217: 103: Opportunities only come once or twice (Two-in-one, asking for monthly tickets!)_4 217: 103: Opportunities only come once or twice (Two-in-one, asking for monthly tickets!)_4 Because the Rockets put on a multi-faceted performance today.
In the first quarter, Olajuwon continued to cause trouble in the paint.
In the second quarter, when Olajuwon’s hands were not as smooth, Drexler stepped up.
He had a hot hand, and many of the shots that Roger had already covered, Drexler could still make.
The balding man, who had been casually reading the “Wall Street Journal” before the game, was a completely different figure on the court.
His championship heart was racing like mad; he knew he had a mission to carry out, and he was determined to retain the championship for his home team.
Indeed, the less talkative Drexler before the game was the strongest Drexler.
When he was talkative before a game, you knew he was about to lay a big one.
Through the entire second quarter, Drexler scored 11 points, and Marv Albert cheered for him: “Tonight’s Clyde seems to have turned back the clock by 10 years, trying to fly over all the young men blocking his way.
He wants a championship ring so badly!”
In the locker room during the halftime break, Roger raged, “No need to switch defenders, I can handle him!”
In the third quarter, with Roger’s aggressive initiatives and Mad Dog-like entanglement, Drexler finally became subdued, and Olajuwon couldn’t find his usual touch either, performing quite ordinarily.
When a team’s two stars are both contained, one would think the game would be over from there.
But just as the Magic had acknowledged, this season’s Houston Rockets were one of the toughest teams to beat in NBA history.
Kenny Smith stood out in the third quarter, he repeatedly drove to the hoop and shot with accuracy, constantly causing trouble for the Magic team.
Previously in the parking lot, Kenny Smith was quite nervous, so nervous he couldn’t even close the car door properly.
But the coach’s inspirational talk and the perfect team atmosphere allowed Kenny Smith to be fully engaged in battle the moment he stepped on the court, forgetting all the nervousness and fear.
That’s the power of the team, and that’s why the Rockets have made it this far.
Kenny Smith scored 10 points in a single quarter, and the Rockets entered the fourth with a slim one-point deficit!
At this point, Roger had already racked up 31 points, and a third consecutive 40+ points in the finals seemed almost within reach.
Marv Albert started to explain just how impressive this potential statistic was: “Even Jerry West, who averaged 40.6 points throughout the entire 1965 playoffs, achieved 40+ in back-to-back finals games at most.
Aside from Michael Jordan, no player has been able to dominate in the finals to this extent!”
But Roger didn’t care about those stats, he just wanted to win.
The Rockets’ tenacity wasn’t surprising; this was their state in a do-or-die game.
Everyone was a soldier; anyone could explode.
The atmosphere had heated up to the point where even a baguette could pull off a turnaround jumper, let alone the Rockets’ role players who were already capable.
In the fourth quarter, Olajuwon started attacking the paint more frequently.
After cooling down in the second and third quarters, he finally found his offensive rhythm again, performing magic inside the paint.
On the other hand, Roger was caught in a fierce double-team.
Tomjanovich changed his strategy in the fourth quarter: aside from Dream, everyone was to double-team Roger the instant he received the ball, not allowing him an easy shot.
This, however, provided opportunities for Shaq.
After Roger drew the defense, O’Neal finally didn’t have to face such brutal double-teams.
O’Neal went head-to-head with Olajuwon in the fourth quarter, refusing to back down on the offensive end.
He knew his grandmother in Odessa was watching him on TV, and he also knew this might be his last chance to win a championship with her witness—the doctors had made it clear she couldn’t last past 1995, and it was already halfway through the year.
So, Shaq pulled out all the stops to overcome Dream.
He had to do it, had to let his grandmother see him win a championship with her own eyes!
With Shaq’s offense, the Magic did not falter.
As for Roger, his shooting opportunities in the fourth quarter decreased, but he still seized those few chances he had.
With 1:03 left in the fourth, Roger had only taken four shots in the quarter but made three of them.
However, his last shot had been a minute ago, and now Roger was feeling very uncomfortable being trapped.
He shot accurately but the chances were too few.
As long as Roger didn’t shoot, Tomjanovich felt the defense was successful.
At this point, the Rockets trailed by 5 points with 1:03 to go, and it was the Magic’s ball.
The moment Roger caught the ball, Horry and Cassell immediately double-teamed him.
Plus Drexler, who was already guarding Roger, meant he was triple-teamed.
Roger quickly passed the ball to Derrick McKey, and Tomjanovich breathed a sigh of relief.
Good, as long as Roger doesn’t shoot, it’s fine.
Marv Albert shook his head too: “The Rockets have virtually handcuffed Roger in the fourth, he can’t flex his scoring ability!”
McKey, not feeling confident about his shot at that moment, chose to attack the paint after receiving the ball.
He drove into the paint, drew the ball back like a bow, and then smashed it towards the basket.
But Olajuwon appeared in McKey’s vision and fiercely blocked that dunk head-on!
Although Roger had dunked over Dream, that didn’t mean everyone could ride on the tower of Space City.