One Guard

Donovan Mitchell shot, grabbed and dunked himself. When he hung on the basket, everyone watching the game in the United States widened their eyes. In the confrontation with Harden, how did this guy quickly get strong at the basket?

Mitchell's dunk was played over and over again on the big screen at the scene. That dunk shocked Yiyang, a "cold-blooded animal".

D'Antoni would never have imagined that the Mavericks would tie the score in this way. The No. 45 rookie was not as nervous as people thought. As the starter in the second quarter, he completed his task perfectly. Scoring four points and dishing out an assist, Mitchell's performance exceeded expectations.

D'Antoni had to stop the game, and Paul didn't know whether he should be happy or sad. If the Rockets can win this game and Mitchell performs well, that will be the best ending. But Paul knows very well that when Mitchell can step up, it will not be that easy for the Rockets to win.

"Chris, you come back on the field and defend yourself. James, the No. 45 rookie is handed over to you. I don't want to see him perform like that again. He is just a rookie. There is no reason for him to change the situation!" Anthony was spitting and seemed very dissatisfied with his defense in the past few rounds.

This is not because D'Antoni is stingy. Any head coach would be furious if he was beaten like this by a rookie. If Popovich was on the sidelines today, the players would probably have been scolded bloody.

"We also need to be more aggressive on the offensive end. Mitchell and Yi are both strong-willed defenders. It is difficult for us to get rid of them completely. If we want to break the defense, we must cause damage!" After D'Antoni finished speaking, Paul also I picked up the tactical board and started writing and drawing.

On the other hand, Mitchell has eliminated any nervousness due to his outstanding performance. He just wants the game to restart as soon as possible so that he can continue to wreak havoc on the basket.

After the game restarted, Paul's mid-range shot immediately broke the Rockets' scoring drought. Although Paul has passed his peak, his composure is still unmatched.

Afterwards, Yiyang could clearly see that the Rockets had stepped up their guard against Mitchell. The Rockets made a big move for a rookie, and Mitchell has completed his task.

This time, Yiyang repeated his old tricks. He used the pick-and-roll with Gobert to force Capela to cover up the defense and open up the inside. Then, Mitchell accelerated the cut, and Harden followed closely, tensing his nerves. As long as Yiyang passes the ball, he will immediately reach out to steal it!

However, Yiyang, who had his eyes on Mitchell, passed the ball to Hayward. This strong white forward is actually the end point of this attack! In the last round, Hayward attracted defense for Mitchell, but now the roles of the two have been reversed.

When Hayward received the basketball, the Rockets defense had not yet fully reacted. In the air, Ariza and Hayward had a fierce physical confrontation. But Hayward is not afraid of confrontation, and layups in confrontation are what he is good at.

After a very difficult interference layup, the referee also called Ariza a foul. With the opportunity to hit a three-pointer, the Mavericks' offense has picked up. D'Antoni still wants to press, but I'm afraid it won't be that simple.

After scoring, Hayward yelled and hit his chest. Before the start of the season, most people felt that it would be difficult for the college pairing of Yiyang and Hayward to make a breakthrough in the Western Conference. But looking at it now, their attack power cannot be underestimated.

Paul's return did not help the Rockets immediately reverse the situation. Yiyang's pass and Hayward's three-pointer helped the Mavericks regain the initiative.

After Mitchell and Hayward both scored goals one after another, the Rockets no longer dared to double-team and help defend easily. And this just gave Yiyang another chance.

Chris Paul is indeed an excellent perimeter defender. His rough confrontation and well-timed little moves always leave his opponent at a loss.

But even a guy like Paul couldn't completely contain Yiyang in a one-on-one situation.

In every era, there are always a few people in the alliance who cannot be contained or influenced by tactics.

O'Neal, Kobe and James were all such players. But in this era, Yiyang has become such a character.

The Rockets' defense is being held back by Hayward and Harden, so Yiyang is welcome!

Facing Paul, Yiyang's movements were not very complicated. Instead, he changed hands from hip to hip in a rhythmic manner, and then accelerated directly!

Paul correctly judged the direction of Yiyang's breakthrough, but Yiyang did not stop the ball after being basketed. Instead, he leaned on Paul and turned around using him as an axis. Cleanly, Yiyang passed Paul!

Paul subconsciously pulled Yiyang's jersey, but Yiyang's speed still did not slow down. He went straight into the penalty area. Facing the menacing Capela, Yiyang did not use his height and that hard and black attack. Instead, he cleverly turned sideways and drilled into Capela's basket with an underhand layup. Gaps on the defensive end.

Finally, Yiyang also opened the game in the second quarter.

At this point, all three of the Mavericks' offensive perimeters have scored. D'Antoni started to find it difficult. That guy Mitchell looked like an old fritter!

Under the leadership of Yiyang, the Rockets and Mavericks once again fought anxiously until the last few minutes of the half. D'Antoni's purpose is clear. He wants to use the Rockets' strong organizational points that have been continuously available for 48 minutes to win the game.

In the last four minutes of the second quarter, Harden took a break and Chris Paul took the field again.

However, this time, Deron came on as a substitute. Mudiay plays the second position, Gay plays the third position, Kuzma plays the fourth position, and Nance Jr. plays the fifth position. For the first time, Carlisle fielded a five-small lineup to face off against the Rockets' second lineup.

The Rockets' second team does not have an outstanding inside line, which is why Carlisle dared to play like this. With organizational points like Deron, Gay and Kuzma were finally activated.

Although Deron's organizational skills are no longer as good as Paul's, the vitality of the Mavericks' second team is unmatched by the Rockets. D'Antoni originally wanted to rely on the second team to open the score, but at the end of the half, the Rockets were still two points behind because of Kuzma's buzzer-beating mid-range shot!

"Coach Carlisle's formation change was a success! With Deron Williams leading the second unit, the Mavericks' forward line is simply unstoppable!"

The performance of Kuzma and Gay allowed Yiyang to rest peacefully until the end of the half. I'm sorry Chris, your "perpetual motion machine" that can last for 48 minutes may be forced to stop by us!

In the next two quarters, the Mavericks' rookies performed very well, sweeping away the haze of death in the first quarter. Kuzma can do three or four, making Tucker and Anderson difficult to guard against. Mudiay showed his talent in playing the second position. With Deron controlling the ball, Mudiay can score with peace of mind.

Of course, the most impressive thing about this game was Mitchell. Facing James Harden, Mitchell performed like a giant.

Harden was thinking about how to knock Mitchell down, but the rookie never collapsed.

Until the decisive moment in the last two minutes of the game, Carlisle still kept Mitchell on the court. The fact that a rookie player is still present at such a critical moment shows how much Mitchell trusts him.

"Donovan Mitchell is definitely the most dazzling player today. He plays the role of the Mavericks' third giant, playing alongside Yi and Hayward, causing a lot of trouble for the Rockets' defense."

"I knew it was not without reason that the Mavericks went to war for a 13th overall pick! He has already scored 17 points, and this is only his third NBA game!"

What I regret most now is definitely the Nuggets front office. They actually sent a potential star to Dallas for Seth Curry. Mudiay and Mitchell, the Dallas Mavericks poached two new core players from the Nuggets at once. It was truly a robbery deal!

In the next few rounds, Yiyang and Harden showed their talents. Yiyang used his astonishing speed to break into the paint and pull up the lever for a layup. Harden used his step-back three-pointer to execute long-range strikes again and again.

Watching this game made the fans' blood swell, because the process was indeed as thrilling as the fans imagined. In the last 14.5 seconds, Harden's unreasonable step-back three-pointer made Yiyang's perfect defense evaporate.

"How did this guy hit the shot!? Yi's defense is already very good!?"

Score goals in impossible situations, that's what superstars are for. And this three-pointer also gave the Rockets a fatal 1-point lead in the last 14.5 seconds!

Seeing that his wish to defeat the Mavericks was about to be fulfilled, Paul excitedly celebrated by bumping chests with Harden.

Even so, Carlisle was not nervous. He knew very well that Yiyang was the most threatening killer in the entire league. Chasing one point in 14.5 seconds was enough for Yiyang.

But the Rockets' defense against Yiyang was so tight that it was almost all-or-nothing. They just want to block Yiyang's point, and in order to achieve this goal, they even don't hesitate to let others go.

Mitchell was vacated and Yiyang delivered the ball. Now the No. 45 rookie can complete the first masterpiece of his career as long as he puts the ball into the box!

However, such things as winning games are too difficult for a rookie who has just played three games. Mitchell shot because of nervousness. Seeing this, D'Antoni almost jumped with joy.

But at the critical moment, Gobert jumped hard and pulled out the basketball. Yiyang caught the basketball and shot directly without stopping!

This time, the basketball hit the net! Sure enough, for such a thing as a decisive blow, Yiyang had to come!

"The ball went in, Rudy Gobert's key rebound and Yi's key mid-range shot, they teamed up to crush the Rockets' dream!"

This exciting moment made the American Airlines Center Arena celebrate and beat the Rockets. Is there anything more exciting than this?

Of course, Yiyang's buzzer beater did not completely kill the Rockets because he left Harden and Paul 2.3 seconds.

D'Antoni used up the last timeout to lay out a tactic for their winning attack.

After the timeout, everyone was on tenterhooks. If the Rockets succeed in their final attack, Yiyang's beautiful moment will come to an end.

At the last moment, Yiyang personally defended Harden because Carlisle predicted that D'Antoni would let Harden perform this final blow.

Carlisle's prediction was indeed correct. Harden stepped out of the crowd to catch the basketball and made a shooting motion. Yiyang quickly jumped to interfere.

However, when Yiyang flew towards him, he realized that Harden was just a fake shot! With only 2.3 seconds left on the clock, he was still able to calmly make a fake shot. This bearded man is really different from before.

Yiyang felt a chill in his heart. If Harden passed him and shot an open shot, the Mavericks would have a narrow escape!

Harden calmly raised his hands, but just when he was about to take a shot, a pair of big hands blocked Harden's eyes, seriously interfering with his shooting!

"Donovan Mitchell, make up for it!" Mike Breen stood up. He didn't know how Mitchell judged it, but the rookie did successfully block the opponent after missing the key shot. The key ball!

An electronic buzzer sounded, and Harden and Paul covered their heads in pain. The Mavericks' third giant seems to have appeared.