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Chapter 494 - 215. One win, one loss, the situation is stable _5

Chapter 494: 215. One win, one loss, the situation is stable _5

Before the playoffs started, countless fans were looking forward to a Western Conference Finals between the Suns and the Mavericks, which would certainly be a round of spectacular offensive battles.

The two teams faced each other four times in the regular season, each winning two games, with scores of 119-112, 101-99, 129-127, and 126-104, earning the title of the most entertaining matchup of the regular season, in a class of its own.

Who would have thought that the Western Finals would actually be the iron-blooded Popovich against the taskmaster Sloan...

On the Eastern side, judging by the trend of the first two games, it seemed like the matches were moving towards the rhythm of the Western Finals.

G1 was just a strategic battle, but G2 turned bloody as they played... Unexpectedly, by G3, both the old and new Bad Boys Legion were at full throttle again!

Barkley’s analysis of the Jazz Team was so spot-on; one simply couldn’t predict the direction of Bickerstaff’s games.

It’s just a pity that the Bobcats lost by 5 points, falling behind 1-2 in the series. The thought of the Pistons and the Spurs playing in the finals cast a shadow once again.

Suddenly, support for the Bobcats surged!

Zhang Yang and Felton competed to take the blame after the game, which also became a hot topic.

Zhang Yang, "It’s my fault. If I could have scored 35 points like in the last game, maybe we could have dragged it into overtime."

Felton, "It’s my fault. I couldn’t give my teammates better passes. I only made one of five shots in the second half. If I had made two more threes, we would have won."

Their action of taking responsibility sparked a heated discussion among the fans, and the OK combination was brought out for a beating... Even the Lakers fans joined in to criticize the OK duo for their lack of unity and constant quarreling.

When Bobcats fans saw what the Lakers fans were saying, they quipped, "Lakers fans seem to be complaining, but actually they’re bragging. Even with internal discord, the OK combination still managed to make it to the finals four times in five years and secure a three-peat."

The barb from the Bobcats fans quickly received responses from the Lakers fans, all feigning embarrassment...

On the next day, the Western Conference Finals moved to Salt Lake City. In G3, the Jazz Team demolished the Spurs 109-83!

Zhang Yang was startled by the score when he heard it just before going to bed, and so he opened up his laptop to check the news.

It turned out that Duncan fell and left the court in the second quarter.

In the first quarter, the Spurs were ahead 23-15, continuing to dominate the Jazz Team, but in the second quarter Duncan fell on the first play when he overran a defensive collapse, crashing out of bounds and into a camera... He was carried off, and the Jazz Team put up a score of 34-16 for the quarter.

The Jazz Team continued their rampage in the third quarter, putting up a score of 32-20. By the end of the quarter, Duncan came back from the locker room, but the Spurs were already trailing the Jazz Team by 22 points, 59-81, and Duncan clocked out early.

After reading the detailed fight report, Zhang Yang felt that the Spurs without Duncan were nothing...

Parker couldn’t lead the team, and Ginobili didn’t have the stamina to do so either.

Another day passed, and on June 1st, the start of a new month, the Bobcats returned to the Auburn Palace to challenge the Pistons on their home court.

Tonight, the Bobcats didn’t start well in the first quarter. Zhang Yang made 2 of 4 shots, including 1 of 1 three-pointers, and made 1 of 2 free throws for a total of 6 points. Gerald Wallace relied on breakthroughs and rebounds to score 8 points, but everyone else combined for just 9 points, ending the quarter with a total of 23 points.

On the other side, the Pistons had 8 players rotate in the first quarter, 7 of whom scored: Hamilton with 7 points, Billups with 6 points, Webber with 4 points and 3 assists, Rasheed Wallace with 4 points, Prince with 4 points, Max Hill with 2 points, and McDyess with 2 points, totaling 29 points for the quarter!

Fans in front of their TVs felt doomed, believing the Bobcats were finished.

In the first 3 games, the Bobcats’ best quarter was always the first, using their relentless drive to open up the offensive game.

But tonight, they couldn’t even win the first quarter, so what would they do later?

However, right at the beginning of the second quarter, Felton faced Billups’ defense and pulled back to shoot three-pointers in two consecutive rounds, "swish swish" scoring both, one even being a 3+1, leading a 7-0 run and helping the Bobcats get ahead with a 30-29 lead!

The role players for the Pistons scored quite well in the first quarter: Webber, Prince, Max Hill, and McDyess combined for 12 points, but in the second quarter, they all faded away.

Hamilton, Billups, and Rasheed Wallace each scored 7 points, amassing a total of 21 points for the quarter, but the rest only saw veteran Dale Davis score a rebound basket for two points, ending the quarter with just 23 points.

Although the Bobcats only scored 21 points in the remaining 11 minutes of the quarter, Felton’s opening 7-point attack contributed to the 28 points they scored that period, ending the half trailing by just one point, 51-52!

Coming back from halftime, the Bobcats continued to push, scoring another 28 points in the third quarter. The Pistons’ offense also warmed up again, netting 27 points in the quarter, and by the end of the third, the teams were tied at 79.

In the final quarter, the Pistons took the lead—Hamilton running endless screens to get shots up, scoring 8 points in half the quarter on 2 of 4 shooting and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line, leading the Pistons to an 18-13 run. By the official timeout, the Pistons had regained a 5-point advantage, 97-92!

After the official timeout, the Pistons continued to control the game, exchanging a 10-10 score with the Bobcats over 4 minutes, tenaciously holding onto their 5-point lead.

With 1 minute and 27 seconds left, the Bobcats were on offense.

Zhang Yang caught the ball up high for a solo play.

Guarded closely by the midrange king and with the Little Prince assisting from the wing, and the Heavenly Sovereign standing under the basket... The Pistons’ defensive intentions were clear, preferring to give Gerald Wallace the chance to attack the rim from the wing, or letting Okafor take close-range shots from the baseline, rather than allowing Zhang Yang to shoot from midrange.

Zhang Yang, seeing the defense, broke through... stepped back beyond the three-point line and took a shot from the top of the arc...