Wei Guo bypassed Malone and Harprin.

It relies on the rhythm of dribbling and the explosive power of the moment of breakthrough!

There are very few players in the league who can do this, and Malone and Harprin were both stunned.

Beyond the three-point line, Wei Guo pulled up for a jump shot.

"Whoosh!!!"

The basketball went through the net cleanly.

40:47!!

There are 3 minutes and 41 seconds left in the first half.

Several Rockets players were stunned by Wei Guo's flashy dribbling move. Wei Guo patted Francis and said, "What are you standing there for? Get back on defense!"

"Brother Wei..."

Francis was practically drooling. "You absolutely have to teach me that amazing move you just made!"

......

This defense was crucial!

If we can defend it and score another point, we can narrow the gap to within 5 points.

In that case...

There is a high chance that they can turn the score around and widen the gap in the first half.

Stockton dribbled the ball, and Harprin circled out from the inside to receive the pass from Stockton. Harprin hesitated for a moment when he received the ball!

Wei Guo is gone, and Ma Long is left out!

"To pass it on or not???"

Halprin hesitated for only 0.33 seconds before making the decision not to pass!

A three-pointer is being taken!

*Smack!!!*

The basketball had barely left Harprin's fingertips when Wei Guo slapped it away. Wei Guo then lunged forward, grabbing the basketball with one hand. Stockton tried to snatch the ball from Wei Guo's hand, but Wei Guo managed to shake him off with a single-handed grab.

Then...

Wei Guo dribbled straight to the frontcourt, facing an empty basket, and pulled up for a three-pointer!

"Whoosh!!!"

The basketball went into the net.

In the entire league, only Wei Guo dared to do this without being scolded by the head coach. If it were any other player, they would take an open layup but instead take a three-pointer, and even if they made it, they would be severely scolded by the head coach.

43:47!!

The Rockets are now down by only 4 points.

........

With the Rockets about to take the lead, Sloan instructed Harprin to continue double-teaming Weiguo with Malone.

But that won't work...

Even when double-teamed, Wei Guo can easily pass the ball out, and the Rockets also have three players with strong scoring ability on the court: Yao Ming, Steve Francis, and Mobley!

"Defense! Defense! Defense!"

Gentry was also standing on the sidelines, constantly reminding the players to increase their defensive intensity.

The first half has ended.

56:51!!

The Rockets lead by 5 points.

The Rockets took the lead thanks to Wei Guo's 11 points and 4 assists, and in less than four minutes, the Rockets outscored the Jazz 19-4!

........

They're leading by 5 points, and even if they're down by 5 points, the Rockets have nothing to fear.

The team has a very strong sense of cohesion.

and...

Wei Guo plays the good cop, while Gentry plays the bad cop.

If a player makes a basic mistake, Wei Guo will scold them mercilessly. After Wei Guo finishes scolding them, Gentry will share a fable with that player, and the player will immediately get back into form.

As the players headed to the locker room, some fans had already left.

Fans felt a sense of despair. The Rockets were playing the Jazz in the first round with the attitude of playing in the NBA Finals, and they didn't want to give the Jazz any chance at all.

........

The second half is about to begin, and the Rockets players are returning to the court from the locker room.

"Huh?"

Cummings was the first to notice something was wrong, glancing at the audience seats. "There are far fewer people here."

Yao Ming said, "He probably went to the toilet."

"It's time to come back by the time I go to the toilet."

Francis laughed and said, "The audience couldn't bear to see the Jazz lose again, so they left early."

The Jazz are only down by 5 points, so they still have a chance in theory.

In the latter part of the second quarter, when the Jazz extended their lead to double digits, the roof of the arena was almost blown off by the cheers of the crowd. Then, Wei Guo led the team on a 19-4 run to take the lead.

This stark contrast...

By making the audience lose hope of winning, once a small group of spectators starts to leave, the number of spectators leaving increases rapidly.

The Jazz players also noticed this, as the cheers from the crowd were much quieter, which was a blow to the home team players.

The third quarter begins.

Stockton dribbled the ball up the court, used Malone's screen to get to the free-throw line, faked a shot and passed the ball to Harpring.

This is a real case of not passing the ball to Malone. Malone was clearly open near the three-point line, but Stockton passed the ball to Harprin, who then took a mid-range shot.

"Whoosh!!!"

The basketball went through the net cleanly.

Several young players looked puzzled. Sloan explained, "It was a very reasonable pass. Even if you passed the ball to Malone, he doesn't have a three-point shot ability. He would still have to dribble forward a step before he could shoot, and that's when Wei Guo would come up to help defend."

“┗|｀o′|┛ Aww~~”

The Jazz players suddenly realized that they only saw Malone with a wide-open shot, but Stockton did not pass the ball to Malone. Instead, he passed the ball to Harplin, who was being guarded by Mobley.

However, apart from Harpring, the other Jazz players still didn't perform very well.

Ostertag, in particular, was completely contained by Yao Ming under the basket in this game. In the third quarter, Yao Ming blocked Ostertag's shots twice in just six or seven minutes.

"The Jazz's fate is sealed..."

Gentry sat back down on the bench with a sense of relief.

At this rate, the Rockets should have a lead of at least 15 points by the end of the third quarter.

More importantly...

If Britney is present to watch from the sidelines, perhaps to prove her stamina, Wei Guo will definitely play the entire game, even if the fourth quarter becomes garbage time.

........

In the fourth quarter, the Jazz were already down by 20 points.

Sloan didn't substitute his key players; they were still making a last-ditch effort. If they couldn't win this game, the two-day tournament would be even harder to win.

Naturally...

Wei Guo did not leave the court. Of the Rockets' starters, only Yao Ming left the court to rest, while Mobley and Francis remained on the court.

period...

The Jazz rallied with a final burst of tenacity, going on a 9-0 run, but it was too little, too late; the outcome of the game was already decided.

"Beep!!!"

With the whistle blowing, the game came to an end.

113:95!!

The Rockets narrowly defeated the Jazz by 18 points on the road, securing their third victory in the first round of the playoffs.

Match statistics:

Wei Guo: 60 points, 17 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks

Yao Ming: 21 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks

Stockton: 17 points, 3 rebounds, 16 assists, 2 steals, 0 blocks

Malone: ​​3 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 0 steals, 2 blocks

This was definitely one of the worst games of Ma Long's career, and it dealt a blow to his confidence.