Chapter 828 - 259: That’s My Horse!

Zhang Hao started smoothly, overtook all his teammates smoothly, overtook all his opponents smoothly, and once again rushed into the opponent’s three-point area first. The Magician sent a direct long pass, and Zhang Hao received the ball at the free-throw line, took a step out, jumped, and gently dunked the ball into the basket with both hands. 10 points! 10 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists!

It’s Pistons’ turn to attack again; Edith Soper’s close-range shot was off, and Grant Hill was speechless. Every time they play the Lakers, Edith Soper performs surprisingly poorly.

Edith Soper couldn’t help it; he encountered Jason Williams, who is as tricky as Jerome Williams. That junkyard dog wears a face that says "I’m very cunning," while Jia Giant doesn’t. Jia Giant looks honest but plays defense satanically, and Jia Giant rivals Rodman in cunning, not losing to the junkyard dog at all.

Fortunately, the Pistons retreated quickly this time, starting early in defense, interrupting Zhang Hao’s fast break.

Grant Hill strived hard, leading the team to take a 100-95 lead over the Lakers by 5 points at the official timeout with 6:11 left in the fourth quarter.

When moving, it didn’t actually feel that hard—the belief in defeating Zhang Hao supported Grant Hill.

But, entering the timeout and stopping the exercise felt like working hard for half an hour—emptiness swept over.

Grant Hill felt so tired, wanting badly to light up a cigar.

points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals—he really gave it his all, playing over 42 minutes, and standing still felt like floating.

That feeling was much like in college, playing Contra the whole night behind his parents’ backs.

The Pistons put Terry Mills and Ratliff’s inside duo back into play, Lynch Hunt, Joe Dumars, and Grant Hill continued on.

The Lakers also subbed in Barkley; they didn’t need Doug Christie. Kenny Anderson, George Lynch, the Magician, Barkley, and Zhang Hao hit the court.

...

With Grant Hill, there’s guaranteed strength, but to exhibit play surpassing their potential like the Lakers—it’s tough.

Thinking about this, Doug Collins couldn’t help but glance disdainfully at Scott Collins.

Facing a face identical to his own with disdain showing in the eyes, Scott Collins was speechless. Since working in the NBA, whenever Zhang Hao played well, his brother would look down on him.

There’s no defense anyway; Doug Collins couldn’t change that—better to focus on strengthening their offense.

Both sides had lineups, not seeming able to defend well. Anyway, the Lakers just blocked Grant Hill’s focus; rather than overthinking, they stuck with the prior strategy, leaving the rest to Zhang Hao, Barkley, and Kenny Anderson.

At crucial moments, the Pistons pointed towards Joe Dumars. In the first two-plus minutes post-official timeout, the former Finals MVP led the Pistons to fiercely maintain their advantage. Zhang Hao managed 6 points, 1 assist, helping the Lakers hit 4 consecutive baskets and gain 9 points, while the Pistons also got 8 points. Joe Dumars nailed a three-pointer, assisted Terry Mills on a three, and passed Lynch Hunt for a cutting layup.

If Joe Dumars were 5 years younger, then the Pistons’ secondary scorer in regular time, key scorer in critical moments, freeing Grant Hill from defensive duties against perimeter stars...many issues could be resolved. But Joe Dumars was already 34; after a valiant 2-minute stretch, he faced George Lynch’s defense to take a mid-range shot and missed!

The Magician seized the defensive rebound, assisted by Barkley’s box-out; the Lakers launched a counterattack!

Zhang Hao received the ball in the frontcourt; the Pistons retreated rapidly, with Ratliff getting back in place first.

The Pistons thought Zhang Hao, now at 18 points, 15 rebounds, 13 assists, would pass—just needing 2 assists to hit a triple 15. However, upon entering the free-throw line faced with Ratliff and Grant Hill, he poised his arms and squeezed between them, jumped, pushed the ball, scoring two points!

points!

Zhang Hao, scoring just 6 points in the previous quarters, had netted 14 points alone in the final period! 106 to 108, the Lakers narrowed the gap to two points!

With 1:55 remaining, the Pistons called a timeout!

...

Returning from the timeout, neither team called another timeout.

The Pistons had an offensive lineup. This post-timeout play saw Doug Collins’ strategy succeed; Terry Mills threw a baseline lob to Ratliff, and the latter delivered a powerful slam for two points.

This utilized Grant Hill’s penetration threat; even as Grant Hill seemed exhausted, the danger remained. On this night, Grant Hill scored 35 points, showing his prowess splendidly before the Los Angeles fans.

Nonetheless, Zhang Hao immediately charged out, no longer worrying about dunking affecting touch. Reaching the frontcourt, receiving the ball, he dodged a closely trailing Lynch Hunt into the interior, executing a tomahawk dunk, smashing the ball into the hoop!

Lynch Hunt nearly hung onto Zhang Hao but lacked the capacity to even be a pendant, crushed beneath Zhang Hao’s assault!

Following that, each side missed a shot; the Pistons hurriedly retreated, terrified by Zhang Hao’s counterattacks. Meanwhile, the Lakers saw Barkley miss his baseline jumper; Ratliff blocked possession, while Joe Dumars secured the defensive rebound, and Zhang Hao couldn’t wrestle for a grab.