McHale realized the opponent's purpose, and the fans all over the stadium were counting Zhou Xuan's assists. At this time, he was extremely depressed. Last season when the Knicks played the Rockets, Zhou Xuan won the supernumber jù, even if Howard was added, he didn't think he could win, but at least don't become the backdrop for the opponent to break the record? And this time it's a super record!

Howard's three-time Defensive Player of the Year, first-class defense basket, can't prevent Zhou Xuan's assist. The Rockets have a way to stop Zhou Xuan from breaking the record, that is, to call a timeout and tell his subordinates to "let Zhou Xuan go in to score and prevent others from shooting." ”

If McHale gives such a tactical order, then he, as a coach, will basically do the end, and there is a limit to self-abandonment.

He was also hesitant to make a substitution. With a substitute, Zhou Xuan may be able to reach the goal easily. The main force may not be able to prevent it in the first quarter, and it will be even more embarrassing. The Rockets don't have a defensive player at the No. 2 position, and it's the same for everyone.

The Rockets attacked, Brooks missed a three-point shot, the rebound was grabbed by Asik, and Anderson immediately fouled and sent him to the free throw line.

Dead ball kung fu, rocket substitution. Brooks down, Harden. The No. 4 position was replaced by Jones, who replaced Cosby. This strengthens the defense.

Asik made one of two free throws. 110 to 88.

The Knicks attacked, Augustin went to the front court to give Zhou Xuan, Anderson pulled out the perimeter, Zhou Xuan passed to Parsons to hit Asik for a layup, and Copeland grabbed the rebound in the front court and touched the ball out of the bottom line.

The Rockets made another substitution, with Howard replacing Asik, also to strengthen the defense, especially for perimeter shooting, but McHale's only mistake was that he shouldn't have replaced Harden.

The Rockets attacked, Harden received the ball in the frontcourt, and Jones covered the middle to get rid of Zhou Xuan, and stepped to the basket without completely getting rid of Parsons. According to the step point, he must take the ball in the last step, otherwise it is a walk. Harden chose to jump up and pass the ball to Garcia from the outside.

Copeland jammed half of his body and reached out to stab the basketball away. Zhou Xuan came out of the middle and picked up the basketball to break fast. Because he only wants to attack when he plays, the defense Jones is not strict, the two are one step away, on the same line, and Zhou Xuan is facing the Rocket basket, and the start is much faster.

Garcia hurried to catch up from the side, and the inexperienced Jones also chased from behind to the three-point line. Zhou Xuan attracted two defenders, took three steps near the free throw line, jumped up when he took the first step, turned around and sent the ball out of the perimeter. Copeland shouted on the right side to make him pass the ball without looking at people.

Copeland received the ball in the open position, made a three-point shot, the ball arc was great, and the hollow went into the net. 113 to 88. The difference widened to 25 points, and Zhou Xuan had his 28th assist.

The Rockets attacked, Howard went to the low post to ask for the ball, and now he is facing Anderson, and the advantage is obvious. Garcia hoisted the ball in. Howard leaned on his back twice, squeezed under the basket and scored with ease. 113 to 90.

The Knicks attacked, Zhou Xuan and Anderson cooperated in blocking and dismantling, and Jones switched defenses. Beverley didn't chase this time. He likes to compete, but he doesn't do that every time, it's not good to wrap Zhou Xuan on the outside, and there are too many Knicks pitchers.

Augustin ran to the bottom corner first, then ran to the line with 45-degree Parsons cover, and when Jones followed Zhou Xuan, it was only Howard who defended it.

Howard hesitated, not because he didn't want to leave the basket, but because Harden would be misplaced to defend Parsons after the pounce, and he didn't trust Harden's defense at all.

When he hesitated, Zhou Xuan passed the ball, first dribbling the ball under his crotch and jumping in the middle, and then transferred the ball to the side. The jump was just right, and it looked like it was going to burst into the basket, attracting Howard's attention.

Augustin received the ball at 60 degrees on the right and hit a three-point shot. 116 to 90.

The reason why he is used to play double guard instead of Bredsoe is because he has stronger three-point ability, Bredsoe shoots very few three-pointers, mainly relying on speed to counterattack, and now the Rockets' small-ball tactics are not so easy to counterattack. Zhou Xuan's 29th assist.

The Rockets attacked, Harden asked for the ball from the outside, and singled out Zhou Xuan. He dribbled the ball under his hip twice in a row, swaying his right shoulder lightly, and wanted to cross and change direction again.

In previous games, Harden has done this many times in the middle, if the opponent retreats, Harden will take the ball and step back to shoot a three-point jumper, and the opponent advances, he may change his direction. In the past, Zhou Xuan's defense must have been to prevent breakthrough interference and shooting, but this time he was too far ahead, and he didn't care about conceding the ball, so he saw the opportunity and suddenly reached out to steal.

Harden had the impression that Zhou Xuan would not do this, he was caught off guard by being robbed, and the change of direction was already out of control, and Zhou Xuan stabbed the basketball. The ball passed under Harden's crotch, he couldn't turn around, and Zhou Xuan picked up the basketball first.

Augustin and Copeland play a fast break. Zhou Xuan held the ball through the half, attracting Beverley's supplementary defense. Even though he knew that Zhou Xuan's assist might break the record, Beverley still defended as usual. He can't let someone go to the basket, and that's what sets him apart from Harden.

On the other hand, after Harden was stealed, he ran back unhurriedly from behind, as if Chakra was insufficient because of his previous excessive pupil technique.

Zhou Xuan turned his head to take a look, hit the ground and passed the ball to the left side, Augustin took a step inside the three-point line to get an empty position, and shot the ball in 60 degrees. 118 to 90.

Su Qun shouted: "Another assist, the thirtieth one!" In this game, Zhou Xuan set three records in a row, tying Scott Sskilles' all-time record of 30 assists in a single game. ”

Yang Jian said: "I think he will be able to do it, there are still 6 minutes left, and the Knicks are attacking too fiercely today." ”

This assist came faster than expected, Harden burst into the interior after blocking and dismantling, forced a layup and missed, Howard rushed to grab the rebound, because he wanted to vent his grievances too much, he made up for the dunk in the air, and actually dunked the ball away. Copeland picked up the basketball and passed it to Zhou Xuan. Zhou Xuan rushed across the half court to attract Jones' defense and passed the ball to the middle. Harden was slow to defend again, and Parsons received a one-handed dunk from the middle of the basketball. Because of that dunk, Howard didn't run back. 120 to 90.

After Zhou Xuan came on the court, the Knicks played a wave of 13-3, and the lead reached 30 points.

McHale was completely dumbfounded, his ability to adapt on the spot was questioned last season, and now he simply didn't do anything, just watched from the sidelines, as if the victory or defeat had nothing to do with him.

The rocket was not lightly pitted by McHale.

Among the famous coaches in the league, Zen master Jackson relies on emotional intelligence, pinching superstars, and uniting the team. Jeff Van Gundy relies on hard work, busy working every day, and defending his teammates. Popovich relied on treachery, did everything he could, and did whatever it took to do so. Larry Brown College is represented by rigor. Pat Riley relied on his political skills and was good at calculations. "Refrigerator" McHale, what does he rely on? Nothing.

McHale has never led a team to a good record. The perennial supporting roles of "Little General" Johnson and Adelman, although they have always been abused in the playoffs, have at least a few seasons of bluffing records, and McHale's coaching victory is only 40%.

What has McHale done for the Timberwolves in 15 years? To say that he is a meritorious coach is not so much that he single-handedly caused the tragedy of the Timberwolves and Garnett.

In 1996, McHale succeeded Garnett and picked the talented point guard Marbury, but ignored that the latter's personality was not compatible with Garnett, and the two parted ways after less than three seasons together.

In the summer of 1998, McHale secretly made an insider deal with 1995 No. 1 pick Joe Smith in order to evade the luxury tax, which would give him a seven-year contract of not less than $40 million and up to $86 million as long as Smith signed him for the first three seasons with a low salary. In October 2000, the Timberwolves were severely sanctioned, stripped of first-round picks for the next five years and fined $3.5 million, and Smith was forced to become a free agent.

In addition, Cassel and Sprewell failed to reach a contract extension with the team after helping the team achieve good results, and McHale is also to blame. He hasn't been able to bring in a good helper for Garnett in a few seasons, and the team is full of junk contracts. The most amazing thing is that he traded Roy for Foye.

No wonder the American media unanimously disparaged McHale: "He was great as a player, but other basketball-related work was a failure." ”

The failure of the Rockets this season is directly related to the failure of McHale, the Rockets have always lacked a comprehensive defensive system, and the defensive end does not know how to cooperate, not to mention that the black hole under him is Harden, even five defensive masters will have problems.

D'Antoni did not immediately replace Zhou Xuan, but let him play for another two minutes, and at 3:48, Zhou Xuan passed the ball to Parsons and singled out Harden, and Gao Fushuai stepped on the left side and jumped the ball in.

Zhou Xuan's assist count is fixed at 32. He had 14 points, 32 assists and 4 steals. At 3 minutes, Zhou Xuan was substituted off the field, and the fans stood up and chanted "MVP" together.

Barkley sighed: "Originally, I thought that 30 assists in a single game was the most difficult record to be broken, and it might last for a long time, but Zhou Xuan improved this record by two more, and this game will be forever recorded in history." ”

Smith said: "It's hard to find a video of Scott's game, but people can find a video of Zhou Xuan's game on the Internet, and he's been amazing this season." After this game, he has averaged more than 20 assists per game. ”

Barkley said: "The season when Rondo won the assist title, some people said that he was better than Zhou Xuan. Now these people should understand what it would be like if Zhou Xuan focused all his energy on assisting, and only had Rondo's points, right? ”

Both sides were replaced on the bench, and in the last three minutes, it was the Knicks who had the upper hand, and the Rockets players didn't want to play anymore, and many people felt humiliated after learning about Zhou Xuan's super number. Among them is Harden, who has two days off after the Rockets, and Harden is thinking about going to a nightclub after returning to Houston to vent his frustration.

Howard didn't say a word on the sidelines after being substituted, and he began to wonder if the Rockets made the right decision. Looking at the style of play, Harden is similar to Kobe, and if he doesn't defend, the Rockets can't win the championship at all. And the evaluation he received was lowered.

The final score was 136-99, and the Knicks won by 37 points, winning eight in a row to continue to lead the standings.