Chapter 868: Diligent Shark!

Zhang Hao seized the opportunity, under the guidance of the Magician and Brian Shaw, and launched continuous counterattacks, scoring 11 points in half a quarter.

Throughout the first half, although Zhang Hao had 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 3 blocks, he only scored 9 points. By the official timeout in the third quarter, he had surpassed Garnett’s 17 points, reaching a game-high 20 points!

Half a quarter at 16 to 17, with Zhang Hao’s 11 points in half a quarter, the Lakers steadily maintained their lead at 79 to 68, leading by 11 points. After the official timeout, O’Neal returned to the court, and Zhang Hao wiped his sweat… In the 5 minutes and 22 seconds after the official timeout, the lineup of Kenny Anderson, O’Neal, Zhang Hao, Byron Scott, and George Lynch stormed with 22 points, making a run of 22 to 11!

Despite the Timberwolves scoring 28 points in the third quarter, the Lakers got 38 points!

The Timberwolves worked hard, scoring 79 points in three quarters, which was above their season average. However, the Lakers always managed to go on a scoring spree while limiting the Timberwolves’ offense at certain stages, like in the second quarter and the latter half of the third quarter.

For most of the time, the Lakers’ defense wasn’t great, but whenever Zhang Hao and O’Neal teamed up on defense, the Timberwolves’ offense faced big troubles. Perhaps in two years, when Guglielota is still at his peak, and Marbury and Garnett are more mature, they can handle the Remy Martin Duo.

But now, Zhang Hao + O’Neal is the Timberwolves’ nightmare!

Thanks to Zhang Hao’s 23 points in a single quarter, by the end of the third quarter, the Lakers led 101 to 79, expanding their lead to 22 points!

At this point in the game, Philip Sanders decisively chose to give up.

No big deal here, they haven’t beaten the Lakers in the past two years, losing is losing.

Garnett and Guglielota, the two inside players, were substituted to rest, and the rookie Marbury went on for the fourth quarter.

Zhang Hao looked at Garnett’s three-quarter stats of 20 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, and compared them to his own 32 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, and heaved a sigh of relief, his task of defeating the “Golden Generation of Power Forwards” was completed for today!

Initially, by halftime, he thought his task might end tonight.

Of course, he was willing to cooperate with O’Neal during his active play. If he could achieve better chemistry with O’Neal and continue it, he was even willing to forgo a Star Experience Card for the other four power forwards of the class of ’95, even if it were a skill transfer medal + accompanying training card.

Zhang Hao knew how to weigh the importance of things.

But unexpectedly, in the second half of the third quarter, with O’Neal on court, he could still score 12 points, seeing O’Neal’s performance of 16 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 blocks in three quarters… This is just amazing!

What is a superstar? This is it!

Zhang Hao finally understood what it meant to be a diligent Shaq!

In the final quarter, Zhang Hao watched as Fisher and Ben Wallace got schooled by Marbury… Old Fisher and Da Ben next door still need honing…

In the end, relying on the lead in the first three quarters, the Lakers, although losing the final quarter 19 to 27 by 8 points, still comfortably defeated the Timberwolves 120 to 106, securing their first victory after the All-Star Weekend!

…

…

There were quite a few fans watching the live broadcast of the Lakers vs. Timberwolves game, and it attracted a lot of media attention as well.

The Lakers winning wasn’t a surprise, the difference in performance between the two teams was significant. After this game, the Lakers’ record was 39 wins and 10 losses, while the Timberwolves were 26 wins and 24 losses.

But the process was very different from what the media predicted and what fans expected!

The Timberwolves’ performance in the opening stages was stunning, much stronger than the talent impact that the Dallas 3J initially brought to people.

However, in the second quarter, the trio of Kenny Anderson, Zhang Hao, and O’Neal made the Timberwolves understand that talent couldn’t compete with strength.

This is understandable; the Lakers trio is definitely stronger than the Timberwolves trio. Kenny Anderson and O’Neal are in their sixth and fifth seasons respectively, which shows a significant maturity gap.

What’s critical is that O’Neal played very diligently tonight! He played 28 minutes in three quarters and grabbed 14 rebounds and 3 blocks!

What’s most incredible is that O’Neal actively played power forward on the defense, allowing Zhang Hao to take the center position…

This sparked another wave of voices feeling sorry for O’Neal’s sacrifice.

But O’Neal playing so diligently was even more incredible.

O’Neal has proved he has the capability to win the rebounding crown if he wants to, but why did the Magic have a net average of 2.6 rebounds fewer per game in the past two seasons despite having him and Horace Grant?

It’s because O’Neal was lazy. His highest average for rebounds was during his rookie year, with 13.9 boards, then it sharply declined, averaging around 11 rebounds in the past two seasons.

He averaged 3.5 blocks per game in his rookie year, but again, this similarly sharply declined after his rookie season.

This season, with the Lakers’ starting lineup of Zhang Hao and Kenny Anderson, and a bench supported by the Magician, Brian Shaw, and Jason Williams, O’Neal only put in effort during games where he and Zhang Hao were competing against each other; otherwise, he was lazy.

Suddenly, O’Neal became diligent!

Moreover, the unusual defensive combination of O’Neal and Zhang Hao was truly formidable!

O’Neal and the Timberwolves don’t particularly have any grudges, so clearly, O’Neal isn’t putting in effort due to any personal vendetta…