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Chapter 542 - 234. The Old Era Has Turned a New Page! (11,000 words)_5

Chapter 542: 234. The Old Era Has Turned a New Page! (11,000 words)_5

On the Bobcats side, Zhang Yang continued to slack in the latter half of the quarter, shooting only once, missing, and recording the worst single-quarter performance of this Finals, scoring just 2 points... But the Bobcats narrowed the gap by 1 point, ending the half quarter 15-14 over the Spurs!

Into the second quarter, Zhang Yang did not start right away, Felton and Rondo teamed up for the start, Gerald Wallace and Okafor remained on the court, with Perkins taking the center position.

On the Spurs side, Popovich continued with his trio of key players, unconcerned about using the star players heavily, a typical strategy of a Larry Brown-style coach, with the other two being Barry and Horry.

The Bobcats continued with their first quarter tactic, Rondo, Okafor, and Gerald Wallace relentlessly attacking the inside without sparing any effort.

Bickerstaff found it worthwhile to wear down Duncan with these three players.

Felton was responsible for restraining the outside and taking necessary solo long shots.

The Spurs continued to rely heavily on their trio... rather, two key players.

Parker continued to play a role that did not seek personal glory but was calm and stable.

It was then that the Spurs’ coach and players truly felt how important Parker was!

In the first three games of the Finals, Parker’s performance was very poor with no room for offensive maneuvers, but that did not mean he was without effect.

Because of Parker’s threat in breaking through to score, those three games saw the Bobcats relax their guard against the Spurs’ wing shooters and cutting players, all to block Parker.

In Game 4, once the Bobcats started heavily guarding the Spurs’ shooters and disrupted their inside-out defensive strategy, Parker found space to attack, immediately becoming a mainstay during regular time.

In Game 4, despite Ginobili completely falling apart, the Spurs hung on till the last moment, with Duncan scoring 42 points leading the charge, but Parker scoring 18 points in the first three quarters was also indispensable.

In Game 5, Parker was even more pivotal in maintaining the score during regular time.

Tonight, as Parker lost his drive and became just an ordinary, stable point guard, both Ginobili and Duncan found themselves unprecedentedly exhausted! And they were trapped in a vicious cycle!

In the first half of the second quarter, Ginobili and Duncan still held on, narrowly outscoring the Bobcats by 1 point, 12-11, making the score 43-40.

But after the break, once Zhang Yang came back on the court, the rest of the Bobcats, leveraging his drawing power, scored 13-8!

Parker played for 20 minutes in the first half, shot 3 of 5, plus making 2 of 2 free throws, scored 8 points and 5 assists with only 1 turnover, an incredibly efficient performance.

Duncan played the entire first half, shot 7 of 14, along with making 3 of 6 free throws, scored 17 points, 6 boards, 1 assist, 2 blocks.

Ginobili played 18 minutes in the half, never sitting down after entering in the first quarter, playing continuously for one and a half quarters, shot 5 of 11, including making 1 of 3 three-pointers, and making 3 of 4 free throws to score 14 points.

While all three key players performed well, the Bobcats ended the half two points ahead!

At 24-20 for the quarter, the Bobcats led the Spurs 53-51 going into halftime!

Zhang Yang only scored 3 points in the first half, missing both attempts in the latter part of the second quarter; the only point during that half came from a technical foul free throw given by Popovich just a couple of minutes after he was on the floor.

Initially, Popovich was restraining himself from cursing, but when Parker was once again caught in a double-team after breaking inside and passed to Oberto outside the three-second zone, resulting in a turnover, he couldn’t hold back and burst onto the court to furiously scold Parker... earning a technical foul.

Zhang Yang went 1 for 5 in the first half, adding a free throw to finish with only 3 points, 3 boards, 3 assists...

...

Coming back from halftime, the Bobcats fielded Felton, Zhang Yang, Alan Anderson, Muhammad, and Perkins.

Gerald Wallace and Okafor, who had played the entire first half attacking the basket and defending vehemently, sat at the sideline to rest.

Gerald Wallace scored 17 points and Okafor 15, their combined score for the half exceeding their average points per game in the first five games, naturally causing them to be much more exhausted than usual upon finishing the half.

Rondo, having played more than 15 minutes, even longer than Felton in the first half, was also critically tired and needed a break.

But stepping onto the court, Zhang Yang wasn’t worried about his teammates’ fatigue; having endured 18 minutes in the first half, his teammates had fought through the half, all for this moment!

Zhang Yang looked across, indeed Ginobili and Duncan continued playing; at this point, Popovich would definitely not rest them, though Parker wasn’t sent in; the other three were Jacque Vaughn, Bowen, and Horry.

Thinking back to when Parker was substituted in the last quarter and was harshly scolded by Popovich... it was miserable. Whether playing aggressively or conservatively, getting scolded either way, being a star in the Spurs was extremely difficult.

Zhang Yang wondered if Parker would request a trade this summer?

If they could win, all would be well, and even enduring significant grievances wouldn’t matter if he got the FMVP; taking a pay cut to renew the contract might also be acceptable. However, not winning... that was at the heart of escalating conflicts.

The referee blew the whistle to start the third quarter, handed the ball to Alan Anderson, who then passed it to Felton; Zhang Yang put aside his distractions, ran forward, and re-engaged in an offensive mode.

He could finally begin to shoot again!

Zhang Yang received the ball in the frontcourt, with Bowen continuing to defend him.

Muhammad pulled out to set a screen, Zhang Yang used the screen to break through, shaking off the defensive Horry, he charged directly inside, facing the approaching Duncan, he stepped forward and released a shot... and made it!

Just as discussed during the Bobcats’ halftime, after battling fiercely on both ends of the court for a half, Duncan just couldn’t keep up anymore!

And it wasn’t just Duncan struggling; on the other side, as the 20-minute mark expired, it was time for the Spurs’ offense, Ginobili pulled up for a three-pointer... wildly off and short!