Chapter 1100: Chapter 1100
Chapter 1100: Chapter 456: Into the Western Conference Finals!
Both teams each scored a basket, and the showdown curtain opened once again.
The Spurs, playing at home, showed significant advantages in the first quarter, performing much better than in the previous game.
On one hand, they avoided doing “useless work” in the preparation stage, making their offensive game more thorough, but more importantly, Leonard scored 9 points in the first quarter! He sank two three-pointers, had a layup in a fast break, and succeeded in one of two free throws.
Usually averaging thirteen or fourteen points, and only averaging 16.2 points in the 5 games of this series, he scored more than his usual half-time game points in just one quarter, greatly enhancing the Spurs’ offense.
Leonard scored 9 points, Parker had 5 points and 2 assists, Duncan with 4 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist, Danny Green with 2 points, and substitute Ginobili contributed 8 points, along with Splitter’s dunk for a two-plus-one, and Diaw’s three-pointer, allowing the Spurs to blast 34 points in the first quarter!
With better offensive performance, the chance of being counter-attacked is reduced, coupled with the Spurs’ good defense, they held the Lakers to only two points on counterattacks, leading 34 to 26 over the Lakers by 8 points after the first quarter.
Zhang Yang played for 10 minutes in the first quarter and scored 6 points with 1 rebound and 2 assists, overshadowed by Leonard’s 9 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 block. The director deliberately displayed the data of both players on the large screen, and the on-site fans cheered loudly, while some around the visitor’s bench loudly mocked Zhang Yang.
Then, Leonard played for 9 minutes in the second quarter, shooting 1 of 5…
At the beginning of the game, two players with significant differences in shooting fundamentals will likely perform similarly as long as they both have good psychological composure, and when opportunities arise, they likely seize them. It’s even possible for the player with poorer fundamentals to perform better at the start than the one with better fundamentals.
But as the game progresses, players with poorer fundamentals naturally experience a decline in shooting performance, whereas players with better fundamentals show a slower decline in shooting feel, and might even improve over time!
Leonard played 10 minutes in the first quarter, scoring 9 points with a shooting of 6 of 3, which is an efficient 50% shooting rate for a 3D athlete. However, he initially shot 3 of 2, but in the subsequent attempts, only 1 of 3 was successful! He was increasingly worn out by Zhang Yang’s physical defense, causing a decline in his shooting accuracy from the first quarter.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yang shot 7 of 2 in the first quarter, only scoring 6 points, deliberately penetrating into the trap. Having played for the Spurs, he is very familiar with their regular defensive execution, effectively limiting Duncan and Leonard’s help defense while forcing other Spurs players to shrink to guard Kobe and Gasol, thus creating opportunities for wing shooters. Unfortunately, the Lakers’ wing shooters aren’t on par with the Spurs’, failing to capitalize.
Now Nash and Meeks, the team’s most accurate open shooters, are on the court, teamed with Zhang Yang, Jordan Hill, and Gasol as the frontcourt trio, propelling the offense!
Nash played 5 minutes, hitting two three-pointers for 6 points, while Meeks, playing for 8 minutes, also scored 6 points. At the end of the quarter, Kobe, who rotated into play for 4 minutes, hit both of his two shot attempts, scoring 5 points. With these teammates opening up with their long shots, the defensive pressure on Zhang Yang significantly eased, allowing his shooting accuracy to improve sharply, ending the quarter with 7 of 4, including 2 of 1 on three-pointers, and scoring 12 points with a perfect 3 of 3 from the free-throw line! Fresh chapters posted on n̷o̷v̷e̷l̷f̷i̷r̷e̷.net
Add in the 8 points from Gasol, Jordan Hill, and substitute Kaman, the Lakers stormed to 37 points in the quarter!
The Spurs faced challenges offensively this quarter, as Leonard began to struggle with his shots. With Zhang Yang decisively shrinking in defense to assist his teammates, the Spurs naturally had to pass the ball to Leonard, who continued to struggle with shots… scoring only 24 points in the quarter!
By halftime, the Lakers took over the lead, 63 to 58, leading the Spurs by 5 points as they entered the halftime break.
Trailing at halftime, with the opponent boasting the league’s strongest third-quarter duo, the Spurs needed someone to step up in the third quarter to lead the team, but they lacked such a player!
Initially, Ginobili could have held his ground, like he did in the last game, to prevent the Lakers from quickly widening the score gap, but the Spurs committed a fatal error from the start tonight—being too aggressive on offense.
With Duncan present, the Spurs have always played the King’s Way basketball, which is a steady push. The “push” comes behind, while “steady” comes first, maintaining calm performance from start to finish, a long-time strength of the Spurs.
With tonight’s first-quarter high scoring efficiency from the Spurs, maintaining steady output would likely have pushed the Lakers steadily.
However, with consecutive losses and trailing 2-3 in the series, even though the Spurs players themselves didn’t feel anxious, the language of the game clearly revealed their unease. Although Popovich didn’t put pressure on the players during preparation, his repeated emphasis on offense somewhat had a negative psychological implication.
The steady game rhythm of the Spurs in the first 5 matches couldn’t be contained, and as soon as they gained an advantage, the whole team went all out on offense. Although they showed a significant advantage in the first quarter, it led to their collapse starting in the second quarter.
Ginobili’s initial 8 points helped the team widen the score gap in the first quarter, while his 6 points in the second quarter helped the team avoid too much of a trailing score gap. By the third quarter, his shining moment tonight had passed, leaving him unable to help the team hold the score gap like he did in the last game.
At this time, Parker seemed invisible, Leonard desired but was powerless, and as for Duncan, he had already been unable to lead the team forward through personal offense for several years, and his way of leading the team to victory now is different.
Zhang Yang scored 8 points in the quarter, while Kobe scored 6 points. Under their leadership, the Lakers overwhelmed the Spurs 29 to 18 in the third quarter. After three quarters, the Lakers led the Spurs 92 to 76 by 16 points!
Facing elimination, the Spurs players launched a fierce counterattack in the final quarter, but the score gap did not substantially narrow. The Lakers players, who already saw the light of qualifying, were naturally unwilling to let the victory slip away and fought hard.
To their credit, in a 15-point trailing situation, Parker performed impressively, hitting 6 of 9 shots to score 13 points… but the Spurs overall managed only 26 points, just 1 point more than the Lakers.
At 10:24 PM, the final whistle blew, and with a 117 to 102 victory, the Lakers emerged from behind, defeated the Spurs by 15 points, and advanced to the Western Conference Finals with a 4-2 series win!
Scoring 6 points in the first quarter, 12 points in the second, 8 points in the third, and 4 points in the final quarter, Zhang Yang played for 37 minutes, earning the game’s second-highest score of 30 points, with Parker topping the scoring at 32 points thanks to his final quarter surge…
After celebrating with his teammates, Zhang Yang looked around. Among the 20,000 attendees, not many left early, aptly characteristic of the sports-loving state of Texas, with fans reacting differently to the game outcome, some holding their heads and crying, some shouting curses, some wailing, and others who followed the Lakers to the away game cheering in celebration…
Whether advancing or exiting, seeing these scenes always brings different feelings for Zhang Yang.
He focused on Duncan sitting at the technical table… Hmm?
Zhang Yang remembered Duncan angrily slapping the floor after the reversal in the 2013 Finals, showing a broken expression for the first time after a loss. Now it’s 2014, why is he so calm?