At halftime, the atmosphere among the players in the Thunder locker room was much better than it was during the timeout. Under the leadership of Durant, Wei Shao has also begun to score and assist.
, and other players also began to perform. After half-time suppression, the Thunder team was about to explode.
At this time, Durant still looked solemn. Although under his leadership, the point difference was only 14 points, but what he was thinking about at this time was victory. Only victory can he win.
Peace of mind.
And at this time, he had unknowingly ignored Wen Hao. In his eyes, the only thing he cared about was victory, and he didn't care about anything else or anyone.
Thunder head coach Brooks saw Durant's eyes and expression and nodded secretly. He is very satisfied with Durant's current state. Only in this state and with such belief can the Thunder win the championship.
In the past two years, the Thunder have been able to compete for the championship. If James in the East had not blocked it, the Thunder would have won two consecutive championships.
This year, Durant is even stronger and can compete with James. Therefore, as long as they win the Rockets, the Thunder will have a very good chance of winning the championship. They cannot fall in front of the Rockets before the finals. If that is the case
If so, Durant and the Thunder will suffer a big loss.
…
In the Rockets locker room, the players were a little silent. Although they are still leading by 14 points, no one knows how long these 14 points can lead. Against Durant, 14 points is not enough.
His teeth were filled with tears. And at this time, even Wen Hao, who always had the most ideas, couldn't think of any solution. He leaned against the cabinet in the dressing room and remained silent.
The three assistant coaches of the Rockets were also silent at this time. They lowered their heads and kept drawing on the tactical board, but from time to time they would frown and erase the tactics they drew.
The entire locker room was so quiet that the only sound was the faint sound of a marker scratching on the tactical board.
After an unknown amount of time, McHale coughed slightly, and finally there was some movement in the locker room.
He came to Wen Hao and asked with a glimmer of hope: "Wen Hao, is it possible?"
The rest of the Rockets looked confused, wondering what McHale was asking.
However, Wen Hao knew that before the game, the coaches and Rockets executives pinned their hopes on his potential. Now the coach naturally asked him if he had that feeling of breakthrough.
He shook his head and said, "No."
McHale listened and shook his head in disappointment. The Rockets' last hope was shattered. They can't find any way to defend the Thunder now, and their offense is not very smooth. Are the Rockets really going to lose today?
?
Wen Hao was also secretly worried. Originally, if his assists or a certain data reached a certain level, a certain skill would be activated. But later on, the larger the data required, the harder it would be to activate. Before, he was talking to the Sun
The team has already activated Doomsday Knuckle during the series. Now it is difficult to activate any other skills in such a short period of time.
Are they really going to lose today? Are the Rockets really finished today? If they lose today's game, the subsequent games will be even more difficult. Because the Rockets have never thought of effective ways to defend Durant and the Thunder.
.
Could it be that the Rockets fell in the Western Conference Finals and fell at the feet of the Thunder?
…
Thinking of this, Wen Hao suddenly shook his head. Thinking of losing before the game is over is the most terrifying mentality.
As a player, no matter when, as long as the game is not over, you cannot think of losing. Faith is very important.
Thinking of this, Wen Hao suddenly stood up and roared: "We will definitely win!"
The Rockets players were in silence and were startled by Wen Hao's sudden voice. After they were stunned for a moment, they immediately followed Wen Hao and shouted: "We will definitely win!"
"We will definitely win!"
"We will definitely win!"
A powerful voice came out of the locker room.
McHale was a little dazed and looked at Wen Hao.
Unconsciously, this Chinese seems to have become the leader of the Rockets. Whether on the court or in the locker room, he has the ability to bring up the momentum of the entire team.
Thinking of this, McHale looked at Harden again, and saw a look of unwillingness flash across Harden's face after he finished yelling.
McHale felt faintly worried. The matter between Harden and Wen Hao had not been resolved, but they were temporarily tied together by the promise of the championship. If the Rockets lose, if they cannot win the championship, even if
If you win the championship, what should you do next season?
All these problems are waiting for him to solve, waiting for the Rockets to solve.
Thinking of this, McHale took a slight breath. Let's wait until the end of this season.
…
Twenty minutes later, the players from both sides walked out of the locker room and came to the court again.
The second half of the contest between the two sides is about to begin.
The commentator on the sidelines watched the players from both sides take the field and said: "I didn't expect that in the game where I thought the Thunder would have a big advantage, the Rockets actually gave the Thunder a showdown in the first half. At most, they led by 21 points.
The number of them is so surprising.”
"Indeed, the Rockets' performance in the first half was impressive. However, in the second half of the second quarter, the Rockets' performance seemed a bit unsatisfactory. They were chased by the Thunder in the last three minutes or so.
7 points, if this momentum is maintained until the second half, things will not be good for the Rockets."
"However, I believe that the Rockets will make adjustments after halftime. Whether it is tactics or mentality, head coach McHale will not sit idly by. I believe that in the second half, the game will be more exciting."
…
While the two commentators were giving such meaningless explanations, the game on the field had already begun.
The Thunder attacked the first ball, and Durant still didn't hold the ball. If he didn't hold the ball, the Rockets didn't need to double-team him for the time being.
But when he suddenly caught the ball and took off to shoot, it was too late for the Rockets to double-team him. He hit two consecutive goals in this way, one of which was a three-pointer.
Only then did the Rockets know that they must double-team Durant even when they don't have the ball. But in this way, other people will inevitably be missed. This made it difficult for the Rockets to take care of both, and they were still frequently attacked by the Thunder.
succeed.
Fortunately, the Rockets' offense is also good. Wen Hao focused on the Rockets' interior from the beginning, constantly passing the ball to Howard, allowing Howard to hit several consecutive shots. Then he played a pick-and-roll with Dayao, and Dayao caught the ball in the high post and then made a jump shot.
The feel is also very good.
In this way, until the middle of the third quarter, the score difference between the two sides was still hovering between 14 and 12 points.
Rockets fans finally breathed a sigh of relief when they saw this. Although the Rockets failed to prevent Durant and the Thunder, they ultimately relied on offense to maintain a stalemate with the Thunder.
As long as they continue to maintain this point difference until the fourth quarter, the Rockets' hope of winning will greatly increase. Although it is not impossible to chase 14 points in a single quarter, in a high-intensity game like the playoffs and
It’s still very difficult despite trying your best to defend.
However, as I have said many times before, ideals are beautiful, but reality is always cruel and messy. When fans were full of such beautiful hopes, the Rockets suddenly stalled.
First, Howard encountered foul trouble. Under the impact of Wei Shao, he fouled four times and had to take a rest. Asik came on as a substitute, but when Wen Hao passed the ball to him twice, he once
Got cut off at the rim, and once missed a layup from close range.
The commentator on the sidelines shook his head repeatedly: "Asik's hands are so hard, he has no feeling at all for shooting."
Then during a breakthrough, Harden was beaten by Ibaka until the corner of his eye bleeds, and he had to return to the locker room for treatment.
At this time, the main players on the court were Wen Hao, Dayao and Parsons. Jeremy Lin had to come on to put out the fire.
But under this series of blows, the Rockets seemed to be suddenly possessed by an evil spirit, and the entire team lost their touch. Dayao missed the free throw line shot that he was very good at in the past, Jeremy Lin missed a layup on a breakthrough, and Parsons missed a three-pointer on a fadeaway.
Even Wen Hao, who had the bonus of unanswerable shots, actually missed two consecutive shots.
Under such a large-scale evil situation, the Thunder did not lose momentum and seized the opportunity to chase points.
When the third quarter ended, the Thunder had caught up to only 2 points.
The atmosphere at Toyota Center became tense again.
McHale shouted to the Rockets players who were resting on the bench: "Believe in yourselves, you will definitely win. Don't be afraid of shooting, your touch will definitely come back. After playing in the fourth quarter, just shoot with confidence and boldness."
."
The Rockets players secretly smiled bitterly in their hearts. Everyone knows that the feel will come back. As NBA players, no matter how bad they are, the feel will not always be that bad. But the question is when will the feel come back? In this game
Will you come back?
Wen Hao saw that the players on the Thunder team were full of momentum at this time, with their faces full of excitement and their eyes full of killing intent. Especially Durant, whose murderous nature was fully displayed.
Wen Hao secretly clenched his fists. At such a critical moment, someone must step forward. Now that Harden is still receiving treatment, the only person who can step forward is himself. Even if he missed two shots just now,
But with the bonus of unanswerable shooting, it won't be any worse.
Thinking of this, Wen Hao turned to McHale and said: "Coach, give me the ball at the beginning of the fourth quarter."
McHale was stunned, and so were the Rockets players. Then they realized that Wen Hao was going to attack on his own.
McHale nodded secretly in his mind. Now Wenhao has grown into a type like Paul. He is fully capable of attacking on his own, and his scoring ability is no worse than those of superstars. But generally he will not take the initiative to score, but assists to pass the opportunity.
Give it to your teammates.
And when the whole team can't open up at the critical moment, he will step forward.
This is a true top point guard! (To be continued.)
