The next day, the Utah Jazz flew back to Salt Lake City.
The Rockets and Jazz arrived in Salt Lake City one after the other. One important factor contributing to Salt Lake City's reputation as a "devil's home court" is its high altitude.
At an altitude of over 3,000 meters, many players were not used to it when they first arrived.
Although the Rockets had already won two games here during the regular season, Gentry knew that the next game was crucial.
The Jazz have already lost two games.
If the Jazz, playing at home, cannot win Game 3, their chances of winning Game 4 are extremely slim.
This is also for the Jazz's benefit...
Since we can't win this series, we might as well go home and go fishing; we might even catch something.
........
Coincidentally, Britney Spears was filming in Salt Lake City at the time.
so...
During a break from filming, she went to the Energy Solutions Arena to cheer on the Rockets.
There are many Britney fans here, but they transferred their hatred for Wei Guo onto Britney, not only unfollowing her but also refusing to support her.
"Kill the rocket!"
"Kill the rocket!"
"Kill the rocket!"
The slogan resounded throughout the stadium even before the game started.
The commotion made Gentry chuckle. "Fans have it tough too. They have to lose their voice for days after watching just one game."
At this rate of shouting, the fans will all lose their voices by the end of the game.
Starting lineup for this match:
Rockets: Francis, Mobley, Wei Guo, Posey, Yao Ming
Jazz: Stockton, Kirilenko, Harpring, Malone, Ostertag
Sloan made a tactical change, starting the young Kirilenko in place of Chaney, possibly because Kirilenko had made several successful defensive plays against Wei Guo in the previous two games.
"Beep!!!"
The game began with the sound of the whistle.
Francis dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, broke through and passed to Yao Ming in the paint, whose hook shot was interfered with by Ostertag.
"Bang!!!"
Wei Guo followed up, grabbed the offensive rebound in mid-air, and scored with a putback dunk.
2-0!!!
The Rockets scored first.
........
Cummings glanced at Britney and said to Rice, "My sister-in-law is here today. I feel like Wei Guo is going to score at least 60 points tonight."
"but..."
Rice leaned close to Cummings's ear, "Wei didn't stay at our hotel last night, did he? Did he go to see his wife...?"
"How can you just say things like that?!"
Cummings glared at Rice.
Rice said aggrievedly, "Yesterday afternoon I was out for a stroll, and when I came back I saw a van pick up Brother Wei. This van only brought Brother Wei back this afternoon."
"Last night we were short one player for mahjong, so I called Brother Wei, but he didn't answer."
Cummings stroked his chin, looking thoughtful.
........
The Jazz have started their offense, and this time Ostertag set a screen for Stockton.
After the pick and roll, go straight down...
Ostertag received a pass from Stockton and, facing Yao Ming's defense, flicked the ball towards the basket with a simple layup.
"Whoosh!!!"
The basketball went into the net.
“Os~~~Tetag~~~”
The DJ shouted Ostertag's name to cheer him on.
The Rockets inbound the ball from the baseline.
Malone sprinted back to his own half, preparing to take defensive position. Mobley ran alongside Malone, muttering, "Why isn't Stockton passing you the ball? Have you been tactically abandoned by the team...?"
That really hit a nerve with Ma Long!
Yesterday, Sloan called a meeting with the entire team.
The main purpose of the meeting was to use Harpring and Ostertag as the offensive core, and to reduce Malone's ball handling and shot attempts.
because...
Wei Guo has been targeting Ma Long.
This might be the best approach. Ma Long doesn't shoot, but he can still distract Wei Guo's defense and give his teammates better opportunities to shoot. Only in this way can they have any hope of winning.
The Jazz's goal is simply to avoid being swept.
Malone remained silent, while Mobley kept nagging, "Why aren't you saying anything? Did I hit the nail on the head?"
*Smack!!!*
Malone elbowed Mobley in the chest.
"Ouch~"
Mobley dramatically fell to the ground.
"Beep!!!"
The referee blew his whistle and called an unsportsmanlike foul on Malone.
Malone didn't argue with the referee, which shows he lost his temper. He now hates the petty players on the Rockets because everyone on the team is targeting him just because he elbowed Yao Ming.
Last game...
When Sloan called a timeout to set up tactics, Cummings hid behind the Jazz players and said, "Trash, it should be thrown in the trash can."
Francis helped Mobley up and teased, "You're really brave. Aren't you afraid of breaking his ribs?"
"actually..."
Mobley winked and said, "I anticipated his movements. That fall just now was faked."
Francis laughed and said, "With acting skills like this, I'll have your wife introduce you to a role in a film during the offseason."
I think it's a good idea!
Mobley nodded seriously.
The referee can't be blamed for the flopping; Malone has too many past offenses, and the elbow really hit Mobley in the chest. It's just that Mobley's fall was exaggerated.
........
The Jazz used Malone to draw Wei Guo's defense, and the remaining four players took decisive shots whenever they had the opportunity.
There was no opportunity to pass the ball immediately...
The Jazz moved the ball very quickly, and judging from the first quarter, their tactics were more reasonable than the Rockets'.
Halprin, Ostertag, Kirilenko!
All three players had a decent shooting percentage in the first quarter, which gave the home fans hope of winning.
"Kill the rocket!"
"Kill the rocket!"
"Kill the rocket!"
The noise was so persistent that Britney put on headphones to drown out the noise with music.
The first quarter has ended.
26:31!!
The Jazz are leading by 5 points.
This was the first time the Jazz had taken the lead in the first quarter.
"You guys are the best..."
"Keep this momentum going..."
"I believe we can definitely win this game..."
"Utah's home court is not to be trifled with..."
Sloan stopped being stingy with praise, constantly complimenting the players; he needed to help them find their confidence.
........
Halprin: 7 points
Ostertag: 9 points
Kirilenko: 3 points
Stockton: 5 points
Malone: 0 points, 1 rebound, 0 assists, 0 steals, 1 block
Substitute players: 7 points
........
This is how the Jazz players performed in the first quarter; each of them deserves Sloan's praise.
Only Malone...
They dared not attack, and they couldn't out-rebound Wei Guo.
Even Mobley could see Sloan's tactics, so how could Wei Guo not see them? Yet he still kept going head-to-head with Malone on the court.
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