No.1 in basketball scoring-Chapter 877 - 375. Explode the Truth!

When it was the Hawks team’s turn to attack, Joe Johnson continued his isolation play. This time, Zhang Yang anticipated the moment when Joe Johnson turned to grab the ball and promptly pressed up. Joe Johnson’s jump was limited, and his forced fadeaway shot lacked strength, falling short!

The ball grazed the front rim and bounced downward, with Brad Miller securing the defensive rebound.

Zhang Yang finally managed a stop! It was a genuine disruption, not merely an opponent missing a shooting opportunity they created themselves!

Even Hawks’ head coach Woodson marveled at Zhang Yang’s defensive talent, visibly improving. After defending for just a few possessions, he was able to exploit Joe Johnson’s offensive flaws.

Woodson didn’t dare to imagine how much stronger Zhang Yang would become once he fully developed, gaining more defensive experience... He recalled the man he faced on the court more than 20 years ago.

And this made him even more envious, jealous, and resentful of Carlisle!

In the eyes of each team’s owner, Carlisle was an unlucky guy with coaching tenures at the Pistons and Pacers;

To seasoned coaches who had already made their mark, Carlisle was a talented individual who had simply been unlucky. Helping him out a bit, offering solutions to problems, might benefit their descendants who might pursue careers in basketball;

To his peer group of new-generation coaches, Carlisle was incredibly lucky; during his first stint as a head coach, he got to coach Ben Wallace. Then, after being abruptly fired, he immediately landed the opportunity to coach the explosively talented Pacers team.

Now, just after being laid off, Carlisle took over the championship-winning, star-studded Bobcats team, coaching a genius like Zhang Yang. How could Woodson not feel envious, jealous, and resentful?

During his playing days, Woodson had a more illustrious career than Carlisle, yet when it came to coaching, he was constantly overshadowed...

On the court, the transition between offense and defense saw Zhang Yang continue to execute simple off-ball screen movements.

Because of his high-degree-of-difficulty goal from the previous play, Pierce and Horford completely abandoned the idea of ’autonomously adapting’, going all out to pursue and defend Zhang Yang.

Seeing no chance to connect with the ball, Zhang Yang decisively moved beyond the three-point line, pulling Pierce and Horford away from the three-second area with him.

Under the basket, Pachulia moved ahead to block Okafor. Felton distributed to Brad Miller, who took a mid-range shot upon receiving the pass... The opportunity was great, but unfortunately, the ball bounced off the rim, and Joe Johnson recovered to protect the defensive rebound.

But on the turn, Pierce’s solo drive into the paint for a floater was also disrupted by Brad Miller and ended up being a brick!

He played too hastily, overly eager to seize the opportunity to close the point gap when the opponent missed. Had he made one more fake move, he could have had a better shot opportunity.

In the transition back, Zhang Yang continued his previous play, creating a mid-range shot opportunity for Brad Miller. This time, the Big White Bear didn’t miss, scoring from the free throw line baseline angle!

to 10, the Bobcats’ leading advantage expanded to double digits!

Fortunately, Bibby responded with a step-back three-pointer against Felton, helping the Hawks reduce the point gap to 8 as they entered the official timeout phase.

After consecutive missed shots from Joe Johnson and Pierce, their mindset was somewhat anxious; Bibby’s shot allowed them to calm down and regain confidence.

During the regular season, they could fearlessly stand at the forefront, taking many shots without worrying about stamina, because they had each other to take turns;

No need to worry during critical moments, as there was a cold-blooded White Devil backing them!

After the official timeout, the now calm Joe Johnson and Pierce led the team in another counterattack. Playing more composedly, the Hawks’ offensive efficiency significantly improved, scoring 16 points in the latter half of the quarter.

However, the Bobcats firmly withstood the Hawks’ counterattack!

Zhang Yang ran into what he perceived to be an opportunity, taking the shot upon receiving the ball, executing the Bobcats’ tactical philosophy for the night.

After making that high-difficulty shot, Hawks players pursued and double-teamed him even more tightly and aggressively, denying him the chance to raise and take the shot, or even to receive the ball.

Zhang Yang’s pulling effect further enhanced, aiding the Bobcats’ team offense, the most direct benefit being improved spacing for Okafor down low.

As Zhang Yang was being vigorously pursued and double-teamed, failing to receive the ball, his movement to the wing also drew the defensive attention of Joe Johnson who was guarding Mike Miller on the sideline...

Moreover, he was happy to leverage his own threat to attract defenders, creating better opportunities for his teammates.

Felton as the point guard and Brad Miller facilitating could more easily execute their playmaking duties, while substitutes like Hill and Millsap also had a better passing environment.

As Zhang Yang caught the ball high, turned, and made a straight pass to the inside, Pietrus, a substitute on the court, caught the ball and dunked it in, boosting the Bobcats’ latter-half quarter scoring to 16 points.

At the end of the first quarter, the Bobcats maintained an 8-point lead, 37 to 29 ahead of the Hawks!

As the game entered the inter-quarter break, the players returned to the bench to wipe their sweat and hydrate while Vincent remarked to Carlisle: "The Hawks’ three-star perimeter lineup is too fierce! I expected their offense to perform well, but it still exceeded my expectations."

Bibby scored 7 points in the quarter, Pierce 6, and Joe Johnson 8, with the three combining for a total of 21 points!

Fortunately, their own five starters scored aggressively as well. Zhang Yang played the entire first quarter, shooting 4 of 7, with no scored threes on 0 out of 1, plus making 1 out of 1 free throws, achieving a game-high 9 points along with 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

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