hard.
66:63.
The Rockets broke their scoring drought.
Kobe organized the offense and came to the frontcourt keenly feeling the danger.
At a closer look, the five Rockets are like panthers waiting for an opportunity to hunt, waiting for the opportunity to gain momentum.
Ariza was waving his arms in front of him, interfering with his passing route. Kobe felt that the passing risk was a bit high, and decided to go it alone.
Continuous dragging steps to make a mid-range shot, but missed.
The Rockets players quickly recovered to the basket to protect the defensive rebounds.
But McGee stood out from the crowd and jumped high to get the rebound first. When he was about to take off for a second jump to tip in, Beverley cut the basketball with a steady hand and quickly pushed back, leaving McGee in the air with his claws and teeth.
The Rockets switched offense and played more and less. Beverley looked at six directions, looking at Butler who was closest to him on the right, but the ball was distributed to Ariza who was following up on the left.
Ariza caught the ball and stood still, shooting from outside the three-point line.
"Uh-huh!"
Hit a chasing three-pointer. 69:63.
"This skilled player is bold, and Ariza is very confident in shooting. Generally speaking, if you have more opportunities in fast breaks, you must hit the basket. The closer you are to the basket, the higher your shooting percentage. This is an eternal truth. , but Ariza chose the more difficult chasing three-pointer, which is high risk and high reward. This shot was beautiful."
Yang Yi praised.
"It's like a completely different person when Ariza enters the palace."
In the box, Olajuwon said.
"He is not suitable to be the core of the team, but if he is only allowed to do a good job in 3D, he will definitely be among the best in the league."
Xu Xin explained.
"Not bad. In fact, I have always been curious about how you determine whether a player is suitable for the Rockets? I find that every transaction you make is positive."
Olajuwon continued.
"Hey, you are being unkind. This is a trade secret. You are so old, why are you planning to steal from me? Start your training camp."
Drexler teased.
"I'm just curious. You are judging a gentleman's belly with a villain's heart!"
Olajuwon said with fake anger.
Xu Xin was very happy to see the two elders Xuanming and Ming singing together, and said:
"Actually, I'm not sure. I just clarified the system with Harden and Butler as the core of the offense and found players that suit them."
"Look at this person, he is young and promising, and every word he speaks is polished, unlike you, who speaks all nonsense."
Olajuwon stepped on the ball and took the opportunity to attack the glider again.
The two chattered and started a new round of quarrel.
On the court, the Rockets took the initiative to double-team Kobe. Butler stepped forward and surrounded Ariza, forcing Kobe to play the ball.
In a panic, Kobe passed a safety ball to Gasol, the most conspicuous person in the crowd.
But shoe king Tucker had been hiding on the side for a long time. He jumped up and intercepted in the air with his long arm. Then he made a long pass to Butler who was about to go down. Butler successfully caught the ball and dunked the basket with both hands to add two points.
71:63, the score difference reached double digits again.
