Asik out-jumped Splitter, giving the Rockets the first chance to attack.

Jeremy Lin dribbled past half-court, then passed the ball to Harden.

Before the regular season officially started, the Rockets' idea of signing Jeremy Lin with a poison pill contract was to make him the team's backcourt core.

But with the unexpected acquisition of Harden, Jeremy Lin could now only be a role player.

Harden signaled a tactical play, penetrating and then passing to Parsons at the corner, but Parsons' shot went wide.

The Spurs' frontcourt hammer tactic worked, with Parker's spinning layup dodging Asik and scoring.

Back on offense, Harden penetrated and passed to Patterson at the high post.

Patterson's mid-range jump shot was too slow and was disturbed by Duncan, so it didn't go in.

Splitter got the rebound, and the Spurs launched a fast break. Parker passed to Leonard, who was closely following, and the latter scored with a layup.

Harden's pick-and-roll with Asik in the frontcourt was a beautiful pass, but Asik had butterfingers and missed.

The Spurs' frontcourt hammer tactic worked again, and Duncan scored under the basket.

Three minutes into the game, the score was 6-0.

"Well, the Spurs are a bit strong right now," Barkley said with emotion in the commentary booth.

The Spurs were 10-0, and the Rockets were 3-7. The difference in strength between the two teams was obvious.

"Now it depends on how Harden responds," Kenny Smith added.

Jeremy Lin and Asik could only be considered very good players, still far from being All-Stars.

But Harden's performance this season was All-Star level, and the Rockets could only rely on him to break the deadlock.

Sure enough, when Harden dribbled to the frontcourt again, he signaled his teammates to spread out, and then had Asik come up for a pick-and-roll.

This was a very obvious signal that he was going to attack himself.

Asik was a substitute for the Bulls, but that was because Noah was the starter. Although he had some butterfingers, his strength was not bad.

The quality, timing, and range of this pick-and-roll were all excellent.

However, Green had improved a lot this season and successfully went around Asik before the pick-and-roll.

Popovich nodded in satisfaction on the sidelines at this moment.

If Green could do what Tang Tian could do on the defensive end, then what Holt said would be feasible.

The pick-and-roll didn't work, but Harden didn't stop and directly chose to force his way past Green.

Green's defense was in place.

If it weren't for Tang Tian, he would definitely have the strength to be a starting shooting guard on the Spurs.

"Beep!"

However, the referee called a foul on Green for jumping up to defend under the basket.

After hearing the whistle, Green jumped back and turned to the referee to explain that he hadn't hit Harden.

The referee was unmoved.

Popovich didn't get angry at this time, but lowered his head and rubbed his forehead with his hand.

Also young players, Green had improved a lot compared to last season, but he was really much worse than Tang Tian in terms of experience.

There is a professional term in basketball called cylinder.

Most people only know about the shooting cylinder, but in fact, every player has their own cylinder when they stand on the court.

The size is determined by the palms of the hands in the front, the buttocks in the back, and the outside of the arms and feet on both sides, creating an imaginary cylindrical space.

Therefore, in addition to extra physical contact that will be called as a foul by the referee, there is also a foul caused by violating the cylinder.

According to the rules, when a defensive player leaves his own cylinder and makes contact with a player who has already established a cylinder, then the defensive player will be called for a defensive foul.

Just now, Harden had a sudden stop motion when he broke through to the basket. Although Green's block didn't hit his hand, there was physical contact underneath, which had violated Harden's cylinder, so he was called for a foul.

This was different from when Tang Tian was fouled by Martin. Martin took the initiative to lean on him, while Green went up on his own.

Harden went to the free-throw line.

Two free throws, two points.

Harden scored the first points for the Rockets.

Parker's layup in the frontcourt, this time Asik didn't move randomly, stood under the basket and put pressure on him, successfully defending the shot.

Harden went to the frontcourt and continued to hold the ball, signaling to spread out.

It was still Asik's pick-and-roll.

Green still went around it.

However, this time Harden made a sudden inward movement in advance. The moment Green stepped back, he directly took a signature step-back three-pointer.

Green couldn't keep up with the rhythm.

"Swish!"

Harden's three-pointer went in cleanly.

"James~~ Harden!!"

Accompanied by the dj's elongated shout, the Toyota Center erupted in cheers.

Scoring 5 points in a row within 1 minute, tonight was another Harden night!

The Spurs' frontcourt Ai hammer tactic, Green got a completely open opportunity in the corner, and Parker's penetrating pass was delivered immediately.

"Bang!"

However, Green's open three-pointer missed.

Continuous failures on the defensive end caused fluctuations in his mentality.

For shooters, even the slightest fluctuation has a significant impact on the shooting percentage.

Popovich was a little helpless at this time.

In that kind of opportunity, if it were Tang Tian, he would make ten out of ten times.

The Rockets' possession, Harden continued to hold the ball and attack in the frontcourt.

This time, Green didn't get around Asik's pick-and-roll.

Harden mismatched against Splitter, forced Duncan to help defend with his accelerated breakthrough, and then passed the ball to Patterson at the baseline.

Patterson's mid-range jump shot at the baseline went in.

7-6.

Harden led the team to launch a counterattack, directly reversing the score.

"Wow, this is James Harden this season!" Barkley shouted in the commentary booth.

"If I were Presti, I definitely wouldn't choose to turn on the TV at this time, it's really too cruel."

O'Neal took the opportunity to make fun of the Thunder's management.

"Danny Green is good enough, but he can't defend Harden," Kenny Smith stated a fact.

The camera then gave a shot of Tang Tian on the sidelines.

But Popovich didn't mean to substitute anyone.

If Tang Tian was sent up to save the game at this time, Holt would definitely nag him about it later.

Duncan's bank shot in the frontcourt was disturbed by Patterson and didn't go in. Asik grabbed the defensive rebound.

"Let's go, Rockets!"

The dj started to lead the fans to cheer.

The Rockets were about to gain momentum.

Popovich stood on the sidelines at this time.

The old man looked unhappy, and the Spurs' defensive intensity on the court also increased a lot.

The Rockets' continuous teamwork didn't create an opportunity. With less than 10 seconds left, Harden held the ball and signaled everyone to spread out, choosing to single out Green.

Continuous crossovers, but Green was not shaken open.

Green's progress this season was really obvious.

With only 4 seconds left for the offense, Harden chose a step-back three-pointer.

Green successfully predicted it and rushed to block.

Harden waited for a moment, waited for Green to enter his cylinder, jumped up and leaned on him actively, and then shot a three-pointer.

"Beep!"

The referee blew the whistle on the sidelines, Green's second personal foul in the first quarter!

"Swish!"

The ball went in after the referee blew the whistle!

3+1!