The King of the NBA

After 6 minutes in the first quarter, the score was 17:12, and the Timberwolves led by 5 points.

When the timeout ended, players from both sides returned to the court, and the lineup was adjusted. The Rockets launched an offense, and Jeremy Bellin advanced with the ball, and passed the ball to Harden in the frontcourt.

This time, Harden didn't pass the ball, he went straight to singles, took consecutive cross steps, and then accelerated suddenly. Cunningham's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately took half a step back while blocking the position with his body.

"Um?"

At this moment, a strong force came from Harden, Cunningham's face changed, and he couldn't help backing away, but Harden rushed past him and scored a layup with a symbolic European step.

"Harden is starting to show off."

In the auditorium, the home fans got excited.

In the first few minutes, Harden also made a shot, but he was not so resolute. Obviously, it is different now. When the team falls behind, he, as the core player of the team, must stand up.

The score difference is 3 points.

The Timberwolves counterattacked, and Rubio looked for Ning Yi after pushing to the frontcourt, but found that Ning Yi was tightly entangled by Garcia, and the two were almost stuck together, unable to pass the ball.

"The opponent has strengthened their defense against Ning." Rubio frowned, but it was not surprising that the Rockets would definitely respond to Ning Yi's outstanding performance.

Rubio split the ball and passed it to Cunningham.

Cunningham thought about facing Harden, but in the end he didn't play. He dribbled a few steps to the left along the three-point line. When he saw Love opening his hand for the ball, he immediately passed it. Love took the ball in singles, attracted the defense and then split the ball to the middle. Pekovic was in the middle. After receiving a pass from Harden, he made a mid-range shot, but unfortunately missed.

The Rockets launched an offense, Howard got the rebound and passed it to Harden, and Harden advanced all the way quickly, stopped outside the three-point line in the frontcourt, raised his center of gravity, made a big move by Buddha, and passed Cunningham Lose.

But this time the Timberwolves took precautions. Someone had come up and delayed. Harden had no chance to shoot, so he quickly passed the ball to Jeremy Lin, and Jeremy Lin made a three-pointer.

Swish!

Also enter.

"Forest."

"Linsanity!"

In the auditorium, the home fans shouted.

Jeremy Lin hit the first three-pointer after coming up, helping the team catch up with the score.

In a blink of an eye, the score was overtaken and it became 17:17. The Rockets' strength was fully revealed. Harden's breakthrough and Jeremy Lin's three-pointer all threatened the Timberwolves.

"The opponent strengthened their defense against me." Ning Yi frowned slightly, thought for a moment, calmed down quickly, ran past Rubio, and said, "Give the ball to Love later."

Rubio nodded.

In the frontcourt, Rubio gestured to his teammates, indicating that everyone should pull the inside line away. Everyone understood, and began to move according to the tactics, pulling one side apart, and giving Love a single.

Love played singles with the ball, and the Rockets' attention was also on Love.

At this time, Ning Yi suddenly moved, and quietly slipped from the bottom line on the right side to the inside line like a phantom. When Garcia reacted, Ning Yi had already thrown him away.

"Whoosh!"

Love passed the ball behind his head without looking at people, and went straight to the inside.

This was too sudden and unexpected, because no one noticed Ning Yi. When Love passed the ball, everyone reacted, but it was too late to stop. Ning Yi received the ball and turned over with a dunk with both hands.

Landing on the ground, Ning Yi looked at the Rockets players, with a surge of pride in his heart, don't you want to guard me? In the end, you couldn't guard me, and this dunk is proof.

"Ning, you almost lied to me." Rubio ran over and said excitedly, "I thought you meant to stop the fight and let Love do it. I didn't expect that. I knew it, you must It won't be so easy to prevent."

Le Fu also came and said with a smile, "Good job."

"You passed it on beautifully." Ning Yi responded, laughing with Le Fu.

For more than a month, Ning Yi and Le Fu have become more and more tacit understanding.

Ning Yi's dunk boosted morale and almost caused the Timberwolves to take the opportunity to hit a shock wave. Fortunately, Harden and Jeremy Lin played well and stabilized the situation, but the score was still behind.

Another three minutes passed.

At this time, the Rockets were still 4 points behind.

However, more than half of the first quarter has passed. In addition, it is the playoffs again. The confrontation is extremely fierce and the intensity of the game is very high.

Coach McHale replaced Harden and Howard with Beverly and Asik.

For the Timberwolves, Adelman replaced Ning Yi, Love, and Pekovic, replaced Martin, Shabatz, and Dion, and then replaced Rubio with one minute left in the first quarter.

During the rotation time, neither side could take much advantage. By the end of the first quarter, the score became 31:27, and the Rockets were still 4 points behind.

"Whoa, whoa"

In the Timberwolves rest area, several players gasped.

This is the playoffs. The intensity of the confrontation is very high, the competition is very fierce, almost all of them are fighting, and they are going all out. No one will take a nap at this time.

"The playoffs are still too unfamiliar to them, and they need to get used to it." Adelman thought to himself, suddenly worried. Although they played well in the first quarter, they seemed to consume too much energy.

Moments later, the second quarter begins.

In this quarter, Harden re-partnered with Beverly, and Harden also acted more as an organizer, using himself to attract defenses, using breakthroughs to tear apart the defense, and sending second passes for his teammates.

Moreover, the Rockets made more frequent substitutions in this quarter. Harden, Beverly, and Jeremy Lin in the backcourt almost evened out their playing time. Bench difference.

In addition, their offense has become more patient, with more emphasis on coordination and tactics. There is no doubt about Harden's personal ability, and Jeremy Lin can also be a qualified organizer. The fight is very methodical, it seems not so intense, but the efficiency is not low.

For the Timberwolves, they still continued the style of play in the first quarter. Ning Yi and Love played well, but the opponent's defense was very tight, and their physical energy consumption was not small.

Adelman also tried to rotate frequently, but the effect was not good.

In particular, the replacement of Ning Yi or Love will have a great impact on the team. There will be a "disjoint" phenomenon on the offensive end. Although it can be connected, at this time of connection, the opponent has already given up the point difference to the chasing team. on.

So after more than seven minutes in the second quarter, the Timberwolves were overtaken by the opponent, from leading to trailing. Adelman had no choice but to replace Love.

Seeing Love galloping on the field, sweat covered his cheeks like raindrops, Adelman frowned, and he knew that his worries had come true.