The Way of the Center

Although Zhou Qi's performance is satisfactory enough, although this time the Chinese Derby has also made Chinese fans hooked. But a problem that the Rockets must face is that the pace of the game has been taken back by the Trail Blazers again.

D'Antoni arranged tactics nervously in the locker room, and Chris Paul and James Harden undoubtedly became the two people with the most pressure. Whether the Rockets can win the first game of the playoffs, the performance of the two of them will play a decisive role.

"Increase the number of three-point shots! Reduce mid-range shots and breakthroughs! On the defensive end, we need to be more aggressive. Even if they make fouls, we must stop them!" D'Antoni can't wait to move out his strongest weapon. I know that the Warriors' three-pointers are particularly abnormal, but in fact the Rockets are also a particularly good three-pointer team.

In the regular season this year, the Rockets ranked first in the league in three-pointers made. Except for the "Splash Brothers" of the Warriors, Harden and Gordon made the most three-pointers.

Now that there is a top point guard like Paul, the Rockets players can easily find open shots.

In the first half of the game, in order to pursue stability, D'Antoni did not let the Rockets' three-pointers completely open. But now that halftime is over and the Rockets are still six points behind, D'Antoni has to put all his eggs in one basket.

"In the second half of the game, the pressure on our perimeter defense will be huge! I need all the inside players to run, and don't just stick to the basket. You know, the Rockets have a lot of big men who can shoot three-pointers. Whether it is Zhou Qi or Ryan Anderson, I need you to press close to the defense! Don’t let the Rockets make a series of three-pointers, absolutely not!” D’Antoni is arranging the offense, and Ricard is arranging the defense . He knew that the Rockets would definitely seek opportunities from beyond the three-point line in the second half, and what Ricard had to do now was to minimize the Rockets' three-point shooting percentage.

Anjie took a deep breath. If the Rockets really turned on the three-point mode, their running range would be very large in the second half of the game.

From the basket to beyond the three-point line, Anjie needs to take care of everything. Especially now that the Rockets have Chris Paul, they will move the ball faster.

There is no doubt that this game will definitely be a tough tug of war. The matchup in the west is getting more and more difficult. This is only the first round, and An Jie has the feeling of playing in the Western Conference Finals...

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Catherine stood behind the Trail Blazers bench, and the child beside her was the three-year-old An Xiang.

The mother and son kept looking at the player tunnel, expecting the hero to come out soon. Anjie is not only a hero belonging to this family, but also a hero belonging to the whole Portland!

When the Trail Blazers players finally poured out of the player tunnel again, the entire Moda Center erupted with loud noises.

An Xiang seems to be able to adapt to this noisy environment. He waved his little arms and kept shouting "Come on, Dad".

An Jie walked to the bench, facing his wife and son. At this time, An Jie, who had a serious expression on his face, smiled slightly and stretched out his big hand.

"Can Dad win?" An Jie asked his son.

"Daddy will definitely win!" An Xiang excitedly jumped up and clapped An Jie's hands. This warm scene made the cheers of the whole Moda Center even higher.

After high-fiving his son, An Jie turned to face the court. At that moment, his originally kind expression became terrifying again. Come on Team Rocket, let's fix it all right here!

The game resumed soon after the second half, with both the Rockets and Trail Blazers returning to their starting lineups. In the first attack after coming up, Paul found Ryan Anderson in the crowd.

Morris, who was not running as fast as the ball, failed to stop Anderson from shooting in time. The big white shooter turned Paul's pass into an assist.

As soon as the game starts,

The Rockets sent a strong signal to the Trail Blazers. In any case, the Rockets' fierce outside firepower is about to fire!

"Tighter! Don't worry about the basket, I just need you to be optimistic about your matchup!" Seeing that the Rockets hit a three-pointer at the beginning of the game, Ricard also shouted anxiously from the sidelines.

Morris raised his right hand, indicating that the ball was his fault. It's not that he didn't see Ryan Anderson, but he didn't expect Paul to see the gap in the crowd and pass the ball successfully.

It's no wonder that the Rockets were willing to use most of the team to trade Paul last summer. From the current point of view, the Rockets' efforts are definitely worth it.

Afterwards, the Trail Blazers attacked, and Shabazz Napier still handed the ball to Anjie after halftime.

Anjie held the ball from beyond the three-point line, and Capela and Rockets backup small forward P.J. Tucker immediately surrounded him.

These two guys are almost the two best defensive players in the Rockets. Using this combination to double-team the center Anjie from outside the three-point line also shows how great the threat of Anjie is.

P.J. Tucker is definitely a perimeter defensive gate. During the regular season this season, he has caused Anthony and other star small forwards to get into trouble.

Seeing two people from the Rockets approaching, An Jie quickly raised the basketball high and was almost intercepted by Tucker.

But when he lifted the basketball just now, La Pera stretched out his big hand. Anjie had to hold the ball with his back, but Tucker and Capela still refused to give an inch.

"Anjie is in trouble. I don't think he can pass a good ball in such a situation!" Kenny Smith saw that Anjie was in trouble, and couldn't help admiring the Rockets' defense.

Indeed, the Rockets did a good job defensively this time. Not only did they manage to force a pass from Napier, but they also got Angie in trouble.

An Jie also found that the double-teaming was not so easy to break this time, it was not under the basket, and An Jie could still attack against the defense of two people. Outside the three-point line, Angie either breaks through or passes.

In the face of the current tight double-teaming let alone a breakthrough, whether An Jie can pass the ball successfully is another matter.

The gap is getting tighter, and P.J. Tucker has cut the ball several times. If it weren't for An Jie holding the ball tightly, maybe the basketball would have been cut away by Tucker.

Under such a tight defense, almost everyone thought that the Blazers' offense would eventually fail when the 24-second attack time ran out. At this anxious moment, an orange-red basketball rolled out from Capela's crotch!

"What! Is Anjie being intercepted or passing the ball!?" Mike Breen looked at the field in confusion.

"It's a pass! Look, Paul George is right there!" Jeff Van Gundy yelled, pointing at the court, and George "just right" picked up the ball that rolled out, and shot directly from mid-range.

With no one marking, George's mid-range shot made a steady hit. It wasn't until the sound of the Nets tumbling that Capela turned around in surprise. Trail Blazers, just scored?

Capela and Tucker didn't even notice when Angie surreptitiously passed the ball under his crotch! They are still double-teaming An Jie, but they don't know that the basketball is no longer in An Jie's hands!

"He is simply a magician with a height of 2 meters 19! My God, Capela and P.J. Tucker, they didn't notice Anjie's pass! Although Anjie can only pass a very difficult pass Roll the ball, but I have to admit, this is still a very successful assist!"

Accompanied by the exclamation of the commentators, the big screen at the scene played back the picture of Anjie's passing the ball over and over again.

An Jie seemed to be holding the basketball to protect the ball, but when Capela and Tucker were concentrating on putting pressure on him, An Jie gently rolled the ball out from Capela's crotch.

As for how An Jie discovered George, he just saw George in the gap and decided to pass it on.

Anjie trusts George, he believes that George can understand his meaning and catch the basketball. After all, George is a guy who has to entrust the team to him.

D'Antoni shook his head helplessly. The Rockets' defense has reached the extreme. It is impossible for anyone in this league to reverse the situation just now.

But An Jie, this guy really managed to turn decay into magic. The Rockets' defense had no holes, but the Trail Blazers still scored.

Although the way is a bit unbelievable, the Trail Blazers still continued to score. The competition between the two sides was still anxious, and this situation continued until the last moment, and it could not be changed.

The Rockets' ridiculously accurate three-pointer made the Blazers helpless, and the magical performance of the Blazers Anjie also made D'Antoni very helpless.

Neither side could really restrain the other side. As soon as the Rockets took the lead, Anjie assisted George to overtake the score.

The Trail Blazers just overtook the score, and the Rockets can always regain the situation with a beautiful three-pointer.

The anxious game made the temperature in the Moda Center soar. The fans shouted hoarsely, but their enthusiasm remained the same.

In the last 30 seconds of the fourth quarter, Chris Paul advanced with the ball. At this time, the score between the two sides was 108 to 110, and the Rockets were temporarily behind by two points.

Shabazz Napier stared at the front with all his attention. Paul's performance today was really excellent. Whether passing the ball or scoring himself, Paul has done his best.

At the critical moment, Napier must not lose the chain. He doesn't want to be the hero who saves the team, he just hopes that he won't be the sinner of the team's failure!

Chris Paul is very calm. Even though it is a life-and-death moment for the Rockets, he is still unhurried. Paul has experienced this situation countless times!

Ryan Anderson and Zhou Qi stepped forward to pick and roll, and both An Jie and Morris had to follow. D'Antoni's strategy of deliberately replacing two big men with three-point turrets is very clear, which is to empty the inside line of your Trail Blazers!

Paul quickly changed his rhythm from left to right twice, then broke through suddenly and stabbed to the left!

Napier, who was blocked by Zhou Qi, couldn't quickly bypass the pick-and-roll, and Morris didn't dare to leave Zhou Qi. So, Paul rushed to the penalty area in this unmarked situation!

"Don't even think about it!" Seeing that Paul got a chance to layup, George left Harden and quickly chased after Paul. Whether to choose a layup or a three-pointer, whether to choose an equalizer or a direct overtake.

George believes that under such high pressure, Paul will definitely choose the safest way to equalize the score! After all, Chris Paul has always been a point guard whose top priority is security. He doesn't often do risky things.

Just as George was leaning towards Paul to stop him from attacking, Paul suddenly flicked his wrist in the air and turned it into a pass. The basketball went around George's waist and went straight to the outside!

"James Harden! Can he kill the game!" Mike Breen stood up suddenly. This was probably the most critical three-pointer in the entire game!

Paul's passing is very comfortable, even if this is a breakthrough ball under someone's interference, Paul can still pass the ball very comfortably.

After Harden received the basketball, he didn't need to adjust at all, he could shoot directly!

Under the attention of everyone, the basketball flew over the heads of George and Paul. Falling into the net with a perfect arc!

"Go in! Go in! Chris Paul and James Harden, they are definitely the most dangerous backcourt combination in this league! It's so exciting!"

Paul jumped up and collided hard with Harden. The reason these two guys came together was for victory, for moments like this!

With only 12 seconds left in the game, the Rockets led by one point. The most frightening thing is that the Trail Blazers have no timeout!

Ricard is very annoyed now, he shouldn't have called a timeout just now. If this game is lost, he will bear the main responsibility!

In 12 seconds, the Trail Blazers must have possession of the ball across half court and complete the offense. Otherwise, the Rockets will take away a victory at the Moda Center.

And now the main controller of the Trail Blazers is Napier, who has limited ability.

All the fans in the Moda Center were shaking, they were all nervous.

At this moment, An Jie raised his arms and clenched his fists. "Hold on! We still have time!"

The leader of the Trail Blazers intends to stabilize the situation! The safety of Moda Center will be guarded by him!