Soul of the Golden State

Chapter 238 Burn Everything

Regarding the defeat in the battle of Tianwangshan, the Rockets have summed up a lot, but the most important point is that they fell into the trap of the Warriors.

The core of the Rockets' offense has always been the inside, but the Warriors just expose you to the outside and let you attack, thus disrupting their own offensive rhythm, which is counterproductive.

Therefore, although the Rockets stood on the edge of the cliff in the sixth game, from the beginning of the game, the main attack direction of the Rockets was your inside line. I knew that you had heavy troops inside, but I still stayed still and played according to the plan.

In terms of defense, the Rockets have also made certain adjustments, that is, to abandon the "box-1" tactics against Li Weisi. The main reason is that after replacing Hornacek, the Warriors' autonomous offensive ability has been greatly enhanced. box-1", the gain outweighs the gain.

You know, this tactic was originally a double-edged sword tactic, and if it was a little careless, it backfired itself, so the Rockets changed to an ordinary one-on-one man-to-man tactic.

The NBA playoffs are like this, not only considering the performance of the players, but also the product of the wits and courage of the head coaches of each team.

Because the Rockets changed their tactics, tonight, the Warriors exploded outside in the first quarter. The team scored 36 points in a single quarter. Fortunately, the Rockets also scored 30 points on offense, which made the point difference close. Drive too much.

Throughout the series, the Rockets have been using an 8-man rotation, but tonight, the Rockets went a step further and directly chose a 7-man rotation.

As an important rotation player for the Rockets, power forward Jim Peterson didn't even get a chance to play tonight. He didn't play at the end of the first quarter, and he didn't play at the beginning of the second quarter.

You must know that Peterson is the only inside rotation for the Rockets. If he has no chance to play, it means that Olajuwon and Sampson will not get 1 minute of rest.

Needless to say, the disadvantages of such a choice are obvious, but the advantages are also obvious. Taking advantage of Li Weisi's rest, the Rockets beat the Warriors 10:2 at the beginning of the second quarter.

Even though the score was overtaken, Nelson still did not replace Li Weisi, and still let Malone and Mullin play with substitutes.

And when Li Weisi played, the Rockets had already led the Warriors by as much as 7 points.

After that, under the leadership of Li Weisi, the Warriors set off a wave of counterattacks, but they were finally blocked by the Rockets. At halftime, the Rockets 58:54 led the Warriors by four points.

During the intermission, Nelson repeatedly told the players, "Be patient, even if you are temporarily behind, it doesn't matter. Don't mess yourself up just because the opponent puts on a desperate posture. Persevere, we can win!"

Nelson is naturally confident in saying this. It is conceivable how exhausted the Rockets are in the entire series. As long as the Warriors persist, the victory must belong to the Warriors.

After the start of the second half, the Rockets' offensive remained unabated.

Olajuwon really went crazy tonight. In the first half, he scored a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds. Ma Long, who was facing him, showed his old age. Olajuwon was defeated by Olajuwon on both ends of the offense and defense. It exploded.

Many local old fans in Houston who saw this scene felt that time flies, and the "prophet" who once killed the Quartet in Houston will have such a tragic day.

Relying on Olajuwon's gods, the other Rockets members also worked hard, and they just beat the Warriors 26:24 in the third quarter, still leading the Warriors by two points in a single quarter.

In this regard, after three quarters, the Rockets entered the fourth quarter with 84:78 and a 6-point advantage.

At the end of the third quarter, the Rockets finally replaced Sampson for a rest and changed to a lineup of one big and four small. The effect was also very good, but the Warriors didn't take advantage.

After entering the fourth quarter, the game is also entering the final decisive moment.

A 6-point lead is by no means a reliable point difference. For Li Weisi, there is nothing that cannot be solved with a three-pointer. If there is, then two.

Like Olajuwon, Nelson did not replace Malone tonight. During the intermission of the first quarter, Nelson told Malone, "Tonight's game, Olajuwon rest, you rest, Olajuwon If you don't rest..."

"Then I won't rest either!" Before Nelson finished speaking, Malone had already learned to answer quickly.

Malone is a true man of iron and blood, he did what he said, and was tied to Olajuwon almost the entire game, even though he clearly felt that his lungs seemed to be pricked when he breathed, but Malone was stunned. Hey, fight hand to hand with Olajuwon.

Li Weisi only had a 2-minute break in the fourth quarter before rushing to the court. In tonight's game, he couldn't rest much. It can even be said that every minute he rested off the court was paid for by his teammates tenfold.

After returning, the two sides have maintained a point difference of about 5 points. The Warriors wanted to chase points, but they still couldn't catch up.

When the time entered within 5 minutes, the Rockets had already begun to consciously suppress the rhythm.

Of course, among them, on the one hand, the Rockets are leading, and on the other hand, it is to give the Rockets players a chance to breathe.

But it was this operation that gave Li Weisi a chance, because you slowed down the tempo, and you actually let go of the breath you were holding in your heart.

Sure enough, the Rockets unconsciously slowed down the tempo, causing the Rockets to miss two shots in a row. The Warriors took the opportunity to launch a fast break, and Li Weisi even made a chasing three-pointer to even out the difference in one fell swoop.

After losing the lead, the Rockets could no longer waste time, so they started playing normally again, and the two teams have been tied from 96 to 104.

After that, Olajuwon caused Malone's fifth foul and made two free throws. This gave the Warriors a chance to overtake, and the Warriors also seized this opportunity.

Mullin missed a mid-range jumper, and Malone struggled with his body to snatch the priceless offensive rebound from Olajuwon's head and distribute it to Li Weisi who came to the bottom corner.

Li Weisi did not disappoint him. He raised his knife and hit a three-pointer. Not only did he overtake the score, but he also opened the point difference to 2 points, and the time left for the Rockets was only 8 seconds.

But it was these 8 seconds that allowed Olajuwon to seize the opportunity. After the Rockets served the ball in the frontcourt, McRae cut into the penalty area and failed to make a layup under Malone's interference, but was succeeded by Olajuwon.

No one thought that it would be two offensive rebounds that would determine the outcome of this game.

In this way, the two teams tied at 107 in regular time and entered overtime.

Entering overtime, the physical exertion of the Rockets has obviously reached the limit. They played four or five rounds in a row, but they didn't break through, but shot. How can their hit rate be guaranteed?

It's a pity that the Warriors didn't do much better. They didn't seize the opportunity and hit the iron frequently, so that at the end of overtime, the two teams tied at 115 and entered the second overtime.

This can kill the Rockets.

In the second overtime, although the Rockets could see that they really wanted to win the game, their legs were already out of order. Even though Olajuwon caused Malone's sixth foul and let Malone end, they still couldn't save the defeat. .

In the end, Li Weisi made two free throws and Reid missed the last three-pointer. After two overtimes, the Warriors defeated the Rockets 128:125 and advanced to the Western Conference Finals.

In this game, Olajuwon is a well-deserved MVP. He played 58 minutes and scored 51 points, 25 rebounds, 6 blocks and 2 steals. It can be said that he burned everything in himself.

After the game, as the whistle sounded, Olajuwon fell to the ground exhausted, leaning on the basket, crying with his face covered.

Malone came over from the bench, stood in front of Olajuwon and said, "Get up, Akeem, wipe away your tears and welcome the applause of the fans."

Hearing Malone's words, Olajuwon raised his head, and seeing Malone's outstretched hand, he reached out and shook it.

Olajuwon, who was pulled up, heard the rhythmic applause in the arena before he came to wipe away the tears from the corners of his eyes. At this moment, he felt that it was great to be able to play in Houston!
"Congratulations, Moses! But I'll be the next winner!"

"What are you thinking? With me here, you don't want to win the Warriors!"

(End of this chapter)