After Yao Ming's jersey retirement ceremony ended, both teams went onto the court to warm up.

Yao Ming and the guests who attended stayed and sat in the front row of the audience to cheer for the Rockets.

After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups of both sides came onto the court one after another.

The Rockets didn't adjust their starting lineup, with Morris still as the starting power forward.

Earlier news revealed that Morris had been shooting 500 three-pointers every day for the past three days.

Now it seems to be working.

Perhaps due to his communication with Yao Ming, Cousins ​​looked very excited. During the tip-off, he jumped faster than Davis and tapped the ball back to the Rockets' half.

Paul dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, organizing the offense from the outside.

Different from the previous two games, the Rockets didn't focus on Harden at the beginning, but instead put the offensive focus on the inside.

After a fake screen for Harden, Cousins ​​cut to the basket, received Paul's pass, squeezed past Jokic, and scored a layup.

The entire technical movement was completed quite smoothly.

On the Pelicans' side, in a half-court set, Tang Tian's fadeaway jumper over Tucker also scored points for the Pelicans.

Both sides scored on their first offensive possession.

For the Rockets' offense, Cousins ​​used the same trick again, but this time Davis' help defense was in place, and he didn't have a chance to shoot.

In the double team, he spun around in place, leaning against Davis' body and hooking with his right hand.

Davis reached out and jumped up to block, but the arc of Cousins' hook shot was very high.

"Swish!"

The ball passed over Davis' fingertips and fell straight into the net.

Cousins ​​scored two consecutive goals to start the game!

Cheers erupted from the fans at the scene.

In the past two games, the Rockets were badly defeated, and Harden's performance was terrible, making him the Rockets fans' number one target.

But the other two giants, Paul and Cousins, performed mediocrely, and were also the object of fans' crazy complaints.

After all, the Rockets have a Big Three. If one of the giants doesn't play well, the other two should stand up.

They waited for two games, and Cousins ​​finally stepped up!

Tang Tian's drive and dish, Davis received the ball and scored with a turnaround layup under the basket.

The Pelicans' offensive state is fine.

Turning around, Cousins ​​directly posted up high.

Jokic tried to front him, but Cousins ​​saw it and made a no-ball spin towards the basket.

His reaction and judgment were amazingly fast.

Seeing this, Paul threw a bounce pass through the crowd.

Cousins ​​jumped up to catch the ball, and Davis helped defend and flew over to block.

Cousins ​​actually dodged it with a small pull-up in the air!

"Bang!"

Cousins ​​followed up with a powerful two-handed dunk after dodging.

He scored 6 consecutive points to start the game!

The cheers at the scene continued.

Yao Ming in the audience also smiled and applauded for Cousins.

The Rockets have a tradition of centers, and Cousins' performance can be considered a bit like a Houston center!

After Cousins ​​dunked, he roared and then turned to look at Yao Ming in the audience.

Obviously, his outburst at the beginning was directly related to Yao Ming's jersey retirement ceremony.

Seeing Olajuwon and Yao Ming, two legendary centers of the team, especially after Yao Ming said so much to him, he was inspired like never before.

Morey in the box in the audience finally smiled.

The disastrous defeats in the previous two games put unprecedented pressure on the Rockets, and even made him, the general manager, lose a lot of hair.

Fortunately, there was Yao Ming, and fortunately, Yao Ming was easy to talk to. This early jersey retirement ceremony really worked!

Ariza's catch-and-shoot three-pointer missed, and Harden dribbled to the basket on the return.

The Pelicans' defensive tactics were the same as in the last game, letting Harden go to the mid-range.

Cousins ​​moved closer to the basket at this time, and Jokic didn't dare to rush out too far.

Davis helped from the weak side, and Harden passed the ball directly to Morris in the corner.

The Rockets didn't change their starting lineup, but their playing style changed, with Morris squatting in the far corner.

Morris caught the ball and shot a three-pointer directly.

"Swish!"

The basketball went into the net.

The Rockets scored on all four offensive possessions to start the game!

The cheers at the scene didn't stop.

The Rockets were in amazing shape tonight!

Some fans were even shouting Yao's name.

Yao Ming is really Houston's treasure!

However, on the Pelicans' side, Tang Tian immediately broke through for a layup and scored a goal.

6 to 9.

The Pelicans didn't defend well, but their offense was very stable, and the point difference wasn't widened.

The Rockets' offense was another breakthrough by Harden.

Morris made his first three-pointer, showing the results of his training these past few days.

Davis didn't dare to shrink so completely, and after Harden saw Jokic rushing out, he threw a high lob pass.

Cousins ​​jumped up, flew up, and scored with an alley-oop dunk!

Houston is really going to take off tonight!

The excellent offense also drove the team's defense. The Pelicans' continuous offensive tactics didn't work, and they were almost defended for a 24-second violation.

The ball finally reached Tang Tian's hands with only two seconds left. He dribbled the ball and shook it, and shot a three-pointer over Tucker.

This shot was very difficult, but the ball hit the back rim and still went into the net.

Tang Tian's clutch three-pointer!

The Pelicans' bench erupted.

The Rockets seemed unstoppable tonight, but they had Tang Tian on their side!

Harden's three-pointer from the outside missed, and Cousins ​​grabbed the offensive rebound over Jokic and forced a shot, drawing a foul on the latter.

In the previous two games, Jokic didn't lose out in the matchup with Cousins, but tonight Cousins ​​was in too good a state, and Jokic was obviously suppressed.

Cousins ​​made both free throws, scoring 8 points in less than five minutes of the opening.

Stevens rested his chin on the sidelines.

Cousins' sudden outbreak was definitely not good news for the Pelicans.

In the time that followed, he tried many ways to limit Cousins, but none of them worked.

Cousins ​​was really in too good a state tonight.

Tang Tian also realized this. Cousins ​​is technically versatile. Once he gets going, limiting him is no easier than limiting Harden.

He used words to stimulate Cousins ​​in the same way as in the regular season, trying to awaken the other violent personality in the latter's body.

But this time, it didn't work.

Cousins ​​was rationally unlike Cousins!

This guy is really a bit scary when he's rational, a real top center in the league!

Throughout the first half, Cousins ​​dominated the inside, scoring 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists in the half, completely controlling the paint.

His performance also allowed the Rockets to score a high score of 60 points in the half.

Fortunately, Tang Tian on the Pelicans' side was strong in tough battles, with 12 points and 6 assists in the half, leading the Pelicans to score 56 points in the half.

60 to 56. Although the lead wasn't much, it was the first time in the series that the Rockets had an advantage in the half!

At the end of the half, the crowd cheered.

Not knowing who started it first, the familiar Yao song was sung at the scene during halftime.

"Yao Ming~ Yao Ming Yao Ming Yao Ming~ Yao Ming~ Yao Ming~"

Olajuwon is the soul of Houston, and Yao Ming is the totem of Houston.

Tonight, under his totem halo, the Rockets played a near-perfect half.

ps: The surgery was completed today, more than three hours, and I'm awake now, thank you everyone