After Yao Ming's jersey retirement ceremony, the players of both sides warmed up.

Yao Ming and the guests who were there stayed behind and sat in the front row of the audience to cheer on the Rockets.

After the opening ceremony, the starters of both sides appeared one after another.

The Rockets did not adjust their starting lineup, and Morris is still the starting power forward.

It was previously reported that Morris would be shooting 500 threes a day during these three days.

Now it seems that it should have worked.

Perhaps because of the exchange with Yao Ming, Cousins looked very excited, jumping faster than Davis and turning the ball back into the Rockets half.

Paul carries the ball to the front court and organizes the attack from the outside.

Unlike the previous two games, the Rockets did not play Harden at the beginning, but focused on the interior offense.

Cousins went down after giving Harden a fake cover, picked up Paul's pass and squeezed Jokic away for a layup.

The whole technical action is done quite smoothly.

In a positional battle on the Pelicans' side, Tang Tian singled Tucker's back to score points for the Pelicans.

The first attack of the opening game on both sides was scored.

The Rockets' offense, Cousins repeated, but this time Davis's shrinking defense was in place, and he didn't have a chance to shoot.

He turned around and leaned on the right side of Davis's body to hook his hand.

Davis reached out and jumped up to block it, but Cousins hooked up in a high arc.

"Huh!"

The ball passed over Davis's fingertips and hung straight down the net.

Cousins scored two goals in a row in the opening game!

The scene erupted in cheers from the fans.

The Rockets have lost the past two games, and Harden's performance has been miserable, and he is the number one target of attack for Rockets fans.

But the other two giants, Paul and Cousins, performed averagely, and they were also the target of crazy complaints from fans.

After all, the Rockets are the Big Three, and if one giant doesn't play well, the other two should stand up.

They waited two games, and Cousins finally stepped up first!

Tang Tian's sudden score, Davis received the ball under the basket and turned to play the board.

The Pelicans' offensive form is fine.

Looking back, Cousins asked for the ball directly in the high post.

Jokic half-circled the front defense, and Cousins saw that he picked up an off-ball and turned and ran to the basket.

His reaction and judgment were astonishingly fast.

Paul saw it and hit the earth directly through the crowd.

Cousins jumped up with the ball, and Davis came over to block it.

Cousins dodged a small lever in the air!

"Bang!"

Cousins dodges and then slams the dunk with a powerful two-handed dunk.

He scored 6 points in a row in the opening game!

The cheers continued.

Yao Ming in the audience also smiled and applauded Cousins.

The Rockets have a tradition of center, and Cousins' performance in this section is a bit like a Houston center!

Cousins roared after the dunk, then turned his head to look at Yao Ming in the audience.

Obviously, there is a direct connection between his opening outburst and Yao Ming's jersey retirement ceremony.

Seeing the legendary center forwards of Olajuwon and Yao Ming, especially Yao Ming told him so much, he was inspired like never before.

Morey, who was in the auditorium box, finally smiled.

The fiasco in the first two games put the Rockets under unprecedented pressure, and even lost a lot of hair with him, the general manager.

Fortunately, there is Yao Ming, fortunately, Yao Ming is easy to speak, this early jersey retirement ceremony really played a role!

Ariza missed a three-pointer from the catch, and Harden broke through with the ball.

The Pelicans' defensive tactics are the same as they were on the court, putting Harden to the mid-range.

Cousins took the initiative to approach the basket at this time, and Jokic didn't dare to pounce too much.

On the weak side, Davis came over, and Harden passed directly to Morris in the corner.

The Rockets didn't change their starting lineup, but there was a change in the style of play, and Morris crouched to the bottom corner.

Morris catches the ball with a three-pointer and shoots directly.

"Huh!"

Basketball goes to the net.

The Rockets scored on four consecutive offenses after the opening!

The cheers at the scene continued.

Team Rocket is in amazing form tonight!

There are even fans shouting Yao.

Yao Ming is really Hughes's baby!

However, on the Pelicans' side, Tang Tian immediately broke through to the layup and scored a return shot.

6 to 9.

The Pelicans didn't defend it, but their offense was solid and they weren't pulled away.

The Rockets attacked, and it was Harden's breakthrough again.

Morris made his first three-point shot, showing the effect of his training over the past few days.

Davis didn't dare to shrink so completely, and Harden saw a high throw after Jokic saved.

Pull down Cousins and jump up, and score directly with a blank dunk!

Houston is really going to take off tonight!

The excellent offense also led the team's defense, and the Pelicans' continuous offensive tactics did not play, and they were almost defended for 24 seconds.

There were only two seconds left for the ball to reach Tang Tian's hand, and he shook the ball with a dribble and pulled out his hand against Tucker's three-point shot.

It was a difficult shot, but the ball hit the back edge of the basket and went into the net.

Tang Tian's big heart is three points!

The Pelicans' bench was boiling.

The Rockets look unstoppable tonight, but they have Tang Tian on their side!

Harden missed a three-point shot from the outside, and Cousins picked up an offensive rebound on top of Jokic's head and forced the latter to foul.

Jokic did not fall behind in the first two games against Cousins, but tonight Cousins was in too good shape, and Jokic was obviously suppressed.

Cousins hit both free throws and scored eight points in less than five minutes of the opening game.

Stevens braces his cheek on the sidelines.

Cousins' sudden outburst was anything but good news for the Pelicans.

In the time that followed, he tried many ways to restrain Cousins, but none of them worked.

Cousins was in really good shape tonight.

Tang Tian also realized this, Cousins's technical omnipotence, once he turned on, it was no more difficult to limit him than to limit Harden.

As in the regular season, he used words to stimulate Cousins, trying to awaken another irascible personality in the latter's body.

But this time, it didn't work.

Cousins is not sane like Cousins!

This guy is really a little scary when he is sensible, and he is the first center in the league!

Throughout the first half, Cousins slaughtered all sides on the inside, scoring 20 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in the half, completely dominating the inside.

His performance also allowed the Rockets to score 60 points in the half.

Fortunately, on the Pelicans' side, Tang Tian had a strong ability to play tough battles, and he also had 12 points and 6 assists in the half quarter, and under his leadership, the Pelicans also scored 56 points in the half.

60-56, although the lead is not much, but it is also the first time in the series, the Rockets have an advantage at halftime!

At half-time, the crowd cheered.

I don't know who started first, but the scene actually sang the familiar Yao song at halftime.

"Yao Ming ~ Yao Ming Yao Ming is fatal ~ Yao Ming ~ fatal ~"

Olajuwon is the soul of Houston, and Yao Ming is the totem of Houston.

With his totemic aura tonight, the Rockets played a perfect half.

ps: The operation was done today, more than three hours, and now the person has woken up, thank you all