At 38:32, Harden's shocking dunk widened the point difference to 6 points.
With Harden's explosive dunk, the morale of the Rockets team was high, and the fans at the scene also helped. The huge decibels of cheering and shouting disturbed the visiting team players frequently, and they lost a few points in terms of momentum, which was quite timid before fighting. This is the effect of home field advantage.
"I feel like the Rockets are going to blow up."
Yang Yi said with a smile.
He has done a lot of research on the Rockets this season. Many times, the Rockets rely on a few wonderful goals to open the game, and this may be the case tonight.
When the Nets attacked, Joe Johnson couldn't get rid of Harden, and in the end he could only digest the ball through strong shots.
"Bang!"
Unsurprisingly, I hit the iron again.
Carlesimo frowned as he watched from the sidelines. He suddenly realized that he had underestimated Harden's defense.
Xu Xin observed Carlesimo's expression and smiled slightly when he saw his solemn expression.
Everyone thinks Harden is better offensively than defensively, right? You will pay the price for your bias.
During Harden's time with the Thunder, Harden's defense was not bad. Sometimes he was used by the head coach as a defensive leader to mark the core of the opponent's perimeter offense.
After arriving at the Rockets, due to the need to invest a lot of energy on the offensive end, coupled with the team's sufficient perimeter defensive resources.
McHale usually chooses to hide Harden on the defensive end and go against the one with the weakest offensive ability.
But this does not mean that Harden can't defend, especially when Xu Xin talked to Harden several times, emphasizing the importance of defense for Harden to become the league's top star, or even the number one player.
Harden himself is also very happy to improve his defense. Recently, he has learned a lot from Iverson, Ariza and Garnett.
Everyone has discovered that Harden is often unable to defend small guards who are fast and explosive, but when he defends wing players or even interior players who rely on their bodies to play, the effect is surprisingly good.
Harden's strong lower body strength allows him to not fall behind when defending, and when he cuts the ball, everyone is very surprised, whether it is his grasp of the timing or the cleanness of the cut, and he is quite unique. Master style.
Therefore, it is simply a fantasy for Joe Johnson to forcefully eat Harden.
Under the basket, O'Neal Jr. had an absolute advantage in the physical battle with Blatche, firmly blocking his position and creating enough space for Jeremy Lin to grab the backboard.
Jeremy Lin got the rebound and quickly counterattacked without any hesitation. When he came to the three-point line, he suddenly joined the ball and tried to shoot. Watson behind him rushed to interfere, but he was already counted by Jeremy Lin behind him.
It was just a fake move on his part. Jeremy Lin switched from shooting to passing, trying to pass to Harden who was following up on the wing. Watson quickly retreated to block Jeremy Lin's passing route.
Unexpectedly, this was still a fake move. After a quick operation, the ball didn't go anywhere and was still in Jeremy Lin's hands. Two consecutive fake moves made Watson dizzy and make him look like stars.
Who am I, where am I, I want to go home!
At this time, there was no one two meters in front of Jeremy Lin. He easily took off and hit a three-pointer.
41:32.
"Wow, oh oh oh. Shuhao has such a showy side, he's full of fake moves, teasing Watson!"
Yang Yi said excitedly and started the classic oh-oh-oh again.
Jeremy Lin's operation once again ignited the enthusiasm of the fans at the scene, and the cheers and shouts hit the hearts of the visiting team players like a tsunami.
Carlesimo quickly called a timeout. He only hesitated for one round, and the point difference reached double digits.
If we don't call a timeout, I'm afraid the suspense of the outcome of the game will be lost.
"This quarter lasted for more than three minutes. The Rockets held the Nets scoreless and hit a 9-0 climax. The Rockets' home court is well-deserved. It's terrible."
Yu Jia said that maybe because Yao Ming played for him, and because the current general manager of the team is still his compatriot, Yu Jia also has a preconceived liking for the Rockets.
"Now it depends on how Carlesimo adjusts. No kidding, if he directs this game well, he might become a regular player."
Yang Yi smiled.
"Deron, you've got it."
Carlesimo looked at Deron Williams standing aside and said.
"Okay, coach."
Deron nodded, he also knew that the situation was a bit serious now. Attack, you can't attack, you can't defend, you can't defend. If they fall into a scoring drought for another two minutes, the point difference may be as high as 20 points, and then the game will basically be settled.
Against a strong team, 20 points is definitely an insurmountable gap, and the possibility of a comeback is extremely slim.
"You don't need to play by yourself, just pass more passes to Joe (Johnson). Joe, this time you run and play, use the screen to find opportunities to get rid of James (Harden)."
Carlesimo arranged.
During this timeout, he mainly talked about how to attack and how to score, but did not mention much about defense.
There is only a little timeout, and even attacking is not enough.
Furthermore, as long as the team's offense scores, it can limit the Rockets' transition offense. He also saw that the Rockets played well offensively in this quarter, mainly because of their good defense.
If the Rockets also play positional warfare, their offensive efficiency may not be very high.
After the timeout, the Nets' offense really improved. Deron's sorting out the team's offense is not something Watson can compare to.
Joe Johnson used Humphries' lower screen to successfully get rid of Harden and moved to the 45-degree three-point line on the wing to get a wide open opportunity.
Deron passed the ball without looking at anyone and accurately found the Eagle King. The latter took a look outside the three-point line and jumped up to take a shot.
"Uh-huh!"
The basketball hit the net at 41:35.
After the ball was scored, Joe Johnson looked up to the sky and screamed. After a long drought, he finally scored.
"Joe Johnson is open, which is not good news for the Rockets."
Yu Jia said.
"Carlesimo is still quite good. He sees that the biggest problem in the team's offense is to let Joe Johnson hold the ball. Harden chose to gain weight this season in order to perform better on the offensive end. Now Harden He’s not afraid of you playing with the ball, but if he’s running and playing, he’ll have a hard time, and his speed and lateral movement will suffer.”
Yang Yi explained.
The Rockets attacked, Iverson dribbled to the frontcourt, faced Deron, and chose to play by himself.
McHale's pregame arrangement was that anyone who faced Deron could fight resolutely, just to consume him on the defensive end.
Iverson's continuous forward change of direction and suspended dribbling made Deron a little overwhelmed, but he still stubbornly blocked Iverson with his willpower.
Seeing that Deron was at the end of his strength, Iverson took a big step forward to the right and suddenly accelerated. Deron was too busy to focus his weight backwards and quickly followed up. Iverson changed his moves while moving, stopped suddenly and pulled back, stopping Deron in place, and made a steady hit in the mid-range jumper.
43:36.
