The team played well together, and even if the team offense stalled occasionally, Zhang Yang could keep it going with solo plays. Under the leadership of Zhang Yang and Brad Miller, the Bobcats launched a fierce back-and-forth battle with the Wizards!
This season, the Bobcats have averaged 110.5 points per game, ranking fourth in the league, while allowing 102.9 points per game, ranking eighteenth. Prioritizing offense has become second nature when they encounter situations.
The Wizards have averaged 104 points per game, ranking eighth in the league, and allowed 104 points, ranking twentieth. They win solely based on offense; if they can outshoot their opponents, they win, otherwise they falter.
The Bobcats lack the ability to rotate defensively, and Jamison’s mismatched style is just right to deal with the Bobcats. The Wizards, led by Jamison tonight, play with remarkable offensive efficiency.
In the first quarter, with Zhang Yang scoring 12 points, the Bobcats posted a 31-29 score to lead by two points.
In the second quarter, Jamison responded with 3 three-pointers, scoring 14 points, leading the Wizards to a 33-27 score, overturning the Bobcats’ lead to 62-58, entering halftime with a four-point lead.
Zhang Yang played 19 minutes in the first half, scoring 20 points and 2 assists; Jamison played 20 minutes, scoring 21 points and 6 rebounds.
After halftime, at the beginning of the third quarter, Zhang Yang switched to solo play mode.
In the face of Zhang Yang’s aggressive attack, Jamison naturally had to keep up to maintain the advantage.
However, although Jamison had a slight edge over Zhang Yang in the regular offense and defense stage tonight, Zhang Yang clearly dominated in solo-offense duels!
At first, the game was evenly matched, but after a few more rounds, when Jamison needed a breather, Zhang Yang kept going!
Jamison’s strategy of using perimeter shots to score from close range was taxing, but he needed to play that way. If he stayed on the perimeter, he’d be playing solely off his shooting touch, and if he didn’t attack from inside, the Wizards’ Triangle Offense couldn’t run smoothly, leaving him without an outlet when double-teamed.
Zhang Yang played much more effortlessly.
Antonio Daniels, Caron Butler, or substitutes Roger Mason, and Nick Young, were just cannon fodder to Zhang Yang, allowing easy shots.
DeShawn Stevenson tried defending him, but Zhang Yang maintained a shooting accuracy of fifty percent with his back-to-the-basket plays from the high post.
To pressure Zhang Yang into missing shots, the Wizards had to push their wing defense closer to the free-throw line for extra coverage.
But in doing so, they’d leave themselves vulnerable to Mike Miller, who averaged 2.5 three-pointers at a 43.2% success rate, and Hill, who averaged 1.9 mid-range and long two-point shots at a 45.7% success rate, to teach them a lesson.
In the third quarter, Zhang Yang shot 6-of-9, including 1-of-2 from three-point range, and 3-of-3 from the free-throw line, scoring 16 points, leading the Bobcats to grab 30 points in the quarter!
Jamison, despite his perimeter-style playing, is ultimately an internal player and can’t raise the ceiling like Nowitzki. During the dueling crucial moments, he was outmatched by Zhang Yang, scoring only 7 points in the quarter, while the entire Wizards improved only to 24 points.
After three quarters, the Bobcats led the Wizards with a score of 88-86, reversing a two-point deficit!
In the final quarter, the Bobcats maintained the initiative after overturning the score.
Led by Caron Butler and Jamison, both averaging over 20 points per game, the Wizards launched a fierce offense again and performed well, but whenever they reclaimed the lead, Zhang Yang, Felton, and Okafor would respond to seize it back.
In such a close-scored game, the role of individual star play becomes increasingly clear towards the end.
At 9:23 p.m. Felton used a screen to break into the paint... high lob pass!
Zhang Yang caught the alley-oop layup successfully, extending the Bobcats’ lead to 3 points.
Back on the other end, Caron Butler’s three-point attempt against Hill’s defense missed, and the game came to a pause.
points in the first quarter, 8 in the second, 16 in the third, and 9 in the final period, Zhang Yang played 39 minutes in total, shooting 16-of-25 from the field, including 5-of-9 from three-point range, plus 8-of-10 from the free-throw line, finishing with 45 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks.
Brad Miller scored 8 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and handed out 12 assists; Okafor had 23 points and 8 rebounds; Felton contributed 14 points and 6 assists...
Four players from the Bobcats scored in double digits, narrowly defeating the Wizards 118-115, marking the first time in team history of visiting the White House without leaving a heartbreaking defeat!
Jamison watched as Zhang Yang was surrounded by teammates celebrating on the other side; tonight, he truly admitted defeat!
He played well too, scoring 7 points in the first quarter, 14 in the second, 7 in the third, and 8 in the final period, shooting 12-of-25 from the field, including 6-of-13 from three-point range, plus 6-of-6 from the free-throw line, for a total of 36 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 assists.
But in the third quarter, when individual iso plays were tested, he was completely outplayed by Zhang Yang.
He isn’t strong in this aspect; in the past, Arenas would be the one dueling with the opponent’s perimeter stars at such moments, and Arenas never disappointed his teammates in this regard.
This season, while the Wizards’ team offense is good enough to compete against the Suns, Nuggets, Warriors, and Bobcats, they ’only’ average 104 points per game, ranking eighth in league offense, because they lack a key element in clutch duels.
The Suns have Nash and Stoudemire, the Warriors have Baron Davis and Ellis, the Bobcats have Zhang Yang and Felton, and the Wizards used to have it too, but it’s been sidelined...
As a teammate, Jamison knows Arenas’s injury situation shows no optimism, with only darkness ahead, not light.
After being overpowered by a "bad boy" in a head-to-head matchup tonight, Jamison regretted prematurely renewing his contract with the Wizards last season for 4 years and 50 million. He heard from his agent that the Bobcats were interested in acquiring him but passed because the price was too high.