Yi Jianlian looks dull, but he is actually very sensitive on the inside.
He can sense other people's attitudes quickly.
Such as now.
As soon as Ah Lian took the field, he felt the contempt from the Mavericks, from the players to the fans.
He pursed his lips and threw away the irrelevant emotions.
Arab League knows that being substituted at such a critical moment means that the coach has high hopes for him.
He didn't want to live up to this hope.
But at the same time, Arab League also knows the difficulty.
The biggest problem before him now is how to defend Nowitzki next.
The two have faced each other many times at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
The situation of the battle can be summed up in one sentence - Nowitzki ruthlessly crushed the game.
He got everything he wanted from Ah Lian and used all kinds of offensive methods like a fish in water.
[No matter what, we must never let him succeed easily again...]
Yi Jianlian secretly made up his mind.
The game restarts.
Mavericks offense.
Kidd holds the ball and organizes the offense at the top of the arc.
Nowitzki came out from the right baseline and came to the left low post to ask for the ball.
The Arab League gritted its teeth and, after a physical confrontation, successfully got around to the front of the German chariot and interfered with its ability to catch the ball.
But the person responsible for passing the ball is Kidd, one of the top passers in NBA history!
He hit a lob that just passed the fingertips of Arab League and successfully handed the ball to Nowitzki's hands.
Yi Jianlian failed to defend when he went around, and after the driver caught the ball, there was a wide open space in front of him.
Yao Ming on the other end of the basket was about to cover up, but Nowitzki had already completed a layup.
120:125, the Mavericks lead by 5 points!
As soon as the goal was scored, the emotions of the fans at the scene reached their peak.
"Hahaha, it's so funny. This defense looks like it has tried its best, but Dirk scored easily. It's really ironic."
"In the arena, results speak for themselves. What's the point of working hard, working hard...what's the use? In my opinion, Yi Jianlian is here to score points for Dirk!"
Mavericks fans were filled with joy as they saw the hope of defeating the league leaders and ending their winning streak.
When Curry dribbled the ball from the backcourt, the Mavericks fans all stood up and started shouting:
"Defense!!!"
"Defense!!!"
"Defense!!!"
.......
Amid the deafening noise, Curry once again started a pick-and-roll tactic with McGrady.
Based on the experience last time, Kidd and Terry chose to switch defenses directly this time.
So after the pick-and-roll, the person standing in front of Curry became the old Kidd.
But the cute god didn't take the credit and passed the ball to McGrady who was stuck at the free throw line.
Compared to defending Kidd many times in singles, Curry believes that T-Mac is more confident in beating Terry in singles!
But the Mavericks didn't want the Rockets to get their wish.
After McGrady caught the ball, Nowitzki decisively gave up his defense on Yi Jianlian and came to help Terry defend.
T-mac waved his hand and immediately passed the ball to Arab League in the bottom corner.
In a hurry, the quality of McGrady's passing was not high.
In order to catch the ball, Yi Jianlian had to move a step laterally and then jump high before successfully catching the ball.
But as a result, the fighter plane was also delayed.
Peja has already switched defense to Yi Jianlian.
If it were normal, the Arab League might have passed the ball back to the defender and reorganized the attack.
But now the offensive time is running out, and the team is in urgent need of chasing points.
Ah Lian glanced at the white shooter in front of him.
[He is shorter than me and can’t jump as well as me. He still leaves me a step of space...]
[Have the opportunity!]
As soon as he thought of this, Ah Lian immediately sank his center of gravity, bent his knees and jumped up.
He has to face the opponent's defense and force the shot!
Although Peja was surprised by Yi Jianlian's offensive choice, he immediately pounced forward and jumped to interfere.
Of course, with his bounce, he can't stop Ah Lian from shooting.
The basketball drew a rainbow-like arc in the air...
"Shua~"
Hollow into the net!
123:125, the Rockets narrowed the difference to two points!
This three-pointer was like a silencer, instantly silenced the fans at the American Airlines Center.
"This Chinese...has such a tough hand."
"Oh my God, you were so decisive at the critical moment, and you dared to shoot Peja! No wonder Mark Jackson specially substituted him."
"I guess I want to use offense to make up for defense. With this extra point, we won't dare to double-team McGrady and Curry."
The Mavericks fans sounded more or less surprised.
............
Time has come to the last minute.
At the decisive moment, the ball will naturally be handed over to the star player.
But this time, Yi Jianlian's aggressive movement prevented Nowitzki from finding a chance to catch the ball.
The two were fighting wildly in the low post.
The intensity of the confrontation can be seen from the fact that their skin turned from white to red.
There was even a bleeding scratch on Yi Jianlian's arm.
The 24 seconds of attack time passed quickly, and Kidd, who was in charge of the organization, had to do the next best thing and pass the ball to Terry.
The Jets and Chandler played a pick-and-roll in the high post, and then changed the defender to Yao Ming.
At the last moment, it was two Chinese insiders who took on the heavy responsibility of defense!
Terry took a step back and then rushed towards Yao Ming at full speed.
While traveling, the jet made a crossover and sent Dayao spinning in a circle.
Despite this, Yao Ming still did not give up on defense.
He gritted his teeth and jumped up behind Terry.
In a flash of lightning, Dayao pinned the latter's layup to the board!
McGrady returned to the inside position and jumped high, collected the rebound, and immediately launched a counterattack.
I saw him raising his long legs, accelerating and heading towards the Mavericks half court.
At this point, there are about 40 seconds left in the game.
Mark Jackson on the sidelines hesitated for a moment whether to call a timeout.
After seeing McGrady's indomitable attitude, he finally gave up and decided to let the players end the game on their own!
And t-mac did not disappoint him.
After passing the half court, he saw that the Mavericks players were already in defensive positions, so he resolutely collected the ball two meters outside the three-point line.
The next moment, McGrady jumped high, kicked with a scissor kick of ecstasy, and shot a super long three-pointer...
There is no doubt about the importance of this goal.
All the players, coaches and spectators in the stands held their breath and followed the basketball to the basket with their eyes.
...
...
"Shua~"
The basketball hit the net.
126:125, the Rockets lead by one point!
"The ball went in! The ball actually went in!"
"Beautiful! McGrady's moment has arrived again, this ball is so crucial!"
The two CCTV commentators were both excited and incoherent.
The Mavericks fans at the American Airlines Center looked dumbfounded.
Some of them were so fragile that they even covered their mouths and their eyes turned red.
Obviously, McGrady's super long three-pointer was a huge blow to them!
After the goal, Carlisle called a timeout immediately.
This is also the Mavericks' last timeout of the game!
During the dinner, Carlisle carefully arranged a serving tactic.
Other than that, he didn't say much.
Carlisle knows that his current players don't need extra chicken soup or encouragement.
A clear strategy and a breather of rest are enough!
............
The timeout ends and the game enters the last 30 seconds!