From South China Tiger to NBA King

Chapter 229 The strongest opponent of this era, he is really here
Rockets head coach D'Antoni was sitting on the bench, his pupils dilated and he had goosebumps all over his body.

As a coach who extremely advocates offense, D'Antoni dreams of having a defender like Curry as the core. In the Suns back then, Nash was used as a weakened version of Curry in his hands. If Nash's shooting is more accurate, his desire to attack will increase. A little stronger, in fact, everything is difficult to say...

Although he appreciated it, he still called a timeout. When Curry's incredible touch appears, if he doesn't take action in time, he will definitely pay the price.

Without resting, D'Antoni decisively chose to double-team Curry.

But the scary thing about the Warriors is that they have too many offensive points, and no opponent can completely lock them down, because in addition to Curry, they also have Thompson and Durant.

Only teams in this era know what kind of terrifying pressure it is when your opponent team has such a combination.

The game continued and the Rockets attacked. Gordon suppressed the rhythm and hit a mid-range shot with four seconds left in the attack time to help the team continue their scoring momentum. 73 to 60.

When the Warriors attacked, Curry was followed by Gordon when he was running without the ball. The moment he caught the ball, Gordon and Harden immediately surrounded him and pinched Curry into a meat sandwich.

Fortunately, Curry has rich experience in dealing with double-teams. When the Rockets paused, he was already prepared to be flanked, so when Harden and Gordon came over, he did not panic at all and instead passed the ball behind his back. The ball was passed back to Green. After taking the ball, Green didn't stop at all and flicked the ball directly to the right corner.

The orange ball flew to the bottom corner, and a figure arrived as expected. Thompson, wearing the blue No. 11 jersey, appeared there on time and took action immediately after catching the ball.

"Brush~". 73 to 63.

The basketball hit the net, and Thompson maintained his shooting posture and retreated quickly, as if he had just done an insignificant thing.

When he retreated, he stared at the audience, staring at the Rockets fans with a cold-blooded and solemn look.

Jianghu already knows when he sees this, it is definitely not that easy for the Rockets to advance.

The Warriors' momentum has been reversed, and what the Rockets will face next is the Warriors' stormy attacks.

Sure enough, in the next game, the Warriors completely returned to their own rhythm, with crazy air cuts, crazy running positions and outside shooting.

At the end of the three quarters, the two teams had returned to the same starting line, 87 to 87.

The Warriors scored 35 points in a single quarter, easily closing the fifteen-point gap.

Yongsanfeng is Yongsanfang, and they are well-deserved. In this era, they are the only ones who have the ability to let all teams lead by 20 points and still be frightened.

The game continued in the fourth quarter, and both sides made a tacit understanding not to come on the bench, but chose to continue playing with the starting lineup.

After all, it was a tiebreaker. If they lost the game, the season would be over. Both teams, who were chasing the championship, could not accept this ending.

The fourth quarter started and the two sides continued to fight.

After the third quarter, the Warriors' state has returned to its peak state, and Harden's state has gradually declined due to the injury to his eye. In the third quarter, he shot 5 three-pointers from the outside, without any. One hit.

The entire Rockets' outside condition is also extremely poor. They missed all 11 three-pointers in a single quarter. Adding 9 in the second quarter, they have missed 20 consecutive three-pointers.

If it weren't for Gordon's consecutive goals in the mid-range and Deng's signature fouls, the Warriors might have taken the lead by the end of the third quarter.

The Warriors attacked, and Green pretended to pass the ball to the screen, and then went straight to the basket with the ball and dunked.

The game lasted 36 minutes and 20 seconds, and the Golden State Warriors took the lead for the first time.

After scoring the goal, Green posed with his arms like a muscular man, pouted, glared and roared at the audience, looking extremely arrogant.

In the fourth quarter of the game, the defensive intensity of both sides also gradually increased. Gordon and Tucker kept using their arms to wrap around their opponents, but they did it very secretly. The referee's scale was in their favor and there was no need for it. Respond to foul issues.

At this time, it is very difficult to take a shot. It is difficult for someone as strong as Curry Thompson to get an easy shot. Most of the time it is difficult and reluctant.

On the Rockets' side, all the stars have given up shooting three-pointers and are all going to the basket. Even if they take three-pointers, the defenders have to shoot completely open balls.

In such a fierce game, the protection of rebounds is very important. Logically speaking, the Rockets have Capela on the inside and strong defenders like Tucker, Gordon and Harden on the outside. They should have an advantage in rebounding. That's right.

But on the contrary, in terms of rebounding, it is the Warriors who have the advantage. Green is very keen on controlling the placement of the basketball and the timing of jumping to grab rebounds. Coupled with his long arms and amazing bounce speed, Green is generally The insider is really no match for him.

“My bowl!!!”

"You guys are so useless, this is my fourth offensive rebound in this quarter!!"

At 5 minutes and 12 seconds of the fourth quarter, Green grabbed another offensive rebound and caused a foul on Capela's hand under the basket. Before he even landed, his trash talk was directed at the entire opponent's team.

"Your mouth stinks so much, I suggest you brush your teeth before the game starts!!" Capela couldn't help but fight back.

Jiang Hu couldn't help but want to laugh. Green's trash talk was not at the same level as when he criticized Durant, and Capela responded to his trash talk like a primary school student...

Both sides kept talking nonsense, but no one was really angry, and no one really took action. After all, everyone knew that whether it was themselves or their opponents, the purpose of trash talking was to win.

When the time came to the last 2 minutes, the two sides were still tied. 108 versus 108.

The Rockets still failed to hit six three-pointers in the last quarter. The last time they hit a three-pointer was in the first round of the second quarter.

On the defensive end, the Warriors didn't even defend against the Rockets' three-pointers. Most of the time, they stayed at the basket to prevent the Rockets from breaking through.

Gordon's role is crucial to the Rockets' ability to support this point.

He once again became a soul figure in this game, supporting the whole team after Harden suffered an eye injury and missed his shot.

So far, he has scored 31 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists, perfectly replacing the Rockets' lack of firepower due to injuries to Harden and Paul.

Seeing Gordon's performance, Jianghu once again couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. Gordon and Harden can compete with the Universe and even have a chance to eliminate them. So what if it's Paul and Kobe? ?

If Paul successfully partners with Kobe, Jianghu believes they will be a golden combination.

But it's a pity that Kobe was destined to only win 5 championships in his life, which is difficult to change.

The Warriors launched an attack, and Curry was once again trapped in a meat bag, unable to move. Thompson was also tightly entangled by Harden, making it difficult for him to get a chance.

Deng rarely played hard today. Although the offensive crisis was greatly reduced due to his eye injury, he made an outstanding contribution on the defensive end. He sent 4 steals in the game, effectively stopping the Warriors' attack.

Durant caught the ball. Faced with Tucker's personal entanglement, he simply raised the ball high and hit it directly without moving the ball.

"Brush~" 110 to 108.

The basketball hit the ball steadily without any sloppiness.

Durant's face was also terrifyingly calm, as if it were a lifeless pool of stagnant water. The bigger the occasion, the more calm and relaxed he became. This is the characteristic of a superstar.

Although Jianghu looks down on Durant's behavior of surrendering to the enemy, he really has nothing to say about his strength. His size and flexibility, coupled with his abnormal shooting ability, are an absolute killer in any era. .

When the Rockets were attacking, Brother Deng seemed to be very unconvinced by his own touch. He was determined to try the outside line again. After continuously stepping back, he directly shot a three-pointer, but still failed to score.

This is the 26th consecutive missed three-pointer by the Rockets. They are one short of tying their own record of consecutive missed three-pointers at the same time.

The rebound was caught by Green. Curry was already on the right wing, and Green passed the ball quickly.

Curry received the ball and continued to accelerate, stopping suddenly in two steps outside the three-point line, which immediately attracted everyone's defensive attention.

Curry made a shooting posture, and Gordon and Harden desperately pounced on Curry to prevent his three-pointer.

Unexpectedly, Curry didn't make a shot at all. He passed a pass directly to the top of the key without looking at anyone. A slender figure came as expected and took the ball directly.

"Brush~"

The basketball hit the ball, and Durant stood at the top of the arc with his legs spread apart, maintaining his shooting posture, looking down on the audience with his iconic death's scythe posture.

The Warriors beat the Rockets 113 to 108, with only 1 minute and 15 seconds left in the game.

The Rockets requested a timeout. They must catch up with the score in the shortest time, otherwise the game will be away from them.

At the end of the timeout, D'Antoni replaced Gordon and Capela. They came up with their own death five.

Gordon, Harden, Ariza, Tucker, Gerald Green, the tallest in this lineup is Ariza, 2 meters, with an average height of 01 meters, which is ridiculously small.

But this is indeed an effective small lineup, not a three-guard lineup like Hamm's point-giving lineup.

The Warriors continue to have their regular starting lineup.

The game continued, Gordon held the ball, Tucker stepped forward to pick and roll, Gordon used the gap to get into the mid-range, and was surrounded by the Warriors.

But he took his time and passed to Tucker on the outside. The Warriors took the rotation, and Tucker passed the ball again and threw it to Harden at the top of the key.

Harden didn't hesitate the moment he caught the ball and shot directly.

But it is a pity that the number 27 is like a curse of fate. No matter it is the original time and space or the current time and space, the Rockets cannot escape the sanction of this number after all.

Just when all the Rockets fans in the audience fell into despair, a short and fat figure rose up from the ground and picked up the rebound on Rooney's head like a green onion.Putting the hand on the basket and causing Rooney to foul.

"wo~~~"

Rockets fans cheered wildly, giving it to Tucker who scored this goal. If this goal missed, it would be as scary for the Rockets as falling into the abyss.

With 50 seconds left in the game, Tucker made a free throw. 113 to 111.

The Warriors attacked, Green dribbled the ball forward, and when he came to the three-point line in the middle, Green accelerated directly, passed Tucker in one step, and went straight to the basket.

Tucker broke into a cold sweat, hugged Green quickly, and directly fouled Green and knocked him down.

Rockets fans were not happy for a while, but the situation turned against them again, and Green got a chance to get to the free throw line.

Green, who got a free throw opportunity, refused to give up. As soon as he got up, he came up and bumped Tucker with his chest.

Fortunately, Tucker is also an old man and didn't fall for Green's trick at all. He pretended that nothing happened, tilted his head to the side, raised his hands high, and looked at the referee, indicating that he was innocent.

Of course the referee would not whistle Tucker at this time, let alone Green. He quickly pulled the two away and signaled Green to hurry up and shoot the free throw.Green walked to the free throw line angrily, took the basketball from the referee's hand and started to throw free throws.

He takes the free throw very seriously, but being serious does not mean that he will be accurate. Sticking his butt out has no bonus to free throws. If so, O'Neal's free throws should be the most accurate in history, and his butt should be the largest in history... …

"Bang." Green missed his first free throw.But he adjusted in time and made the second free throw.

With 42 seconds left in the game, the Warriors were 114 to 111.

The Rockets had one timeout left. When D'Antoni was hesitating whether to call it, Cole called the timeout first.

"What a great man!!" D'Antoni was so moved that he wanted to cry. How did you know that I wanted to call a timeout? ? ?
This timeout gave the Rockets an opportunity to arrange this attack. If the next goal can be scored, the situation will be very beneficial to them.

The Rockets deployed a game-winner tactic, similar to a starburst, where a bunch of people stand at the top of the arc and then run away.

The person receiving the ball was Gordon. He had just received the ball. He took the ball from the outside and rushed to the middle in two steps. Before he could take a shot, the referee's whistle sounded.

The Warriors fouled and Gordon made a free throw.

The Warriors obviously had other plans. Instead of gambling on defense, they chose to directly foul and send them to the free throw line to test their free throw shooting skills.

Gordon obviously has a huge heart, and this kind of scene is trivial to him. He hit the ball easily, and both free throws went smoothly into the net.

114 to 113, with 31 seconds left in the game, the Warriors had the ball.

The Warriors were attacking, and Green was dribbling the ball at the top of the arc to waste time. When he saw Tucker rushing towards him, he quickly handed the ball to Durant, fearing that he would be fouled again and go to the free throw line.

It has to be said that Green is able to establish himself in the NBA as an insider with his height of 1 meters. At least his IQ is normal and there is no problem with his judgment at critical moments.

After Durant received the ball, he did not rush to attack. Instead, he raised the ball high to waste time.When the attack time comes to the last 5 seconds, he will dribble and take a jump shot.

8/7/6, “Bang.”

Before Durant could take action, Ariza's hand hit Durant's hand directly. The referee's whistle sounded and the Rockets committed a foul.

Durant stepped to the free throw line, held his breath and made the first free throw.

The Rockets fans at the scene were very desperate, because the first goal was more difficult for the free throw shooter's pace. If the first goal was scored, the chance of the second goal being scored would be much greater.

But the weather is unpredictable, people are ever-changing, and a basketball game changes every second.

Durant, who made a steady free throw in the last second, hit the ball in the back frame of the basketball in the next round. Gerald Green grabbed the rebound from Draymond Green! !
Durant missed his free throw. Although his free throw shooting rate reached 90%, he still couldn't control it sometimes.

115 to 113, 9 seconds left in the game.

The referee's whistle sounded and the Rockets requested their last timeout.

In fact, there is nothing to arrange in the timeout. The only thing they can do is to give the ball to Gordon or Harden, because their free throws are the most stable.

If the Warriors adopt foul tactics, only the two of them have the highest probability of hitting both.

The timeout ends and the Rockets attack.

Harden holds the ball from the outside, the Warriors do not double-team, and Green defends Harden alone.

Harden, who had been feeling aggrieved for a whole game, finally came to wash away his shame.

He continued to dribble at the three-point line, attracting Green's footsteps.

When Green's feet were scattered, he accelerated and passed Green directly.

Green was passed, and Harden went directly to the basket from the left and succeeded in a one-handed dunk.

This offense only took 5 seconds, and the Rockets tied the score, 115-115.

All the fans stood up excitedly and burst into loud cheers.

Green, who was pursuing the defense, was very excited at this moment. He caught the basketball the moment it fell from the basket, and then accidentally put his elbow on Harden's neck and pushed him with his elbow. .

Harden's many years of porcelain-touching skills were not in vain. He immediately fell backwards when he saw this...

The referee hesitated for a while and finally blew the whistle.

Green's action was so obvious that he couldn't blow it. The entire audience and the fans in front of the TV were watching. This whistle couldn't be blown too much.

Second technical foul, Draymond Green was ejected.

With a black question mark on his face, Green chased the referee and kept spreading his hands. However, the referee had already made a decision and did not intend to change it for him.

He had no choice but to hold his head in pain and walked to the locker room amidst the enthusiastic boos of the fans.

The Rockets had the biggest advantage in the game, with technical fouls, free throws, and the ball in the last 4.9 seconds. It could be said that half of the game was already in their pocket.

Green walked to the locker room in frustration, and Harden walked to the free throw line and hit the ball steadily.

116 to 115, the Rockets overtook the score.

"Damn, this is a bit outrageous!!!"

"The Rockets won't win in the end, right?"

Jiang Hu was a little confused. In his memory, it was not very difficult for the Warriors to win this game. The victory was basically confirmed in the second half of the fourth quarter. Unexpectedly, the script changed in another time and space! !
The Warriors requested a timeout, which was the Warriors' last timeout.

Jianghu wanted to see panic, loss or annoyance on the faces of the Warriors' players on the bench.

Then everyone on the Warriors bench was listening carefully to Cole's tactical arrangements. Annoyed?It doesn't exist. When your life hangs on a thread, there is no time to worry.

Cole's mood is very calm, and so is Curry's Durant. The opponent has the ball and is leading the score. There are only 5 seconds left in the game. It is a life-or-death situation for the Warriors, but you can't see it on their faces. Any negative emotions are just calm and indifferent.

Such an opponent is really terrifying.

Jiang Hu has to admit that he prefers the Rockets to be the opponent in the finals than the Warriors. That will give the Celtics a great confidence boost. After all, the Celtics defeated the Rockets in the regular season. 30 points.But for the complete warrior, Jianghu actually has no determination to win.

The game continued, the Rockets passed the ball from the frontcourt, and Harden served.

Without hesitation, Gordon feinted a shot and rushed directly to the backcourt. The person receiving the ball was not him, he was a decoy.

Ariza caught the ball and passed quickly to Harden.

Harden was fouled and 0.9 seconds passed.

Rockets fans finally feel a little relieved...

After all, if both free throws are scored, not to mention winning, at least they will not lose in regular time.

Harden walked to the free throw line, and the fans in the audience shouted "MVP"

Take a deep breath, exhale, shoot, hit.

Harden had a good rhythm on the first ball, and the result did not let him down. 116 to 115.

For the second ball, Harden maintained the same posture and shot with force at the same time. The basketball still came out of the basket at the same angle.

Go in.

wrong! ! !

Came out halfway in! ! !
The entire audience was almost stunned, and Harden was also a little confused.

Warriors center Rooney was the quickest to react. He jumped high immediately and protected the rebound.

In the last four seconds, the Warriors attacked quickly. Rooney threw the ball to Curry. Curry started quickly at the top of the arc. Gordon was still hesitating whether to foul.

While he was hesitating, Curry had already accelerated completely. In just two seconds, he rushed from the three-point line in the backcourt to the midfield.

Arriving at midfield, he was almost within Curry's offensive range. When the time came to the last second, Gordon finally made up his mind to foul.

However, at this moment, Curry has already taken action, and his action speed is too fast, and it is too late for Paul to foul! ! !
Curry took the shot, just two steps past midfield.

It's almost the same position as when he beat the Thunder. The difference is that last time it was on the left, and this time it's on the right.

The moment Curry took action, Gordon had an ominous premonition. He felt that his hesitation at that moment and a few tenths of a second might make him regret it for the rest of his life, and he might not be able to let it go for a long time! !
He looked back and saw the basketball flying slowly in the air, but getting closer and closer to the basket...

"Beep." The basketball is still in the air, the buzzer for the end of the game has sounded, and the red lights on both sides of the basket light up.

"Brush~" The basketball hits the net! ! !
Golden State Warriors 118 to 116 Houston Rockets.

For the first time in his life, Gordon felt that the sound of the basketball entering the net was so unpleasant and uncomfortable...

I'm confused, I'm confused...

All the Rockets players were stunned, staring blankly at the opposite basket. . .

The audience was also confused. 30 seconds ago, they were cheering and rejoicing that they were ahead and had the ball. They might advance to the finals at home. The next second, everyone was staring at the basket as if they were possessed by an evil spirit. Eyes full of disbelief... Galen whispered - silent and broken...

The only ones cheering on the court were the Warriors players. Curry ran to the locker room as soon as he scored, and the other Warriors players noisily chased after him in a passionate and selfless celebration.

Jiang Hu couldn't help but sigh: "The strongest opponent of this era, he is really here!!!"

(End of this chapter)