Zhiba NBA

Chapter 48 (47) The battle for the top spot
Lao Tang said one thing wrong, Ma Long did not participate in this game.As early as in the game against the Suns on the 21st, Malone tore the ligament of his right knee in the opening 4 minutes and had to leave the field for treatment, and then missed several games.

"According to the latest news we got before the game, Malone should not play. This way we can relax a little bit inside. After all, the 40-year-old Malone averaged 20+7+4 per game last season at the level of a first-tier star." Assistant coach Smith, who got the latest news, immediately reported the situation to the players.

"Of course, don't let your guard down. The Lakers are very strong. Adding Payton to last season is enough for us. The 35-year-old Payton also averaged 20+4+8 per game last season." Tang Shuai was afraid of the excitement of the players, and immediately poured cold water on them.

"As for Malone's substitute, the Ukrainian insider Medvedenko played for him in the last game. This European guy is relatively average. It should be noted that he has a single shot that can open up space for O'Neal. The other major insider substitute is Horace Grant, the famous player who helped Jordan complete three consecutive championships. But he is 38 years old and announced his retirement last year. Later, he couldn't help being lonely and came back. The combination of Holy Walker last year." Curry's intelligence preparation has always been solid.

"So Okur's starting lineup today is still the tactic of playing against the Lakers last season. Use the zone defense to contain O'Neal. Turkoglu marks Kobe and uses your shooting skills to open up space on the offensive end." Tang Shuai made the arrangement.

"Then as long as we resist until O'Neill goes down to rest, we can crush their inside line." Okur thought of this with a smile on his face.

"Payton, that great old guy, the only point guard in the league who has won the best defensive player. I didn't play very well in the first few games, can I beat him?" Billups was secretly uneasy.

"Pray to Allah, I hope Kobe doesn't calm down and shoot blindly today." Turkoglu was heartbroken when he heard that Kobe would be the main defense.

"Big Shark, the toughest opponent. I guess this game will be played up by the domestic media as Yao Shark vs. Yao Ming?" Yao Ming's thinking went further.

"Kobe, we meet again. He stole my scoring title last season. Let's compare who is better this time?" McGrady's heart was blazing.

***
When the Lakers got the ball at the beginning, Payton took the lead and killed it, as if to prove that "if I had been there last season, the Lakers would have killed you."Old Peyton is determined to make a big move.

It's a pity that the ball spun a few times on the hoop and slid down. Yao Ming protected the rebound and passed it to McGrady.Instead of handing it over to Billups, McGrady dribbled the ball across the halfcourt. Faced with Kobe's pressing defense, he swayed and pulled it up to make a jump shot.

The goal scored 2:0, and the Rockets took the lead.

Tang Shuai slapped his head, not excited but disappointed.McGrady came up again and played singles. Yesterday's conversation was in vain.

This time Payton did not play hard, but held the ball steadily, attracting the defensive player to move and make a false pass. Medvedenko got the ball and easily put it to the basket, 2-2.

McGrady reached out to Billups for the ball, got the ball and dribbled it himself.

Wang Yuanfei in front of the TV was also disappointed when he saw this. Did McGrady really refuse to listen to the persuasion for the scoring champion?

McGrady broke through Kobe's defense suddenly, and O'Neal responded quickly and stepped forward to make up the defense.McGrady didn't mess up at all, passing the ball through the narrow gap between Kobe who was close to him and O'Pang who was pressing forward.There was no defense in front of Yao Ming, and he dunked easily.

"Strike!" There was cheers from the Rockets' bench.This is not a tactic designed by the Rockets coaching staff, but a wonderful cooperation that relies entirely on McGrady's outstanding ability and good overall view.

Devin George hit the iron, and Billups came back and made a three-pointer with a wonderful pass from McGrady, 7:2.

Medvedenko got an open shot, but he missed a jumper.The Lakers played for 2 minutes, but the OK team didn't even make a single shot.

McGrady got the ball and made another three-pointer, hitting the iron!But Yao Ming grabbed the offensive rebound, and O'Neal couldn't stop Yao Ming from scoring deep into the basket, so he had to foul.

Dayao, who is reliable in free throws, made two free throws, 9:2.

O'Neal finally received a pass from George and scored 2 points, but McGrady sent another assist. This time Turkoglu made a three-pointer, and the 12:4 point difference was getting bigger and bigger.

Facing last season's rival Rockets, O'Neal got a little anxious after a bad start. He roared and hit the basket hard, but he got a big hat from Yao Ming.Here, Turkoglu missed a shot, but the rebound happened to fall into Yao Ming's hands. Yao Ming took advantage of the situation with a hook, 14:4, and the point difference reached double digits.

The Rockets on the bench cheered loudly for the wonderful performance of their teammates. The Chinese giant completely suppressed the league's No. 2 center O'Neal at the beginning, and McGrady controlled the overall situation well, scoring points himself and organizing his teammates at the same time.Turkoglu and Billups also hit 36 three-pointers each. The Rockets played smoothly and led the Lakers 19 to [-] in the first quarter.

The Lakers' offense was basically misfired, and O'Neal, who scored the highest score, only scored 6 points.Kobe spent most of his energy on defending McGrady. He only took 2 shots but failed to score, and sent out an assist.

Sophisticated Phil Jackson saw the problem.Tracy McGrady played too smartly and reasonably today. Kobe swayed and made a breakthrough as soon as he was reckless to grab McGrady.The Lakers' defense seems to be in McGrady's prediction.On the basketball court, there is a saying of "three threats" of "shooting sudden pass", and now McGrady seems to have integrated it.

"Kobe defended the opposing small forward, and Devin defended McGrady. Do your best. You can't defend a superstar in such a good state. The key is to release Kobe to attack."

禅师的布置还算有效，第二节科比8投5中拿下12分。奥尼尔也5投4中拿下了12分。麦迪手感下滑，本节只得了2分，但又送出了3次助攻。62:49火箭凭借整体的出色发挥仍然保持着领先。

The third quarter was exactly the same as the second quarter. Dameng and Yao Ming took turns fighting O'Neal, which made the sharks exhausted.Although Kobe made 11 of 5 shots and scored 13 points in this quarter, the Lakers still did not even out the difference, 87:77.

In the fourth quarter, the Rockets took out the weapons they used to restrain the Lakers, and the three-point team came on the stage, and Kobe, who has always been physically strong, also seemed weak in the future.In this quarter, he only made 7 of 1 shots. The combination of Wang Zhizhi and Okur made the Sharks exhausted.The Rockets' shooters finally did not continue the decline of the previous few games. Okur and Dazhi each hit 3 three-pointers, and the fourth quarter turned into a one-sided massacre.

At 120:95, the result of the battle for the top spot was beyond the expectations of all experts.Of course, the Lakers can still use Malone's absence as an excuse to cover up their fiasco.

Kobe looked angry and did not hide his hostility at all. When the game was over, he immediately got up and returned to the locker room.He scored 28+11+27 on 8 of 5 shots in the game, and his performance was not bad.But this night is destined not to belong to him.

O'Neill did not leave the field immediately, he looked at Yao Ming who was celebrating the victory with a look of disappointment.This little oriental giant has grown into a first-line star who can fight against him at some point.It seems that the biggest opponent this season is still the Rockets.

McGrady looked at Kobe's back, feeling a little emotional in his heart.I probably played like this a few days ago, right?He contributed 25+9+9 in this game, leading the team to a big victory over a strong enemy.

大胜后火箭22-6，稍稍甩开了身后20-7的湖人、国王（圣诞大战负于老对手小牛）和21-8的步行者，坐稳了联盟第一的宝座。

(End of this chapter)