Basketball Legends: Strikers Are King

"No matter what the reason is, in short, keep going in the second quarter!"

Vogel saw that the second quarter was about to begin and let the substitutes come on.

After deciding to tap the potential of the players in the team, Qi Tian reduced the time he appeared on the bench.

After all, a player must not only do a good job in the starting lineup, but also lead the bench. This is still a lot of pressure on a second-year rookie.

"Try your best to be a good starter, and leave the substitutes to Lance and the others."

This is the official answer from the head coach.

Of course Vogel would not tell Qi Tian. Team president Larry Bird hinted to him that Qi Tian's contract extension was imminent. Appropriately reducing his role on the court would be very helpful for the team's contract renewal work in the summer.

The Pacers' bench is led by Stephenson and Augustin, supported by Sam Young, Hansbrough and Mahinmi;

The Rockets are Beverley, Delfino, Parsons, Marcus Morris and Greg Smith.

"Oh, why did the Rockets change their starting lineup?"

Pacers fans were a little surprised to see Parsons on the court.

After the first quarter, George and Qi Tian's playing time was staggered. It is not a secret that the team takes turns to lead the team. However, the head coach recently did not use Qi Tian to lead the substitutes. Instead, he chose to give Stephenson more opportunities. Fans

I don’t know the reason, but I can only believe in the team.

"I wonder if our substitute can match up?"

The Pacers fans were a little worried, and someone immediately comforted them:

"Hey, even if we don't have Qi Tian, ​​we still have Stephenson. His recent performance is pretty good."

Before he could finish his words, Mahinmi inside made a layup, causing Smith to foul and go to the free throw line.

The comforting person immediately had a theoretical basis and continued:

"See, our inside line has the advantage. No matter how stupid Augustin is, he can still pass the ball to the inside line!"

"Whoosh!"

Mahinmi made steady hits and added free throws, and the Pacers' scoring momentum already doubled that of their opponents.

"18-34."

The Rockets finally broke out. Delfino first hit Stephenson in isolation, and then assisted Beverley to hit a three-pointer.

"23-34."

The Rockets scored 5 points in a row to close the score.

"You are the only ones who can shoot three-pointers?"

Stephenson got angry and shot a three-pointer from outside.

With the fans' expectations, the basketball draws a beautiful arc and flies towards the basket.

"clang!"

Stephenson's fantasy of being the center of attention did not appear on the sidelines. Instead, Beverley grabbed the rebound, turned around and rushed out.

"Defend!"

Seeing that the opponent was about to play a fast break, the fans on the sidelines shouted anxiously, trying to use their voices to replace the team's defense.

Augustine and Stephenson were in hot pursuit. Their positions were one behind the other, completely surrounding Beverley.

Seeing Beverley jump up, Stephenson was overjoyed and jumped up with his opponent, preparing to make up for it on the defensive end.

But Beverly smiled slightly and did not take a shot. Instead, he jumped and passed to Delfino on the outside. Delfino, who was open, took the shot easily.

"What?"

Stephenson looked back blankly, but could only watch the basketball fly over his head.

"Whoosh!"

Accurate basketball shooting.

"26-34."

Just 1 minute and 40 seconds into the second quarter, the Rockets narrowed the point difference to within double digits.

"ohhhh!"

"pretty!"

Rockets fans cheered for joy, and they who were still a little sleepy suddenly woke up!

"Good guy, it doesn't matter why we are lagging behind. It would be great if we just look at how we are chasing points!"

The Rockets' pursuit of points continued. Parsons caused a foul on Mahinmi and made two free throws, extending their scoring momentum to 10 points.

"Substitute!"

The two teams coincidentally replaced their starting interior linemen to supplement their interior defensive capabilities.

Facing Asik, who was 5 centimeters shorter than him, Hibbert gave full play to his role, grabbing offensive rebounds and tip-ins, stabilizing the situation for the Pacers.

With Hibbert guarding the basket, the Pacers' defensive intensity immediately increased to a level, and Delfino and Asik's shots were continuously defended by them.

Unfortunately, offensively, the Pacers fell into a familiar predicament and could only rely on Hansbrough's free throws to open the score. However, the Rockets immediately used Delfino to assist Asik for a layup and clenched the score.

"Huh!~~"

Stephenson controlled the ball from the outside and looked at the opponent's defensive formation, which gave him a headache.

Although he has caught the attention of the head coach due to his all-around performance, his assists are his second choice when he has difficulty attacking the basket, which is often called a blame ball.

In this anxious moment, maybe it’s not so easy to blame?

Otherwise, think about what Qi would do?

"Give me!"

As soon as this sentence appeared in Stephenson's thoughts, he heard a voice like the sound of nature, and subconsciously moved his hands to transmit it, but when he saw the figure clearly, he was disappointed.

It turns out to be Sam Young!

"No, what ball do you want..."

Just as Stephenson was about to speak, he heard a sound coming from the direction of the basket after Sam Young's jump shot.

"Whoosh!"

Hollow hit!

"30-41."

"nice shot!"

The Pacers fans immediately cheered for the team, and there was also a burst of jubilation on the bench.

"It's awesome, I passed it on!"

Stephenson immediately gained confidence and walked back with his chest raised and his head raised.

The Rockets grabbed an offensive rebound from Asik and scored a tip-in, then turned around and caused Stephenson's mistake to seize the ball.

"Substitute!"

Coincidentally again, Harden George and others appeared on the stage, and the other main players also gradually appeared.

In front of Hibbert, Asik looked like a god of war, easily grabbing the offensive rebound and scoring a tip-in.

"nice shot!"

Two consecutive offensive rebounds and tip-ins made Rockets fans very excited. After all, it was very in line with their values ​​for their own players with inferior stature to show off their power in front of taller opponents.

George received a pass from Hibbert inside and hit a jump shot, helping the team stabilize the situation.

"34-43."

"Pull away, I want a single!"

Harden controlled the ball at the top of the arc, gestured to his teammates, and then went to play alone.

But this time, Qi Tian did not let his opponent get what he wanted. After a series of physical confrontations, the moment Harden made a jump shot, Qi Tian jumped up to complete the interference.

"Quick attack!"

George rushed out again, but Parsons was not slow and followed him closely, giving no chance at all.

"David!"

Seeing West follow up, George quickly passed the ball, but Patterson relied on his mobility to follow the opponent and actually prevented West's attack.

"clang!"

Parsons jumped up to pick up the defensive rebound, turned around and handed it to his teammates.

The Rockets' counterattack caught their opponent off guard. George chased Parsons, but was passed by the opponent with a jump pass. The basketball flew into the hands of Patterson on the outside, and Patterson made a steady shot.

"Whoosh!"

"37-43."