This is not over yet, the Rockets attack, Garnett misses a mid-range jumper, Love collects the rebound and passes the ball quickly, finding Barea who is ready to go.
After receiving the ball, the latter once again rushed forward with all his strength. He dribbled the ball from behind and passed Beverley, who was rushing forward. There was no obstacle in front of him.
Barea made another layup at 45:33.
In the next round, Harden missed a three-pointer from the outside. Love accurately judged the landing point of the rebound and quickly passed the ball to Barea.
This time the Rockets retreated quickly. Beverley and Harden focused on Barea. The latter continued to counterattack quickly. Facing the containment of the Rockets' backcourt combination, he passed the ball without looking at Barea who was following up on the flank. Dingo.
The latter catches the ball, jumps, and shoots in one go.
"Uh-huh!"
The three-pointer hit the net at 45:36.
"How come every Rockets veteran can always perform brilliantly when playing with the Rockets?"
Xu Xin held his forehead and felt helpless. In recent days, Patterson, Parsons, and Delfino have all performed well against the Rockets.
Why did Budinger come to join in the fun today? That's not right. Every injustice has its own owner, and every debt has its own owner. Brother Budinger, I did not trade you away.
"Maybe they also want to prove themselves when facing their old master."
Lucas Sr. laughed.
Xu Xin nodded. Emotionally speaking, he was very happy to see the Rockets' old players perform well. After all, good performance meant they had contracts and they would not be unable to find jobs after leaving the Rockets.
But if we are narrower, Xu Xin hopes that they can perform so well when facing other teams, rather than against the Rockets.
Directly in front of the bench, McHale's face was as dark as water. In less than 5 minutes, the Timberwolves, led by Barea, blasted a 12:3 climax.
He felt he couldn't wait any longer and made a pause gesture towards the referee.
Xu Xin understands McHale's current state of mind very well. A losing streak will make people less confident, even the head coach.
Normally, when the team is leading by a big score, the opponent will counterattack climax for a period of time, narrowing the point difference to less than 10 points. Generally, he will let the players make adjustments on the court.
But today is different from the past. Now McHale is like a frightened bird. He starts to get nervous when the other party makes the slightest move.
He wants to win so much!
If this game overturns again at the Target Center, it will be a three-game losing streak, and this third defeat will be to the weakest of the weak.
McHale knows very well what the consequences of losing will be. Not only will he be pushed to the forefront, but the entire team will be put on the fire.
Of course, these are not the most serious. The most serious thing is that he is worried that young players such as Harden, Butler, and Jeremy Lin will lose their morale in successive defeats and begin to doubt themselves. This is for young players who are in the period of their growth. It is the most fatal blow.
Therefore, this game must be won!
Watching the players walk to the bench, McHale started lecturing them before they could sit down.
"Hey! You didn't think the game was over, did you? Look at the timer, the first half is not over yet! Then tell me, why didn't you retreat? Why did you relax?"
McHale said so loudly that the noise of the stadium couldn't cover him up.
The players lowered their heads in silence, speechless in the face of McHale, who rarely got angry.
"There is something I don't want to mention, but not mentioning it doesn't mean it didn't happen. We have lost two games in a row. To be fair, we have a chance to win in both games. Are we really inferior in skill when we lose? Or is it us? Are there some problems other than strength?”
Seeing that everyone was silent, McHale continued to ask.
Garnett knew McHale's intention and took the initiative to say:
"Brothers, the coach is right. The game is far from over. We cannot underestimate any opponent. Cheer up, we must win this game, and we must win beautifully!"
After saying that, Garnett stretched out his hand and put it in the middle.
"Brothers, win in three quarters! If you can't win, go to extra practice at night and I'll take the lead! 123! Go Rockets!"
The other players stretched out their hands, stacked them together, and shouted:
"Go Rockets!"
McHale nodded with satisfaction, his goal achieved.
The players were too loose on the court just now, and he needs to help these young guys tighten up.
The timeout ended, McHale replaced the three main players Asik, Butler and Jeremy Lin, while Harden and Garnett remained on the court.
Finch next to him also made substitution adjustments and replaced the low-post killer, Pekovic.
Compared to McHale, Finch's deployment of personnel is more random.
There is not much difference between the strength of the team's main players and substitutes, and the players' condition is also relatively unstable. They often play three shots with some dates but no dates, so they will have more playing time.
Barea and Budinger played well just now, so let them play more time. As for Rubio and Ridnour, continue to rest.
After the timeout, the situation on the court changed again.
Rockets players are more focused on both offense and defense. Harden is in charge of the offensive end. If the outside touch is not good, then break through.
The philosophy on the basketball court remains unchanged, the closer you are to the basket, the higher your shooting percentage, except of course Curry.
Budinger on the opposite side also knew it well. During the timeout just now, Finch also specifically reminded him:
"Harden has a bad touch. Be extra careful about his breakthrough later. You can leave half a step away when defending."
Budinger followed Finch's instructions correctly, but even so, he still couldn't stop Harden's breakthrough.
Harden reached the basket twice in a row, once with a left-handed layup and a small floater, and easily scored 4 points.
The offense broke the scoring drought, and the defense also increased the pressure on the ball holder.
Unlike Beverley's full-court press defense, Jeremy Lin's defense has his own wisdom.
When facing Barea, he often resorted to sudden attacks, forcing him to stop the ball and unable to make the next move.
Iverson watched with great interest from the sidelines. During this time, Jeremy Lin asked him for defensive skills, and he also taught him everything he could. Now it seems that Jeremy Lin can start his career.
Don't underestimate Iverson's defense. Although he has a size disadvantage, this does not prevent him from winning the steals title many times.
The answer in the peak period is definitely the integration of offense and defense.
Barea has experienced Beverley's high-pressure defense, and it was difficult to adapt to Jeremy Lin's "cold" defense.
He was forced to stop the ball twice in a row, and once Jeremy Lin spotted the opportunity, causing a contention for the ball. The latter jumps to the ball without any suspense with his dynamic and static talents.
Then Harden broke through to attract the defense, and Barea failed to swipe the card, but missed Jeremy Lin.
The latter received a pass from Harden and was very decisive with his hands outside the three-point line.
