"Little Wade" is still on the rise at this time. In addition to his unique play and unstable shooting, his game attitude is still very good.
For the Rockets, Jeremy Lin and Harden took care of the team's first few attacks, but they failed to hit either three-pointers or mid-range shots.
Only relying on Butler's active fighting, getting offensive rebounds, and scoring in the second attack, the Rockets opened up.
But looking back, the defense was not focused, Waiters and Alonzo Key crossed paths, and Harden switched to guard against leaks.
Alonzo Key hit the open three-pointer into the net.
McHale couldn't stand it anymore and called a timeout to adjust.
More than three minutes into the game, the Rockets were beaten 11:2 by the Cavaliers, who were last in the Eastern Conference. They asked him where to put his old face.
McHale roared loudly on the bench, received physical therapy, and received sonic lectures. The players seemed to have woken up from a dream and seemed to have entered the state.
After re-appearing, the Harlem combination has recovered. Since the shooting is not accurate, it will hit the basket to cause damage. Varejao and the fourth pick Tristan Thompson are somewhat unable to withstand the impact of Harden and Jeremy Lin.
The Cavaliers' defense shrank and tightened the pocket, allowing Butler and Garnett to get open shooting opportunities.
Following Jeremy Lin's breakthrough pass, the two hit three-pointers one after another from the left and the other from the right.
But Irving's form tonight was truly outstanding. Faced with Jeremy Lin's every request, he had breakthroughs, mid-range shots, and three-pointers. A wave of individual scoring performances helped the Cavaliers re-establish a lead of more than ten points.
Coming to the transition period, McHale replaced Jeremy Lin in advance and replaced him with Beverley.
After Beverley came on the court, Irving's biting defense had an effect, but when he pressed the gourd and raised the ladle, Waiters began his performance.
Relying on his excellent explosive power, he passed Livingston twice in a row and attacked the basket, causing Tucker to foul.
Then there was another vivid step, a layup.
On the Rockets' side, after Harden and Jeremy Lin came off the court, the offensive burden fell on Butler.
Butler made two mid-air shots, and the Cavaliers were double-teamed.
Butler was unable to defeat four hands with two fists. He did not choose to attack hard, but passed to teammates who had better opportunities. Unfortunately, neither Tucker nor Ariza seized the opportunity.
One goes and the other goes, and the gap further widens.
At the end of the first quarter, the Rockets trailed the Cavaliers by 13 points, 23:36.
McHale's face was as dark as water, and he couldn't make a shot when the opportunity came. He didn't have many options. After thinking about it, he could only continue to adjust people.
At the beginning of the second quarter, McHale took the Harlem combination and paired it with Delfino, Ariza and O'Neal. Compared to Tucker who shot 0-for-3, Ariza made 1-for-3 and at least scored one three-pointer.
It is also an indisputable fact that the Rockets lack stable pitchers.
Fortunately, Harden and Jeremy Lin woke up in time and scored consecutive points based on their personal abilities.
The score difference once narrowed to 6 points.
But on the Cavaliers' side, substitutes C.J. Miles and Wayne Ellington suddenly called, hitting consecutive shots from beyond the three-point line. Another 12:0 wave stopped the Rockets again.
After the timeout, Irving went into battle and played a series of unreasonable singles, which made Jeremy Lin lose his temper. As Irving continued to have bad luck, he stepped back and hit a three-pointer, and the point difference came to 22 points.
In the ensuing time, the two sides fell into a tug-of-war. The Rockets played very hard, but the point difference did not narrow.
Tonight, everyone in the Cavaliers competes to be first, and they can contribute when they come on the court, which is hard to guard against.
In the second half of the game, the Rockets role players regained their touch and hit consecutive shots.
But several core players collapsed, and Harden even made a step-back shot.
The Cavaliers entered the fourth quarter with a double-digit lead.
"You all come here and listen carefully. We were beaten hard by our opponents tonight, by the last place in the Eastern Conference. Aren't you very good? Don't you look down on your opponents? Lift your heads up, where is your pride? Already?
Look at the fans in the audience, why are they so happy? It's because you are just a bunch of paper tigers, it's because you are not invulnerable!
It is not difficult to defeat your opponent, but the difficult thing is how to find yourself in a difficult situation. I leave you 12 minutes. This is your last chance tonight. "
McHale turned up the decibels and inspired his players.
Harden suddenly raised his head, with a different kind of light in his eyes. According to the established plan, the first five minutes of the fourth quarter were his time to lead the team with one core.
Harden did not speak decisively, clenching his fists and making up his mind.
The intersection period ended and Harden stepped onto the court.
"Pull it all open!"
Harden gestured to his teammates and shouted loudly.
Facing Ellington's defense, Harden dug forward with his back foot, accelerated past the opponent, accelerated to the basket, jumped on one foot, faced Zeller, and dunked him with a tomahawk, knocking him to the ground.
After landing, he turned around and yelled at the camera, "I'm back!"
In the following rounds, Harden challenged Ellington one-on-one, hit three-pointers one after another with step-backs, made mid-range pull-ups, and made difficult pick-up baskets after the confrontation.
Harden scored 12 points in a row, chasing the point difference to 5 points in one fell swoop.
The Cavaliers were a little panicked. Before the game started, they had a give it a try attitude, but their long lead has changed their mentality. They have baggage in their minds, and they will hesitate when making choices. , will be defeated.
Several consecutive shots ended in blackouts, and the Cavaliers fell into a five-minute scoring drought.
Harden came off the court to rest, and Butler took over the baton with a firm look. He launched another wave of attacks full of personal heroism, scoring 6 points in a row and leading the team to the lead!
The Cavaliers were completely panicked. Irving dribbled the ball into his legs. Jeremy Lin slid to the ground and grabbed the basketball first. He threw it forward before Waiters and Alonzo Key could compete. Butler successfully caught it. , three steps followed by two steps, and he dunked the basket with both hands for another two points.
Then Waiters hit Butler at the top of the arc and made a pull-up. His shot selection was very unreasonable, and the shot ended in a blacksmith.
Looking back, Butler stormed to the basket and Varejao wanted to commit an offensive foul, but his acting was too exaggerated and he failed to learn the essence.
The referee clearly understood the situation and called a technical foul.
Varejao stole the chicken but lost the rice, and gave the Rockets a 1-point gift.
The whole Cavaliers team was in chaos. The coach even called two timeouts to make adjustments, but with little effect.
By the time Harden finished charging and re-entered the game, the Rockets were already 6 points ahead of the Cavaliers at 112:106.
As Harden broke through and passed the ball to Butler, the latter did not force the shot when faced with the defense, and quickly transferred the ball to Ariza. Ariza raised his hand at a 45-degree angle on the wing and hit a three-pointer steadily.
The game loses suspense.
The whole Cavaliers team was crestfallen, they almost won. How much is the difference? At about 7%, it can be said that they are 93% of the winners in this game.
But you can laugh best when you laugh last. This is probably the charm of the game.
In the end, the Rockets 116:110, completing a major comeback from being behind by up to 22 points.
