Chapter 723: Houston Falls
On the night of the Lantern Festival, Chamberlain sat on the stage to watch the long legs and big breasts of beautiful women, while the rest of the Warriors did not have this preferential treatment, and they rushed to Houston to start a fierce battle with the Rockets again - for the Rockets, who now have no Yao Mai and lack of major generals, it may be a little inappropriate to use the word fierce battle.
The Rockets lost to the Warriors 87-94 after four quarters of hard fighting at home, after they had just eliminated the Grizzlies and won their first four-game winning streak so far this season, hitting a five-game winning streak, but even without Chamberlain, the Warriors simply eliminated them and brought their four-game winning streak to an abrupt end.
In Chamberlain's absence, the Warriors are all in full bloom, and they all have different gains, Ibaka scored 6 blocks to set a new career record, and Curry shot six three-pointers in a single quarter, and he set a new NBA record.
The Warriors are the Rockets' sufferers, and since Chamberlain's arrival, the Rockets' interior advantage has disappeared, and the two sides have met seven times before - the second in the regular season, only to be wiped out and not won once.
Originally, this time, the Warriors lacked Chamberlain, a fierce general, and the old Nelson also announced in advance that Billups and Iverson were going to take a break, and the Rockets, who came with three consecutive wins, thought they could have a chance, but as a result, it can only be said that the defending champion is the defending champion.
The Rockets also played well in this game, with five of them scoring double-doubles, Scola with 17 points and 10 rebounds, Martin with 17 points, Brooks with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, and Hill with 11 points, 7 rebounds and 5 blocks.
The Warriors had only three players in double figures, Curry had 30 points and five assists, West had 19 points and six assists, Jackson had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Ibaka had eight points, 12 rebounds and six blocks.
Nelson Sr. let Curry and West start and control the backcourt, and as a result, Curry gave the Rockets a head start in the first quarter.
At the beginning of the game, Ibaka jumped off the ball, Curry controlled the ball and ran outside the three-point line in the frontcourt, and saw that Brooks was still two meters away from him, so he simply put away the ball and pulled out a three-pointer.
"Huh", this sound broke the hearts of the fans in the Toyota Center Arena.
Scola hit a mid-range shot, followed by a breakaway layup, and the Rockets began to fight back, playing decently. West scored on a breakaway layup, after which Ibaka scored a self-made layup, and the scores of the two sides went up to the top.
After that, Ariza hit a three-pointer, and the responsibility of the long-range counterattack was handed over to Curry, so there was another 'swish', and the three-point shot passed through the frame, still a hollow three-pointer.
Scola made a foul on Ibaka, hit both free throws, the Warriors stepped up the transfer of the ball, Curry ran out of the open space with the help of Jackson's cover, West distributed the ball to him, he was outside the three-point line at this time, pulled up and shot!
This time, the basketball bounced on the hoop, only to fall and fall into the hoop again......
In the three-point three-in-a-row, Curry felt that his hand felt better today, and he shook his hand and laughed, constantly joking with West and the others.
Adelman shook his head and called a timeout, he re-taught Brooks to stick to Curry, and the game returned, Scola forced Ibaka to make a low-handed layup, Curry made another three-point shot, this time Boo stopped it well, almost hit the ball, and Curry hit the iron.
Seeing this, Rockets fans finally breathed a sigh of relief, but Brooks then broke through for a layup and was capped by Ibaka, Curry and West counterattacked quickly, outside the three-point line, Curry saw West rush to the restricted area, and simply came to another three-pointer.
The fourth three-pointer hit.
Adelman was driven crazy by Curry's hand, and even more terrifying in the back, West's pull-up jump shot missed, Ibaka picked up the rebound, and then passed to Curry, who was waiting outside.
This time, the Rockets changed the defense and replaced the defensive master Battier, who saw Curry take the ball and forced it, but Curry still chose to jump and shoot. Battier is secretly angry, you kid is too arrogant, look at my Dafa to cover your face!
He almost covered Curry's face with his hand, and with his vision blocked, Curry hit another three-pointer!
However, the rest of the Rockets played well, as Kevin Martin drew a foul on West, made both free throws, and then Scola cut to the basket. Hayes then grabbed an offensive rebound under the basket and scored two points on his own offense, Jordan Hill made two free throws for Evans, and even Martin staged a rare show of a fast-break dunk.
But this qiē is not as good as Curry's three-point shot five seconds before the end of the first quarter, and he shot at the whistle and hit again, six or three points in a single quarter!
The Rockets trailed the Warriors 34-38, even though the Rockets' starting five Tigers and Hill who came off the bench played very well, but they couldn't fight Curry's six three-pointers, and six of seven three-pointers, which was simply too fierce.
If the first quarter was Curry's killing on the offensive end, then the second quarter was Ibaka's heroic performance on the defensive end.
Offensive and defensive conversion, the Rockets' possession, Budinger who came off the bench turned around and shot under the basket, Ibaka rushed out of the diagonal spur and gave him a slap on the head, the Rockets fans at the Toyota Center trembled in their hearts, which is a bit of Chamberlain's flavor.
Mysterious and powerful, Ibaka's big hat is deeply rooted in Chamberlain's true biography.
When the Warriors were interviewed before, Nelson Sr. said that Ibaka's defensive ability was underestimated by the league, but no one cared, and now that Chamberlain is not there, Ibaka began to carry the Warriors' defensive banner.
Ibaka and Curry entered the NBA in the same year, although the two are friends, in fact, they are also holding back their strength to compete with each other, Curry's six or three points in the first quarter inspired Ibaka, he can only shoot or dunk on the offensive end, and put his hope on the defensive end.
The Rockets are also full of talent now, Hill is extremely physical, and then David Anderson misses the basket, and Hill grabs the rebound in the air and dunks directly. Morrow jumper, Hill turned and hooked, awkwardly sent the ball into the hoop.
After that, Morrow also hit a three-pointer, Hill went crazy, he was very mobile, had the speed that stands out in a small forward, was tall and arm-long, and had a maximum touch height of 11-foot-11, a standing height of 9-foot, and a sprint run of 3. 3 seconds. Hardworking, obedient, willing to train frantically, like a sponge, constantly learning useful knowledge, this kind of person is supposed to have a bright future in the NBA.
The problem is that Hill is too poor as a forward, with only 5 standard bench presses in training camp that year, and although he is willing to fight for rebounds, his ability to get stuck is questionable, and he needs to gain weight and increase strength.
The biggest problem is that his basic skills are not good, his low-post footwork is still in the unfinished stage, he is inexperienced, his basketball IQ is average, his basic defensive skills are not solid enough, his passing ability is insufficient, his ability to break bags is limited, and his free throws are not stable enough.
It is precisely for these reasons that it is impossible for Zì Hill to make a name for himself in the alliance.
But Hill was obviously feeling very good today, during which he even flew in the air to prepare for a dunk, but unfortunately this qiē gave Ibaka a background, and he was hatted by Ibaka as soon as he received the ball.
Battier hit a three-pointer, West turned and leaned back, Marbury hit another jumper, and Adelman called a timeout again to bring Scola onto the court, who had played well in the first quarter.
Scola made a hook shot under the basket, and Ibaka sent a big hat again, and the ball was put on the fan seat at once, making the Rockets fans frightened.
At the end of the first half, the Rockets trailed the Warriors 51-60.
In the third quarter of the game, the Rockets made consecutive mistakes, Hayes hit two free throws, Brooks broke through to the basket, and in the first four minutes, they scored 3 points, and the Warriors seized the time to attack, Evans's dunk and Ibaka's mid-range shot, West's breakthrough and Curry's long-range shot, the Rockets wanted to cry without tears, and the score reached 15 points.
In the fifth minute, the Rockets suddenly woke up and felt their hands returned, Martin and Ariza hit three points in succession, and then Scola jumped and Martin hit a mid-range shot. The Rockets managed to pull back some of the scores and slowly chased the margin to single digits.
Curry tried to shoot a three-pointer again, but after missing the shot, he decided not to gamble on his feelings, and began to pass frequently to assist his teammates, and the third quarter ended to help the Warriors lead the Rockets 82-72.
In the final quarter of the game, the Rockets, who were bent on winning four consecutive victories, launched a desperate counterattack, Lowry counterattacked and made a layup, Hill blocked Curry, and the Rockets were effective both offensively and defensively.
After that, Scola made a clever defensive foul in which he faked a fall, West complained in displeasure, and the referee gave him a technical foul, which made the Rockets laugh up and down.
It turns out that happiness begets sadness.
Scola made a number of feints to flick Blair and make a shot, only for Ibaka to fly and block him. Martin grabbed the ball, he turned and jumped, and the feng shui took turns, Evans was next to him, and he flicked his elbow before turning, and Evans fell straight to the ground.
Toot, the referee's whistle sounded again, Martin was depressed, and could only admit that Evans' fake fall was not much worse than Scola's.
In the last six minutes, the score gap between the two sides fluttered on five or six points, and at this moment, the two teams began to fight bayonets and kill red eyes.
The score began to rise alternately: Hill blocked Evans, but West grabbed the ball and scored a second attack.
Battier hit a three-pointer, the Warriors missed the attack, and Ibaka grabbed the rebound in the front court and distributed the ball to Curry, who broke through to make a layup to make it 2+1.
Scola made a foul and he just hit both free throws, and Jackson was also fouled on a layup and hit both free throws in the same way.
After that, Ibaka hooked up and Scola cut to the basket. Morrow hit a three-pointer and Hill scored on a throw...... The scores alternated vigorously, and in the end, the Rockets lost to the Warriors 97-104, and the four-game winning streak came to an abrupt end!
Although the game lacked superstars: Yao Ming and Chamberlain were not there, Billups and Iverson were resting, but the ball was played fiercely, and the confrontation and competition between the two sides made the fans at the scene dance with their eyebrows.
Chamberlain, who was far away in San Francisco, was actually paying attention to this game, and he immediately called the group and said to Iverson: "You take the guys to have a good time in Houston, the money is mine, and the day after tomorrow we go to Miami, and then have a better game." ”
Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and is also known as the Space City, but it is even more famous for its striptease bars, which have the most striptease bars in the country. In addition, according to media statistics, half of the top ten most luxurious striptease bars in the United States are in Houston.
Iverson and his party were happily preparing to go to the bar, and Chamberlain finally got back to be generous, and they decided to kill him hard.
As a result, when I first arrived at the bar, I found that it was closed, and after that, I changed several stores, and they were all closed.
"Isn't this fucking business?" Billups burst into a depressed slural.
Jackson called friends and was disappointed when Houston had just passed a new local tax bill on Tuesday that would require an additional $5 per guest tax on strip clubs, which would be used to investigate and test rape cases.
The bill, known as the "Pole Tax," was strongly supported by Houston Mayor Anis Parker.
Needless to say, all strip club operators were so unhappy with the new rule that they vowed to fight the law to the end, and they took action, with bars closing their doors for a week to protest the government's nonsensical taxes.
Iverson and others lost their temper by this kind of thing, he and Billups didn't move all night, and the AI divorced his wife, and now he often sleeps alone, and he originally wanted to find a confidante in Houston, but this hope came to naught!
"X He's a Houston government! This group of bitches raised! Iverson yelled, but there was nothing else they could do.