But he didn't expect that Chen Feng would see through his intentions so quickly and react so quickly.
He also had to admire this. Chen Feng's influence on the court and execution of tactics were obviously much better than players like James Harden.
Moreover, his basketball IQ on the court is definitely higher than that of James Harden. Although they are both All-Stars, the gap is reflected after only one season. Last season, Harden and Chen
When the winds were fighting, although they were at a disadvantage, they were not as weak as they are now.
McHale could see that Chen Feng's style of play was not static during the game, but that he made the most appropriate handling based on the actual situation of the game. However, if the two were swapped, the Rockets could still maintain their position.
The current strong offensive level, but James Harden cannot bring the Spurs to the current level.
Counting this foul, Dwight Howard has accumulated five fouls. If he does it again, he can take a shower in advance.
Therefore, he was replaced by McHale as expected.
The game is only two minutes into the fourth quarter, and now the Rockets still have a chance to narrow the point difference, so McHale plans to put Dwight Howard on the court with about four minutes left in the game.
However, he is worried about whether his side can narrow the point difference during the period when Dwight Howard is off the court.
Dwight Howard's dismissal caused the inside lines of both teams to completely lose balance.
Asik's defense was good. But his movements were too slow and he was unable to pose a threat to Derrick Favors in the paint. In the first half of the fourth quarter, the Spurs relied on their absolute advantage in the paint to turn the score to 105 in one fell swoop:
89, leading the opponent by as many as 16 points.
In the first half of the fourth quarter, Derrick Favors scored 11 points by himself and added five rebounds, becoming the biggest contributor to the Spurs' expansion of their lead.
The Rockets, who were trailing at home, launched a crazy attack in the last six minutes of the fourth quarter. Especially James Harden, who scored 8 points alone, demonstrated his dignity as a team leader.
However, the Spurs relied on the strong support inside to withstand the opponent's attack.
The old guy Duncan only scored 4 points in the first three quarters of the game, but at a critical moment like the fourth quarter, when Favors and Asik were locked in a fight, Duncan showed off his power and made consecutive successes in the paint.
With four minutes left in the game, the Spurs' lead was still firmly controlled at around 15 points.
McHale had to call a timeout, but he hadn't given up yet. He believed that his disciples hadn't given up either, so he decided to try again and put Dwight Howard back on the field.
Unfortunately, before Dwight Howard touched the ball, Chen Feng's breakthrough caused him to commit a blocking foul. The sixth foul was directly dismissed by the referee.
What made McHale even more depressed was that James Harden also lost his previous touch at the last minute.
As a result, the Rockets also lost hope of a final comeback.
In the end, the Spurs relied on the explosion of the Spurs spiritual leader Tim Duncan in the fourth quarter to defeat the Rockets 113:100 at home and get their second victory in the playoffs.
They will go to Houston's Toyota Arena in two days to challenge the Rockets.
…………
On April 22, 2014, the Spurs came to Houston for their third playoff game against the Rockets.
At this point, the game has already begun.
In this game, Rockets coach McHale made adjustments to the starting lineup. The center was changed from Howard to Asik, and the power forward was changed to Howard. This was a defensive inside combination, and the point guard was also replaced by Bev.
Lee was adjusted to Jeremy Lin.
McHale has no other better way. After all, he has already lost two games. If he doesn't make some changes, he will probably be swept.
As for the Spurs, there have been no changes.
Chen Feng broke through with the ball, made a straight pass, and passed the ball to Tim Duncan under the basket.
For Duncan, Chen Feng admires him from the bottom of his heart. In the last game, the old guy showed his strength at the critical moment in the fourth quarter and scored 9 points in a row, sending the Rockets away!
Here Duncan passed the ball to Leonard who came in through an air cut. Unfortunately, the latter's layup was missed. The rebound was picked up by Chandler Parsons on the left, and a long pass was passed across the air. The ball quickly went to the three-pointer.
Jeremy Lin flew away on the other side of the dividing line.
At this time, Dwight Howard was the first to run to the basket. Jeremy Lin roared when he saw this. With the tacit understanding between them, Dwight Howard naturally understood and quickly turned around.
Suddenly, Jeremy Lin's vision went dark, and a black shadow appeared in front of him like a wall, accurately blocking the path of the ball. Naturally, the ball would not fly to his hand again.
"Derek!" Chen Fengqiu yelled as soon as he got it. Derek Favors, who was lagging behind just now, has now become the forefront of the team's attack.
Derek Favors quickly retreated. He has always been very confident about Chen Feng's pass. Although he is running now, the tacit understanding cultivated over the season has made Chen Feng more confident about Derek Favors.
His actions and abilities are already clear in his mind. When Derrick Favors ran into the free throw line, the ball appeared above his head accurately.
The moment he picked off the ball, Derrick Favors had already used the inertia of his body, tapped the ground with his left toe, lifted into the air, flew freely in the three-second zone, and dunked the ball heavily into the basket with both hands.
"Bang" Derek Favors' dunk was so powerful that the loud sound resounded throughout the Toyota Arena.
The Rockets quickly brought the ball across the half court after serving. This time the offensive power was handed over to Leonard, but his high jump shot missed. Derrick Favors took advantage of the situation and took the first shot of the game.
rebound.
Parker's three-pointer from the right wing missed without being defended, and the rebound was grabbed by his opponent.
Harden dodged Leonard's steal and quickly took the ball across half court.
The Spurs implement a misplaced defense, and Leonard is responsible for defending him. Harden is the Rockets' point guard, and his ability to organize offense is quite good. Most of the Rockets' attacks are launched from his hands.
Completely cutting off the connection between him and his teammates, the Rockets' offense was almost paralyzed in half.
The main reason why **Vicci did not arrange for Chen Feng to defend him was to reduce Chen Feng's burden on the court and allow him to focus more on offense.
Harden's sharp breakthrough was unable to be used under Leonard's close defense. Several consecutive fake moves were seen through by the powerful Leonard. Even the pick-and-roll pulled by Dwight Howard was also exposed.
The wind's help was in vain.
Seeing the passage of time, Harden looked very flustered. He had already heard his coach warn him many times about focusing on defense in the playoffs, but when he actually faced it, especially against an opponent as strong as the Spurs,
Still a little unprepared.
In the first two games of the playoffs, his performance was very sluggish. Although he scored a lot, his efficiency was too low.
Moreover, when he and Chen Feng faced off head-on, they ended up being blown up. When Chen Feng was guarding him one-on-one, he felt like he couldn't do anything.
Harden finally passed the ball, but there was only three seconds left for Asik.
Derek Favors did not dare to relax at this time. He knew very well that as long as he persisted for a few seconds, the opponent's attack would be useless. He stood with his feet outside the three-second zone and raised his arms high.
, and stood ready beside Asik.
Asik's turn and layup missed the basket due to the interference of Derrick Favors. Dwight Howard's flexible footsteps squeezed into the basket first and used his strong body to beat Tim Duncan.
He squeezed out of the basket and easily took off the backboard.
Dwight Howard twisted in the air and passed the ball to the outside. At this time, two Spurs inside players were waiting under the basket. As soon as they hit the ground, it would be difficult to pass the ball out.
Harden almost felt like crying. The game had only started for more than a minute, and he had already seen the ball disappear twice in a row. Just now it was Chen Feng, and this time it was Leonard.
Unfortunately, Leonard's movement range was too large. After stealing the ball, he closed his feet unsteadily, and the ball in his hand slipped out of the baseline.
It's still the Rockets' ball.
Chandler Parsons received a pass from his teammate on the left wing and missed his jump shot. The ball hit the edge of the basket and bounced high. Several inside players under the basket struggled for rebounds but failed one by one.
Chen Feng has the ability to accurately judge rebounds. Chen Feng picked off the rebound, quickly started after landing, and made a lightning save like a cheetah.
Rockets coach McHale stood up excitedly and kept shouting "get back on defense" from the sidelines.
But how could Chen Feng, who was really starting at full speed, be easily caught up by his opponent?
Although Jeremy Lin was trying his best to retreat, seeing the distance between the two getting further and further away, he felt helpless in his heart. The opponent still controlled the ball!
The three-point line and the free throw line quickly slipped under his feet. Amidst the cheers of a few Spurs fans, Chen Feng's blood suddenly rose, giving him the urge to tear everything to pieces.
"Ah..." Amidst the shouts, Chen Feng's body rose into the air.
"Bang", the basketball was slammed into the basket by Chen Feng.
…………
As Derrick Favors hit another turnaround jumper, the Rockets called a timeout.
At this time, there were seven and a half minutes left in the first quarter. The Spurs started with a 10:2 spurt. Under the Spurs' high-intensity defense, the Rockets' shots missed one after another. (To be continued.
