McHale looked at what others were doing. Faced with a center with such characteristics, he boldly used a five-small lineup, hoping to expand the lead by strengthening offensive firepower and high-pressure defense against digital perimeter players.
McHale's judgment was very accurate. The effect was immediate after the five-small lineup came on the field. The position of the five-outside gave Jeremy Lin and Butler more room to break through.
Livingston's post-up play can also play a role. Ariza and Tucker stood in the two bottom corners and each hit a three-pointer. All five people on the field scored in sports games, making the numbers difficult to defend.
But the digital man was also very tenacious tonight. Holiday took the lead, scoring 16 points in a single quarter without any rush. Nick Young, who came on the bench, was extremely confident, and he did not hesitate to give up in singles without any solution.
The Rockets all played but failed to open up the score, 33:28, entering the second quarter.
Holiday took a break in the second quarter, and "Little Eddie" Evan Turner took over the baton and continued the firepower.
Harden did not fall behind against Harden, and with Thaddeus Young's gold medal assistance, the digital man once overtook the score.
Fortunately, Butler scored 5 points before halftime to tie the score. The two sides entered the halftime break at 58:58.
Back in the second half, the game was still tense. The defensive intensity of both sides increased, the offensive efficiency dropped significantly, and the intensity of physical confrontation escalated to playoff levels.
Xu Xin frowned. This number of people was really a tough nut to crack. The game fell into a tug-of-war, which was exactly the result the opponent hoped to get.
As the game progressed, the physical fitness of the Rockets players became the biggest problem they faced. Physical fatigue led to deformed movements, inaccurate shooting, and too slow lateral movement to prevent the opponent's breakthrough.
The Rockets' defense was continuously penetrated, and the offense fell into a quagmire. The shooters collectively misfired and no one could make a shot. The defensive pressure faced by Harden and Butler further increased.
At the end of the three quarters, 80:88, a loss of 8 points in a single quarter.
On the bench, McHale loudly encouraged the players, trying to mobilize them and stimulate their potential.
Xu Xin sat behind the bench, looking at the tired backs of the players, feeling very distressed. This is the cruelty of the NBA. It allows poor children in slums to realize their dreams through hard work and talent, but they also have to experience pressure and pain that ordinary people cannot bear.
Back in the fourth quarter, Harden came on the stage with Beverley, Ariza, Tucker and O'Neal.
McHale's idea is that since the second half was inaccurate, he should simply defend and counterattack. If he can't attack, he can't defend anymore.
Beverley has the most physical fitness. After coming on the court, he bit the opponent's defender like crazy, completed two consecutive steals, and assisted Harden and Ariza for counterattack dunks.
When the digital man saw that the situation was not good, he quickly called a timeout to adjust and replaced Holiday, the core of the team.
Holiday also worked hard tonight, and the production team's donkeys can't be used like this. He rested for 6 minutes in the first half, not counting the period in the second half, and even after playing full games, he rested for less than a minute.
However, after he came on the court, he did play a role in stabilizing the sea. With a height of 1.93 and a wingspan of 2.01, he seemed to be able to face Beverley's high-pressure defense with ease.
He blocked Beverley firmly with his back, patiently sorted out the team's offense, and successively assisted his teammates in cutting layups.
The offense was successful and the defense was equally good. The Rockets had no chance to counterattack and could only fight hard.
However, Ariza and Tucker still did not retrieve the shooting bag, but Beverley threw one in. However, looking back, Holiday responded with an "answer ball."
His teammates couldn't make shots, the team couldn't open up the offense, and the pressure returned to Harden.
Harden's eyes were firm. Facing Holiday's defense, he stepped past Holiday's defense, accelerated towards the penalty area, faced Thaddeus Young's defense, and counterattacked with a full tomahawk dunk.
After landing, he turned around and looked at his own bench, raising his arms and roaring.
In the next round, Harden used O'Neal's single screen to shoot Thaddeus Young and hit a key three-pointer.
Scored 5 points in two rounds to help the team narrow the point difference.
The morale of the team was greatly boosted, and the fence was tightened on the defensive end. The two sides fell into hand-to-hand combat, and the physical confrontation was full of tension.
You come and go for several rounds, and no one can score.
McHale looked at the time, there were 7 minutes left in the game, then looked at the panting Harden, hesitated, and called a timeout when his own team had the ball.
Harden needs to recharge, otherwise the team will not have the most stable scoring point in the last five minutes.
Butler, Jeremy Lin and Asik came on to replace Harden, Beverley and O'Neal.
Jeremy Lin's defense was targeted by the opponent. For two consecutive rounds, Holiday relied on his body to beat Jeremy Lin, got to the basket, turned around and succeeded in a layup.
McHale was helpless and had to replace Beverley again.
Xu Xin smiled bitterly. Jeremy Lin did not suffer against most defenders in the league, but when facing an opponent like Holiday who was much stronger than himself, he did seem to be unable to do what he wanted.
Both offense and defense were suppressed, as was the case against Lowry before against the Raptors.
"Holiday is indeed an underrated defensive expert. When the time is right, he should be included in his team. This is the best puzzle piece for the championship."
Xu Xin thought.
On the court, the two sides went back and forth, refusing to give in to each other, and the point difference remained at about 5 points.
Entering the last four and a half minutes, while Holiday was taking a free throw, Xu Xin replaced Ariza and replaced Harden, who had been charging for 5 minutes and talking for two hours.
The decisive battle is about to begin.
Holiday made both free throws, 100:107, and the Rockets trailed by 7 points.
Harden dribbled the ball across half court and held the ball at the top of the arc. The three threats got space to shoot and shot a pull-up jumper. Holiday struggled to interfere, completely stretching his body and slightly sweeping the basketball with two fingers, changing the ball. The trajectory of the shot is three-dimensional.
But Butler was like a cheetah, waiting near the basket for a long time, controlling the ball with quick eyes and quick hands, turning around and making a shooting fake, firing up Hawes, beating the time difference, and succeeded in an easy layup.
102:107.
The digital man attacked. Turner dropped low to catch the ball with his back, shook his shoulders to confuse Butler, and suddenly turned forward and walked past Butler on the baseline.
Asik took off vertically with his arms raised, but Turner was not affected at all. He flew in the air, flashed and moved to complete the extreme pull, and made a backhand layup. The basketball hit the backboard with strong rotation, bounced to the rim and bounced twice. Goal net.
102:109.
Looking back, Harden broke through and committed a foul, and the game entered the dead ball stage. The big screen above the court was still replaying Turner's magic ball just now, which caused the fans at the scene to scream. Even the fans who were not digital fans were impressed by this ball. .
Harden made two free throws, 104:109, with a 5-point lead.
There are more than 3 minutes left in the game, and Holiday is not in a hurry.
Dribbling slowly to the frontcourt, pressing the clock and having a two-round lead, time is their good friend now.
