NBA: The man who passed the ball to Yao Ming

At this point the score on the court was 40-29, with the Rockets leading by 11 points.

With Zhang Jinshui replacing Alston, both sides returned to the main lineup at the beginning of the game.

The game continued, starting with the Pacers' offensive round.

After Jamal Tinsley brought the ball to the front court, he passed the ball to the inside, and O'Neal singled Uncle Huo.

It happened that Yao Ming was standing not far from O'Neal. When O'Neal swayed behind Uncle Huo and went to the basket, Yao Ming, who had been waiting for a long time, quickly moved over, and his huge palm like a giant spirit rewarded O'Neal severely. a big hat.

Uncle Huo picked up the basketball and passed the ball to Zhang Jinshui.

Zhang Jinshui controlled the ball, and waited for the players to enter the frontcourt and fell behind before taking the ball and slowly advancing to the frontcourt.

He didn't start blindly exerting force because of the promise he had made to Van Gundy on the sidelines just now, but continued to follow Van Gundy's tactical arrangement, using Yao Ming as the centerpiece of the Rockets' offense.

After seeing that Yao Ming got the position inside, Zhang Jinshui moved to the corresponding 45-degree right three-point line and passed the ball steadily to Yao Ming.

Seeing that Jamal Tinsley immediately turned around to double-team Yao Ming with their center, Zhang Jinshui hurriedly moved to the unguarded top of the arc.

When he took a good position at the top of the arc, Yao Ming sent the ball over immediately.

At this time, there was nothing within two meters in front of Zhang Jinshui.

Since the start of the game against the Pistons, Zhang Jinshui feels that he hasn't had such a good three-dimensional line outing for a long time.

For a while, there was a feeling as if it was a world away.

With a straight chest and back, stepping on the rich green under his feet, he jumped high and threw the ball steadily.

The basketball drew a beautiful arc over the court, and finally entered the net with a "swish".

The sound of the basketball hitting the net echoed back and forth over the arena, setting off the silence in the crowded stands.

Zhang Jinshui raised three fingers of his right hand and shook them vigorously in the air.

At the same time, I can't help wondering, why is the Pacers' defense only half a stop behind the Pistons?

In fact, judging from the statistics of the first 10 games of this season alone, the Pacers only allowed their opponents to score a little over 90 points per game, and their defensive efficiency ranked third in the league after the Pistons and Spurs.

There's nothing wrong with generalizing that the Pacers are only half a stop behind the Pistons defensively.

But the facts have proved that in the NBA, a field with extremely high levels of competition and fierce competition, the slightest difference in strength at the data level may produce absurd actual game effects.

At least in Zhang Jinshui's eyes, the half-stop difference between the Pistons and the Pacers is already heaven and earth.

In fact, after the first quarter of the game, Zhang Jinshui had faintly noticed that the Pacers' defense was not as tough as rumored, or at least they did not pose much threat to the Rockets' offense.

It is also based on this feeling that Zhang Jinshui, who has always been cautious in his words and deeds, dared to boast to Van Gundy before playing just now that he will definitely win the Pacers in this game.

And now in the second quarter, less than 7 minutes later, the Rockets lead the Pacers by 43 points 29 to 14.

It also proves that Zhang Jinshui's feelings are correct.

However, it was from this moment that the situation on the field changed drastically.

The Pacers, who have always been known for their defense, suddenly began to exert their strength on the offensive end.

The Pacers' small forward Artest first made a three-pointer from outside the three-point line at a 45-degree angle, filling in the three-pointer Zhang Jinshui had just made.

Then, Jermaine O'Neal showed his strength in the interior, succeeded in two consecutive singles against Uncle Huo, and scored the ball to Stephen Jackson at the free throw line, assisting the latter to hit a high 2-pointer.

And the super-efficient performance of the Pacers on the offensive end has also been transformed into their help on the defensive end. They just prevented Yao Ming, McGrady and Zhang Jinshui from several offensive misses in succession.

As Zhang Jinshui took the ball to the frontcourt, he was intercepted by Artest when he was about to pass the ball to McGrady, and the latter told him to enter the Rockets' penalty area to complete a one-handed dunk.

步行者在过去不到3分钟的时间里，打出了一波11比0的进攻狂潮，将场上的比分改写成了40比43。

Facts have proved that Zhang Jinshui's exaggeration to Van Gundy before playing was too hasty, and he underestimated the Pacers too much.

这支自从97-98赛季以后连续8年没有缺席过季后赛、闯入过一次总决赛、并在03-04赛季和巅峰活塞在东区决赛大战6场的老牌劲旅，通过这一波追分高潮，算是好好给张金水上了一课。

Especially for the last ball, Artest stole the ball from Zhang Jinshui by relying on his prediction and completed a counterattack.

Zhang Jinshui took a deep breath, trying to recover from his annoyance.

At this point, there are 3 minutes left in the second quarter.

The Rockets only lead the Pacers by 43 points 40 to 3.

The Conseco Arena, which had been silent for a long time, became lively again.

Shouts of "Beat Houston" sounded from every corner of the stands, and gradually became uniform, floating over the Conseco Arena.

Zhang Jinshui was already waving his hands to receive Uncle Huo's baseline pass. Van Gundy hesitated, signaled to the referee, and called a long timeout.

"Everyone, I'm sorry, the last steal was completely careless on my part." Back on the bench, Zhang Jinshui took the initiative to say to the coach and teammates.

"It's okay, just be careful next time." Van Gundy patted Zhang Jinshui on the shoulder.

After everyone sat on the bench, Van Gundy said again:

"Back to the field in a while, first do a good job on defense, and on the offensive end, be patient. Yao Ming, you should mention the top of the arc and help Zhang Jinshui do a high-post support."

A kind of Rockets players nodded.

"Frankly speaking, we played very well today, and there is no need to adjust any tactical play for the time being.

The only thing I want to remind is to put your mind right and don't take it lightly. After all, the Pacers are a veteran team that has entered the playoffs for 8 consecutive years. Don't underestimate them. "

Speaking, Van Gundy glanced at Zhang Jinshui.

Zhang Jinshui nodded. He knew very well that the player Van Gundy underestimated the Pacers was none other than Zhang Jinshui.

Now calm down and think about it, his mentality is indeed very problematic.

Zhang Jinshui secretly made up his mind that he must take it as a warning in the future and pay attention to every opponent during the game.

But since he has underestimated it today, he has no other choice now, but to use his full firepower and use the final result of the game to prove to Van Gundy that maybe there is a problem with his mentality, but his vision is definitely not a problem.

With the referee's whistle, the timeout ended, and Zhang Jinshui returned to the field with his teammates.

He took another deep breath, swept away the slight anxiety in his chest, and put all his thoughts into the game again.

When Uncle Huo sent the ball from the bottom line to Zhang Jinshui, the fans in the stands of the Conseco Arena reincarnated as the No.6 player of the Pacers on the field, shouting "Defense! Defense" in unison !” slogan.

Zhang Jinshui remained unmoved, facing Jamal Tinsley's defense, carefully brought the ball to the frontcourt.

Yao Ming pulled Scott Pollard to the top of the arc, and first helped Zhang Jinshui make a pick-and-roll.

Zhang Jinshui did not choose to break through, but gave Yao Ming a look, and then passed the ball to Yao Ming after a misplacement.

Immediately afterwards, he accelerated his running position at full speed, using two off-ball screens from David Wesley and Uncle Huo, and successfully got a three-point shot from the right corner.

In fact, the Pacers' defense against Zhang Jinshui was pretty good this round.

When Zhang Jinshui received a pass from Yao Ming at the bottom corner, Jermaine O'Neal had already raised his right arm and flew over, covering Zhang Jinshui's shot under his giant palm.

But Zhang Jinshui stepped on the rich green under his feet, and very resolutely threw the ball before Jermaine O'Neal's giant palm arrived, and steadily hit his fourth three-pointer in today's game.

46 to 40, Zhang Jinshui successfully stopped the bleeding for the Rockets, widening the difference between the two sides to 6 points again.

The Pacers fans in the stands finally stopped.

However, the script of today's game is destined to be different from what Zhang Jinshui expected in advance.

The Pacers, known for their defense, continued to put pressure on the Rockets on the offensive end.

After Jamal Tinsley took the ball to the frontcourt, called Artest a pick-and-roll, and passed the ball to Artest after forming a dislocation.

Facing Zhang Jinshui's defense, the latter jumped directly at the top of the arc and hit a three-pointer. This is the second time Artest has responded to Zhang Jinshui's 3-pointer today.

"Rookie, how about my 3-point response? Is it stronger than you?" After hitting a [-]-pointer, Artest followed Zhang Jinshui's example and shook his right finger in front of him, provocatively.

In today's game, Artest is the Pacers' best player. So far, he has made 9 of 6 shots, 4 of 3 three-pointers, 15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

"It's almost meaningless." Zhang Jinshui replied with a disdainful expression.

In fact, Zhang Jinshui has always known that Artest's offense is very strong, but his defense is stronger, which makes people underestimate his offense.

But now Artest is not Metta Shiping who will play for the Rockets a few years later, so Zhang Jinshui naturally refuses to let him talk trash.

"The tone is not small. If you have the ability to make the next ball, you can also score a three-pointer on my head." Artest continued to provoke.

"Hehe, okay." After Zhang Jinshui finished speaking, he turned and ran to the side.

At the same time, the metallic system sound just fell in Zhang Jinshui's ears.

Zhang Jinshui shouted directly with his mind: "Trigger [Tit for Tat]".

Then he received a baseline pass from Huo Ershu, carefully took the ball to the frontcourt, and waved for McGrady to make a pick-and-roll for himself.

McGrady naturally knew what Zhang Jinshui wanted to do, and immediately led Artest to greet him.

After the dislocation, Zhang Jinshui faced Artest directly.

"Look at it." After Zhang Jinshui finished speaking, he dribbled the ball continuously with his left and right hands under his crotch.

After a period of practice, Zhang Jinshui has become more and more proficient in the use of "Retreat Step Magic Shot".

With the blessing of the special effects of [Tit for Tat], the basketball drew a wonderful arc in the air, and "swished" into the net, helping the Rockets continue to lead the Pacers by 49 points 43 to 6.

"How?" Zhang Jinshui glanced at Artest.

The latter ran away without a word.

This three-pointer is also Zhang Jinshui's fifth three-pointer in this game.

In the stands, some Pacers fans have begun to whisper worriedly.

"The rookie guard of the Rockets feels too hot today. It's only halftime, and he has already made 5 three-pointers."

"Yeah, it's really worrying. Zhang Jinshui shot 7 of 5 from the field. If he feels so hot throughout the game, it feels like we will be very difficult to play."

"It's okay, what are you afraid of? According to the law of energy conservation, the hotter he feels now, the cooler he will feel in the future. Let's wait and see." The fans on the side said optimistically.

However, Zhang Jinshui quickly told the optimistic Pacers fans with practical actions.

In the future, when it is time to be pessimistic, you should still be a little pessimistic, otherwise, you will easily become poisonous milk.

In the last 1 minutes of the second quarter, under the support of Yao Ming's high position, Zhang Jinshui ran out of open 3-point opportunities twice through the off-ball screens of Huo Ershu, David Wesley and McGrady, and made 2 shots. 1 in.

And at the final countdown at the buzzer, he cast [Backstep Magic Shot], luckily tossed the head of the coin and hit a three-pointer at the buzzer.

In the end, at the end of the half, the Rockets still led their opponents by 55 points 48 to 7 even though the Pacers were uncharacteristically maintaining a high offensive success rate.

"Zhang Jinshui, you played well!" When Zhang Jinshui walked towards the player tunnel, Van Gundy stepped forward and patted Zhang Jinshui on the shoulder in relief.

上半场，张金水14投9中，其中3分球11投7中，拿下了25分2次助攻。

He is definitely the best player on the Rockets, and to a certain extent, he proved to Van Gundy that he does have the capital to underestimate the Pacers.

Still, a seven-point lead at halftime isn't that big of a deal.

In the second half, Zhang Jinshui and other Rockets players had to go all out to try to take the victory away from Indianapolis steadily.

And when Zhang Jinshui returned to the locker room to rest with his teammates, the Rockets fans who had gathered to follow the game had already exploded on the Huaguo forum on the other side of the ocean.

"Report~~~ The first half is over, Zhang Jinshui scored 25 points and 2 assists, including 3-pointers, 11 of 7 shots."

"Damn! 7 three-pointers in the half court, 14 three-pointers in the whole game, wouldn't that break the record for the highest number of three-pointers made in a single game by the NBA?"

"If I remember correctly, the highest record of three-pointers made in a single game should be 12 held by Kobe and Marshall, right?"

"That's right, it's the two of them who kept it. I originally thought that the Rockets could clock out in three quarters, but now I suddenly hope that this game can be played until the last second to decide the winner."

"Yes, let's cheer for the Pacers together. It doesn't matter if the Rockets lose a game. I hope Zhang Jinshui can break this magical record and give us Chinese people a long face!"

"Yes, Pacers hold on, help Zhang Jinshui break this record, let the fans of the beautiful country appreciate the power of our talented shooter in Huaguo."