Chapter 1138: Chapter 1138
The game reached the final quarter, and the Chicago Bulls started offensively well with Luol Deng scoring a long two-pointer. Yao Ming received a pass from veteran Lynch Hunter under the basket, holding high and scoring easily. Then, Yao Ming attracted a double team with the ball close to the hoop and passed to Luol Deng, who hit a three-pointer facing Millsap’s defense, giving the Bulls a 7-2 run and narrowing the 6-point gap at the end of three quarters to 1 point.
But soon, Zhang Yang adjusted to a switching position with the ball, scoring two consecutive mid-range shots against the defense, giving back a 4-0 run to the Bulls, making the score 74-69, the Bobcats once again held a 5-point lead!
Once again the Bulls attacked, and Luol Deng, who had been provoked by Zhang Yang all night, couldn’t hold back. At the top arc, receiving the ball, instead of passing to Yao Ming who was asking for a post-up to stabilize the attack, he chose to shoot a three-pointer against Afflalo... Miss!
He was seriously interfered!
Even though Afflalo, in his sophomore year, hasn’t made a name yet and still has significant shortcomings in skills, he demonstrated defensive talent in early midseason, attracting attention from multiple teams. If he couldn’t interfere with these kinds of plays, the title ’defensive genius’ would be wasted.
Luol Deng indeed had a good feel, this shot was quite accurate, but the interference applied made him misjudge the force, hitting the inner edge of the basket towards the rebound, bouncing back to the top arc, and Afflalo turned around grabbing the ball.
After getting the ball, Afflalo turned around, dodging Luol Deng who was anxiously rushing after unsuccessfully shooting, and pushed forward for a counterattack!
Sefolosha and Tyrus Thomas retreated and successfully blocked Afflalo and the side-following Millsap.
Blocked, Afflalo turned around and threw the ball to the top arc direction. Sefolosha saw the receiver and felt something was wrong, but from his position, he couldn’t block it further, he could only pray for the opponent to miss, given that guy’s three-point shooting was quite poor tonight.
But Sefolosha’s hope was quickly shattered... Zhang Yang advancing in the middle caught the ball and scored a follow-up three-pointer!
Zhang Yang tonight wasn’t having a bad feel; the poor three-point shooting before was due to the Bulls’ good defense. The follow-up three-point opportunities became more and more like open shots to him!
to 69, the Bobcats’ lead extended to 8 points!
After managing a 7-2 start, they got hit back with a 7-0 wave.
Luol Deng couldn’t withstand the pressure and wasted the Bulls’ entire night’s efforts; they had been fighting all night to maintain hope of a comeback, waiting for the opponent to make a mistake, but didn’t expect to be the ones to make a mistake first. The Bulls players felt their determination shattered at this moment...
In the remaining over 8 minutes, the score didn’t widen further, and during this period, the Bulls managed to narrow the score difference by 2 points, but failed to counterattack effectively like before.
Time reached 10:22 PM, and the final whistle sounded punctually.
attempts with 14 successful shots, including 10 three-pointers and 3 successful, plus 6 free throws with 4 successful, Zhang Yang achieved 35 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, overwhelming Yao Ming’s 28 points, 17 rebounds, 2 assists, 6 blocks, leading the Bobcats to a narrow 87-81 win over the Bulls, securing their 11th consecutive win!
Looking at Zhang Yang, surrounded by his teammates celebrating, Yao Ming had a look filled with thoughts about having an indescribable relation with the Timberwolves.
The Bulls owed a ’debt’ from their all-in gamble for the championship in the summer of 07, and it would take at least two years to pay it off, but they didn’t give up on their aim to defend their title; instead, they chose to deepen their strengths, specifically defense, ignoring regular-season records, just aiming to reach the playoffs, and spent the whole season preparing defensively against those specific playoff opponents.
In their first battle of the second half, facing the strongest rival in the East, they deployed their most adept iron-blood tactics successfully locking down the Bobcats’ team offense, of course with the opponent proactively defending inside, but if the opponent didn’t pursue defense relentlessly, their offense wouldn’t be so poor either. Through this game, he could confirm that with playoff-level defensive focus, the officiating scale, and regular offense-defense, even if not dominant, there’s still the hope of winning.
But Zhang Yang, with his individual effort, elevated the Bobcats’ offense to a new height!
The team offense unable to penetrate the defense, Zhang Yang single-handedly broke through it!
Yao Ming’s initial impression of Zhang Yang was similar to a demon blade, with a jaw-dropping brilliance that was hard to describe.
After playing for a while, he considered Zhang Yang to be like Son of the Wind, having the talent to learn all techniques.
Later on, it didn’t feel right, as his physical fitness continued to improve... Now, his transformation seems complete!
Though different in technique, shot selection also varied, Zhang Yang’s style of play tonight was just like the old ironsmith in the West Coast.
A lot of attempts, frantically bricking to find gaps in the opponent’s defense, making many shots, with hit rates merely passable, isn’t that exactly what that guy’s style is all about!
Little Giant: Zhang San, how many personas do you exactly have? The most update n0vels are published on 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩~𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢~𝔫𝔢𝔱