This wave of offense and defense gave the Spurs a double-digit lead.

The Rockets ultimately weren't able to turn it around.

112 to 108.

The Rockets played very tenaciously, but in the end, they were defeated.

Harden made 11 of 25 shots, 15 of 20 free throws, and had a near triple-double with 40 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists.

Parsons had 15 points and 5 rebounds. After being taught by Tang Tian on the spot, he really wanted to find a blocking opportunity to shake his finger back, but unfortunately, he didn't get the chance until the end of the game.

For the Spurs, Parker had 23 points and 6 assists, Ginobili had 13 points and 6 assists, and Duncan had 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Tang Tian's performance continued to be eye-catching, making 7 of 14 shots, including 6 of 10 three-pointers, plus 4 free throws, for 24 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 4 blocks.

With this win, the Spurs took a 3-0 lead in the series.

After the game, Popovich attended the press conference with Tang Tian and Parker.

"The team was 10 points behind the Rockets in the first quarter, and only made 2 of 10 shots at the start. What do you think the problem was?"

"The problem was the hoop."

...

"The team's performance in the first and second halves was very different. What was the reason for the change?"

"I don't know, I was ejected from the game by the referee in the first quarter. You have to ask Mike (Budenholzer) about that."

...

"The team is now leading 3-0 in the series. How do you feel?"

"That's cool. We don't have to be eliminated in the first round."

...

Popovich made witty remarks in the interview, and it could be seen that he was in a very good mood.

But he should be in a good mood. Harden had 20 free throws, and the Spurs still won. It wouldn't be right not to be happy!

The Spurs were in high spirits at their press conference, but on the other side, the Rockets were much more somber.

Head coach McHale and Harden became the focus of reporters' questions.

"Coach, the team's performance in the second half was obviously not as good as in the first half. What was the main reason?"

"We need more people to step up and score. Relying on James (Harden) alone will not defeat the Spurs," McHale replied.

Parsons: ...

"James, in this game, T-Mac got 7 points, which helped the Spurs narrow the score to 3 points. Do you think T-Mac will be a problem for your next game?" The reporter then pointed the question at Harden.

"No, we won't let that happen. T-Mac is no longer the protagonist in this league. We are more concerned about the next game."

Harden seemed to be in a bad mood and didn't have much interest in cooperating with the reporter.

After two days of rest, the fourth game between the Rockets and the Spurs continued at the Toyota Center.

The failure of the previous game had a great impact on the Rockets, and this game was a complete rout.

By the end of the third quarter, the Rockets were already 25 points behind the Spurs.

The entire fourth quarter became garbage time.

In the fourth quarter, the fans knew that the Rockets were destined to be eliminated, and began to shout for McGrady to play.

Popovich was in a good mood and substituted McGrady with 5 minutes left in the game.

McGrady's competitive state was not much better than those bench players.

However, the Spurs had a good team atmosphere, and those bench players didn't just focus on scoring themselves, but passed to McGrady whenever they had the chance.

McGrady seized the opportunity to hit a signature pull-up jumper before the end of the game, which also brought a perfect end to this series.

4-0. Although they encountered strong resistance from the Rockets in the second and third games, the Spurs still swept the Rockets in a low-key manner.

The series was over, but the heat of discussion among Rockets fans on social media did not diminish, and even reached a peak.

"This is only Harden's first year with the team. Four of our starters are rookies. It's already very good to be able to play like this."

"The future is worth looking forward to, and I believe Harden will reach a new level next season."

"But we must make some reinforcements in the offseason. We only have one Asik in our inside, which is too weak."

"We don't even have a starting power forward, lol."

"I think Parsons can play power forward. There is no center position in the All-Star game. The small ball era is coming. Now the most important thing is for us to get Tang in the summer, so that our lineup will be complete!"

"James Harden is our Michael Jordan, and Tang will be our Scottie Pippen!"

"Daryl Morey, please show your power again!"

...

After getting Lin Shuhao and Asik for nothing last summer, they were quite confident that they could get Tang Tian for nothing this summer.

The Spurs swept the Rockets, and on the other side, the Heat also sent the Bucks a 4-0.

These were the only two series in the first round that were swept.

Affected by Popovich's poisonous mouth aura, the other groups of games all fell into fierce competition.

Celtics 1-3 Knicks, Hawks 1-3 Pacers.

These are all considered normal.

Nets and Bulls, Nuggets and Warriors, Clippers and Lakers have all tied 2-2.

These three groups are unexpectedly anxious.

But what really surprised people was the game between the Thunder and the Grizzlies.

After 4 games, the second-ranked Thunder in the West were already 1-3 behind the Grizzlies!

Looking at this posture, they are going for a black seven this year.

"Feel sorry for the Thunder for a minute. They lost a Harden and can't even get into the Western Conference semifinals."

"Actually, they also lost a Westbrook. Westbrook was injured after the first game and didn't play in the rest of the games. He didn't play in all the games the Thunder lost."

"Feel sorry for Xiao Shuai for an hour. This should have been his MVP season."

"Feel sorry for Xiao Shuai for two hours. He failed to challenge for bathwater again."

"Feel sorry for Xiao Shuai for three hours. This year, he won't even have the chance to challenge the Spurs."

"Tang: I'm waiting for you in the Western Conference Finals. If you can't get in, I can't help it."

"Tang: Actually, it's okay, you don't need to win a championship if you want bathwater, just ask, I specially saved a basin for you when I filmed the commercial that day."

"A basin... ouch."

...

Because the potential opponents, the Clippers and the Lakers, had not finished their series yet, the Spurs also ushered in a rare few days of rest.

"Tang, come and guess who will win this year?"

One of the benefits of finishing the series early is that, in addition to getting rest, you can also be a spectator.

This day after training, Green pulled Tang Tian to talk about the next opponent.

"Lakers."

Tang Tian gave his answer.

"Reason?"

"Because they have Kobe."

Tang Tian replied with a smile.

Green was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

A very simple answer, but he couldn't refute it.

In this kind of evenly matched showdown, Kobe's Mamba mentality is still very useful.