NBA Old Age Star System

Chapter 334: Continuous battles against the Rockets and Warriors

Normally, the combination of Butler and George would be evenly matched against the Rockets.

But this time it's different. The Rockets feel great this time.

After the Lakers lost Su Tian, ​​Butler took the initiative to defend Harden.

But facing Butler's defense, Harden did not show a restricted performance.

Harden held the ball, first made a direct shot from outside the three-point line, and then rushed to the basket for a layup.

Paul is also beginning to exert his strength here. Although Paul is better at assisting his teammates, he is not ambiguous when he really wants Paul to score.

Pull-up jump shots, three-pointers, layups, Paul is constantly showing his value.

On the Lakers' side, Butler and George can barely survive.

The shooting percentages of the two are not bad, both are at normal levels, but unfortunately the Rockets are more efficient.

At the end of the third quarter, the point difference had reached 12 points.

"12 points. The task is quite difficult. Su, please protect yourself. Your health is more important than winning or losing the game."

Wharton looked at Su Tian with a serious face, constantly reminding Su Tian of the issue of protecting himself.

"Don't worry, coach, I know."

After hearing Su Tian's assurance, Wharton felt relieved.

The Rockets' bench is also arranging the fourth quarter game.

"Su must be the main output force of the Lakers in the fourth quarter. James, you only have 2 minutes of rest time, take time to recover your strength. Eric, James is not here in the first 2 minutes, you have to support the team's offensive output."

"Pj, I know it's difficult for SU to defend in the fourth quarter, but you have to do your best to defend."

After the first pass, the inter-section break ends and the fourth quarter begins.

"Charles, let's predict whether the Lakers can make a comeback in the fourth quarter."

Barkley hesitated a bit and said: "There is nothing wrong with Su in the fourth quarter, but the current state of the Rockets is really unpredictable, and I don't know what the final result will be. Let's see how the players on the field play. Bar."

The first possession of the fourth quarter was given to the Lakers, and Caruso came to the frontcourt with the ball.

At this time, the Lakers lineup has Su Tianding at the third position, leading a group of substitutes.

After Caruso came to the frontcourt, he passed the ball directly to Su Tian.

Su Tian got the ball and faced PJ Tucker's defense.

In the current Rockets lineup, pj Tucker is undoubtedly the most reassuring point in defense, but even so, it is still not enough to face Su Tian at this time.

After consecutive cross dribbles, Su Tian suddenly burst into the inside line, took the lead in getting to the basket with his speed advantage, and made a direct layup.

"Su's speed is too fast, Tucker can't keep up."

"Yes, Tucker is a striker after all, and he is still a little unable to deal with someone like Su."

The ball rights transitioned and the Rockets attacked.

Gordon came to the frontcourt with the ball, faced Caruso's defense and broke through hard. After coming to the inside, he made a layup against Boucher's defense.

boom--

drop--

Basketball strikes, but the referee also blew the whistle at the same time, and Gordon successfully won a free throw opportunity.

Gordon went to the free throw line and made two free throws.

Su Tian finally got on the court, so he naturally wanted to catch up with the score quickly, but his touch didn't seem that good today. He made two consecutive three-point shots and all of them were irons.

Su Tian thought about it carefully, changed his mind, and started walking towards the basket to improve his success rate.

But just after scoring a rocket, a timeout was called.

"James, come on, the point difference is barely maintained now. As long as we can hold on until the end of the game, we will win this game!" D'Antoni looked at Harden and said.

"The Rockets called a timeout, and we saw the Rockets make substitutions. Harden actually came on the court again, and it only took a few minutes to rest!" Barkley said.

Players from both sides returned to the court, and Su Tian also found Harden playing again.

But at this time, Su Tian had no intention of talking trash to Harden. After all, the Lakers were still lagging behind.

After Harden came on the court, he directly took over the team's ball and began to lead the team.

Of course, Su Tian also knew that Harden was the key to the Rockets, so he took the initiative to defend in front of Harden.

Seeing Su Tian coming over, Harden didn't panic. He dribbled the ball from his hip and shot a three-pointer against Su Tian's defense.

Harden's shot was so sudden that Su Tian was startled, but luckily the basketball didn't go in.

Boucher got the rebound and passed it to Su Tian. Su Tian wanted to start a fast break, but the Rockets retreated too fast and the opportunity was lost.

After falling into the position, pj Tucker came to Su Tian again.

Su Tian successfully scored a goal by changing the rhythm, which relieved some pressure.

But turning around, Harden assisted Gordon and hit a three-pointer.

"It seems that the Rockets' momentum has not stopped and is still continuing."

"Yes, the Lakers are in danger now."

The point difference still remains at double digits, but it is almost halfway through the fourth quarter and the pressure on the Lakers to chase points is increasing.

Walton frowned on the sidelines. After Harden continued to assist his teammates to score, Walton called a timeout.

"Jimmy, Paul, you've almost rested. Let's play. This game is a bit beyond my expectations. I can only say that you should try your best."

The Lakers did improve after Butler and George came on the court, and the point difference was once chased to about 5 points.

But then a wave of three-pointers from the Rockets without warning directly extinguished the Lakers' hopes of chasing points.

Two minutes before the end of the game, Su Tian still wanted to try harder and launched the God's Hand.

The prediction of God's hand was indeed accurate. After Su Tian intercepted the Rockets' pass, he immediately made a fast break and dunked it.

But unfortunately, until the end of the game, the point difference was not caught within 3 points, and Su Tian had no chance to launch a "super jump shot."

In the end, the game ended, and the Rockets defeated the Lakers 131-125.

The moment the whistle blew at the end of the game, the fans on the scene burst into loud cheers, and the voice of the MVP was endless.

Since Su Tian came to the Lakers last season, the Rockets have been suppressed by the Lakers and rarely defeated the Lakers on the frontal battlefield.

This victory can be said to be a shot in the arm for the Rockets.

"Su, what do you think? I'll just say that I will win this one."

After the game was over, Harden returned to his cheerful appearance and said to Su Tian with a smile.

Su Tian shook his head with a helpless smile and said, "James, you are good this time, wait for the next game, I will win."

In competitive sports, winning or losing is normal, and Su Tian cannot afford to lose.

本场苏天全场拿到24分11助攻8篮板3抢断1盖帽，乔治26分8篮板4助攻，巴特勒21分4助攻4篮板。

For the Rockets, Harden had 48 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. It was an explosive game.

保罗18分9助攻3篮板2抢断，戈登30分5篮板4助攻。最要命的是火箭的三分球，火箭全场一共出手68次三分球！命中28次！三分球命中率超过四成！

Barkley also saw this statistic and just said: "The Lakers did not lose this game. The Rockets feel great."

In the post-game interview, Harden was naturally the protagonist of the interview. Even the questions asked to Su Tian were all about Harden.

"Su, what kind of player do you think Harden is? Has he made significant progress this season? Is there any hope of winning the regular season MVP?"

"You know, Harden is an extremely good player. He is the real core of the Rockets and has regular season MVP-level combat capabilities. I don't know whether he can win this award, but first he has to Make sure you are better than me."

As the MVP of last season, Su Tian had no problem saying such things, and no reporter would think Su Tian was arrogant.

After this game, the clamor for Harden to win the MVP became even louder.

After losing to the Rockets, the Lakers' number of losses came to 4 games, but the Lakers' danger is not over yet.

After the game against the Rockets, the Lakers only rested for one day before continuing on the road. This time they faced the Golden State Warriors.

Su Tian didn't know how the league arranged the schedule. The Rockets and the Warriors were coming together, and the Lakers were under a lot of pressure.

Within the Warriors, Cousins ​​​​has returned, and the Warriors lineup has reached an unprecedented five-star luxury lineup.

After Walton led the team to Auckland, he has been thinking about whether to take a rest.

A game against the Rockets is a huge drain on the Lakers players, but the experience accumulated against the Warriors is very important, and Walton doesn't want to miss it either.

After much thought, Wharton found Su Tian and wanted to listen to Su Tian's advice.

"Su, what do you think? Should we rest in rotation, or attack with all our strength?"

Su Tian did not answer Wharton immediately, but thought about it carefully.

"I personally have no problem. I can first see how Jimmy and Paul are doing. If possible, I'll try to play. If my body doesn't allow it, let them take turns."

Wharton frowned when he heard this. Su Tian meant that he would definitely play. As for the others, it depends on the situation, which means that the Lakers are on a "half-week break."

"Okay, then I'll go and see how they are doing. If it's okay, I'll do it. If not, I'll talk about it later."

The next day, Walton announced the rest list.

George felt discomfort in his ankle. Considering that George had experienced major injuries before, Walton still let George rest.

Also resting are Brunson and Nance, both of whom are considered main players, so resting will definitely have an impact.

As a result, the Lakers' starting lineup was adjusted to Su Tian, ​​Butler, Ingram, Kuzma, and Boucher.

On the other hand, the Warriors are doing their best.

Curry, Klay, Durant, Green, Cousins.

"The Lakers just lost to the Rockets, and now they have to face the Warriors again. The Lakers are under a lot of pressure," Barkley said.

"Yes, that's right, but the Lakers don't need to worry too much, because Cousins ​​has obviously not integrated into the team yet, and the overall operation of the Warriors is not so smooth."

Kenny Smith's words gave Lakers fans a glimmer of hope, but immediately after receiving the Lakers' starting lineup, Smith and Barkley couldn't help but look at each other.

"Well, it seems that the Lakers players were really exhausted in the last game. They rested three main players in today's game."

"With such a lineup against the Warriors, IMHO, the chances of winning are not high."

"Indeed, only the Lakers with a full lineup can compete with the Warriors. Now that the Lakers' lineup is still incomplete, the chance of winning is even smaller."

As the two talked, the game time came quietly.

Players from both sides came on the court, and Cousins ​​easily defeated Boucher to get the first offensive right.

Su Tian found that Boucher was still a little excited when facing the Warriors, maybe because he was not taken seriously by the Warriors.

Curry got the ball and came to the frontcourt with the ball.

Facing Su Tian's defense, Curry did not take action directly, but called Cousins ​​​​to step forward and cooperate with the pick-and-roll.

Cousins ​​has only returned for two games, and his cooperation with his Warriors teammates is not yet mature enough. The Warriors must seize all the time to get Cousins ​​in.

This time, it seemed that there was a problem with the cooperation. Curry used Cousins' pick-and-roll to try to make Cousins ​​go down, but Cousins ​​bounced outside the three-point line.

The two of them were stunned for a moment, giving Su Tian a chance to catch up with Curry again.

Curry reacted quickly and immediately changed his focus and broke through to the basket.

But at this time, Su Tian had returned to his defensive position, and even if Curry broke through to the basket, he would not have any room to shoot.

In an emergency situation, Curry had a flash of inspiration, made an emergency stop, and then stepped back to shoot.

Curry's sudden stop and retreat shot from a distance within his hands really hit Su Tian and gave him a little space to shoot.

But Su Tian's "defensive shock" is still effective at this time, and this kind of shooting action is not something Curry is familiar with.

boom--

Basketball is playing iron. At this time, Cousins ​​​​is still outside the three-point line, and Boucher grabbed the rebound.

Su Tian stepped forward to receive the ball, turned around and started a fast break.

Su Tian was very fast, and the Warriors were not slow either. For a moment, Curry, Durant, and Green were all heading towards Su Tian.

Su Tian rushed to the front with the ball, followed by the Warriors players chasing after him.

When Su Tian came to the front basket, he looked back, then collected the ball and took off.

bang——

Dunk with both hands.

2-0
The Lakers are at a disadvantage in terms of lineup and hard power, so they must take the lead in terms of momentum.

After all, Oracle Arena is the home of the Warriors, so Su Tian's dunk did not cause a big reaction. On the contrary, there were some boos.

The ball was given to the Warriors again, and Curry came to the frontcourt with the ball.

This time Curry passed the ball directly to Green and turned around to run without the ball.

When Green got the ball, he didn't hit it hard. Instead, he passed the ball to Durant again.

Durant gets the ball to Ingram.

Although Ingram's draft template is Durant, the gap in reality is not 01:30 points.

Durant directly broke through Ingram's defense in a double disguise, and then made a mid-range jump shot.

Swah——

Durant made a solid mid-range hit.

2-2
Durant's goal was a response to Su Tian, ​​and the two sides began to enter a battle.

Su Tian first assisted Butler for a layup, then hit a three-pointer of his own. Turning around, Butler assisted Boucher for a dunk.

On the Warriors' side, Curry ran without the ball to contain Su Tian, ​​and also took the opportunity to cut to the basket and score two goals. Green also passed the ball to assist Klay in a three-pointer.

Durant, on his side, can defeat Ingram alone without the help of his teammates, and the success rate is not low.

"It's still a good game to watch! The score keeps rising."

(End of this chapter)