Chapter 728 Paul and Cousins ​​(Second Update!)

All it takes to explode a dynamite barrel is a match.

Tang Tian's words were that match.

Cousins' face suddenly turned green, and he was about to confront Tang Tian.

Fortunately, Tucker was observing Cousins ​​when he was taking free throws in front. At this time, he flew over to catch him and kept talking to him to calm him down.

Now the Rockets are relying on Cousins' advantage in the paint to have a stalemate with the Pelicans. If Cousins ​​blows up the Rockets, the situation on the court will become very unfavorable.

Tucker was small but powerful, and he kept talking, and finally managed to persuade Cousins ​​​​for the time being.

During the Rockets' offense, Paul went to the frontcourt and continued to give the ball to Cousins.

Cousins ​​​​hit Jokic hard.

Although he was persuaded by Tucker, he was still angry, and now he went straight to Jokic to vent his anger.

The physical confrontation between the two made bursts of muffled sounds.

Cousins ​​almost reached the penalty area and tried hard to knock Jokic away and dunk directly.

At this moment, Jokic suddenly released his strength and was knocked over by Cousins ​​​​and fell to the ground.

Cousins ​​lost his focus and almost fell out. He relied on his strong body control to barely stand.

"beep!"

However, the referee's whistle sounded, indicating Cousins' offensive foul.

Jokic was still lying on the ground, looked up and saw the referee's gesture and waved his fist excitedly.

Toughness on the basketball court is not just about confrontation. Those who continue to fight despite knowing that confrontation is worse are fools.

Many smart players rely on their strength and brains to play together.

Jokic is that type of player.

After a few rounds, he already knew that he couldn't beat Cousins ​​now, but he could fight in other ways.

For example, like the ball just now, an offensive foul was made.

Jokic is excited, Cousins ​​is excited.

He cursed on the spot, and then went directly to the referee to indicate that he did not swing his elbow and it was not an offensive foul.

But the referee indicated that it was outside the reasonable collision area, which was an offensive foul.

Tucker behind him was pulling Cousins, but Cousins ​​got angry and couldn't hold back nine cows, let alone Tucker.

Cousins ​​almost spat directly in the referee's face.

The referee couldn't bear it and gave Cousins ​​a technical foul.

There were cheers at the scene.

The two teams are now in a stalemate on the field, and this technical foul is likely to break the situation.

Cousins ​​still wanted to argue, but was forcefully pulled back by Paul and Harden who rushed over.

The Pelicans made one free throw and after Tang Tian made the free throw, the Pelicans still had the ball.

The sideline ball came out, and Tang Tian continued to signal for a change of defense. Cousins ​​did not come out with the first shot, but still came out with the second shot.

Tang Tian played Cousins ​​​​in isolation. After continuous changes of direction, he saw Tucker assisting in defense, and directly hit the ball to Davis who was cutting in.

The Rockets' configuration on the field is one big and four small. Once Cousins ​​​​goes out, the inside line is extremely empty.

After Davis got the ball, he took two steps and dunked directly with both hands.

Stevens let his character brighten, slamming his chest and yelling at the crowd after landing a dunk.

The atmosphere in the New Orleans Arena was ignited again.

"Why did you come here? Why didn't you go with Davis?!"

At this time, Cousins ​​turned around and shouted at Tucker, asking him why he came to help defend.

Tucker was confused.

He didn't help defend the last ball, and Cousins ​​​​was passed by Tang Tian like a wooden stake. Now Cousins ​​​​is questioning him for coming to help defend?

"You can't guard him one-on-one."

He responded to Cousins ​​after reacting.

"I only failed once, and I won't fail the second time."

Cousins' answer left Tucker completely speechless and a little depressed.

He was persuading Cousins ​​to help with defense, but he ended up like this. This is really a waste of good intentions.

He was too lazy to continue arguing with Cousins.

The Rockets attacked the frontcourt, and Cousins ​​continued to hit Jokic in the low post. He moved continuously, turned around and shot after confrontation.

But the feeling of taking the ball was obviously not good. It was a cross-over, and the rebound was collected by Jokic.

Earlier, he scored 8 consecutive points on Jokic, but in this period, he failed in three consecutive low singles.

It can be clearly felt that the negative impact of emotions on him is huge.

This is Cousins, who is a Buddha on one side and a devil on the other. If he doesn't handle the double-edged sword well, he will hurt himself.

Tang Tian singled out Cousins ​​again in the frontcourt. This time Tucker didn't help defend. Tang Tian shook him off and then went to the basket and scored another dunk.

With this goal scored, the Pelicans already led the Rockets by 10 points, 52-42.

D'Antoni was forced to call another timeout.

Paul walked up to Cousins ​​at this time and kept talking to him, trying to really calm him down.

But Cousins ​​seemed less patient than before facing Tucker.

The Rockets formed the Big Three in the summer, which was the best choice Morey could make based on the market.

The combination of star guard and super insider is not the best combination, but it does not conflict.

Moreover, the personal strengths of the Big Three are among the best in the league in their respective positions.

Just like the original Celtics and Heat, this is a lineup that is enough to compete for the championship.

But what Morey didn't pay much attention to was the personal relationship between Paul and Cousins.

When Paul was with the Clippers and Cousins ​​was with the Kings, the two had a head-on conflict.

Paul was not called for a dive while defending Cousins. Instead, Cousins ​​was called for a technical foul for arguing.

As a short player, Paul can become a super giant in addition to his strength. He also has many small tricks, which are also necessary for him to gain a foothold.

If it were other players, they would forget about it the next day.

But Cousins ​​was very vindictive. Not only did he find an opportunity to hit Paul with the ball, but when his former teammate Thomas tried to say hello to Paul, he was also dragged back by him.

Just like Malone and Rodman, the private relationship between the two is actually very poor.

The NBA is a business league, and the relationship between players is just colleagues. In order to win the championship and get high salary, it often happens that enemies become friends.

But Cousins ​​​​is a special case. Not only does he have a bad mind, but he also has a very straightforward personality. Paul came to persuade him at this time, which only made him more annoyed.

Seeing that Cousins' mood was getting worse and worse, Harden came over and pulled Paul away, which prevented the situation from deteriorating further.

D'Antoni saw that Cousins' mood was always wrong, so he could only temporarily take him off the court to rest.

As soon as Cousins ​​came off the court, the pressure on the Pelicans dropped sharply.

Capela defends well, but Jokic's pulling-out style defeats him.

And more importantly, Capela does not have the same strategic significance as Cousins ​​on the offensive end.

The Pelicans took advantage of this.

In the Mamba Symphony where the Rockets frequently hit the outside line, the Pelicans had stretched the point difference to 15 points at the end of halftime.

They have already won this game.

Thanks to the attacker for the reward.