NBA: Starting with James Harden

locker room

"Guys, this opponent tonight is not very strong. You need to pay attention to the opponent's rookie Evans, who scored 33 points in the last game."Carlisle said when arranging tactics.

""Coach, don't worry, Li will handle him." Kidd put his hands on Li Zhen's shoulders and massaged him.

"Haha, I'll feed you the ball tonight, play well, and let the media who ranked him first on the rookie list have nothing to say."Marion also laughed.

The Mavericks' locker room had a great atmosphere. They all knew about the rivalry between Evans and Li Zhen before the game.

They naturally sided with Li Zhen.

In their opinion, Li Zhen was the strongest rookie this year.

So they all shouted at Li Zhen to teach Evans a lesson.

"Li, you have to be careful too. That rookie is not without strength even though he is ranked first."Nowitzki told Li Zhen.

Li Zhen smiled and said confidently,"Well, I know, but I will handle him."

While the Mavericks locker room players were shouting.

Away locker room.

Tyreke Evans���His face was very solemn.

Although Evans was full of confidence when he was talking nonsense, he was not a fool.

The gap between the Mavericks and the Kings was too big. If he was not careful, this game would make him lose face.

Of course, losing was not unacceptable, but his data must be better than Li Zhen's, so as to help him clear his name............

At 7pm, the Airline Center was packed.

Before the game even started, the atmosphere was already tense.

The camera kept pointing at Li Zhen and Evans, who were arguing before the game.

The fans were also looking forward to the matchup between Li Zhen and Evans.

This was also a nationally broadcast match.

T,N,T TV also sent Van Gundy and Harlan to comment on the game.

After the game started, the two sides played very competitively.

Marion constantly put defensive pressure on Evans, causing the guy ranked first in the rookie rankings to miss consecutive three-point shots.

Evans didn't have many opportunities to play against Marion, but he had many opportunities when he played against Kidd in a mismatch.

Although Kidd could often judge Evans' breakthrough route, he didn't have time to block his opponent, or couldn't stop him.

Evans' breakthrough was still very sharp. With his strong body, even if Kidd passed, he was suppressed by Evans.

Kidd can deal with most of the starting point guards in the NBA, but he can't defend against such a small forward in a mismatch.

Li Zhen's appearance time came very early. Carlisle sent Li Zhen to the court after playing for 6 minutes in the first quarter.

As soon as Li Zhen came on the court, the entire Airline Arena was filled with huge cheers!

All fans still remember how Li Zhen turned the situation against the Suns last night by himself.

After Li Zhen came on the court, the Mavericks' defense became more stable.

Evans also wanted to attack Li Zhen, but he failed. Li Zhen's defense is now better than Kidd's. He can accurately predict Evans's breakthrough route and then block it.

Evans wanted to use his strong body to fight Li Zhen, but his strength did not have a big advantage.

Li Zhen did not explode right at the beginning, he was double-teamed.

Li Zhen did not deliberately attack Evans, and he did not have too many good opportunities.

In the absence of a hot offensive starting point on both sides, Nowitzki and Udrih carried the offensive of the two teams.

25 to 30.

With the overall advantage, the Mavericks led by 5 points at the end of the first quarter.

The Mavericks firmly controlled the situation, Carlisle smiled happily, and everything went smoothly.

Kings bench.

Kings head coach Paul Westphal yelled at the players:"Jason, Carl, you go double-team Dirk, don't let him have a chance to play one-on-one, stay as close to him as possible and make it difficult for him!"

The Kings' disadvantage in the interior was infinitely magnified in front of Nowitzki.

King Nowitzki hasn't played so easily in a long time.

The Kings head coach couldn't help but double-team Nowitzki. In Paul's opinion, Nowitzki is the boss of the Mavericks. That rookie No. 6? He didn't perform well under the double-team, so we can't pay too much attention to him next time.

In the second quarter, Li Zhen continued to stay on the court, and so did Evans on the Kings side.

"Li Zhen also played very smartly. He did not force the ball, but let Nowitzki break the Mavericks' defense. This strategy of breaking the defense was very good. In addition, Nowitzki played very well today. The Kings chose the wrong double-team target. If they wanted to win, they should have restricted Nowitzki first, not Li Zhen."

On the commentary desk, Van Gundy praised Li Zhen and Nowitzki.

Van Gundy himself is a defensive coach, and he could see at a glance that Li Zhen cleverly used his threat to disintegrate the Kings' defense. The Kings' defensive strategy errors were also the reason why they were still behind despite scoring a lot in the first quarter.

The Kings double-teamed Nowitzki at the beginning of the second quarter.

But a superstar is a superstar.

Facing the defense of two people, Nowitzki raised his head high after receiving the ball, and then found space to complete a jump shot.

Jason Thompson and Randle tried very hard, and both of them rushed over with all their strength.

Although they defended very well, Nowitzki's one-legged stand was unreasonable and pierced through the heart!!

Because Nowitzki did not dribble, this ball can be regarded as an assist by Li Zhen.

This goal helped the Mavericks continue to widen the gap.

Seeing this scene, Kings coach Paul kept walking on the sidelines

""Get on the body!! Help defend!!!"Paul roared.

If double-teaming can't limit Nowitzki, how can we play this game?

Fortunately, the Kings' outside line is good today. Udrih, who is not very good at three-pointers, scored two in a row, and the Kings didn't let the Mavericks widen the gap.

The second quarter lasted for 5 minutes. Both sides attacked and defended each other, but the score was always in the lead of the Mavericks.

Evans knew very well that if the pace continued, the Mavericks would easily win the game, but he didn't have many good ways, the strength gap was there.

With 4 minutes left in the first half, the excited Nowitzki got another chance to play one-on-one at the corner.

His target was Randall.

Nowitzki chose to resist for two steps and then turned around and rushed to the basket with the ball!!

Nowitzki was in good shape today, and he could score in various ways.

Jason Thompson blocked Nowitzki on the other side at the same time.

"Bang!"

Jason Thompson hit Nowitzki, and Nowitzki was knocked off balance.

""Kacha!"

Li Zhen, who was nearby, clearly saw that King Nuo had twisted his foot.

""Ah!!!!" Nowitzki yelled, then fell to the ground, holding his ankle and unable to get up.

Li Zhen quickly rushed over to check Nowitzki's injury.

The team doctors also came quickly.

Thompson immediately raised his hands to show his innocence. This ball was a normal confrontation.

The big screen at the scene also replayed this defense. It was indeed a reasonable confrontation. There was not much confrontation. It was King Nowitzki who twisted his ankle.

Seeing that King Nowitzki was injured, Carlisle's face was dark.

The recent schedule was too dense, and Nowitzki was not given a rest. King Nowitzki was obviously too tired and played too high. The result is now tragic.

After checking the injury, the team doctor made a gesture to Carlisle.

Nowitzki didn't break any bones, but he couldn't play in this game.

Barea and Haywood carried Nowitzki back to the locker room slowly.

Nowitzki needed further examination of the injury.

Nowitzki's departure interrupted Carlisle's tactical arrangement.

Carlisle was not only worried about this game, he was more worried about the next playoff sprint.

On the court, Evans smiled.

And Li Zhen's face became more and more serious.

He knew that his challenge was coming.