No.1 in basketball scoring
Chapter 298 - 146.Beat LA (8000 words)_5

Chapter 298: 146.Beat LA (8000 words)_5

Throughout most of the past year, his mind had hardly been on work, until the second round of the playoffs, when he heard Zhang Yang had been selected for the All-NBA Second Team. It was only after seeing Zhang Yang score 42 points in Game 4 that he realized just how wrong he had been, incredibly so.

If he had pulled himself together in June, even without any good cards in hand, he could have swallowed his pride and strengthened the role player lineup to some extent, rather than letting the six starters struggle so hard.

But that wasn’t the most important thing, the most important was his attitude towards Zhang Yang.

Last season, he always treated Zhang Yang as one to be developed as part of the future core duo of the team, communicating actively and always considering Zhang Yang’s growth.

This season, although Zhang Yang still played a key role, it was all through his own individual performances. The communication between him and Zhang Yang was far less than last season, and now he couldn’t judge how much affection Zhang Yang had for their Celtics team.

Furthermore, he hadn’t considered the impact of local fan opinion on Zhang Yang and didn’t intervene...

A year’s time can deeply wound a person’s heart, but a year’s time might not be enough to win it back... Auerbach felt time was running out for him, yet he was helpless and could only do what needed to be done, trying his best to make amends.

Fortunately, Zhang Yang knew what mattered most at this time—championship!

...

As Auerbach had expected, Zhang Yang stepped up and shouted that slogan, quickly dissolving the impact of the media offensive unleashed by the Lakers in the past two days!

The teammates were actually only worried about the future. Upon hearing ’Beat LA’, all worries vanished. They were ready to annihilate the Lakers!

On the night of June 17th at 8 PM, the ferocious Celtics faced off against the Lakers at the Great Western Forum for Game 6 of the Finals.

The importance of a head coach to a team was vividly demonstrated in this Finals series.

Pat Riley’s strategic blunders after Game 3 led to two consecutive devastating losses for the Lakers, and the Celtics’ morale had become utterly unstoppable, while the Lakers’ players’ confidence was shattered.

Had the Lakers managed to win one of the three away games, the mindset of the Lakers players would be completely different now, needing to win only one home game to clinch the title—what was there to fear?

But now, trailing 2 to 3 after three straight losses, the Lakers players thought—they can’t afford to lose a single game; losing means giving up the championship.

In the first quarter, the Celtics surged ahead, scoring 37 to 31 for a six-point lead.

However, despite low spirits, the Lakers’ strength was evident. After the decision-making mistakes in Game 4 and failing to adjust the rhythm in Game 5, they managed to find their offensive rhythm this night, finishing the second quarter 34 to 30, narrowing the gap to two points, catching up to 65 to 67.

But in the third quarter, Dennis Johnson, a veteran continually underestimated by the Lakers during this Finals series, exploded. He completed four steals and scored six points off fast breaks, along with a three-pointer in a set play, adding to that a cutting layup draw that resulted in two made free throws, tallying up 11 points himself!

The Celtics scored 33 to 28 in the third quarter, with Dennis Johnson halting the Lakers’ momentum and helping the Celtics widen the gap once again!

to 93, the Celtics entered the final quarter with a seven-point lead!

Dennis Johnson’s breakout quarter did more than widen the gap—it also meant that Zhang Yang, Larry Bird, and McHale had a lighter load in the third quarter.

In the final quarter, the Lakers, facing a seven-point deficit and an seemingly inevitable defeat, didn’t give up and fought hard on both ends, scoring 33 points against the current.

But shot after shot from Zhang Yang and Larry Bird went in...

With 11 minutes and 51 seconds left in the final quarter, Zhang Yang took on Magic Johnson in a one-on-one, driving into the lane for a floater that hit its mark; the Celtics pushed their score up to 30 for the quarter, stretching their lead back to four points!

After a timeout and a failed determined shot by Byron Scott, the Lakers’ plan to play for a quick score and resort to a fouling strategy fell apart.

On June 17th, 1987, at 10:23 PM, the final buzzer sounded.

The Great Western Forum was as quiet as it had been in 1969, with only the raucous celebration of the Celtics players to be heard.

With 35 points from Zhang Yang, 27 from Larry Bird, 23 from Dennis Johnson... the Celtics beat the Lakers 130 to 126, with an overall score of 4 to 2, achieving a four-game winning streak and a sweeping comeback to take the championship!

Zhang Yang also joined the celebrations; this Finals series was exhilarating! Who could refuse the thrill of a comeback leading to a final victory?

During the celebration, he was prepared to "fall asleep", but it didn’t happen!

Even when Stern arrived with the ceremony ladies and the staff positioned them to receive the championship trophy, it didn’t happen!

Zhang Yang quickly calculated: his scores for the six games were 30, 35, 42, 28, 36, 35 points respectively, averaging 34.3 points per game, the highest on both teams.

Larry Bird, with an average of only 31.6 points, was incredibly consistent! Scoring 32, 43, 30, 30, 28, 27 points; apart from exploding in Game 2 with the ’isolation strategy’, he was stable in the other games, with not just an average of 31.6 points but also an average of 8.5 assists per game!

Larry Bird’s shooting percentage was 56.1%, while Zhang San’s was 50.9%.

Larry Bird had a significant advantage, but before the game, Zhang Yang saw media predictions stating that if the Celtics won the championship, he would be more likely to win FMVP.

Larry Bird playing well was normal, but no one expected Zhang Yang to average over 30 points per game.

Zhang San was calculating, and so was Larry Bird; he didn’t want to lose either! Before, he was competing with the opponents, and now it was with a teammate.

Soon, after Stern had finished a bunch of nonsense and presented the championship trophy, he began to award the FMVP trophy.

When the word "China" left Stern’s mouth, Larry Bird knew it was over for him.

Zhang Yang was overjoyed! But before he could even cheer, sleepiness suddenly overcame him... Gate of Trials, that’s some serious shit.

...

...

The update is a bit late because it turned out longer than expected, over 8000 words—votes for monthly best are appreciated!