The Way of the Center

Chapter 77: The Price of Youth

At the beginning of the game, Yao Ming would smile slightly when he saw An Jie score a goal, but at this point in the game, Yao Ming couldn't smile anymore.

"What's the matter, Yao? Is there something wrong with your body?" McGrady clearly knew how tough Yao Ming's defense was. He felt that the skinny guy from the Thunder team would definitely not be able to complete the breakthrough just now, unless Yao Ming was injured in some way.

"No, it's okay, don't underestimate that guy, Tracy." Yao Ming looked at An Jie who was high-fiving Westbrook. This guy was much stronger than himself when he first entered the league!

Young people tend to get excited. Durant and Westbrook also got excited after seeing Anjie defying the strong and scoring such a wonderful goal over Yao Ming.

So Alston found himself on guard against the first-year rookie guard all the time, as long as Westbrook was a little careless, he might snatch the basketball from his hands.

Westbrook carefully observed Alston's dribble, and suddenly he rushed forward, ready to grab!

Alston really couldn't react, Westbrook rushed in front of him in a flash, watching the basketball in his hand was about to be taken away!

However, Alston's nickname of "Streetball King" is not for nothing. This small guard with a height of less than 1.90 meters may not have played any brilliant statistics, but there will definitely be a line of introduction in his profile. “Street Legends in Queens, NY!”

Alston didn't even think about how he should deal with this sudden grab. He just didn't want to lose the ball like a conditioned reflex.

So Alston's body reacted faster than his brain, a beautiful behind the crotch dribble and jumping aside, Alston perfectly escaped Westbrook's attack. Westbrook rushed too forward, his center of gravity was unstable, his feet staggered, and he almost fell. This ball movement is actually not difficult, but Alston did it very smoothly and full of beauty.

"Through your soul!" The narrator shouted passionately, which is the most resounding nickname of Alstom! It's just that in China, for the convenience of calling him, he directly called him "Streetball King".

Being so shaken by Alston, Westbrook completely lost his defensive position, and Earl Watson had to defend. As soon as he made up the defense, McGrady missed an empty space, and Durant had to leave Artest and pounce on McGrady.

McGrady did not hesitate, and quickly transferred the ball to Artest.

Durant did the right thing. Artest made 6 three-pointers in the first three quarters, but only hit 1 goal. This kind of feel is definitely not good.

However, in the eyes of a nervous person like Artest, he has never been afraid of the word. Although his three-point shooting percentage in the first three quarters was terrible, when he caught the ball, he still shot without hesitation. .

An Jie immediately started a fierce hand-to-hand fight with Yao Ming at the basket. An Jie got a good position, but Yao Ming also completely suppressed An Jie, and neither of them could take advantage.

However, Artest's extremely stiff shot went through a strange arc and fell into the net. The ball went in!

"Worthy of being one of the Rockets' Big Three! Artest didn't lose the chain at the critical moment!" After the Celtics won the championship last season, every team followed suit and formed their own Big Three. The Bucks were imitators in the last game, and the Rockets facing the Thunder in this game are also one of the imitators.

Although the person is missing on the small forward, it can be said that the culprit is Westbrook's restless steal. If he met someone else, he might be able to successfully take the ball away, but unfortunately, his opponent today is that "street legend in Queens, New York."

In less than three minutes, the Rockets held a nine-point advantage. But the fans in the Toyota Center are still worried. They know that the three rookies of the Thunder can do anything!

pick and roll! breakthrough! Divide the ball! This is almost the most conventional way for the Thunder to play on the court now. After the ball was handed over to Durant, Durant did not directly hit the basket, but handed the ball to An Jie who was standing near the free throw line.

"Damn it!" Carlesimo yelled off the court, and at the critical moment, the Chinese was disobedient again!

An Jie also has no choice, or

It's not a critical moment, he will never joke about his main position. The team comes first, and the team's victory is paramount. This idea has long been deeply imprinted in An Jie's mind by Ricard.

"This is the Thunder's most efficient offensive method!" The commentator once again saw An Jie become a command tower.

Yao Ming still didn't keep up, and the person who replaced Yao Ming to defend An Jie was still Scola. Scala also knew that Anjie would definitely pass the ball in that position, so he didn't take his defensive position too seriously.

An Jie glanced at Durant and moved his arms. Everyone thought that An Jie had chosen the Terminator.

Unexpectedly, this was just a false biography of An Jie. Before Scola could react, An Jie suddenly activated it! Scola quickly moved his feet and crossed Anjie's breakthrough route, but this only made him bear one more foul.

"Blocking the foul, the Thunder made two free throws on the 16th!" The referee made a decisive judgment, and the number of fouls for the Rockets has reached!

"Scola is a smart insider. His footwork and feints in the inside have made many power forwards suffer. The Argentines must have never thought that there is a Chinese who is more cunning than him!"

This is the second time Scola has been deceived by Anjie's fake moves. In terms of fouling, Anjie is not like a rookie international player at all, but more like an old football ruffian who has been around for many years. If Divac knew that Scola had such a high opinion of Anjie, he would be grinning from ear to ear.

Anjie's mental quality and shooting were as stable as ever, and the strange interference of the Houston fans could not prevent Anjie from making two free throws.

"This may be the most exciting Chinese Derby ever!" The commentator was also very enjoyable to watch.

At the last moment, the two sides were still back and forth, but after Yao Ming's physical strength declined, An Jie successfully defended Dayao's two turnaround jump shots in consecutive defenses. This also made the domestic fans marvel at the ability of this young player. There are still people in Asia who can do this against Yao Ming.

However, Anjie did a good job in defense, but Westbrook failed to seize the opportunity on the offensive end.

The enthusiasm of young people will bring them extra motivation, but it will also make them calm down.

Westbrook has twice successfully broken into the restricted area.

For the first time, he directly faced Yao Ming for a layup, and he hoped that he could make another foul on Yao Ming. Unexpectedly, Yao Ming, who made up his position in time this time, did not give another big gift. He fanned the ball out of the penalty area cleanly.

The second time Westbrook made a jump shot to avoid Yao Ming, but he was too eager to score and couldn't control his shooting posture, so the basketball knocked out of the frame.

No one will doubt that Westbrook has potential, but his consistency as a rookie does need to be improved.

The gap of seven points has been maintained until the last minute, the Rockets have the ball, Anjie and his teammates are ready!

At this time, the person who controlled more balls for the Rockets became McGrady, who was once a miracle creator with 35 seconds and 13 points. No one would doubt this guy's offensive ability.

He used Scola's pick-and-roll and shot directly outside the three-point line. The chances were not good, but this is the way Tracy McGrady plays.

The basketball kept spinning in the air, and the ball looked like it was about to go in from the flight trajectory.

But McGrady is not a god after all, he can't make every difficult shot. Seeing the basketball pop out, An Jie bent his knees, he wanted to get the rebound.

Just as An Jie was about to take off, a big tall man in a white jersey rushed in from behind. He took off directly, caught the ball with both hands, and dunked it into the basket. The Rockets player hanging on the rim is none other than the number 11!

"Yao Ming made the dunk! His height is beyond the reach of An Jie!" It is not the first time that Yao Ming has scored such a wonderful goal, but every time he does it, people will be very excited.

With 52 seconds left, the Thunder still did not give up, and Westbrook's advance was still as fast as lightning.

He gestured to continue to break through, but unexpectedly gave Durant a chance with a pass behind the back.

Artest dare not neglect, this tall and thin man has already proved himself in the previous games.

Will

Both Cox and Earl Watson were tightly clamped, and now, apart from Westbrook, Durant's only passing target is Anjie.

"What will Durant do? He passed, and Anjie is holding the ball in a high position again. Who will he pass it to this time?" conning tower.

Westbrook finally got rid of Alston through hardships, and he raised his hand for the ball!

Anjie immediately made a pass, allowing Westbrook to receive the ball in a favorable position in time.

Westbrook made a shot, and Anjie immediately ran towards the penalty area.

really! Westbrook threw a basketball that hit the neck of the basket and still missed. But at this time, An Jie grabbed a favorable position without the Rockets players noticing. He withstood Yao Ming's impact and grabbed an offensive rebound!

Without hesitation, after Anjie landed, there was a second take-off immediately. This was an opportunity not to be missed!

An Jie had just risen halfway, and immediately felt a huge thrust from behind him. In the next second, Yao Ming exerted strength with his arm and slapped An Jie's inevitable dunk from behind.

The basketball was slapped onto the backboard, and then bounced far away. Alston received the ball and quickly turned from defense to offense. McGrady rushed to the front, while only Durant on the Thunder team retreated to the penalty area.

"Two-on-one in the frontcourt! Can Alstom's pass break through the amazing Durant?" This is undoubtedly the biggest challenge of the game, and everyone is focused.

Alstom grabbed the ball and circled behind him during the advancement process, and then made a secret pass, and the basketball flew into McGrady's hands.

"Another action that can only be seen on the street court!"

McGrady received the ball, Durant was not deceived, and the two were about to start a head-to-head confrontation.

Tracy McGrady jumped high, Durant also took off, but he seemed to be a second or two late.

The two sides collided in the air, and McGrady's movements were all distorted, but the posture of the throwing hand did not change at all.

After McGrady shot, the referee's sharp whistle sounded. Durant knew he had fouled, but what he cared about now was whether McGrady's shot would go in.

The basketball was bouncing on the hoop, and everyone's hearts were beating up and down with the basketball.

"Swipe" In the end, the basketball still fell.

"McGrady made a two plus one, and he wiped out the Thunder's hope of counterattack!" With Maddy's free throw, the result of this game can be regarded as a final conclusion.

In the next 30 seconds, the Rockets consolidated their defense even more. The 11-point difference cannot be caught up in just 30 seconds.

The Thunder had to use foul tactics, but unfortunately, no one made mistakes on the Rockets at the free throw line.

An Jie fought until the last second, and he blamed himself very much for the key ball being blocked. Durant and Westbrook were eager to equalize the score, but they were impatient and they couldn't guarantee the hit rate.

To be young is to pay such a price.

"At the end of the game, the Rockets defeated the Thunder 89-78. This game was really exciting!" As a neutral commentator, the commentator obviously enjoyed watching it.

"Hey! You played very well!" After the game, Yao Ming did not celebrate with his teammates, but went to An Jie alone.

"Brother Yao is really ruthless. I have so much to learn." The team lost again, and An Jie didn't hide his disappointment.

"Okay, in the 82 regular season games, even the 72-win Bulls will lose ten games. Don't be discouraged. I will treat you to dinner tomorrow." Yao Ming patted An Jie on the shoulder. He really felt An Jie's performance. Already very good.

"Tomorrow we have to go back to Oklahoma to play a back-to-back game. Hey, there is no such blessing." An Jie looked at Yao Ming in front of him, and he really hoped that one day he could reach the height of this senior.

The Rockets defeated the Thunder without any risk and achieved three consecutive victories since the beginning of the season. Although the Thunder created a lot of trouble, they were still defeated by the powerful Rockets and ushered in a two-game losing streak.

An Jie scored 15 points and 10 rebounds against Yao Ming in this campaign.

Although 6 of them were scored by Hayes, such a result is not bad.

But even so, An Jie still doesn't know when he will be able to win his first victory in the arena.

, It is really a basketball hall with strong players like a forest. It is not that simple to win here.

Book friend group number: 426042887, looking forward to everyone joining

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like