Cousins' Achilles tendon rupture set social media abuzz.

"It's over, my Rockets are completely done. The Big Three only played together for two years before it ended!"

"The late emperor started a great enterprise but died before it was finished…"

"What the heck, the *Chu Shi Biao* (Memorial to the Throne) is out, but it's DeMarcus Cousins who's injured, not Chris Paul!"

"An Achilles tendon rupture takes a year to recover from… I can only say the Rockets and Cousins are both too unlucky, especially Cousins, next year is his contract year."

"Let's send blessings, not that no one has recovered from an Achilles tendon rupture before, Dominique Wilkins averaged 20+ points for 3 consecutive seasons after recovering from his injury!"

"That's extremely rare, and Wilkins was a bomber before his injury. He rarely dunked after he came back. Considering Cousins' weight… we can only send blessings."

"Speaking of which, I think the league's current penalty scale is a bit too much, and the physical contact is a bit too much. Otherwise, Leonard and Cousins wouldn't have been injured one after another."

"That's also a problem. Xiao Hua is one extreme, and Tatum is another extreme. I'm worried that other stars will get injured!"

"You guys are stretching it too far. Injuries are part of the game. Players get injured every year. It's just that the injured players this year are famous."

"The Spurs injured Leonard, the Rockets injured Cousins. Now, the only teams in the West that can fight are the Pelicans and the Warriors. It seems this year's matchups will be the same as last year's, a Three Kingdoms situation between the Pelicans, Warriors, and Cavaliers."

"Warriors championship!"

"Pelicans championship!"

"Cavaliers championship!"

"Lake…"

Fans on social media were in heated discussion.

At the same time, many stars also took to social media to send their blessings to Cousins.

Dominique Wilkins: I believe in current medical technology, I could do it, you can do it too, looking forward to a completely healthy Cousins.

Paul: Injury won't defeat you, you'll be stronger when you come back, I believe that's no doubt.

Rudy Gay: I'm praying for you, my brother, I've been sad since the first day I heard the news, get well soon.

Isaiah Thomas: Love you brother, you know how to find me when you need me.

…

In addition to text blessings, many players also posted emojis with their hands clasped together and forwarded messages to express their blessings.

Although Cousins' popularity in the league is average, players sympathize with each other in the face of injuries and are all praying for him.

Not long after that, Cousins successfully underwent surgery, and he also posted a photo of the successful surgery to thank everyone for their blessings.

This was good news after the game.

The fourth game between the Pelicans and the Rockets was two days later.

The game was still in Houston, and the Pelicans' training was still in Houston.

It was during the open training session that day that a reporter asked Tang Tian about Cousins' injury.

"No one wants injuries to happen. I've also experienced injuries. It's torture for players. I heard his surgery was successful. That's good news. I wish him a speedy recovery, and he will definitely recover."

Tang Tian also expressed his views in front of reporters.

Like most people, he sent his blessings.

He has never been a person who uses dirty tricks, and he hates those dirty tricks. He has always defeated his opponents in an upright manner over the years, so he sincerely hopes that Cousins can recover.

The next day, the fourth game of the series between the Pelicans and the Rockets continued at the Toyota Center.

Cousins had just successfully received surgery and was unable to attend to help.

However, the Rockets played a must-win performance in this game.

Paul was hot, hitting shot after shot against Jokic, and Harden also carried a dynamite pack to charge the basket, playing very fiercely.

The Rockets played with 120% of their strength, and they finally succeeded in defeating the Pelicans 110-101 at home, taking a victory.

Paul had 29 points and 9 assists, Harden had 29 points and 6 assists, and the Rockets' team shooting percentage was as high as 52%.

Cousins' injury greatly weakened their strength, but the mental encouragement was great.

The Rockets' victory was very encouraging to many fans, but most people knew that the Rockets' must-win performance in the previous game would be difficult to replicate.

Winning this game was their dignity, but winning the series was almost impossible, or simply unrealistic.

Two days later, the Rockets flew to New Orleans and began the fifth game of the series against the Pelicans.

At the game, fans unexpectedly found Cousins, who had come to the scene in a wheelchair.

Under normal circumstances, you need to rest after surgery, but Cousins went all out for the team.

Cousins' arrival greatly boosted the morale of the Rockets and their fans, and they also looked forward to the Rockets continuing their performance from the previous game.

After the game started, their expectations did come true.

The Rockets played aggressively in the first quarter.

But the Pelicans were obviously not easy to deal with. Tang Tian went all out and led the team to stalemate with the Rockets.

In the second quarter, the Rockets' shooting percentage began to decline.

As people expected, the Rockets couldn't perform above their level in every game, otherwise, that would be cheating.

Cousins' exciting role in the first quarter had been reflected, and what followed was the reflection of their true strength.

The Rockets trailed the Pelicans by 13 points at halftime, and by the third quarter, the difference had reached 20 points.

In the end, the Rockets were defeated by the Pelicans 88-111 on the road and were eliminated 1-4.

Cousins was injured, and this result was expected.

But after the game, fans on social media still couldn't avoid a heated discussion.

"The Pelicans won unfairly! They only won because Cousins was injured!" A comment from an AD fan.

"That's right, in the second game when Cousins wasn't injured, the Rockets almost won, and in the third game, they had a great chance of winning! They won't be able to defend their title this year!"

"I believe the Four-Star Warriors will solve them, just like they beat the Warriors last year!"

"Who started this rhythm! Cousins can't win in the Rockets either! 0 to 2, the Rockets were down 12 points before Cousins was injured in the third game! Did you all automatically ignore these facts?"

"They're just finding an excuse! Even if Cousins wasn't injured, they'd find other excuses!"

"I think the Rockets are playing better since Cousins got injured. Tang's mismatch against Cousins has a success rate of over 80%. He's averaging close to 40 points in this series. These are all facts."

"Please, have mercy and let Cousins go! He's seriously injured!"

"That's right, and the Warriors you mentioned, it's as if the Warriors didn't advance because Leonard was injured. That's the real deal. The Spurs were leading by 25 points before the injury!"

"Speaking of… I always feel that the way that AD fan names himself and speaks is very familiar."

"???"