Turning around, Turkoglu continued to hold the ball and play pick-and-roll with Howard, and this time he passed the ball to Howard again.

But after Howard received the ball, he didn't have many moves facing the shrinking Yao Ming, and could only choose a short hook shot from close range.

However, compared with Yao Ming's previous hook shot, the most prominent one was like a jade throwing to attract a brick, which hit the basket hard.

Although the ball was luckily not blocked by Yao Ming, it still hit the rim and went out without any suspense.

Moreover, Yao Ming is really experienced in dealing with Howard. Basically, after Howard shoots, he turns around and blocks Howard to prevent him from jumping.

So when the rebound came out, Howard could only watch Yao Ming easily grab the defensive rebound over his head.

But the good news is that Yao Ming's grabbing of the rebound gave the Magic time to retreat, and the Bulls' defensive counterattack was no longer launched.

The two sides entered into a positional battle of offense and defense.

Nelson passed the ball directly to Rose, using all his strength to prevent Rose from breaking through again.

After seeing this, Yao Ming took the initiative to move to the high position to set up a pick-and-roll for Rose.

Nelson was blocked and Rose took the opportunity to go straight to the basket.

Nelson squeezed through the pick-and-roll and chased closely behind him, and Howard also found the right time to block the shot.

Rose was finally sandwiched like a meat bun, but after he jumped up, he looked for someone in the air and saw Yao Ming, so he passed the ball to him.

The pass was a little late, but Yao Ming moved quickly after receiving the ball and took a mid-range shot before Howard could make up for the defense.

“Swish!”

The basketball went into the net.

Howard has no idea how to deal with this kind of ball.

The Magic were unable to break free, and seeing this, Turkoglu could only signal the back team to move away and pass the ball to Bass in the low post for a single shot.

The Magic's orthodox style of play is one star and four lights, but the premise of that style of play is that Howard can have an advantage in the interior. Not to mention the kind of crushing level of interior singles, at least the attack after the pick-and-roll can directly generate points.

But up to now in the game tonight, let alone these two points, Howard has been completely suppressed by Yao Ming.

So the Magic can only look for other angles of output.

Although Buss is short, he is very strong, has strong confrontation ability and physical fitness, and has an accurate mid-range shooting ability.

Otherwise, with his height, it would be impossible for him to start in a team of the Magic's level.

Bass singled out Artest...and was unimpressed.

Artest was also strong. He was 2.01 meters tall and weighed 113 kilograms during this period, which was comparable to Bass.

Bass tried to turn around and attack, but Artest, with his rich defensive experience, had positioned himself in advance and was unable to get through.

In the end, Buss had no choice but to turn around and shoot a jump shot, but it missed the basket due to Artest's interference.

The Magic were completely silent on offense tonight.

Fortunately, Turkoglu only launched a tentative attack and had already called on his teammates to retreat, thus preventing the Bulls' defensive counterattack.

The two sides continued to fight for position.

Seeing that Nelson was still fighting with him in close combat, Rose directly called Yao Ming to the high post to continue the pick-and-roll.

Nelson tried to avoid Yao Ming's pick-and-roll consciously, but because Yao Ming was so big, he still couldn't avoid it.

Rose continued to break through Howard, but this time he was careful.

After seeing Nelson still chasing him, Rose passed the ball back to Yao Ming before he became a meat bun.

Howard was also prepared this time. When he saw Rose turning around, he rushed towards Yao Ming.

After all, one cannot fall in the same place twice.

Yao Ming raised his hand to shoot, and Howard jumped directly at him.

There was light in his eyes. With his physical condition, he would be able to catch up this time.

As long as Yao Ming appears, it means that he has regained his face.

However, Yao Ming just faked a shot, and after receiving the ball, he dribbled directly inside.

At this time, the Magic's inside line was completely defenseless.

“Bang!”

After Yao Ming broke through, he slammed the ball into the basket with a one-handed dunk.

The United Center was instantly boiling.

0 to 8!

The Bulls got off to a dream start.

Except for Xu Yong's alley-oop slam dunk at the beginning of the game, the remaining 6 points all came from Yao Ming!

When Howard saw the expression at this moment, he could only describe it in two words: helpless.

You'd rather play against the Shaq than against Yao Ming.

Yao Ming has all the abilities to defeat him: height and weight on the defensive end, and hook shots and shooting on the offensive end.

That's really like a wolf meeting a tiger, it has no temper at all.

Counting the 14 past encounters between the two, Yao Ming has a record of 12 wins and 2 losses, averaging 23.5 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game, while Howard averaged only 12 points, 9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.

This is really a real nemesis.

About 9 minutes into the first quarter, the score was 9 to 24, and both sides began to rotate.

Although Thibodeau still uses a ten-man rotation in the playoffs, the playing time of the main players is constantly increasing.

For example, when he made substitutions in the first quarter, he only replaced two people, Gibson and O'Neal in the interior, replacing Battier and Yao Ming.

The Magic had normal rotation, with Arenas, Redick, Anderson and Quentin Richardson coming on as substitutes.

However, Howard remained on the court because there was no substitute.

This period is generally a great time to travel during off-peak hours.

After the substitution, the Magic's offense was that Arenas and Anderson played pick-and-roll, and after the breakup, he shot a three-pointer directly from the outside.

Before the "General" was injured, he averaged nearly 7 three-point shots per game, which was a very high number in this era, almost on the same level as Ray Allen.

The difference is that he is better at this kind of three-pointer with the ball.

"when!"

But that was before he was injured. After being traded to the Magic this season, his three-point shooting percentage is less than 30%.

Fortunately, this ball was a long rebound. Howard has excellent rebounding sense and judgment. He jumped up and grabbed the offensive rebound, and then attacked the basket directly for the second time.

Now that Yao Ming is gone, he has to do something big!

But how could O'Neal do as he wished? He just moved his body and rushed over with his hands raised high.

The two men were in direct physical confrontation. Howard was forced to stop the ball and lowered his head and shoulders, trying to push O'Neal away like an iron hammer.

But O'Neal was too heavy, and although he was pushed back at first, he quickly pressed forward again. After the confrontation, Howard could only try to hit the rebound.

"when!"

The basketball went wide of the basket.

He couldn't score a single goal tonight.

Fortunately, the referee blew the whistle, indicating that O'Neal had committed a defensive foul, saving Howard.

O'Neal turned around and stared at the referee motionlessly, feeling full of oppression.

The referee did not change the decision.

Obviously, even if you were once a superstar, as long as you are not at the level of Jordan, you will inevitably become a supporting role after you get old.

O'Neal's face suddenly fell.

Good! Good! That's how we play it, right?

Howard made both free throws.

His free throw shooting percentage so far in this playoffs is over 70%, which is incredibly accurate.

And these two free throws finally helped the Magic team's score break 10, reaching 11 points.

During the Bulls' offense, O'Neal reached the frontcourt and took the initiative to go down to the low post and reach for the ball.

Rose quickly lobbed the ball in.

The biggest difference between O'Neal and Yao Ming is that he does not have the ability to shoot from mid-range. In addition, as he gets older, his movement speed decreases and his pick-and-roll effect is not good. Therefore, when he plays in this period, he either has to contain the defense in the interior or have to be fed the ball.

O'Neal received the ball and the Magic team did not double-team him.

Gibson has a stable mid-range shot, and the Bulls still have a lot of offensive space on the court. The Magic can either choose to give other Bulls players shooting opportunities or let Howard and O'Neal play one-on-one in the interior.

Van Gundy chose the latter. Although Howard was beaten by Yao Ming, he had no problem dealing with an old O'Neal.

Howard obviously thought so too. He was forced to stop the ball before shooting. If he really moved, O'Neal's current ability might not be able to stop him.

O'Neal dribbled the ball inward, and Howard also lowered his center of gravity to resist.

The confrontation between the two has a very classic center flavor.

After the second shot, O'Neal suddenly turned around, but Howard was already hiding there.

It is difficult for ordinary inside players to get up because their center of gravity is low, but he is a "superman".

Almost at the moment O'Neal turned around, he had already shifted his center of gravity, then aimed directly towards O'Neal's shot.

This move was as quick as a rabbit and as fast as thunder, and it seemed that he was about to perform a flying hat trick.

But who would have thought that O'Neal just made a move, turned around quickly, and then quickly shot the ball into the basket.

Howard's powerful blow hit the air and he was a little dazed when he landed.

The United Center was once again filled with the cheers of fans.

Just now they thought O'Neal was going to be blocked, but it turns out that the old man is still the best!

After scoring the goal, O'Neal gave Howard a disdainful look.

I am old and my athletic ability has declined, but what kind of athletic ability do I need to beat someone like you?

Howard also got angry when he saw O'Neal's look.

I can't beat Yao Ming, so how can I beat you, an old-fashioned guy?!

In the transition from offense to defense, Howard asked for the ball directly in the low post on the right side, and after receiving the ball, he faced O'Neal.

He made a fake move and then walked to the baseline to attack the basket.

O'Neal couldn't keep up with the pace and was penetrated by Howard into the inside.

“Bang!”

Howard violently slammed the ball into the basket with both hands.

Howard was very excited after the dunk. Not only did he beat his chest and roar, but he also did Superman's iconic flying move in front of O'Neal.

Here we have to briefly mention the history of feud between O'Neal and Howard.

In fact, Howard always respected O'Neal very much at the beginning. As a center who grew up watching O'Neal play, he always regarded O'Neal as an idol and was eager to get O'Neal's recognition.

But since the 2008 Slam Dunk Contest, O'Neal has publicly complained about Howard because of his Superman nickname.

That’s right, these were the words he had muttered to Xu Yong.

After that, O'Neal was also unhappy with Howard and publicly criticized Howard for his rough skills.

Although O'Neal is very funny, he is essentially a narrow-minded person, otherwise he would not have had such a big fight with Kobe.

So now that his former idol is no longer around, Howard is trying hard to prove himself in front of O'Neal.

With the previous shot, Howard finally earned face for himself, so he was really hurtful, and the only thing he lacked was some trash talk that would force O'Neal to retire.

O'Neill's face was terribly gloomy.

In the transition from offense to defense, he continued to ask for the ball in the low post.

Rose also continued to pass the ball in. O'Neal had just scored a goal, so there was no reason not to continue passing the ball in.

Richardson wanted to move back to help defend, but Howard called him back.

The two continued to play one-on-one in the interior.

O'Neal's playing style at this time was obviously different from the previous round. After turning his back to the basket, he put all his strength into the attack.

Howard also showed no sign of weakness. If he retreated at this time, he would seem like a coward.

O'Neal finally turned to the free throw line, then made an obvious stop and exert force, and finally rose from the ground against Howard.

Just like an erupting volcano that could not be stopped, Howard was flipped over.

“Bang!”

Then, it was the first powerful two-handed dunk.

The huge figure instantly bent the basket a lot.

There was a burst of exclamations at the scene.

In a trance, the fans seemed to have gone back to ten years ago, when the Big Shark was wreaking havoc in the league.

At that time, O'Neal was nicknamed "Basket Quality Inspector". It was common for him to break the basket by dunking, and he even knocked the entire basket down by dunking.

It was also at that time that O'Neal was nicknamed "Superman" by fans.

What's even more terrifying is that O'Neal still had no expression on his face after completing the dunk.

Obviously, Howard's action just now could not be solved by a dunk.

At this time, it was the last attack of the first quarter.

"Defend! Defend!"

The emotions of the fans at the United Center have been aroused by O'Neal's dunk just now, and the cheers at the scene are overwhelming.

Howard was still very tough. He did not back down after being dunked on. On the offensive end, he continued to hold the ball and face off against O'Neal.

At this time, we have to discuss the importance of idols. The new stars who grew up in this era, such as O'Neal and Kobe, still have very strong kneecaps.

Howard used the same trick again, but this time O'Neal retreated to the basket early.

He knew Howard's hook shot technique was clumsy, so he just had to guard against his dunk.

Facts have proved that O'Neal's choice was very correct. Howard's way to the basket was blocked. He wanted to push O'Neal away but couldn't do it. He could only use the turning and rebounding technique, which he was not good at, before the time was up.

But at the moment he made the shot, O'Neal suddenly jumped up from the ground.

It's hard to imagine that the 39-year-old O'Neal can still jump like this.

But it seemed that since the last round, the remaining energy in O'Neal's body burst out completely.

"Bang!"

In front of the stunned eyes of the fans again, O'Neal blocked the shot at the buzzer in front of Howard!

The United Center went haywire.

Xu Yong also ran into the inside at this time and had a thrilling chest bump with O'Neal.

Dunking on the offensive end and blocking the ball on the defensive end, the 39-year-old O'Neal was performing a real "Return of Superman" in front of the 25-year-old Howard!

Poor Howard. He was pinned to the ground by Yao Ming for most of the quarter. When he thought he could finally travel during the off-peak hours, he was taught a lesson by O'Neal again.

This is really a Yao-Sha relay, mixed doubles, giving you a complete career!