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Chapter 518 - 224. Bad boy turns into little demon blade, goes wild online in the third quarter!_2

Chapter 518: 224. Bad boy turns into little demon blade, goes wild online in the third quarter!_2

Bowen had just received the ball when he was stuck to by Zhang Yang. His speed was only enough to get open for the pass against Zhang Yang’s defense; there was no chance for an open shot, and even passing out was difficult. He was forced to shoot... "Clang"... no good!

Rondo secured the defensive rebound, and Ginobili immediately rushed over and hugged Rondo, committing a tactical foul! Since they hadn’t reached the foul limit yet, Ginobili used the foul to stop Rondo and Zhang Yang from starting a counterattack.

Popovich took the opportunity to call a timeout and make some roster rotations.

After Ginobili’s aggressive play, the Spurs were about to enter another low-scoring iron-blood period.

Popovich knew this; it was the same every game, just like the last one.

But Ginobili starting the third quarter with 3 shots and 3 hits, totaling 7 points without gaining an advantage, was very painful for Popovich.

The opposition took advantage of Duncan’s absence to attack the basket fiercely, even demonstrating a strong inside-out game, with Zhang Yang taking open shots at the free-throw line!

Popovich had no choice but to send Duncan back in early.

After the timeout, the Spurs finally stabilized their defense. Rondo, Zhang Yang, and Gerald Wallace had just had a fierce attack wave; now with Duncan back to protect the rim, the trio couldn’t stir up any trouble and resumed the iron-blooded battle with the Spurs.

But while the Spurs stabilized their defense, their offense couldn’t pick up either, as the 20-minute Jordan Experience card entered its cooldown phase once again.

Zhang Yang was subbed out at 4:22 in the third quarter, just when Parker’s pass went out of bounds; Popovich also took the chance to rest Ginobili.

With those two off the court, the offense from both teams became even more dismal. By the time Bickerstaff called a timeout at 10:56 in the third quarter, the quarter’s score was 16 to 15. In the opening two-plus minutes, the Bobcats had 8 points, Ginobili had 7, which meant in the subsequent eight-plus minutes, both teams only scored 8 points!

The score was 52 to 52, a tie game!

Coming back from the timeout, the Bobcats sent out a lineup of Felton, Zhang Yang, Alan Anderson, Muhammad, and Okafor; the Spurs countered with Udrih, Ginobili, Barry, Oberto, and Duncan.

With Zhang Yang and Ginobili back on the court, both head coaches’ lineups aimed at getting those two scoring.

Bobcats on the offense, Felton pushed into the frontcourt and lobbed it to Zhang Yang at the high post.

Defending Zhang Yang was Brent Barry... Zhang Yang turned and feinted a drive, then pulled the ball back for a mid-range jumper... it hit!

Barry could rush forward and help on defense, but his lateral movement was slow; that’s why Popovich started Finley instead of Barry, and now having tested that, Barry indeed couldn’t keep up.

Then it was the Spurs’ turn to attack, and the fans chanted "Manu," expecting a response from the maestro.

Ginobili wouldn’t shirk the responsibility. After getting to the frontcourt, he received a pass from Udrih, used Duncan to set a screen, then faked a drive after curling around the pick and stepped back for a three-pointer... It was a good idea, and he had created the opportunity. Muhammad rushed back to contest but couldn’t bother the shot. However, Ginobili’s shot was weak and fell short!

Okafor boxed out the charging Oberto and grabbed the defensive rebound, passing it to Felton.

Felton pushed the counterattack... the break didn’t develop, but he barrelled into the frontcourt with Udrih unable to stop him; the other Spurs could only hustle back and stick to the closest man.

Duncan was the one in front of Zhang Yang. Before Felton even reached the three-point line, he passed the ball directly to Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang easily bypassed Duncan and drove into the paint. Oberto, who had dropped back to defend, came out to confront him. Zhang Yang unleashed the Euro step, taking two strides to the left side of the rim and jumped!

Ginobili burst from the baseline, anticipating Zhang Yang’s landing spot, leaped to block... but didn’t jump as high as Zhang Yang!

Zhang Yang dunked the ball over Ginobili, who rushed in for the block, slamming it with one hand into the basket!

The referee blew the whistle, Ginobili fouled Zhang Yang on the shot, but Zhang Yang’s basket was good, and he got an additional free throw!

Baseline fans witnessing the scene were exclaiming, "Oh my God."

Usually, it’s watching Ginobili execute a Euro step and slam dunk over an opponent, which they had already seen once at the start of the third quarter.

Media had reported on Zhang Yang ’stealing moves’ from Ginobili, and Spurs fans took great pride in this, boasting that ’Bad Boy Jack,’ touted as ’the strongest under 20 in basketball history,’ was learning their "Magic Blade’s" techniques.

Who would have thought that one day Zhang Yang would dunk over Ginobili using the moves he stole! Truly, an amazing reversal!

Upon landing after the dunk, Zhang Yang fought to stay upright, knowing that the cameras would be zooming in; he couldn’t look too disheveled.

He thanked his "Magic Blade" mentor for the "Devil’s Footwork"! Zhang San’s Euro step was razor-sharp, relying heavily on it. When executing a Euro step, the second step is as solid as the first, and the leap on the third is as explosive as the second step, giving him the ability to dunk after a Euro step! Usually, he dunks on an open basket, and just now he thought it was clear again, not expecting the Magic Blade mentor to come forward and present him with a dunk!

After being dunked on, Ginobili fell to the floor exhausted, unable to stay steady, sitting on the ground with mixed emotions—a mix of annoyance, anger, regret, and a slight sense of pride, seeing the young foe execute his signature move so perfectly...

Zhang Yang stepped to the free-throw line, and the additional point was good, 57 to 52, Bobcats now leading by 5 points!

As Zhang Yang took the free throw, Popovich made some substitutions, putting in Parker, Bowen, and Horry, while Ginobili and Duncan stayed in the game.

Bickerstaff also brought in Rondo, Gerald Wallace, and Perkins, keeping Okafor in the game. If not for Zhang Yang executing the free throw, he would have liked to sub him out too, leaving Alan Anderson on the floor for defense.

There were 17 seconds left in the third quarter, and the Spurs were about to execute the last play.

Parker ran the clock down to 8 seconds before passing to Duncan, who was posted up against Perkins.

The "Magic Blade’s" energy was spent. In contrast, "Bad Boy Jack," who had rested for half the quarter, returned full of energy. Whatever state Ginobili was in when he left the floor, he came back in the same state.

Parker couldn’t make a play, and Bowen and Horry could only spread out to create space, leaving everyone relying on Duncan to make a strong move like he did at the end of the last game.

However, Duncan had been managed well in terms of playing time in the last game, only playing 39 minutes for the whole game. Tonight, he had already played over 33 minutes, and he just couldn’t budge Perkins!

Duncan turned for a hook shot, and the defensively astute Perkins, who was excellent at anticipating in the low post, interfered at the right time... Duncan’s hook shot hit the angle where the rim and the backboard meet, bouncing to the front!

Popovich was so shocked by the scene that he stood up inside the court.

The scene no one wanted to happen unfolded; Rondo in the middle took the defensive rebound from the free-throw line, turned around, and started the counterattack!

Rush!

Bowen and Horry teamed up at the forward positions, unable to even hinder Zhang Yang’s fast break.

Parker did manage to get back, but as he saw Zhang Yang and Rondo charging towards him, he closed his eyes and stopped moving.

Rondo lobbed the ball, Zhang Yang soared and tipped it, changing its trajectory. As the ball settled into the net, the buzzer lit up red...

At the start of the third quarter, Zhang Yang scored a one-on-one, followed by a medium-range shot, then re-entered at the end of the quarter to score a high-post back-down basket, turned defense into a 2+1 on Ginobili, and finished with a buzzer-beating fast-break alley-oop layup... With 5 of 7 shots made from the field and 1 of 1 from the free-throw line, he erupted for 11 points in the quarter!

Under Zhang Yang’s leadership, the Bobcats scored 23 points in the third quarter, entering the break with a 7-point lead at 59-52 over the Spurs!

As Popovich watched the opposition celebrate excitedly, he had only one thought: Tonight is done for!