Chapter 391 The curtain falls, and the arms race is in full swing!
It is worth mentioning that McGrady did not continue to guard James this time, but switched to guarding Wade.
Durant, who is tall and has long arms, takes on the important task of delaying James' serve.
I have to say that Xiaoshuai's wingspan is indeed very useful when throwing sideline balls!
James stood outside the sideline, waiting left and right, but he didn't find any chance to pass the ball!
In order to avoid the five-second violation, he finally had to risk a long pass to find Ray Allen in the distance.
As the saying goes, wealth is found in danger!
If this ball can be passed, Ray Allen will have a direct chance to take action.
However...
A white figure suddenly jumped and stopped the ball in the air!
It's Curry!
He predicted James' passing choice in advance and ambush on the passing route early.
This steal fully demonstrated his excellent defensive awareness!
After completing the steal, Curry immediately ran to the open area on the court.
Wade reacted quickly and immediately moved forward to press for the ball.
But he rushed too fast and too urgently, and was directly tricked by Curry dribbling from behind.
After the cute god passed Wade, he dribbled the ball all the way through the half court.
Only then did the rest of the Eastern Team react and ran towards Curry.
But at this time, they are all far away from the cute god.
Seeing no one in front of him, Curry shot a three-pointer!
The basketball left his fingertips and spun at high speed, drawing a beautiful arc in the air...
"Shua~"
Hollow into the net!
188:180, the score difference came to 8 points.
Coupled with the fact that there were only 10 seconds left on the clock, the game had lost its suspense.
James touched the back of his head helplessly.
In the last two rounds, he was first singled out by Tracy McGrady, and then made another mistake. Now he is really depressed.
Seeing that there was no hope of a comeback, the Eastern team gave up the attack.
After Rose dribbled the ball across half court, he stopped taking action and quietly waited for the game to end.
When the red light on the timer lights up, this special All-Star event ends.
The first time the game ended, Wade ran to the Western Conference bench.
Kobe had already stood up at this time.
Seeing Wade running towards him, he smiled slightly: "If you are coming to me to apologize, then you can go back and rest."
Wade shook his head awkwardly.
In an entertaining game, he actually injured Kobe twice...
This made the Flash feel somewhat sorry.
In fact, every time Wade faced Kobe, he couldn't help but get overly excited.
He wants to challenge Corvo so much!
So...every time they faced off, Wade tried his best to show Kobe his strength and attitude.
"But you have to be careful in the next few days."
"When I get to Miami, I'm going to kick your ass."
Kobe said with a smile.
Wade knew immediately upon hearing this that the other party was referring to the Lakers' away game against the Heat three days later.
"impossible."
"We have a strong army now. With Dwight, your insiders won't be able to take advantage."
Wade said half-jokingly and half-seriously.
"With me here, nothing is impossible."
"Wait for me in Miami and I'll prove what I said."
Kobe said calmly.
The two immediately hugged each other in greeting, and Wade once again expressed his apology to Kobe in the process.
.............
Ten minutes later, the host walked onto the court.
Also present with him was NBA Commissioner David Stern.
Players also returned to the field one after another.
Next, it’s time to announce the MVP of the All-Star Game!
At this time, McGrady was standing in the middle of a group of teammates.
Curry and Griffin were smiling beside him, and Kobe was also saying congratulations.
Obviously, everyone thinks that this award belongs to Tracy McGrady!
After all, McGrady not only scored a game-high 35 points, but also scored several crucial goals in the last few minutes!
Kobe Bryant originally had a chance to compete for AMVP, but unfortunately Wade made two blows, causing the Los Angeles owner to lose the opportunity to compete.
Soon, Stern finished reading a series of scenes and picked up the trophy.
"The Most Valuable Player of the 2011 All-Star Game is...."
"Tracy McGrady!"
Stern announced loudly and then handed the trophy to McGrady beside him.
Surrounded by his teammates, t-mac received the amvp trophy and held it high!
What greeted him was warm applause from Staples Arena.
McGrady looked at the fans standing in the audience, and suddenly felt a sense of alienation in his heart.
Six months ago, he was still worried about whether he could stay in the NBA.
Today, half a year later, he won the amvp and became the "star among stars"!
All of this happened because of the appearance of one person...
With this thought, McGrady scanned the stands, looking for Shen Fei's figure.
In the stands, Shen Fei saw t-mac's actions and immediately realized what the latter wanted to do.
This kind of drama has already happened once when Curry won the rookie game MVP.
Shen Fei didn't want to show up in public, but he also didn't want to disappoint McGrady.
Soon, Maddie found the figure of the Asian young man.
He held the cup in his right hand, took the microphone in his left hand, and said:
"It's not easy for me to return to the Rockets this year."
"At the beginning, I never thought that I would be able to return to the starting lineup of the team, let alone return to the All-Star Game."
"Now that I get this trophy, it feels like a dream."
"Six months ago, my boss, Shen Fei, came to me and said he would help me get back to the top."
"He fulfilled his promise. Now, it's my turn to fulfill my promise..."
"I want to say that no matter how strong the next opponent is, this year's championship will definitely belong to the Houston Rockets!"
At the end, McGrady showed a rare expression of excitement.
He held the trophy high, looked in Shen Fei's direction, and shouted.
At this moment, the fans at the scene were also infected by McGrady's emotions and gave out the most enthusiastic cheers so far in the game.
Who doesn’t like the story of the prodigal son turning back and making a comeback?
The sound filled the sky, as if it was about to knock off the roof of the arena.
The All-Star Game also came to an end in this lively atmosphere!
............
The game is over, but the feast for the fans has just begun.
Well-known ESPN reporter A-Smith sent a tweet after the game.
Unexpectedly, once this was released, it would trigger a heated discussion...
The tweet read:
“Three-Point Contest Champion—Stephen Curry;
Slam Dunk Contest Champion – Blake Griffin;
Skills Challenge Champion-Jeremy Lin;
Rookie Game MVP—Stephen Curry;
All-Star Game MVP—Tracy McGrady.”
"All the awards in this year's All-Star Game, without exception, were won by Rockets players!"
"They didn't want to let go of even the MVP of the Masters. They even sent their boss to grab it!"
"Now I just want to ask... people on Earth, who can stop the Houston Rockets?"
When the fans saw it, what a guy...it's true!
Ever since, everyone began to express their opinions in the comment area:
"I think so far, this year can be called the first year of the Rockets! The Rockets dynasty has begun quietly!"
"What kind of team is this? Even the boss knows how to play, and the style of play is so exciting!"
"No disrespect to Griffin and McGee, but I want to say that the best dunk this year came from the Masters Game. Shen Fei's 'death dunk', I think is more exciting than any dunk in the dunk contest! "
"Comrades, don't forget that the Rockets are still in a 30-game winning streak! I just want to know which team can end their winning streak."
"Perhaps we are going to witness history! The Rockets may really break the Lakers' longest winning streak record from decades ago!"
...
Fans were busy discussing it, and Rockets players who did not participate in the All-Star Game also appeared on Twitter.
Some of them forwarded Shen Fei's dunk video, some congratulated his teammates on winning the trophy, and some praised a certain teammate's performance...
But without exception, they all added a sentence at the end of the tweet - win the championship now!
Obviously, the Rockets players are determined to win the O'Brien Trophy this season.
............
Two flowers bloom, one on each side.
While Rockets fans were cheering, the Heat's Big Three were in a private restaurant, conspiring together.
Interestingly, after they chatted for a while, a figure walked into the box.
The visitor turned out to be one of the Celtics' Big Three, Ray Allen!
"Here we come, Ray."
James smiled and said hello.
Ray Allen was invited by him.
In the NBA, it is normal for players to have dinner dates between games.
Of course, the premise is that the other party is willing to give you face.
It is worth mentioning that players can recruit each other.
Once the team management recruits players from other teams privately, it is a serious violation.
Therefore, having a player with wide connections and high status in a team can sometimes be of great use!
"It's so lively."
Ray Allen joked.
The four of them immediately ate and chatted.
After about ten minutes, James finally got to the point.
"Lei, I came to see you this time... I actually want to discuss joining forces with you."
"You have also seen the strength of the Rockets."
"It would be extremely difficult to beat them in a best-of-seven series!"
"It will be no problem for the three of us to join forces and reach the finals, but to challenge the Rockets, we still need your strength!"
James said solemnly.
Ray Allen is not surprised by LeBron's recruitment.
On the contrary, when he received James' call, he had already guessed the other party's intention.
"Not only that, Ray, the three of us are all in our prime and will remain highly competitive in the next few years."
"You still have a lot of gas in the tank. As long as you join us, the Heat's dynasty may begin!"
Wade's words added another fire to recruitment!
His words made Ray Allen feel a little moved.
The three of Zhanweiho are all under thirty years old and are in the golden age of athletes!
If they can join forces with the three of them, the Heat will definitely be the favorites to win the championship in the next few years.
Ray Allen has been unhappy with the Celtics recently.
He could clearly feel that some people on the team did not recognize his value.
Some people even think that if Ray Allen were replaced by another high-quality shooter, the championship three years ago would still belong to the Celtics!
Recently, the Celtics have even begun to use first-year rookie Avery Bradley as the starting shooting guard and Ray Allen as the sixth man.
These statements and actions all deeply hurt Ray Allen's heart.
He is a very proud man!
After seeing the attitude of his teammates and team management, Ray Allen once again ignited a fire in his heart and wanted to prove himself!
Now, the Heat are undoubtedly the team that best meets his demands.
"What do you want me to bring to the team?
Ray Allen asked.
"It's very simple. The offensive end opens up space for us, and the defensive end tries to limit Curry."
James replied immediately.
He had discussed this issue with Wade before.
Ray Allen is an excellent puzzle piece that can bring stable output without much possession of the ball!
This season, he averaged 16.5 points on only 12.2 shots per game, and his three-point shooting percentage reached 44.4%.
On the defensive end, Ray Allen has excellent physical fitness, considerable movement speed, and excellent defensive skills.
Other shooters in the Heat's lineup, such as Mike Miller and James Jones, cannot compare with him on both offense and defense.
It is foreseeable that once Ray Allen joins, the Heat's strength will change qualitatively again!
"I can give these two tasks a try..."
Ray Allen maintained his usual humility and replied.
"Come on, we need you."
"You also need a better platform to prove your worth!"
Wade looked at Ray Allen eagerly and said.
.......
.......
After a long time, Ray Allen finally nodded: "If there is a possibility that the transaction will happen, I will do my best to facilitate it."
Hearing his words, the three of them all smiled.
............
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
The regular season resumes.
The Rockets players came to Cleveland in the East to challenge the Cavaliers away from home.
There are two teams, one is the league leader and the other is the weakest player in the Eastern Conference. There is a huge disparity in strength.
The process of the game was also uneventful.
The Rockets took firm control of the game from the beginning of the first quarter.
After the first quarter, they scored an astonishing 42 points, leading the Cavaliers by 20 points!
In other words, the game lost its suspense when the first quarter ended.
In the end, the Rockets successfully defeated their opponents with a huge advantage of 38 points and won 31 consecutive victories!
Among them, Yi Jianlian’s performance is particularly gratifying.
Because of the huge lead, Mark Jackson gave the UAE 30 minutes of playing time.
And Yi Di did not live up to the trust of his coach.
Throughout the game, he made 6 of 9 three-pointers and scored a total of 28 points, setting a new personal season scoring record!
Two days later, the Rockets returned home to face the Brooklyn Nets.
In this game, McGrady was in hot form.
He scored 61 points in just three quarters!
The entire Nets team only scored 63 points at the end of three quarters.
In the fourth quarter of the game, the Rockets were determined to win, so they replaced all the main players.
Now, the Rockets fans at Toyota Center are quitting!
They saw the possibility of McGrady breaking the current player scoring record (Kobe Bryant 81 points), so they started shouting his name from the fourth quarter:
"t-mac!!!"
"t-mac!!!"
"t-mac!!!"
.......
It's a pity that McGrady only has the championship in his heart now and doesn't care about this kind of scoring record.
But the fans were so enthusiastic that he had no choice but to stand up from the bench, turn to face the stands, and bow to the fans to express his gratitude.
The fans stopped shouting and "let go" McGrady.
In the end, the Rockets defeated the Nets 132:108, extending their winning streak to 32 games!
There are only two games left to break the Lakers' 33-game winning streak!