The Way of the Center

When Nell Orsi saw James Harden make that three-pointer, his heart sank to a trough.

Paul and Harden almost killed the game, and the connection between these two guys was so deadly every time.

In the last 12 seconds, the Trail Blazers had no timeout. Through the close-up shot of the big screen at the scene, Orsi could see that Ricard was very remorseful at the moment.

What about the Rockets? At this moment, they are still holding a chance for a timeout. In fact, the two insiders Zhou Qi and Ryan Anderson of the Rockets are not very suitable for defense at the last moment.

If D'Antoni wanted to make a substitution, he would have to call a timeout while in possession of the ball. But D'Antoni didn't intend to do this. He would rather gamble on the defense of Ryan Anderson and Zhou Qi, and he didn't want to give the Trail Blazers any chance to adjust.

The new rules of the NBA this season have reduced the number of timeouts in each game, from 18 to 14. Official timeouts have been cut from 10 to eight. And the biggest change that made Ricard make a mistake was with the game. In the last three minutes of the game, each team can only call a timeout twice at most!

Indeed, Adam Silver's decision can make the rhythm of a basketball game more coherent and exciting. Especially at the last critical moment, often wonderful games will be interrupted by endless timeouts. But now, that will no longer be the case.

The league's changes to the rules did make the game look better, but it also made Ricard helpless about the current situation.

The moment Morris received the referee's pass, time was already urging him. The Rockets undoubtedly used the full-court press defense, and they wanted to put pressure on the Trail Blazers during the serve phase!

If Lillard is still there now, the Rockets might not dare to be so bold. Because of Lillard's speed and breakthrough ability, it is very likely that he will break through all the shackles and make the decision to press the audience self-defeating.

But facing Shabazz Napier, the Rockets don't have so many worries. Thank goodness for the guy getting the ball across half court safely under pressure from Paul!

Morris has been looking for a receiver. If he can't pass it, he will violate the law!

Shabazz Napier pulled out all the stops and managed to get a little space. Morris seized the opportunity to pass hard, and the basketball passed Paul's finger and came to Napier's hands, almost being intercepted!

"It's a close call! If Chris Paul's finger grows another two or three centimeters, the ball might really be broken!" Jeff Van Gundy was frightened into a cold sweat while sitting on the commentary stand. At the last moment, Paul's steal was successful, and the game was really over!

Shabazz Napier didn't have time to adjust his heartbeat after receiving the ball. He immediately turned around and pushed forward with the ball, and the time on the rebound timer was urging him all the time.

Chris Paul chased after Napier crazily. Although Paul is behind Napier, this guy definitely has the ability to steal from behind.

Napier dare not be careless, all he can do now is to run forward like crazy, and then give the ball to someone who has the ability to end the game!

Just after halftime, Paul George raised his hand at Napier. Napier seemed to see the dawn of hope, he flicked hard, and the basketball quickly ran towards George.

As soon as George took the basketball, the defensive gate of P.J. Tucker was in front of him. P.J. Tucker's reputation may not be great, but his defensive ability is indeed a guarantee that he can gain a foothold in the league. This guy didn't give up at all against the league's top perimeter scorers.

George held the ball in a three-threat pace, and swayed with the ball. P.J. Tucker's eyes seemed to see through, and he wasn't impressed at all. Just as George was doing the action, several seconds passed, and the entire Blazers team had already settled down.

Ryan Anderson knew that he had no way to wrestle with An Jie, so he chose to go around to prevent An Jie from receiving the ball. In addition, Zhou Qi, who is walking around An Jie, may steal the ball at any time,

It will be a little difficult for George to pass the ball again.

Morris? Morris is by no means the best option for a clutch offense. Andre Iguodala? Iguodala may not have the ability to shoot lore shots now, Napier? That guy is already shaking with nervousness, how can he shoot?

After looking around, George realized that this heavy responsibility had to fall on his own head!

So he didn't hesitate any longer. Although the Blazers were Anjie's team, George was a superstar anyway, and he still had the ability to shoot lore shots.

George shook his upper body and broke through directly! But to George's surprise, P.J. Tucker moved with him almost at the same time!

"Beautiful defense, Tucker didn't give George any chance at all! His post defense reminded me of Tony Allen a few years ago. George must hurry up, because time is running out!"

George gritted his teeth, Tucker's defense is indeed very strong. It is impossible to break through now, George at least has to find a space for himself to shoot.

So George deliberately took a step forward, but suddenly retreated halfway. But Tucker once again made a beautiful defense. This guy quickly changed his center of gravity and pressed up. George's retreat failed again!

"Shoot!" Seeing that time was running out and George hadn't had a chance yet, Anjie pointed at the basket inside and yelled at George.

An Jie trusts George, and George also trusts his idol, An Jie. Had it not been for Anjie, he would not have chosen to join the Trail Blazers.

Although he hasn't gotten rid of the defense yet, he can only listen to An Jie now!

George bit the bullet and forced a shot against P.J. Tucker's tight defense! It seems that Tucker's hand is almost covering the basketball. If it weren't for George's raised arc, the ball might have turned into a bloody shot.

The basketball flew to the basket, but this arc was abnormal at first glance. Catherine clasped her hands tightly in front of her chest, while An Xiang kept staring at her father. He told Uncle George to shoot directly when he had no chance, he must have his own plan!

When the basketball flew over, both Zhou Qi and Ryan Anderson were trying their best to squeeze towards the basket. But An Jie, who opened his arms, covered most of the penalty area. These two tall and thin insiders had no chance to get close to the basket.

Now the Rockets can only pray that the time will end before Anjie grabs the rebound. Or, this ball will be a long rebound, and Anjie's blocking will become useless.

As expected, the basketball hit the neck of the basket, and Tucker's excellent defense made George's shot knock out of the frame.

George didn't know what Anjie wanted to do, but he knew that the time on the rebound timer was running out!

The basketball bounced back, and the distance was farther than An Jie predicted. An Jie cursed, and immediately jumped up!

At the same time, Ryan Anderson and Zhou Qi beside An Jie also jumped up, and the three elders began to compete for the most important rebound. This picture seems to be frozen in time and space.

Angie's height is undoubtedly the tallest of the three, but the basketball is, as Ryan Anderson thought, a long rebound. An Jie had to change his center of gravity, leaned back in the air, and then took advantage of his wingspan to touch the basketball!

But even if Anjie grabs the rebound, it is useless, because there is only 0.8 seconds left on the timer!

An Jie had no choice but to use such a strange posture to push the basketball towards the basket. As the basketball flew towards the basket, the red light on the backboard suddenly lit up!

The ball finally went into the net, but no one cheered. The Rockets players did not, and neither did the Trail Blazers players and Anjie. No one knew whether the ball just now was considered effective, because An Jie hit the rebound almost at the same time the red light was on.

"I'm so nervous! It's unbelievable that Ann can make a tip-up in such a situation! But the result of the game is not certain, we need to rely on the return defense to judge who is the winner!" Jeff Van Gundy wiped himself Sweat on his forehead, his heart was beating wildly. If he was An Jie's head coach now, he would definitely faint on the field due to tachycardia. It seems that choosing to retire is really a wise choice. The profession of NBA coach is not something that anyone can do.

The Rockets and Trail Blazers players gathered in two groups, waiting for the referee's penalty. The three on-duty referees nervously walked to the technical stage with earphones to watch the replay. This kind of situation where the referee decides the winner of the game is the one they hate the most.

The big screen on the scene is connected to the technical platform synchronously, and players and fans can also see what the referee sees in real time.

Judging from the normal speed, the moment An Jie touched the basketball, the red light turned on. No matter which angle, it is true.

But this judgment will certainly not be so light, the referee decided to re-watch the ball at a doubled speed.

Through the slow-motion playback, people not only enjoyed the wonderful picture of Anjie leaning back in the air, but also clearly saw that when Anjie grabbed the rebound, there was 0.3 seconds left on the timer!

Finally, the red light on the backboard came on. At this moment, the referee pressed the pause button! Looking at An Jie again, at this moment, the basketball and An Jie's palms have separated! Although the distance may be only one centimeter, it turns out that An Jie did shoot before the red light came on!

With the pictures as proof, before the referee announced the result, the Blazers players rushed towards An Jie one by one.

"Lore! Another great lore! Anjie, he has added another wonderful picture to the NBA! He is a great player, he is a living legend!" Jeff Van Gundy opened his voice and said His former disciple shouted.

Catherine looked at her son with a smile, and An Xiang was also running around happily. My father, sure enough, never made unprepared plans! He asked Uncle George to shoot, and he really had his own strategy in it!

Harden and Paul looked at each other, shook their heads helplessly and left the court. This damn place is still fucking nasty....

The players of the Trail Blazers surrounded An Jie, no matter when, they knew that this leader would definitely stand up!

In the first game of the playoffs, the Blazers won the game without any risk under Anjie's lore.

1 to 0, although this lore is not enough for the Trail Blazers to advance. But at least, Anjie gave the team a solid foundation for promotion.

Mighty Houston Rockets? Although come on, this will not be the last victory of the Trail Blazers!