When Yao Ming and McGrady heard this, their eyes lit up and they immediately agreed.
At this stage of their lives, data is no longer important to them. But if they can win the championship and have some memorable moments, such as scoring key goals, that will definitely be what they dream of.
On the court, Harden also made an extra free throw, 56:44.
There are still 36 seconds left before the end of the second quarter.
The Nuggets repeated their old tricks and prepared to grab a two-for-one. Lawson received the baseline ball and quickly hit the ball to find Gallinari.
But he made a mistake while busy, and was accurately predicted by Butler to complete the steal. Then he ran to the frontcourt and scored a layup against Lawson, 58:44.
"The Nuggets wanted to play a two-for-one, but the pass was intercepted due to a mistake, and Butler scored in turn. With 29 seconds left, the Rockets grabbed a two-for-one opportunity."
Yu Jia explained.
Lawson was a little annoyed, raised his hand to indicate that it was his problem, and advanced with the ball again. This time he was not in a hurry.
29 seconds is not enough for two more attacks. This attack must suppress the rhythm and leave as little time as possible for the Rockets to make the final attack.
Lawson dribbled the ball in the center circle after halftime. Jeremy Lin saw this and did not choose to press. He was one step away and waited for Lawson to operate.
Lawson is extremely fast. Since he has a mediocre touch tonight, putting shots to prevent breakthroughs is the wisest defensive choice.
With 8 seconds left in the attack time, Lawson started dribbling and wanted to rush forward from the right.
Gallinari in the bottom corner moved up the line, and the two played a hand-off tactic. Gallinari received the ball and moved sideways to the left, jumping up and shooting.
"Uh-huh!"
The three-pointer hit the net at 58:47.
"Gallinari is good. Give him another two years and he will probably be an All-Star."
Yao Ming looked at the technical statistics and found that Gallinari had already made three three-pointers in this quarter and scored a team-high 16 points so far.
"The ability is good, but it's too fragile."
Xu Xin murmured to himself, remembering that in his previous life, Gallinari was sent to the Nuggets in the "Melon" Anthony trade, and he immediately became the Nuggets' key training target.
At that time, he was only 22 years old. He received a lot of ball rights without any stage fright. He converted the ball rights into scores and shined.
For a moment, he seemed to have the unparalleled demeanor of a stranger, like a jade-like young master.
Unfortunately, the injury came too quickly, and repeated fractures caused him to miss the ball period. When he was in his mid-twenties, he could finally stay healthy, but the team also had young players with more potential, so he could only retreat to the second line and become a top role player.
Although he has worked hard in the league for many years and achieved good results, he ultimately failed to meet people's expectations.
What if I wait two years and Gallinari is reimbursed for consecutive seasons?
Xu Xin suddenly had a bold idea.
On the court, Harden received the baseline ball. He subconsciously glanced at the time. There were still 6 seconds left, which was enough.
Chandler defended closely and stayed at every step. Lawson on the side is watching eagerly, ready to attack at any time.
Harden had a plan in mind, and did an Iverson signature crossover, passing Chandler in one step. Without waiting for Lawson to help defend, Harden strode forward.
Lawson and Chandler both missed and chased after them desperately.
Seeing that Harden is getting closer and closer to the three-point line, letting him shoot from such a distance is simply giving away points.
Gallinari didn't hesitate and pounced.
Harden had noticed Gallinari's movements while advancing at high speed. He made a concealed grenade assist and passed it to Butler, who was facing Gallinari.
Butler caught the ball with 2 seconds left. He looked down and saw that he was indeed outside the three-point line. He raised his head, jumped, shot, and took the shot, all in one go.
"Beep!" "Whoosh!"
The ball was scored at the buzzer, and Butler hit a three-pointer at the buzzer, 61:47.
The stadium instantly turned into a sea of joy. Who wouldn't want to watch a buzzer-beating goal?
After Butler made the shot, he was as happy as a child.
Running towards Harden, the two jumped up and bumped their butts, then ran to the tunnel and trotted back to the locker room.
McHale was very happy, leading by 14 points at halftime and completing his set task perfectly.
"Well done, congratulations on opening the locker room door with your strength."
Those were the first words McHale said as he walked back to the locker room.
Before everyone could celebrate, McHale changed the topic and said seriously:
"But you can't be too happy too early. The opponent is a team that is good at playing against the wind, and reversals in the second half have been staged frequently this season. I don't want you to become one of them. So, start playing Be energetic, keep working hard in the third quarter, and maintain the double-digit advantage.”
When the players heard this, they immediately stopped smiling and became serious.
The ten-minute intermission was not long. Jeremy Lin, Harden, Butler and others spontaneously returned to the court early and shot a few baskets to maintain their touch.
They were surprised to find that the entire Nuggets team was also practicing extra time.
"Be careful with some of their shooters, they may take more three-pointers in the second half."
Butler said solemnly.
They are not afraid of the opponent's two-pointer, but they are afraid that the opponent's three-pointer will be missed, which will be a bit tricky.
But the game is like this, sometimes you are just afraid of what will happen.
At the beginning of the second half, the Nuggets players guarded the Rockets' off-ball shooters.
Jeremy Lin plays a pick-and-roll breakthrough, and Chandler and Gallinari will never take back the defense of Harden and Butler.
If Harden breaks through with the ball, Lawson and Gallinari, who are guarding Jeremy Lin and Butler, will not give up their defenders to help defend.
The same goes for Butler when he holds the ball.
The Nuggets made it clear that they would not give the Rockets open three-point opportunities.
Faried regained his energy after the halftime break, made high passes in the interior and performed well in protecting the frame.
Jeremy Lin, Harden and Butler's breakthrough effects are average. Although they can score some points, they cannot score every goal.
On the other hand, the Nuggets' offense is simpler.
Koufos and Faried only focus on two things on the offensive end, off-ball screens and scrambling for offensive rebounds.
Chandler and Gallinari frequently moved around and shot whenever they had the chance, as did Lawson.
After missing a few shots at the beginning of the third quarter, he still shot decisively.
The hard work paid off, Gallinari made a solid hit with his third shot in this quarter, and then got out of control and hit consecutive shots.
Naturally, the Rockets couldn't let him shoot like this, and the defensive focus shifted to his side. However, Chandler had a better chance.
He also successfully grasped it and hit two consecutive three-pointers.
Lawson also added the icing on the cake with a hit.
The Nuggets' three Musketeers hit 8 three-pointers in just 5 minutes, launching a 24:12 climax and successfully narrowing the point difference to 5 points.
