October 25, 2017.

9:13 p.m. local time in the United States.

At 102-104, the Rockets trailed by 2 points and executed their final offense.

At the Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia, everyone stood up.

1/

Sweat, will.

Spotlight, talent.

Nervous to the point of suffocation, air.

All the elements on the pitch converge at this moment.

It's a clash of talents.

The Rockets have some of the league's best outside talent. James Harden has risen to the ranks of the league's superstars almost overnight since D'Antoni took the helm last season. His triple-double and MVP battle with Westbrook was unmatched. Even though the bearded man finally lost to Wei Shao, who played historical statistics in the MVP selection, he has become a well-deserved cornerstone of the team in front of the Rockets.

And whether the rocket can soar into the sky and fight its way out of the encirclement from the treacherous west, and go further, everyone is watching him!

Like the last ball of the game.

The Houston Rockets trailed by two points with 6.4 seconds left on their clock. The ball came out of the sideline, stayed in Ryan Anderson's hands for only a second, and then went to James Harden, who defended him by 76ers center Embiid.

When it comes to talent, no one can miss the 76ers' great, Joel Embiid.

Even though this year's draft No. 1 pick, Markelle Fultz, was put on injury watch before the game as his right shoulder condition deteriorated; Even Ben Simmons, the 16-year champion who missed a year of games due to injury, only delivered a "measant" 14 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists and 3 steals in this game after a double-double or even a triple-double, failing to maintain the momentum of a double-double; Even after being plagued by fouls in the opening stanza, Joel Embiid's talent and threat no one can afford to ignore in every inch of his existence, every minute and every second.

Embiid, who took off his belt, his hair exploded on his head, like thunder and fire, and no one could stop him.

He is simply an outlier on the basketball court, this seven-foot giant with long hands and feet, like in the middle of the first quarter, can receive the inside ball from his teammates, start from outside the three-point line, jump from inside the free throw line, and score a slam dunk.

can also play the role of a power forward at the No. 4 position at the top of the three-point arc like a scoring guard with James Harden, hit a three-point shot, and then play the role of a power forward at the No. 4 position, shaking the back mid-range jumper and hollowing into the basket.

And for this second, he was more like a bloodthirsty monster, greedily breathing the almost suffocating air of the Wells Fargo Arena, his eyes almost spewing fire. The bearded man who dribbled in front of him had just made a layup in the restricted area he was guarding. Before the ball touched the rebound, he successfully blocked, but was misjudged by the referee as an interference ball, and Harden played 2+1, which suddenly approached the score.

How can this convince the Emperor!

James Harden dribbled along the sideline, and the ball stayed on the left side of his body, and Embiid couldn't interfere. I'm going to choose to force a shot, he thought to himself. The ball is on his left side, and if he finds a gap in the defense, he can lift it up and throw it from his left hand of the shooter!

But Embiid has completely stuck to him, raised his arms high, and sealed Harden's shooting route!

How do you shoot this ball?

2/

The genius of the sky may be the height of a thought.

But more often than not, it's the grinding of patience. It's a contest of wills.

That's what this game is.

The visiting Houston Rockets are full of injuries. It's not just new signing Chris Paul who has been sick since the game against the Warriors. Even veteran center Nene and team big man Ariza were injured after the previous game and were put on the watch list, and neither of them came to Philadelphia with the team to report.

The 76ers, who occupied the advantageous position, quickly shook off the score gap after the opening and led all the way. Even if the Rockets closed on the score a few times, the 76ers always had a way to re-establish their advantage with momentum and another wave of attacks. It seems that this group of young people has made up their minds this night to cash in on their talent on the hard-catching Rockets!

Under the hardship, all the starting players of the Rocket team used three heads and six arms, and fought their physical strength to the limit!

The five starters all played at least 30 minutes, and the backcourt core James Harden and Eric Gordon insisted on an astonishing 40 minutes!

James Harden, played 41 minutes and 26 seconds, with 27 points, 3 rebounds and 13 assists. Eric Gordon, 40 minutes and 54 seconds, 29 points plus four rebounds and five assists, it was his several consecutive three-pointers that kept the Rockets' hopes of catching up.

Clint Capela, who has been raising the ceiling of talent every year in the NBA, played 32 minutes and 29 seconds, scored 16 points and an astonishing 20 rebounds! Not only did he connect with James Harden many times, but he could also burn the last trace of physical strength at the last moment of chasing points, inserted it into the basket, and scored a violent dunk in the air relay, but he also grabbed the frontcourt rebounds many times, retaining the most valuable hope for the Rockets' sluggish hand today!

As a rookie, Yang Yiming, at a time when the team was tense and everyone was a soldier, was also ordered to be in danger today, and got the longest playing time of 19 minutes and 40 seconds after joining the Rockets. In the second quarter, he scored 4 points, and at the end of the third quarter, Gordon, who burst into the restricted area, had no chance to shoot in the face of the 76ers' inside, distributed the ball to the outside, and after passing along the three-point line several times, it fell into the hands of Yang Yiming. Empty opportunity, three-pointer shabu-shabu on the basket and then fall into the net! 7 points.

But his show isn't over yet!

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Yang Yiming, who led the rotation lineup, suddenly felt hot, and his mid-range shot broke through his back and hit hard, and he simply got what he wanted on the court. He scored 11 points in a row to help the Rockets hold off their opponents.

And after a few minutes of rest to regain his strength, Coach D'Antoni put him back on the field for the decisive moment!

3/

"A ring, you will be on in a moment." On the court, Harden had just blocked the opponent's shot hard, causing the 76ers to violate the 24-second offense. The Rockets' players were jubilant in the pearly — with 6.4 seconds left before the team took a timeout. Maybe there will be a miracle, at least enough time, teammates, Harden, Gordon, Anderson, and even Capela, can shoot three-pointers. Yang Yiming, who was thinking like this, heard Coach D'Antoni's call to him.

"Coach?"

"The last offense, you, James, Eric, Ryan, and Clint." D'Antoni ignored Yang Yiming's surprise and said to his teammates who were walking to the side of the field. The coach's tone was unusually calm.

Everyone gathered around and squeezed the five of them in the middle.

"Three points, no two, and no shooting." D'Antoni arranged, "Run out of time – we're going to kill the game straight away." ”

"You serve, you serve, you run here." He pointed at Yang Yiming and drew an arrow that cut down the bottom left corner, "The ball will be handed over to James, and he will handle it." Get ready for all! ”

And now at this second, Yang Yiming has already stood in the position corresponding to the arrow drawn on the tactical board just now.

Left bottom corner.

James Harden is dribbling, and Embiid is clinging to him and defending. Harden burst in, dribbled the ball to the three-point line, and as they approached, they were only a few meters away from Yang Yiming. Time is running out, so he's going to force his shot. Maybe Yang Yiming's defenders thought the same way, and at this time he moved a step sideways, ready to block Harden's shot together.

But the ball came out.

James Harden's pass fell into the hands of Yang Yiming, who was ambushed in the bottom left corner.

Time seemed to stand still.

Yang Yiming saw that the clock on the rebound was still 1.6 seconds. He saw Harden, who lost his center of gravity after the pass, and threw himself on the floor, his body just behind Embiid, who had just defended him. He saw the 76ers defending him, realized his reckless defense, stepped back, and prepared to jump to interfere with his shot. He also saw his size 45 gray Nike LeBron sixth-generation sneakers, standing steadily, and the distance between the front and back of the three-point line and the sideline was probably no more than ten centimeters.

Most importantly, he saw the basket in the distance.

In the background of the audience who stood up under the black pressure, the white drooping basketball net was particularly conspicuous.

He dribbled sideways, and the fallen defender staggered his throw. The toe is light, and the gray toe is just less than a toe away from the three-point line.

The white nets are still in sight.

1.1 seconds.

Yang Yiming made a move.

With a flick of the wrist, the ball makes a perfect arc. He had a hunch.

After 2 seconds, the arena, which had been silent, became even quieter. It's dead silent.

All that was left were teammates who roared and rushed up to hug them. The ball is in!

Lore!