Chapter 216 215. One win and one loss, the situation is stable

Although Sanders felt that it was unlikely, he still called a timeout to give it a try. 8 points in 8 seconds, 35 points in 13 seconds... don't they all seem impossible?

After the timeout, Billups took a three-point shot...but he missed. It was really impossible.

Millsap blocked Maxiell's rushing defense, and Okafor grabbed the defensive rebound, and the game officially ended.

Zhang Yang made 25 of 11 shots, including 4 of 1 three-pointers, plus 14 of 12 free throws, scoring 35 points and exchanging Hamilton for the lead.

汉密尔顿27投12中，其中三分球10中4，加上8中7的罚球，也拿到35分。

奥卡福18分、杰拉德-华莱士15分、费尔顿16分，力压25分的比卢普斯、15分的拉希德-华莱士、5分的普林斯。

The Bobcats narrowly defeated the Pistons 96-90 and retained their second home court!
The game was over, but Sanders was not so anxious anymore. He glanced at the big screen and the corners of his mouth twitched.

On their side, the four tigers scored 80 points and the team scored 90 points, accounting for 88.8% of the points.

The opposing team’s four young players scored 84 points and the team’s total score was 96, accounting for 87.5% of the total score.

He kind of regretted guiding the opponent's main attacking star in G1. At that time, he wanted to separate the opponent's role players and the four young players and prevent the opponent from launching a team offense. He did it very successfully in G1 and won.

But even if he knew that the old man on the opposite side had an extreme coaching style, he didn't expect it to be so extreme!

Don’t worry about it anymore. Let’s go back to the hotel and discuss with the coaching staff how to curb the opponent’s star players’ tactics!
In the post-match interview, when Sanders was asked about the fact that the Big Four couldn't outscore the four youngsters, he replied: "The young players of the Bobcats have an unlimited future. They have the youngest player in history with scoring talent. They have the ability to beat any opponent in scoring... It's a pity that we didn't lead 2-0 away from home, but we have won 1 away game, and the advantage is on me!"

...

The Bobcats held on to their second home court, which kept the Eastern Conference Finals suspenseful, and the fans breathed a sigh of relief.

Although there is a group of 50-year-old Pistons fans who suddenly appeared to lead the pace, the vast majority of fans still do not want to see the Spurs and the Pistons play in the finals.

The 05 Finals… a shadow! It is the shadow of many fans who are stubborn enough to pay to watch the live broadcast! The old fans of the Pistons for 50 years said that they couldn’t keep up the pace, absolutely couldn’t keep up.

That’s right, the game between the Bobcats and the Pistons made the fans who watched the live broadcast feel very nervous.

Sometimes they were scoring points, sometimes they were fighting hard on defense, and sometimes both sides missed shots... In the end, the two guns on both sides broke out into a duel!

The fans in front of the TV didn’t even dare to go to the toilet, for fear of missing something... The ratings curve was very good.

But in the end, Zhang Yang backed up to the elbow, Felton made a three-pointer, and Zhang Yang made a successful defensive rebound + counterattack. The two of them worked together to beat Billups and Hamilton 7 to 5 to kill the game, which made the fans happy and their pee was not in vain.

Barkley commented in the post-match review of TNT Sports: "Bickerstaff's coaching style in the playoffs is really unpredictable. We all thought he was going to play defense, but they started the game with a bang. When we thought they were going to score like they did in Game 1, the two teams scored less than 3 points in three consecutive quarters and less than 25 points in the final quarter... This is Bickerstaff. He can always surprise you, and of course it may also be a shock. I will no longer predict the games he coaches.

Do you remember the first black eight in NBA history? The 42-win Nuggets were behind 0-2 in the first round, and Bickerstaff took over the tactical board and led the team to win three games in a row, reversing the black eight of the 3-win SuperSonics.

But in fact, the Nuggets' second round performance that year was even more amazing. After the Nuggets fell behind the Jazz 0-3, Bickerstaff once again stood up from behind the bench and took away the tactical board. After that, the Nuggets won three games in a row and played to a Game 3. At that time, I was praying for the Nuggets. Unfortunately, they lost the Game 0. Otherwise, it would have been the first time in NBA history that a team would have reversed from a 3- deficit, nailing Malone to the pillar of shame..."

Kenny Smith: "Charles, is it possible that they were unlucky and couldn't complete the epic comeback because of your prayers?"

Barkley: "Kenny, I want to fight you..."

As for Carlisle, after watching the game, he was glad that he was not the assistant coach a few years ago who was unaware of the dangers of society and the ways of the world, and did not rush to participate in coaching excitedly.

Not to mention whether he would offend Bickerstaff, who might be his immediate superior in the future, just talking about this game, he felt that if he coached, the score might not be 1-1, but 0-2.

He watched the G1 video several times during the day, and he really couldn't think of any way to win.

In terms of player ability, the two teams are evenly matched.

But in terms of lineup structure, the Pistons are better than the Bobcats. The three cores of Billups, Rasheed Wallace and Webber connect the inside and outside lines together.

The Bobcats are a little lacking in tactical coordination. If Rondo is given another year to grow, the gap in this area can be greatly narrowed. Carlisle simply loves this rookie. His basketball IQ is something that any coach would envy.

But now Rondo is still just a rookie and plays a greater role in the regular season, but in the Eastern Conference Finals, his biggest role is to reduce Zhang Yang's consumption of rebounds and counterattacks.

This aspect is secondary, the biggest gap is experience!
The Pistons have made it to the Eastern Conference Finals for five consecutive seasons, and except for the loss of Ben Wallace, the other four core players are still there!
Half of the Bobcats players are playing in the playoffs for the second time, and half have never played in the playoffs, so there is a huge difference in how they handle the details of the game.

When Carlisle watched the video, he put himself in Bickerstaff's position and thought about it for a day. He couldn't think of any solution except to hope that his players would explode.

Just like when he coached the Pistons in the 02-03 season and met Kidd in the Eastern Conference Finals, he had no way out and was shaved bald by Kidd.

However, what he thought was a dead end was actually turned around by Bickerstaff!

Bickerstaff’s play tonight greatly narrowed the gap between the two teams in terms of lineup structure and playoff experience.

Carlisle was shocked. It turned out that the game could be played like this...

Of course, even if he comes, he still can't be as wild as Bickerstaff, that's not his coaching style, but there are things worth learning from.

He is not a stubborn academic. He has learned coaching methods from many people, first from Celtics legend KC Jones, then studied for several years with his true mentor, legendary coach Bill Fitch, then witnessed PJ Carlesimo being choked, later worked for Sloan for two years, and even assisted Alvin Gentry and Doug Collins... He combined the strengths of many people and learned new things this time.

Carlisle is not a perfect coach. So far, he has not even achieved real success. He is still learning, improving, and making mistakes.

Even after joining the Mavericks in 08, he failed for two consecutive seasons. In the 08-09 season, he was beaten 1-4 by the Nuggets, and in the 09-10 season, he was defeated by the Spurs in the first round. His coaching reputation hit rock bottom at that time. The media called him a "rebuilding coach" who could only build a team but not lead it to win. At that stage, people thought that Larry Brown was right to pick him in 03...

The Mavericks' championship in the 10-11 season was not only a redemption for Nowitzki, but also a salvation for Carlisle's coaching reputation.

...

The next day, at 9: in the morning, Carlisle arrived at the Turkish Airlines Arena.

He still couldn't help it and asked Bickerstaff to attend this morning's meeting as an observer, and Bickerstaff gladly accepted.

After G2, the Eastern Conference Finals will rest for two days. The next game will be held on May 5th at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

The Bobcats have training scheduled for 3 p.m. and 9 a.m. tomorrow, and will go to Detroit tomorrow afternoon.

However, Bickerstaff arranged a meeting at 10 a.m. this morning, and some players will also attend.

When Carlisle arrived at the training ground, he saw Jack, who was simply called the Bad Boy in the Bad Boy Corps, was already sweating from training.

Carlisle had long heard of Zhang Yang's ability to recover his physical strength. He was a genius who could play 17 games in 5 days at the age of 4 and only became weak in the 4th game.

Last night he saw Zhang Yang slumped on the bench exhausted at the end of the game, yet he was full of energy practicing shooting early this morning... He still found it amazing!

Carlisle has also played in the NBA. It has been more than 40 years since he first came into contact with basketball in elementary school. He knows very well that physical strength is definitely one of the most important talents of a basketball player.

Hamilton's speed cannot be said to be very fast, but it can be said that he is not slow; his mid-range shooting is not the best. So far in his career, his long two-point shooting percentage is 41%, his mid-range shooting percentage is 43%, and his close-range mid-range shooting percentage is 42%. It can only be said that he is just barely at the top level, but he is recognized as the king of mid-range shooting. It is said that his mid-range threat exceeds that of Alan Houston in his peak period. He relies on his physical strength that is second to none in the league.

It was so accurate in the first quarter, and it was still so accurate in the fourth quarter and even at the last moment, continuing to torment the defenders.

There is a legend - more than ten years ago, Kobe and Hamilton were both in high school in Pennsylvania. The two occasionally trained together, but Kobe refused to do any aerobic exercise with Hamilton because Kobe loved to compare and love to win.

After Zhang Yang finished practicing a set of three-threat one-step mid-range shots, he saw Carlisle coming and greeted him, "Mr. Carlisle, good morning."

This name... Carlisle smiled and said, "Just call me Rick. You came to training so early. You work harder than I thought."

Zhang Yang: "Thank you. I will need more singles in this Eastern Conference Finals. I have watched a lot of Michael Jordan's mid-range singles videos these past two days. I will practice more. Maybe it will be useful in the game."

Carlisle: "Learn by watching videos? Won't Michael teach you? I'm staying at his house these days, and he doesn't seem to be busy. Can I talk to him for you?"

Zhang Yang: "No, no, no, let the boss take some rest. He is very busy this season and it is rare for him to have time to rest. I can practice on my own."

Carlisle: “Really…”

Carlisle thought about how Jordan had nothing better to do than to block his door seven times and bring him to Charlotte, and he didn't seem to be very busy... Seeing Zhang Yang continue to train, he didn't ask much. This matter was not that important during the playoffs.

At this time, little Bickerstaff came, and Carlisle said hi and then went to the general manager's office together.

Carlisle sighed to little Bickerstaff that Zhang Yang was very polite.

Little Bickerstaff was troubled when he heard this: "Jack is indeed very polite. There are very few athletes who are as polite as him, but..."

Carlisle: "Just?"

Little Bickerstaff: "It doesn't matter. You'll know after spending more time with each other. Let's go over the topics we're going to discuss in the meeting with Bernie."

Carlisle had an indescribable feeling: Why is this team so weird?

When passing by the locker room, Carlisle heard some talking and took a look. He saw Felton, Okafor, Rondo, Gerald Wallace and Derek Anderson were having a heated discussion.

Little Bickerstaff saw Carlisle slow down and said with a smile: "No need to listen specially, we will know the result of their discussion in the meeting later."

Carlisle: "The result of the discussion?"

Bickerstaff Jr.: "They would bring up their ideas during the meeting, but before bringing up their ideas, they would discuss them first to decide which ideas were worth bringing up, and they would first think about and analyze whether they were feasible from the perspective of the executor... The coaching staff wanted them to not be so tired, and most of the things they discussed, they only needed to talk to us, and we could tell them the answers directly, but Raymond refused, saying that this was the process of them understanding and mastering the game..."

Carlisle exclaimed: "Raymond...he is really amazing, worthy of being the North Carolina champion!"

Little Bickerstaff: "Haha, I think he's great too, but unfortunately my old man is old and has thrown a lot of his work to me. I don't have time, otherwise I really want to have a small meeting with the team members."

Carlisle was silent for a moment, then said, "Next season will be fine."

Little Bickerstaff thought in his heart: \(^o^)/, the old man is really amazing, it was worth it for him to go through this whole circle and pass by the exclusive lounge of the Boss Gang!
...

Two days passed in a flash, and on May 5, basketball fans' attention was focused on Auburn Hills, and the third game day of the Eastern Conference Finals arrived.

Every time there is one more game in the Western Conference Finals, the Eastern Conference Finals will attract more attention.

28号的西决G2，马刺队首节26比24领先、第二节24比20领先，半场6分分差，看着还行，但到了第三节帕克单节13分5助攻，马刺队打出了32比17的比分，把比赛打花了！三节领先21分！
In the final quarter, the three main players and Bowen did not play for a single second, and the Jazz scored 35 to 23 in the quarter. However, the Spurs still won by 9 points, beating the Jazz 105 to 96.

When the Spurs were defending normally, the Jazz only scored 61 points in the first three quarters. If the Spurs had not widened the gap, the Jazz would most likely have scored less than 90 points in another game.

It's not entertaining enough, the gap in strength is huge. If Yao Ming goes head-to-head with the Spurs, the two teams can have five or six intense games. The Jazz simply took advantage of the Warriors to advance to the Western Conference Finals.

The Bobcats arrived in Auburn Hills last night to rest for a night, and will go to the Palace of Auburn Hills today to challenge the Pistons away.

At 8:40 p.m., the players entered the stadium after warming up.

Today, the Bobcats had one more person on the bench, and Bickerstaff brought Carlisle to the scene to help coach.

Because of Carlisle's coaching performance in his two years with the Pistons and his first year with the Pacers, Bickerstaff attaches great importance to Carlisle and has very high expectations for him.

But during the past two days of preparation, Carlisle still gave him a surprise!
Although Carlisle did not take the initiative, did not refuse, and did not take responsibility.

But as long as Bickerstaff asked targeted questions, Carlyle could answer them, and his answers were of very high quality. Most of the time, Bickerstaff's own conclusions were not as good as Carlyle's.

In Bickerstaff's opinion, what Carlisle lacks is only experience. He is in his 40s, about the same age as Jordan, and some of his ideas are still somewhat idealistic.

Bickerstaff was determined that such a precious coach must not be allowed to leave!

He wants to win a championship before he retires. It doesn't matter if he can be a general manager, an assistant coach, or a consultant. He just needs to find a head coach who is better than him.

At 9 o'clock in the evening, Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals began.

Attack or defense? Sanders made a decision that was a reversal for the tough Eastern Conference team.

To defend, you have to rely on the individual ability of the stars. If you can rely on defense to limit the performance of the opponent's core scorer to be worse than the backcourt double guns like last season, then you must rely on defense. Larry Brown has already given the Five Tigers the correct way to open. Without Big Ben, the frontcourt combination of Little Prince, Tianzun, and McDyess can't defend the Crown Prince and Little Duncan. The opposing back line also has the Bad Boy and Little Fatty. The Pistons can't suppress them. If they continue to fight on defense, they will probably be suppressed by the Four Tigers like in G2.

The Pistons have the advantage with their two guns, but they are at a disadvantage on the front line.

Back then, at the turn of the century, Rasheed Wallace, McDyess, Joe Smith, Garnett and other four people became the four major power forwards of the 4 class. All four of them received maximum salary offers, and three of them accepted. At that time, the 95 class was called the year of the super power forward.

Now Joe Smith has become a substitute, McDyess's athletic ability has been destroyed by injuries and he has become a floor-flowing blue-collar center, and Rasheed Wallace, who is about to turn 33, is getting old and can't even maintain an average of 15+ points per game... Only Garnett is still howling alone.

Since you can’t suppress the energetic Fourth Young Master, then just let it go!
Saunders sent out a combination of Billups, Hamilton, Delfino, Webber, and Rasheed Wallace, which was their best offensive lineup in G1.

Just as he expected, the old man on the opposite side guessed that he would respond in this way and launched an all-out attack tonight.

The two teams tied 30-28 in the first quarter, with the Bobcats leading by two points. In the second quarter, the two teams tied 30-26, with the Pistons winning narrowly this time. Before the end of the first half, when the offensive performances of other players on both teams declined due to a decline in physical strength, Hamilton counterattacked for three consecutive rounds and beat the Bobcats 3-6 alone.

At the end of the first half, the Pistons overtook the Bobcats by two points, 58 to 56!
Carlisle, who was watching from a close distance, felt both relieved and regretful.

The good news is that Hamilton's ability to seize opportunities is still as good as ever, and he knows how to use his physical advantage.

当年，卡莱尔还在活塞队的时候，就是他在02年夏天主张用曾在00-01赛季场均砍下29.8分的斯塔克豪斯换场均仅20分、助攻失误比1比1的不能持球的选手汉密尔顿。

Although the Pistons signed Billups first at that time, Billups was only a sixth man who averaged 12 points and 5 assists per game in the previous season. It took courage to send away the team's best offensive player in exchange for a pitcher.

Facts have proved that this decision was correct. In the first year of the two guns working together, they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

But now Carlisle is a member of the Bobcats, and he was very upset that his team was overtaken. During the short slump of just a few dozen seconds, Hamilton seized the opportunity to overtake the score.

张杨半场打了14分钟，拿到13分2助攻；费尔顿9分3助攻；隆多6分2助攻；杰拉德-华莱士8分；奥卡福12分，打得已经非常好了。

Zhang Yang's high-post singles shooting and breakthroughs, Rondo's sneak attacks and counterattacks, Felton's three-pointers, Gerald Wallace's breakthroughs and attacks, Okafor's low-post facing or back-to-the-basket shots... They played out five advantageous points that the opponent couldn't defend, but they were still overtaken, which was very uncomfortable.

However, although they were two points behind at halftime, Carlisle was once again shocked by Bickerstaff's vision - he accurately judged how the opponent was going to play!
Although the old man didn't think of a way to curb the opponent's attack, Carlisle didn't think of it either.

It is already amazing that we can fight back and forth and have a chance to win despite such a big gap in lineup structure and game experience.

Now we can only rely on the performance of the players. All their coaching staff can do is to grasp the rotation timing, call timeouts at specific moments and arrange a good single-round tactics.

In the third quarter, Zhang Yang went crazy. With no free throws or three-pointers, he made 5 of 3 shots, and made two counterattacks to score 9 points in 10 minutes, leading the Bobcats to 26 points in a single quarter!
活塞队第三节表现不佳，比卢普斯单节5投0中吃了蛋，汉密尔顿单节8分、拉希德-华莱士5分、韦伯3分、马克希尔4分、麦克戴斯两分，单节只拿到22分。

After three quarters, the Bobcats regained a two-point lead at 82 to 80, and the two teams were tied in the middle two quarters!

In the final quarter, Billups, who was sluggish in the third quarter, stood up and made 6 goals in 4 shots in the first half of the quarter! Among them, he made 2 of 2 three-pointers, scored 10 points and 3 assists, leading the team to 18 points in the first half of the quarter!
After Billups scored two goals in a row, Sanders made timely substitutions and increased the defensive intensity to the maximum, preventing the Bobcats from scoring only 8 points in half a quarter!
The king of wild shots, Billups + iron-blooded defense, the style of play that once ran rampant on the Lakers F04 in the 4 Finals is once again in full force!
98 to 90, the Pistons overtook the Bobcats by 8 points!
In the second half of the quarter, the Bobcats tried to fight back, and although they succeeded in reducing the Pistons' scoring, they were unable to spurt on the momentum and only scored 12 to 9.

汉密尔顿23分、比卢普斯23分、拉希德-华莱士16分、韦伯15分、马克希尔9分……活塞队末节打出了27比20的比分，以107比102力克山猫队，守住首个主场！

Zhang Yang made 23 of 11 shots, plus 10 of 8 free throws, for 30 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Felton scored 14 points and 7 assists, Rondo scored 12 points and 4 assists, Okafor scored 20 points, and Gerald Wallace scored 14 points. The five of them scored a total of 5 points, but still failed to regain the home advantage in the first away game.

...

The coaching staff and players of the Bobcats were frustrated and upset about losing the game. When they held a small meeting after the game to review the game, Zhang Yang, Felton and Gerald Wallace all talked about which rounds they played poorly and which shots they missed.

Rondo and Okafor didn't say anything, but their expressions were also very unhappy.

Rondo made 6 of 2 free throws tonight, and only 4 of 1 free throws in the first half of the final quarter. 3 points may not seem like a lot, but in a game like this, he really let his teammates down.

Okafor failed to protect the rim, and Rasheed Wallace, Webber, and Maxiell scored more than 20 points at the basket, which made him very upset.

Carlisle was very emotional when he saw this scene. It was not like this when he was on the Pacers.

From the oldest, Reggie Miller, to the youngest, Harrington, they all blame others when they lose a game.

When the results are good, no one cares much about these complaints, but once the results are bad, the conflicts will intensify.

On the Bobcats team, the oldest and the youngest are both vying to take the blame.

Not only in private, but also in the interviews after the game, they rushed to take the blame, as if they were proud of being the one who was scolded the most by the media and fans after the loss...

Carlisle was very emotional, but he thought of another question - what will the situation be like in two or three years when Okafor, Felton and Gerald Wallace enter their prime?
As soon as this question popped up, he gave up the idea and decided to leave the future to the future. Even if he took over the head coaching job of the Bobcats, he didn't know how long he could do it.

He was fired after only two years as coach of the Pistons, and he actually only coached the Pacers effectively for one season, and spent the next three seasons struggling with complicated conflicts within the team.

The Bobcats are reviewing the game and doing self-examination, while outside, this game has once again sparked discussion among fans.

Before the start of the playoffs, countless fans were looking forward to the Suns and Mavericks meeting in the Western Conference Finals, which would definitely be an exciting offensive battle.

两队常规赛4次交手，各赢两场，比分分别是119比112、101比99、129比127、126比104，被球迷们评选为常规赛打得最好看的一组对阵，独一档那种。

Who would have thought that the Western Conference Finals would be between the iron-blooded Popovich and the coach Sloan...

In the Eastern Conference, judging from the trends in the first two games, it seems that the pace of the game is approaching that of the Western Conference Finals.

G1 was just a strategic showdown, but G2 became more and more intense... Unexpectedly, in G3, the new and old bad boys started to fight again!
Sir Barkley's analysis makes so much sense that it is impossible to predict how Bickerstaff's game will go.

It’s a pity that the Bobcats lost by 5 points and were behind 1-2. Fans thought of the Pistons and Spurs playing in the finals...the shadow reappeared.

For a time, support for the Bobcats surged!
Zhang Yang and Felton also became popular for vying to take the blame after the game.

Zhang Yang: "It's my problem. If I could score 35 points like in the last game, we might have gone into overtime."

Felton: "It's my problem. I didn't make better passes to my teammates. I only made one of five shots in the second half. I would have won if I had made two more three-pointers."

The two's behavior of grabbing the blame caused heated discussions among fans, and the OK combination was dragged out and beaten... Even the Lakers fans followed suit to criticize the OK combination for not being united enough and quarreling and fighting among themselves all day long.

Bobcats fans saw the comments of Lakers fans and complained: "Lakers fans seem to be complaining, but they are actually showing off. The OK combination fought among themselves but still made it to the finals four times in five years and won three consecutive championships."

The Bobcats fans' complaint was quickly responded to by Lakers fans, who all pretended to be embarrassed...

The next day, the Western Conference Finals moved to Salt Lake City, and the Jazz beat the Spurs 3-109 in Game 83!
Zhang Yang was shocked when he heard the score before going to bed that night, and opened his laptop to read the news.

It turned out that Duncan fell and left the court in the second quarter.

In the first quarter, the Spurs led the Jazz 23 to 15, but in the second quarter, Duncan overshot the mark in his first round while retreating to help defend, fell out of the baseline and hit the camera... and was carried out. In the second quarter, the Jazz led the Jazz 34 to 16.

In the third quarter, the Jazz continued to run wild, scoring 32 to 20. When Duncan came back from the locker room in the final quarter, the Spurs were already 59 points behind the Jazz at 81 to 22, so Duncan was directly dismissed.

After reading the detailed report, Zhang Yang felt that the Spurs were nothing without Duncan...

Parker is not capable of leading the team, and Ginobili's physical strength does not allow him to do so.

Another day passed, June 6st, a new month arrived, and the Bobcats once again came to the Palace of Auburn Hills to challenge the Pistons away.

The Bobcats performed poorly in the first quarter tonight. Zhang Yang made 4 of 2 shots, including 1 of 1 three-pointers, and 2 of 1 free throws for 6 points. Gerald Wallace scored 8 points by breaking through and rushing, but the others only scored 9 points in total, and only 23 points in a single quarter.

而对面，首节8人轮换，有7人得分，汉密尔顿7分、比卢普斯6分、韦伯4分3助攻、拉希德-华莱士4分、普林斯4分、马克希尔2分、麦克戴斯2分，单节拿到29分！
The fans in front of the TV felt that it was all over, the Bobcats were gone.

In the first three games, the Bobcats played best in the first quarter, relying on their unstoppable momentum to open up the offense.

We couldn’t win the first quarter tonight, what should we do next?
However, at the beginning of the second quarter, Felton faced Billups' defense and took two consecutive three-point shots. He scored two goals in a row, one of which was a 3+1. He started with a 7-0 lead and helped the Bobcats overtake the score 30-29!

In the first quarter, the Pistons' role players had a good scoring performance, with Webber, Prince, Maxiell and McDyess scoring 4 points together, but they all wilted in the second quarter.

Hamilton, Billups and Rasheed Wallace all scored 7 points, and the three of them scored a total of 21 points in a single quarter, but the only other player was veteran Dale Davis who came off the bench to tip in two points, and he only scored 23 points in a single quarter!
Although the Bobcats only scored 11 points in the last 21 minutes, Felton scored 7 points in a row at the start and scored 28 points in a single quarter. At the end of the half, the score was chased to 51 to 52, narrowing the gap to 1 point!
After returning from the halftime break, the Bobcats continued their efforts and scored 28 points again in the third quarter. The Pistons' offensive performance also warmed up, scoring 27 points in a single quarter. After three quarters, the two teams were tied at 79!
到了末节，活塞队率先打开局面——汉密尔顿无限跑位接球出手，半节时间4投2中加上4中4的罚球拿到8分，率领活塞队打出了18比13的比分，到官方暂停时，活塞队以97比92重新取得5分领先优势！
After the official timeout, the Pistons continued to take the initiative, tied the Bobcats 4-10 in 10 minutes and held on to a 5-point advantage.

With 1 minute and 27 seconds left, the Bobcats attacked.

Zhang Yang received the ball in a high position and played a singles game.

The mid-range shooter was blocked by the mid-range shooter, the little prince was assisting in defense on the wing, and the god was standing under the basket... The Pistons' defensive intentions were obvious. They would rather give wing player Gerald Wallace a chance to break into the basket, and would rather let Okafor have a close-range shot at the baseline than give Zhang Yang a chance to shoot from mid-range.

Zhang Yang looked at the opponent's defense, broke through... stepped back from the three-point line, and shot a three-pointer from the top of the arc...

Zhang Yang didn't shoot many three-pointers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Hamilton didn't expect him to choose to play like this at the critical moment, so he didn't press forward immediately... Then he turned around and saw the ball fell into the frame!
Got it in! Zhang Yang imitated Erha and Xiaofei Laoda's playing style at the critical moment and made a three-pointer with a step back!

105 to 107, the Bobcats narrowed the gap to two points! At the critical moment, Zhang Yang stood up again!
Then both teams failed to score in attack and defense. When it was the Pistons' turn to attack, there were only 28 seconds left. After Billups advanced to the frontcourt, he did not launch an attack, wanting to run out of time... Zhang Yang left Prince open and double-teamed Billups at the top arc with Gerald Wallace.

Billups wanted to pass the ball...but he missed it!

Gerald Wallace steals the ball!
Billups reacted extremely quickly. Before Zhang Yang and Gerald Wallace left the three-point line, he pressed in from outside the three-point line and hugged Gerald Wallace, committing a tactical foul!

Since the Pistons had already committed four fouls in the final quarter, Gerald Wallace got two free throws!
Sanders on the sidelines applauded, saying that Billups made a great decision!
The Bobcats coaching staff sighed, wondering why the unsuccessful third pick didn't just stay unsuccessful. Carlisle also thought that he should have stopped Joe Dumars from signing Billups.

If Billups reacted a little slower, Zhang Yang would rush out and be closer to the opposite basket than him. His foul would be a personal foul and he would be called for two free throws.

If there is no foul and the opponent counterattacks, we will definitely get two points.

The best option in that short 1 second is to commit a foul before being overtaken, or to commit a foul on Gerald Wallace who is like a free throw shooter.

However, Gerald Wallace did not perform poorly at the critical moment. He went to the free throw line and made both free throws, helping the Bobcats tie the score!
Billups responded in vain... Of course, this did not prevent him from winning praise for his basketball IQ from his head coach, commentators, and even opponents.

With 19 seconds left, the Pistons called a timeout and played a key ball tactic... The opportunity came to Webber, and Webber took the key mid-range shot... and missed!
Okafor and Millsap blocked the rushing Prince and Rasheed Wallace, Rondo secured the defensive rebound and passed the ball...the final whistle sounded.

107 to 107, the Bobcats relied on Zhang Yang's double-team and Gerald Wallace's two free throws in the final moments to drag the game into overtime!

When the final whistle sounded, Bickerstaff shouted with excitement, while Sanders' face turned livid.

Overtime was too unfriendly to the veteran-dominated Pistons. Webber, who shot 10 of 6 in the regular time, missed a key open shot in the last 5 seconds...

And on the Bobcats side, there is a large group of young people!
Soon, overtime began, and the Bobcats sent out a combination of Rondo, Felton, Zhang Yang, Gerald Wallace, and Okafor.

The Pistons sent out a combination of Billups, Hamilton, Prince, Webber and Rasheed Wallace.

The overtime situation, as reflected by the reactions of both head coaches at the end of regular time.

Rondo scored twice in a row in the paint, and the Bobcats led 4-0.

In the Pistons' offensive round, the Bobcats only focused on protecting the rim and surrounding Hamilton and Billups, leaving Tianzun and Little Prince open on the wing. As expected, Tianzun's three-point shot missed.

It was the Pistons' turn to attack again, and Billups made a long two-point shot against Gerald Wallace's far backward shot, helping the Pistons stop the bleeding.

But then Rondo assisted Zhang Yang who was circling the pole, and Zhang Yang made a mid-range shot from the front with one step inside the free throw line, and the Bobcats led by 4 points again!
In the next three minutes or so, only Billups scored a three-pointer for the Pistons, and Felton immediately responded with a three-pointer after he scored...

In regular time, the Pistons' backcourt duo's strength advantage was very obvious, which greatly avoided their frontcourt disadvantages, but in overtime, the Bobcats' frontcourt strength advantage became even more obvious!
It is true that the Bobcats' guards scored, but they relied on the threats of Gerald Wallace and Okafor, one crouching at close range and the other rushing to the basket!

At 4 minutes and 46 seconds into overtime, Hamilton made a three-pointer under the double-team of Zhang Yang and Rondo... Salute to the rookie blacksmith, the Pistons gave up and did not choose to foul.

With more than ten seconds left, we were trailing by 6 points. Since we missed the three-pointer, there was nothing to struggle for.

At 11:36 pm, the final whistle sounded.

The overtime score was 11 to 5, and the Bobcats narrowly defeated the Pistons 118 to 112, tying the overall score!

……

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9500 words long chapter, please vote~ I wanted to write words, but Xiaofeng is too sleepy, and there are a lot of things to do during the day, so I don’t have time to write... I’ll still shamelessly ask for votes! Thank you!
(End of this chapter)