Chapter 222 221. Terrifying Stability

Only the Spurs would start a fierce battle after gaining a two or three-goal advantage.

After the Spurs took a 12-8 lead in the first three minutes, they trailed the Bobcats 7-7 in the next seven minutes. Even the TV commentators kept using the word "ugly" to describe the Spurs' style of play.

At 10 minutes and 21 seconds into the first quarter, the Bobcats called a timeout with the score at 16 to 19, trailing by 3 points.

Bickerstaff replaced Rondo, Zhang Yang, Alan Anderson, Millsap and Perkins.

Zhang Yang was substituted after playing for more than 4 minutes at the beginning of the game, and was sent up for a charge at the end of the quarter.

On Popovich's side, Parker and Duncan were the main attackers in the first 10 minutes. At the end of the quarter, both of them were replaced with Ginobili, who had not played, to partner with Beno Udrih, Brent Barry, Matt Bonner and Francisco Elson.

After the timeout, the Bobcats attacked. Zhang Yang received the ball at the top of the arc and played one-on-one. The defender was Ginobili.

Zhang Yang's face was full of excitement. Ginobili was also very excited. He waited for almost a quarter before coming on the court. He immediately faced Zhang Yang, the young player he admired most!
After Rondo moved to the left side of the three-second zone, Zhang Yang took a step sideways to the right, dribbled the ball between his legs and quickly pulled back to the left.

Ginobili quickly moved towards Zhang Yang to restrict him from jumping.

But Zhang Yang did not collect the ball after pulling it continuously. The hand that seemed to be trying to catch the ball quickly pushed the ball behind Ginobili who was pressing forward. At the same time, he took the initiative to meet Ginobili who was pressing forward, moved sideways quickly, passed by Ginobili's face, pressed into the three-point line, received the bouncing ball, and broke through the middle!

Ginobili turned around and tried to catch up. He tried hard to cover the long two-point area, but as the distance increased, he could not keep up!
Zhang Yang came to the free throw line and stopped abruptly, grabbed the ball and jumped...

Bonner shrank to one step above the top of the arc in the reasonable collision zone, and Elson also expanded a little, but neither of them pressed upward. If they continued to expand, Perkins would be able to score, and Millsap who cut in would be able to attack the basket at will.

Udrih, who left Rondo open in the middle, was also a bit slow.

Zhang Yang made a quick stop and shot!

Ginobili is used to Zhang Yang scoring goals from this position.

If the fast Parker was there, the ball might be blocked. If Duncan, who could protect the rim by himself, was squatting under the basket, the power forward would dare to move to such a long distance to defend. But neither of them was there. If Zhang Yang wanted to shoot from this distance, they had no way to stop him. However...

Watching Zhang Yang turning around and retreating, Ginobili said: I have been playing with the big knife all my life, but I was actually cut by the small knife!
The breakthrough of the bad boy Jack just now was exactly the trick he used to play tricks on his opponent when facing close defense!

I was cheated again!
Ginobili would definitely be unhappy if he failed to defend one-on-one, but the genius on the other side who was selected to the second team at the age of 18 and reached the finals at the age of 19 is learning his tricks...

Zhang Yang retreated to the backcourt, his heart pounding, that move was successfully executed!
Just now he had been planning to break through using Mr. Na's rhythm flow, but Ginobili moved his feet very well and didn't give him room to turn around. He subconsciously used the magic sword breakthrough step that he would occasionally practice but almost never used in official games. He didn't expect it to be so smooth!

As the saying goes, if you master one method, you will master all methods. Ever since the 'Son of Wind's Ball Control Rhythm' was upgraded to the intermediate level, Zhang Yang has learned the rhythm style of play very quickly.

This move of Yao Dao can also be considered a rhythm-based play, but it requires a higher height. One must have long legs that can create a body position with one step. Let Nash, who has a better sense of rhythm, come. He can't use this move, but Zhang Yang can!
Seeing Udrih advancing at a fast pace, Zhang Yang suppressed his inner excitement and devoted himself to defense.

Udrih advanced to the left side of the top arc and passed the ball to Ginobili, then moved towards the left side of the three-second zone. Of course, Zhang Yang... followed Brent Barry and Alan Anderson to defend Ginobili.

Brother Alan came here to do all the hard and tiring work.

Alan Anderson's defense was average, but he had strong execution and was determined to block shots.

Ginobili changed direction and broke through Alan Anderson to rush into the inside!
Rondo and Zhang Yang left the flanks open and moved to close range, and together with Perkins, they double-teamed Ginobili. Alan Anderson, who was passed by, turned around and ran towards the basket. There was no need to worry about the mid-range and long-range shots. Ginobili's career average score of mid-range and long-range shots was only 1.2 points per game.

However, everyone knew that the only way for Yao Dao to break through was to attack the basket, and the four players of the Bobcats surrounded him, but still couldn't stop him!
The Demon Sword used the European Step and took two steps to the right behind Perkins. He used Perkins to block Zhang Yang and Alan Anderson, who had excellent height and wingspan, and made a strong jump shot under Rondo's close defense... and it hit!
The referee blew the whistle, Ginobili's goal was valid, and he also caused Rondo to foul!

Zhang Yang, Rondo, Alan Anderson, and Perkins all put their hands on their hips. This magic sword is really powerful when it is used horizontally!

Ginobili made the free throw, 22 to 18, the Spurs 4 points!
When the Bobcats attacked, Zhang Yang continued to hold the ball and his long shot was blocked, but he continued to break through!
Ginobili still failed to prevent the breakthrough this time, but he was only able to be broken through by Zhang Yang. He did not lose his position and pressed Zhang Yang down the line.

Zhang Yang passed the ball to the left side, Rondo used his speed to get some distance away from Udrih, received the ball and rushed into the inside!

The Spurs had made targeted defensive preparations for Rondo's "stealth step". Elson moved to the arc of the reasonable collision zone, and Ginobili took a step outside the top of the arc of the reasonable collision zone, blocking Rondo's way to change direction and enter the basket. Rondo rushed towards the reasonable collision zone, looking like a fool who took the initiative to rush into the double-team, but just when he was about to be double-teamed by Elson and Ginobili, he passed the ball!

Right side of the hanging basket frame!
Zhang Yang cut in and jumped, and scored two points with an alley-oop slam dunk!
Ginobili: When does this bad boy get to the basket?
He just let go of Zhang Yang and double-teamed Rondo because Zhang Yang ran to the high post after passing the ball. After Udrih was passed, he stayed at the free throw line like Parker did. Zhang Yang went to the high post and Udrih had the conditions to go around and defend.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Yang feinted a shot at him, pretending to move away, but actually followed up and supported him!
Ginobili thought this ball was amazing, it could be considered a close-range two-on-three! Rondo and Zhang Yang both needed to have a high basketball IQ, good tacit understanding, and good control of the passing rhythm and timing of the cut. It was not defended, but Ginobili was even more excited!
This time he took the initiative to receive the serve and moved forward quickly. With only 10 seconds left, he rushed to the front court and started swinging the ball!
Everyone knew that Yao Dao would definitely break through and shoot. The Bobcats left the Spurs' flanks open and double-teamed them, but Yao Dao still used his devilish pace to rub on the floor...creating an opening and making a quick stop jump shot from close range...

As soon as the ball left Ginobili's hands, the red light came on.

With the long whistle at the end of the first quarter, the ball fell into the frame!

The baseline referee decisively confirmed that the red light came on after the ball left Ginobili's hand, and the goal was valid!
Zhang Yang, Rondo, Alan Anderson, Millsap and Perkins formed a circle and put their hands on their hips, with one more person doing so than in the previous round.

Bickerstaff, Carlisle and Jordan on the sidelines all started cursing.

Zhang Yang was substituted in the last minute and a half. Their bad boy did not disappoint them. He broke the embarrassing situation of not being able to score as soon as he came on the court and scored 1 points in a row.

But the opponent's demon sword came up and scored 5 points in a row!
After the first game, the Spurs led the Bobcats by 24 points, 20 to 4, and entered the intermission!
Popovich breathed a sigh of relief, and then looked at the old man on the bench with pride: "So what if you have the strongest super genius bad boy Jack under the age of 20 in history? I have the demon sword at its peak!"

01年到04年，连续4年季后赛与湖人队交手，1胜3负，那个8号给波波维奇留下了心理阴影。

Therefore, the psychological pressure that Zhang Yang's scoring brings to Popovich is far greater than the actual effect of his scoring.

Popovich was so happy to see the demon sword overpowering Zhang Yang.

Yao Dao defeated Zhang Yang in the duel, which not only made Popovich happy, but also helped the Spurs create a better situation.

Bickerstaff had been planning to gain momentum in these two rounds and blow the horn for a counterattack, but he was forcibly stopped by the demon sword!

In the second quarter, the Spurs, who had a two-goal advantage, continued their iron-blooded tactics. The Bobcats kept trying to counterattack, but failed.

At 11 minutes and 23 seconds into the second quarter, the Spurs only scored 17 points in this quarter, but they defended the Bobcats to only 15 points!
41 to 35, the Spurs' lead extended to 6 points!
In the last moments of the first half, Felton showed his strength, singled out Parker, crushed him with a breakthrough and took a step-back three-pointer... and it went in!
Then Zhang Yang stepped back to steal the ball from Parker's pick-and-roll breakthrough pass, and made a counterattack layup. The Bobcats' backcourt duo worked together to close the score to 40 to 41!

Just when the Bobcats were about to gain momentum, Duncan made his last attack of the half, one-on-one with Perkins in the low post, turned around and made a hook shot, and also caused a foul and made the free throw!
As Zhang Yang's ultra-long three-pointer across the court hit the backboard, the whistle for the end of the first half sounded.

44 to 40, the Spurs tied with the Bobcats in the second quarter!
After finally narrowing the gap to 1 point, Duncan made a 2+1 with an expressionless face to widen the gap again... Zhang Yang personally felt the pain and torture of those who were opponents of Duncan.

After the halftime break, Zhang Yang and his team started chasing points again and fell into a quagmire...

Tonight, the magic sword was unsheathed, with the tip of the sword pointing towards the opponent. At the critical moment, either he or Duncan stood up to respond to the outbreaks of Zhang Yang, Felton, and Okafor, and firmly hold on to that slight lead!

Too stable! Not only did the Bobcats, as their opponent, feel that the Spurs were incredibly stable, but even the audience in front of the TV felt the Spurs' crazy stability!
第三节比分21比18，马刺队小胜3分，末节比分22比19，山猫队缩小了3分分差……

At 11:23 p.m., as Zhang Yang's three-point shot that forced his way toward Bowen missed, the referee did not blow the whistle, and the final whistle sounded.

邓肯27分15板2助攻3盖帽，吉诺比利24分5助攻，帕克12分4助攻……

山猫队这边，张杨首节10分、第二节6分、第三节5分、末节7分，全场打了37分钟，25投11中、其中三分球4中0，加上7中6的罚球，拿到全场最高的28分。

奥卡福14分13板、费尔顿18分5助攻，打得也都还可以，他们哥仨合砍60分。

But the rest of the team only scored 20 points in total...

The three horses led the Spurs to beat the Bobcats 84-80, taking a 1-0 lead and firmly holding their first home court!
After the final whistle, Felton saw the fans celebrating, and then looked at the Spurs players celebrating calmly...

The fat boss found the little brother and asked in a very unconfident tone: "Jack, can we beat such an opponent? We played so well at the critical moment, and you played so well at the beginning, but we still lost. I feel that no matter what I do, it's useless..."

Zhang Yang: "We have a chance! We played everything we should have played tonight, but they played better. What we have to do next is to maintain our performance and wait for them to make mistakes!"

……

……

Go to bed early today and don’t stay up late. Set a flag and get up early tomorrow to update!
(End of this chapter)