Spurs opened with three turnovers. The Rockets' defense is back!

The Rockets still handed Yao Ming to attack, the whole league knew Yao Ming's threat, and he couldn't give him more opportunities to catch the ball and attack, and the Spurs began to wrap Yao Ming, speeding up the rotation and more defense, forcing him to pass the ball to his teammates. In order to do this, the Spurs lowered their defense on the outside of the Rockets.

Yao Ming drew the defense and passed to Battier, who in turn passed to Spanoulis.

Spanoulis hesitated in the open spot and passed to Hayes, by which time the Spurs were already in place and there was little time left to attack. Hayes forced a breakthrough with the ball, and the jump shot was missed after a quick stop.

When he returned to the defense, Hayes shouted to Spanolys: "Shoot when the space is open, it doesn't matter if you don't score!" ”

Spanoulis nodded. Three-point shooting isn't his forte, shooting just 23 percent from the field in the regular season, but shooting from the open is always better than a teammate hitting hard shots.

The Spurs were still stuck in the battle, and Battier shouted: "Keep up, don't let them score in the athletic battle!" ”

"Roger!" Hayes answered, and stepped up to Duncan.

Duncan received the ball, dribbled twice, turned around and jumped, Hayes still interfered with with the way of sealing his eyes, Duncan did not feel good today, and another shot was missed. Yao Ming grabbed the rebound.

"Today the Rockets were defended by Hayes alone, Duncan, and they have been defended twice. If this continues, the rocket will win! Matt Bullard said excitedly: "Hayes has one of the best abilities in the league, that is, to limit the opponent to the three-second zone, and Garnett, Duncan, Brand, Boozer, these top power forwards have to avoid playing when they see Hayes." ”

Drexler said: "Haha, look at Hayes's defense, his legs are like sticking to the ground, and he even resisted O'Neal during the All-Star Game, which makes the big shark feel very depressed." Duncan is not easy to play if he only relies on mid-range shooting. His dribbling skills are among the best among interior players, but Hayes is also good at defending breakaways, and Duncan has no advantage in playing with the ball in front of him. In the regular season, Hayes cut off Duncan's ball. ”

The two commentators explained, Yao Ming received the ball again, and Finley stepped forward to wrap it. Yao Ming passed to Battier, who missed a three-point jumper from a 60-degree angle.

The Rockets' combined defensive wrap-and-wrap strategy successfully limited Parker and Ginobili's breakout, and they resolutely wrapped the ball around the perimeter, and Parker passed the ball to Duncan, who was about to shoot, but Battier fouled and knocked the ball down. Duncan was sent to the free throw line and made 1 of 2 free throws. 9 to 2.

The Spurs defended Yao Ming in front of him, and Spanoulis couldn't pass the ball, and after several reverses, Azubuike missed the shot.

Both sides began to fight hard defensively, and the offensive efficiency was very low.

Yao Ming was very depressed by the Spurs' defense, Elson died in the back, pushing Yao Ming out, Yao Ming received the ball in the back frame, and the players next to him immediately ran over...... Just now, Elson's defense went around to Yao Ming, and he used his hand to covertly hold Yao Ming's hand. made it difficult for him to hold the ball, pulled hands and stumbled, and kept making small movements, so Yao Ming could only divide the ball.

The level of defense of the Spurs is completely different from that of the regular season, which is also related to the work that the players did before the game, which can really be described as a Bowen falling and a team of "Bowen" standing up. All of them carried on Bowen's legacy. (Uncle Bao is not dead yet!) Seeing that the offense was blocked, Van Gundy replaced Yao Ming, Azubuuk, and the athletic David Lee, Millsap, and Hayes moved to the small forward position, and Battier played as a shooting guard, ready to pick up the pace.

Duncan singled on the right side, David Lee defended up, he also mustered up his strength today, not giving an inch, Duncan took the ball to the middle, stepped back and jumped, dodged Lee's defense, and the ball still didn't go in. Millsap grabbed the rebound and handed it to Spanolys, who passed to Hayes. 2 against 2 in the front court.

The Rockets' defensive style remained the same, but the offense was changed to a fast break, and the five of them rushed to the Spurs halfcourt together.

The veteran Finley stood in front of Hayes, and he was very reluctant to face Hayes, so he could only tense his muscles at this time, waiting for Hayes to collide. As long as Hayes is blocked for a second, the Rockets' fast break will not be able to play.

Instead of dribbling with his back, Hayes lowered his head, lowered his center of gravity, increased the pace of his slap, and scurried past Finley like a wolf. Ginobili stepped up, and Hayes flicked one hand to the perimeter on the run and passed to David Lee, who had just run to the three-point line. Duncan stepped back a little farther and David Lee hit a mid-range shot. 11 to 2.

The Spurs Ginobili missed an outside shot, the Rockets played a quick counterattack, and Battier and Spanoulis followed Hayes to the frontcourt. If you want to ask the Rockets what they trust the most, it's Hayes' judgment on rebounding. David Lee grabbed the rebound and threw his hands to the frontcourt, Hayes received the ball and passed it to Battier, who raised his hands from beyond the three-point line and Ginobili pounced on him from behind to block it.

Battier is a good pitcher, but it doesn't mean that he can only shoot, after shaking Ginobili, Battier broke through with the ball and scored a one-handed dunk! 13 to 2.

Vicky asked for a timeout.

Battier yelled and banged his chest with Hayes in celebration, because of Hayes, the gentleman also became passionate.

Walking back to the dugout, Battier patted Hayes on the back and smiled, "Good pass." ”

"If you pass it well, you still don't vote? I'm all done! Hayes laughed.

"You're playing so well. Continue to attack like this, and when defending, it is still according to the tactics just now, David wraps Ginobili and Parker like Chuck just now, and if he can't prevent it, he will foul! Chuck can switch into the inside at any time. Slaughter them today! Van Gundy said.

"Doesn't it seem like I'm stronger? If I get on, I won't be able to run. Yao Ming smiled bitterly.

"It's no wonder that you're not as strong as you, it's just that they're too strict with you. After a while, they get used to the rhythm, and you go up again, and you clean up the inside line! It's all defended, let the opponent throw the first sports goal, tomorrow invite all the people to have a big dinner! Van Gundy said.

At this time, the most embarrassing person is Maddie, no one talks to him, and he doesn't know what to say to his teammates. He wants to prove his quality, but it seems good to win without playing.

Drexler smiled: "In the two battles against the Spurs, the Rockets found the true core, and that is Hayes." Maddie played the first quarter of the last game, and the Rockets trailed by more than 10 points, and today the situation was completely reversed. Even if Hayes doesn't score, he can make the Spurs uncomfortable. ”

Matt Bullard said: "Hayes didn't score a point today, why is he the core? ”

'He didn't score, but the role in defense was crucial. Maddie may be better offensively, but the defense is not at all comparable to Hayes. A couple of his packs were just right, disrupting the Spurs' offensive tempo. The Spurs wanted to play as slow as possible, but Van Gundy replaced Yao Ming and David Lee to improve the offensive speed. The few substitutes that the Spurs can use are veterans, and I see enough of them. ”

Drexler's guess was not wrong at all. The situation of the game was firmly in the hands of the rockets.

It was not difficult to see through the game that Spurs did not fully play their level today. The Rockets, who had the home court advantage, played fast offense from the beginning of the game, dragging the Spurs into a run-and-gun rhythm that they were not good at.

The Spurs, who are playing away from home, obviously lack sufficient mental preparation for this, who would have thought that the Rockets would let Maddie play as a substitute and replace Yao Ming soon after the first quarter? Once the Spurs' offensive position couldn't shoot, the quick counterattack of Hayes and Spanoulis made Spurs coach Vicky shake his head.

When the Spurs attacked, Millsap and David Lee took turns fouling Duncan, sending Duncan to the free throw line again and again. 6-of-11 free throws at halftime.

Halfway through the third quarter, Yao Ming scored consecutive singles on the inside, and the Rockets led by 31 points 66-35. The Spurs collapsed, and the players all had wooden expressions and looked like they were out of their minds. Seeing that the general trend has gone, ** Vic replaced three main players in one go: Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili.

At the end of the scene, the face of the "Stone Buddha" was also full of depression and hesitation.

Both sides sent substitutions and the game went into garbage time. The final score was 92-63. The Rockets beat the Spurs by 29 points.

No one expected the Spurs to be so vulnerable.

63 points! The Spurs broke the all-time record for the lowest points scored in a single game by 64 points in a loss to the Cavaliers in March 1997...... In the post-match press conference, Vicky was calm. On the loss, he said: "The ball was flowing smoothly with the Rockets today, the role players were playing well, and we couldn't contain their offense. Their defensive strategy has been successful as well, but back at home we'll find a way to crack it. ”

Under the Rockets' crazy joint defense, the Spurs' interior players have sharply reduced the number of shots and increased the number of three-point shots, which has made the Spurs' long-range shooting percentage a bit miserable, with a shooting rate of only 27.8% on 5-of-18 shooting in the game.

At the same time, the Spurs' rebounding was at an absolute disadvantage, which was another reason for the loss. Hayes and Yao Ming have teamed up and have never lost to any team in rebounding, and the black and white duo of David Lee and Millsap is equally amazing.

In the whole game, "Shi Buddha" hit only 4 of 12 shots in the game, scoring 14 points and 7 rebounds. Duncan also failed to show dominance under the basket, and David Lee and Yao Ming were very successful in defending him. Ginobili and Parker were even worse, scoring six and nine points, respectively.

In contrast, the Rockets were unstoppable on the offensive end. The Rockets scored five double-doubles, and Hayes was named the best of the game, playing 28 minutes, shooting 5-of-11, 1-of-3 three-pointers, 1-of-2 free throws, and finishing with 12 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals. Yao Ming played just 21 minutes and scored a game-high 16 points. The role players also played well, with David Lee 10 points, Battier 11, Spanoulis 12, and Fisher, Azubuuk, and Millsap also added six points.

It is worth mentioning that Maddie became a spectator and did not play for a minute.

(To be continued)