Chapter 909 277: Gentleman-Style Pick and Roll

Nobody wants to fight during a game; conflicts are merely to show toughness, and clashes are often about saving face... In such situations, the face issue might escalate to an actual brawl due to the atmosphere and adrenaline; usually, a referee steps in to separate them, or teammates pull them apart.

Like now, O'Neal and Moning were just pushing too hard during their positioning battle, neither side giving way, but not to the point of fighting. Zhang Hao came up and used his iron elbows to forcefully separate the two, and they didn't continue.

At this moment, the referee blew the whistle. They both thought it was a technical foul on them, but to their surprise, Zhang Hao received the technical foul!

Regardless of anything else, seeing Zhang Hao's wide-eyed disbelief was quite entertaining for the two super centers from the class of '92. Such expressions from Zhang Hao were rare!

Luckily, Zhang Hao wasn't wearing the number 21 jersey; otherwise, glaring at the referee like that would definitely earn him another technical foul.

The referee felt a bit embarrassed at this point. On a closer thought, it seemed that after he called a foul, Zhang Hao followed the rules by passing the ball back to him before intervening. The referee didn't notice the ball coming his way and ended up giving Zhang Hao a technical foul... but once it's called, what's done is done. The referee signaled for the Heat to shoot the technical free throw.

This technical foul, however, managed to calm down the players who were about to let their emotions get the better of them.

Tim Hardaway stepped up to the free-throw line and made the technical free throw, leading 3 to 2, with the Heat taking a 1-point advantage.

It was still Lakers' ball, and they continued attacking.

Zhang Hao received the ball and passed it to O'Neal. O'Neal caught the ball, and Marion came up to double-team. O'Neal passed it out, Wilkins received the ball and passed to Doug Christie. Doug Christie's corner three... no good!

Moning secured the rebound!

Transitioning to offense, the Heat attacked.

Tim Hardaway didn't go solo after two attempts; instead, he passed the ball to Moning, who was posted up against Zhang Hao. Moning got the ball, engaged O'Neal post-PJ Brown confrontation, quickly squeezed in, and Moning passed to PJ Brown, who cut a step close to the basket and was about to shoot when Zhang Hao rushed out.

In reality, Zhang Hao couldn't block the shot, but PJ Brown instinctively tapped the ball, took a step back, shot a mid-range... missed!

O'Neal secured the defensive rebound, and Marion moved in trying to steal, hitting O'Neal's arm, foul!

Del Harris made an immediate decision, subbing in Fisher and Brian Shaw during the timeout to strengthen the perimeter defense and playmaking abilities.

Originally, Del Harris's plan in the starting phase was to play isolation ball, giving James Robinson, Doug Christie, and Wilkins more shooting opportunities.

The strategy concentrated shooting control on O'Neal and Zhang Hao to maximize Kenny Anderson's absence. But the tactical goal wasn't about how many points O'Neal + Zhang Hao could score to win the game, but to utilize their scoring abilities.

Yet the earlier conflict suddenly intensified the confrontation to the extreme, with perimeter shots not falling and no further attempts. Del Harris directly improved defense.

On the other side, was Pat Riley not trying to get the offense going? Of course not! He was always trying to find ways, but the basic lineup was there, and his players couldn't gel like the Knicks on offense. He could only push the defense to the limit.

Pat Riley fielded the current lineup intending to capitalize on O'Neal just returning, focusing on driving and close-range scoring, exploiting O'Neal's not-yet-good form post-return.

Indeed, O'Neal's return form was average, mainly in offensive hooks being subpar, but defensively, he relied on his physicality and awareness. Crucially, during O'Neal's absence, the Lakers had been adjusting in preparation for his return, improving others' coordination with O'Neal. His defensive impact became more prominent, and most importantly, Zhang Hao's close-range help defense was exceptionally effective tonight!

The Heat's tactics weren't complicated; if effective, the simpler, the better. However, if Zhang Hao's short-range mobility under the basket remained as before, then the Heat's tactics would be deemed successful tonight.

But this way of playing, the Lakers' defense, was simple yet not simple. Interestingly, for Zhang Hao, it was just simple enough. As long as he sped up his mobility and close-range help defense, he could stop it, and he actually did!

High-intensity confrontations and physical tussles, although the referees called fouls loosely, clear fouls were still called. As they played on, both teams subbed in better defensive players.

Then, within the first two minutes, the game had a score of 3-2. By 6 minutes and 44 seconds, the score was 10-7, with the Heat leading the Lakers by 3 points!

This efficiency level had the live audience drifting into slumber.

Even in the original timeline, even if the Heat clinched three championships 20 years later, their fans would still leave en masse when they were losing at home for a reason.

From the start, when the team first became strong, which started with Pat Riley joining, they still couldn't establish a team image that fans liked.

First impressions are crucial, and the Heat have now given fans a set impression of being "boring" and "dull."

While it's true Miami fans lack cohesion, the first time this team became strong, it was by playing a tough and gritty style. Also, with the Bulls in the East in those years, unable to win championships for a few more years, playing dull and uninspired basketball was definitely the main reason for not attracting fans.