No.1 in basketball scoring-Chapter 135 - 92. This time he took action with just as much determination! (An extra Chapter will be added for every 500 monthly passes)_4
Chapter 135: 92. This time he took action with just as much determination! (An extra Chapter will be added for every 500 monthly passes)_4
Zhang Yang played for two minutes in the middle of the final quarter, but by then his energy had waned, and he wasn’t moving as fast as he had in the earlier quarters. He missed a counterattack opportunity, and seeing this, Bickerstaff, fearing injury due to fatigue, substituted him out.
With 11 minutes and 16 seconds left in the final quarter, the score was 80–75, with the Rockets maintaining a 5-point lead, and the Bobcats were on the attack.
The CCTV commentator had already prematurely declared the Rockets’ victory, and the Bobcats’ fans at the venue no longer held much hope.
Just then, at the last moment, Felton, who had stayed on the floor in place of Brevin Knight, launched a three-pointer following a screen by Okafor... and it went in!
78–80, the Bobcats had closed the gap to two points, suddenly creating suspense in the game!
As the offense and defense switched, Yao Ming, who had been quiet for a while on the offensive end, stirred, received the ball, and, facing Gerald Wallace’s defensive rush, hit a mid-range jumper, 82–78, giving the Rockets a 4-point lead again.
Felton’s three-pointer had buoyed his teammates’ spirits. On the Bobcats’ offensive, Gerald Wallace drove in, took the ball, and powerfully scored over a now-grounded Yao Ming, also drawing a blocking foul from him, with the bonus free throw also scored!
81–82, the Bobcats had closed the gap to 1 point!
With 7 seconds left, Jeff Van Gundy rushed to the sidelines, shouting, "Catch and run, waste time," while Bickerstaff also rushed to the sidelines, yelling, "Foul."
After the Rockets inbounded the ball, Felton rushed toward Alston, who had received the pass, intending to foul him, but Gerald Wallace, clearly much wiser, stepped up quicker and wrapped up Swift, fouling him first.
In such a game, where foul counts had been reached early in the quarter, the referee ruled that Gerald Wallace’s foul on Swift was an off-ball foul, awarding Swift two free throws!
Felton looked shocked, realizing you could play like this too, he learnt something new!
Swift stepped to the free throw line amid a cacophony of boos, while the Bobcats’ players also prayed for Swift to miss.
This time, their prayers seemed to have worked; Swift missed both free throws!
Okafor blocked a rebounding Yao Ming, secured the defensive rebound, and immediately called time-out!
Only 5 seconds left!
The Bobcats had won a chance for a turnaround!
But as the timeout began and the players returned to the bench, Bickerstaff faced a dilemma.
Who would take the last shot? No, to put it correctly, who dared to take it?
Brevin Knight? For sure, he would pass to a teammate in the last moments, not caring to whom as long as it wasn’t his fault for a turnover.
Felton would dare to shoot, but having just made a critical three-pointer, he would definitely be closely guarded, so he was not a good choice.
Gerald Wallace, Okafor... these two were limited to scoring inside.
Karim Rush, Matt Carroll, Jumaine Jones could also shoot, but when Bickerstaff looked their way, all three averted their eyes, not daring to meet his gaze.
At that moment, Bickerstaff felt a piercing gaze... fitting for a 17-year-old high schooler, 13th overall pick in the first round!
...
The Rockets sent out Alston, Luther Hayes, Ryan Bowen, Chuck Hayes, and Yao Ming.
The Bobcats sent out Felton, Zhang Yang, Karim Rush, Gerald Wallace, and Okafor.
For the CCTV commentator, the Rockets lineup was not unexpected, as it was currently the Rockets’ best lineup for defensive field play.
However, surprisingly, the Bobcats put Zhang Yang in for the last play!
Up until now, Zhang Yang had made 4 out of 10 shots for 8 points. Considering tonight’s defense, that was a pretty decent performance.
But those 8 points by Zhang Yang were obtained from counterattacks, making 4 out of 5; in set plays, he attempted 5 shots, being blocked once, missing four times, not making a single basket!
The CCTV commentator said this was the Bobcats’ way of training Zhang Yang, but also expressed doubt.
Not just the commentator, but the television viewers, fans at the venue, and even the opposing Rockets players, were puzzled by Bickerstaff’s decision to put Zhang Yang in at that moment.
The whistle signaling the end of the timeout sounded, and the fans set aside their puzzlement to focus on the last play; the Rockets players did the same, focusing on defense.
Okafor moved to a close-range spot on the left baseline, while tonight’s two-time three-pointer scorer, Karim Rush, positioned himself at the left 45-degree angle to create space; Zhang Yang stayed on the right baseline.
Gerald Wallace inbounded the ball to Felton on the right sideline, who immediately drove in, with Wallace also rushing into the paint.
As he reached mid-distance on the right, Wallace blocked Alston, who was following Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang curled towards the free throw line.
After setting the screen, Wallace continued to cut to the paint, Chuck Hayes and Alston both followed the recently successful 2+1 scorer, Wallace.
Felton, rolling off Hayes toward the paint, attracted three defenders with Wallace and passed back to the free throw line!
As Zhang Yang arrived at the free throw line, the pass came, he caught the ball, turned around without any hesitation, and decisively jumped to shoot!
Every time he missed a set play shot earlier, he still shot determinedly the next opportunity, each time more resolutely than the last, ensuring at least the team’s tactics were executed completely.
This time his shot was just as resolute!
When Zhang Yang took the shot, the fans held their breath.
Zhang Yang hadn’t made a single set-play shot that evening; they weren’t hopeful when they saw him receive the ball, but when Zhang Yang actually released the shot, they couldn’t help but anticipate it.
As the ball rose to its highest point, starting to descend, the final buzzer sounded.
If it went in, the Bobcats overturned; if it didn’t, Zhang Yang would be berated...
The moment the ball dropped through the net, the arena erupted!
With 10 points including a game-winner, Zhang San slightly smiled, having won his coach’s trust!
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