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Chapter 263 - 135. You score as many goals as we shoot! _2

Chapter 263: 135. You score as many goals as we shoot! _2

Under their lead, the Bobcats ended the first quarter with a 26-13 lead over the Knights, up by 13 points!

During the break, Zhang Yang unexpectedly said, "I didn’t think Hughes, who seems so mild-tempered, would have the guts to go against James."

Felton, "I guessed Hughes would lose his temper long ago!"

Zhang Yang, "Boss, you really have an eye for people."

Feeling affirmed, Felton was quite smug and freely expressed, "Every man has his temper. After being berated by the media and James’s fans for two days and nights, it would be strange if he could endure that."

Okafor interjected, "James is actually quite innocent. I think he didn’t feel Hughes was holding him back. This time, it was the fans who dragged him down. Look over there; he’s taking the initiative to talk to Hughes."

Zhang Yang wanted to rebut that statement, but before he could speak, Felton burst out, "His fans threw all the blame for his poor performance in the first game onto Hughes, and he didn’t speak up for Hughes at all. By staying silent, he accepted their narrative. He’s not innocent. I saw a news item that said James didn’t let Hughes play in the fourth quarter of the first game. He definitely thinks Hughes is a drag. Now, going to apologize to Hughes is just because he realized he can’t defend without him."

Zhang Yang gave a thumbs up.

...

After the break, Hughes was touched by James’s sincere attitude, setting aside their off-court issues for the time being and supporting James wholeheartedly.

But the media and fans had a point—James and Hughes on the court together really interfered with each other’s play.

With both the Bobcats and the Knights focusing on defense, when they played together, unless their teammates were exceptionally hot from outside, they couldn’t even score 20 points in a quarter.

Moreover, their conflict in the first quarter directly collapsed the morale that was already low due to the loss of home-court advantage.

In the second quarter, the Knights’ offense didn’t improve much from the first, managing only 17 points!

Defensively, Hughes properly covered high posts and the middle, contracted when necessary, and regained his usual dynamism.

But his teammates’ defensive efforts slid along with their morale. Thanks to Zhang Yang’s over 50% shooting from Game 1 and the efficient 8 points from the first quarter drawing defense high, Okafor, Gerald Wallace, and Brezec started to soar!

Okafor scored 6 points, Gerald Wallace 5 points, Brezec 7 points—the three totaled 18 points in the second quarter. Alongside Zhang Yang’s long two-pointer and Matt Carroll’s fast break three-pointer, Perkins also grabbed two points off a dunk... The Bobcats scored 25 points in the second quarter!

By halftime, the Bobcats led the Knights 51 to 30, up by 21 points!

Putting it nicely, the Knights had little hope of a comeback. Bluntly, it was garbage time already!

James wanted to explode right there; he put his pride aside to apologize to Hughes, to no avail!

After halftime, James continued to play, along with Damon Jones, Ronald Murray, Donnell Marshall, and Big Z, the four players capable of mid-to-long range shooting, just like in the fourth quarter of the last game.

With the experience from the last game, Bickerstaff was prepared and kept the defense against James unchanged, but strengthened the offense in other positions.

The lineup with four shooters really suited James. There was enough space and, although Felton and his teammates inside couldn’t completely stop James, the Bobcats’ offense flowed better than in the first half!

In the third quarter, James made 4 of 9 shots, including 0 for 2 from three, plus 4 for 4 from the line, scoring 12 points with 2 assists, leading the Knights to score 26 points in the quarter.

For the Bobcats, Zhang Yang played 9 minutes, made 3 of 6 shots, and with 1 of 2 from the line scored 7 points. Felton added 5 points, Matt Carroll and Jumaine Jones each made a three-pointer, and Okafor, Gerald Wallace, and Brezec together scored 10 points in the paint... scoring 28 points in the quarter.

After three quarters, not only did James fail to reduce the deficit, but the gap was further widened!

to 56, after three quarters, the Bobcats’ lead expanded to 23 points!

The Knights waved the white flag, sending in a purely reserve lineup for the final quarter, and Bickerstaff also put in a fully reserve lineup including Bernard Johnson, Alan Anderson, Karim Rush, Melvin Ely, and Brezec.

The Knights managed a 25-17 score in the final quarter, reducing the lead to 15 points, which looked slightly better, but it was inconsequential to the game’s outcome.

Zhang Yang made 7 of 14 shots, including 1 of 3 from three, and with 3 of 4 from the line, he scored 18 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal.

Okafor had 15 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 blocks; Gerald Wallace had 17 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks; Felton scored 15 points and 6 assists; Brezec 11 points; Matt Carroll 12 points...

to 81, the Bobcats beat the Knights by 15 points, leading 2-0 on the road!

...

The day after G2, the Bobcats flew back to Charlotte. With the alternation of home and away games and two days of rest, the coaching staff didn’t schedule any training and let the players rest at home.

Zhang Yang called his parents once he got back to his apartment and confirmed the time to pick them up the next day.

He didn’t go to practice that afternoon, took proper rest, played some games, and browsed the news.

Most of the time, it’s better not to read the news, which he knew, but couldn’t help checking anyway, and it really irritated him!

The media had changed their tune again, from criticizing Hughes’s performance to attacking the Knights’ management decisions.

Simply put—signing Larry Hughes was the Knights’ biggest mistake last summer.