Under tremendous pressure, the Lakers' mentality did not explode because they had Zhang Hao!

Feeling Zhang Hao's desire to fight back, his teammates did not give up!

Zhang Hao started the second quarter and faced Robert Horry, who had been replaced by him, and made two consecutive jump shots from the baseline singles.

Immediately afterwards, another three-pointer from the top arc, scoring 7 points in a row.

Although the Rockets also scored 5 points during this period, the Lakers did not substantially narrow the gap, but at least the start ensured an offense.

This momentum continued to halfway through the second quarter. After Olajuwon came back, he changed back to the same. The Lakers played better in the second quarter than in the first quarter, scoring 27 points in a single quarter, while the Rockets only scored 23 points in the second quarter.

49 to 58, the Lakers fell behind by 9 points after halftime.

In the third quarter, the Lakers collapsed...

18-25, the Lakers lost 7 points in a single quarter, and after three quarters, the Lakers fell 16 points behind and entered the final quarter.

Although the Lakers scored 27-19 in the final quarter, Olajuwon was resting all quarters, with the Rockets led by Drexler and Kenny Smith.

Olajuwon played 29 minutes and made 12 of 19 shots, scored 25 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists, Sam Kassel scored 27 points and 5 assists in 37 minutes, Horry scored 17 points in 7 of 12 shots, and Drexler scored 13 points and 9 assists.

On the Lakers, Zhang Hao made 6 of 14 shots, 5 of 5 free throws, scored 17 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists, George Lynch scored 25 points, Van Secsel made 5 of 13 shots under Cassel's defense and scored less than 40% of the shooting percentage and scored 15 points and 6 assists, and the Magicians scored 8 points and 5 assists...

94 to 102, the Lakers lost to the Rockets without any fighting back at home!

...

The gap in combat power of top stars and the gap in playoff experience were shown in the first game of the Lakers and Rockets series.

Unexpectedly, the Lakers lost in the first game.

The score difference is almost the same, only 8 points, but the Lakers are like the Jazz, and they really don't have the power to fight back.

There are the Jazz, Suns, Spurs, Magic and this year's Jazz, and the Rockets took away their home advantage from last year's Jazz. The Lakers came up and did not let the Lakers encounter any public attacks... The main reason is that Zhang Hao was under pressure in front.

Who made him get a team in his rookie season?

Jordan's 70-win MVP and Payton's point guard won the DPOY defense, but he failed to steal the limelight in personal news.

However, under heavy pressure, Zhang Hao's personal performance improved in the second game!

After a day of rest and a day of preparation, on May 6, the Lakers ushered in their second home game with the Rockets.

With Zhang Hao's performance of 9 of 18 shots, including 1 of 3 three-pointers, plus 5 of 5 free throws, he scored 24 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks, he successfully led his teammates. Van Exel performed well tonight, scoring 26 points and 4 assists. Zhang Hao seized the opportunity to shoot under heavy pressure, and the one who benefited the most was Van Exel.

Zhang Hao was able to shoot, in addition to his more determined moves and sharper running positions, the Magician also played well tonight with 9 points and 11 assists.

Although Olajuwon scored 22 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists on 8 of 11 shots, the Rockets failed to curb the Lakers' team offense this time.

104-98, the Lakers narrowly beat the Rockets at home and tied the score 1-1!

...

Relying on the team's performance, he avoided falling behind 0-2 at home in the second game. On May 9, the Lakers came to challenge the Rockets away. The pace of the game was outrageously slow, and the rhythm was actually the Lakers who fought first. If they wanted to get rid of it, they took advantage of Zhang Hao's good physical strength and strong recovery ability to play at critical moments.

It did, and the Lakers limited the Rockets to score only 60 points in the first three quarters, but the Lakers themselves only scored 55 points.

In the final quarter, the Lakers successfully launched a counterattack. Zhang Hao scored 16 points and 2 assists in the final quarter, helping the Lakers score 29 points in a single quarter!

But the Rockets held on!

The Rockets resolutely fought slowly in positional battles. They were not a playoff edge team like the Kings. They saw too many storms and waves. They had a steady attack. Olajuwon scored 6 points and 3 assists in the last quarter, Drexler scored 8 points in a single quarter, and Kassel scored 11 points in a single quarter. The Rockets also scored 28 points in a single quarter, resisting the Lakers' counterattack!

Although Zhang Hao's score increased to 31 points in the game, the final score was 84 to 88. The Lakers lost to the Rockets by 4 points, and they won the home advantage back if they failed to get away.

On May 11, the third game was finally defeated. Even though Zhang Hao had a strong ability to guide his teammates' morale, this game also collapsed.

101-113, the Lakers collapsed on the defensive end. Although they played the best offense since the series, the Lakers scored 20 by 3 players, Doug Christie scored 26 points, Van Exel scored 23 points, and Zhang Hao scored 21 points, but they did a bad job on the defensive end.

1-3, the Lakers are on the verge of elimination!

...

On May 14, 1996, the Lakers' fantastic season trip ended.

The Lakers, who returned to home, played very unrestrainedly and changed the rhythm again. Zhang Hao made 11 of 26 shots, including 3 of 8 three-pointers, plus 5 of 5 free throws, won the second single game of 30+ in the series, plus the Magic's 20 points and 8 assists, Van Exel's 15 points and 7 assists, Campbell's 15 points and 8 rebounds, Jason Williams's 15 points and 18 rebounds... The Lakers scored 112 points in the whole game.

But before Olajuwon's triple-double performance with 35 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists at the peak, everything was futile.

112-125, the Lakers lost at home, 1-3 and were eliminated!

The moment the final whistle sounded, the last game was played. Zhang Hao, who scored 30 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocks in 48 minutes of playing time, was immediately surrounded by reporters.

"Aix, what do you think of your performance this season?"

He is a reporter from Sports Illustrated, and he is very friendly.

Zhang Hao replied: "This season is a very important season for me personally. I have learned how to play in a team and keep improving. Our whole team is constantly getting better."

"As the number one in the West, he was eliminated in the second round. He only won 4 games in the entire playoffs and only won 1 game against the defending champion. What do you think is the problem? What is the reason for losing?"

Zhang Hao glanced at the Boston Globe reporter: "I.
Chapter completed!