One Thousand One Hundred and Thirty-Two: I Didn’t Plan to Fight Until the End (2/5)

Dallas and Houston are both in Texas, so they are not that far apart.

It only took an hour by plane for the Grizzlies players to arrive in Houston.

Even though the distance isn't that far, back-to-back games are still grueling.

Fortunately, tonight's game against the Mavericks has entered garbage time early, and everyone's physical energy consumption is not high. Otherwise, Link can't imagine how difficult it will be to play against the Rockets tomorrow.

After entering the hotel, most of the players took a quick rest to prepare for tomorrow's game.

But before going to bed, Link checked his phone and looked at people's reactions on the Internet.

Sure enough, everyone didn't think there was anything strange about this big win over the Mavericks.

The Grizzlies deserve to win, but it would be surprising if they lose or win particularly hard.

Everyone didn't mention the Grizzlies' victory tonight, but focused on the next game between the Grizzlies and the Rockets.

Most people believe that the next game between the Grizzlies and Rockets will be a tug-of-war.

After all, the two teams played very fiercely in the first three matches. Although the Grizzlies achieved a complete victory record, the largest point difference was only 4 points.

Tomorrow's game will definitely continue at this pace. Every time Harden and Link collide, there are always sparks.

Link looked at these comments and speculations and turned off the phone screen.

Do you and the Rockets have to fight until the last minute? Who stipulated it?

Durant and Green must be looking forward to tomorrow's game now, hoping that Harden can stand up and avenge his shame.

Well... let me let you down for a while!

※※※

On March 4, this month’s focus battle finally took place at Toyota Center.

ESPN listed this game as a national live broadcast, and everyone is looking forward to the fourth battle between the Grizzlies and Rockets.

The Rockets may be the team that has caused the most trouble for the Grizzlies this season, even more than the Warriors.

after all,

The Grizzlies also had the experience of beating the Warriors once. But facing the Rockets, the Grizzlies narrowly lost three times.

Houston fans hope that the Rockets can come back, even if they only win once, they will be satisfied.

While the players from both sides were still warming up, the fans started shouting crazily. ESPN also sent a combination of Mike Breen and Mark Jackson to explain this expected fierce battle.

Judging from the atmosphere of the game alone, this game is destined to not be simple.

Everyone believes that they will witness an exciting top-level matchup at Toyota Center.

Soon, the starters from both sides also appeared.

For the Grizzlies, because Wade's knee entered the "pain period", Joger decided to let Josh Richardson take over the starting No. 2 position.

There haven't been any big changes on the Rockets' side, so the starting five are still composed of Beverley, Harden, Ariza, Ryan Anderson and Capela.

Neither party hugged each other or exchanged much pleasantries. They are already very familiar with each other and full of hostility.

The eyes of all the Rockets seemed to be on fire, and they were eager to tear the Grizzlies, who had defeated them three times in a row, into pieces.

If the Grizzlies were victorious three times, the Rockets might not have such a strong desire for revenge.

But being narrowly defeated by the opponent is sometimes more unsatisfactory than a big defeat.

He almost won the game every time, and no one would feel better if he replaced him. The Rockets players are holding back their energy and want to eat crabs no matter what.

During the jump ball stage, Capela used his faster bounce to get the basketball.

Beverley slowly controlled the ball past half-court and directed the offense with gestures.

Harden also gradually got into position, waiting for Beverley's pass.

However, Harden suddenly discovered that the person guarding him today was not Josh Richardson, the second position, but Link!

"Link directly faced Harden from the beginning. This has never happened in the three previous games between the two sides. In the past few games, Link has started with full firepower from the beginning. I don't know if he will do the same today. Do this.”

Mike Breen frowned, and Link came to defend Harden personally as soon as the game started. There is no doubt that this is a great test for Link's physical fitness and energy.

In the previous three games, Link only faced Harden at the most critical moments. In previous games, Link had to focus more on the offensive end.

Human physical strength and energy are really limited. It is impossible to be full of firepower from the beginning and maintain it until the end.

But today, Link directly regarded the game as a critical moment from the very beginning... This was indeed abnormal, and Link had no reason to do so.

unless......

Unless that guy wants to end the game early!

"Damn!" Mike Brin felt a chill running down his spine. If his guess was correct, Link was too bold!

The Grizzlies were excusable for ending the Nuggets and Mavericks early. After all, these two teams are not considered strong rivals.

But ending the Rockets early...this is not something that can be done casually.

After Harden received Beverley's pass, he immediately fell into Link's tight defense.

As soon as Link came up, he directly raised the intensity of the confrontation to the maximum, which made Harden very uncomfortable.

The game is usually a gradual one, but Link doesn't play by the rules at all.

Harden couldn't get rid of Link's defense for a while, so he handed the basketball to Ariza.

However, Ariza can't take advantage of Josh Richardson. Richardson's height of 1.98 meters is enough for him to effectively defend the opponent's flank.

Why did Jorge choose to start with Richardson instead of Wade? To put it bluntly, he is interested in his versatile attributes on the defensive end.

Link's attitude also affected his teammates, making Josh Richardson's defense also very tough.

Ariza is not an offensive player with the ball now. When faced with such a tight defense, he had no choice but to pass the ball again.

In the end, Beverley relied on his tough confrontation to break through, broke through Conley and made a throw under Gasol's defense.

The basketball successfully passed Gasol's fingers, but due to excessive pursuit of arc, it hit the neck of the basket.

But Beverley was not upset, because he finally fished out Gasol to cover up the defense.

Even if the ball fails to score, Capela still has the opportunity to make a direct dunk!

The moment the basketball came out of the frame, the "Cake King" jumped up high and prepared to press the basketball back into the frame.

Before his big hand touched the basketball, Capela found another arm appearing in front of him, and he came from behind to grab the rebound in advance!

"Link's fight was very active. When Gasol failed to get stuck due to the defense, Link rushed in to protect the rebound and did not give the Rockets a chance to attack again!"

Before Mike Breen could finish his words, Link immediately started to counterattack after grabbing the rebound.

He directly "ejected and started", passing Harden who had not yet reacted with just one step, and then used an easy change of direction to get away from Ariza.

Link was like a bolt of yellow lightning, flashing across the frontcourt from the backcourt.

The game had just begun, and the Rockets did not expect that the intensity of the game would become so intense. Therefore, their retreat speed in this round is indeed not very fast.

But Link doesn't care about this. He will seize any opportunity to score, whether it is the first second of the game or the last second!

The Rockets' defense was like a thin piece of paper, and Link broke a big hole with just a slight blow.

After getting rid of all the Rockets' defensive players, Link rushed into the penalty area and scored the ball in front of everyone's stunned eyes.

From grabbing defensive rebounds to completing counterattack dunks, it all happens in the blink of an eye!

The Rockets players on the court looked at each other, as if they hadn't realized what happened.

It's like a group of people running a marathon, but as soon as one of the runners comes up, he sprints at a speed of 100 meters and leaves everyone behind!

This is indeed very unconventional.

After scoring the goal, Link was not complacent, but immediately called everyone to pay attention to return to defense.

He didn't want the game to slow down for a moment.

At this time, Mike Brin confirmed his suspicion.

That's right, Link didn't even think about fighting to the end. What that guy wants is to end it early!

The whole world thought that this would be an anxious and fierce battle, and all fans believed that the score between the two sides would still be very close.

But it's obvious that Link doesn't want the team to struggle. From beginning to end, what he wanted was to end it early.

But facing the powerful Rockets, can the Grizzlies really gain a huge advantage enough to push the game into garbage time?

Mike Brin was looking forward to it. If it was Link... maybe it would work.

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