NBA’s aging star system

Su Tian's timely response allowed Su Tian to seize an excellent opportunity, but at the same time, it also made Paul confused.

"How did he know that I was going to steal? It shouldn't have been? Did I do it very covertly?"

But obviously there is no answer to Paul's question.

In the next few rounds, Paul still habitually held the ball by himself, trying to direct his teammates to move.

But Harden has begun to take the initiative to ask for the ball. Paul cannot pretend not to see it. He can only pass the ball to Harden according to the coach's arrangement and become a dribbling defender.

Harden is naturally capable, and the Rockets have a certain level of strength under Harden's leadership, but compared with the Lakers who are in full form, they are still not good enough.

Halfway through the third quarter, the point difference had reached double digits. Su Tian rested relieved, leaving Butler and George on the court.

When the Rockets saw Su Tian off the court, they quickly asked Paul to play a few games with the ball, so that Harden could take a break and regain his strength.

But Harden had just rested for two minutes when George and Butler's joint bombing came.

Although George and Butler are not as good as Su Tian, ​​they are also undisputed All-Star players. If the two cooperate with each other, the Rockets have no chance of coming back.

As a result, the double-digit point difference remained until the end of the third quarter.

At this time, Harden was sitting on the bench panting. Although he was very tired, Harden's eyes were focused on the score on the court, and he glanced at Su Tian on the Lakers bench from time to time.

At this time, Su Tian's leisurely appearance on the bench was in sharp contrast to Harden.

Harden usually seems to be playful and carefree, but in fact Harden has a heart that refuses to admit defeat.

Especially after the Lakers formed the Big Three this season, Harden feels that he is no worse than Su Tian, ​​but there is a gap in the lineup and he is unlucky.

Then Harden turned to look at the teammates around him. Only one Paul could be considered an All-Star, and the others had nothing to say.

However, Harden seems to have forgotten that last season, Su Tian led a bottom-ranking Lakers lineup and could still defeat the current Rockets.

Soon, the fourth quarter begins.

Facing the double-digit score difference in the fourth quarter, Harden didn't have much confidence.

The main reason is that Harden is too familiar with Su Tian. It is because he is so familiar that he knows what Su Tian looks like when he breaks out in the fourth quarter.

The first possession of the fourth quarter was given to the Rockets, and Harden advanced to the frontcourt with the ball.

Harden's move was naturally to protect the ball, but it was Su Tian who was facing Harden at this time.

So Su Tian directly stepped forward to press and defend, using the death coil skill. Harden also felt very uncomfortable and could only barely protect the basketball from being stolen.

Seeing that he couldn't deal with Su Tian by himself, Harden could only call his teammates to come over and help.

With the help of his teammates, Harden finally got rid of Su Tian's defense temporarily and immediately passed the ball to his teammates to get the basketball going.

Although Harden temporarily got rid of Su Tian's defense, Harden basically couldn't think of any more performance in the next few rounds.

Under Su Tian's full defense, Harden's performance was completely different from before.

On the offensive end, Su Tian continuously broke through Harden's defense, and the contrast between the two's offense and defense was very obvious.

And because it was already the fourth quarter, Su Tian also increased the proportion of his shots, which made Harden's defense even more ineffective.

Five minutes into the fourth quarter, D'Antoni called a timeout. At this time, Su Tian had controlled the point difference to 5 points. The Rockets had little chance, but looking at Harden's expression, it was obvious that he would not give up so easily.

So D'Antoni thought for a while, and finally decided to replace all the main players, preparing to face the Lakers head-on for the last time.

As for the Lakers, it's even easier. With George and Butler, the Big Three Lakers can directly overwhelm the Rockets.

After substitutions and adjustments, players from both sides took the field again.

This time it was Su Tian's turn to whisper to Harden.

"James, who did you say loses before?"

Seeing Su Tian's proud expression, Harden was so angry that his teeth itched.

But Harden is also a player who wants face, and he can only get it back on the court.

So Harden held the ball again, faced Butler, and after dribbling continuously under his hips, he suddenly stepped back and shot a three-pointer.

Swah——

Harden, who was still sluggish just now, suddenly became tough after changing defenders, and looked at Su Tian provocatively.

But Su Tian smiled slightly and did not respond. Instead, he advanced to the frontcourt with the ball.

After coming to the frontcourt this time, Su Tian faced Paul's defense and actually made the same choice as Harden.

After continuous dribbling at the hip, he suddenly stepped sideways and shot a three-pointer.

Swah——

Su Tian also hit a three-pointer.

"James, I can do everything you know, but you can't learn what I know."

Okay, Harden, who was feeling better just now, once again fell into Su Tian's shadow.

In the next few rounds, under Butler's defense, Harden occasionally performed, but could never catch up with the score difference.

And Su Tian had already started passing the ball to drive his teammates, otherwise the point difference would have exceeded 20 points.

In the end, the Rockets took the initiative to replace the main players and announced their surrender.

120-101, the Lakers easily defeated the Rockets.

As the Rockets' first scoring point, Harden scored a near-triple-double with 32 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds.

Chris Paul, as the team's only All-Star player, scored 14 points, 9 assists and 1 rebound. His statistics were average, but after all, he is old, and everyone can understand it.

Except for Paul and Harden, only Gordon scored in double figures, and no other player scored in double figures.

而湖人这边，苏天全场拿到27分12助攻7篮板3抢断，乔治全场拿到25分6助攻7篮板，巴特勒本场主要负责防守哈登，得分稍微少一些，拿到18分5助攻5篮板。

After the game, Harden and Su Tian returned to the state of good brothers.

Su Tian took the initiative to come to the Rockets' bench and hugged Harden.

"James, you played well. If you keep working hard, you will surpass me soon."

"go away."

"Ha ha ha ha."

After the game against the Rockets, the Lakers had unknowingly created a feat of 28 consecutive victories. Naturally, the reporters at the scene would not let this opportunity pass by.

"Su, first of all, congratulations on bringing your winning streak to 28 games. What's your comment on Harden's performance in this game?"

The reporter asked Su Tian to evaluate his good brother. Su Tian naturally would not lose face.

"There is no doubt that James is the only core of the Rockets. The Rockets with James are a real championship team. However, Harden still has areas that need to be strengthened. I hope he can get better."

"Then, will the Lakers continue their winning streak at the beginning?"

"This depends on the specific arrangements of the team. I completely follow the coach's arrangements."