Chapter 913 278: Winning by 1 Point Is Still a Win!

During the Heat's offense, Voshon Leonard's close-range jumper was disrupted by Zhang Hao.

While retreating, the Heat discussed adjustments to their defense.

The Lakers attacked, and this time, the Heat aggressively collapsed, leaving James Robinson open. Wilkins received the ball and passed to James Robinson, whose three-point attempt missed!

Tim Hardaway went one-on-one and passed to Dan Majerle cutting to the baseline. Barkley rushed up to help defend, knocking Dan Majerle over, the whistle blew for a defensive foul!

The Lakers didn't call a timeout or make substitutions, Silver Fox decided to observe the situation further.

However, Heat's head coach Pat Riley stood up and watched Dan Majerle's free throws with a frown.

Both free throws were successful, 17 to 16, giving the Heat a one-point lead.

Back to the Lakers' offense, the Heat's last collapsing defense was successful, so they further intensified it and faced off. Barkley received the ball, then passed to James Robinson, whose catch-and-shoot three-pointer… this time, it went in!

Del Harris leaped up, clenched his fist, and silently exclaimed, "Oh yeah," that shot was critical!

Brian Shaw and O'Neal weren't put in, opting for this lineup relying on the team's most consistent shooters.

Logo Man signed James Robinson last summer with hopes of his consistent three-point shooting over the past two years, and tonight that paid off!

On the return, the Heat had a baseline inbound passing straight under the basket to PJ Brown for a high-handed layup. The Heat's solo play and passing in this round worked well.

During the Lakers' offense, the Heat no longer dared to leave James Robinson open so easily, but Voshon Leonard blocked off Magic's cut-in.

Zhang Hao received the ball at the top of the arc and made a strong forward step, making PJ Brown hesitate to collapse, then passed to Magic who cut in and received the ball, turned and hooked over Isaac Austin's defensive help… scored!

It's alive!

The Lakers' offense came to life!

Just when the fans were about to hype up because of the thrilling shootout, Heat's head coach Pat Riley called a timeout!

The audience was surprised; the game was flowing seamlessly, why did the slick-haired guy call a timeout?

The players were also surprised, including the Heat players; everything seemed to be going smoothly.

Even so, some understood why the Divine Calculator called this timeout—for the Heat, the rhythm was off!

Zhang Hao noticed this detail, feeling the Divine Calculator is indeed decisive, otherwise, he wouldn't have thought of trading the peak-period two-time MVP Magic for Jordan back in the day.

…

The current score is 19 to 18, the Lakers lead the Heat by one point, although the advantage isn't apparent as both sides are fiercely competing, yet this isn't good news for Heat head coach Pat Riley.

The previous competitive situation was defensive and confrontational, at the Heat's pace, now it's offensive, at the Lakers' pace!

No matter how much simulation practice and planning, nothing compares to what can be observed in the actual game.

Del Harris now has a clearer idea of how to play against the Heat.

Without further strengthening the offense, after the timeout, Del Harris sent out Fisher, Doug Christie, Brian Shaw, O'Neal, and Zhang Hao for a defensive lineup.

On the Heat's side, there was no adjustment in tactics, just emphasizing on enhancing defense, intensifying pace suppression, swapping Moning for Isaac Austin to bolster inside defense, and using Marion to replace Voshon Leonard for better one-on-one plays.

Calling a timeout, apart from special circumstances, such as garbage time, extreme conflicts, or player injuries, generally has three main objectives.

One is to make substitutions, another is to disrupt the opponent's pace, the third is to adjust the strategy.

Its primary purpose is to seize the initiative.

Pat Riley has many ideas for adjustments but is greatly restricted in practice, his players are insufficient to execute those ambitious thoughts, leaving only defensive adjustments.

Pat Riley aimed to regain control by suppressing the pace and intercepting the Lakers' offense, but Del Harris didn't give him the chance, similarly deploying a defensive-oriented lineup in the last two minutes of the first quarter!

The Heat's lineup structure is problematic, Del Harris is well aware of this, hence decisively refraining from following Pat Riley's rotation ideas, already having suffered in the last encounter, and now being more proactive.

When opportunity arises, a wave of offense is executed, should the opponent try to regain control through defense, he also counterplays defensively.

After scoring 9 to 8 in a three-minute stretch, at 11 minutes and 44 seconds into the first quarter, the Heat missed a shot, tying the game at 21! Meaning in the past one and a half minutes, the Lakers gained only 2 points, and the Heat secured merely 3!

Zhang Hao grabbed the rebound and pushed to the front court, this time guarded by Marion.

Marion attempted pressure and steal, Zhang Hao shielded the ball, stepped outside the three-point line, suddenly pulled the ball back, Marion hastily moved to attempt a steal for a counter in the last moments of the first quarter, but Zhang Hao promptly executed a nimble behind-the-back dribble, shifting to the right, faked out Marion!

"Bronze, King of Cross Step triggered, Zhang Hao successfully faked out the opponent creating breakthrough space, temporarily increases speed by 3, and after gaining space, accelerated at the fastest pace…"