Chapter 377 376. Explode the Truth! (Part )

Zhang Yang made the free throw amid cheers, and Bibby made a long pass to Pierce. Pierce had no choice but to chase down and take a three-point shot at the buzzer... but missed.

At the end of the first half, the Bobcats led the Hawks by 76 points, 66 to 10!
As Kabal looked at the score, his bald head seemed to be shining.

At the beginning of the second quarter, seeing that Jarrett Jack was able to keep the score close with the rotation lineup, Carlisle had an idea and replaced Felton, Okafor, and Zhang Yang one after another, creating psychological pressure on the opponent, making the opponent play impatiently and make mistakes. The strategy was successful!

Judging from the situation in the first quarter, if he directly replaced Felton and Okafor at once, the offensive improvement would not be much better than replacing them one by one, and they could not defend against the three guys on the opposite side. Only when Zhang Yang came on the court could he have the conditions to gain an advantage.

Since they had to give Zhang Yang enough rest time in the first half, and the other two core players could not change the situation, Carlisle came up with a little trick on impulse, and it worked well! When Zhang Yang was playing a trick on the last ball, Pierce broke through the defense.

However, Pierce tried to narrow the gap in the last three seconds. After Carlisle was happy for a while, he became cautious again.

If the opponent is a team led by Duncan and Yao Ming, a 10-point lead at halftime is a huge advantage, and an advantage that is difficult to obtain, even for Yao Ming when he was with the Rockets.

But the opponent was a team led by outside stars, and the 10-point lead at halftime was more of a psychological advantage, which was eliminated in a few rounds.

Carlisle has personal experience of this - during the month when Felton was injured in the middle of this season, the team was often behind by double digits, and Zhang Yang would go up and attack with great force, erasing the point difference... Of course, he would also eradicate their own team sometimes.

Back from the break.

The Bobcats sent out a combination of Felton, Zhang Yang, Hill, Millsap and Perkins.

The Hawks sent out a combination of Acie Law, Childress, Pierce, Horford, and Othella Hannington.

At the beginning of the third quarter, the Hawks attacked first. Pierce rushed into the inside and made a pull-up shot against Perkins!

It is much easier for Pierce to attack Perkins in the interior than to attack Brad Miller. Brad Miller is good at interference, Perkins is good at confrontation, and Pierce is fierce in confrontation.

If Perkins moves to provide backup defense, it will be difficult for Pierce to overpower him. However, Perkins stands still under the basket, and facing Pierce's sudden attack, he can only play a defensive role at best, and it is difficult to interfere with his shot.

More importantly, they are more familiar with each other. They were on the same team back then and even played in the playoffs together in the 04-05 season. Perkins was on the second team in all the team training games when he was on the Celtics.

In the transition from offense to defense, Zhang Yang also asked for the ball directly from the outside and started with a single shot with the butterfly step!
The opponent started attacking right away in the third quarter, so naturally he had to follow!

Pierce is still guarding in front of Zhang Yang. Although the Hawks don't care about defense this season, they will not defend randomly and let Childress and Acie Law defend Zhang Yang. Woodson thinks he will see Zhang Yang keep shooting.

Pierce was furious when he saw Zhang Yang playing tricks on his defense again, but he controlled his emotions and stayed half a step inside the three-point line without pressing forward.

He has a speed disadvantage, so he has to keep some distance, otherwise he will be easily passed by the opponent.

Zhang Yang pulled the ball seven or eight times, and then he got the feeling. He suddenly increased the speed of pulling the ball and took a sudden step sideways.

Pierce reacted instantly, but made a wrong prediction. He retreated half a step backward. Zhang Yang pulled the ball horizontally and jumped. Pierce pounced again, but it was too late. Zhang Yang successfully made a three-pointer... and hit it!
With 9 points in the first quarter and 6 points in the second quarter, this shot brought Zhang Yang's personal score to 18 points, surpassing Joe Johnson's 17 points and Pierce's 16 points, reaching the highest point of the game!
Pierce is already 30 years old. His speed has declined a lot compared to his peak athletic period. He is more confrontational on the defensive end than he was in the past. He can handle Artest and James, and he is actually quite good at defending technical players, but his displacement mainly depends on prediction.

After half the game, Zhang Yang became familiar with Pierce's defense and chose to use the butterfly step to play with a bad rhythm, which worked well... The temporary familiarization was necessary because Pierce was in the darkest two and a half years of his career during Zhang Yang's first two and a half seasons in the NBA.

Pierce's defensive attitude at that stage was hard to describe. He was fine against those opponents he wanted to compete with, but for others, even the new generation talents such as James, Anthony, and Zhang Yang, he was like a traffic conductor. Zhang Yang played against the Celtics 9 times during that period, and was rarely defended by Pierce.

After Pierce joined the Hawks, Zhang Yang played against him twice, but both times were before the All-Star Weekend. At that time, the Hawks used Joe Johnson to defend him, but he failed both times. It was not until the playoffs that they used Pierce to defend him.

In the transition between offense and defense, Pierce ran to the frontcourt with a sullen face and continued to ask for the ball for a one-on-one play.

2+1 at the end of the first half, three points at the start of the second half, Zhang Yang has scored two goals in a row against his defense! He must get back on track!

Facing Hill's one-on-one defense on the outside, Perkins' top defense in the inside, and the interference of Millsap who was shrinking to provide backup defense, Pierce broke into the inside and made a layup!
Hill did a good job of interfering with outside shots and defending against breakthroughs. Perkins also moved into position for top defense. Millsap's interference was also real, but Pierce still managed to make the shot. The title of offensive kaleidoscope is not given for nothing!
70 to 79, the Hawks hold on to the score difference!
When the Bobcats attacked, Zhang Yang continued to play singles with the butterfly step at the top of the arc.

The cheers of the fans at the scene resounded throughout the stadium, their bad boys and the truth were fighting!

This is one of the fans' favorite scenes to see!

Pierce tried his best to defend, but he couldn't defend well even though he wanted to defend against breakthrough shots.

Zhang Yang tricked Pierce into pressing forward, and he took the initiative to move forward, turned around and bypassed Pierce, rushed to the free throw line, and shot a mid-range shot facing Horford who was defending... and made it again!
Including the last 2+1 in the first half, he scored 8 points in a row against Pierce's one-on-one defense!
It was the Hawks' turn to attack. This time there was no need for Pierce to ask for the ball. Acie Law advanced to the frontcourt and actively signaled Pierce to continue playing one-on-one. With their current lineup, the offense was directed at Pierce, but actually it was Childress and Horford.

The current situation is like the duel between the generals before the battle between the two armies in the novel. They can neither retreat nor lose, otherwise the morale will be greatly affected, especially for the Eagles who are lagging behind. The team's strongest scorer can't beat the opponent's strongest scorer. How do his teammates feel?

The Hawks' top scorer this season is Joe Johnson, but the player with the best scoring ability is Pierce.

Joe Johnson also ranked among the top scorers last season, averaging 25 points per game, but Pierce had such performance five times in the first eight years of his career. Joe Johnson's peak was the norm in Pierce's career.

It's not that Joe Johnson is not strong, but that Pierce is too strong, stronger than the top three in the same position. People often laugh at Pierce for bragging, but no one doubts his strength.

After two consecutive breakthroughs, this time Pierce received the ball in the high position leaning on Hill, and then he retreated half a step towards Hill. Hill was about to take it again, but Pierce did not take advantage of the open space to turn around and jump shot. Instead, he turned around and faced the basket after the breakthrough. Hill quickly stopped the action to prevent a breakthrough. Pierce slapped the ball hard, stepped back to receive the ball, jumped, and took a long two-point shot... and it hit!
72 to 81, the score difference returned to 9 points again!
During the transition from offense to defense, Felton took the initiative to signal his younger brother to receive the ball.

Unlike Pierce who was under great pressure, there was no sign of tension on Zhang Yang's face.

The 9-point lead is secondary. The main reason is that Zhang Yang is having a blast and his mind is full of thoughts about how to beat Pierce.

Others, stand aside, he just wants to score!

Zhang Yang came to the right side of the top arc and received the ball. Before he could pull the ball, Pierce pressed directly towards Zhang Yang.

Pierce is not a fool. Since he can't defend against the breakthrough shot, he will focus on defending the long shot.

Zhang Yang reacted quickly, and he slapped the ball with his big hand, and the ball passed through Pierce's crotch. At the same time, Zhang Yang turned and entered the three-point line along Pierce... and passed through the crotch!
Pierce didn't care about being angry, he quickly turned around and followed Zhang Yang to prevent the opponent's quick stop jump shot.

Zhang Yang bypassed Pierce and received the ball without stopping, and rushed into the inside.

Horford and Othella Hannington have moved into position, one standing on the right sideline of the three-second zone, and the other standing at the top of the arc in the reasonable collision zone. Asi Law on the left is also moving inward.

Zhang Yang was not afraid and took the initiative to go deep into the opponent's defense line.

This position is perfect...

After Zhang Yang broke through the middle and reached the free throw line, Horford followed up and Zhang Yang grabbed the ball and took the European step!

In the first step, he passed Horford and came to the top of the arc slightly to the left of the reasonable collision zone. He changed direction and stepped under the double-team of Asi Law and Othella Hannington, and jumped right under the basket! He jumped behind Othella Hannington and slammed the ball into the basket with one hand!

The fans at the scene cheered wildly as their bad boy Jack dunked against four opponents alone!

The four members of the Eagles team who surrounded Zhang Yang almost exploded on the spot.

The defensive positions and choices of the four of them created a perfect opportunity for Zhang Yang to fight one against four!
In fact, there was nothing wrong with their defense of this ball, it was Zhang Yang who had the "problem".

If Ginobili or Wade were to take over, they would most likely not be able to dunk. Their Eurostep is to exert force in the first step, slow down in the second step, and then explode again in the third step.

Zhang Yang relied on the "Devil's Step" and started with all his strength in the first step. His speed and explosiveness in the second and third steps were not affected at all. As long as there was enough space, every step he took was an explosive stride!
The score difference reached 11 points again. It was the Eagles' turn to attack. Pierce could no longer suppress his impatience. He received the serve and advanced to the frontcourt. When he was close to the three-point line, he suddenly accelerated and stepped forward, received the ball, and shot a three-pointer before Hill could get close to him...

Even Zhang Yang would not dare to make this kind of out-of-rhythm three-point shot unless it was necessary. Pierce did not control the power and angle of the ball, and the ball hit the right rear side of the basket and bounced high.

Horford saw Pierce's impatience and prepared to rush for the ball immediately, and moved into position, but the ball bounced too high, giving Perkins time to move and position himself. Zhang Yang moved in from the wing to grab the defensive rebound and launch a counterattack!

After rushing through the center circle, Zhang Yang saw the opportunity coming!

He rushed to the three-point line and stopped suddenly, facing the pursuit of Pierce from behind and the defense of Asi Rau who retreated in front and then rushed over, and took a three-pointer... He had a hot hand and made a hollow hit!

Not counting the last 2+1 in the first half, Zhang Yang scored 10 points in the third quarter! The Bobcats' lead finally made a substantial breakthrough, widening the gap to 14 points!
Listening to the enthusiastic cheers and taunts from the fans, Pierce had already lost his composure. When the Hawks attacked, he rushed straight to the basket and forced a shot despite being double-teamed from front and back... His force was so great that the ball hit the basket on the other side and bounced to the left.

Millsap grabbed the defensive rebound and passed the ball to Zhang Yang, who launched a counterattack. This time there was no chance for a chase-up shot. Childress directly stayed at the three-point line and formed a siege with Pierce who was defending Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang still chose to make an emergency stop, but did not jump. He jumped after Childress jumped and landed. Pierce stopped chasing and defending and did not jump rashly. He jumped at this time and tried to block the shot from the side. However, Zhang Yang did not shoot, but jumped and passed the ball over Childress' head!

Hill followed up from the wing, cut into the inside, received the ball and dunked to score two points!
The situation suddenly changed, Woodson was stunned and quickly called a timeout.

张杨跨节连砍13分外加1助攻，山猫队已取得16分领先优势！88比72领先！

(End of this chapter)