First in scoring

Chapter 22. Zhang Yang's Desire

Dudley, who hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer, excitedly rushed over to hug Zhang Yang and said, "Rookie, great pass!"

Thanks to the rookie for the top five shots!
The pass was straight and hard, which meant that the opponent did not expect it, otherwise McDyess would have caught it with a wave of his hand to the upper left, and he almost dropped the ball when he received it.

By the way, what is the name of this rookie?

Hearing Stoudemire yelling "Jack", Dudley said he would remember it next time.

Others also gathered around to praise the rookie.

Nash didn't go up to praise...mainly because he was too weak to squeeze through those teammates.

He felt very pleased that his little brother not only got better at training, but also became more flexible and bolder in competitions.

Although Zhang Yang received praise, he still looked at his performance calmly.

Scoring 7 points and 6 assists in 2 minutes is pretty good, but the points were all simple shots, and the two assists also tested the abilities of his teammates.

What really helped the team get started was the basket dominator Stoudemire, who scored 14 points and 6 rebounds in a single quarter.

At most, Zhang Yang can be regarded as a catalyst, speeding up the pace of Stoudemire's team's momentum.

Of course, he is not underestimating himself. If other substitutes were to play, they would most likely not play as well as he did. Then it would take longer for Stoudemire to lead the team, and it would most likely take longer for them to tie or surpass the score.

After returning to the locker room, Gentry repeatedly emphasized that they should not be careless just because they had reversed the score.

Zhang Yang also felt so. He was not clear about the original specific situation of this series, but after halftime, he estimated that although the Suns swept the Spurs 4-0, it was definitely not as easy as the big score looked.

Just like the 95 Finals, it looked like the Rockets were beating the Magic, but in fact the Magic almost won every game, only failing at crucial moments.

The Spurs are really strong. In the second quarter, the Suns, led by their overlord, launched such a fierce attack, but the Spurs showed no signs of collapse. Instead, they held on to their lead until the very last moment, which was so stable that it made people's scalps numb.

However, Zhang Yang was neither nervous nor afraid. He was just a substitute. He just sat on the sidelines and cheered for his teammates. He just needed to give his all when he had the chance to play.

He has confidence in his teammates. He can clearly feel the change in their mentality. At the beginning of the game, his teammates were overly nervous, as if they were under a lot of pressure. Now, their confidence has risen! They are playing better and better!
...

After the halftime break, the third quarter began.

Just as Zhang Yang expected, the game did not become easier, but instead turned into a fierce battle mode.

The Spurs' three horses are all on the move!
Duncan, who had a great performance in the first half and scored 19 points, started a fierce attack at the beginning of the third quarter.

Parker's counterattack opportunities decreased, but he still did a good job of breaking through and scoring and passing the ball after Duncan's screen.

Yaodao, who sometimes had brain problems and sometimes had highlights in the first half, also performed well in the third quarter.

While fighting the three main players, Popovich gave up on Duncan, McDyess, and Blair, who was rotating in, to grab offensive rebounds on the defensive end, and retreated with all his strength, causing considerable trouble for the Suns' fast break.

On the Suns side, Stoudemire continued to attack. Nash, who mainly passed the ball and shot after receiving the pass in the first half, also increased his shots in the third quarter and fought hard against the three main teams. Gentry also did a good job in on-the-spot response and lineup rotation, and struggled to compete with the Spurs.

However, in this situation, the Spurs coach Popovich, who had the upper hand on the field, was the one under more pressure, while the Suns coach Gentry, who was struggling to hold on, did not feel much pressure.

The three horses opened fire at full force, which was the Spurs' style of play in the closing stages of the game. This tactic was used in the third quarter, and it was bound to affect their performance later on.

It would be fine if the Spurs regained the advantage in the score and could have just worked on their defense, but they seemed to have the advantage, but all was talk and no action.

Popovich had no choice but to make this choice. The opponent was in high spirits after overtaking the score in the first half. If he didn't use his strongest playing style, he was worried that the opponent would take the game away in one wave.

Another thing is that he doesn't want to play key balls.

They are one of the teams that are worst at playing key shots. The best player in the team is Ginobili. Although this guy is capable, he often has tics. In the seventh game of the second round in 06, Ginobili inexplicably fouled Nowitzki when he was leading by three points, causing the score to be tied by Nowitzki and the game to be dragged into overtime. In the end, Terry and Stackhouse went crazy in overtime, and the Mavericks reversed and won the seventh game... Popovich will never forget that scene.

So he chose to take a chance and try to widen the score gap again with his best playing style.

This choice shows the change in Popovich's coaching philosophy. It's just that the game didn't go in the direction he expected...

打到第三节9分06秒，马刺队以81比79领先太阳队两分，这一节到现在马刺队打出了25比22的比分，长时间占上风。

But in the last two minutes, the troika's attack was interrupted!
The Suns took advantage of the situation to counterattack. Zhang Yang and Richardson relied on Stoudemire's distraction to complete a counterattack layup each. Nash hit a three-pointer and beat the Spurs 7 to 2!

After three quarters, the Suns overtook the score 86 to 83 and regained a 3-point lead!
Zhang Yang played for 5 minutes in the third quarter, scoring 4 points, 1 rebound and 1 steal, but his performance was not as amazing as in the second quarter.

But he played a special role - affecting Popovich's defensive anticipation.

When playing in a conventional style, Zhang Yang is just an ordinary role player who can counterattack and make fixed-point shots.

But when it came to the tactical offensive round after Gentry called a timeout, that is, the crucial ball round, the Spurs had to mark and double-team the Suns star. Popovich was very troubled by Zhang Yang. He did not want to give Zhang Yang a chance to handle the ball and chose not to leave Zhang Yang open.

Popovich couldn't predict what choice Zhang Yang would make after receiving the ball. He hated this kind of player, unless the player was on his team...

In this quarter, Zhang Yang did not have any outstanding performance in the tactical round phase, but he indirectly made it easier for the team leaders to play.

In the fourth quarter, it was the Suns' turn to go crazy.

前4分多钟太阳队打出了15比8的比分，一举将领先优势扩大到10分，101比91领先。

The Spurs were really stable and didn't collapse at all. In the last seven minutes or so, they defended the Suns, who were in a slump after their fierce attack, to only 7 points. However, the three main players consumed too much energy in the third quarter and they couldn't attack even when the chance came. They only scored 12 points during this period.

At 10:22 pm, the final whistle sounded.

邓肯今晚表现出色，39分钟出场时间里22投13中，加上12中7的罚球，狂砍33分17板3助攻6盖帽。

但斯塔德迈尔表现更好！出战46分钟的他，在首节只拿到2分的情况下全场拿到37分16板2助攻2盖帽！

With 11 offensive rebounds in a single game and 12 points scored from offensive rebounds, Stoudemire single-handedly provided long-range shooting support for his teammates.

纳什表现也极为出色，拿到26分12助攻，风之子和小霸王携手率队以113比107力克马刺队，大比分1比0领先！

...

After the final whistle, the entire Suns team gathered together to celebrate, and this time the teammate they surrounded was... the little bully Stoudemire.

After the celebration, reporters also surrounded Stoudemire.

In the head-to-head confrontation with the greatest power forward in history, Stoudemire overpowered his opponent and stole the show tonight.

Zhang Yang was very envious when he saw this scene.

He longed for a day like this...

今晚他打了16分钟，拿到10分2板2助攻1抢断，表现还不错。

Especially in the second quarter, he helped the team get going faster, allowing the team to secure victory early without having to fight for key balls at the last moment. He felt that his role was quite important.

But he was still dissatisfied with something - he took two shots in the final quarter to pay tribute to Los Angeles.

Compared with Nash, Stoudemire, Richardson, Hill and others, he thinks he is still a good player.

He felt that he had to work harder and practice more!

……

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(End of this chapter)