On the 18th, members of the CCTV program team came to the Att Center Arena for a live broadcast.
Before the game started, Zhang Lili greeted Yao Ming and Zhang Zhiyuan and exchanged a few pleasantries.
Then, the game begins.
The Rockets arranged their regular starting lineup, Alston, Tracy McGrady, Battier, Hayes, and Yao Ming.
The Spurs also put Ginobili on the bench, starting with Parker, Finley, Bowen, Duncan and Oberto.
The two teams competed for the ball, and Yao Ming took the initiative for the team.
Alston controlled the ball and advanced, and Parker harassed him closely.
This kind of harassment is difficult to successfully steal, but it can interfere with Alston's passing, increase the difficulty of Alston's passing, and cut off the connection between Alston and his teammates.
Then, Alston passed the ball to McGrady and ran away from Parker.
Yao Ming fought for position under the basket, but the inside combination of Duncan and Oberto did not defeat him at all.
Yao Ming couldn't get into a good position and was blocked outside the penalty area.
McGrady observed his teammates and found that he seemed to have the best chance.
As a result, he singled out Finlay and took action.
The ball didn't go in, and Finley's interference was in place.
Known as Jordan's successor, Finley's defense is naturally not bad.
"The Spurs' defense is so good and airtight. In the regular season, they conceded the fewest points per game in the league."
Zhang Lili sighed with emotion.
The Spurs attacked, Bowen attracted Battier to the bottom corner, Finley also stood on the outside, and the Rockets' basket was slightly empty.
Parker broke through and made a small throw to the basket.
After a few rounds, the Rockets fell into a disadvantage.
Zhang Zhiyuan was watching the game from the sidelines, thinking about what props to use in this game.
The sure-hit item is undoubtedly the most domineering. As long as the shot is not blocked, it will be a sure win.
However, it is too wasteful to exchange 500 hatred points for only one goal. It is only cost-effective to use it at critical moments or when there is a chance to win.
Can the Rockets and Spurs fight until the last moment? Zhang Zhiyuan is not sure either.
The S-class star experience card is undoubtedly the most affordable option, and the effect can last for a whole game.
However, it is difficult to say how effective it will be.
Even if Curry himself comes to play for the Spurs, he still needs the support of the team's tactical system, and he cannot perform efficiently in every game, let alone Zhang Zhiyuan, who only uses the experience card.
If you're playing against a lousy defensive team like the Lakers, you can use Curry's experience card to shoot randomly. If you're playing against a strong defensive team like the Spurs, you might be better off using Kobe's experience card.
But no matter whose experience card you use, the income will not be stable. You may be able to catch the Spurs by surprise, or you may not be able to create a chemical reaction with your teammates and successfully go undercover.
After searching around, Zhang Zhiyuan finally settled on [The King of the End].
[King of the last quarter, S level, only available in the fourth quarter, after use, shooting stability is 10%, shooting rate is 10%, steal success rate is 20%, physical recovery is 30%. 】
Just a hit rate of 10% is already overbearing enough, not to mention it has other effects.
After using this prop, Zhang Zhiyuan can directly take over the game.
Having made up his mind, Zhang Zhiyuan continued to observe the game on the field.
The situation is not good.
After 5 minutes of play, the score was 4-12, with the Rockets trailing by 8 points.
Then Van Gundy took advantage of the dead ball to replace Zhang Zhiyuan.
Zhang Zhiyuan showed immediate results after coming on the court. The biggest difference between him and Hayes is that he has a precise three-point shot.
With Hayes on the court, Duncan only needs to stay under the basket, and Yao Ming plays very hard.
But now, Zhang Zhiyuan, who plays power forward, is standing outside the three-point line, and Duncan is confused.
He didn't go out, Alston passed the ball to Zhang Zhiyuan.
Then Bowen dropped Battier and rushed to defend.
It's a pity that Bowen's speed is very slow, and Zhang Zhiyuan's shots are very fast.
By the time he pounced in front of him, Zhang Zhiyuan had already completed his attack.
"Retire, you are slower than an old man on crutches."
Zhang Zhiyuan said mockingly.
"Beautiful, Xiao Zhang scored immediately as soon as he came on the field. In one word, stable."
Zhang Lili shouted excitedly.
Unfortunately, his joy did not last for a few seconds. Popovich had already replaced Oberto and replaced him with Ginobili.
In this way, Finley plays small forward, Bowen plays power forward, and Duncan is moved to the center position.
Bowen's defense speed is slow, but if he is only defending alone, he can barely keep up with Zhang Zhiyuan. What's more, he also has "rich" game experience, which can make up for his speed disadvantage.
When the Spurs attacked, due to congestion inside, Parker and Ginobili took turns holding the ball to look for opportunities.
Seeing that the attack time was running out, Ginobili started his serpentine breakthrough, reached the penalty area and made a sudden jump shot, and the ball went in.
This is entirely a matter of personal ability, and the Rockets have nothing to do with him.
But the problem is not big. Ginobili cannot succeed in breaking through every time, nor can he make a shot every time. If he really breaks out and achieves this, then he can only accept his fate.
The Rockets attacked, Zhang Zhiyuan made crazy moves on the outside, Popovich made a wrong prediction, and Bowen couldn't catch up after a few steps.
Zhang Zhiyuan was originally faster than him, but now he has lost 6% of Parker's speed, crushing Bowen even more.
After getting rid of Bowen, Zhang Zhiyuan yelled for the ball, but McGrady had already broken through with the ball first, reached the inside and was rewarded with a big block by Duncan.
"******."
Zhang Zhiyuan cursed in his heart, his fast running was also very exhausting. He finally achieved results, but ended up running lonely.
This hurts morale and can easily lead to infighting within the team.
Zhang Zhiyuan suppressed his displeasure and quickly returned to defense.
The Spurs' positional offense was good, but the Rockets' positional defense was also very good. Yao Ming guarded the basket, and Duncan also had to worry about three-pointers.
Parker broke through with the ball and as soon as he broke into the three-point line, he saw Zhang Zhiyuan in front of him.
In desperation, Parker could only stop and shoot a long two-pointer.
Unfortunately, this is not the shooting area where he is good at. He is good at the penalty area and the basket, and his long-range shooting ability is very poor.
The ball missed and Yao Ming grabbed the rebound.
The Rockets attacked and Zhang Zhiyuan continued to move, but the Spurs changed defense.
He finally got rid of Bowen, but Finley appeared in front of him again, and Bowen stepped in front of Battier.
After receiving the ball, Zhang Zhiyuan could only force the shot. After all, others did not have any good opportunities.
The ball didn't go in.
"Hahaha, this is the playoffs, this is the Spurs."
Philip, an ESPN commentator who didn't like Zhang Zhiyuan, laughed a few times and then explained: "It doesn't matter that China Zhang will play tough singles from time to time, but in fact his scoring mainly comes from open jump shots. Popovich has already
See through him and the Spurs defense can lock him down."
The Spurs attacked, and Duncan caught the ball at a 45-degree angle.
Yao Ming didn't follow him out, Zhang Zhiyuan's height couldn't reach him.
The ball goes in.
"It's useless for China to have Zhang. He's just a role player. No one really thinks he can save the Rockets, right?"
Philip continued to laugh.
Although what he said was ugly, there was some truth to it.
With Zhang Zhiyuan's current strength, he can only serve as a qualified piece of the championship puzzle. It is impossible to expect him to come down to earth to save the team.
In the first quarter of the game, Zhang Zhiyuan played pretty well, hitting 2 of 4 and scoring 5 points.
It's a pity that others performed a little differently.
18 to 26, the Rockets fell behind by 8 points in the first quarter.
Fortunately, there are still three quarters left in the game, and Rockets fans are not particularly desperate.
In the second quarter, both teams came on the bench.
As a result, the Rockets' bench failed to live up to expectations.
The famous Juwan Howard, the first billionaire in the league, was actually bullied by the Spurs' Robert Horry.
Horry scored two goals in a row and basically completed his mission for this game.
Although Zhang Zhiyuan defeated Brent Barry on the offensive end, after Zhang Zhiyuan came to help on the defensive end, Barry also threw a three-pointer and a long two-pointer in the open space.
In the battle between the bench lineups, the Rockets not only failed to chase points, but fell behind by 3 points.
Immediately afterwards, Van Gundy committed an old habit again, not trusting the substitutes and relying on the main force.
He brought Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady on the court early, and the Rockets did chase for several points.
But Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady's physical strength was also exhausted prematurely.
In the third quarter, the Spurs played a great game, beating the Rockets 12 to 2 and blinding Zhang Zhiyuan. He didn't even know whether he should use the King of the End in the last quarter.
The team was already 23 points behind.
Can you beat the Spurs by 23 points in a single quarter using the King of the Final Quarter?
Zhang Zhiyuan was a little skeptical.
After silently making some calculations in his mind, Zhang Zhiyuan felt that it was not feasible.
Instead of gambling on that chance, it is better to save it for the next game.
Losing an away game first is not a big deal.
After making up his mind, Zhang Zhiyuan started playing normally.
The Rockets played very hard in the last quarter, and Yao Ming gritted his teeth and persisted.
It's a pity that the Spurs' willpower is no worse than that of the Rockets. Even if they were ahead, the Spurs still played very cautiously and did not give the Rockets any chance.
In the end, 88 to 107, the Rockets lost by 19 points in the away game.
Zhang Zhiyuan suddenly felt a little embarrassed. He said so many arrogant and harsh words before the game, but ended up losing so miserably.
The only thing he can do now is not to go to the post-game interview and not give reporters a chance to ridicule him.
He pretended not to hear the jeers from the fans and quickly returned to the locker room.
"Xiao Zhang actually played pretty well in this game, McGrady was a little stretched, and other role players failed to contribute..."
Zhang Lili is still defending domestic players. Of course, there is nothing wrong with what he said.
Yao Ming made 7 of 16 shots and scored 18 points and 11 rebounds, only slightly stretched.
Zhang Zhiyuan made 8 of 17 shots and scored 20 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. For someone who only received a total of 290,000 US dollars this season, you really can’t ask for more. [No salary in the playoffs.]
The biggest problem is that McGrady, who has the highest salary in the team, made 8 of 25 shots. Including free throws, he took 28 shots in total, but only scored 21 points.
Needless to say, Juwan Howard, everyone was already disappointed with him, but they never expected that he could make people even more disappointed.
Just 0 out of 5 shots from the field, and he became a defensive drain many times.
"After all, this is the Spurs' home court. It's normal for the Rockets to lose. They still have a chance."
Sun Zhengping added.
Their comfort is a bit unnecessary. Even if they know that the Rockets cannot beat them, Chinese fans will continue to watch this series.
The Rockets suffered a disastrous defeat. It was obviously McGrady's bad performance, but Zhang Zhiyuan became the one who was ridiculed because he was the most arrogant before the game and many people were unhappy with him.
Many basketball commentators ridiculed Zhang Zhiyuan on the show, and fans also used their intelligence on social platforms.
Those who compose songs, those who write jokes, those who compose poems.
Different methods, the same central idea, mocking Zhang Zhiyuan's arrogance.
Fortunately, the playoffs are fast-paced, and fans' attention quickly turns to the Cavaliers and Pistons.
On the 19th, the G2 game between the Cavaliers and Pistons started.
The score in this game was astonishing. It was not that the score was too low, nor that it was too high, but that it was too coincidental.
The Cavaliers lost to the Pistons 76-79 in their last game. They played again a day later and the Cavaliers still lost to the Pistons 76-79.
This is the first time such a coincidence has happened in the entire NBA history. The script would not be written like this. It is too unreal.
In this game, James' condition improved somewhat and he scored 19 points.
Unfortunately this is far from enough.
After losing the game, James replaced Zhang Zhiyuan and became the one who was ridiculed.
For a time, the two became inseparable brothers.
Seeing the ridicule towards himself and Zhang Zhiyuan on the Internet, James even felt a sense of sympathy.
"It would be a beautiful thing if Zhang Nenglai joined forces with me."
James couldn't help but look forward to that scene. He had had enough of Larry Hughes, this cheater.
What reasons should be used to recruit him?
James fell into thought.
On the 20th, the G2 game between the Rockets and the Spurs started, and it was still the Spurs' home court.
Before the game, experts agreed that the Spurs would lead 2-0, and the finals would be a showdown between the Pistons and the Spurs.
Even the two Rockets fans, Barkley and Smith, are quietly changing their attitudes and no longer preach that the Rockets can create miracles.
The only one still supporting the Rockets is probably CCTV.
There is no way, who makes the current Rockets the home team of Chinese fans.
When the game started, Van Gundy put Zhang Zhiyuan into the starting lineup.
Zhang Zhiyuan felt that this was not a good choice because one basketball was not enough to score points.
But he didn't object to Van Gundy's choice. He would wait and see first. Maybe this formation would be able to achieve miraculous results. No one could say for sure.
The Spurs are still the regular starters, staying the same to cope with the ever-changing situation.
The two teams jumped the ball, and the Rockets took the lead.
Zhang Zhiyuan stood on the outside and Duncan walked out of the penalty area.
Then Alston passed the ball, and Yao Ming took the ball and turned around and hit a jumper.
The Spurs counterattacked, Mike Finley kept running, but McGrady failed to catch up. Then Parker passed the ball and Finley hit the open space.
This ball is McGrady's responsibility, but McGrady is also very aggrieved.
After all, Finley is a role player, and he only takes five or six shots in the game. To defend a role player with all his strength and spend all his energy on defense is to compete with Finley. McGrady feels that it is not worthwhile.
During the transition between offense and defense, McGrady broke through with the ball and penetrated into the crowd, making a mistake and losing the ball.
The Spurs counterattacked and Parker scored on a fast break.
This is too hurtful for the Rockets. The Big Three have no advantage on the court. What will they do when the Big Three take a break?
The Rockets attacked, Zhang Zhiyuan moved outside, but Duncan failed to keep up.
Then he caught the ball and hit the ball.
After finally scoring one, the Spurs turned around and scored two points.
During the transition between offense and defense, Alston made a pass error and Mike Finley stole the ball.
Zhang Zhiyuan felt a little regretful when he saw it. If he had known earlier, he should have used an S-level star card first, and then a King of Endings in the last quarter.
Although it is a bit of a luxury, if they don't do this, the Rockets may not be able to survive until the fourth quarter.
In the next round, Yao Ming scored from the basket.
Having the Big Three on the court at the same time still has some effect, at least it can make it difficult for the Spurs to defend the inside.
Of course Popovich knows this, but he doesn't care.
It consumes the physical strength of the Rockets' three giants, which is also an advantage.
In the sixth minute, the score between the two teams was 10 to 12, with the Rockets trailing by two points.
Then Ginobili came on the court.
After Ginobili came on the court, the Spurs' perimeter defense immediately improved a lot.
Zhang Zhiyuan's difficulty in obtaining opportunities has skyrocketed.
Without good opportunities, Zhang Zhiyuan reduced his shots.
But McGrady was not so conscious. Instead, he took over the offensive banner and repeatedly attacked the Spurs' inside line.
It's a pity that his impressive first step is no longer what it used to be, and several breakthroughs failed to achieve good results.
By the tenth minute, the Rockets were already 6 points behind.
At this time, Yao Ming has reached his limit and must rest.
After he left the game, the Rockets faced a truly difficult moment.
The Spurs put all their defensive focus on the perimeter, and the Rockets had nowhere to attack.
After the first quarter, 22 to 30, the Rockets lost by 8 points.
When Zhang Zhiyuan came off the field, he wanted to kick his feet on the chair to vent his displeasure.
If this championship wasn't so important to him, he would have wanted to kill Tracy McGrady right now.
What kind of things are they playing? Just don't pass the ball to yourself. When Battier is open, at least give it to one.
He really wants to open McGrady's head and see what's going on in this guy's head, and does he still want to win?
In fact, Zhang Zhiyuan misunderstood Tracy McGrady.
McGrady also wanted to win, so he insisted on throwing it himself.
People who have been brilliant before will naturally be more confident.
Zhang Zhiyuan thinks Battier has a better chance, while Tracy McGrady thinks he has a better chance.
Sprewell played like shit in the 2004-05 season and was confident that he could earn tens of millions of dollars in annual salary, let alone Tracy McGrady, whose statistics this season looked pretty good.
In the second quarter, Zhang Zhiyuan came on as a substitute for two minutes, but the effect was not very good. He didn't get enough rest and was a little tired.
Then Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady came on the court, and Zhang Zhiyuan rested.
Neither of them could save the team. Van Gundy seemed more like he was stunned, and there was no targeted adjustment, just a simple substitution as usual.
"Many people only see the gap between the two teams' lineups, but forget that the biggest gap between the two teams lies in their coaches."
Seeing that the Rockets were showing signs of being beaten again, Barkley couldn't help but complain about Van Gundy.
"If Van Gundy had been replaced by Phil Jackson, the scene would definitely not be like this."
Smith echoed.
Not to mention they think so, Rockets fans think so too.
At the end of the first half, 40 to 57, the Rockets lost by 17 points.
Back in the locker room, Zhang Zhiyuan couldn't bear it any longer and started to shoot at McGrady: "Are you fucking blind or deaf? Didn't you see that Sean was open and didn't hear me yelling for the ball?"
"Shut your stinky mouth, I don't need you to teach me how to play."
McGrady said angrily, "I've been with the Rockets for so long, and no one has dared to criticize him like this."
When everyone saw this, they quickly came over to break up the fight, but Zhang Zhiyuan was so angry that they couldn't stop him.
He continued to spray: "Open your dog eyes and take a look. In the last game, you hit 8 out of 25 and now you hit 3 out of 12. Even the blind can throw better than you."
Zhang Zhiyuan presented facts and reasoned.
But this didn't bother McGrady. He retorted: "Since you are so damn accurate, why don't you take the initiative to ask for more shots? You can only run and run. Do you want the four of us to wait for you?"
Any chance?"
"I'm so damn efficient just because I keep running. Why don't you start running? The offense doesn't run tactics, the defense doesn't follow people, look at how many points Mike Finley scored?"
Zhang Zhiyuan spat.
"Fuck you, you're guarding Bowen who has no offensive ability, I'm guarding Mike Finley."
Maddie said.
"Wow, you are so proud of guarding Mike Finley. I didn't know you were guarding Michael Jordan."
Zhang Zhiyuan said mockingly.
Neither one of them is convinced by the other, just like the game players in Honor of Kings.
The mage in the middle lane sprays 0-4 on the top lane, and the warrior in the top lane blames the mage for not supporting the reminder.
The auxiliary monster shooter is too weak at 0-1, and the shooter is too good at spraying the auxiliary at 0-6.
The 5-1 jungler shivered and dared not speak. As soon as he opened his mouth, the other four would criticize him. He would only take lanes without rhythm, and would only wait for his teammates to use their lives to consume the enemy's health before going to kill them.
From God's perspective, a rational onlooker may be able to easily see whose problem it is.
But those in authority are always prone to think that they are right.
"Shut up, everyone. We haven't lost yet. We must unite..."
Yao Ming is still acting as peacemaker, but it's a pity that it's useless.
It wasn't until Van Gundy shouted, "There are reporters outside," that Zhang Zhiyuan and Tracy McGrady stopped scolding each other and just looked at each other angrily.
The reporters outside the locker room were very excited, they got big news.
Internal strife broke out in the Rockets locker room, with Zhang Zhiyuan and Tracy McGrady quarreling passionately and almost getting violent.
Where is the title? It is clearly the traffic volume.
At the end of the halftime break, the two teams returned to the court.
Zhang Zhiyuan added some individual singles with the ball, but he was losing anyway, so he might as well throw a few more by himself.
If you're lucky and throw them all in, maybe it can be reversed.
Zhang Zhiyuan's thoughts are beautiful, but the reality is cruel.
Seeing Zhang Zhiyuan keep throwing, Tracy McGrady also began to give up on himself. The ball was in his hands and it was over.
Halfway through the third quarter, the Rockets were already trailing by 25 points, and Van Gundy was ready to replace the main force and surrender.
At this moment, Tracy McGrady stopped and prepared to take action.
When Bowen saw this, he instinctively pounced, but unfortunately he was too slow to block the shot.
He just jumped up and stretched out his hands symbolically.
He jumped shorter and fell faster.
Fortunately, his foot landed where McGrady landed.
"ah."
With a scream, McGrady fell to the ground.
Bowen looked shocked and walked away quietly.
He really didn't do it on purpose this time, it was just out of habit.
After all, the Spurs were so far ahead, so there was no need.
"Madefak."
Wesley, who had formed a friendship with McGrady, rushed into the court from the bench, grabbed Bowen and punched him. The referee and assistant coach rushed to break up the fight, and the scene was very chaotic.
Zhang Zhiyuan was shocked when he saw this scene. He never expected that Bowen would attack McGrady. He also thought that Bowen would do this to him.
Now that Bowen doesn't want to destroy McGrady, does he think McGrady is a greater threat and looks down on him?
Zhang Zhiyuan was angry, it was simply unreasonable.
Although he was not injured, he was greatly humiliated.
However, Zhang Zhiyuan also realized that this might not be a bad thing.
If McGrady is not injured, he will definitely still be unable to unite and cooperate. Even if he uses props, there will be no hope for this series. He will waste a season in vain.
But now, McGrady is injured, he is the core outside player and has absolute ball rights.
Although we were behind 0-2, we still had no chance at all.
Wouldn't it be even better if we could beat the Spurs without Tracy McGrady?
Thinking of this, Zhang Zhiyuan's depression about being "humiliated by Bowen" disappeared. He wanted to take the opportunity to prove himself and prove that Bowen's choice was wrong.
At the same time, Rockets fans felt as if the sky had fallen.
Even with McGrady, they couldn't beat the Spurs. Now without McGrady, how can they be swept?
On the court, the chaos ended.
McGrady was carried away, Bowen was injured at the corner of his eye and had stitches on the field, and Wesley was ejected.
Yao Ming and Zhang Zhiyuan were substituted, and the Rockets surrendered.
Yao Ming looked depressed off the court. He originally thought that this season was the best opportunity, but he didn't expect that Zhang Zhiyuan and McGrady would have a conflict, and he didn't expect that McGrady would be directly injured next.
The bench finished the rest of the game, and the Rockets lost the game without any suspense.
78 to 106, the Rockets lost by 28 points.
However, they were scolded badly after winning the game.
Although everyone knows that the Spurs are dirty, today the Spurs have reached a new level of dirty. They have to destroy the opponent's star when they have already won a stable victory. It is simply inhumane to the extreme.
The Spurs naturally denied it, saying it was just an accident.
To be honest, if another player from another team accidentally injured his opponent like this, everyone would believe it was an accident.
But Bowen has such a bad record that it is hard for others to believe him anymore.
No matter how the Spurs explain it, the fans won't listen.
After the scolding, everyone thought the Rockets were finished.
