Chapter 908 276: The Spear and the Shield

Facing Zhang Hao, a supernova known as the "strongest genius," Tim Hardaway was very excited. He wanted to face off last season, but at the Warriors, he didn't have the chance as Adelman preferred other stars on the Warriors.

Finally, there's an opportunity this season!

Zhang Hao got ready and guarded at the top arc.

Unlike Iverson, the person in front of him might be the real top point guard. While Iverson was still competing for Rookie of the Year, the person in front of him was already a hot candidate for the All-NBA First Team as a guard. This season, apart from Jordan, no other guard had performed better than the person in front of him.

Facing Zhang Hao, Tim Hardaway knew that changes of direction on the outside were useless. In their last matchup, he spent a long time changing direction on the outside to no avail, as the opponent didn't move and simply covered him with his height. Without hesitation, he didn't change direction on the outside; instead, he used his speed to forcefully break through to the left!

Zhang Hao closely followed, and Tim Hardaway abruptly stopped at the left side of the free-throw line for a crossover dribble. Zhang Hao immediately stabilized, preparing to guard Tim Hardaway's change of direction; defense against break-ins was impossible, but he had to cover Tim Hardaway's mid-range shot space with all his might.

After a quick stop, Tim Hardaway rapidly accelerated, continuing to break through along the previous route!

Zhang Hao reacted very quickly, but Tim Hardaway seized that split-second timing to escape Zhang Hao's coverage. At the left side of the three-second zone, he executed a quick stop jump shot... and scored!

This play, from Tim Hardaway's breakthrough outside the three-point line to the shot, took just over a second. O'Neal couldn't come out to help in time!

Indeed, he's incredible. Performing so well individually, he outshines Payton at his peak, Stockton (whose peak is hard to determine), and competes for the second All-NBA guard position with this season's breakout Glenn Rice. He's truly strong!

The Heat retreated defensively quickly. James Robinson received the inbound pass and advanced to the frontcourt, passing the ball to Zhang Hao, who had moved to the left side of the top arc.

After O'Neal settled into a good defensive position in the low post, Zhang Hao lobbed the ball to O'Neal.

O'Neal faced off against Moning one-on-one. Currently in the league, if anyone could limit O'Neal and reduce him from an invincible superstar to an ordinary All-Star, Moning would be considered one.

He couldn't bulldoze his way in directly. O'Neal's hook shot after spinning... having not played for a while, his hands were rusty. O'Neal missed the hook amidst intense confrontation!

PJ Brown retracted to grab the defensive rebound!

Zhang Hao somewhat missed the 140-kilogram Big Fatty from when he first returned... gain some, lose some. Such a Big Fatty would certainly move worse than now, unable to play power forward. But in isolation play, he was truly invincible. Although raising the weight directly to 140 kilograms at this stage just enhanced the impact from inertia, it was strong enough.

Just now, Moning's defensive action was very aggressive, and the referee didn't call it; the Lakers players were ready. Once the referee's whistle scale was determined, they would counter!

When Tim Hardaway pushed the pace, O'Neal was already confronting PJ Brown, Doug Christie was wrestling with Marion, and Wilkins, the 37-year-old veteran, held an advantage in the confrontation with Sasha Danilovic, the white shooting guard.

James Robinson was guarding at the top arc this time; Zhang Hao had retreated to the basket.

Couldn't defend! He initially wanted to try and see if he could stop Tim Hardaway's change of direction in breakthrough once for the task labeled "Enemy of 183," and Silver Fox wanted to give it a try too. But after the opening, Zhang Hao felt it hard to defend, opting to leave it to the quicker James Robinson.

Unlike Zhang Hao's defensive strategy, James Robinson had little defensive ability, just speed. When Tim Hardaway reached a meter outside the three-point line, James Robinson closed in.

Tim Hardaway was extremely adept at ultra-long three-pointers. In the year he won the Three-Point King title, the NBA three-point line hadn't shortened yet. This season, he averaged 2.5 threes per game, playing all games, and it was unknown how many ultra-long threes he had hit.

This gave Tim Hardaway an extremely vast breakthrough space; Zhang Hao had also defended him by stepping on the three-point line.

James Robinson's defensive action was very rough, not considering fouls, but the referee also didn't call it; Tim Hardaway easily used a crossover step to break into the inside, with James Robinson closely following. As Tim Hardaway reached the left side of the three-second zone and stepped on the line, O'Neal was in position for help defense!

Tim Hardaway was prepared in advance, passing the ball, PJ Brown took a few steps forward and received the ball at the baseline position one step outside the left side of the three-second zone for a close-range jump shot...

"Smack..."

Both Tim Hardaway, who passed, and PJ Brown, who received the shot, thought the play was a sure thing. However, the ball was swatted out to the sideline by Zhang Hao!

Zhang Hao positioned his elbow to withstand Moning's box-out, spun past Moning, leaped quickly, and lunged from the left side of the reasonable collision zone to swat PJ Brown's close-range jump shot away!

Seeing O'Neal's surprised open-mouthed expression and Zhang Hao's calm demeanor after the block, the Heat players were astonished!

They had studied the Lakers' defensive phase during their six-game winning streak after the All-Star weekend repeatedly, and had especially fielded tonight's better offensive lineup to counter XO's dominant medium-close range and rim protection.

The Heat were already prepared for O'Neal's superior mobility, which he hadn't showcased as much with the Magic, and his excellent help defense instinct. They were ready for Zhang Hao's rim protection instinct too.

But they didn't expect Zhang Hao's close-range help defense to have improved as well!

Not only the Heat players, but even O'Neal thought the ball was going to be lost. He was pressuring PJ Brown from mid-range, but PJ Brown was aware of the situation, and Tim Hardaway's pass leading him was excellent. Moning was supposed to be blocking Zhang Hao.

But Zhang Hao unexpectedly executed a beautiful block!

The play was quite morale-boosting!

It was still Heat ball possession, but the offensive time left was 8 seconds. James Robinson, at the age of 27, was at his peak in terms of athleticism and technical combination, his speed at 93 was quite excellent. This time, he managed to defend Tim Hardaway from receiving the pass.

PJ Brown passed the ball to Marion.

Receiving the ball, Marion started an isolation play. Facing Doug Christie's defense, he successfully broke into the baseline shooting area, but it was an area Doug Christie had guided him to.

It's indeed a bit hastily done to play one-on-one when teammates haven't completely settled into position. Marion's floater attempt got pinned against the backboard by O'Neal!

Nailed with a massive block!

The key to stopping the Heat's attack this time was Zhang Hao's unexpected big block earlier.

Now it was the Lakers' turn to attack.

It was clearly observable that the defensive differences between the two teams were significant. "Iron Blood" is not just a term for good defense, nor can strong confrontation alone be called "Iron Blood."

The Lakers had intensified confrontation during their recent defense, but when the Heat defended, their confrontation level elevated to a brawl!

O'Neal tried to get a deeper position inside, but Moning blocked him with his arms. The two tangled together as Zhang Hao received the ball outside the three-point line, the referee's whistle blew, simultaneous fouls!

Before the game, they were treated as brothers, but now it looked like they were going to fight, pressing their foreheads against each other.

Players from both teams gathered around.

Zhang Hao threw the ball to the referee and quickly stepped forward.

The referee was stopping the others from gathering when Zhang Hao's ball hit him on the forehead. He turned his head to see who the damn culprit was, just in time to see Zhang Hao swiftly heading towards the two men in conflict, and immediately blew the whistle, gesturing a 'T' sign at Zhang Hao... and then regretted it...

Zhang Hao stepped forward, arms raised, separating the two.

Hearing the referee blow the whistle again, he turned his head to see who's the unlucky one flagged, knowing it must be a technical foul.

Then, he saw the referee pointing at him, Mr. Zhang!