Zhang Yang helped Felton and Gerald Wallace up, walked to the free-throw line amidst the cheers of the fans, and coolly made the free throw.
to 100, the Bobcats take a two-point lead!
With 22 seconds remaining, the Miami Heat called a timeout to make substitutions and set up their tactics.
Jason Williams, Wade, Kapono, Anthony Walker, and O’Neal were put into the game.
Three spread out, one stood under the basket, and one broke through, Riley’s key-ball strategy was simple but effective.
Bickerstaff put out his strongest defensive lineup of Felton, Keith Bogans, Gerald Wallace, Okafor, and Perkins.
The game resumed, and the Heat attacked. Wade was already feeling weak in the legs, but he decided to keep going; he wanted to pull himself out of the hole he had dug!
Gritting his teeth, Wade accelerated and drove hard, surpassed Felton, and charged into the paint. Facing a group’s defense, he pulled up for a close-range jumper...it’s a miss!
Riley, standing on the sidelines, saw the ball hit the rim, felt regret, but also relieved. The game was finally about to end...Damn! How did you Bobcats defend the board?
O’Neal leapt from behind Perkins and, towering over him, slammed the ball into the basket!
to 102, the Miami Heat tied the score!
The critical moments still left the Heat with timeouts to use, while the Bobcats had none; Bickerstaff couldn’t switch Zhang Yang back in.
Fortunately, Felton was a rookie unafraid of clutch moments, and he was still available on the court.
Regrettably, Felton’s last attack under O’Neal’s pressure resulted in a missed floater. After O’Neal secured the defensive rebound, the buzzer sounded, ending regular time and sending the game into overtime!
Riley watched O’Neal, who had just dunked and was now panting heavily but raised his hands high, enjoying the cheers of his teammates around him...the Big Shark was powerful, a rare inside player who could contribute in critical moments.
O’Neal played exceptionally well this key ball-time, single-handedly pushing the team into overtime.
On the other side, Zhang Yang took off his warm-up suit, ready to take the court, puzzled about what there was to be happy about on the other side.
Although the Bobcats also regretted not protecting the last board and missing the key floater, they were not afraid.
Before the last offense and defense, they had outscored 19 to 13 in five minutes; what was another five minutes of overtime? Keep going!
A few minutes later, overtime started.
When O’Neal lost the opening tip-off to Okafor, the Heat players felt uneasy.
The Bobcats took the offense first. Wade, having played full minutes in the second half and the fourth quarter, couldn’t keep up with Felton anymore. Felton drove straight to the paint, reached for the ball near the three-second line, and threw up a shot...O’Neal, unable to stop in time, knocked Felton over with a foul, and failed to stop Felton from releasing the ball.
The ball hit the small rectangle on the backboard and bounced into the basket.
The shot was good, and Felton’s added free throw was also successful, 105 to 102, the Bobcats kicked off the overtime!
In the Heat’s offensive turn, Payton tried a low post spin jump shot against Zhang Yang but missed. Zhang Yang seized the defensive rebound and started the counterattack as Wade quickly followed... but couldn’t keep up!
Zhang Yang had played 6 minutes in the first quarter, a bit over 5 minutes in the second quarter, 3 minutes in the third, and a bit over 5 minutes in the fourth...totaling just about 20 minutes, he still had some energy left! He could keep pushing!
Amidst the cheers of the fans, Zhang Yang shook Wade off at the free-throw line, grabbed the ball, took two strides and jumped, slamming the ball into the basket!
to 102, the Bobcats lead by 5 points!
After the first play was over, Riley knew the game was lost; entering overtime was just an extra drain on their strength...
Wade was unwilling to give up and continued to push forward, but he couldn’t keep going. He was not like the top draft pick known for robust stamina, and it was the second back-to-back game. By the last play of the regular time, he was already spent.
As the gap widened, with 4 minutes and 46 seconds to go, Wade still wanted to push through...caught in a double team, Zhang Yang stole the ball.
After snagging the ball, Zhang Yang moved past mid-court, didn’t continue the attack as the fans had already begun to cheer in celebration of the victory.
At this moment, Zhang Yang made a gesture that made the fans cheer even louder!
Facing Wade, he put his hand around his neck, waved it back and forth...