No.1 in basketball scoring-Chapter 853 - 367. The Unwilling Popovich

Watching Zhang Yang and his teammates clap hands in celebration and then walk to the free throw line to sink the bonus shot, Popovich called a timeout, feeling like he was going to burst.

Brad Miller could grab the rebound and find the fast-break initiator immediately, delivering the ball accurately, allowing Zhang Yang the opportunity to push for a trailing three-pointer.

If it were in regular time, Duncan would certainly have let it go.

With only a few seconds left, Duncan dashed forward from the free-throw line to block Zhang Yang’s trailing three-pointer. There was no problem here; if he didn’t rush forward, Popovich thought Zhang Yang would definitely throw a three-pointer in front of Conley. This brat didn’t shy away from any shot.

Moreover, Zhang Yang’s rhythm play, even in the entire league, is unparalleled. In that situation, driving in for a one-on-two in the paint was also quite normal.

However, failing to defend was one thing, they originally still had a chance to tie the game with a three-pointer to get into overtime, but Ginobili attempted to block in a situation where it was impossible to reach in time, not only failing to disrupt but also committing a foul!

This play reminded Popovich of the 05-06 season series against the Mavericks, during that season, they had the best chance to defend their title.

After suffering from plantar fasciitis in the 03-04 and 04-05 seasons, Duncan finally controlled his injury in the summer of 05. In the 05-06 season, they took a long time in the regular season to adjust their playstyle and finally entered the 3.0 summit phase at the end of the regular season, showing explosive performance in the playoffs.

In the seven-game series in the second round against the Mavericks, with the changed playstyle, Duncan averaged 32.3 points and 3.7 assists per game, achieving a shooting percentage of 55.6%. Except for Diop who purely feasted on opportunities, no one else from either team had a higher shooting percentage than him, penetrating everything and leading the team to a game-seven against the Mavericks.

In the game seven, with a leading score of 104 to 101, and sure victory, Ginobili impulsively fouled Nowitzki on a layup, allowing Nowitzki to complete a 2+1, dragging them into overtime with the Mavericks, ultimately losing in overtime of game seven and exiting in round two, missing the best chance in team history to defend their championship.

Tonight’s game was naturally not as critical as that one, but similar situations would naturally make Popovich recall that nightmare he didn’t want to remember.

However, Popovich couldn’t blame Ginobili; favoritism was secondary. Mainly, without Ginobili’s outburst scoring in the final quarter against both the Mavericks in game seven and tonight, they wouldn’t have made it to the critical moments.

In the game seven against the Mavericks, Ginobili scored 12 points in the final quarter, and tonight he scored 10 points in the final quarter, one point more than Zhang Yang’s 9 points in the final quarter.

If it weren’t for the second half where Ginobili tied with the on-fire Zhang Yang, tonight’s game would have ended early.

After the players returned to the bench, Popovich tried hard to calm himself down and assigned a four-point play tactic to Conley and Ginobili. When usually arranging crucial ball plays, it was all about creating open shots. But this time, the tactic arranged was for whoever was open to take the shot.

But after the timeout, Carlisle gave no chance for the Spurs to draw fouls. All Bobcats defenders stepped inside the three-point line significantly, so that when Ginobili received the inbound pass, he couldn’t even find anyone to collide with!

In Zhang Yang’s ’Shoot if you want to’ darting glance defense, Ginobili’s three-point shot missed, Okafor grabbed the defensive rebound, and with only 2.2 seconds left, the Spurs didn’t foul, and the final whistle blew.

Zhang Yang made 11 of 21 shots, including 2 of 5 from the three-point line, plus 6 of 8 free throws, scoring 30 points, securing 5 boards, delivering 4 assists, getting 1 steal, and making 2 blocks.

Felton had 15 points, 4 boards, 5 assists; Okafor had 13 points, 9 boards, 2 assists, and 3 blocks; Brad Miller had 10 points, 10 boards, and 8 assists; Hill scored 7 points, 4 boards, 3 assists; Millsap had 4 points, 5 boards, 3 assists...

Even though the Bobcats’ score wasn’t high tonight, their team coordination maintained a high level throughout, achieving 27 assists out of 40 field goals!

Meanwhile, the Spurs had 37 field goals but only 18 assists.

Ginobili scored 27 points with 5 assists, Duncan had 20 points, 14 boards, and 3 assists; Conley had 14 points with 5 assists; Guy scored 15 points and 2 assists. Aside from those four, only Barry got 1 assist, and Jacque Vaughn had 2 assists. It really was purely relying on star players that they fought with the Bobcats into the last half-minute and finally succumbed due to Ginobili’s fatigue.

The Bobcats, by relying on team collaboration, narrowly defeated the Spurs with a 99 to 95 score, achieving an impressive 7-game winning streak!

After the game, the Bobcats players gathered to celebrate, under Felton’s lead, they shouted once again the pre-game phrase—"Finish the streak with a win!"

Fans on the sidelines heard this shout and joined in, quickly spreading across the whole venue.

Popovich looked at the big screen showing the Bobcats’ 27 assists and heard the cheers from the fans, filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred!

...

After the game, Zhang Yang, who performed efficiently in team offense and secured the victory with a critical fast-break goal, along with Felton, who made the crucial shot to overtake, attended the press conference.

Before they came, they had already discussed how to praise their coach and teammates, but before they could praise their own people, the other side started praising first!

Popovich: "The Bobcats already possess an enviable new system. Tonight, every player on the court had an extremely important role, each having their place in the tactics. Even someone not good at offense like Perkins had a role in the offense for inside response, providing screens, disrupting our defense. Even in the final critical moments, they were playing tactics... I believe they will be the strongest team in the future. They are already leading other teams by an era."

Zhang Yang and Felton exchanged glances at each line, moving the microphone aside, whispering to each other.

This chapt𝙚r is updated by fr(e)ew𝒆bnov(e)l.com