Looking back, Crawford continued to play in singles, dribbling behind his back to catch the ball with his crotch, changing direction before catching the ball and passing Livingston cleanly, breaking into the basket to face Tucker's defense, and skillfully passed the ball to help Odom easily scored from the basket.
103:105.
After Livingston suffered a serious injury, his lateral speed was greatly reduced. When facing agile defenders, it was often difficult to defend the first level.
When the Rockets attacked, Livingston continued to play pick-and-roll with Garnett. This time the Clippers' defense shrank as a whole, and Beverley got a wide open opportunity on the outside and asked for the ball.
Livingston moved the ball laterally, and the ball was very fast. Bledsoe tried to intercept it but missed it. This is the advantage of the big defender. He has better vision and the ball is relatively safer.
Beverley had a wide open opportunity, raised his bow and arrow from outside the three-point line, and jumped up to take a shot.
The ball didn't spin very well, and the arc was relatively flat. It bounced off the rim twice and failed to hit the target.
Tucker worked hard to get in position with Turiaf. Seeing that the ball was about to fall into Turiaf's hands, he pushed diagonally from behind.
The referee clearly understood the situation and committed an offensive foul.
The foul committed by the shoe king is not a bad thing. The game just entered the dead ball stage. McHale waved his hand and Harden, Butler, Jeremy Lin, and Asik returned to the field, leaving only Tucker.
Tucker is physically strong and can defend Griffin one-on-one without suffering any disadvantage.
Seeing the large-scale substitutions on the Rockets' side, Negro did not dare to neglect at all. He looked at the bench and also brought back the main players, leaving only Crawford on the field.
"Ke 6" felt great in this quarter and hit three-pointers one after another. With him on the court, the Clippers' offensive options will be more abundant.
Holding the ball, Paul faced Jeremy Lin's lowered center of gravity and kept dribbling the ball from his hips. He quickly raised his center of gravity and started, making a shuffling step to the right.
Jeremy Lin did not dare to neglect, adjusted his defensive position to block, adjusted in small steps, and followed with his footsteps.
Paul's mind was clear. Although Jeremy Lin's movement prevented him from breaking through on the right side, it also exposed the gap on the left side.
Paul instantly changed the direction of his breakthrough, dragging his steps to the left, making a smooth breakthrough.
Jeremy Lin quickly adjusted his focus and blocked Paul's left side.
Unexpectedly, this time it was still a feint. Paul changed direction in front of his body again, and at the same time switched his steps to an attack step. He quickly kicked off the ground with his back foot and placed his right hand in front of the defender, giving him a favorable position for a breakthrough.
This time Jeremy Lin returned again and it was too late. Paul quickly broke through and went straight to the basket. Facing Asik's cover, he chose to go up.
After fighting with Asik in the air, he threw the ball and made a shot, but the referee's whistle sounded.
Asik received his fifth foul of the game. Asik looked aggrieved, gestured to the referee, and repeated the defensive action just now.
The referee shook his head and said:
"You made a downward movement with your arm, a defensive foul."
"Paul is so smart. This ball is just going to cause a foul."
Xu Xin sighed.
"Asik will be sent off if he commits another foul."
The assistant teacher's face was solemn and he hesitated to speak.
Xu Xin nodded. If Asik was sent off, only Garnett would be the only one inside the Rockets who could match the height of DeAndre Jordan and Griffin.
Paul was calm and composed at the free throw line and made two free throws, 103:107.
Harden looked at Paul, thoughtfully.
When the Rockets attacked, Harden also chose a pick-and-roll with the ball. Tucker's broad shoulders blocked Crawford tightly.
Harden broke through to face Griffin, broke through to Griffin's side, created physical confrontation, and threw the ball. The basketball bounced on the rim and popped out.
But the referee's whistle blew and Griffin committed a defensive foul. The total number of fouls reached 4.
"Good shot. When it comes to drawing fouls, I'm really not afraid of anyone."
Xu Xin joked.
At the critical moment, it is still the Rockets' home court, and the referee's penalty scale will generally remain consistent. Since our inside line encounters a foul crisis, we might as well beat your inside line. It turns out that Harden was thinking about this just now.
Griffin's reaction was exactly the same as Asik's just now. He communicated with the referee with an innocent face, but the referee ignored it at all. The ball was blown just now, and it was impossible not to blow it this time.
Harden also made two free throws and already scored 30 points tonight.
In the past five games, Harden averaged 28.8 points on 50% shooting, 6.8 rebounds and 7.7 assists.
In the next two rounds, Paul and Harden focused on killing the inside. If Jeremy Lin hadn't cleverly pulled twice from behind and took the initiative to take the foul, Asik would have been fined.
As for the Clippers, they are not so lucky. Harden made full use of physical contact to cause damage. Jordan and Griffin each received one foul. Now Jordan has 4 fouls and Griffin has 5 fouls. They are also on equal footing.
"If Green can be like Harden and dare to fight when he breaks through, he will be the real prince."
Xu Xin muttered to himself, and couldn't help but think of the Rockets' prince in his previous life, who failed to perform well for three years and was selected second overall, the Rockets prince known as "Shang Qiao and Xiao Ke".
In the third year of his career, his shooting stability is still poor, and he still avoids people when breaking through. Although his ball handling, defense and rebounding abilities have improved, in the end Haihuisi did not meet most people's expectations.
"Which Green? Gerald Green?"
The teaching assistant said with some curiosity.
"Manager Xu, are you also optimistic about him? I think he is a good complement to the Rockets' bench, and he is also a native of Houston. Our fans like him very much."
The assistant coach continued.
"Gerald Green, yes, how could I forget him?"
Xu Xin slapped his forehead, he is very suitable for Harden's system. As a talented player, he may break out in any game and he will be the X factor in the Rockets.
On the court, Jeremy Lin missed an open three-pointer, and Jordan grabbed the rebound and gave it to Paul.
The Rockets retreated quickly and did not give Paul a chance to make a long pass to switch offense. Seeing this, the captain was not in a hurry. He wanted to have a success rate with this ball.
Paul dribbled the ball at the top of the arc, and Griffin moved to the top line to set up a screen.
Paul used the screen to move near the free throw line. Seeing Asik's defensive position relatively far back, he directly pulled up and shot a slightly faded mid-range shot. The basketball went hollow into the net, and his signature mid-range shot punished Asik's retreating defense.
109:113, the Rockets are still 4 points behind.
When the Rockets attack, Harden doesn't want to pick and roll. He goes one-on-one at the top of the arc. He continuously takes offensive steps in one direction and changes direction in front of his body to pass Crawford again. Paul and Caron Butler quickly recover the basket and can no longer let it go. Harden hit the inside.
"The bottom corner is empty."
McHale yelled from the sidelines, pointing to Jimmy Butler in the corner who was ready to catch the ball.
Harden pretended not to hear and started looking in the direction of the basket, but the ball passed to the bottom corner impartially. Butler waited for a long time, and after catching the ball, he raised his hand and shot.
