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Chapter 313 - 151. Accidentally slaughtered! _4

Chapter 313: 151. Accidentally slaughtered! _4

The management didn’t let Jeff Van Gundy use Jack in the season opener, and he didn’t want to either. How could he use a swingman who, standing at 196 cm and 115 kg, had just put on over 10 kg since signing in early September at a weight of just 100 kg?

He could only count on McGrady’s individual skill and Alston’s wild shots.

After the second quarter started, McGrady and Alston did not disappoint Jeff Van Gundy on the offensive end.

McGrady, seeing Zhang Yang score 14 points in a single quarter, was upset— a high schooler scoring in his face! He was determined to score right back!

Alston’s one-on-one long-range shots against Felton’s defense were also not bad.

But the Rockets’ defense with this lineup...

Felton and Millsap attacked the paint ferociously with pick-and-rolls.

Millsap’s pick-and-roll talent was a delight for Felton, just the kind of inside partner he liked working with. Although Millsap’s cutting and receiving abilities were a bit rough around the edges, his aggressive offensive rebounding and strong, dribble-free inside game had already earned Felton’s approval during the preseason.

Gerald Wallace got blasted by McGrady on the defensive end and took out his anger on offense; when Felton got tired, Wallace took over the attack.

Watching Mutombo posture impressively under the basket but move slowly and offer feeble interference, his occasional powerful block followed by wagging his finger did look domineering, but it didn’t have much impact on the game. What should be stopped, couldn’t be stopped.

Little Van Gundy really wanted the boss to spend some money on a younger backup center, but he knew the boss wouldn’t agree.

After all, Mutombo had both a cheap price tag and a big name—perfect for fooling Chinese fans. The owner wouldn’t consider replacing him, nor would he spend extra money for a strong backup inside player.

McGrady scored 7 points in half the quarter, bringing his total to 15 points, surpassing Zhang Yang’s 14 points.

Alston scored 5 points, and with Novak’s mid-range basket added two points, the Rockets scored 14 points halfway through the quarter.

Yet, by the official timeout of the second quarter, the Rockets had failed to close the gap and even fell behind by an additional 3 points.

Felton had 4 points and 3 assists in half the quarter, Matt Carroll 3 points, Millsap two points, Gerald Wallace 4 points, and Muhammad and the rotating Perkins each added two points, bringing the Bobcats’ half-quarter total to 17 points!

to 40, the Bobcats increased their lead to 7 points!

Jeff Van Gundy, seeing McGrady panting as he took a seat on the bench, knew they had fallen into a vicious cycle...

McGrady, who had played 18 minutes straight, made 6 of 12 shots, including 1 of 3 three-pointers, and 2 of 3 free throws, to accumulate 15 points. Although his performance was strong, he was also very tired.

Now that Yao Ming had recovered enough to play, but with McGrady out, it was foreseeable that Yao could at best maintain the score. Once McGrady was rested, Yao would be tired...

How could this situation be resolved? It couldn’t!

It wasn’t just that he found it difficult to adapt on the fly, he also didn’t have the conditions to make more adaptations.

Apart from Yao and McGrady, the strongest player on the team was Battier, obtained in exchange for Rudy Guy, but Battier was a blue-collar shooter, not countable for offense. Alston was already their third-highest scorer...

Jeff Van Gundy: "Destroy this world!"

...

During McGrady’s scoring spree, Felton and Gerald Wallace led the Bobcats, overpowering the Yao-less Rockets, tipping the scales of victory towards the Bobcats.

In the latter half of the second quarter, the two teams scored 11 points each, and at the end of the half, the Rockets narrowed the score to 51-58.

Yao Ming entered the court, and the Rockets’ defense escalated by two tiers, suppressing the scores on both sides, but it didn’t reverse the Rockets’ downward momentum.

After returning from the halftime break, the surging Bobcats launched another fierce attack. With Yao Ming and McGrady both playing, the Rockets managed to keep the game competitive, but once Yao Ming went out, the Rockets’ defense collapsed.

The Bobcats were trailing 12 to 14 in the first half of the quarter, then blasted a score of 17 to 12 in the second half, ending the quarter at 29 to 26. By the end of the third quarter, the Bobcats extended their lead to double digits, 87 to 77 ahead!

Scoring 9 points in the first quarter, 6 points in the second, and 9 points in the third, Yao Ming played 26 minutes over three quarters, made 10 of 17 shots, and with 4 of 5 free throws, scored 24 points with 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 blocks.

Scoring 8 points in the first quarter, 7 points in the second, and 10 points in the third, McGrady played 30 minutes over three quarters, making 9 of 19 shots, including 3 of 7 three-pointers, and with 4 of 6 free throws, scored the game’s highest to this point—25 points, along with 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.

Both of them performed well, but tonight the opposing Bobcats were just too good! The two scored a combined 49 points, leading their team to a high score of 77 points, but still trailed by 10 points!

Moreover, the fatigue of both players was visibly evident!

Yao Ming was continuously drained by the opponents, and McGrady’s defense wasn’t much better, with Gerald Wallace tailing him the entire time. Inside, some would rather leave their man open to block him, and on the wings, there were Rondo, Zhang Yang, and Alan Anderson closing in... It was impressive that McGrady managed to shoot over 45% under such defense without being on a hot streak tonight.

Entering the final quarter, Jeff Van Gundy chose to bench both Yao Ming and McGrady.

As soon as the fourth quarter started, Zhang Yang drove into the paint, scoring a quick shot over Mutombo’s defense, thereby raising his personal points to 26, surpassing McGrady and sounding the Bobcats’ horn for a massacre!

With Yao Ming and McGrady out, the Rockets could neither make shots nor prevent them.

In just over four minutes, the Bobcats repeatedly went on the counterattack, with Zhang Yang scoring 7 points during the break, making 3 shots, including a 2+1 foul shot against Alston, which was also successful. Along with the opening drive score, he made 9 points, bringing his personal total to 33 points!

Along with the other 5 points scored by teammates, the Bobcats outscored the Rockets 14 to 4 during this period.

to 81, the Bobcats pulled ahead by 20 points.

Jeff Van Gundy called a timeout and conceded defeat.

Yao Ming and McGrady went to rest... and never stood up again.

On Bickerstaff’s side, he brought in the lineup of Rondo, Alan Anderson, Matt Carroll, Jumaine Jones, and Millsap. He wanted Zhang Yang to push for 40+ points, but as it was the ’China Derby,’ it wasn’t quite appropriate. He’d find another opportunity.

It was only proper to give some respect to the team of another Chinese player, to avoid making the score too unsightly.

However, his players did not seem to grasp his intention... Rondo, along with Matt Carroll and Millsap, recklessly went on fast breaks to pad their stats!

In the remaining 7-plus minutes, the Bobcats outscored the Rockets 24 to 13!

Matt Carroll kept firing threes, sinking 4 of 6 shots for 12 points! Added to the 9 points from the first three quarters, he managed to raise his individual score to 21 points during the garbage time!

At 10:24 p.m., the final whistle blew.

Aggressively scoring even during garbage time, the crowd had little reaction, but even Rockets fans, who had remained quiet even when the game reached garbage time, let out boos.

Bickerstaff wanted to smash his cup, wishing he had let his boy Jack score an extra 7 points instead! But could he blame his players? Of course not, it was just the other side’s bad luck...

Scoring 14 points in the first quarter, 3 in the second, 7 in the third, and 9 in the last, Zhang Yang played 31 minutes, made 13 of 24 shots, including 2 of 4 three-pointers, and with 5 of 6 free throws, he scored 33 points along with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals!

Together with Felton’s 16 points and 7 assists, Rondo’s 6 assists resulting in 10 for the game alongside 6 points, Matt Carroll’s 21 points, Gerald Wallace’s 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 3 blocks, Okafor’s 12 points and 10 rebounds... 125 to 94, the Bobcats slaughtered the Rockets by 31 points!