Volume 5: Unrivaled

Volume Five: Unrivaled — Harden Was Tired Too? Today, he would personally lead the team to defeat the Warriors and prove to the world that the Rockets were not just Harden's team. He was still that superstar, still the god of point guards! He could tell that Paul was running out of stamina, so he quickly substituted him out for a brief rest, preparing for the final decisive stretch. After passing the ball for three quarters, he had long been itching to take over. After Harden was stripped, he turned and chased for two steps, reaching for the ball, but Curry shook him off with a quick crossover. Harden did not continue pursuing him. Instead, he stopped and watched Curry charge into the paint. Gordon chased all the way to the basket, but it was already too late. He could only watch Curry finish the steal-and-score with a coast-to-coast layup, 101:90. Curry's effort paid off. Though he had only slowed Harden down a little, it gave Lopez time to rotate over. Leaving Capela, he took two steps forward and positioned himself in front of Harden, while extending his other long arm toward Capela, ready to recover at any moment. Zhang Yu continued, "Now, Curry can't delay and then chase back anymore. He can only stay in front of Harden and block his driving lane." The two tangled all the way into the paint. Lopez was already prepared to help at the rim, while Covington pinched in from the forty-five-degree angle, positioning himself in front of Harden and ready to swipe at the ball at any time. After Ariza's three-pointer clanked off the rim, he did not even have time to regret it before the Warriors pushed the break. Curry brought the ball up through the middle, while Wiggins and Jaylen