At the end of the first half, the score between the two teams was fixed at 24 to 30.
The Devils trailed by six points at halftime.
Stanford University was able to achieve a perfect record and they have strong response capabilities.
After the Devils made consecutive zone plays, they quickly switched to man-to-man defense.
At this time, the Devils couldn't make shots from the outside, and the Lopez brothers could sink to the basket when switching defense, making it difficult for the Devils to grab offensive rebounds.
Although the Devils' defense still did a good job, they were unable to tie the score.
However, this result is acceptable to both parties.
The Cardinals contained the Devils' counterattack, while the Devils relied on defense and rebounding to narrow the gap a lot.
During the half-time break, the players returned to the locker room one after another.
It was at this time that someone noticed that Harden had not returned yet.
Sandek didn't mention Harden when he came in to arrange the tactics.
It was not until the halftime break when the players returned to the court that they discovered that Harden had stayed on the court to practice three-pointers.
It can be seen that he is anxious to get his outside touch back.
After seeing this, Xu Yong went over and patted Harden on the shoulder: "Don't put too much psychological pressure on yourself. Your mentality will affect your shooting."
A big reason why you can’t score when you are behind is that your mentality has changed.
In history, when Harden led the Rockets to fight against the Warriors, the Rockets made 0 of 27 three-pointers, and mentality was a major factor.
Although [the Warriors did not step out of bounds] and [they played five against eight], there were actually many wide open spaces.
Harden nodded and put down the basketball in his hand.
He was so smart, of course he knew this, but when Xu Yong told him this, the effect was completely different.
After the game in the first half, his trust in Xu Yong has reached a new level.
After sitting back on the bench, he took a deep breath to relax himself.
Soon, the half-time break came and the game continued.
Brook Lopez returned to the second half and continued his attack in the low post.
Xu Yong chose to double-team, and Brook Lopez chose to turn to the baseline and shoot a fadeaway jump shot.
This choice exposed his weakness. In fact, it could be seen when Xu Yong was double-teaming in the first half that he was not good at dealing with double-teaming.
At this time, it is obviously better to quickly pass the ball to Robin Lopez under the basket than to make this difficult shooting choice.
Brook Lopez's final shot went wide of the rim, and Ayers turned around and grabbed the defensive rebound.
The Cardinals' first attack in the second half was defended!
The Devils continued their defensive performance from the first half and now had a chance to close the gap even further.
Many home fans subconsciously looked up at the score.
A 6-point difference is not safe at all.
In the transition from offense to defense, the Cardinals continued to play man-to-man defense, and the Lopez brothers continued to stay in the blue line.
Glaser got the opportunity to shoot from the outside at the 45-degree angle on the left side.
The ball still hit the edge of the basket and bounced out, but Ayers seized the opportunity to grab the long offensive rebound.
Even after the halftime break, the Devils were still working hard on defense and fighting for rebounds.
Ayers passed the ball to Xu Yong on the outside. After seeing Gus coming to defend, Xu Yong quickly passed the ball to Harden at the top of the arc.
Harden's chance.
He adjusted his rhythm and then took a three-point shot.
From his expression, you can tell that he is very calm at this moment.
Moreover, the consistency of his shots was significantly better than in the first half.
The basketball flew through the air and drew a high parabola...
“Swish!”
Hole through the mesh bag!
Harden hit the Devils' first three-pointer of the second half and the night!
After scoring the goal, Harden pointed at Xu Yong.
The fans at the scene were very agitated.
27 to 30!
The score difference has reached 3 points, a difference of one goal!
The Devil's bench was in an uproar; the Devil's team had finally waited for the moment when their touch returned!
In the transition, the Devils' defense was still excellent, but Anthony Gus's cut-in layup allowed the Cardinals to continue scoring.
This goal also caused the silent fans at the scene to burst into loud cheers.
The Cardinals' advantage is the twin towers in the interior, but they have more than just the twin towers. When the twin towers are restraining the defense, the team's outside core Gus begins to stand out.
"Defend! Defend!"
Led by the on-site DJ, the fans also began to cheer for the home team in unison.
It is not easy to conquer Stanford University, a holy place for the rich and powerful.
The Devils used a "bullhorn" tactic, but the Cardinals players showed defensive intensity amid the shouts, and even the Lopez brothers tried their best to move their legs to make up for the defense, no longer giving the Devils easy chances to shoot.
Seeing that the offensive time was running out, Harden saw that it was Brook Lopez who was defending him, so he asked for the ball and directly signaled to move out and play against a bigger opponent.
Lopez defended in the inside position because he knew the damage Harden could cause through his breakthrough.
Seeing this, Harden dribbled to the back frame and made a breakthrough gesture. After a fake breakthrough, he quickly collected the ball and then took a three-point shot.
The three-pointer he made earlier clearly boosted his shooting confidence.
Lopez was very slow, and was forced to lean back by Harden's fake move. He couldn't move forward anymore, and it was as if he was frozen in place. He could only watch Harden take the three-pointer.
“Swish!”
The basketball fell into the pocket again!
Harden made consecutive three-pointers!
He missed a single three-pointer in the first half, but made two in a row at the beginning of the second half.
After Harden made the shot, he looked fierce and this time he went straight to Xu Yong and high-fived him to celebrate.
Everything Xu Yong said is right. No one will always miss a shot!
Not only Harden, but all the players of the Devils team had a strong psychological suggestion in their hearts that their touch was recovering and they could complete the reversal.
Sandek also looked at Xu Yong unconsciously. Appointing Xu Yong as the captain was the best thing he had done.
Gus's shot again missed, but Robin Lopez grabbed the offensive rebound and earned two free throws.
The Cardinals lived up to their label as a strong team and were not thrown into disarray by the Devils' resurgent three-point shooting.
Robin Lopez made one of two free throws, and the Cardinals still led by 3 points.
"Defend! Defend!"
And the shouts from the audience once again resounded throughout the stadium.
At this time, Xu Yong took the initiative to step forward to set a screen for Harden, and it was a hard screen without any separation. His purpose was to send Robin Lopez to Harden again.
After the success, he also signaled to his teammates to create space for Harden to play one-on-one.
As a reborn person, he knows very well what it will be like when Harden gets his touch from the outside and faces the opponent's inside line.
The desire in Harden's eyes is getting stronger and stronger. After his poor performance in the last crucial game and being looked down upon by Sports Illustrated, he really needs a good performance to prove himself!
With continuous fake changes of direction and breakthroughs, Lopez's center of gravity swayed uncontrollably like seaweed.
Seizing the moment when Lopez's body leaned to the right, Harden suddenly accelerated and broke through to the left.
Lopez also tried to retreat to the left.
But the next second, Harden pulled the ball back with his left hand and quickly retreated outside the three-point line.
The two had a physical confrontation during this process, and Lopez lost his balance and fell to the ground with a thump.
The fans at the scene were simply stunned.
Lopez was actually knocked down by Harden!
This is not the first time Harden has dribbled past someone. In the opening game against the University of Arizona, he dribbled past McLellan.
But this time the visual effect of the shaking was far better than the previous one.
Because this happened when the two teams were in a stalemate, it had a huge impact on the morale of both sides.
Moreover, Harden did not shoot immediately after shaking off Lopez. Instead, he stood there and looked at Lopez. After Lopez stood up, he took a three-point shot.gif!
From this choice, one can clearly feel that he is in a relaxed state of mind at the moment.
The result of relaxing was that the basketball fell into the pocket again.
Harden made three consecutive three-pointers!
The Cardinals reached out and called a timeout.
Harden was really excited this time. He ran up to Xu Yong and bumped his chest with him.
Xu Yong also had a smile on his face, because at this time he was convinced of Harden's change.