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Chapter 227 - 122. Whoever holds out til the end is the true winner!

Chapter 227: 122. Whoever holds out til the end is the true winner!

Seeing Zhang Yang’s actions, Wade’s suppressed emotions erupted as he cursed and charged towards Zhang Yang, but was quickly restrained by Mourning.

The referees rushed onto the court, first giving Zhang Yang a technical foul, then Wade another, and ejected him from the game.

Mourning directly hugged the ranting Wade and walked him into the player tunnel, while the referees managed to control the situation.

The technical foul on Wade was a bit harsh, but not unwarranted; after all, Wade had cursed and seemed ready to fight.

Moreover, Wade’s reaction to the "slit throat" gesture was far more excessive compared to Zhang Yang’s calm demeanor in the first quarter.

From the referees’ perspective, Zhang Yang had calmly approached Wade as if to discuss, at least it seemed that way, while Wade overreacted, so they decided to eject him first.

Mainly because there were only 8 seconds left in the game, with an 11-point difference, ejecting the opposing team’s main player wouldn’t affect the outcome. The Miami Heat could later appeal to have the technical foul rescinded.

However, the referees had initially thought Zhang Yang was a worry-free rookie, always saying thank you when catching the ball and only wanting to "discuss" when provoked, yet he chose to provoke at the last moment... *Did it really matter in those few seconds? Wouldn’t it have been better to wait until the final buzzer to taunt, avoiding a technical foul?* Now they’d have to write a report explaining the situation when the Miami Heat appealed!

Both sides received a technical foul, canceling out the need for free throws. With only a few seconds remaining and an 11-point lead, the referees decided to end the game according to the rules.

Wade played 41 minutes tonight, shooting 12 of 27, and 8 of 12 from the free-throw line, scoring 32 points, grabbing 5 rebounds, and dishing out 8 assists with 2 steals.

O’Neal played 29 minutes, shooting 9 of 15, plus 6 of 10 from the free-throw line, scoring 24 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, with 2 assists, 1 steal, and 4 blocks.

Anthony Walker had 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists, Jason Williams had 16 points, 2 rebounds, and 6 assists...

The Miami Heat’s scoring was mainly concentrated in four players.

On the other side, the Bobcats’ player stats were much more distributed. Zhang Yang had 21 points in regulation and 6 in overtime, totaling 27 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.

Gerald Wallace had 19 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks. Felton had 17 points and 9 assists, Okafor had 14 points and 15 rebounds, Jumaine Jones had 10 points, Brezec had 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks, Matt Carroll had 8 points...

Through overtime, the Bobcats defeated the Miami Heat 117 to 106, securing their 5th consecutive win and improving their record to 32 wins and 31 losses!

...

After the Cavaliers, the Miami Heat were also taken down!

The Bobcats’ four young stars were making headlines again.

*The two super talents from the 2003 draft, known for their exceptional performance, got humiliated by them.*

If Wade started the taunting but couldn’t back it up, and when counter-attacked, he still reacted furiously, thinking of hitting others—how embarrassing.

Wade’s fans argued that the Bobcats only won because Miami was exhausted from back-to-back games.

If they had just left it alone, it wouldn’t have been as bad, but their rebuttal only made the ridicule worse; both the stars and their fans couldn’t handle losing!

A newly established team, with two rookies as the core, one sophomore, and a third-year outcast Ennis who had been delayed for three years, and the Miami Heat had many former strong players clinging to past glories—was it really okay to make so many excuses?

Regarding the unsportsmanlike celebration actions of Wade and Zhang Yang, the league acted quickly. By the next morning, the sanctions were announced: Wade’s second technical foul was rescinded, but both of their first technical fouls stood. Beyond the technical foul fines, each was fined an additional 5,000 US dollars.

Felton wanted to help Zhang Yang with his fine but was refused.

Felton said, "I’m the boss; it’s something I should do."

Zhang Yang replied, "No need, boss. A brand that specializes in neck guards reached out to me. They gave me an endorsement fee."

Felton was stunned, *How could he make money out of this?*

Well, he remembered Deron only got a $400,000 deal as a potential star, and Paul received an official endorsement only after the All-Star weekend. Last year, Zhang Yang secured a $3 million endorsement, the same kind of deal as Paul and Anthony. It made sense; the little brother should earn more.

The more meat on the little brother’s plate, the more soup the big brother, like him, could consume.

After a day’s rest, on March 16, the Bobcats faced the last team in their 5-home-game winning streak, the Seattle SuperSonics.

Riding the momentum of a 5-game winning streak, the Bobcats finished the first half at a 67-52 score. Gerald Wallace played 12 minutes, and Okafor 13 minutes. Neither returned in the second half.

Zhang Yang, Felton, Melvin Ely, and Brezec thrived in scoring.

Felton scored 24 points with 9 assists, Zhang Yang had 23 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, Eli with 17 points and 9 rebounds, Brezec with 22 points and 10 rebounds... The SuperSonics’ starting small forward Lewis, power forward Reggie Evans, were defensive holes, while center Nick Collison’s defense was just decent enough not to be a liability. This frontcourt trio was just easy targets for scoring.

Without Nate McMillan’s Musketeer Formation, the SuperSonics had neither offense nor defense.

The Bobcats defeated the SuperSonics 119 to 97, setting a new franchise record with a 6-game winning streak and improving their record to 33 wins and 31 losses!

Ray Allen shot 9 of 20, including 3 of 8 from three-point range, plus 4 of 5 from the free-throw line, scoring 25 points, grabbing 4 rebounds, and with 3 assists and 1 steal.

Ray Allen did not perform poorly, but to Zhang Yang, it felt completely different from their matchup a few months ago.

Back then, *it was obvious Ray Allen was fighting for victory. This time, it was as if his old teammate Big Dog possessed him. Scoring 25 points just to preserve his average was enough.*

However, seeing the SuperSonics slide to a 24-40 record after the loss, Zhang Yang understood why Ray Allen seemed numbed.

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