On November 15, the Rockets traveled to Phoenix to fight the Suns. The Suns www.biquge.info' Marbury and Hardaway backcourt combination played well, especially Marbury, who contributed 20 points and 11 assists, outperformed Billups' 16+6+6. Yao Ming rose to prominence on the Rockets' bench, finishing with 10 points and two rebounds on 5-of-6 shooting in just 14 minutes of playing time. In the end, the Rockets narrowly defeated their opponents by 4 points and ushered in a three-game winning streak.

After the victory over the Suns, the Rockets achieved a 6-1 record, beating the 5-4 Spurs, the 6-4 Kings and the Lakers (due to O'Neal's absence due to a toe injury) only 3-6, 7-2 SuperSonics and other traditional powerhouses, with a record of second in the West (but only third in the West due to ranking rules), second only to the Mavericks Sr. Nelson's 9-game winning streak. But it was this victory that sparked a war of words.

And that's when it comes to TNT Sports, Charles. Barkley and Kenny. Smith, the two former Rockets players, partnered to narrate the basketball show. Probably because of the psychology that his peers are enemies, the interior superstar Barkley was very dissatisfied with Yao Ming's performance, and he said in the Rockets' home win over the Warriors: "If Yao Ming scores 19 points in this game, I will kiss Kenny's ass." As a result, Yao Ming only scored 3 points on the spot. TNT Sports then aired the Rockets vs. Suns game again. Smith said Yao Ming still had a lot of potential, a remark that sparked Barkley's displeasure. Barkley again threatened: "If Yao Ming reaches 19 points in any game in his career, I'll kiss Kenny's ass." The remarks caused an uproar and even sparked a frenzy of bad criticism of Barkley in China across the Pacific.

Yao Ming in the United States learned the news earlier than the Chinese fans, and a female reporter in the United States had just received the news and asked Yao Ming at the pre-match press conference what she thought of Barkley's remarks. Although Yao Ming is young, he is a calm and serious person. He laughed, "Then I'll score 18 points per game." ”

Yao Ming didn't mind on the surface, but he was still secretly unhappy in his heart. In this game, Yao Ming held back his strength and scored 10 points efficiently, scoring a double-double for the first time in his career. Although there is still a distance from 19 points, Yuan Fei knows that Da Yao is gradually adapting to the confrontation in the NBA. The adaptation period is almost over, and the harvest period is almost here.

The opportunity was not long in coming, and two days later, the Rockets challenged the Lakers at Staples Arena, where Lakers superstar Shaq Brown. O'Neill is out.

The main players stood on the sidelines and prepared to take to the court, and the Lakers' starter was Samaki. Walker, Robert. Hawley, Rick. Fox, Kobe. Bryant and Derek. Fisher.

"The Lakers without O'Neal are inferior to us in terms of strength, and I hope you don't underestimate them. Samaki. Walker is also a very strong defensive interior lineman. Tang Shuai told the players: "Don't be careless, remember the lesson of the supersonic battle?" ”

Thomas looked at the Lakers players with a bitter face, and thought to himself: "I was repaired enough by Walker last season, but fortunately, today's starter against him is Magloyer, and my opponent is Hawley." ”

Yao Ming also had a small calculation in his heart: "It's a good opportunity for O'Neal to be absent today, my form is getting better and better in these games, and I have to work hard to score 19 points today." ”

The game got on, and Walker jumped the ball to win Pony. Hawley passes the ball to Kobe Bryant, who makes a mid-range shot. The Lakers started the season ahead of the Rockets.

Thomas misses layup. The Lakers made a mistake and was cut off by Billups, who found an opportunity to pass to the unmarked Thomas, but unfortunately he missed the shot again. The Lakers scored on a shot from Fox, 0:4.

Billups didn't panic, but slowly dribbled the ball and finally found Turkoglou, who ran out of the open space, and the latter hit a three-point shot. 3:4 Rockets opened.

The Lakers' defense has caused a lot of problems for the Rockets, but without O'Neal's Lakers offense looks tough. Bryant broke through consecutive singles to create fouls and scored eight points in the first quarter. The Rockets took a slight lead at 21:19 heading into the second quarter.

In the second quarter, the Rockets suddenly lost their touch, and the outside repeatedly hit the iron, and the Lakers took the opportunity to overtake the score. Tang Shuai decisively replaced Yao Ming, Reed and Jefferson to adjust the rhythm. Who knew that this ordinary substitution would work wonders. Samaki. Walker is very good defensively, but he is only 206cm tall and can barely play center. Facing Yao Ming, who was 226cm, he seemed powerless. As soon as Yao Ming came on the court, he crushed him with his height advantage, and received a pass from Jefferson to shoot and score against Walker. Next, after Reed missed a jumper, Yao Ming grabbed a frontcourt rebound and dunked, and the Rockets overtook the score at 29:28.

Bryant was stealed by Billups after a passing error, but Jefferson missed a fast-break layup. Kobe Bryant seized the opportunity to make a jumper this time, and the Lakers regained the lead at 29:30. Next, Yao Ming hit two points again against Walker's defense, and Kobe Bryant responded with two points, and the two teams took the lead alternately. The game seemed to be a 1v1 showdown between the Little Giants and Kobe, the league's top star. By the end of the first half, the Rockets trailed by two points at 44:46. Yao Ming scored 12 points and 4 rebounds on 6-of-6 shooting in the second quarter, and his performance was very eye-catching (real data). Off-site media people began to get excited, and the headlines of reports such as "Chinese Giants Getting Better", "Champion Coming to Maturity", and "Barkley is Going to Kiss His Ass" all came to their minds.

Just when people thought that Yao Ming, who was in good shape, would continue to play, Tang Shuai changed his formation. Team B, composed of Parkoku and other players, made a brilliant appearance in the third quarter. Without O'Neal, the Lakers' bench depth is average. Under Parker's lightning raid tactics, the fitness problems of the Lakers' players came to the fore. Parker assisted Jefferson and Thomas for dunks in succession, catching the Lakers off guard. And Kobe Bryant also had too much physical exertion before, and only scored 7 points on 3-of-11 shooting in this quarter. 74:71 The Rockets held the lead heading into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Rockets adjusted to a positional lineup again, with Yao Ming partnering Wallace, Turkogru, Maddie and Billups. The physically exhausted Lakers were completely overwhelmed by the Rockets' roster. Yao Ming scored 8 points in a single quarter on 3-of-3 shooting, including 2 2+1 shots, and scored 20 points on 9-of-9 shooting (real data)! Maddy scored 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting in the quarter, while Wallace scored nine points on 4-of-5 shooting. The 27 points of these three alone are more than the Lakers' entire score in the quarter. 108:97 The Rockets defeated the Lakers on the road, celebrating a four-game winning streak.

If there was anyone on the Rockets who was unhappy, it was probably Magloyer. Brother Xiao Ma played very little time in the second half, and watched Yao Ming play the whole quarter in the fourth quarter. If he was full of confidence to suppress Yao Ming to sit firmly in the starting line, then now his self-confidence has gradually been eroded with Yao Ming's growth. It seems that after Olajuwon retired, it will be difficult for him to sit in the starting center position.

And there is someone outside of Team Rocket who is much more distressed than Pony, and he is naturally the big-mouthed Charles. Buckley. Barkley boasted about Haikou at the beginning, but he was slapped in the face by Yao Ming only 3 days later, and now he is forced to kiss Smith's ass.

The Rockets then returned home to win over the underdog Cavaliers. Yao Ming played 18 minutes and got 9 points and 6 rebounds, and his efficiency was acceptable. Olajuwon also announced his comeback in this game.

Four days later, it was time for Barkley and Smith to broadcast the ball, and Barkley was still playing dumb at first and analysing the game until Kenny. Smith couldn't hold back the mention of kissing his ass, and Bacchus swore to death. This was not a problem for the quick-witted Smith, who asked for a donkey to be led. It turns out that the word ass in English has two meanings: ass and donkey. Smith himself was afraid that Barkley would really agree to kiss his ass, and he was ready for a long time, and he didn't want to take off his pants in front of the live camera.

Barkley naturally kissed the little donkey's buttocks, and all the guests laughed. Afterwards, Olajuwon called his old teammate Barkley in front of the whole team to taunt him, and also spoke out for his younger brother Yao Ming.

But at this time when the show aired, they weren't in the mood yet. The Rockets players are pking against the Mavericks at the home court of neighboring Dallas at the moment.

"The Mavericks had just beaten the Lakers by 26 points at home, winning 11 in a row, which can be described as a rainbow. It should be said that this is the first time we have faced the top team in the league this season. Of course, you know, the Lakers can't be considered top without O'Neal. Tang Shuai encouraged the players as usual, "The opponent is very strong, it is a good test for us. Whether we are a weak team killer or a real strong team, today we will prove to the world. ”

Several of the players smiled, and the youngsters didn't know what level they were at. And the current Maverick is undoubtedly the best litmus test.

"The Mavericks are based on Dirk. Nowitzki, Michael. Finley, and Steve. The Nash Three Musketeers are a strong offensive team with a core of the team, and the three of them shoot very accurately. In addition, the Mavericks' center 'Big Bamboo Pole' Bradley is the only player in the league who is taller than Yao. They also had a number of quality players on the bench, including our old team-mate Wirt and the newly transferred Lafrentz ......" Tang Shuai gushed about his opponents until the players were announced: "Today's starters are Hakim, Kenny, Richard, Tracy and Chauncey. ”

"It's a bit nervous to play the league leader." Maddie thought.

"I'm going to touch that big bamboo pole again, I don't know what will happen to Yao Ming going to hit him as a substitute." Olajuwon thought so.

"Nash is also a very strong point guard, and I can't lose to him." Billups thought so.

"That German shoots so well, it's not easy for me." Thomas thought so.

"Finley, it's going to be fun to play against him." Young Jefferson thought so.

"It's a pity that you've left here, I'm looking forward to playing you for the first time in the NBA, Dazhi!" Yao Ming thought so.

(Note: Wang Zhizhi, the first Chinese men's basketball player to land in the NBA, played for the Mavericks in the 2000-2002 season.) He signed with the Clippers in October 2002. ）