After beating the Dallas Mavericks, the Clippers went to Houston to challenge the Rockets on their next stop.

The Rockets team...there's really nothing to say about the Rockets team. The Clippers beat the Rockets 120:109 with an 11-point advantage.

Harden scored 32 points, but his efficiency was not high, making 9 of 22 shots.

The Rockets are currently ranked sixth in the Western Conference. They did not sign Howard in the summer, which makes the Rockets somewhat depleted.

Although the supplementary players Jefferson and Josh Smith fit in well with the team, they have their own shortcomings in offense and defense and cannot be perfectly unified, resulting in the team's poor record.

There is improvement over last season, but unfortunately the progress is limited.

Anyway, the Rockets are a team that doesn't seek to improve and just muddle along.

The management pretends all day long that they want to win the championship, and then spends money when it is time to spend money, and spends nothing when it is time to pay taxes, relying on the little popularity Yao Ming left back in the past to make the Chinese people's bad money.

There are many Chinese elements, but the promise of winning the championship has always been a slogan since the Yao Ming era.

Just like those who chanted the "Northern Expedition" during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, but actually did it to gain political capital and consolidate their political status, there are also many teams in the league that chanted the slogan "Championship" and their main purpose was to make money.

There's nothing wrong with making money, but it's wrong to always deceive fans' feelings. It's even more disgusting to use fans' feelings to achieve financial goals.

Therefore, the Rockets also sent an invitation to Li Liang in the summer, hoping that he could join the Rockets.

Li Liang refused without thinking. Not to mention that the Rockets' lineup was not suitable for him at all. Even if it was suitable, he didn't want to go.

The Rockets are only thinking about bringing in a second Yao Ming, so that the team's market value can be further expanded and a championship or something... just muddle along, there's no shame in calling him out anyway.

The Clippers easily passed the Rockets and completed a sweep of the Houstonians this season.

Their win count came to 64 wins.

In the history of the NBA, only a few teams have been able to reach such heights, and most of these super strong teams eventually won the championship.

But the Clippers did not stop their pace.

Two days later, the Clippers came to cold Minneapolis and won another big victory at the Target Center.

119:104, Li Liang scored 41 points and grabbed 22 rebounds.

Can you brush Love? I, Li Liang, can brush it too!

The Timberwolves are a team that has a lot of fun. Players on your own team can do it, and your opponents can do it better. You can do it, I can do it, everyone can do it, and you can happily get the data.

Therefore, it is necessary for a team like the Timberwolves to exist in the league, otherwise it will be too tense and intense, lacking a little relaxation and buffering.

However, the Timberwolves are better than the Rockets in one thing. The Timberwolves never shouted the slogan of winning the championship. They delayed Garnett for so many years, but they were justified.

Because I gave Garnett a huge contract.

Even if they shouted, no one would believe it. Who would believe it?

After defeating the Timberwolves, entering April, the Clippers had 65 wins and 10 losses, getting closer and closer to 70 wins.

Now the entire league is paying attention to the Clippers' record and looking forward to the birth of a second 70-win team.

On April 2, the Clippers played away against the Suns.

It is still a game without much suspense.

Rivers gave Paul a rest in this game because after this game, he will return home to play the Mavericks on April 3.

Playing the Mavericks again, back-to-back, it will definitely be a tough battle.

Li Liang led the Clippers, but the Suns played very well, and the whole game was anxious.

At the critical moment, Li Liang's defense made a contribution.

He blocked Dragic's outside three-point jumper, then grabbed the ball and assisted Crawford for a fast break layup.

This goal changed the situation on the court. The Clippers went from a 3-point lead to a 5-point lead. The Suns did not have much time and missed the attack after calling a timeout.

Had to start foul tactics.

Rivers decisively replaced DeAndre Jordan and replaced Livingston, who was good at free throws. He made all the free throws. In the end, he defeated the Suns in an away game 108:101 and successfully won 66 games!

66 wins, which is already the best regular season record since 2007.

At the same time, they have the opportunity to create a better historical record.

After this game, the Clippers rushed back to Los Angeles to meet the challenge of the Mavericks on the night of April 3.

The two teams just had a battle a week ago, and the smoke in the game has not cleared yet, and another battle is about to happen.

Moreover, according to the current record of the two teams, it is very likely that they will meet in the first round of the playoffs.

This is why Rivers wants to hide Paul for a game, leaving Paul to play the Mavericks tonight to make some psychological preparations for the playoffs.

The Mavericks are not a young team. A team like this with a low ranking but mostly old players would be very scary in the playoffs.

The young team rushes into the playoffs during the regular season, and then gets taught how to behave in the playoffs.

However, the senior team barely managed to make it to the playoffs during the regular season due to injuries and fatigue. The team was fully staffed and rested, but it was able to burst out with strong combat effectiveness.

Especially like the Mavericks, the team has the experience to win championships, and the veterans are experienced in many battles, so they must be taken seriously.

For example, in 1993, the Phoenix Suns, ranked first in the league, almost overturned when they met the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round.

They were beaten 0:2 at home, and then narrowly won the final home game, otherwise the Black Eight would have been achieved in 1993.

But Rivers thought he had a good idea. He went out with all his teammates to defeat the Mavericks, establish a psychological advantage, and prepare for the playoffs.

But he didn't expect that Carlisle across from him thought the same way!

The Mavericks are also well prepared for this game, and they are not playing back-to-back games. The players are full of energy, unlike the Clippers players who have just returned from Phoenix and have to play again after sleeping all night.

The Mavericks took a 32:28 lead in the first quarter and suppressed the Clippers in terms of tactics and rhythm.

The Clippers have a problem here, that is, their outside three-pointers are inaccurate.

The three-point shot is good, but it's just not stable enough.

There may be a certain game where everyone's touch fails, and the game will be quite difficult to play.

This was the case in this game. Li Liang failed to hit three three-point shots in the first quarter, resulting in a lack of firepower from the outside. The Mavericks could safely and boldly conduct one-on-one coverage without double-teaming Li Liang.

After the second quarter, the situation improved, and Collison, who came off the bench, hit a three-pointer.

Led by substitute Griffin, the Clippers once took the lead.

But after the main force returned, the Clippers failed to succeed in several quick counterattacks.

The Mavericks suddenly defended a zone in the middle and latter part of the second quarter. This was a sure sign that the Clippers' three-point shooting tonight was not going to be good.

As a result, the Clippers really couldn't make a shot.

Li Liang missed his fourth three-point shot, and Paul also missed the next shot.

At halftime, the Mavericks led the Clippers by 1 point.

In the second half, the Clippers changed their style of play, no longer obsessed with three-pointers, and began to compete with the Mavericks.

This is exactly what Carlisle wants to see.

Nowitzki showed his general style, hitting consecutive mid-range jump shots when he was in need, and continued to maintain pressure on the Clippers.

The Mavericks seem to have returned to 2011. They used their efficient positional offense and tough defense to wear down the Heat's Big Three.

Li Liang wanted to step up and take over the game, but the Mavericks boldly adopted a double-team, completely denying Li Liang a chance to catch the ball and letting Paul handle the ball.

Paul did not disappoint Carlisle, hitting 1 of 8 three-pointers from outside tonight!

If you say you can't make a shot, just don't make it. You hit three-pointers and gave the Mavericks several opportunities to quickly counterattack.

Of course, Li Liang didn't fare much better. He made 0 of 5 three-pointers in the game. This was the first time since he entered the NBA that he failed to hit a three-pointer in a game.

Li Liang's record of hitting three-pointers in 156 consecutive regular season games also came to an abrupt end.

This is already the highest record for consecutive three-pointers in NBA history. Behind him is Korver.

On March 2 this year, he also lost his gold medal, and his consecutive hits stopped at 127 games, nearly 30 games behind Li Liang.

In the end, Li Liang even used the three-point shooting percentage improvement sticker and failed to make a shot, because the Mavericks were really amazing at the last moment, resolutely double-teaming, regardless of whether others could score, they just refused to let Li Liang take a shot.

Chance to hit.

At this time, Li Liang may realize the greatness of Kobe.

Not to mention being double-teamed by two people, but surrounded by seven or eight people in front of him, Kobe could pretend that there was no one around, and he could still score by playing alone.

Sometimes you can't accept it.

In the end, the Clippers unfortunately lost at home 111:115, with a 4-point disadvantage, and lost to the Mavericks, their biggest potential opponent in the first round of the playoffs.

Of course Li Liang felt discouraged after losing the game, and his streak of consecutive three-pointers came to an end.

But Li Liang soon figured out that losing this game might be a good thing.

Because of this defeat, Li Liang felt that he still had a lot of shortcomings.

Once you know the shortcomings, you will have a way forward.
Chapter completed!