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Chapter 365 - 168. Basketball holy land fans switch sides again (10,000 words)_6

Chapter 365: 168. Basketball holy land fans switch sides again (10,000 words)_6

The score gap narrowed to 1 point, and Thomas immediately adjusted the defense after the timeout. The opportunity had come, and he was capable of seizing it, having coached a team through the playoffs before.

Unexpectedly, the opposing team didn’t substitute similar players, but completely changed their strategy! His defensive preparations were in vain!

Fortunately, the Knicks Team didn’t rely on defense to win games. With the performance of the opposing wings declining, their core interior player benched, and the linchpin of their front-line defense and offense replaced along with their assault guard, he still had confidence.

True to form, the Knicks Team quickly took the lead after the timeout.

The King switched back to their backcourt duo strategy. When Felton went one-on-one, Zhang Yang moved to provide support; when Zhang Yang went solo, Felton moved to the wings for a spot-up shot. Their offense was passable, but their teammates just couldn’t score.

Matt Carroll was left open, Felton tried to pass to him once, he missed, and Felton didn’t try again afterward.

When Zhang Yang went one-on-one, unless there was an obvious opportunity for an inside player to score or Felton was open, he absolutely would not pass, completely disregarding the option to pass to Matt Carroll.

At this stage of the game, trusting Matt Carroll’s open three-pointer was less appealing to Zhang Yang than believing in his own accuracy shooting against two defenders.

Millsap and Muhammad’s rebounding abilities were inferior to Gerald Wallace’s and Okafor’s, making their offensive efforts futile.

Facing the Knicks Team’s formidable offensive firepower, Felton and Zhang Yang could only struggle to keep up and prevent the score gap from widening rapidly.

However, the duo hadn’t given up. They were waiting for an opportunity; if it came, there was still hope. If it didn’t... they were ready to accept defeat gracefully.

They did all the necessary preparation: keeping the score close. Keeping the score tight was their only chance for an opportunity to emerge.

In the 5+ minutes after the Knicks Team came back from the timeout, they racked up an 18 to 12 run, taking the lead at 124 to 119, 5 points ahead of the King.

With 3 minutes left in the game, the opportunity Zhang Yang and Felton had been waiting for finally arrived!

The Knicks Team was also experiencing a decline in stamina and began missing shots in succession!

The Knicks Team, accustomed to playing with an 8-man rotation, only had a slight edge in experience over the King with 8 such games under their belt, nothing compared to the Suns or the King of the past!

After a brawl, the Knicks Team was left with only 8 players eligible to play. Thomas tried playing an ’80s style offensive basketball, inadvertently causing an offensive basketball storm. Since the first game after the brawl, they had caught their opponents off guard, dominating early in nearly every game with a large score gap. However, they managed only a 5-3 record from those games since they had also encountered stamina crises, losing 3 games after being overtaken.

As they played more games with an 8-man offensive strategy, their experience grew, and they improved in rotation, ball distribution, and stamina management compared to when they started. But lagging offense due to fatigue towards the end of the games still happened!

This was exactly what Zhang Yang and Felton were waiting for!

While waiting, they didn’t forget to communicate with their teammates to maintain positivity, patience, and focus, ready for the opportunity.

When it came, they didn’t miss it!

During the Knicks Team’s missed shots, Millsap boxed out David Lee, Muhammad secured the rebound and passed to Felton, Zhang Yang quickly ran down the court, ready to receive Felton’s long pass for a fast break!

In 4 possessions, the Knicks Team missed 3 shots and only scored two points, Muhammad protected all 3 rebounds, and Felton and Zhang Yang managed to score on two fast breaks.

With 11:02 left in the fourth quarter, the Bobcats had closed the gap to 123-126, just 3 points behind!

The Knicks’ turn to attack, Marbury advanced to the frontcourt and passed the ball to Crawford.

Marbury could no longer penetrate, he was out of stamina, and Frye and Big Q on the wings couldn’t make their shots either. Plus, a bunch of guys were squatting under the basket, so for a one-on-one on the perimeter, their best shot was with Crawford.

Although Crawford was also tired, he wouldn’t pass up the chance to take the key shot.

But the man in front of him had changed, it was no longer Matt Carroll whom he toyed with—it was Zhang Yang!

This... made Crawford even more excited!

Facing the bad boy Zhang San, reputedly the most talented under 20 in the league, and scoring the winning basket? An excited Crawford felt his fatigue fade as he started to dribble with flair... his opponent didn’t even flinch.

Crawford’s expression turned slightly awkward; he remembered, this was a ’slow reflex’ calm high schooler.

A direct drive was definitely out of the question, he couldn’t shoot with a crowd inside, facing an opponent taller and with a longer reach who also chose a calm approach, leaving no room for shots or drives. His stamina at its limit, he couldn’t settle for a pull-up jumper either, and the same went for a forceful shot.

In a flash, Crawford made his decision, played some tricks with the ball, and suddenly started his drive, breaking through!

He attacked from the right, but just as he entered the three-point line, he pounded the ball hard, retreating back, stepping back for a jump shot... and missed the ball...

Zhang Yang had reached for the ball instantly after Crawford pounded it down, poking it!

He bet Crawford wouldn’t choose a direct shot or a pull-up jumper after the drive, leaving only the step-back jumper as a likely move since in his memory, Jamal Crawford, the future three-time Sixth Man of the Year, would rely on these three moves in clutch moments. His gamble paid off!

After poking the ball away, Zhang Yang lunged to snatch it. Crawford quickly turned to chase, but Zhang Yang got to the ball first and launched a counterattack!

Crawford rushed to catch up, sticking close to Zhang Yang as he entered the three-point line... but he couldn’t withstand Zhang Yang’s drive!

Zhang Yang’s strength wasn’t great at his age, but Crawford was even weaker. Pushing against Crawford, Zhang Yang went inside for a bank shot throw, and though Crawford rose to block, he couldn’t prevent Zhang Yang from getting the shot off. In mid-air, he even bumped Zhang Yang, drawing a foul!

With the sound of the referee’s whistle, the ball dropped into the net. Zhang Yang completed a steal and coast-to-coast play for two points, plus a foul shot to come!

The home fans gasped at Zhang Yang’s counterattack score, hesitating whether to cheer or boo during his free throw as their own team had played so well and had a chance to win, but the opponent was the superstar bad boy Zhang San. As they hesitated and struggled, the data posted on the overhead screen at the court...

In the first three minutes of the quarter, Zhang Yang scored a 2+1 for 3 points. During the two-man game, he scored 4 points. In the past two minutes, he scored 2 points in collaboration with Felton on a fast break. After this steal and counterattack score, his fourth quarter points reached 11. Together with 9 points in the first, 14 in the second, and 15 in the third, his score for the night had reached 49 points!

Just 1 point away from 50, he stepped up to the free-throw line... and the New York fans decisively switched sides again!

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I’ll finish today’s minimum ten thousand words quota first and see if I can write another six thousand tonight. I’ve missed three thousand words yesterday and the day before, I’ll try to catch up!