Chapter 3 The Third Game

The third game between the Pelicans and the Rockets wasn't until three days later.

In the meantime, the second games of the other two Western Conference Semifinal series also concluded.

Lowry recovered his form, scoring 20+10 to help the Raptors win back a game and tie the series with the Knicks at 1-1.

The Spurs, having lost Leonard, were completely unable to resist the Warriors' offense, suffering a crushing defeat of 91-121.

Whether Pachulia intentionally undercut Leonard was still a matter of debate, but there was no doubt that his foot had prematurely ended the Spurs' season.

At the same time, the league announced the third batch of season awards, this time the Sixth Man of the Year.

The Rockets' Eric Gordon, with 39% of the vote, edged out the Warriors' Iguodala and the Pelicans' Louis Williams to win the Sixth Man of the Year award.

After the award was announced, Tang Tian sent his congratulations to Gordon at the first opportunity.

This player, who was originally selected by the Los Angeles Clippers and expected to be their future, had wandered through New Orleans, Brooklyn, and New York due to injuries, before finally finding his place in Houston.

This honor was the best recognition of his season's performance, and a great encouragement.

That same day, the Pelicans team took a plane to Houston.

Upon arrival, the team continued their training, with the content similar to the previous two days, focusing on tactical responses to Jokic being singled out.

D'Antoni's statement after the second game of the series gave Rockets fans confidence, and at the same time, gave the Pelicans a heads-up.

Stevens and Tang Tian were both tactical masters, and they certainly wouldn't sit idly by.

The Rockets continued their closed-door training. Although D'Antoni had said in the last game that there would be tactical adjustments, there was no news of it before the game.

You could feel that they were clearly holding back a lot of energy, ready to start a counterattack at home.

That night, the Toyota Center in Houston was packed to capacity.

For the Toyota Center, which was not known for its high attendance, this was a very rare sight.

However, many Chinese fans came to the scene to support Tang Tian, adding a different flavor to the game.

No matter how strong the Rockets were, no matter how many star players they had, as long as Tang Tian was there, this city, which Yao Ming had initially opened up to the Chinese market, wouldn't be a complete home court.

This could be felt from the cheers Tang Tian received from a significant number of fans when he appeared at the arena.

After the two teams finished their pre-game warm-ups, the award ceremony for the Sixth Man of the Year was held first.

"...I want to thank every one of my past and present teammates, and I also want to thank everyone in this city. It is your support that has brought me to this day. I love this city, and I am willing to play for the Rockets forever."

Gordon's speech was very emotional. For a player who was once highly anticipated but wandered around, it was not easy to find a second spring in the NBA and regain value.

Gordon's speech made the fans at the scene cheer, and it also greatly encouraged the Rockets players.

They would really go all out tonight.

After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups of the two teams took to the court one after another.

The Rockets made adjustments to their starting lineup: Paul, Harden, Gordon, Tucker, Cousins.

They replaced Morris with Gordon in the starting lineup!

When Gordon came out as a starter, there were constant cheers, and the Toyota Center was filled with overwhelming momentum.

Tang Tian and Stevens were both surprised by this starting lineup.

If the Pelicans continued to use Tang Tian to defend Cousins, then Tucker's help defense would come into play.

But if Davis were to post up Tucker, the Pelicans' offensive efficiency would decrease.

D'Antoni's starting lineup adjustment this time was quite inspired.

Moreover, they didn't reveal any information before the game, which caught the Pelicans off guard.

After the opening ceremony, the starters of the two teams came on the court one after the other.

Amidst the cheers of the fans, Cousins won the tip-off against Davis, securing the first offensive opportunity for the Rockets.

Harden dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and called for a pick-and-roll with Cousins.

Cousins screened Ariza, Harden mismatched against Jokic, and after a series of crossovers, he broke through and made a step-back jumper.

Jokic couldn't keep up with the rhythm, and because of Gordon's three-point threat, the Rockets' help defense didn't dare to step up easily.

"Swish!"

The Rockets scored first this time.

The Toyota Center cheered constantly. This was a good start!

In the Pelicans' offense, Holiday signaled to spread out in the frontcourt and passed the ball to Davis in the low post.

Although Tucker was an excellent defender, he mainly played small forward this season, and his disadvantage against Davis was too obvious.

This was a natural mismatch, and it would be inappropriate not to exploit it.

Davis received the ball and forced his way inside, but Tucker couldn't hold him off.

However, Gordon on the weak side had already stepped up to help defend in advance. The Rockets were obviously prepared before the game.

Davis turned and made a strong layup, shooting before the help defense arrived.

Although Tucker couldn't hold him off underneath, he provided enough physical contact, and Davis' shot clanked off the rim.

However, Davis reacted quickly, grabbed the offensive rebound with his long arms, and quickly dunked to score.

This matchup was indeed a bit difficult for Tucker.

Buzdelik exchanged a few words with D'Antoni at this time. D'Antoni nodded and shouted a few words to Cousins again. It seemed that there was a defensive adjustment.

In the Rockets' frontcourt offense, Harden continued to find Jokic in a mismatch.

The Pelicans didn't switch, and Harden directly pulled up for a three-pointer from outside the arc.

"Swish!"

The ball went into the net.

Harden's hand was a bit hot tonight!

The cheers at the scene rose again.

Stevens frowned and pondered on the sidelines. This was obviously not good news for the Pelicans.

The Pelicans attacked to the frontcourt again, with the same idea, Davis continued to go to the low post.

However, the Rockets' defense had changed. They used Tucker to defend Jokic at the top of the arc, and Cousins stayed in the paint and didn't come out!

If Davis wanted to force his way in the low post, he could only go against Cousins. If he didn't force it, they could deal with it with Tucker's speed of help defense at the mid-range position.

Moreover, the certainty of mid-range shots was definitely not as good as attacking the basket.

D'Antoni, this little rascal, was really inspired tonight!

Holiday set a pick-and-roll for Davis, and after the switch, he broke through himself and passed the ball to Davis.

This ball was well-placed, giving Davis a mid-range opportunity.

However, Paul kept making subtle movements underneath, and Davis' rhythm was not very good when he shot to avoid the movements, and the ball hit the rim and bounced out.

Cousins grabbed the defensive rebound under the basket.

The Rockets gained the upper hand in this offense and defense!

"The Rockets really have a chance tonight!"

Jeff Van Gundy exclaimed from the commentary booth.

"Their strength is much stronger than last year, they should win back a game."

Breen also echoed from the side.

If the Rockets lost this game, it would be 0-3. The gap in strength between this Rockets team and the Pelicans was not that big.

The commentary guest for this game was McGrady. He smiled and nodded after hearing Van Gundy and Breen's words.

But when he smiled, he unconsciously turned his gaze to the Pelicans' half, towards Tang Tian.

Tang Tian didn't seem to have made a move from the start of the game until now?