No.1 in basketball scoring-Chapter 152 - 98. Nobody’s handling the ball? Then I’ll reluctantly step up then!_2

Kobe guarded Zhang Yang, and it felt like a return to the year 2000. On offense, he had to guard Zhang Yang’s fast breaks like he guarded the "Little Flying Squirrel" in the Western Conference Finals that year. On defense during half-court play, he had to guard Zhang Yang’s movement like he guarded Reggie Miller in the Finals.

Combining both was manageable, just a bit more fatiguing, but the key point was the investment-to-return ratio in defense wasn’t proportional!

The "Little Flying Squirrel" was the offensive engine for the Trail Blazers, and Reggie Miller was the Pacers’ top perimeter scorer. Yet, Zhang Yang was just a substitute!

Kobe’s resolute decision to abandon targeted defense left Zhang Yang feeling regretful, as he could no longer help his teammates by attracting Kobe’s defensive attention.

In two games against the Nets, he played a total of 45 minutes, with at least 40 of those being chased by Richard Jefferson or Carter, which created great offensive space for Brevin Knight and Felton.

Despite his regret, Zhang Yang didn’t stop. On defense, he stayed vigilant at the top of the arc guarding Luke Walton, retracting to the lane when needed, and continued moving without the ball on offense... After playing a couple of rounds, the Lakers’ defense shocked him.

Terrible! Just terrible! Apart from Kobe and the inside players, the other Lakers seemed to have almost no sense of cooperative defense!

Jumaine Jones could have had many more scoring opportunities with just an average ability to move without the ball.

After all, Jumaine Jones was a player the Lakers gave up on. Last season, he started at power forward for the Lakers, and Brian Cook, who replaced him, is now the starting power forward for the Lakers. The latter is also a catch-and-shoot player, and the sole reason he replaced the former was a slightly higher three-point shooting percentage from the open spot. There wasn’t much difference in actual effect.

Zhang Yang decisively adjusted his movement, shifting from creating space for his teammates to actively seeking shooting opportunities.

He moved, not necessarily getting the ball since Felton and Gerald Wallace’s first choice was to shoot themselves, and even receiving the ball didn’t guarantee a score. However, he had to run, had to be willing to shoot, to better assist his two teammates.

And here came the opportunity!

In the final moments of the first quarter, Zhang Yang seized the chance to cut along the baseline, received the ball, and made a layup that extended the lead to 5 points, 30-25!

Kobe was infuriated. He had barely withstood the opponent’s momentum, and that shot looked like it was going to be guarded well. Kobe was ready to counterattack and throw a buzzer-beating three-pointer. If it went in, the score would be tied.

But Weaver blew his coverage!

Kobe cursed at Weaver’s nose furiously.

Weaver felt wronged: he had just stayed in the elbow area to guard the cut because there was someone in the low post. Who would have known that after Felton’s drive and Walton’s move to the corner, Perkins could slide in from the free-throw line and draw Kwame Brown away?

Fortunately, Weaver held back his complaints. Otherwise, Kobe would undoubtedly respond like his idol: "Why didn’t he have that chance when I was guarding? How come I could see it?"

With only 4 seconds left in the first quarter, the Lakers’ inbound pass didn’t reach Kobe. Weaver didn’t cross half-court and opted for a goat-like ball handle.

In the latter half of the first quarter, the Bobcats played an 18-9 run, turning a 4-point deficit into a 5-point lead. They had built up momentum!

Starting from the second quarter, the Lakers began a long trail to catch up.

Kobe’s offense was fierce, and the Lakers’ counterattack was equally intense.

But each player on the Bobcats fought hard, whether driven by Gerald Wallace, inspired by Zhang Yang, feeling threatened by Brevin Knight’s trade, or just being new... They withstood the Lakers’ comebacks!

Once Kobe’s offense slowed down, the Bobcats continued to slightly extend their lead.

As the match approached its final moments, with 38 seconds left, the Lakers were down by 5 points. Kobe launched his 30th shot of the game... against Karim Rush’s defense, he forced a three-pointer that missed!

After the miss, Kobe immediately chased after Zhang Yang... only to be outpaced by Zhang Yang, who had just returned to the court in the last two minutes of the final quarter.

Rushing to the frontcourt, Zhang Yang caught the ball at the free-throw line, took two strides, leaped with full strength, and single-handedly dunked the ball into the basket.

That was his first dunk at the Staples Center, the Lakers’ home court, and it killed the game!

102-95, the Bobcats secured the victory!

In the final 20 seconds, neither team scored again, and the Bobcats won against the Lakers by a 7-point margin, clinching the final road game victory!

Kobe played all 48 minutes, shooting 14 for 30, including 1 for 5 from three-point range, and with perfect free throws at 12 for 12, he scored 41 points, had 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals but couldn’t avert the loss.

Tonight, Zhang Yang played 23 minutes, making 6 out of 11 shots, missed his only three-point attempt, and with 2 for 2 on free throws, he collected 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block. He played reasonably well, with key shots made and a fast-break score that secured the win.

Felton had 17 points and 8 assists, Gerald Wallace 20 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 4 blocks, Eli 11 points and 6 rebounds, Perkins 5 points and 6 rebounds, Brezec 4 points and 11 rebounds, Rush 8 points, Jumaine Jones 6 points... Everyone worked together to lay siege on Kobe!

Zhang Yang looked up at the big screen showing the Lakers’ stats.

Odom with a standard performance of 15 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, Kwame Brown with 8 points and 7 rebounds, Cook with 11 points... none of that mattered.

Not even Kobe’s 41 points mattered.

Seeing Kobe’s 14-for-30 shooting, Zhang Yang thought this guy was too careless with his stats. In the final 38 seconds, faced with defense, he forced two misses, bringing his fifty percent shooting down to the season’s average of 46%. How could this performance make him the GOAT? Lack of ambition!

Bogans, Gerald Wallace, and Karim Rush did a decent job limiting Kobe’s long-range shots. For the first 47 and a half minutes, they kept Kobe to only 3 three-point attempts, making just one. freёnovelkiss.com

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