Although Artest didn't understand what it meant to be a Chinese college student who hadn't passed the fourth grade, he confirmed that Duge was definitely not complimenting himself.

This confirmation is as certain as Charles Barkley's assurance, that Snoopy has evolved his jumper.

"Whoa, whoa! Snoopy has really improved again!! He's got two completely consistent pick-and-rolls with Stephen Marbury in a row, and they're on their way to becoming one of the best backcourt combinations in the league. Marbury must thank Snoopy from the bottom of his heart, this is the best partner he's ever met in his career. Charles Barkley was already jumping when the Duke hit his second jumper: "Poor Ron Artest, he always bumpers into Snoopy, who has evolved his shooting ability. Last time, Snoopy was all over the world on him, and he was able to shoot in place from beyond the three-point line. And tonight... He managed to make two mid-range jumpers! ”

Compared to Charles Barkley's jump, former Rockets meritorious guard Kenny Smith is still cautiously calculating, and he believes that Dugg still has a fluke.

However, Artest did not dare to continue gambling.

When Vaughan Weaver's shot was distracted by Jeffries, Dugg took a rebound in the restricted area and passed it to Marbury and arrived in the frontcourt, Artest did not continue to change guards, but followed Dugg's side closely.

It's a pity, though. Even if he didn't move an inch, he couldn't stop Dugg from putting the basketball in the basket: as Stephen Marbury cut straight into the box after the pick-and-roll, Dug quickly double-headed from the other side. The two men inserted into the basket almost at the same time, Marbury quickly threw the ball into the air after attracting the bag under the basket, and Dugg and Artest jumped almost at the same time, but Duge, who had the advantage of more speed, grabbed the basketball early and took advantage of the situation to point the ball into the basket...... Swish!

"It's talent crushing!" Earl Johnson said in the commentary box: "When Snoopy is in a dominant position under the basket, it's hard to get a touch of the basketball on his head. Marbury did find the best teammate for him, and his breakaway ability combined with Snoopy's finishing ability created a multiplied chemistry. ”

"Actually, the most important reason is... The Rockets can no longer switch defenses as easily as the Spurs and Mavericks, and use the front line and guard to attack Marbury. Charles Barkley said: "Snoopy's two consecutive shots from the free-throw line made Ron Artest afraid to let go. ”

Charles Barkley hits the Rockets' current dilemma on the defensive end: they can't replicate the 'great tactics' of their two Texas neighbors.

And, on the offensive end, they also suddenly encountered a strong joint defensive posture. With Yao Shu in a state of rest, they attacked four times in a row without success.

And the Knicks took advantage of this opportunity to equalize the score.

Dugg plays a very important role in this. After he opened the scoring with three consecutive goals, he began to play a high post role, with David Lee and Jeffries completing a shot and a layup with the help of Jeffries.

When there was 1 minute and 30 seconds left in the first quarter. Adelman asks for a timeout.

At this time, Isaiah Thomas on the other side was also gearing up.

"Zach, Quentin, you guys go on the field to replace David Lee and Jared ......"

He gave his order.

But before he could finish speaking, Duge silently pulled him aside and suggested to him: "Sir, Dakko will continue to defend Yao Shu next, I think he should take a break from it." It's better to have Zach replace him. And Jared is playing really well at the moment, he brings a lot of defensive resilience to the team, and he should stay on the court. ”

"But David Lee is D'Antoni's man." Isaiah Thomas frowned, he grasped the 'loophole' in Duge's words, and he was very clear.

"No, he's a Knicks player." Dugg stared into Isaiah Thomas's eyes, and he said very seriously and honestly: "The most important goal right now is to make the playoffs, not to have a tactical race. Actually, I don't want to see it at all... The picture of your divide and conquer. ”

Isaiah Thomas also stared at Duge seriously: "Are you biased towards D'Antoni?" Snoopy. Have you forgotten who brought you to the Knicks? ”

"No, Isaiah. I haven't forgotten who brought me to New York, and I'm definitely not leaning towards anyone else. I just want my team to win, and as a former Finals MVP, I think you must understand my thoughts better than Mr. D'Antoni at the moment. ”

Dugg's words not only maintain his honesty, but also give Isaiah Thomas a high hat without a trace.

Isaiah Thomas was moved by Duge's words, and he patted Dug on the shoulder: "Snoopy, you have to remember that we are the ones all the way, only I will understand your desire to chase victory, and only I will be the one who can make you win the Finals MVP." So... I hope you will vote for me on one of the choices in the future. ”

Dugg understood what Isaiah Thomas meant.

But he just smiled, he did not give a clear answer.

He didn't want to get too involved in the issue. Everything is left to time and management, and all he has to do now is win!!

Backbite!

The whistle blew.

Both sides made rotations.

The Rockets' Ron Artest and Yao Shu both returned to the bench, and the Rockets players defending Dugg became Sean Battier again.

However, Dugg didn't continue to stand at the free throw line, he walked straight into the paint. Then, tangled up with the Rockets' short forward Chuck Hayes.

Dugg's early style of play was very similar to Chuck Hayes, and even on the original draft website, Dugg's best template was Chuck Hayes.

Because at that time, when Dugg was gradually making a name for himself in the NCAA, Chuck Hayes was once crowned as the 'shortest starting center in the league' in the NBA. And both of them have the ability to adapt and tough defense, plus each other's games are extremely stable, so this contrast is natural.

However, as time went on, Dugg's star potential became more and more apparent, and he is now more of a No. 1 position. And Chuck Hayes has been conscientiously serving as his interior bench because of his bounce and coordination and shooting deficiencies.

As soon as Dugg and Chuck Hayes got into play, he immediately felt the power of the 'old tree roots'. Hayes's lower game is too stable, and his lower body strength makes Dugg admire: he can play center with a height of 198, which is really not a general, and his lower body strength is stronger than mine, no wonder it can make Stoudemire, Dwight Howard and other flying forwards deflated one after another.

Even so, though. Chuck Hayes still couldn't make it to the end of his matchup with Dug.

Dugg was slightly inferior in the lower set, but his card was not completely in decline, and he got more rebounds than Hayes when he was able to rebound better.

And, on the offensive end, he can also pull outside to shoot, and at the same time directly open the breakthrough mode from outside the three-point line, forming a misplaced and strong eating effect.

And because of Dug's mismatch advantage, Zach Randolph and David Lee can easily pull to both ends of the free throw line to complete the jumper, and Marbury can also break into the basket without worries. As for Jeffries, with the help of Duge, he ate several cakes in a row.

End of first quarter, 31:27.

The Knicks, who were playing away, led by four points.

At this time, Duge has already got 8 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block.

If multiplied by four, not only did they get their eighth career triple-double, but they also broke the career scoring record.

Of course... Ron Artest's tongue had to be washed in Adelman's mouth as well.

Charles Barkley has already started planning for this, and before the game started, he stressed that he would never let Artest continue to play a scoundrel, and he would personally supervise his execution of the bet.

At the same time, Artest's face had long been pulled longer than a donkey.

He's thinking about how to stop Dugg from continuing to score.

Occasionally, I would think about how to make Adelman's humanoid billboards.

"The most important thing now is to win this game. We're going to make sure we make the playoffs as third in the West, you know? Adelman's voice rang out like thunder in his ears.

Artest nodded hurriedly.

Now the problem in front of the Houston Rockets is very simple, if they enter the playoffs with the fourth place in the West, then they will face the challenge of the Portland Trail Blazers, who are young and strong, and the lineup is very similar to the Rockets, and the regular season record this season is also 2:2, so it is very difficult to predict whether they can advance. And, even if they eliminate the Trail Blazers and enter the second round, they will face the Los Angeles Lakers, the first in the West...... This is definitely not a good opponent.

So, the most important thing for the Rockets right now is to avoid the fourth spot and try to lock up the third place!

The second quarter of the game began quickly.

The Rockets switched to a defensive lineup of Luis Scola, Chuck Hayes, Sean Battier, Ron Artest, Kyle Lowry.

This lineup is weak in offense, but resilient defensively.

Correspondingly, the Knicks have a lineup of Nate Robinson, Dugg, Quentin Richardson, David Lee and Zach Randolph.

It's a pure attacking lineup.

It's as if the sharpest spear meets the strongest shield.

However, the game was extremely tepid.

Although Adelman stressed to Ron Artest about the importance of victory, he still had some compromises when facing Dug.

This made Dug's tandem work very smooth, and his teammates all scored when he didn't score.

Although the Houston Rockets did not have a strong offensive point, under the use of Princeton's tactics, they still easily gained open space and scored with active running.

As a result, both sides moved forward with almost a fixed offensive efficiency. The Knicks maintained a 3-4 point lead throughout.

The scene was extremely harmonious, even if D'Antoni brought on Milicic and Gallinari in the fifth minute of the second quarter.

This harmony made Adelman secretly happy, because as long as the score difference was not opened, he would not go to Yao Shu, let Yao Shu rest and recuperate, and wait until the critical moment to go up and take over the game.

Ron Artest was happier, as Dug's score was consistently at 8.

The first half ended quickly.

66：62。

The Knicks lead by four points.

Dugg still has eight points, but his assists have reached nine and he has seven rebounds, and if there are no surprises, he will have his eighth career triple-double.

However, this is not under Artest's jurisdiction, so he seems very calm.

Calm, he even began to think: Could the two jumpers of the Duke Dog be to scare me, right? If he really has the ability to shoot jumpers, can he hold back a quarter of the game without shooting??

In fact, Kenny Smith was also discussing this matter at this time.

Snoopy hasn't tried to shoot since he made two jumpers. On the contrary, he has been taking advantage of Artest's panic against him to create a breakthrough, and in doing so, he has linked up with his teammates to help his team lead by four points at halftime. ”

"Frankly, there's something weird about it. I suspect Adelman should have seen through Snoopy's bravado. Therefore, he has been pressing Yao on the bench to accumulate physical strength. If I'm not wrong, by the second half, Houston will have a strong game! ”

This argument was not opposed by Barkley and Johnson, because it did sound very plausible. Yao, who rested for the entire second quarter, did have more stamina, which would have allowed him to be more dominant in the paint in the second half.

On the other hand, the Knicks in the previous two games, they were both beaten to collapse in the third quarter. Their starting lineup simply couldn't withstand the onslaught of a strong team in the third quarter, and that obviously wasn't going to change structurally because of Snoopy, even if he did find his jumper touch.

Meanwhile, Stephen Marbury suddenly got into a heated argument with D'Antoni in the locker room!

……

[Grand Chapter.] 】

-