NBA: Being criticized for half a year at the beginning

December 25, Christmas battle!

The Rockets faced the aging San Antonio Spurs at home, and this battle between the old and the new attracted much attention.

Tang Yu brought Taylor Swift to the venue of the Dynasty Center and immediately caused a small commotion. Most reporters wanted to interview this American idol.

"Taylor, when are you going to come back to work? The fans can't wait!"

Facing the long guns and short guns of reporters, countless microphones were handed to her.

Taylor Swift smiled and said, "I also miss my fans and friends very much. I am already preparing. I believe I will be back soon. This is what I look forward to!"

"Do you plan to start the tour again?" A reporter asked excitedly, and it can be seen that he is also a fan of Taylor.

"I will try it first, but I am also a mother now, and I will put my family and children first. But I believe this is not difficult. Let's see what will happen in the future!"

The Rockets' lineup has changed dramatically tonight.

Harden appeared at the point guard position, Ray Allen was the shooting guard, Durant was the small forward, Ibaka was the power forward, and Yao Ming was the center.

In the substitute lineup, Kawhi Leonard was the sixth man, and Green, Oden and Landry were all on the activation list. The Rockets' substitutes now had no point guard available.

The Spurs' lineup was much more complete, with Parker, Ginobili and Duncan's GDP combination starting together.

In addition to Richard Jefferson and Marcus Kanbi, although the lineup is old, these veterans are currently ranked first in the league under the famous coach Popovich.

On the bench were Kevin Martin, who joined this season, and Stephen Jackson, the "Martial Saint" who just came to the Saint Village.

Tonight's Christmas game was also Taylor Swift's first appearance in public since giving birth to Tang Tang, which also attracted the attention of more people outside the sports circle.

When the players were warming up, Tang Yu and Popovich walked together and chatted for a while.

Popovich smiled and said, "It's been a long time since I last saw you, Tang Yu. You look good!"

Faced with the old man's teasing, Tang Yu hugged the old man and said, "Don't tease me, old man. This year we are in a very difficult situation. The team currently has too many injured players."

"I believe you can get the team out of trouble. You are still the team with the most hope of winning the championship."

"Maybe, but it won't be very smooth. You are also very strong this year. There are too many strong teams in the West. It's not easy to stand out."

"It's not easy to establish a dynasty. The teams in the league will aim to snipe you. The temptation to defeat the defending champion is still very great! Haha!"

Tang Yu also laughed: "That must include you?"

"Of course, why not! Tonight is a good opportunity, isn't it!"

"Yes, sir, that's right!"

The warm-up ended quickly, and both returned to their own end of the bench.

The game started soon, and the Spurs took the lead in attacking the home team. Duncan singled out Ibaka at 45 degrees in the paint.

After a three-threat tentative step, Ibaka took a half step back. Duncan directly chose to shoot a mid-range shot, which was also Duncan's signature trick. The mid-range shot hit the board steadily, and the Spurs took the initiative.

The Rockets still handed the ball to the bearded Harden to handle the organization. Now the strength of the Rockets led by the dual cores is obviously greatly reduced.

After halftime, Harden handed the ball to Ibaka to transition on the line, and Durant came out to receive the ball.

It has to be said that Durant is quite miserable. In the Thunder and Westbrook, the team was led by the dual cores. He thought that he had formed a five-star lineup with the Rockets and could easily win the championship.

Unexpectedly, Curry and Anthony were all injured, and Yao Ming's competitive ability also declined seriously.

Back to the stage of scoring alone, Durant lowered his center of gravity after receiving the ball and broke through quickly, and then he pulled up with a stick.

However, Durant didn't seem to have a good feel for his first shot after the opening, and the basketball crashed out of the rim, and Camby protected the backcourt rebound.

The Spurs' offense still relied on positional offense. French sports car Parker was responsible for organizing the ball. The ball was passed to Duncan, who turned his back to Ibaka.

Ibaka held up Duncan and tried to stop the stone Buddha from scoring, but Duncan turned and made a jump shot with his excellent skills and strength.

In the subsequent Rockets' offensive round, Harden's breakthrough European step layup was also interfered and bounced out of the frame.

This time the Spurs played an offense-defense transition, and the 'demon sword' Ginobili was unsheathed, and the same European step easily avoided Durant's defense and made a layup.

The Spurs led the Rockets 6-0 at the start.

Tang Yu stood up on the bench and took a timeout, the Rockets called a timeout.

Tang Yu knew that the primary tactic was to score first and stabilize the situation.

Tang Yu gestured on the tactical board, emphasizing the strategy for the next round of offense.

Back on the court, Harden broke through with the ball, attracting the double-team of Ginobili's opponent, and then he passed the ball to Ray Allen who was open on the outside, who shot a three-pointer and the ball went into the net, and the Rockets finally opened.

3-6, although still behind, but finally able to take a breath.

After opening, the Rockets also started a positional battle with the Spurs, which was exactly what the Spurs wanted.

Both teams were tepid in the first quarter, and the game was intense but not exciting.

The Spurs led the Rockets by three points at the end of the first quarter, 24-21.

Tang Yu knew in his heart that the Rockets' offense and defense transitions were obviously much slower after the absence of Curry and Anthony, which directly led to weak scoring.

With only two stars, Tang Yu could only let Harden and Durant play at different times and lead the substitute lineup.

When Durant led the team alone, the Rockets had no point guard, which made it difficult for the Rockets to score, and they could only rely on Durant's singles to finish.

The Rockets could only score in the second quarter by playing piecemeal, while the Spurs played well with tactical coordination.

At 1 minute and 13 seconds in the second quarter, Parker broke through and attracted Oden and Ibaka's double-teaming. After jumping up in the gap between people, he passed the ball to Camby under the basket.

Camby, nicknamed "Mianzu", received the ball and dunked with both hands without any defense.

57-46, the Rockets were 11 points behind!

Tang Yu's face was livid. At this moment, he deeply realized the difficulty of completing the three consecutive championships.

The team he had worked so hard to build became fragile in the face of injuries.

The Rockets failed to score again in the next round. On the contrary, the Spurs were in good shape tonight. Duncan scored two more points with a small hook shot in the paint.

The Rockets got the last offensive right before halftime. Harden chose to play alone. After continuously shaking Parker's defense, he completed a step-back three-pointer at the moment when the time ran out.

With a sound of "swish", Harden made his first three-pointer of the night, with a three-point shooting rate of 1 in 5!

59-49!

The difference between the two sides was fixed at 10 points and entered the halftime break!