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Chapter 646 - 277. True Colors of a Killer!_4

Chapter 646: 277. True Colors of a Killer!_4

to 138, with just over 30 seconds left, the Bobcats take a two-point lead over the Suns!

The Suns continue their offense with an inbound play, with D’Antoni not calling a timeout. They aren’t failing to score, it’s just their defense that’s lacking, and a timeout might interfere with Nash’s hot shooting streak.

At the top of the arc, Nash controls the ball while facing Zhang Yang’s defense, taking his time. Zhang Yang stands firmly on the three-point line, covering Nash’s shooting space without making any rash moves.

With 10 seconds left on the shot clock, Stoudemire comes out to set a screen on Zhang Yang’s left side.

Zhang Yang actively presses up against Stoudemire, getting ready to circle back to the top of the arc to block Nash’s three-pointer. He anticipates this movement ahead of time, fearing he might be slowed down by his fatigue, but as Nash leans his body to the right, he suddenly dribbles between his legs to the left, breaking into the three-point line!

Zhang Yang quickly shifts to the right. This time he makes a bold prediction, not falling back but instead staying half a step inside the three-point line... He guessed right!

Son of the Wind takes a step inside the three-point line, pulls back while catching the ball, and steps back out of the three-point line, jumping up... and shockingly sees the unfortunate student’s handsome face!

Without time for shock, Nash instinctively leans back sharply, controlling his core strength to shoot the ball...

Nash’s lean back angle has exceeded 45 degrees, the angle of his shot avoids Zhang Yang’s block attempt—Zhang Yang, who is taller and has a longer reach—and the ball flies towards the basket... "Swish"... it goes in!

Nash’s surprise back-step extreme fadeaway three-pointer is successful!

to 140, the Suns take the lead with 15 seconds left on the clock, and Carlisle calls a timeout!

Zhang San looks at the ball bouncing on the floor, curses under his breath, and then reaches out to help up Nash, who had fallen to the floor after shooting a three-pointer.

Nash doesn’t refuse, taking Zhang Yang’s hand to stand up.

While still internally cursing, Zhang Yang pulls Nash up and suddenly feels something’s not right... surprisingly energetic!

The rapid heartbeat caused by his fatigue from moving quickly to defend is quickly calming down... With 15 seconds left and down by one point, has the ’killer’ been activated?!

...

As the severe heartbeat from fatigue subsides, the excitement from the ’killer’ activation makes Zhang Yang’s heart start pounding again.

The ’killer,’ a skill gained from experience, has a very low chance of activation. It’s only available in the final 24 seconds, with a maximum three-point deficit and possession of the ball required to activate it. Plus, it temporarily restores only stamina, not shooting touch. If you’ve been grinding it out against a tough team the whole game and your touch goes cold at the end, it’s pretty much useless... Should he launch a counter-attack as soon as it activates?

Zhang Yang takes a mental note of this crucial offensive choice for the future. Should he encounter the corresponding situation, he’ll need to act immediately and interrupt the coaches’ timeout call.

But this time a timeout is called, and it doesn’t matter that there’s no opportunity for an immediate counter because tonight his shooting touch is still on point!

Zhang Yang returns to the bench, and Carlisle asks, "Can you shoot?"

Zhang Yang: "I’ll shoot, off the ball."

Concise and to the point, Carlisle glances at the opposition and sees Raja Bell, whose time on the court had been cut down to 5 minutes in the second half, taking off his warm-up jacket. Understanding, he begins to adjust the lineup and strategize.

Carlisle makes no personnel changes, sticking with Felton, Zhang Yang, Mike Miller, Hill, and Okafor on the court.

The Suns make significant adjustments on defense. Gentry takes over, bringing in Nash, Raja Bell, Kirilenko, Marion, and Shawn Marks. They keep Nash and Marion for the counterattack, replacing the other three spots with the team’s best defensive players.

Before the Bobcats inbound the ball from the frontcourt, Zhang Yang runs to the opposite right baseline and whispers something to Felton, who looks stunned for a second but doesn’t ask any questions.

As the timeout ends, the referee blows the whistle to resume the game, passing the ball to Hill, who then gives it to Felton.

Felton, a big step beyond the three-point line, holds onto the ball to chew up some clock. Kirilenko stays firmly a step inside the line, not venturing out.

With 10 seconds left on the clock, Felton moves to the top of the arc, guarding the ball against Kirilenko’s defense, but he doesn’t initiate an attack right away. Carlisle on the sidelines is getting anxious—what happened to starting the offense at the 10-second mark?

With just 6 seconds left, Felton suddenly takes off, accelerating with a change of direction!

Kirilenko could block Felton’s shot due to his height and reach advantage, but at 30, he can no longer keep up with Felton’s lateral movement and gets left behind.

Seeing Felton suddenly sprint inside without controlling his speed, Carlisle feels a sense of despair. Why didn’t he initiate the play when he was supposed to, without calling for a screen, and then recklessly push forward at full speed when he realizes there’s not enough time left?

Brain farts are common for athletes who are all brawn and not much brain; this moment, Carlisle believes Felton must have had a brain fart.

Noticing Shawn Marks extend outwards by a step, Marion compressing from the wing... Carlisle thinks it’s over... huh? He passed?

The cheers from the fans encouraging Felton’s drive suddenly escalate in volume!

Carlisle quickly turns his head towards where Felton sent the ball—the top of the arc, facial features intensified!

When did Jack run out there? Wasn’t he just on the baseline? And he’s wide open!

As Zhang Yang quickly reaches the top of the arc and turns around, Felton’s pass arrives securely. Zhang Yang, facing Raja Bell and Nash who rush at him but can’t really defend, just posturing, jumps and shoots a three-pointer... and it’s good!

The outside official signals it’s a three-pointer, and the Suns call a timeout!