The fans at the venue erupted in crazy cheers, and at this moment, the big screen displayed nothing else but Zhang Yang’s jersey photo and statistics.
Shooting 35, making 24, including 7 of 4 from the three-point line, and 10 of 8 from free throws, Zhang Yang played for 40 minutes tonight, scoring 60 points, grabbing 9 rebounds, dishing out 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block!
As Iverson listened to the unrestrained cheers of the fans and looked at Zhang Yang’s statistics on the big screen, he thought of the wild words of that bad boy... clenching his fists, he turned and walked towards the bench, just as George Karl had called for a timeout after Zhang Yang scored from a layup.
The reason for not calling a timeout earlier was that they were only one point from catching up, Iverson was in good form, Anthony, Weaver with 5 of 7 from three-point, ’Bankrupt Barkley’ Kleiza, and Kenyon Martin’s drawing power were present, making it the best lineup for Iverson to initiate a counterattack or solo offensive tonight, definitely no reason to call a timeout.
Now there was a mistake, the gap widened to 5 points, and with only 24 seconds left, even if just to reduce the time used for advancing, they had to call a timeout.
On the other side, Zhang Yang and Okafor, who came over, high-fived, modestly celebrating the decisive ball they completed together from the steal and counterattack. They didn’t dawdle and returned to the bench to listen to the plans.
After the timeout, both teams made lineup substitutions.
Okafor, who had just made a significant play, was subbed out, and the combination of Rondo, Zhang Yang, Afflalo, Hill, and Perkins was brought on by Carlisle.
Carlisle guessed correctly, George Karl only substituted Kleiza out, bringing Anthony Carter in to further strengthen perimeter shooting, Iverson, Weaver, Anthony, and Kenyon Martin continuing, with the tactic being Kenyon Martin hustling and Iverson or Anthony shooting threes isolation.
The Nuggets Team inbounded from the frontcourt, Iverson received the ball at midcourt, Anthony immediately moved to the corner to space out, and seeing this, Iverson didn’t hesitate and quickly advanced to the top of the arc. The one guarding him upfront was Zhang Yang!
Seeing this matchup, Anthony immediately dismissed the idea of being the primary attacker.
After reaching the top of the arc, Iverson quickly pulled up the butterfly step.
Zhang Yang didn’t care about Iverson’s drive; he pressed up to cover Iverson’s shooting space!
Carlisle’s defensive plan was to block threes, protect the rim, and allow mid-to-long shots, a 5-point difference with 24 seconds left, making mid-range baskets not enough to catch up.
As Zhang Yang pressed up, Iverson forcefully bounced the ball with his left hand, pushed off the ground with his left foot, and took a big step to the right... creating a nearly open three-point opportunity, he jumped, and released the three-point shot...
Tonight, Iverson had shown Zhang Yang through various solo plays and counterattacks what a true butterfly step was!
But, although he created a good opportunity, Iverson couldn’t capitalize on it.
The ball flew out and hit the rim!
Perkins blocked Kenyon Martin, who was desperate for rebounds at the critical moment, swiftly turned around Perkins to the rebounding spot... but Rondo, who had run back to the baseline, grabbed it first.
Seeing Rondo snatch the ball single-handedly and quickly jog to the sideline to push forward, Kenyon Martin, completely drained of his last bit of energy, felt instantly deflated.
If that three-pointer had gone in, they could have still attempted to foul and fight back. But with it missed, the Nuggets Team gave up, and Rondo didn’t continue to attack after crossing half-court, running down the remaining time.
With 5 seconds left on the countdown, the Bobcats players flooded onto the court, celebrating with their teammates and enjoying the cheers from the fans in the venue!
At 11:21 PM, the final buzzer sounded.
In the half-period, Zhang Yang made 8 of 8 shots, including 1 of 1 from the three-point line, and 1 of 1 from free throws, scoring 18 points alone and outscoring the Nuggets Team 18 to 13, leading the Bobcats to a narrow 142 to 137 victory over the Nuggets Team!
Iverson, hearing the cheering of the fans, hands on his hips, looked up at the big screen which displayed his and Zhang Yang’s statistics.
Tonight, he made 17 of 29 shots, including 1 of 7 from the three-point line, and 9 of 12 from free throws, scoring 44 points, grabbing 3 rebounds, and dishing out 11 assists, with 3 steals.
Speaking of individual performance, he thought he didn’t perform much worse than Zhang Yang’s single-game 60 points.
What he found hard to accept was the 1 of 7 from the three-point line... even if he had made just one more, they might not have lost tonight.
But he didn’t have that ability...
Reflecting on the past, Iverson too was a rookie year three-point wiz averaging two three-pointers per game with a 34.1% three-point shooting percentage, which wasn’t bad for a rookie, especially since it was achieved during Pat Riley’s rugged era, making it quite valuable.
But in his sophomore year, Iverson welcomed a new head coach—Larry Brown.
His three-point attempts were directly halved, from 5.86 attempts per game in his rookie year to 2.9.
Under Larry Brown’s ’meticulous nurturing’, Iverson’s three-pointers, from a regular offensive tool in his rookie season, accounting for more than 30% of his attempts; turned into a last resort, and the attempt rate never reached 20% again.
Not being allowed to shoot, he practiced less, after all, what’s the use if he couldn’t apply it? His three-point skills rapidly degenerated.
These past two years his three-point shooting percentage had slightly improved, but that wasn’t because his three-point ability had improved, but purely because the perimeter defense wasn’t strict anymore.
Resigned, yet helpless, from the time he requested a trade from the 76ers, he had actually been accepting the arrangement of fate, no longer the resolute Answer from those days.
Luckily, the current management and owner of the 76ers were very compassionate, unselfishly sending him, then 30 and at his peak, to a strong team, giving him the opportunity to continue chasing his basketball dreams.
Unfortunately, his first full season in the West coincided with the West reaching its strongest and craziest phase overall.
In the East where they could aim for 55 wins, in the West they might not even secure 50 wins, and even after almost half a season, their playoff prospects remained unclear.