In fact, before the two quarters of the game were finished, the score the Mavericks got was not too low.
In today's league, scoring 50 points in a half is definitely above the passing mark.
However, the offensive efficiency of the opponent the Mavericks faced today, the Rockets, was too terrifying.
In fact, except for being caught off guard by "Ultimate Basketball" in the second quarter, the Mavericks played very well the rest of the time.
This is why Carlisle has always maintained extremely high confidence.
[You Rockets can’t be so fierce the whole game, right?]
He thought in his heart.
Therefore, when he saw Nowitzki hit a three-pointer as soon as he came on the court, Carlisle saw hope of a comeback!
Also holding the same view as him are the fans at the American Airlines Center.
Led by Cuban, Mavericks fans worked very hard to cheer up the players.
It can be said that they have become the sixth man of the team at this moment!
"Defense!!!"
"Defense!!!"
"Defense!!!"
...
In the midst of this unanimous shouting, the Mavericks players were secreting adrenaline like crazy, and each of them seemed to have forgotten their fatigue and began to "strengthen their body" for the Rockets.
The first one to bear the brunt is Kidd.
The old Kidd doesn't have much to offer now, but his defense is definitely still online.
He saw that Curry's current confrontation ability was insufficient, so he used frequent physical contact to interfere with the latter's rhythm.
Moreover, Kidd controlled the defensive scale very well.
He did not rush forward or steal rashly, but instead created more physical confrontations without losing his position.
This move worked well. Curry was a little embarrassed by the defense and kept retreating in an attempt to distance himself from Kidd.
But the old Kidd also has a good sense of space. He is well versed in the principle of the enemy retreating while we advance, and always maintains a position one step ahead of Curry.
After being lucky for a few seconds, my mood gradually became irritable.
And his teammates are currently not running out of space, and he does not have a good passing option.
"Oh, forget it..."
Curry muttered something, and then shot a three-pointer directly at the old Kidd...
This choice was completely beyond Kidd's expectations.
[I didn’t lose my position at all, and you were still two meters away from the three-point line. Why did you take the shot?]
Kidd was speechless.
Moreover, Curry's shot is extremely fast. It takes less than half a second from bending his knees to the final wrist-pressing shot!
This directly led to the distance that Kidd released, giving him no chance to interfere with his shooting.
"Shua~"
Basketball hollow into the net...
The roar of the fans in the audience disappeared instantly.
An old fan waved his hands helplessly and sat back in his seat.
"This doesn't make sense at all. How to fight? Jason can defend himself without any problems!"
He complained to his friends around him, but received the same helpless response.
After scoring the goal, Curry hammered his chest and then raised his hands to the sky.
For some reason, when the Mavericks fans heightened the atmosphere, not only did he not feel nervous, but he felt inexplicably excited.
Now Curry only feels that there is infinite energy in his body, and he just wants to vent it in the game!
............
While the Mavericks fans were sighing, the three referees on the field exchanged looks with each other.
The referee nodded and silently put the whistle in his mouth.
The game continues.
Changing sides and fighting again, Kidd passed the half court with the ball.
Curry, who is in a state of excitement, is also particularly energetic on the defensive end.
When he thought about how many bodies Kidd had gotten when he was guarding him, Curry decided to retaliate in the same way.
With one quick step, he suddenly approached Kidd, and then he imitated the latter's defensive strategy and continued to use his chest to exert physical resistance.
However, less than two seconds after Curry followed suit, a "beep" came from the sidelines.
"Rockets No. 30, blocking foul!"
The referee made gestures and said to the technical table.
Curry's eyes widened and he held his head in his hands, looking confused.
"He was so defensive about me just now!"
Meng Shen was so angry that she took out the braces from her mouth and went forward to ask the referee for an explanation.
The referee kept retreating and did not communicate with him at all.
McGrady saw that Curry was a little excited and quickly stopped him: "Forget it, it's just the home whistle."
After hearing Big Brother's advice, Meng Shen quickly controlled his emotions and said nothing more.
In addition, since the Rockets had committed more than 5 fouls in this quarter, Kidd went directly to the free throw line.
After two free throws, the point difference between the two teams was reduced to 10 points.
In transition between offense and defense, Curry passed half court with the ball.
Although he was a little angry just now, he did not become emotional because of it.
After reaching the top of the arc, Curry calmly observed the movement of his teammates.
Seeing that his attention was elsewhere, Kidd immediately made a forward leap and reached out to intercept Curry's ball.
However, Meng Shen reacted very quickly and quickly turned sideways, trying to separate the opponent from the basketball with his body.
However, Kidd did not give up.
He adjusted his steps slightly and struck again from a very tricky angle.
From a God's perspective, we can see that Kidd wanted to cut in from the side and avoid Curry's ball protector.
But in the flash of lightning, he didn't grasp the angle well...
As he made contact with the ball, his shoulder hit Curry hard.
Just hearing a "bang", Curry staggered back and completely lost control of the ball.
After Kidd intercepted the ball, he paused for half a second. After finding that the referee had no indication, he immediately accelerated and launched a counterattack.
Curry came back to his senses, spread his hands in the direction of the referee, and chased after him with all his strength.
But after running a few steps, Kidd suddenly stopped in front of him, as if he had eyes in the back of his head.
Curry wasn't fully focused and accidentally bumped into him.
"Oh.shit!"
Kidd yelled, fell forward in "pain" and threw the basketball in his hand toward the basket.
The ball hit the center of the backboard impartially and miraculously bounced into the net.
At the same time, the referee's whistle sounded again - Curry committed a defensive foul!
Kidd scored two points and had to add a penalty!
All the Mavericks rushed to Old Kidd and pulled him up excitedly.
The fans at the scene also regained their previous momentum and began to make waves again.
Some are happy, some are sad.
Curry laughed angrily and kept shaking his head.
When Kidd walked to the free throw line, he walked to the linesman and whispered:
"When I was attacking just now, you were right next to me... Was there really no foul on Kidd's steal?"
The linesman smiled slightly: "There was indeed some small physical contact, but he touched the basketball first."
"???"
Curry had a question mark on his face.
When Kidd took the ball, Potian also touched the ball while bumping into him.
Because it stands to reason that Curry's body lies between basketball and Kidd.
Only by letting the former "give way" can we seize the ball.
However, the referee's words also made Curry sober up.
He knew that reasoning was useless.
In the next game, the Rockets will encounter the previous "bias whistle" again.
[Are you going to operate on me? Then come on.]
Curry chewed his braces twice and thought to himself.
............
As Kidd hit the extra free throw, the score became 68:53, with less than a minute left in the second quarter.
Curry advances with the ball.
This time he changed his strategy. As soon as the half was passed, he handed the ball over and started running without the ball.
Along the way, both Yao and Griffin actively helped Curry set up pick-and-rolls.
Obviously, everyone saw that Meng Shen was angered and wanted to help him regain his place.
However, the Mavericks were very well prepared before the game.
In view of Curry's flexible movement characteristics, head coach Carlisle specifically emphasized that in addition to defenders, other players should also help defend at any time.
Therefore, when Kidd was delayed by the pick-and-roll, Terry decisively gave up his opponent and went to help his teammates cover the position.
Kidd immediately changed direction and ran in front of McGrady, who was facing Terry.
The well-trained Mavericks relied on their overall defense to tenaciously resist the talented Rockets.
However, Curry is not so easy to guard after all.
I saw that after he ran to the bottom corner, he deliberately slowed down his pace, as if he had given up the attack.
But when Terry relaxed his vigilance a little, Curry suddenly ran in reverse, then accelerated from the left corner to the right corner.
Along the way, Dayao stepped down and created a solid pick-and-roll for him.
However, just when Curry finally got rid of Terry...
"Beep!"
The whistle sounded again and again.
Curry turned back blankly and looked at the referee.
"No. 11, Yao Ming, move the pick-and-roll!"
The referee announced the verdict.
This time, it was Yao Mangbi.
He raised his right hand and pointed his index finger at himself, confirming with the referee that he was the one who committed the foul.
After receiving the affirmative answer, Yao Ming couldn't help but smile bitterly.
To block a small body like Terry, do you still need to move the pick and roll?
Simply outrageous!
Dayao shook his head and prepared to turn around and defend.
Curry on the side was not calm at all.
Although he was mentally prepared, the referee's shamelessness far exceeded his expectations.
Curry, who has always been kind, roared and walked towards the referee.
The originally fair skin became rosy due to the surge of Qi and blood.
However, the referee had no intention of coddling him.
He raised the knife and dropped it with a "t" to respond to Curry's anger.
The cute god was not at all frightened by the technical foul and continued to "greet" the referee endlessly.
Dayao was worried that he would be expelled directly, so he quickly stepped forward and hugged Curry.
"Don't be angry, don't be angry. The first half is over. We were discussing what to do during the halftime break."
Yao Ming touched Curry's crew cut and tried to persuade him.
It took a lot of effort to calm down the little brother.
At the same time, Nowitzki stepped to the free throw line and made a solid technical free throw.
Then, Kidd came to the sideline and prepared to serve a throw-in.
Curry gritted his braces and walked up to Kidd.
It can be seen from Curry's demeanor and body language that he is very unhappy now.
"Young people, these are necessary energies. Sometimes you can only do your own thing well."
Kidd said calmly.
When he said this, he really didn't mean to be good because he got an advantage.
It's just that as a veteran who has been in the league for many years, Kidd knows the league's methods very well.
The Rockets are a "public enemy" of the league, almost a devil. It is not surprising that the league favors the other side in order to make the game more suspenseful.
In particular, Shen Fei, the boss of the Rockets, acts in a high-profile manner and stands on the opposite side of Nike.
Who doesn’t know that the current NBA is dominated by Nike?
"If you don't serve, you will have a five-second violation."
Curry didn't want to pay attention to Kidd's remarks.
Old Kidd smiled slightly and said nothing more.
Soon, the ball was handed to Nowitzki.
After catching the ball, he raised his hand and tricked Griffin into jumping up.
George on the side reacted immediately and prepared to defend.
Nowitzki didn't give him a chance, so he made a quick stop and shot...
"Shua~"
68:56, the score difference is only 12 points.
If we enter the second half with such a point difference, the Mavericks have every chance of overturning the game!
And now, there are only 23 seconds left before halftime.