Zhiba NBA

Chapter 150 (140) Jefferson, who refuses to admit defeat
On April 4, the top two in Texas will fight again at the Toyota Center.The Mavericks didn't make too many changes, and the little general still arranged to start with Nowitzki and Howard as the main attack points to grab points.The Rockets did not make any changes at all. Tang Shuai firmly believed that the Rockets would be able to beat their opponents without the factor of referees.

Will the justifiable factor easily disappear?Only 3 minutes into the game, Yao Ming was called for a screen foul, and the Mavericks immediately launched an offensive after getting the ball back.Terry assisted Nuo Tianwang with a jumper and the score has reached 8 to 2!

As soon as the score came up, he fell behind, and Jefferson was a little impatient.After receiving the serve, instead of handing it to Billups as usual, he tried to dribble the ball halfway.Terry started instantly and Howard double-teamed him. Jefferson was caught off guard, but was too hasty to pass the ball, and the pass was cut off.Finley got the ball and went unmarked for a layup, 10:2!

Yao Ming could understand Jefferson's impatience. In fact, the Rockets didn't suffer from the whistle today. In just a few minutes, Dampier was beaten by Yao Ming with 2 fouls and replaced.However, due to the shadow of the previous game, Yao Ming had just been called for a screen foul, and everyone immediately thought of the loss due to a misjudgment.The mistakes caused by this kind of fear of black whistle are more fatal than black whistle itself.

Fortunately, the Rockets still have a calm player with a big heart. Billups was not soft at the critical moment, and he resisted Kai Terry with a breakthrough layup.

The Mavericks handed the ball to Howard, and he smiled at Jefferson's defense, obviously ignoring Jefferson.He really deserves to be confident. Jefferson suffered a big loss against Howard in the first few games. If McGrady hadn't defended so well, Howard would almost have to ride the savior alone.Now Howard can play very calmly when he sees Jefferson. He not only has a long-range shot, but also has a set of low-post singles due to his strong body.At this time, he made bold moves, slowly dribbling the ball towards the basket.If the defensive player is McGrady, he will worry about the opponent's super long wingspan, but he has the confidence to overpower Jefferson.

Howard's smile didn't matter, but it woke Jefferson up.Richard Jefferson is not the kind of soft-ball player who is always eaten hard.He and Howard were born in the same year, but he entered the league earlier. He was abused by his junior opponents in the first few games, so of course he was not convinced.After Jefferson went back, he carefully studied Howard's game video for a few days, carefully pondered the opponent's technical characteristics, and benefited a lot.At this time, seeing Howard was about to hit him on the back again, he desperately lowered his center of gravity, concentrated his strength on his chest, and resisted the opponent's back.Howard slapped his back twice and didn't move. He turned around and was about to use his dominant wingspan to make moves, but Jefferson predicted the enemy's opportunity and stretched out his hand first to use all his strength. The ball fell!
McGrady came up immediately to help Jefferson grab the ball.The Rockets firmly grasped this opportunity to chase points, McGrady assisted Billups to score a jumper, 10:6.

Howard's face was ugly. He always felt that Jefferson was a soft persimmon that was easy to pinch. The reason for the two strikes before was that he didn't feel good.But looking at it now, maybe I can't impress Jefferson.He still refused to accept it and wanted to try again. Seeing that he wanted the ball actively, Terry had no choice but to be an adult.Howard didn't play with his back this time, but chose to break through the frame. He made a fake shot and then suddenly accelerated to cut in from the side. Jefferson was very focused, and when he saw him speed up, he immediately stuck up to maintain his defensive position.Howard failed to get inside, so he continued to rush to the bottom line. Jefferson was still firmly stuck in front of him and forced him into an embarrassing position.Howard reluctantly took the shot, but Yao Ming, who had already prepared well, waited for him and slapped him down.

The Rockets patiently organized the offense, and finally McGrady broke through and scored. Jefferson caught the ball and hit a three-pointer steadily, 10:9.

Nowitzki missed a jumper, and the Rockets regained the ball again.As the Rockets slowly organized several attacks just now, the Mavericks retreated a little slower.McGrady suddenly speeded up and went straight to the basket, only Howard actively filled his position.McGrady was not afraid to face the opponent and directly jumped up and dunked successfully. The referee whistled and blocked the foul, 2+1!

Madigar made a free throw and the Rockets overtook by 2 points!

Howard blamed himself more and more. He retreated too hastily just now and didn't realize that he had reached the reasonable collision area. When he found out, he was too late to dodge.It is precisely because he failed to score for several consecutive offenses before and played too impatiently that he ignored the defensive position.At this time, his mentality became more and more unbalanced, like a headless fly scurrying around, and he couldn't even find a position without the ball.

Johnson couldn't stand it anymore and called a timeout.But considering that Howard is a player who usually trains hard, has a good attitude, and is not afraid of doing dirty work when playing, he is exactly the player he values.So the little general still gave Howard a chance, just to calm him down.

Back on the court Howard calmed down a bit, but still seemed a little unconfident.In stark contrast, Jefferson played more and more easily, with active running on the offensive end and a correct attitude on the defensive end.

Teammates also saw Howard's plight, and Finley created an open three-pointer for him through a breakthrough.But Howard hesitated for a while, but didn't dare to make a direct shot.Jefferson saw the pass and immediately went back to Howard's position. On the basketball court, the opportunity is fleeting.Howard didn't react until his opponent was in place and barely made a three-pointer, but of course he missed it.

"The shot was a bit hesitant, and such a hesitant goal is difficult to hit." Sun Zhengping, the anchor of CCTV, explained.Mr. Sun Zhengping was born as a football commentator, and he is a half-way monk for NBA commentary, and he can be regarded as a half layman, but even he can see the problem.

[Small allusion: Mr. Sun Zhengping made a lot of jokes when explaining basketball: such as the famous "The Jazz player is Stowe (the page is turning in the middle). Keton", "The player who scored the goal is Ariza (actually Evans)" and so on]
Avery Johnson finally couldn't stand it anymore, so he made up his mind to replace his favorite general, Howard.But the lead that the Mavericks finally established has been lost.

Howard sat down dejectedly, and he only scored 7 points on 1 of 4 shots in the first quarter.This time he was completely defeated by Jefferson.

Dampier is trapped by fouls, Howard is extremely depressed, and the Mavericks still have Nowitzki and Finley.Relying on the excellent performance of the two of them, the Cowboys still clenched the score, and finally ended the first half with only 48 points behind at 51:3.

(End of this chapter)