Nowitzki is experienced and jumped forward in an instant. When the referee saw this, the whistle blew and Butler committed an offensive foul.
"Brother, you've gone too far."
Butler said helplessly.
"Hey, I'm not acting. I'm too old to stand still."
Nowitzki said with a "shameless" smile.
"People are always treacherous. Our manager Xu is indeed right. King Silver Horn, you are really not ashamed."
Butler said with a cold snort.
"Why, if I call you, do you dare to agree?"
Upon hearing King Silver Horn, Nowitzki called him familiar. When he was doing activities in Huaxia, the on-site host talked to him about science.
The Mavericks have the ball, and Nowitzki takes the initiative to take the position. He has to prove that he can not only draw offensive fouls, but also score points as easily as chopping melons and vegetables.
Nowitzki caught the ball at a 45-degree angle in the low post on the right, used his back to sense Tucker's defensive position, and after a confrontation, he turned over and became independent.
Tucker won't suffer in the confrontation, but King Nuotian chose an inch-long-inch-strong style of play, and a short and sturdy carrot like Tucker couldn't do anything about it.
Watch Nowitzki make a shot.
5:7.
Looking back, Harden took the initiative to ask for the ball. Butler hit a few in succession and needed to take a breather. In addition, Nowitzki started to exert his strength. As the leader of the team, Harden will not fall behind.
Facing Mayo, he continued to move in one direction, once again used his signature 012 step back, and made a steady three-pointer.
8:7.
The subsequent rounds turned into a contest between Nowitzki and Harden. Both sides came and went, and both made achievements, which made the fans at the scene excited.
Tucker is very experienced in defending Griffin, a strong insider who mainly scores at the basket and has weak shooting ability, but he has no way to deal with Nowitzki's technical skills.
He tried to hold up the bottom plate to prevent him from making comfortable preparations before shooting. However, even if King Nuo was staggered by the pressure, when the golden rooster was independent, he could still put the ball into the basket by adjusting his fingers and wrists.
Xiaonu also had similar troubles. Harden's indiscriminate singles made Mayo and Marion scratch their heads. These two are the best defensive players in the Mavericks, but they are still not enough when facing Harden.
Harden has too many offensive options. If he chooses to stay close to the defense when he steps back, he will suddenly start a step past.
If he leaves a half-step distance, he will create a huge shooting space through a large step back. Even a striker like Marion, who is about 2 meters long and has a long wingspan, cannot cause any damage to Harden's shooting. interference.
Both sides have a big killer, but the Mavericks are the first to be unable to withstand it. There is no other reason. Nowitzki is getting older. After several attacks, his physical strength began to decline, and the stability of his shooting naturally dropped.
Moreover, Nowitzki's goals were all 2 points, while half of Harden's goals came from shots from beyond the three-point line. Over time, the Rockets actually had an advantage in the confrontation between the two stars.
Halfway through the first quarter, 22:17, leading the Mavericks by 5 points.
Just when Carlisle was considering whether to change his defensive strategy against Harden, McHale made a big move and replaced Harden and Asik with Ariza and Livingston.
This is a routine adjustment. After the team's core framework is stabilized, McHale's use of Harden is to let him rest early in the first quarter and play almost the entire second quarter.
Carlisle breathed a sigh of relief and replaced Nowitzki, Marion and Kaman on the next dead ball. Two veterans, Carter and Brand, came on the bench with rookie Crowder.
The offensive firepower of both sides has declined, switching from attacking to defending, and the offensive and defensive rhythm is very fast.
Jeremy Lin was unable to cope with the Mavericks' high-pressure defense and made consecutive mistakes to give him opportunities.
Collison and Crowder, two scrambling masters, played a role in fast breaks to help the Mavericks catch up with the score.
Butler was physically exhausted. Facing Crowder, his physical condition was not inferior to that of his defender. Several attacks failed.
Veteran Carter seized the opportunity and made sudden shots from inside and outside to help the Mavericks take the lead.
Brand hit the inside and caused Tucker to foul.
Jeremy Lin, Butler and Tucker stood on the court leaning on their knees, breathing heavily.
Seeing this, McHale replaced them all. Back-to-back was indeed too much of a drain on them. Carlisle also noticed this and continued to press and drain them on the defensive end. Before the first quarter of the game was over, their fuel tank seemed to be running low. Bottomed out.
McHale looked at the bench, but there was no one available. Harden, the boss, was still resting with a towel covering his head.
"James, I'm afraid you're going to have to play some extra minutes tonight."
McHale said.
"Don't worry, coach, leave it to me."
Without saying a word, Harden stood up and walked to the court. Beverley and Smith were also replaced.
McHale's idea is, since you want to disrupt the game, then I will accompany you to the end and replace the energetic and defensively active Beverley and Smith with Harden, who has increasingly excellent court control ability, as the court commander. In a chaotic battle, one must be the one with the upper hand.
The situation was exactly as he expected. After Beverley came on the court, he bit Collison crazily.
The latter has been at a physical disadvantage since the start of the game. In addition, Beverley's defensive style is completely different from Jeremy Lin's. He was unable to adapt for a while and was intercepted by Beverley head-on twice in a row. Beverley scored consecutively. Four points.
Smith is also full of energy. He repeatedly had the upper hand in rebounding situations with veteran Brand in the paint. Not only did he protect the defensive rebounds, but he also grabbed two offensive rebounds.
Harden stabilized the morale of the army, pressed the clock in the final attack, and made a mid-range jumper into the net, helping the Rockets tie the score at the end of the first quarter.
At 29:29, both sides returned to the same starting line and entered the second quarter.
In the second quarter, Carlisle quickly made adjustments and adjusted the matchup, replacing Collison and replacing him with shorter and faster guard Beaubois.
At the same time, he replaced Mayo, who also played the entire first quarter, and replaced him with jumping man Brandon White, adding a height inside to match the Rockets' Smith.
"As expected of a championship coach, he has a strong ability to adjust on the spot."
Xu Xin looked towards the Mavericks bench. Carlisle is a good coach.
The effect of the substitution was immediate. The Rockets' rebounding advantage was gone, and Beverley's defensive effect was greatly reduced when facing Beaubois, who had a lower center of gravity and more accurate shooting.
Relying on Brand's high-quality screen, Beaubois' two three-pointers were hollow into the net, helping the Mavericks take the lead.
Beaubois's weakness is defense, but Beverley is also unable to attack offensively. One is a trade-off, and Beaubois actually has the upper hand in this matchup.
Fortunately, Harden is still in excellent condition. He first broke through and changed the Mavericks' defensive formation to create opportunities for his teammates.
