One Year Left to Play

This is exactly what a relied-upon star should do, and Zhang Hao did it!

He’s getting serious, getting active, but it’s after the score was overtaken, which is indeed a bit late.

Originally, a break between quarters was theoretically supposed to disrupt the Pistons’ rhythm.

But in the first minute of the fourth quarter, Joe Dumars and Terry Mills each made a three-pointer, and the Pistons’ confidence in their outside shooting soared!

This year, Joe Dumars returned to the shooting guard position, and has been shooting 42% from beyond the arc, making 2.4 threes per game, while Terry Mills has been shooting 44% for 2.1 threes.

The two of them making shots as soon as they came out meant that the Lakers couldn’t let up on their defense.

Barkley and Brian Shaw were completely pulled out.

These two created excellent isolation opportunities for Grant Hill and Lynch Hunt!

In comparison, Kenny Anderson and O’Neal haven’t even come on yet, making it more difficult for Zhang Hao to play.

Pistons’ head coach Doug Collins just tried using rookie Jerome Williams to guard Zhang Hao, and surprisingly, it worked well at the end of the second quarter. They continued using this tactic in the third quarter and carried it over into the fourth quarter.

This greatly reduced Grant Hill’s defensive burden, allowing him to go all-in on offense in the final quarter!

However, after Zhang Hao focused more and took more decisive shots in isolation in the final quarter, Jerome Williams’ defensive effectiveness declined.

It’s not that Jerome Williams was defending poorly, but when it was time to score, Zhang Hao could just make the shot!

The Pistons continued the fierce performance from the third quarter, but every time they tried to widen the gap, Zhang Hao would step up and score.

When the six-minute-and-thirty-five-second official timeout of the fourth quarter ended, the Pistons were leading the Lakers by 109 to 105, a 4-point lead.

The Lakers had gradually replaced starters, and the current lineup consisted of Zhang Hao, Kenny Anderson, Doug Christie, George Lynch, and Barkley.

On the Pistons’ side, Terry Mills was exhausted and subbed out. Currently, the issue for Terry Mills is his weight.

Terry Mills is a remarkable player; his shooting is becoming increasingly accurate, but his weight is also increasing — from the athletic 104-kilo forward of yesteryear to a 120-kilo big guy. His movement isn’t bad, but his stamina is declining.

Lynch Hunt, Joe Dumars, Grant Hill, Jerome Williams, and Ratliff stepped onto the court.

With 37 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, and 1 steal, Zhang Hao had already scored 9 points in the final quarter. He had 9 of the 12 points in the first half of the quarter.

Grant Hill scored a little more in the final quarter, putting up 10 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists, bringing his totals to 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 14 assists.

However, looking at Zhang Hao continuing to catch the ball for isolation plays at the top left arc, Grant Hill thought it was insane! At this stage, he still had this kind of stamina!

The Pistons had put up a 20-12 score in just half a quarter, but achieving his 10 points and 3 assists took a lot out of Grant Hill personally.

Seeing Zhang Hao fight so hard, he too had to desperately help defend Zhang Hao and strive to attack; otherwise, who knows when this slight lead might disappear.

Zhang Hao, on his part, couldn’t worry about so much, remaining focused on the game.

The advantage Kenny Anderson has over Van Exel is his stability, better endurance, and superior vision and organization, but Kenny Anderson isn’t of much use in critical moments; he lacks Van Exel’s daringness.

Up against Jerome Williams’ defense, Zhang Hao dribbled beyond the three-point line, suddenly rose up, and shot directly!

Jerome Williams was very wary of Zhang Hao’s crossover, which could even outplay Grant Hill, so he defended a half-step away. Zhang Hao seized the opportunity, dryly shot a three-pointer, and nailed it!

points!

points in this quarter!

to 109, the Lakers reduced the deficit to 1 point again!

We still have to keep fighting! In the next two minutes, Grant Hill and Joe Dumars led the Pistons to another offensive wave, scoring 9 points, while Zhang Hao scored 2 points and 1 assist. He passed out to Barkley for a mid-range shot; Barkley made it and even drew a foul from Grant Hill and hit the free throw.

However, after being hit with a 9-5 spurt, the deficit was back to 5 points, with the Pistons leading the Lakers 118 to 113!

In the final three minutes and change, the Lakers called a timeout.

The fans were going crazy!

From trailing by nearly 20 points, catching up, taking the lead, all the way to the last moments.

No matter what, that Rookie of the Year from last season and the 51st greatest star of the 50 greatest had scored 40 points! To them, the all-around tactician Grant Hill was the strongest rising star!

Del Harris brought O’Neal back in place of George Lynch, putting the Lakers’ starting lineup back on the floor.

The Pistons made no substitutions.

After the timeout, O’Neal, who had rested for over eight minutes, came on full of energy and immediately made a powerful post-up dunk against Ratliff for two points!

Bringing O’Neal on now meant that for the previous eight minutes and change, there was no strong rim protector available, but the upside was that for those eight-plus minutes, the Pistons had been playing a spacing game; having O’Neal out to defend pick-and-rolls or off-ball plays might actually have impacted his critical performance.

Moreover, Zhang Hao had played so well, keeping the score tight. Who knew if making a sudden change in strategy would affect Zhang Hao’s performance?

As for touch, form, or whatever — with O’Neal’s playstyle, as long as he had enough energy, why bother with those?

Transitioning to defense, the pressure on Grant Hill was immense on the Pistons’ possession!

Just having Zhang Hao score 12 points in the final quarter, now O’Neal was also on the court.

This time, Grant Hill was prepared to take matters into his own hands!

...

One more Chapter, almost done, a few hundred words left~ There’ll be ten thousand words today.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!