While Durant and Westbrook walked to the technical stage and waited to play, McGrady continued his performance.
He received a pass from Curry outside the three-point line, assumed a triple threat posture, and then used two consecutive test steps, which scared Sefolosha and took half a step back.
One move succeeded, McGrady decisively pulled out on the spot...
"Shua~"
Hit again!
44:43, the Rockets are only one point behind!
Thunder coach Brooks was distraught when he saw this.
He couldn't wait for the "dead ball" to let the two Deweys play again, so he immediately called a timeout.
After the timeout, Durant, Westbrook and Bacca appeared together.
The Rockets used Griffin to replace Tucker, who had played a lot of time.
The game restarts.
Thunder offense.
As soon as Westbrook came up, he went full throttle and reached the Rockets penalty area.
Yao Ming and Griffin shrank from the basket at the same time, preparing to protect the basket.
In a flash of lightning, Westbrook flicked his wrist and passed the ball to Cook on the outside.
The latter made a decisive three-pointer after receiving the ball...
The basketball drew a wonderful arc and went straight into the net!
47:43.
The Thunder stubbornly held on to their lead!
Offense and defense transition.
Yao Ming began to show his dominance in the low post.
While receiving the pass, he turned around and successfully got rid of Perkins' defense.
Dayao then used his signature, slightly faded mid-range shot to steadily send the ball into the basket.
During the whole process, Yao Ming did not have any physical contact with Perkins, which can be said to be a huge surprise!
47:45.
In the next round, Yao Ming repeated his old trick.
Same position, same action, but this time Yao didn't take action immediately, but used a fake action to hit Perkins.
Then Yao took a step forward and dunked easily.
47:47.
The two teams are back on the same starting line!
"Beautiful! Yao Ming's dreamy steps are so silky!"
Su Qun couldn't help but sigh.
"The Thunder are in trouble... After the Rockets' starting lineup returns, can they still withstand the offense? I think it's quite embarrassing!"
Yang Jian commented.
At this time, Harden, who was recovering his strength on the bench, frowned.
He tried his best to fulfill his promise and led the team to maintain the lead.
I thought that after Westbrook and Durant returned, the initiative would be firmly in the hands of the Thunder, but seeing the menacing appearance of the Rockets' main players, Harden was unsure.
For the next few minutes, the two sides reached a deadlock.
Until the last two minutes of the second quarter, the score difference between the two teams remained within one round.
At this time, Harden, who had rested for a few minutes, returned to battle.
All three Thunder players are on the field!
The Rockets replaced McGrady and Roy with George and Jeremy Lin.
............
Thunder offense.
Harden used the screen to break into the basket and succeeded in a European step layup.
57:55.
But the Thunder players didn't have time to be happy, as the Rockets quickly launched a baseline kick and launched a counterattack.
Jeremy Lin received Curry's pass and strode towards the Thunder's hinterland.
Behind him, Westbrook was also trying his best to catch up.
But after chasing after him, Thunder No. 0 realized that something was wrong.
[How come I can't seem to catch up with him?!]
Westbrook was extremely surprised.
But the fact is right in front of him, the yellow-skinned man in front of him runs faster than him!
Jeremy Lin made an outstanding performance and dunked easily.
57:57.
The two sides draw again!
In the next two rounds, both teams' attacks ended in failure.
In the last 20 seconds, Curry held the ball and launched the final attack of this quarter.
Facing Westbrook's defense, Meng Shen dribbled the ball like a butterfly through flowers and successfully mobilized the turtle's center of gravity.
After being out of position, Westbrook was eager to make amends, so he stepped forward and reached out with his right hand, trying to break the basketball from Curry's hand.
Who knows, that was a flaw intentionally exposed by Curry.
Just before Westbrook was about to touch the basketball, Curry easily dribbled the ball behind his back and then 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!
The ball goes in and the light comes on.
57:60!
After a long absence, the Rockets once again became the leading team and returned to the locker room with a 3-point advantage.
............
During the intermission, Shen Fei welcomed a guest in the box—David Stern.
The NBA president, who has so many things to do, didn't arrive at the Toyota Center until the end of the two quarters.
"This is the first time in many years that I have seen this arena full."
After taking his seat, Stern looked around the arena and said with emotion.
"This situation has been going on for a long time."
"The Rockets have an MVP like Tracy McGrady and supernovas like Curry, George, and Griffin. How can they not be a hit at the box office?"
Shen Fei said confidently.
"Speaking of MVP, how about it? I did pretty well, right?"
Stern said with a smile.
His smile was half sly and half ingratiating.
As the saying goes, the older a person gets, the less courageous he becomes.
Stern was actually afraid of Shen Fei.
He had been blackmailed by Nike for so long because of dirty information, but Shen Fei said he would help him solve it, and he actually solved the problem within a few days...
This made Stern have to admire Shen Fei's methods, but at the same time he was afraid of him.
"You made a fair judgement."
Shen Fei answered the question inappropriately.
Whether it is from the team record or personal performance, it is natural for McGrady to become the mvp!
Stern said this as if McGrady won the award because of his care.
Of course, Shen Fei also understood that the other party just wanted to take credit and had no other intentions.
Stern smiled awkwardly when he heard this and changed the subject: "What do you want to see me for today?"
"In this year's draft, I hope that more Chinese players will be selected into the draft list."
"If there are any Chinese players under the age of 22 who apply for the draft, I hope you can pass it."
Shen Fei said directly.
There are age requirements for international players to participate in the NBA draft.
If a player is under 22 years old in the draft year, he or she needs to apply to NBA officials.
Only players who pass the approval of the league president can be eligible for the draft.
If a player is over 22 years old, he or she will automatically be eligible for the draft without applying.
Of course, whether or not you can be selected is another matter.
In Shen Fei's mind, there are several Chinese players with good potential, but they are all under 22 years old.
If they are allowed to stay in the CBA for another year, their progress will be very slow.
But if they can qualify for the draft, Shen Fei can acquire them and train them in the Rockets.
The progress of these young people is bound to be countless times faster!
Moreover, as long as they can participate in the draft, the Rockets can get them by signing undrafted players without even paying any draft picks!
Currently, Shen Fei has two relatively clear names in mind.
One is Zhou Peng, who was born in 1989. He will only turn 22 in October this year.
The other one is Xu Yong, and his situation is quite special.
He is the only Chinese basketball player with top physical talent!
In 2005, Xu Yong received basketball training while studying in a school in beautiful country.
During this period, he met many local basketball insiders.
Among them is NBA legend Bill Russell!
Russell, known as the "Lord of the Rings", spoke very highly of Xu Yong.
He said the latter's physical fitness is comparable to Steve Francis!
Francis, I believe all Chinese fans know him very well.
Just from the nickname "King of Volley", you can see how talented Francis is!
And Xu Yong's talent is actually comparable to that!
In 2006, young Xu Yong made his debut in CBA.
In the same year, he made a splash in the All-Star Slam Dunk Contest and won the dunk king!
But God is jealous of talents. In May 2008, the promising star of the Chinese men's basketball team was diagnosed with "malignant central osteosarcoma of the spine."
This disease will not endanger Xu Yong's life, but it will directly end his basketball career.
Shen Fei's idea is to use [Holy Light Treatment] to completely cure Xu Yong, and then train him properly.
Because in Shen Fei's view, physical talent is crucial in the highest level of basketball competition!
A player's lower limit may be improved through hard work and sweat, but the upper limit is often determined by talent.
Even Kobe and Curry cannot deny this (their talents are not the best, but they are by no means bad, and their talents in some aspects are at a historical level).
But the problem is that even if Shen Fei completely cures Xu Yong, NBA may not have the courage to accept him.
The risk here is too great!
Only then did Shen Fei come up with this strategy, hoping to find a way out of Stern.
As for why he is so eager to recruit Zhou Peng and Xu Yong, it is because the Chinese men's basketball team is too short of excellent strikers!
Currently, in the men's basketball team, there are Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian on the inside, and Jeremy Lin and Sun Yue on the outside...
If these guys can continue to improve in the next year or so, they will be enough to cope with most teams.
But the Zhu Bawangqi (Zhu Fangyu and Wang Shipeng) on the front line are obviously not good enough.
It is simply a fantasy to rely on such a striker to compete for Olympic gold medals.
The only way is to recruit new, more talented wing players.
Zhou Peng's defense and Xu Yong's physical talent are both valued by Shen Fei.
When Kyle Anderson, who has 1/8 Chinese blood, enters college next year, Shen Fei plans to persuade him to join China.
In addition, Ding Yanyuhang, who will turn 18 next year...
The forward group of the China Men's Basketball Team suddenly grew stronger!
Of course, these are only Shen Fei's preliminary ideas.
The specific implementation needs to be seen step by step.
The first step in a journey of a thousand miles is to get through Stern!
"There's nothing wrong with this...at most it's just a few scoldings from the fans and some old guys."
"However, Shen, we have agreed before that we will build a Rockets dynasty. If you recruit these Chinese players, will the team's strength be guaranteed?"
Stern asked with a worried look on his face.
Shen Fei chuckled.
"Don't worry, David."
"Since I said that I will build a Rockets dynasty and add the last glorious touch to your career, I will not break my promise."
"You just need to help me as much as possible and don't cheat me."
Shen Fei said lightly.
His confidence is not without reason.
If nothing else, the Rockets have a solid foundation thanks to Curry and George Griffin who are still in their rookie years.
With the addition of [Spiritual Time Room], the three of them will have the opportunity to reach their peak level next season.
MVP-level Curry, first-team-level George, and the sky-the-limit Griffin...
How can such a young core lineup, coupled with some strong reinforcements, not be able to bring along a few Chinese players?
Not to mention, Shen Fei will find ways to make several Chinese players extremely competitive!
"All right..."
Even though Stern had all kinds of doubts in his heart, he didn't ask any more questions.
Shen Fei not only helped him get out of the predicament of being threatened, but also promised to build a dynasty team to help him add glory.
The most important thing is that Shen Fei still has some dirty information about him!
Combining several factors, the relationship between the two is not equal at all.
Therefore, Shen Fei spoke up, and Stern had to help him both emotionally and rationally!
"The second half is about to begin, let's watch the ball together."
The goal was achieved, Shen Fei said leisurely.
"Okay, it's not easy for the Rockets to win the game smoothly today."
Stern said with a smile.
"Well, this may be the only game the Thunder has a chance to win."
Shen Fei said noncommittally.
............
While the two were talking, the half-time break ended and the game started again.
Back on the court, both sides replaced all starting players.
After halftime, Durant and Westbrook were in significantly better condition.
After all, he is a young man in his early 20s, and his physical strength recovers very quickly.
After the start of the third quarter, the Thunder showed a stronger desire to win.
On the defensive end, they were extremely aggressive, and all five of them moved with all their might.
Looking back at the Rockets, they seemed to be slacking off because they overtook the score in the first half.
After the start of the second half, they did not match the intensity of the Thunder.
After three consecutive strikes and two expected turnovers, the Rockets were led by the Thunder on a 7-0 spurt.
64:60, Thunder leads by 4 points!
At this time, the rocket woke up like a dream.
Curry broke into the penalty area with the help of a screen and assisted Griffin for a dunk.
64:62.
During the transition between offense and defense, Durant singled out George at a 45-degree angle on the right side.
I saw KD blasting the ball with his right hand, causing the ball to bounce high and float in his hand, and then a large crossover shook George half a step back.
Pickled pepper quickly adjusted his center of gravity and pounced on Durant again.
Unexpectedly, the latter made another change of direction dribble with his left hand, and this time George was completely thrown to the side!
Durant's classic doublecrossover (double change of direction)!
After successfully getting rid of the defense, Xiaoshuai took a step forward and then shot...
"Shua~"
Basketball goes hollow into the net.
66:62.
Easy side to fight again.
McGrady pulled out his hand from outside the three-point line and the ball bounced out of the frame.
But Yao Ming relaxed his arms, took the rebound over Perkins' head, and then half-turned and hit the board with a hook shot.
66:64.
Thunder offense.
Westbrook used the screen to pass between Curry and Griffin.
After reaching the penalty area, Westbrook faced Yao Ming and forced the basket, causing the latter to foul.
After two free throws, the score became 68:64.
In this way, the two teams once again fell into a stalemate.
The game continued until the third quarter, and with 3 minutes left, the score difference between the two teams was still around 5 points.
The only difference is that the Rockets began to use substitutes as early as halfway through the third quarter.
The Thunder have been using their main lineup until now!
At this moment, both Young Masters Dewey were sweating profusely. Whenever they had the chance, they would put their hands on their knees and bend down to rest.
The body language of the five Rockets players on the court was obviously much more relaxed.
"Although the Thunder are ahead, I feel like they are in a bad situation..."
In the box, Stern spoke.
"It just depends on whether they can hold on in the fourth quarter."
Shen Fei said calmly.
While the two were talking, Thunder coach Brooks made substitutions.
Durant and Westbrook were both replaced, and Harden went into battle.
The Rockets have a shooting lineup led by Curry - Curry, Roy, George, Tucker, and Yi Jianlian.