He saw Iverson making a three-point gesture and celebrating passionately with his teammates. Then he looked up at the big screen, which was replaying the wonderful shot of Iverson's three-pointer at the buzzer.
At 42:22, the Rockets scored 42 points in the first quarter and only allowed the Hornets to score 22 points, nearly doubling the score entering the second quarter.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the Hornets head coach went all out and brought back all the main players. The substitute effect was not as good as the main players. So based on their strength, they put the team's five strongest players on paper on the court. I hope they can Get back your status.
For the Rockets, McHale continued the lineup for the last two minutes of the first quarter.
The Hornets took the lead in attacking. Vasquez dribbled to the frontcourt and passed the ball through to find Aminu, who was cutting in the air. The latter made a layup against Tucker and scored two points.
On this ball, O'Neal turned around completely and failed to protect the frame.
Tucker is not tall enough. Although he is a power forward, his 1.96 height is shorter than the 2.03 small forward Aminu, and he cannot effectively interfere with his layup.
At 42:24, the Hornets' first attack in the second quarter was effective.
Iverson dribbled to the frontcourt unhurriedly. Facing Vasquez, who was half a head taller than him, he passed him with his signature crossover. Then he accelerated to the basket with all his strength and faced Ronaldinho who was covering the defense. Pace made a layup with the lever in the air.
He took off first than Lopez, but landed behind his opponent, leaving Lopez two feet tall and confused.
44:24.
Eric Gordon did not hesitate to give in. He turned around and fired one step away from the three-point line. The basketball was accurately guided and hollowed into the net, 44:27.
Xu Xin frowned slightly. If Brother Erdeng's three-pointer was not accurate, the game would almost be a blackout. But if it was accurate, it would be quite terrifying.
If you want to judge whether he is accurate or not in a game, it depends on whether he can hit a long three-pointer in the early stage of the game. This ball was scored just now. This is not a good thing for the Rockets.
Xu Xin couldn't help but feel a little worried, but Iverson didn't care about that. If you can score, then I will score more points than you!
Iverson came to the frontcourt, changed direction and passed Vasquez again, accelerating to the basket. Little Lopez raised his arms high to block the way forward. Iverson remained calm and soared into the air and strolled in the air for a reverse pull-up layup. With a slight flick of his right wrist, the basketball rotated strongly and hit the board high into the basket. It was even worse than before.
The entire stadium was silent for a moment, and after a few seconds, it turned into a sea of joy. The bench exploded with flowers. Harden held his head in shock, and Butler pulled Jeremy Lin to imitate the action just now.
Sitting in the back row of the bench, Xu Xin had a very real feeling and smiled knowingly. The words he used to describe Iverson were equally apt, "Iverson is full of courage."
46:27.
However, Brother Erdeng was not discouraged and turned around and hit another three-pointer at 46:30.
The camera is focused on Gordon who is retreating on defense. His expression is very cool, and he has the momentum to compete with Iverson.
"Come on, let's compete."
Iverson glanced at Gordon steadily, his heart full of fighting spirit. As his physical condition recovered, the fiery seed in his heart burst out again.
This time, when he reached the top of the arc in the frontcourt, he called Gerald Green to come over and cover. After covering, he quickly pulled horizontally, and the Hornets could only passively switch defenses.
Gordon followed, and that was exactly what he wanted.
Compared to playing games in the air, Iverson prefers to compete face to face with real swords and guns.
He made continuous large changes in direction to mobilize Gordon's center of gravity, suspended the ball in preparation for the start, and then suddenly accelerated to the right and forward, Gordon was in a hurry to keep up.
Iverson saw that his steps were stumbling, and he was obviously at the end of his strength. He raised a smile at the corner of his mouth, stopped and pulled back, and then glanced at Gordon lightly.
"Wow!"
The scene was filled with exclamations, and even Xu Xin on the sidelines couldn't help but take a breath.
Brother Erdeng had already fallen to the ground. Fortunately, he had good flexibility. If it were an ordinary person, it would at least be a hamstring strain.
Iverson paused for a full second and waited until Vasquez on the wing came over to cover before taking a shot.
"Uh-huh!"
The basketball hits the net!
The entire stadium immediately exploded. The fans had not seen such a wonderful personal attack for a long time. Iverson is the ultimate singles, the ultimate enjoyment.
On the Rockets bench, Harden's expression is no longer enough. He is already considering whether to learn acting from Mr. Bean, otherwise how can he be a qualified atmosphere team.
"You play Eric (Gordon)."
Butler gestured to Jeremy Lin.
"If I don't come, do you think I can do it all?"
Jeremy Lin shook his head like a rattle, making everyone laugh.
48:30.
In the following rounds, the shooting percentages of both sides began to decline.
It's not that Iverson and Gordon's condition has declined, but that both of them have encountered heavy care from their opponents.
Iverson took the ball and approached the dangerous area, and the Hornets attacked from the side. Vasquez blocked in front of him, and whoever was closest to Aminu or Gordon double-teamed from the side.
Forcing Iverson to be unable to operate and could only shoot the ball.
But whether it is Gerald Green, Ariza, or Tucker, their outside touch is very cold, and they have been unable to make open three-pointers.
O'Neal Jr. and Lopez fought hand-to-hand inside, and Lopez won because he was young and strong. His broad body and afro made him appear larger, and he had a slight advantage in rebounding.
Fortunately, the Hornets' offense also stalled, and Gordon received the same treatment as Iverson.
Ariza personally led the defense and covered him firmly with a pair of long arms, preventing him from taking an easy shot.
As for Erdeng's offensive arsenal, dribbling is his biggest weakness. Faced with Ariza's close defense, he cannot easily get rid of it. You can only find breakthrough opportunities through pick-and-rolls.
But all this had already been in McHale's calculations. When Gordon chose to call the pick-and-roll, Ariza squeezed past the top line and did not give him a chance to take an open shot.
The players behind him who were facing off against the opponent's pick-and-roll man, whether it was O'Neal or Tucker, chose to delay and block his breakthrough route.
This kind of defensive method makes it extremely difficult for Gordon to adapt.
One pass was misplaced, one was passed to his feet and bounced out of bounds. The third time he finally passed the ball, Aminu failed to seize the wide open opportunity.
The two sides fought quite lively, but the score did not change much.
Five minutes into the second quarter, McHale took the lead in making adjustments.
Five up and five down, Harden, Jeremy Lin, Butler, Garnett and Asik all appeared.
The Hornets head coach chose to stand still. He really didn't have the confidence to use substitutes to beat the Rockets' main force.
Harden came in and made an immediate impact, playing a pick-and-roll with Garnett. After splitting, he moved laterally and faced Anderson. He rose and fell from outside the three-point line, quickly breaking the Rockets' scoring drought at 51:30.
