The Orlando Magic, who only had one day off, flew to New Orlando to play against the Hornets immediately after the game.
This match had also become the focal point of the fans 'eyes. It was the showdown between the " Big Queen Bee " and the " Queen Bee."
It wasn't a showdown, but a contest of strength between the two.
The Magic, who had played two away games in a row, would also be physically exhausted. Without enough rest in a game, the body would not be able to recover to its original state.
Fortunately, it wasn't an away match.
Two hours before the game, the Orlando Magic had already arrived at the home stadium of the Hornets. They rested in the locker room and prepared to warm up.
When the competition was about to begin, the audience seats were already filled with people. They were all densely packed to watch the battle between this so-called " bigger Queen Bee " and their " Queen Bee."
As the whistle sounded, the players from both teams began to enter the stadium.
"Hello everyone, welcome to tonight's game between the Orlando Magic and the Hornets. Today is also the home game of the Hornets.”
Joan Barry and Mark Jackson gave an extremely concise opening speech.
"Everyone has seen the discussions on the Internet. We also really want to see the battle between the 'Big Queen Bee' and the 'Queen Bee' tonight. It's really exciting.”
They were introducing the starting players!
Magic starting lineup: point guard Nelson, point guard Curry, small forward Su Rui, power forward Turkoglu, center Howard.
Starting for the Hornets: Point Guard: Chris Paul, Point Guard: Marcus Thornton, small forward: Trevor Ariza, power forward: David West, center forward: Emeka Okafor.
The Magic still maintained this stable starting lineup.
The lineup of the Hornets was not bad. Several players had made a name for themselves in the league. In addition, Paul's teamwork made the entire team more responsive.
The competition was about to begin, and a great battle was about to break out!
"Beep…"
With the whistle of the referee, the match began!
Howard, who had the advantage of jumping and height, jumped to the ball first and passed the ball to Curry behind him, who handed it over to Nelson to slowly pass.
Nelson quickly pushed through the half of the court and signaled for tactics. After all, it was the first attack and they needed to make a good start for the team.
It was still the same old tactic. Curry and Su Rui ran away without the ball to defend against each other. Whoever ran away from the position would pass it to whoever.
Su Rui nimbly and habitually borrowed Howard's no-ball cover and stuck the defender on the other side.
Su Rui ran to the free throw line and received the ball directly. At the beginning, he chose a mid-range jump shot.
And Howard didn't need to turn around and directly return to the field. He didn't need to grab a rebound. This was his trust in Su Rui.
"Swoosh…"
He scored the first goal of the game.
The ball was changed, and the Hornets quickly served. Paul slowly pushed forward.
Nelson slowed down his dribbling against Paul as he waited for his teammate to get into position.
Paul found the rhythm and lunged to the right with his crotch. Nelson, who wanted to catch up, was blocked by Okafor, who had come up to pick him up.
Paul rushed into the penalty area to face Howard's defense, including throwing it into the air without hesitation. Okafor jumped up and grabbed the ball for a powerful dunk.
This was the one that truly lit up the Knight on the field!
The audience cheered for the first time.
The two sides drew at 2:2.
The Magic have the ball.
This time, it was passed to Curry because Nielson and Curry were both very good ball holders.
Curry dribbled to the front court and faced the small forward Ariza after a pick-and-roll. Unless the defense was particularly good, Curry could use the rhythm to break through or shoot.
Curry dribbled the ball a few times to adjust his posture and rhythm, and directly shot a three-pointer!
The Hornets did not show any weakness and quickly changed their offense. Paul's long pass to West for another slam dunk.
Turning around to fight again, Su Rui, who had a strong desire to attack, came to the three-point line. Even if he faced defense, it was useless, let alone with a body distance!
He struck again at mid-range and hit again!
The game continued. Su Rui still maintained a steady mid-range shot. In addition, Howard's ability to play solo in the paint and Curry's performance directly opened the situation.
The three of them took the entire team's score, 16 points.
The score came to 16:10, and the Hornets had to call a time-out to make adjustments.
"Next, they will definitely strengthen their defense against Su Rui. Su Rui, you have to be careful! Don't be targeted and let your hand feel cold!”
"Beep…"
The pause ended and the match continued.
The atmosphere on the field started to get a little tense.
This round, Paul was determined to score and chose to play solo.
Paul dribbled dazzlingly and then attacked to the right in a disguised manner. After passing Nelson, Paul decisively got up and shot!
It was so fast that Nelson did not even have time to recover!
"Swoosh…"
Paul hit the first mid-range shot of the game!
He successfully recovered two points.
The Magic quickly served and Curry brought it to the front court. After Su Rui, who was running without the ball, received the ball, the Hornets directly assisted in defense and even double-teamed, not letting Su Rui go out of the distance.
After a series of operations, Su Rui had no choice but to make a move, but this ball was indeed interfered with and did not score.
The Hornets quickly counterattacked. West rushed to the front field and pulled the bar to help the team score two more points. The score was gradually approaching!
Change sides and fight again.
Magic Ball.
Su Rui, who was targeted, could only choose to fight steadily.
But this time, Su Rui, who successfully ran out of the position, decisively chose to shoot again. This time he scored!
Because not only was Su Rui a threat, Curry also had a big shooting threat.
When the Hornets attacked, Paul hung high on Ariza in the low post and chose to play Su Rui on his back.
'You want to hit me on the back…'
The position here was the right low position, Su Rui's second area!
Su Rui's eyes focused, he saw the opportunity and didn't hesitate to reach out. He took out Ariza, who was holding the ball, and made a wave of counterattack. He rushed to the front court and used his signature counterattack from the free throw line!
Another attack!
At this time, Paul seemed to have already felt that his style had been snatched away. On the offensive end, he returned Su Rui with another mid-range shot.
When the Magic counterattacked, he sneaked out from behind Curry, who was holding the ball, and made a long pass to Ariza for a dunk.
Both sides were going back and forth. It seemed very chaotic, but in fact, both sides were scoring. No one could restrict the other.
"Beep…"
At the end of the first quarter, the score was 34:30. The Magic led the Hornets by a slight margin.
"Tsk tsk…The competition here is really exciting!"
"The 'Big One' Queen Bee Su Rui and the 'Queen Bee' Paul both played very well. Both of them used their expertise in mid-range shooting and stealing to add a lot of attention to the game.”*
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