The movements are very beautiful and look very easy and chic.
It has excellent bounce and flexibility. Although it is so big, it looks very beautiful.
Antonio Davis never expected Zhang Hao to play like this. Zhang Hao used a back-to-the-basket attack when the Nets played against the Heat before. Zhang Hao performed well in that game. Although it might be just their usual performance for those star players, for a rookie power forward, 21 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists are quite outstanding. So Antonio Davis made a special effort to investigate Zhang Hao, the rookie inside player who he might face in a few games.
Compared to Schmitz, he made better preparations before the game. Since he is not as strong as Schmitz, he has to rely on more preparation and a harder playing style to compete for playing time.
Although there was no live broadcast of the game, the news showed several rounds of footage of Zhang Hao using his strength to bully a fellow rookie and carrying Kurt Thomas from the free throw line to the three-second zone.
When Zhang Hao attacked from behind, he was fully prepared to take the attack.
But who knew that Zhang Hao's playing style this time was completely different from the one against the Heat. It was a turnaround jump shot like a guard, rather than the close-range turnaround jump shot in the interior like when playing against the Heat. Zhang Hao didn't use this trick at that time!
This gave Zhang Hao the opportunity to complete a training-like turnaround jump shot with almost no interference.
The Nets bench, teammates and coaching staff were also quite surprised that Zhang Hao took the initiative to play singles. Unlike the players on the court who were concentrating on the game, the people watching the game always had a God's perspective and were always telling how someone should play.
Thinking back to the Heat, when Zhang Hao first backed up after joining the team, he relied on his strength to beat Kurt Thomas. Now, only a few days have passed? He has combined the turnaround jump shot he practiced before with the back-up!
Kenny Anderson clapped his hands expressionlessly on the sidelines - our little brother's learning ability... I'd better not ask him how he practiced, or I'll be mad at him.
34 square meters!
After scoring the goal, Zhang Hao turned around and ran back to the backcourt. Reggie Miller received the serve and pushed forward. He felt the pressure!
When under a lot of pressure, Reggie Miller likes to talk trash to relieve his stress, allowing himself to look for offensive opportunities more calmly and at the same time irritate his opponents.
But Charles has suffered too much. He entered the NBA at the age of 26 and has been wandering in overseas leagues for so many years. This kind of trash talk has no effect on him at all.
This time, Reggie Miller didn't find a suitable shooting opportunity and passed the ball to Travis Best, who broke into the paint and made a layup against Zhang Hao who was pulling back...
Zhang Hao's help defense is actually just like that. It seems that he has a good sense of position and excellent movement, but in fact, he may miss if he just shakes the ball. But Travis Best is just a rookie. He has good combat effectiveness on the defensive end. Once he enters the NBA, he can become the main substitute in a strong defensive team like the Pacers. However, he lacks confidence on the offensive end. When he saw Zhang Hao coming up to help, he panicked and made a long shot!
Zhang Hao guards the defensive rebound!
Although the shot missed, Travis Best immediately jumped into the defensive end and tried to steal the ball from Zhang Hao. Zhang Hao grabbed the ball with one hand and reached out of bounds to protect the ball, but he also lost the opportunity to pass the ball immediately and then make a fast break.
Don't worry, Zhang Hao waited until Charles came up to receive the ball before passing it. Travis Best immediately went to the entire court to defend Charles.
Charles was an experienced ball handler and advanced steadily. When he reached the frontcourt, Zhang Hao had already gone to the familiar position to block Antonio Davis from asking for the ball.
Antonio Davis tried hard to occupy the advantageous space, but failed to really interfere, and Zhang Hao still received the ball.
However, the Pacers were prepared, and Reggie Miller immediately double-teamed Zhang Hao.
The Pacers' team defense also changed. They began to intercept the passing line from the strong side to the weak side. Edwards' receiving line was blocked by the Pacers. Such a defensive championship team that is about to enter its peak period is much stronger than the Heat's defense, which has just started to change the team's style of play.
Most of the Nets players failed to move correctly to respond to the Pacers' defensive movements, and the gap in tactical quality was reflected.
Zhang Hao tried hard to protect the ball, grabbed the ball with one hand and stretched it out of bounds. He found that he had underestimated the defensive discipline of the Pacers. He thought that without the dynamic offense of their Nets team, the opponent's defense would also stop. After all, he was not Jordan or Olajuwon, and there would be no situation where he would be double-teamed when he received the ball with his back to the basket... But after only one round, the opponent decisively double-teamed him and did not give him a chance to play smoothly!
Antonio Davis and Reggie Miller tried to force Zhang Hao to make a mistake, but found that Zhang Hao was very good at confrontation, so they pushed him. They firmly decided to cut off Zhang Hao's passing route on defense. Under this double-team, Zhang Hao was able to guarantee a success rate when he forced a shot, so they thought Zhang Hao was pretty good.
Obviously, Zhang Hao can't do it. His attacking level with the ball is limited to simple one-on-one.
At this time, the role of the veteran was fully utilized. Vaughn Fleming was very familiar with the Pacers' defense. In the past two years, he has grown with the Pacers into a team with 50+ wins. He went around the pile and cut in from the left side of the free throw line, and Zhang Hao immediately passed the ball.
Vaughn Fleming received the pass, took one dribble and made a slow three-step lob. Dale Davis could only make up for it. Vaughn Fleming turned the lob into a pass. Jason Williams jumped behind Dale Davis, pushed the ball in the air, and made an alley-oop lob!
This small cooperation is very simple, attracting double-teaming, passing and cutting, and second pass. It only took more than two seconds from the time Zhang Hao passed the ball to initiate the attack to the completion of the attack.
But precisely because it is so simple, the defense can only make simple backup defenses.
Larry Brown stood up on the sidelines. He had been defending well, but suddenly the opponent launched an unexpected attack. It was that high school student!
Zhang Hao's post-up area is the mid-range baseline. Outside players generally don't post up in this area because it is too easy to lose the passing route if they are double-teamed.
Inside players also rarely come to this area to post up, because this area is beyond the shooting range of most inside players. Even Olajuwon seldom shoots from this position. Instead of practicing shooting from this position, it is better to practice three-pointers in the bottom corner. Any coach would like such a shooter.
Therefore, Zhang Hao is unique. In this area, he is tall enough to see the entire court by turning his head. He has a wide field of vision for passing the ball. As long as his teammates have enough experience, they can easily get opportunities.
But the opponent has Vaughn Fleming, who has played for their Pacers for the past 11 years!
Originally, the two teams were in a tense battle, and Larry Brown was happy to see this situation. In the end, the winner would definitely be the Pacers with better defense.
But in the next few rounds, the Pacers still struggled and only got two points from Reggie Miller's free throws, while the Nets scored two more goals in three rounds. One was a three-pointer from Zhang Hao's long pass to Charles in the other corner, and the other was a layup from Vaughn Fleming.
Combined with Zhang Hao's first alley-oop that assisted the pass and the earlier turnaround jump shot, the Nets went on a 9-2 run!
41 to 36, the Nets led the Pacers by 5 points and stopped the Pacers!
"This dog is worse than a cub..."
The Pacers players gathered around Larry Brown and heard him swearing.
In terms of coaching ability, the Pacers players have no doubts about Larry Brown, as he has built an excellent defense for them, but in terms of personality, Larry Brown is hard to compliment.
He looks like an old professor, but he has a terrible mouth and starts swearing when things go wrong.
But it's been more than two years, and the Pacers players have long been accustomed to it.
On the other side, the Nets bench was very excited!
The situation was once very unfavorable for them. Seeing that their good shooting touch in the first quarter was about to be worn out by the opponent, Zhang Hao's back-to-the-basket shot opened up the situation.
Reggie Miller, who played for 19 minutes, has put on his training suit, which means the Pacers will have to work on their defense for a while! As long as the Nets continue their offensive performance in this quarter, they will have a clear lead in the first half and have a chance to withstand the opponent's full-strength counterattack at the critical moment of the third quarter!
Judging from Almon Gilliam's performance tonight, they have the ability to overpower the Pacers when Reggie Miller is resting, but the prerequisite is that their outside shooting touch is not lost and the point gap is not too big, otherwise it will be very difficult.
Now, because of Zhang Hao’s performance in the first few rounds before the suspension, these problems are gone!
Randy Whitman's brain was about to explode, but now, he was in high spirits planning the offense for the last four minutes of the first half, just continuing with the style of play in the first quarter.
Defense...it depends on luck. Since the opponent's Reggie Miller is not here, we just need to block the shots and the basket.
…
Almon Gilliam comes on stage with great vigor!
Charles, Zhang Hao, Edwards and Jason Williams followed the big guy onto the court.
In the last four minutes of the first half, Zhang Hao was strolling in the middle distance on the left side of the three-second zone. When he had a chance, he would catch the ball and shoot or pass it. He watched Almon Gilliam drive into the crowd and cheered for Almon Gilliam.
Schmitz's defensive weakness was exposed to the maximum. The Pacers were most afraid of a fierce forward like Almon Gilliam.
The Pacers were able to have such a stable offensive success rate at the beginning. The stable coordination of their main lineup on the offensive end and the offensive organization of Mark Jackson and Schmitz in positional warfare are two very important points. Another point is that they can always use defense to drive the opponent crazy during the rotation phase.
In the first six games of this season, they only encountered one defensive mentality explosion, which was the game against the Magic. Anfernee Hardaway scored 36 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists. In the other five games, they defended very well. The other loss was due to their own scoring interruption in the final moments, but the defense was always very good.
This time, after being beaten so badly by a weak team like the Nets, the Pacers were a little impatient and wanted to catch up with the score through offense.
But the Pacers are characterized by stability, not explosion, and their impatient offense actually reduces their success rate.
With a burst of momentum, the Nets extended their lead to 9 points with 54 to 45 at the end of the first half!
The Nets played very well in this quarter. They had been worn down by the Pacers. Just when they were about to get into the Pacers' rhythm and enjoy a slow-paced and efficient offense after Mark Jackson and Smits returned, the Pacers were beaten by the Nets 27 to 18 in a single quarter.
On the way back to the locker room, Almon Guillem excitedly approached Zhang Hao, his best helper tonight, and said, "How did you play tonight, brother? See if I'm awesome."
Zhang Hao frowned, a frown that was barely noticeable to others. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "I won't watch it, but Almon really acted like a man tonight. He is worthy of being the most capable offensive player on our team."
Almon Guillem felt comfortable listening to this! Although Zhang Hao recognized Kenny Anderson as the boss , he never denied his singles ability. In addition, the cooperation was so good today, the more he looked at Zhang Hao, the more he liked him.
However, the outspoken Almon Gilliam felt that something was wrong with Zhang Hao's words, but he couldn't figure out why...
During the halftime break, the Nets fully boosted their morale and continued to play with high spirits.
It's to boost morale, and this time it's Butch Baird's turn to make the midfield arrangements.
Because the playing style is very different from that in the pre-match tactical meeting, we just need to continue with the style in the first half and make on-the-spot adjustments if there are any problems.
On the other hand, Larry Brown went back to the locker room and went ballistic, and it had a pretty good effect.
In the second half, the mentality of the Pacers players was obviously stabilized. They played very steadily, defended calmly, and attacked cautiously.
The Nets had an advantage in the first half and their offense became more organized.
However, although the Nets tried hard, the Pacers' steady strategy gradually narrowed the gap in the third quarter.
The strength gap is indeed there. Although Larry Brown has no adaptability, his coaching strategy is stable and he is good at utilizing his advantages.
The Pacers scored 26 to 20 in the third quarter, which showed their strong team style very well, that is, they can continue to maintain their offensive success rate in the third quarter!
The Nets tried very hard, especially Almon Gilliam, who scored 9 points and 1 assist in a single quarter, and his personal score in three quarters increased to 27 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, his best performance since the new season, which narrowly helped the Nets maintain a slight lead.
Zhang Hao gave the greatest support to Almon Guillem, scoring a total of 21 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in three quarters.
During the last intermission, Reggie Miller was on the Pacers bench looking at the opposing bench. Almon Gilliam broke out. It was indeed an unexpected situation, but Almon Gilliam had the ability to do so. The unexpected thing was that Almon Gilliam did not flinch when facing the two Davises this time.
What really surprised Reggie Miller was the high school student, the kind of state that enjoyed the game, the kind of basketball IQ that maximized his advantages as much as possible...
On the other hand, Zhang Hao was really into the game and enjoyed it very much. But after the break, he kept muttering, "I made 6 mid-range shots, Miller made 7. Damn it, the game is going to be overturned, and I'm being surpassed..."
Reggie Miller made 10 of 22 shots in the first three quarters, reducing his shooting percentage to less than 50%, including 2 of 6 three-pointers, 7 of 13 mid-range shots, only 1 of 3 close-range attacks, and 4 of 4 free throws. He scored 26 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists, performing quite well.
Zhang Hao was envious of his all-round shooting ability.
After giving the players a minute to wipe their sweat and relax, Randy Whitman found Zhang Hao and asked, "How is your physical condition?"
Zhang Hao felt his own condition. He played the entire first three quarters. However, since tonight's style of play was more focused on spot jump shots, this style of play not only made his shots more accurate but also consumed less energy. He nodded and indicated that there was no problem.
Randy Whitman knew that Zhang Hao was a very good scorer, so he didn't ask any more questions and started to make personnel adjustments and tactical arrangements for the final quarter.
The intermission was almost over and the starting players of both teams took to the court for the final quarter.
On the Nets side, Kenny Anderson, Charles, Almon Gilliam, Zhang Hao and PJ Brown came on the court.
The Pacers sent out a full starting lineup of Mark Jackson, Reggie Miller, Derrick McKay, Dale Davis and Smits.
Reggie Miller didn't expect to play against the Nets to this extent. It's not that he was so confident that he would win. If they were not in good shape on both offense and defense, it would be normal to lose to the last-ranked team.
However, they were generally in good shape tonight, both on offense and defense. This shouldn't have been the situation when playing against the Nets.
Fortunately, I adjusted my mentality in time in the third quarter, and now it's time to win.
When it comes to confidence, Reggie Miller has never lacked!
The fourth quarter began with the Pacers attacking first.
After Mark Jackson advanced to the frontcourt, he did not organize an offense anymore. Instead, all the players spread out and he played alone!
"F..."
This moment has finally come!
When playing against the Heat before, Kenny Anderson was very excited to see Zhang Hao back-up Kurt Thomas, but when playing against the Pacers, he was always worried about one thing. Now, what was supposed to come has finally come.
After his teammates moved away, Mark Jackson turned around and leaned against Kenny Anderson, starting his back-to-the-basket move from the three-point line on the right side of the top arc!
Why did Antonio Davis think he could definitely defend Zhang Hao at the beginning? Because among the players who play back like this, except Charles Barkley, no one in the league is better than Mark Jackson!
Mark Jackson pushed Kenny Anderson into the inside from outside the three-point line. When they were close to the reasonable collision zone, Zhang Hao double-teamed him. From this position, Mark Jackson could turn around and shoot directly.
Mark Jackson made a ground pass with his back to the basket. He didn't need to look or predict. He just relied on his memory and quick analysis to know that his teammate was already behind Zhang Hao.
Zhang Hao failed to intercept the ball, and when he turned around, he saw Schmitz tiptoeing and throwing the ball into the basket.
Post-up score of 97 and passing score of 93, these two top and even super-top skills of Mark Jackson were fully demonstrated at this moment!
Although they were opponents, Zhang Hao was under a lot of pressure after being beaten. However, Zhang Hao, who was running to the frontcourt, thought of Mark Jackson's back-to-back play just now, and his eyes were jealous - is this the ultimate form of my back-to-back play? It's amazing, if only my back-to-back play was this strong... Eh? Something seems to be wrong, I'm an inside player! How come I'm facing off against a guard...
Arriving outside the opposite three-point line, Zhang Hao put away his messy thoughts and looked towards the backcourt. Kenny Anderson was pushing across half court while being entangled by Mark Jackson.
Coming outside the three-point line, Kenny Anderson started to play one-on-one.
Kenny Anderson couldn't stop Mark Jackson's back-to-the-basket attack, and few point guards in the NBA could withstand that. But few point guards in the NBA could also stop Kenny Anderson's speed breakthrough!
Kenny Anderson used his speed to get to the baseline, then made a Tim Hardaway-style quick stop and crossover change of direction, came to the right side of the three-second zone and made a flying jump shot... The ball flew over the head of Schmitz who came up to defend, and went into the basket!
Standard point guard-style breakthrough and lob shot!
In the offense and defense transition, Mark Jackson continued to back-up from outside the three-point line. PJ Brown started moving towards the free throw line early, making it too dangerous for Mark Jackson to reach the low post area.
Mark Jackson passed the ball sharply to Derrick McKay at the top of the arc. Derrick McKay assisted from the top of the arc. Zhang Hao had already seen Dale Davis cutting in, but Schmitz was pressing him down, and he couldn't judge who Derrick McKay at the top of the arc was going to pass to. Dale Davis smoothly cut into the basket, received the pass from Derrick McKay, used Schmitz as a barrier to block Zhang Hao, and easily made a jump shot to get two points.
The Pacers' offense was slow and lousy this time, so passers-by fans can forget about it, but it was really amazing!
After these two rounds, not only Zhang Hao felt that Mark Jackson might be his template for back-to-the-basket and offensive organization, but even the Nets coaching staff thought so.
But they couldn't tell whether it was Mark Jackson's playing style that was weird or Zhang Hao's playing style that was problematic...
Anyway, both of them played in an abnormal way.
The offense and defense switched, Kenny Anderson continued to break through. Zhang Hao noticed the change in the opponent's defensive position when Kenny Anderson broke through, and tried to analyze the possibility of the opponent's defensive movement and the possible changes in the position of his teammates.
Seizing the opportunity, Zhang Hao took the initiative to go around the top line and came to the left side of the free throw line when Kenny Anderson broke through to the bottom line.
As Zhang Hao had analyzed, Kenny Anderson was blocked on the right side of the three-second zone! At the same time, Charles's receiving line outside the three-point line on the right side at a 45-degree angle was blocked, and the passing space on the left baseline where he was just now was also blocked.
But just in time, the Pacers revealed the passing route to the left front of Kenny Anderson in the three-second zone! Kenny Anderson saw Zhang Hao appear there and passed the ball immediately!
The Pacers made up for the defense quickly, but Zhang Hao shot decisively. Before the Pacers made up for the defense, Zhang Hao received the ball and shot a mid-range shot...
The distance from the free throw line is so comfortable, Zhang Hao makes another mid-range shot!
23 points!
78 to 75, the Nets continued to maintain their lead.
The Pacers' games have a very distinctive feature, which lies in their offense. It is often seen that their offense performs very well in the first quarter, then suddenly falls to the bottom in the second quarter, and then becomes very good again in the third quarter. During this period, their defense has been very stable, and it was the same tonight.
The most obvious feature is their offense at the beginning of the fourth quarter, which is always fierce, even fiercer than the first quarter. Combined with strong defense, they can often defeat their opponents in one fell swoop at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
There is no need to say much on the defensive end. This characteristic of their offense was brought by Mark Jackson. The huge improvement in their offensive stability is all thanks to the addition of Mark Jackson. Before Mark Jackson came, they were just an ordinary playoff team. The player configuration was very strong, but the strength was that of an ordinary playoff team. The addition of Mark Jackson last season gave them a stable and efficient offensive performance, coupled with the defense created by Larry Brown, they can play so well.
It can be seen that when Mark Jackson is there, their offensive stability is among the best in the league. When Mark Jackson's attack time is over, their offensive efficiency immediately drops a level. When Mark Jackson goes to rest, their offense will drop another level.
Mark Jackson is not in good physical condition, and usually uses his back-to-the-basket attack to start the offense in the fourth quarter of a tense game. The Pacers can always play their strongest offensive performance during this period of time.
But tonight, the Nets relied on their full momentum and outstanding performance to maintain their lead in the first half of the fourth quarter and withstood the Pacers' strongest offensive period of the game!
After several rounds in the fourth quarter, the Nets still led the Pacers by two points, 84 to 82, and the Nets were on the attack next!
Thanks to Derek McKay cutting off the pass and shooting it out of bounds, the Pacers temporarily interrupted the Nets' offense. The ball was dead, so they called a timeout.
Reggie Miller returned to the bench cursing. His teammates had long noticed that after Larry Brown came to the team, Reggie Miller's mouth became even more vicious.
But they are really fighting now!
Almon Gilliam started to explode in the first quarter, Zhang Hao turned the situation around in the second quarter, which was a crucial consumption phase for the Pacers. In the third quarter, they finally gained an advantage and began to narrow the gap, but at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Kenny Anderson tried his best to break through again, with a high success rate!
In these few rounds, the three strong points of the Nets all showed their abilities. Zhang Hao came up and made a mid-range shot after receiving the ball, and then passed the ball to Charles on the sideline with the help of another receiving ball. Although Charles missed the three-pointer, Almon Gilliam rushed in and made a tip-in against Schmitz.
The Pacers scored 11 points in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, but the Nets also scored 10 points, and it was the Pacers who attacked first!
But at this time they were not as anxious as in the second quarter. Reggie Miller, Dale Davis, and Antonio Davis were the three trolls who were cursing wildly. The other teammates wanted to calm them down when they saw them cursing.
This may be the "positive significance" of trolls to the team.
The three big trolls on the Pacers were really unhappy tonight. Dale Davis was tormented by Gilliam tonight. Due to the weak and soft center defense, they don't like to meet teams with forwards like Almon Gilliam, Larry Sanders, and Charles Barkley. Their most obvious weakness on the defensive end was exploited by the opponent.
He criticized Almon Gilliam for almost the entire game, but instead of causing his opponent to perform poorly, he made him explode, and the Joker became Dale Davis himself.
Reggie Miller doesn't like Kenny Anderson. He was an All-Star starter last season, and Kenny Anderson was an All-Star starter the season before last. Both are Eastern Conference guards and are often compared together. Kenny Anderson, whose style of play is more entertaining, is obviously rated higher. Kenny Anderson's stats tonight were not that great, but Reggie Miller has always had a headache when encountering speed-type defensive players. He is not afraid of power-type defensive players, and he is not inferior to them in confrontation, but it is really hard to deal with fast players.
Moreover, no matter how Reggie Miller criticized him, Kenny Anderson only responded with one sentence after listening to the words of a certain high school player who did not want to be named: "I became an All-Star starter earlier than you."
Reggie Miller was so angry that his liver hurt!
But what Reggie Miller disliked the most was that high school student. The reason why he disliked that high school student was exactly the same as Antonio Davis. It was not because they were unhappy with how well Zhang Hao played, because there were so many players who played well. What they were unhappy about was Zhang Hao's calm look.
He really looks like he deserves a beating!
No matter how much people criticized him, Zhang Hao did not respond. His eyes occasionally revealed a hint of teasing, as if to say - is that it?
No new words?
In fact, Zhang Hao really wanted to respond, but he wanted to keep a low profile.
However, the more he behaves like this, the more sensitive people will think he is pretending.
Trolls are generally very sensitive.
However, the Pacers are not as anxious as they were in the second quarter. At that time, they were unhappy about being led by the Nets, so they were anxious to catch up, but they ended up being left behind.
Now they are very calm, they know they are a strong team, they have strong confidence, and they also know that it is not easy to win this game all at once. Almon Guillem went wild tonight, with 29 points and 8 rebounds. Now they need patience.
On the other side, the Nets are full of momentum!
Except for the Pistons and Raptors, the other opponents in the first month are almost all strong playoff teams from last season. It will be equally difficult to play against any of them. If there is a chance to win, we have to fight hard.
Compared with the Pacers' excellent team offense after the addition of Mark Jackson, which had a clear key ball routine, the Nets were very direct. Randy Whitman replaced Kenny Anderson, Edwards, Vaughn Fleming, Almon Gilliam and Zhang Hao.
Except for Zhang Hao, everyone has the ability to play one-on-one, and the outside trio can all make mid-range or long shots.
…
After the timeout, the Pacers quickly gained the upper hand.
The Pacers called a timeout to stabilize their mentality. There was no rotation at all. Larry Brown was the type who used his main players to great effect. Most of the Pacers' players were in their prime, so there was nothing wrong with playing like this.
Soon, at 7 minutes and 31 seconds in the final quarter, the Pacers relied on Derek McKay's three-pointer from Reggie Miller to overtake the Nets by 1 point with a score of 89 to 88, and made a 7 to 4 run!
Immediately afterwards, Almon Gilliam grabbed the offensive rebound and passed the ball to Zhang Hao, who missed a mid-range shot. Mark Jackson recovered and made a back-to-back jump shot. The Pacers led the Nets by 3 points, 91 to 88!
Just when the Pacers thought they were about to secure the victory, Kenny Anderson broke into the basket and scored two points with a running shot. Then Dale Davis's cut was blocked by Zhang Hao!
Dale Davis is easily excited. After cutting in, he wanted to dunk over Zhang Hao who was coming up to make up for him. Of course, since he didn't have any offensive variations, this was a reasonable choice, but his opponent was not a reasonable player!
After the block, Kenny Anderson, who was rushing in with Dale Davis, got the ball after a pick-and-roll.
This time, after Zhang Hao blocked the shot and landed, he quickly bypassed Dale Davis and started a fast break!
At this time, everyone's physical strength was consumed, and so was Zhang Hao. However, he quickly rushed to the free throw line, surpassed four teammates and got closer to the opponent's basket. His speed increased rapidly! He quickly caught up with Mark Jackson who was retreating. Before Mark Jackson had time to react, he didn't even have a chance to commit a tactical foul, and was surpassed by Zhang Hao!
Entering the free throw line, Kenny Anderson's pass arrived accurately, Zhang Hao received the ball, took one step and made a layup!
92 to 91, the Nets overtook by 1 point again!
Here we go again! The Nets’ unbeatable spirit!
Although the Nets had many players who made the Pacers very unhappy, but as basketball players, facing such a tenacious opponent, at this moment, the Pacers no longer looked down on them. Reggie Miller even regarded the Nets as a real opponent.
In the next few minutes, the two teams played extremely tensely. The Pacers played calmly and focused on their team offense. Mark Jackson organized the offense around the shots of Reggie Miller and Smits, trying to create a clear lead and secure the victory, but the Nets always managed to hold on tightly when the gap was about to be widened.
Kenny Anderson's singles, Almon Gilliam's second attack, Zhang Hao's rim protection and counterattack attempt...
At 11 minutes and 29 seconds in the fourth quarter, Zhang Hao received the pass and passed it to Edwards who was vacant on the sideline. Edwards received the ball and shot a three-pointer...
When Edwards received the ball and shot, the scene became quiet. The fans had already been immersed in the game. As the ball entered the net and hit the net, the fans cheered loudly for Edwards!
Edwards' crucial hit!
105 to 103, with 31 seconds left in the game, the Nets overtook the Pacers by two points!
Tonight, the Pacers called timeout more often! The Nets didn't have much to adjust, but the Pacers had been adjusting their defense, but they encountered Almon Gilliam who scored 34 points and was unreasonable. The timeout adjustment was not very effective, but more about adjusting the mentality. At this time, they no longer had a timeout!
Mark Jackson was not in a hurry. After receiving the serve, he advanced to the frontcourt despite the interference of Edwards and organized the offense steadily.
Everyone knew that Mark Jackson was going to pass the ball to Reggie Miller, so the Nets worked hard to switch defense on Reggie Miller's off-ball offense.
However, Reggie Miller's running position was too good, and he still found an opportunity for Reggie Miller. Mark Jackson's passing line was blocked, but he did not insist on getting an assist. At the right time, he passed the ball to Schmitz who was pulling to a high position to assist. When Reggie Miller had the opportunity, Schmitz immediately passed the ball to Reggie Miller...
Perfect cooperation!
Reggie Miller received the ball, turned to the sideline, and shot a three-pointer...
Hit! 106 to 105, the Pacers once again took the lead!
The Nets called a timeout!
Entering the timeout, Reggie Miller yelled at the Nets players: "You losers can't guard me!"
The target was Zhang Hao, who was blocked and couldn't keep up when the defense was switched just now.
If Zhang Hao had any emotional fluctuations or retorted at this time, his teammates would also become uncalm because he was the one being scolded by the other side.
But Zhang Hao glanced at Reggie Miller without any expression, then turned and walked towards the bench.
Reggie Miller rolled his eyes when he saw Zhang Hao turning his head!
Zhang Hao doesn't dare to say anything else, but when it comes to swearing, Chinese culture is broad and profound, and street quarrels are ten thousand times more powerful than Reggie Miller's trash talk.
Now Zhang Hao has no intention of arguing with Reggie Miller. The game with the Pacers has reached a critical moment and his attention is now fully focused on the game.
There are 10 seconds left and they are trailing by 1 point. The Pacers' offense just took 21 seconds. With such a slow pace, the stability of the offense was guaranteed by Reggie Miller's three-point ability... It's really amazing.
At this point, we want to win no matter what... Randy Whitman drew a lot of tactics, and he can come up with a tactic in 10 seconds.
After the timeout, the Pacers sent out a combination of Haywood Workman, Reggie Miller, Ricky Pierce, Dale Davis, and Antonio Davis.
Haywood-Workman did not play for long, and Ricky Pierce only played for 3 minutes in the third quarter. They are all new forces. The two Davises played together, matched with Reggie Miller. Larry Brown's substitutions were for defense, double-teaming and switching. This lineup is very strong.
The Nets sent out a combination of Kenny Anderson, Charles, Zhang Hao, Almon Gilliam and Jason Williams.
The Nets had the ball in the frontcourt. Zhang Hao passed the ball to Charles, who received it and realized that the tactic didn't work. How could they play pick-and-roll with this opposing lineup?
Decisively pass the ball to Almon Gilliam for a single!
Almon Guillem was not vague at all. He received the ball and rushed straight into the inside!
Although it was a decisive pass that could not be implemented tactically, Charles' timing was very good, otherwise he would have passed it to Kenny Anderson. Almon Gilliam received the ball, turned around and dribbled with Ricky Pierce behind him, took two steps into the three-second zone, and shot against Dale Davis's defense...
The position was good and the shot was decisive, but the timeout allowed Almon Guillem to release his pent-up energy. He felt tired all of a sudden and obviously didn't control his strength when shooting, and the ball hit the rim!
Just as the fans at the scene were shouting with regret, Jason Williams jumped up before Dale Davis and touched the ball, then pushed it to the outside!
Charles launched the attack very suddenly, so Almon Gilliam had such a good opportunity, but he missed it. Because the attack started very quickly, Zhang Hao had just run into the three-point line at this time. Antonio Davis went in to grab the defensive rebound but failed to get the ball from Jason Williams. When Zhang Hao received the ball, it was Reggie Miller who came up!
Zhang Hao leaned sideways to protect the ball. He noticed that there were only 3 seconds left, so he didn't pass the ball to Kenny Anderson who was vacant on the sideline. He didn't hesitate, but held his breath, exerted force, and rushed towards Reggie Miller...
Reggie Miller finds himself flying high!
Zhang Hao reached the free throw line, turned over, and shot a jump shot...
Because he was decisive in protecting the ball sideways and playing with his back to the ball, not only did he not give other Pacers players a chance to make up for the defense, but he also had more than 3 seconds to make a one-step turnaround jump shot, and Zhang Hao's shooting action was also complete!
Reggie Miller, who was knocked into the air by Zhang Hao, saw a smile on Zhang Hao's face as soon as he landed. Then he saw Zhang Hao land, turn around and open his arms...
When Zhang Hao received the ball, the fans at the scene had already quieted down, watching with bated breath to see how Zhang Hao would decide on the final attack. It was not surprising that he shot it, as one of the characteristics of a rookie is that he loves to steal the limelight.
But Zhang Hao started celebrating right after he shot the ball... Before those who saw Zhang Hao's celebration could have any negative thoughts, the ball went straight into the basket with the final whistle!