The Rockets have won 4 games in a row and are ranked 5th! There is 4 more good news after the game, Uduka is enlightened

The Rockets defeated the Mavericks 110:102 at home, extending their winning streak to four games. The starting lineups of both sides in this game have been adjusted due to injuries. The Rockets started with Amen Thompson, Okogie, Durant, Ethan and Shen Jing. The Mavericks sent a starting combination of Flagg, Christie, Klay Thompson, Washington and Gafford. Core insider Anthony Davis and other players missed this game due to injuries.

One, the battle is fierce, and the rocket skills are superior.

The two sides fell into a fierce battle at the beginning of the first quarter, with the score rising alternately and never widening the gap. Flagg, the new top pick of the Mavericks, showed strong adaptability and used his physical advantage to succeed in singles many times, becoming the team's main offensive focus. The Rockets focused on attacking inside, with Shen Jing moving around inside to create damage, and Durant occasionally broke into the penalty area to score in response. After the first quarter, the Mavericks led by 4 points at 28:24 with a slightly better touch.

The Rockets sounded the counterattack horn in the second quarter, and Amen Thompson suddenly broke out, hitting consecutive layups and mid-range jumpers, contributing 12 points in a single quarter to open up the game. Shen Jing was fully activated in the interior. He could not only defeat opponents with back-up singles, but also send precise passes to activate the team. Under his connection, the Rockets launched an 11:2 attack wave to directly overtake the score. Although the Mavericks' Washington was in hot form and continued to rely on mid-range jumpers to catch up with the point difference, the Rockets relied on their overall offensive to win by 7 points at 34:27, and at halftime they overtook the score to 58:55.

In the third quarter, the intensity of the confrontation reached a higher level. The Mavericks used both internal and external forces at the same time. Christie's three-pointer and Gafford's inside dunk once led the score. At the critical moment, Rockets substitute Holiday stood up and received an assist from Shen Jing and hit a three-pointer to extend his life. Then Ethan and Adams completed dunks successively, and the team launched a 9:0 offensive to stabilize the situation. In this section, the two sides went back and forth, refusing to give in to each other, and finally tied at 23:23. The Rockets maintained a weak lead at 81:78 and entered the final battle.

In the decisive moment of the fourth quarter, the Rockets took the lead. Durant's free throws and Shen Jing's hook scored 5 points in a row, opening the game to 8:2 to expand their advantage. But then Shepard made a series of mistakes and strikes. The Mavericks seized the opportunity. Russell assisted Klay Thompson and hit a three-pointer. Washington also succeeded in a strong attack and instantly narrowed the point difference to 1 point. The hearts of the home fans were in their throats. At the critical moment, Shen Jing stepped forward and hit a throw-in after rolling around the basket. Then Durant hit a key three-pointer, completely extinguishing the Mavericks' counterattack momentum. In the end, the Rockets won the final quarter 29:24 and sealed the victory 110:102.

Second, the Rockets showed an overwhelming advantage at the basic data level and became a key support for victory.

In the battle for rebounds, the Rockets led by a large margin 54:39, creating more second-attack opportunities for the team; in terms of field goal percentage, the Rockets' 46% was slightly higher than the Mavericks' 45%, a slight advantage that turned into the final victory. In the free throw session, the Rockets led with 20:13 shots and a hit rate of 67%. Although the three-pointers were slightly inferior at 8:9, the Rockets made 8 of 29 shots and a 28% hit rate, which was still higher than the Mavericks' 9 of 36 shots and a 25% performance.

In terms of other statistics, the Mavericks only had the upper hand in assists (30:23) and steals (12:9); while the Rockets had the upper hand in blocks (7:6). Although they made slightly more mistakes (17:15), they controlled the rhythm of the game with fewer fouls (17:25). Overall, the Rockets comprehensively suppressed their opponents in the core dimensions of basic data, laying a solid foundation for their 4-game winning streak.

Three, there are four exciting news for the fans after this victory.

The first good news is that Amen Thompson has completely faded away from his youth and has become the team's reliable core defender. Before the game, some people were worried that the young player would have stage fright in key games. As a result, he gave the best response by shooting 11 of 18 from the field and scoring 27 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. He scored 20 points in the first half, especially his consecutive breakthrough scores in the second quarter, which directly ignited the atmosphere at home. On the offensive end, he can not only break through the defense with the ball, but also make accurate jump shots from the mid-range; on the defensive end, he is even more unambiguous. Behind the data of 1 steal and 1 block is his personal defense of the opponent's core players. At the end of the fourth quarter, it was his key block on Flagg that stopped the Mavericks from chasing points. Now Amen is no longer a newcomer who needs to be guided by his seniors, but an offensive and defensive hub that can stand alone in tough battles.

The second good news is that Shen Jing has officially entered the ranks of superstars and has become a well-deserved inside pillar of the Rockets. During the 39 minutes of playing time, he almost never rested, and kept dealing with the opponent's muscle jungle in the paint. He finally handed over "20+10+5" comprehensive data of 26 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists. Such a performance is extremely rare among insiders in the league, especially the responsibility at critical moments, which fully demonstrates the value of the core players. When the point difference was narrowed to 1 point in the fourth quarter, everyone thought the Rockets would hand the ball to Durant. As a result, Shen Jing withstood the two defenders under the basket and broke the deadlock with a difficult floater. This goal not only scored points, but also stabilized the mentality of the team. The only small regret is that he made 6 of 11 free throws. If he can improve in this area, his performance will be almost perfect.

The third good news is that Ethan has successfully filled the vacancy, allowing the Rockets' rotation depth to reach another level. Ethan, who was originally a substitute, only got the chance to start because Jabari Smith was injured. As a result, he completely seized this opportunity. In 29 minutes, he made 6 of 9 shots and scored 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block. The most surprising thing is his three-point shooting. He hit 3 of 5 with a shooting percentage of 60%. You must know that his three-point shooting percentage remained above 57% in the first 5 games of the season. Now he has become one of the team's most reliable outside forts.. In the past, everyone always regarded Ethan as a defensive blue collar, but now his outside shooting has been completely opened up. Not only can he score by himself, but he can also attract opponents to defend and create inside space for Shen Jing and Durant. With such players filling in, even if a player is injured later, the Rockets' rotation will not be disrupted.

The fourth good news is also the most critical point - the Rockets finally got rid of the "single-core dependence" and achieved true multi-point flowering. Durant's condition was obviously poor in this game. He made only 6 of 18 shots and 2 of 8 three-pointers. Although he finally scored 21 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists with free throws and key goals, his efficiency was far lower than usual. In the past, the Rockets with poor core status would have a high probability of losing, but this game is completely different. Amen, Shen Jing, and Ethan took turns to step up and score. Even if the core feels cold, the team can still win. This is what a strong team should look like. There is no need to put all the pressure on one person. Everyone can contribute at critical moments. This kind of team combat effectiveness is far more terrifying than a single-core team leader.

In addition, in addition to the performance of the core players, the Rockets' role players also played an important role in the game, contributing to the victory in their own ways. Although Okogie performed well on the offensive end and only scored 2 points on free throws on 0-for-5 shooting, his defensive contribution completely covered up his offensive shortcomings. Throughout the game, he was mainly responsible for guarding the Mavericks' scorer Christie. With his strong physical confrontation and precise judgment, Christie made many mistakes. In the end, he only scored 17 points, which was far below his average. The coach keeps him on the court because he values ​​his defensive ability of "not losing position". Steals and blocking at critical moments are more valuable than scoring 2 points.

Holiday's performance is also worthy of recognition. He scored 6 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist. Although the statistics are not impressive, the three-pointer assisted by Shen Jing in the third quarter can be called a "life-extending ball." At that time, the Mavericks had just overtaken the score and their morale was high. Holiday's three-pointer directly extinguished the opponent's momentum and allowed the Rockets to regain control of the rhythm of the game. This "key ball ability" is the best embodiment of the value of role players.

Inside substitutes Adams and Capela perfectly interpret "blue-collar value." Adams had 4 points, 9 rebounds and 1 assist, and Capela had 4 points and 8 rebounds. The two together grabbed 17 rebounds, accounting for one-third of the team's total rebounds. Adams, in particular, has repeatedly caused fouls by fighting with his opponents under the basket and winning free throw opportunities for the team. His physical confrontation and positioning skills are an important guarantee for the Rockets' rebounding advantage. Although Shepard made a mistake in the fourth quarter, his performance of 5 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists was quite satisfactory. As a substitute point guard, he completed the series task well.

Looking at the Mavericks, although 5 players scored in double figures, the unbalanced performance of the core players became the key to losing. The best performer was Washington, who made 11 of 20 shots from the field and scored 29 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists. Both ends of the offense and defense worked to the extreme, especially in the third quarter, many singles scored to help the team bite the score, which was the only highlight of the Mavericks. Christie scored 17 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists. His performance was quite satisfactory, but he was unable to exert his full strength under Okogie's defense.

The performance of Gafford and Flagg was also considered qualified. Gafford scored 14 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist, and completed many dunks in the paint. Flagg made 5 of 10 shots and scored 12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Unfortunately, he failed to score a single point in the second half and missed out on helping the team chase points. Subsequently, he was restricted by the Rockets' targeted defense and failed to continue to contribute firepower to the team. The most disappointing thing is that Russell, while providing 12 assists in the game, made only 2 of 10 field goals. He made many passing mistakes at critical moments and completely failed to show the value of the core point guard. Although Klay Thompson scored 10 points, he only made 3 of 10 shots as a shooter and 2 of 6 three-pointers, which was far from the expected level.

After winning this victory, the Rockets' winning streak came to 4 games. The team's morale is strong and they are getting closer and closer to the goal of the top four in the Western Conference. In the Western Conference standings before the game, the Lakers were ranked third with 5 wins and 2 losses, and the Trail Blazers were ranked fourth with 4 wins and 2 losses, and these two teams happened to be facing off head-to-head that day. As the Nuggets won and moved up to fourth place, the Lakers defeated the Trail Blazers and the Rockets rushed into the top five in the Western Conference.

In this game, Uluka's tactical adjustment was the key to helping the Rockets win. In this game, Uluka's tactical adjustments were critical. He seized on the weakness of the Mavericks inside and insisted on letting Shen Jing lead the inside attack, and combined with Amen Thompson's breakthrough, he continued to cause damage. When the point difference was reduced to 1 point in the fourth quarter, he adjusted the defensive strategy in time, using zone defense to limit the opponent's outside, and at the same time arranged for Durant and Shen Jing to take over the key ball. The entire set of tactics was extremely targeted, completely revitalizing the team and becoming an invisible contributor to the win.