new lord of the rings

Chapter 311 The Jedi Strikes Back!

The fourth quarter begins.

The Rockets had the ball, Jason Terry dribbled the ball across half court, Harden held the ball at the top of the arc, Howard went up to pick and roll, Harden broke through and attacked the basket, Green directly switched defenses, Harden wanted to give the ball to Howard who was running down, come here Iguodala, who was helping to defend, poked the basketball directly, and the ball rolled to Zhang Xin.

Zhang Xin quickly took control of the ball and started a transition. Green delayed Ariza who was following up near the logo. Zhang Xin took the opportunity to break through, collected the ball near the three-point line and made a shot, shook Ariza who was chasing him, and then hit with a knife Chasing three points!
Coach McHale's heart tightened. When Zhang Xin started to attack by himself, an obvious signal was that he would switch shots quickly, and most of his shots were mainly chasing three-pointers!

Coach McHale quickly gestured to limit the Warriors' starting speed.

But Zhang Xin doesn't care, whether the Rockets score or not, anyway, it's the speed!
Harden broke through and passed the ball to Jason Terry, who ran out of space. Terry missed a three-pointer. Iguodala took the ball and directly initiated a conversion. Passed the ball to Zhang Xin, and Zhang Xin shook Ali from the three-point line. Zha, a three-point shot with a right step, hit;
In the next round, Harden rushed inside, Thompson fouled, Harden made two free throws, Green quickly gave the ball to Zhang Xin, Zhang Xin didn't care that the Rockets were already in position, and passed the half court quickly, Zhang Xin waited for Green to set him a high pick-and-roll .

Zhang Xin bypassed Green, Howard was afraid that Zhang Xin would pass him, so he let Zhang Xin take a step, Zhang Xin took a step back, Howard thought that Zhang Xin was going to make a move, so he jumped up to block the cover. I saw Zhang Xin rubbing towards him.

Howard tried his best to dodge in the air, but with such a huge body, how could he dodge it? After all, he got to a point. The referee's whistle sounded in time, and Zhang Xin took advantage of the opportunity to throw the ball to the basket. The basketball falls straight into the hoop with no bias!

Howard hurriedly appealed to the referee, indicating that he had avoided it, and the referee didn't pay much attention to Howard. Since he jumped up to defend, it was natural for him to be fouled.

Taking advantage of the dead ball, McHale quickly called a timeout. Zhang Xin scored three three-pointers in three rounds and brought the score back to 17 points. This speed of chasing points was too terrifying and he had to be restricted.

The most important thing now is to open up your offense. As long as the offense is open, the Warriors can't get close to the score no matter how much they score.

McHale made tactical adjustments, but it was still not easy to play when he came back. The Warriors' five strikers were too shrinking. It was difficult for Josh Smith and Howard to play singles calmly under the attack. The starting point of the offense could only be shifted again. to the outside line.

The Warriors’ strategy against the perimeter pushes the ball handler to one side, especially Harden. As long as Harden dares to break through to the inside, the Warriors will attack with at least two people, and the others will cut off the passing route. Now the Rockets’ offense becomes more difficult. .

And the Warriors' resolute defensive counterattack was very good:
Harden was forced by Thompson to break through his right hand. When he broke into the lower right corner, Iguodala on the flank directly pinched Harden, reached out for Harden's ball, and almost knocked the ball away. Harden quickly received the ball, and Thompson and Iguodala blocked Harden with his upper body and moved his hands. Harden hurried to find someone, trying to pass the ball over his head, but Iguodala stopped him with both hands.

Seeing this, Zhang Xin quickly shot forward like an arrow from the string, and Iguodala took a step to make room for himself to pass the ball, and made a long pass with one hand!

The ball blasted towards Zhang Xin who entered the three-point line like a cannonball. Ariza quickly blocked the middle to prevent Zhang Xin from breaking through.

Oops, he's going to shoot a three!Ariza yelled in his heart.

Ariza hurriedly chased him out, Zhang Xin saw Ariza chased him out, and rushed towards the basket with a carbine. The basket was already empty, and Zhang Xin dunked successfully!
With the joint efforts of the Warriors team, they played a 26:8 climax in the half quarter, closing the score to 7 points, and McHale hurriedly called a timeout again.

The Toyota Center has become much quieter. The Rockets fans watched Zhang Xin hit three-pointers one after another. The Rockets fans were terrified. Zhang Xin's three-pointer almost shot through their hearts. Zhang Xin's three-pointer Divide, not only kill, but also punish the heart!

Back from the timeout, the Rockets discovered in despair: not only Zhang Xin opened, but Thompson also opened, and Barnes also opened. When Zhang Xin opened up the momentum, Thompson and Barnes woke up one after another. First, Zhang Xin attracted too many people. Defensive attention, and second, Zhang Xin's outburst encouraged them and boosted their morale!
Zhang Xin is similar to Curry, as long as he opens it, he will drive the entire team crazy as a top team leader.

The Warriors are fully blooming, and their defense has been upgraded to a new level, because once the Warriors score the ball, the Rockets will be forced to get off the ground. The Rockets are more dependent on transition offense than the Warriors. Definitely the next level.

Under such circumstances, the score was finally equalized by the Warriors 3 minutes before the end of the game. McHale's face sank, but his heart was already turbulent:

The situation was so good, it was abruptly pulled back by Zhang Xin, and now the two sides are back on the same starting line, the same as the last two games, and the start was good, but when it came to the final battle, the Rockets couldn't continue that tone, but the Warriors But the more you fight, the braver you are. Will it still be like this today? !
The fans of the Rockets have already started to hold their heads with their hands, and the worried expressions on their faces are almost overflowing. It seems that they were not the ones singing and dancing before. This is the status quo of the Rockets in the past few years. I can't hold back, the so-called Texas top three, the so-called three big illusions are like this.

Harden once again found that his physical strength was running out, his footsteps gradually became heavy, and he couldn't keep up with the Warriors' footsteps. Harden looked at his teammates a little blankly:
Howard was sweating profusely, and the innocent smile that always hung on his face disappeared, replaced by a dignified face;

Josh Smith's back was soaked in sweat, his usually bitter and bitter face became more and more sad, and the corners of his mouth looked like he was about to cry;
Veteran Jason Terry propped his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. Terry played hard enough today and scored 17 points;
Ariza looked particularly tired. He had the heaviest task. After all, Zhang Xin might be the most difficult defensive player in the league. Ariza also tried his best. Although Zhang Xin scored 48 points on Ariza's head, this It's not Ariza's problem. If someone else defends, I don't know how many points will be scored by Zhang Xin.

The teammates looked exhausted, and Harden was a little frustrated.

(End of this chapter)