One Year Left to Play-Chapter 273 - 97: The Despairing Three-Pointer Package

The referee decisively confirmed the goal was valid!

As the final buzzer sounded, the ball just came down from its highest point, no doubt about it, 107 to 106. Zhang Hao hit the buzzer-beater, and the Brooklyn Nets defeated the Pacers by a point.

Zhang Hao's early celebratory posing didn't turn into embarrassment but turned out to be truly impressive.

The over fifteen thousand fans on-site went berserk, chanting "X"!

This game was worth the ticket price! 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Oh, Xiette, you stole the spotlight again!" Jason Williams was the first to rush out, jumping onto Zhang Hao's back, hugging him and roaring, "Remember, I'm the one who got the ball! Me!"

Kenny Anderson, who originally had the best shooting opportunity but didn't receive the pass and instead watched a certain high schooler solo the big play, didn't mind any of this. It went in, they won! He rushed forward, reaching out to pat Zhang Hao's shoulder in celebration, and the teammates from the bench also rushed over.

Having fought through the entire game, the exhausted Brooklyn Nets players felt incredibly satisfied at this moment!

Zhang Hao, who hit the buzzer-beater, hadn't even had a chance to counter back to Reggie Miller, when Almon Gilliam had already started to spray at Reggie Miller: "Biqi, so what if you can't be stopped? You lost!"

They couldn't even celebrate properly, and the teammates gathered behind Almon Gilliam.

The referee seemed like he wanted to give the Brooklyn Nets a technical foul even after the game had ended. He felt this bunch had a tendency to become a troublesome team. Previously, during a preseason game where the Nets played the Hornets, it was this referee officiating and Zhang Hao's post-game taunting, this time Zhang Hao's early celebratory pose, Almon Gilliam's post-game taunt...

Fortunately, in these times, everyone had a free-spirited heroism. A loss is a loss, go back and practice hard, and try to win the next game.

Even the usually foul-mouthed Dale Davis just put his arm around the team leader's shoulder and turned to leave.

Reggie Miller lost but wasn't upset, not because he didn't perform well; he shot 12 of 25 from the field, 3 of 7 from three-point range, 7 of 14 on mid-range shots, and 5 for 5 from the free-throw line. He even managed to go 2 for 4 in the paint, scoring 32 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists. He had performed very well.

Unable to stop the explosion of Almon Gilliam and the mid-range dominance of Zhang Hao who benefited from Gilliam's outbreak to gain inside traction, hitting 8 of 14 mid-rangers; this was the reason for the loss.

For their Pacers team, aside from his 32 points, the next highest scorer was Schmitz with only 14 points, unlike the Brooklyn Nets, who scored a total of 107 points with Zhang Hao and Almon Gilliam alone combining for 65. Adding Kenny Anderson's 15 points and Edwards's 12 points, the four main Brooklyn Nets players scored 92 points in total, the others only contributed 12 points.

The other team's top scorers exploded, three key players capitalized on opportunities and played so well. Losing, Reggie Miller also accepted it willingly.

As he walked to the players' tunnel entrance, Reggie Miller turned to look at Zhang Hao, still surrounded by teammates in celebration - this high school kid is something else, scoring 8 mid-range shots!

Although Reggie Miller doesn't like to group with other shooters, it doesn't mean he doesn't want to elevate the status of shooters; he's merely doing it his way.

...

"For the special contract player Zhang Hao helping the team win an NBA regular season game as a starter, congratulations to the host on receiving a total of a 5-day life extension reward."

"Top Shooter (Star of Shooting):

Goal 1: Under the host's guidance, special contract player Zhang Hao helped the team in this match. (Completed)

Goal 2: Under the host's guidance, special contract player Zhang Hao must achieve more mid-range shots than Reggie Miller in this match. (8 to 7, completed.)

Congratulations to the host on receiving a 15-day life extension reward and Michael Adams' three-point shooting package.

Reggie Miller's good impression of the host has increased; he has developed a keen interest in the host."

"Remaining life: 440 days, usable life: 439 days."

Won the game, hit the buzzer-beater, though a bit tired, but it feels great.

After the celebration, heading back to the locker room to inspect the rewards was even more satisfying! It's just that seeing Reggie Miller interested in Mr. Zhang left him feeling something was odd about that description. Why wasn't the last ball passed? Besides having confidence in his mid-range shot, hitting Reggie Miller here and not being able to do so felt like facing retirement head-on otherwise. Plus, after hitting a mid-range shot in the fourth quarter, he caught up with Reggie Miller, who didn't score any mid-rangers in the fourth quarter. The last shot was also in the mid-range zone; of course, he had to take it.

Michael Adams' three-point shooting package... Zhang Hao thought of the form on his first career three-pointer... a shot put style three-pointer... still, he needs to secure it; not going for the reward would be foolish.

Played through it all... Zhang Hao felt his physical strength reaching its limit. Thankfully, Almon Gilliam's explosion tonight; otherwise, they really wouldn't have had the chance to go toe-to-toe with a well-performing Pacers team until the last moment.

Picking up the ice bags from the bucket next to him, Zhang Hao began carefully applying cold compresses.

Teammates were all very excited after the game win, and Zhang Hao liked this feeling, only many teammates were just casually rubbing ice on their joints and tossing it back into the bucket.

Even though there was air conditioning, in the middle of winter, quite a few teammates found it cumbersome and wanted to shower early and head home.

In these situations, Zhang Hao couldn't say much. Some people just don't like therapy.

Applying ice packs to his knees, ankles, waist for 3-5 minutes, Zhang Hao had the trainer help with an ice pack on his back, then after a massage and shower, Zhang Hao was taken by the team's press officer to the press conference venue.