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Chapter 241 - 127. One step away from the playoffs!

Chapter 241: 127. One step away from the playoffs!

At 7 p.m., the game between the Bobcats and the Timberwolves began.

The Bobcats were well-prepared for this game.

In the last seven regular-season games, after playing against the Chicago Bulls, management and the coaching staff had a meeting to discuss how to approach the final seven games. They unanimously decided to eliminate any possibility of playing loosely, not to consider which rank they would end at, whom to face in the first round, to secure wins against weaker teams with all their might, and to try to win against stronger teams if possible. They would contest every game.

Garnett faced a siege by the Bobcats, his perimeter play disrupted by the impact of Gerald Wallace, and once he moved inside, he was sandwiched between Gerald Wallace and Okafor, sometimes with Perkins adding to the pressure.

At the end of the first half, Garnett, having played 22 minutes, made 2 out of 7 shots. Adding his free throws, 2 out of 3, he only scored 5 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block, while the Timberwolves only managed to score 37 points.

However, the Bobcats only scored 41 points by halftime! They went into the locker room with just a 4-point lead.

Garnett single-handedly held up the defense for the Timberwolves!

This season, Garnett’s steals and blocks were the lowest since he secured his starting position in his second year, but at 29, his individual defense had peaked. His defensive play had already transcended stages where it needed to be measured in steals and blocks.

Even with few teammates considered strong on defense, Garnett led the team to the league’s seventh-best defense. With the offense ranking among the bottom five, the Timberwolves could still hold a record of 31 wins and 43 losses, relying on the defense orchestrated by Garnett.

For Zhang Yang, who mainly scored from mid-range, tonight’s set offense faced significant restrictions. Garnett was one of the rare defenders who could cover the mid-range zone by himself.

Playing to his strengths and avoiding his weaknesses, after entering the game, Zhang Yang chose to focus on defense and fastbreaks after playing a couple of rounds. With his defense leading to fastbreaks and smooth transition play, he managed to score 4 points, 2 assists, then added an in-play cut for a layup, drew a foul at mid-range and sank both free throws, ending up with 8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal for the half, and his performance was not bad at all.

The Bobcats’ players did not become anxious due to the small scoring gap. After all, the opposition was a 30-win-level team, with a strength similar to what they had before Okafor’s return. They were likely to lose against a regular playoff team but at least they had a fighting chance.

The game was tough on the nerves, but being in the Eastern Conference, the Bobcats’ players were already accustomed to it and played with patience. This slow-paced grinding down of the opposition was also a valid strategy.

But in the third quarter, the situation suddenly changed!

Garnett went on a rampage!

His shooting remained poor, taking 5 shots in the quarter and only scoring on a put-back, netting two points. But he grabbed 6 offensive rebounds in the quarter alone!

Although he only scored on 1 of those 6 offensive rebounds, with 2 of them being blocked, the other 3 led to assists!

The Timberwolves’ players, buoyed by Garnett fighting fiercely for offensive rebounds, launched shots from beyond the three-point line with abandon. Although their shooting percentage wasn’t high, they made up for it with volume, and with more offensive rebounds... the Timberwolves scored 21 points in the third quarter!

Meanwhile, with Garnett leading the charge, the Timberwolves held the Bobcats to just 17 points.

At the end of the third quarter, the Timberwolves had tied the game, 58 to 58!

The six offensive rebounds in the third quarter by Garnett greatly impacted Zhang Yang.

Already struggling in the set offense, his chances of pushing the ball up in transition were lost if he couldn’t secure defensive rebounds, and there would be no chances for fast breaks. To contain Garnett’s rebounding assault, he had to play closer to the basket, reducing his fastbreak opportunities even further... Zhang Yang only scored 2 points and 1 rebound in the third quarter, along with a block when he caught Garnett from behind as he tried to rebound and go up again.

In the final quarter, Zhang Yang changed his approach to the set offense.

For the 18 minutes he played in the first three quarters, he had been avoiding Garnett, but now he actively moved towards the high post area, attracting Garnett’s attention on receiving the ball and then passing to teammates on the wings.

Not scoring, just pure diversion!

Now it was Garnett’s turn to be uncomfortable. If he didn’t follow, the rookie would take the shot. Even if he kept missing, he’d shoot again without blinking an eye next time. If the mid-range was left open, it was all over. If Garnett covered it, his teammates’ wing defense was terrible, and Mark Blount couldn’t possibly cover the basket alone.

The rookie reacted quickly and wasn’t afraid of confrontation!

Garnett’s assessment of Zhang Yang was higher than that of most young, forward talents. Those others always tried to avoid his shooting interference, getting more desperate to avoid it the less they could, only thinking about how to create better shooting opportunities for themselves, without ever considering attracting the defense. There were very few with this mindset—Hinrich, Paul...

In fact, Garnett was quite surprised. From what he had seen at the All-Star game and in the news, he thought Zhang Yang was a young, talented player obsessed with scoring, as if his eyes saw nothing but the hoop. Now he realized that this was a player who put the team first.

With his teammates struggling on the wing and under the basket, Garnett didn’t waste time brooding; his goal was to shut down the rookie.

He couldn’t let the rookie rack up points in his defensive area!

On Zhang Yang’s end, he managed to open a breakthrough for the Bobcats’ offense. Gerald Wallace took advantage of this, scoring with consecutive cuts on the wing, and after drawing the center into a double-team, Brezec and Okafor found more opportunities.

The Bobcats’ offensive efficiency surged, while the Timberwolves’ scoring still depended on an aggressive yet inefficient approach. As the game progressed, the Timberwolves players’ enthusiasm for attacking and falling back in defense waned.

Garnett managed 6 offensive rebounds in the third quarter with the help of teammates like Mark Madsen, Mark Blount, and Ricky Davis, who pulled away the Bobcat players’ attention from box-outs. As his teammates’ enthusiasm faded, Garnett’s success rate for offensive rebounding attacks declined as well.