Although the Rockets' winning streak has been ended, the media has taken a look at the team that continues to surprise them. Pen Fun Pavilion www.biquge.info recalling the past: In 03, the Rockets were considered impossible to break through the first round, and as a result, they ended the Lakers dynasty; In 04, the Rockets were considered difficult to defeat the F4 version of the Lakers to break through to the West, and as a result, they won the championship; In 05, Maddy was injured, and no one was optimistic that the Rockets could win, but they still defended the title; Now Maddy is absent again, and the media are optimistic that the Lakers can beat the Rockets to become the champion of the West, what is the result? The Rockets are on a 24-game winning streak that is the second highest in history!

Finally, a reporter asked: "Will the Rockets break the Bulls' 72-win record?" "Most people's first reaction to this is no. After all, Jordan is the god of basketball in people's minds, and although the Rockets have Maddie, a superstar who is close to God, he is also absent. Now Yao Ming, the biggest name in the team, can't be compared with Jordan at all.

The Rockettes were in a very correct state of mind at this time, and they were not arrogant or arrogant. They were neither shaken by the end of their winning streak nor inflated by the media's 72-win discussion. They continued their efforts on January 20, and after a hard-fought overtime battle, they narrowly defeated the Bulls of Eastern Conference New Force by 3 points.

After a day off, the Rockets traveled to Detroit to play against their old rival Pistons. The two teams have played against each other a lot in recent years, and they know each other well, and it must be a big battle to meet.

The Pistons are frustrated, having started the franchise with a franchise-best 32-5 record, and they lost double-digit games by mid-January when they won the championship twice. In previous years, the 32-5 would undoubtedly be the league leader and the focus of the league's attention. But this year, there was a pervert of the rocket, and he actually played a 35-4 record. Not to mention the hatred of the two finals, the relationship between this record alone made the Pistons grit their teeth with anger, and regarded the Rockets as a thorn in the flesh and had to be killed.

And for the Rockets, the Pistons are just one of many opponents and nothing at all. If they had to pick a sworn enemy for the Rockets, they would most likely say the Spurs rather than the Pistons. Of course, Bowen has to take the lead in the creation of grievances between the two teams.

This battle of old enemies in the finals, and also the battle for the leaders of the East and West, started on the evening of January 22. Both sides did not dare to be careless, and each sent the strongest lineup.

Big Ben fought for the ball, the Rockets pressed fiercely as soon as they came up, Bodi Loga didn't find any chance under Jefferson's strict defense, so he could only pass the ball out, and Prince then transferred to Hamilton, who used his height advantage to force Billups to shoot a jumper and miss the iron.

On the Rockets' side, Bosh created an open space for Reed's off-ball cover, and Reed received the ball at the free throw line, but unfortunately missed. Bodiloga wanted to launch a quick attack, but Jefferson quickly grabbed the ball and almost made a steal. When the Pistons protect the ball, the fast-break opportunity is lost.

"Jefferson was very aggressive on the defensive end today and played well." Barkley gave the affirmation.

The Pistons fell into a positional battle again, and Big Ben held the ball high and turned it to the running Hamilton, who hit a two-point basket. The two sides finally got along.

"So far, both sides have been defenders as the main attackers." Smith said: "The Rockets should make more use of Yao's strong point." ”

Billups, as if he heard Smith's words, took advantage of the low center of gravity to break through Bodiloga's defense, and cleverly passed the ball past the Pistons inside and went directly to Yao Ming under the basket. Da Yao easily dunked and equalized the score.

Although the Pistons have a proud double Wallace inside, these two are mediocre in height and are tied up in the face of the little giants of the East. If you really talk about the comparison of hard power, Yao Ming is not necessarily stronger than this. Wallace, but one thing drops one thing and one thing is really pressed (note: the two have played against each other 10 times in history, Yao Ming's average of 16 + 9 per game is better than Wallace's 5 + 10, especially after 05 years, the mature Yao Ming has never scored less than 18 points against Wallace).

Bodiloga was also smart and knew he was going to win from the outside, so he hit a three-pointer with a strong shot. But the Rockets are not weak on the outside, and Reed also returned a three-pointer, and the two sides tied again.

Rashid struggled to play Bosh alone, he had a wide vision and turned to the outside, and Prince received a pass and hit a long-range shot, 5-8.

Reed, who threw away, did not show weakness, and when he attacked and pulled it up, he threw it again!

Prince also gritted his teeth and wanted to return a three-pointer, but his shooting consistency was much worse than Reed's, and he missed the iron.

The Pistons changed their interior hand-to-hand fighting nature and fought with the Rockets for three-point shots. The Rockets didn't give in, and the two sides shot each other from the outside, playing a bit of an All-Star game. However, the Pistons then replaced the bench with Argentine guard Carlos. Delfino, who was a great shooter, hit two three-pointers in a row on the court. At the end of the first quarter, the Pistons played at a super level, shooting 5 of 8 three-pointers, and actually scored 29 points in the first quarter to lead the Rockets by 3 points.

But the Rockets players were not impatient at all, and Adelman encouraged the players: "The Pistons are only slightly ahead of the outside line by such a high standard. Once they feel back to normal, I'm afraid it's our rockets who are ahead. ”

Sure enough, the next match was just as he had judged. The Pistons, who were not good at long-range shooting, began to shoot frequently, and in the second and third quarters, they actually shot 0 of 8 from outside the three-point line, and the Rockets easily overtook the score.

It was a stressful game for the Pistons, who were carrying too much baggage. If the Pistons can't win the championship again this year, they will face the risk of the main roster being torn apart. This is because Big Ben and Prince's contracts are about to expire, and Big Ben has done well in recent years, and wages are bound to skyrocket. And Prince was previously given a low rookie contract, and even if the renewal price is not high, it must be a high increase from the previous (only 1.76 million this season). The Pistons are not as rich as the Lakers' Knicks, and only if they win a championship, the owner will be willing to pay a lot of luxury tax.

Under the pressure, the Pistons' morale was dissipated, and they began to make low-level mistakes. Even Bodi Loga, who has always been seasoned and calm, made a childish mistake of passing the ball to the Rockets players. Pistons new coach Philip. Sanders, a former Wolves coach, spent 10 years with the Wolves, coaching a team on the fringes of the playoffs, lacking control over championship-caliber teams and far less influence on the team than veteran coach Larry. Brown. In the face of this situation, he also made a big mess, and the substitution of several substitutes such as McDice and Evans could not play a decisive role.

In the fourth quarter, the Rockets played a score of 28-13 and finally won 112-91. avenged a 20-point home defeat at the start of the season and improved his record to 36-4.

After crossing that threshold, the Rockets took another big step toward their goal of 72 wins. (To be continued.) )