No.1 in basketball scoring
Chapter 540 - 234. The Old Era Has Turned a New Page! (11,000 words)_3

Chapter 540: 234. The Old Era Has Turned a New Page! (11,000 words)_3

Finley couldn’t hold back Gerald Wallace, who burst into the paint.

Zhang Yang seized the opportunity to move to the high post, creating a chance for Bowen to block Gerald Wallace’s drive.

But Bowen was dead set on Zhang Yang, even prioritizing defending against Gerald Wallace’s pass to Zhang Yang when Finley was catching up, to prevent Zhang Yang from getting the ball and taking a quick shot.

Gerald Wallace, seeing the situation, drove straight to the basket, leaping for a layup... Duncan’s defensive help was in place, and Gerald Wallace’s shot was disrupted, missing the basket!

Zhang Yang quickly fell back, ready for Parker’s possible counterattack.

It was a pity this shot didn’t go in, but just because it wasn’t successful doesn’t mean it was useless. Defending against Duncan was much harder than against Zhang San or Felton charging in.

Having partnered for two years, Zhang Yang, Felton, Gerald Wallace, and Okafor had developed incredible understanding. When Zhang Yang moved to play without the ball, his three teammates instantly understood his intention—to wear down Duncan!

As the game progressed, the audience noticed that tonight’s start was different from the previous five games!

There were changes as early as Game 4 when the Bobcats adjusted their defensive strategy, imitating the Spurs by guarding against role players’ catch-and-shoot, stopping the Spurs from combining inside and outside play. Parker had more offensive space in Game 4 and Game 5 than in the first three games, which is why he scored 18 points in three quarters of Game 4 and had an outstanding performance of 25 points in three quarters of Game 5.

But that was just a minor adjustment. Both teams still focused on their core scorers in a shootout: Felton, Zhang Yang, Okafor against Parker, Ginobili, Duncan.

Tonight, Gerald Wallace, who had been the main offensive option only when Zhang Yang was resting, became the primary option from the start!

This adjustment had the fans who were hoping to see the Bobcats clinch the championship tonight on edge in front of their TVs.

Gerald Wallace taking charge couldn’t overcome Duncan!

Duncan’s dominance on both offense and defense was evident, leading the team and putting pressure on the Bobcats from the start, complemented by Parker’s one-on-one breakthroughs, the Spurs quickly gained an advantage of about 5 points!

But facing the most disadvantageous start in six games, Bickerstaff on the sideline was not impatient, he didn’t even call for a timeout.

He could see the players’ intention to adapt on their own, and he was very satisfied with the independent adjustments they made.

The game wasn’t decided by a few opening moves, not by one or two quarters, and not just by this one match. Leading 3-2, they had the confidence to make strategic adjustments across games.

On the other hand, Popovich wasn’t so calm. Although his team was leading, the opposing players’ ability to adapt independently was too strong!

He also saw what the opposing players were plotting, but he couldn’t stop them yet.

Call a timeout to readjust the defense? Then the initial plan to surround Zhang Yang would have been in vain, not to mention the unnecessary toll on Duncan’s stamina.

What’s more, suddenly changing the defense now after leading from the start would send a message to the players—that we made a mistake with our opening plan.

Already trailing 2-3, he could only hope that Duncan and Parker could extend the lead a bit, so later Duncan could rest a little more.

With 5 minutes and 23 seconds left in the first quarter, the Spurs, powered by Duncan’s fierce 8 points from the start, took a 17-9 lead over the Bobcats by 8 points. Just when Popovich was beginning to relax a bit, Felton suddenly hit a three-pointer!

12-17, the Bobcats cut the deficit to 5 points!

When the Spurs got the ball, Parker ran the offense, with Duncan who had made 3 out of 5 shots and scored 8 points from 6 attempts, including 2 free throws, setting a pick-and-roll for Parker.

Parker took the cover to penetrate the inside, and this time the Bobcats’ defense chose to constrict, surrounding him. Since Oberto had already scored 4 points off dunks, Okafor didn’t fully commit, giving Parker a chance to forcefully take a shot. The Spurs’ players and coach were expecting Parker to take the risk, as he certainly could with his close-range shooting ability.

But, facing not-so-favorable offensive conditions, Parker passed!

The pass was steady, and Oberto was comfortable when he caught the ball on the left side of the three-second zone. He took a step to the left arc of the charge circle, jumped, and slammed the ball towards the hoop... "smack"... Okafor spun around and flew over, slapping the ball with a solid palm!

The ball flew towards the left baseline, and Zhang Yang got to it before Bowen, turning to dodge Bowen’s steal attempt. Here was his chance!

Zhang Yang started the fast break!

Bowen tried to steal but missed, losing the chance to slow down Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang sped into the counterattack, with only Parker chasing him back.

Zhang Yang executed a Euro step, leaving Parker disoriented and lunging in a random direction. Landing his second step on the right side of the basket, Zhang Yang turned to face the hoop, jumped, and dunked with one hand, scoring two points!

He finally scored! Half a quarter in, Zhang Yang had only taken two shots and missed both, making just one of three attempts for two points.

14-17, the Bobcats’ duo combined for 5 points, prompting Popovich to call a timeout!

Popovich was furious now! He was just about to substitute Ginobili in and let Duncan rest for a little, but in the blink of an eye, the lead was down to 3 points—how could he dare to take Duncan out?

Mainly because Zhang Yang’s energy consumption in this half quarter had been too low. With his off-ball movement being more concise than before and better understanding of conserving energy throughout this playoff series against the Nets, Pistons, and Spurs, he was only doing necessary movements and conserving energy where possible during static offense in this half quarter.

With the score difference at only 3 points, Popovich wasn’t sure if Ginobili, who had erratic performances, could outdo Zhang Yang.

This chapter is updated by freew(e)bnovel.(c)om