dognovel Chapter 93 Current vs. Ex, Wang Xiucheng vs. Harden, vs. Griffin!
Chapter 93 Current vs. Ex, Wang Xiucheng vs. Harden, vs. Griffin!
The Rockets defeated the Pelicans in their home game two days later.
With Zion Williamson sidelined for the season, Brandon Ingram couldn't carry the team alone, scoring a season-high 40 points but failing to secure a victory.
The Rockets had a balanced attack in this game, with seven players scoring in double figures. The Pelicans didn't win a single quarter of the game.
The Rockets ultimately defeated the visiting Pelicans 118-108.
王修承出战33分钟，9投5中，其中三分球4投2中，拿下12分14助攻，还有3个抢断。
Three days later, the Rockets welcomed the Nets, who had Harden on their roster.
Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta brought his son Patrick to the stadium to watch the game, accompanied by Stone.
In fact, Fertitta often watches games at home, but since the team is tanking and performing poorly, he is afraid of being booed by the fans, so he always watches the games from a VIP box.
Now that the Rockets have won six straight games, Fertitta finally dared to appear on the court.
Even so, many fans still booed the stingy owner before the game started.
When Harden appeared on the court during the player introductions, the fans stood up and applauded the former Rockets king.
The big screen even played a short film that was half a minute long, featuring all of Harden's highlights during his time with the Rockets while wearing a red jersey.
All the Rockets players, including Wang Xiucheng, stood on the sidelines and applauded.
Old Gordon seemed to remember something, and his eyes even reddened slightly.
Harden was unusually moved, clutching his heart and nodding in response to the applause from the crowd.
He has so many wonderful memories and so many regrets at this stadium.
He's setting off again, all for that trophy he was so close to winning.
He promised himself that he would return to Houston as soon as he won a championship trophy.
He wants to retire with the Rockets, and his jersey will be hung in the rafters of this stadium.
As long as I get that damn trophy!
Harden feels he has a great chance this year, as the Nets not only have him, but also Irving, Durant, and Aldridge.
He doesn't care if people say he's forming a clique; he's not the first, and he won't be the last.
After the short film ended, Harden took a deep breath, buried all his emotions, and sat back on the bench.
The lights suddenly dimmed, and the host began introducing the Rockets' roster.
Starting with the substitutes, one by one, it quickly came down to the Rockets' starting lineup for today.
Tate, Matthews, Shen Jing, and old Gordon.
At this moment, the host suddenly shouted "wang" and then drew out the sound.
It took a good five or six seconds before the host called out, "Wang...Xiu...Cheng..."
In the darkness, a beam of light suddenly shone on the substitute bench, where a man was sitting cross-legged on a chair, head down, arms resting on the chair on either side.
The cheers from the fans suddenly grew louder, and were even mixed with the piercing screams of many women.
The man raised his head, revealing a face that no woman could resist.
Wang Xiucheng stood up, stretched out his hands, and gave high-fives to his teammates on both sides.
The lights blazed on at that moment, illuminating the entire venue once again as if it were daytime.
Harden looked at Wang Xiucheng, who was surrounded by fans, in surprise, and listened to the cheers of the entire stadium. He could hardly believe it.
There was a time when this kind of treatment was ours alone.
But now, Houston seems to have found a new favorite.
Yes, for Houston Rockets fans, Harden is a thing of the past.
And Wang Xiucheng is the new king!
It's the new darling of the entire city!
It's the future of Houston!
The poll about who the cornerstone of Houston is, which is still posted on the official website, is now pretty much a foregone conclusion.
Wang Xiucheng led Green by a wide margin with more than half the votes cast.
Fertitta stood and applauded, extremely satisfied with the impact Wang Xiucheng had brought.
Whether it's the feedback from fans, the commercial value, or Wang Xiucheng's own cornerstone status, Fertitta feels that this is the most successful business deal he has made in recent years.
As Stone clapped, he felt the fans' excessive affection for Wang Xiucheng and thought to himself that he was still pretty amazing.
Wang Xiucheng was a rising star selected during my term. Yes, I am the general manager, so this matter is naturally related to me.
The referees did a routine check of their equipment. One referee even went under the basketball hoop and pushed it a bit, worried that Wang Xiucheng might break the hoop with his dunks like last time.
The players from both sides took their places on the field.
The Nets' starting lineup consisted of Harden, Bembry, James Johnson, Claxton, and Mills.
Durant and Aldridge will be resting for this game, and Irving will be out due to injury, but the Nets are still considered the favorites.
After all, no matter how you look at it, the Rockets are no match for the Nets.
This is also why the Nets dared to rest two key players.
However, the Rockets gave the Nets a rude awakening right from the start of the game.
From the very beginning, Gordon seemed to be full of energy. Looking at the former team leader who had now become his opponent, Gordon responded time and time again with his actions.
In the first quarter, Gordon scored 15 points, and with only one star player, the Nets naturally relied on isolation plays as their main strategy.
This is actually a good thing for the Rockets' defense.
Silas did not assign Wang Xiucheng to guard Harden, and Wang Xiucheng has never been good at defense.
Tate, with his superior defense, was matched up against Harden.
But Harden is Harden after all, the player with the most one-on-one plays in the entire league.
Thanks to Harden's isolation plays, the Nets trailed the Rockets by only 7 points at the end of the first quarter, 23-30.
However, the Nets fell behind and only managed to close the gap to 7 points thanks to Harden's successful isolation plays in the final few possessions.
Wang Xiucheng didn't attempt a shot in the first quarter, but under his orchestration, the Rockets' offense flowed smoothly, and Wang Xiucheng easily racked up 5 assists.
At the start of the second quarter, the Rockets substituted in a bench lineup led by Wood.
Porter Jr.'s injury during practice has made Wood the primary scorer off the bench once again.
In 5 minutes of playing time, Wood scored 7 points and grabbed 7 rebounds, keeping the Rockets in the lead.
Both sides then began to focus their main forces on the task at hand.
In this quarter, Christopher was on fire, hitting three-pointers one after another after receiving passes from Wang Xiucheng.
At one point, the Rockets led by more than 20 points.
The Nets were so overwhelmed that they had to call a timeout.
The Nets then brought in Griffin, seemingly starting to focus on their inside game.
Wang Xiucheng looked at Griffin and couldn't help but laugh.
Another one of Jenner's ex-boyfriends.
This can be considered a battle between the current partner and the ex!
The Nets' substitutions were effective. With Griffin in the paint, Harden repeatedly scored for the Nets by setting screens and feeding them easy baskets.
With two minutes left in the first half, the Nets went on a 12-0 run, closing the gap to just 10 points.
The Rockets beat the Nets 62-52.
Harden clapped and encouraged the Nets players, saying, "Pay attention to defense."
Shen Jing rubbed his chest, where a burning pain was felt.
Griffin had just elbowed him in the chest, which forced Shen Jing to take several steps back, allowing Griffin to dunk.
Wang Xiucheng reached out his hand, and Shen Jing tossed the ball to him before running forward.
When Shen Jing passed by, Wang Xiucheng patted Shen Jing's buttocks and then dribbled the ball forward behind Shen Jing.
Wang Xiucheng did not defend Harden, but Harden was matched up against Wang Xiucheng.
At his level, it's no wonder he's after the reward of tens of thousands of dollars.
He genuinely wanted to steal the ball from Wang Xiucheng.
Griffin isn't the only one whose current partner is facing off against their ex.
Wang Xiucheng and Harden are also a current vs. former player.