The Rockets' game against the Trail Blazers quickly made headlines in the U.S. media after the game.

The first is Damion Lillard, the Trail Blazers' No. 6 rookie, who played 42 minutes, shooting 11-of-17 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line to finish with 30 points, 11 assists and five rebounds.

This is the first time since "The Emperor" James that a rookie has played such excellent statistics, and with the excellent performance of this game, Lillard also surpassed the tall and strong in the rookie list and temporarily ranked first.

For this reason, ESPN made a personal interview with Lillard: Lillard, who was only 22 years old, was born in Oakland, California, his basketball road was full of ups and downs, his family was not wealthy, he was surrounded by drugs and violence since he was a child, and when he was 12 years old, he had friends around him who began to sell drugs, but Lillard was lucky not to get lost and fell in love with basketball thanks to the help of local welfare agencies.

"When I was a kid, I would shoot basketballs with rocks against tree branches, and later, when the tree was cut down, I was so sad that my grandfather turned a discarded milk crate into a basket and tied it to a telephone pole for me to shoot."

After successfully joining the NBA, Lillard began to have a smooth ride, and his debut brought surprises, the Trail Blazers against the Lakers, he scored 23 points and 11 assists, and today he played 30 points, 11 assists and 5 rebounds again, becoming the first rookie since James to complete such statistics.

Lillard has the words "Heartofthecity" tattooed on his chest - he does have a big heart!

……

Lillard's stellar performance was what attracted the media attention, but it was the clash between Harden and the tall and strong that was the real focus of the media attention in this game.

After the game, there was a flood of media in the Rockets' locker room.

"We don't have a problem, it's just a normal argument," Harden said with a helpless wave of his hand in the face of the swarming reporters.

"But you didn't cooperate on the field, and you didn't even talk," a reporter asked, holding up the microphone.

"We're a young team and we're going to have some problems, but they're going to work out as the season goes on," Harden cleverly dodged the topic.

"What do you think was the main reason for the team's loss today?" The reporters continued to ask.

"We couldn't contain the offense, we couldn't stop the opponent, Lillard and Aldridge stabbed us, and it was hard for us to play the fast break in this game because we couldn't defend it, so we couldn't play our own basketball," Harden pointed to the Rockets' defensive problems.

"You only made 7 of 24 shots today, what do you think about that?" Reporters threw up another sharp topic, Harden shot less than 30% from the field in today's game, shooting just 7-of-24 and 10-of-12 free throws to score 25 points in the game.

In the face of reporters' sharp questions, Harden confidently said, "I'm never worried about my offense, I'm worried about my defense, our team's defense"

"When we can defend the opponent, when we can play the fast break, everybody feels good, and that's when our assists are skyrocketing and everything is going well, like I said, now we can't defend it, so it's more difficult for us, they're a good team," Harden continued.

"Aldridge is playing at a very high level right now, shooting difficult shots, grabbing rebounds in the frontcourt, and Lillard is constantly hitting our interior, which makes it difficult for us" said of the Trail Blazers duo, Harden said, "We have to find some ways to do it as soon as possible, and we have to win the next game."

…….

The other focus of today's game was Tall and Strong, and the team's head coach McHale attended the post-game press conference, while the Trail Blazers had head coach Terry Stotts and Lillard, who played exceptionally well today, and this is the first time that two rookies have appeared at the press conference at the same time, and these two rookies firmly occupy the top two spots in the rookie rankings.

Gao Dazhuang came off the bench tonight for 31 minutes, shooting 8-of-10 and 6-of-7 free throws, scoring 24 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist, with amazing efficiency, but the Rockets still lost the game in the end.

"Coach, what do you think of the clash between Harden and Gao's position on the court?" The reporter threw the first question to the losing Rockets coach McHale.

However, McHale did not answer directly, but first praised the tall and strong "Gao provided the energy we needed today, he played well today, we need him to play like this, I didn't find any problems, Gao can break into the box to score, can also shoot from the outside, in short, Gao did a great job, he played very tough."

Lillard, who was directly opposite Tall Strong, also praised: "Gao hit a lot of incredible shots tonight, he was very aggressive, you knew he was going to score, you strengthened his defense, but in the end you couldn't stop him, he was great."

At this time, Trail Blazers coach Stotts was also impressed by the two key shots that Gao Dazhuang hit in the final moments: "Gao almost pulled us off the horse, these two balls almost changed the game, he is a player with a lot of potential, in fact, we have been following him since the beginning of the draft, but now we have a new leader, he is Lillard next to me"

Rockets coach McHale immediately reciprocated: "Damian played really well at the critical moments, he contributed a lot of important points, three-pointers, breakaways, free throws, we tried our best to defend him, interfere with him, but it didn't seem to work, so we lost the game."

"I want to be an All-Star, but I want to win first for the team, everybody likes winners, and I've always understood that" Lillard made no secret of his ambitions in the face of reporters' questions, "I have to have the fighting spirit to prove myself, to fight for the right reasons, I'm not for money or fame, I just want to show you what kind of basketball player I am"

"All I can do is train, keep training, train harder than everybody else," Lillard continued, "because I know that's the only way I'm going to have a chance to keep getting more and more attention."

"Gao, what do you think is the reason for your loss?" A reporter will ask Gao Dazhuang a question.

"It's a shame to lose this game, we were frustrated, we missed a lot of shots in the game, a lot of easy layups to score, and then the opponent hit us a lot of fast breaks," Gao Da Zhuang replied truthfully.

"Do you mean James Harden? His hit rate today is less than 30%," the reporters finally brought the conversation to Gao Dazhuang.

"He didn't feel good today, but he still kept hitting the basket and making free throws, a good player knows how to adjust his condition, obviously he's the kind of player," replied the tall and clever.

"You only had one pass to each other on the pitch today, what do you think about that?" The reporters asked.

'Obviously we need more time to train together, it's just three games now, we need to get to know our team-mates better, we need to get to know our team-mates better, we need to be a very young team, we've been together for less than two weeks, it's going to take time, it's a gradual process, we're getting better day by day," replied the tall and strong.

"Do you feel like you're adjusting to the NBA game on your own?" A female reporter asked.

"Actually, I always thought I could play in the NBA, but it wasn't until the World Junior Championships that I really realized that I really had a great opportunity to go to the NBA, because from that point on, everything was so much easier for me, and I found that I was not inferior to anyone else in my class, and I felt like I could play against any of them," said the tall and confident man.

"As the third pick in this draft, would you be okay with the role of a substitute on the team right now? Especially when you're playing so well? The female reporter suddenly asked.

"I accept my role, and I trust the coach to make the right arrangements whenever the team needs it, and I want to tell you that one of the idols I respect very much is Ginobili of the Spurs," Gao replied with a smile.

"Thank you to the Red Kingdom and all our fans...... With the support of such great fans, we will definitely play better and better" The reporters kept throwing sharp questions, but the Rocket News Officer interrupted the reporters' questions and led Gao Dazhuang out of the venue.

ESPN published a commentary article on the same day: If the Rockets still have a chance to win when Harden stands on the pile and shoots 7 of 24, if the conflict between Harden and Tall and Strong within the Rockets breaks out, then the Rockets really have no chance at all.

The Houston Chronicle commented that Lillard and Aldridge dominated the game, and as the "winning answer" that the Rockets were expecting, Harden completely smashed the pot, while Tall and Strong played "individual basketball".

The "Oregonian" reported: Harden shot 1 of 10 in a single quarter, which is nothing! Jeremy Lin's continued slump is nothing! It's okay if you're tall and strong as a substitute! But the internal contradictions of the Rockets' team have gradually become apparent, which will make their summer efforts in vain.