Chapter 752 - 235: He Seems to Be in Another Era
The third quarter was wild; they won the quarter by 23 points, but the lead was only 13 points. Del Harris didn’t dare to be careless. If they were to let this advantage slip away, it would be a huge embarrassment.
The fourth quarter was about to begin. Del Harris sent in the lineup of James Robinson, Doug Christie, Brian Shaw, Zhang Hao, and O’Neal.
The Blazers continued with their lineup of Nash, Isaiah Rider, Stacey Augmon, Rashid Wallace, and Sabonis.
Seeing Zhang Hao chewing on his jersey as he came onto the court, his teammates couldn’t help but smack their lips.
The teammates were already very familiar with this scene. Every time Zhang Hao came onto the court chewing on his jersey, he would play even harder than before and usually play better!
In the third quarter, the Lakers scored 50 points, the highest single-quarter score by any NBA team in nearly nine years since the Phoenix Suns scored 57 points against the Nuggets in the second quarter in 1990.
This single-quarter score ranks second in Lakers’ history. In the 1966 playoffs, the Lakers scored 51 points in the third quarter of one game, the highest single-quarter team score in NBA playoff history.
Even so, Zhang Hao wasn’t willing to let the opponent off easily!
It’s worth mentioning that the NBA single-quarter team scoring record is 58 points...
The fourth quarter started, and the Lakers went on the attack first.
Doug Christie passed the ball to Brian Shaw.
Zhang Hao was faced with front defense by Rashid Wallace. He skillfully spun towards the inside, and Brian Shaw promptly delivered the ball to Zhang Hao’s hands.
Zhang Hao received the ball at the baseline and took a mid-range shot... His stamina was at full capacity, and all his exertions were in perfect condition. He started with a mid-range shot that went in.
Actually, he wasn’t too tired after playing the third quarter, but he still sucked on his jersey to recover his strength. Since he played the entire first three quarters, he recovered his stamina to the level it was at the start of the third quarter, which means he regained full stamina!
points!
After a one-game interval, Zhang Hao exploded with 50 points in the second game of a back-to-back, and the fourth quarter had just begun!
to 95, the Lakers’ lead extended to 15 points.
The Blazers attacked, and they were set to play a three-point strategy. After Sabonis reached the frontcourt, he first went to the paint, and Nash passed the ball to Rashid Wallace, who was a step inside the top arc. When the ball was transferred to the high position, drawing the attention of the opposing players, Sabonis quietly left from O’Neal’s side and moved to the left corner.
Rashid Wallace was about to pass the ball when suddenly, Zhang Hao dashed up quickly, and his movement was extremely fast, not at all like someone who had played three quarters.
Rashid Wallace tilted the ball to the left, only for it to be blocked by Zhang Hao, who jumped up at him!
Zhang Hao leapt forward to grab the ball he had swatted away, and while lying on the floor, he immediately started dribbling towards the front...
Nash, who was still on the right side of the top arc, hurriedly chased after him, trying to steal the ball. In this posture, Zhang Hao was caught up by Nash as he got up while sprinting away.
But once Zhang Hao steadied himself, he instantly widened the gap with Nash!
This time Nash was truly stunned; Zhang Hao was faster than him!
Zhang Hao rushed to the frontcourt and gently dunked the ball into the basket, completing the steal and counter-attack in one go!
From the moment Zhang Hao sprinted forward, the fans on-site were wildly cheering. After Zhang Hao dunked, he immediately turned and ran to the backcourt. Seeing Nash, he extended his hand towards Nash, fingers spread wide...
to 47, Zhang Hao was now leading Nash and Rashid Wallace by 5 points!
Victory, Zhang Hao wanted it all, rewards, Zhang Hao also wanted it all. He wanted everything! And not just after Nash and Rashid Wallace lost their fighting spirit, but he wanted to crush the two of them while they were giving their all!
Anger can bring extra strength, and Nash was very angry at the moment. Turning back, Nash forcefully broke through Doug Christie’s defense to the basket, made a floater, and drew a foul on O’Neal.
The additional free throw was also made, bringing Nash’s personal score to 21 points. Together with Rashid Wallace, their combined score had reached 50 points.
But immediately, Zhang Hao leaned against Rashid Wallace on the left side of the free-throw line, received the ball, then spun and broke through to face Sabonis’ help defense up close. He didn’t pass the ball, made a floater to score, and also drew a foul from Sabonis!
Zhang Hao made the additional free throw, 55 points!
Once more in transition, Nash wanted to replicate his previous scoring move, but this time O’Neal was proactive, blocking Nash with a spectacular rejection. Rashid Wallace grabbed the offensive rebound, only to find himself tightly guarded by Zhang Hao. Rashid Wallace passed to the left side of the paint, where Sabonis caught the ball and made a mid-range shot.
to 115, the Blazers maintained their grip on the score gap.
With over ten minutes left, having been humiliated to such an extent by Zhang Hao, the Blazers were in no mood to give up.
When it was the Lakers’ turn to attack, Zhang Hao received the ball and was immediately double-teamed. Stacey Augmon came over directly to trap him. Zhang Hao passed the ball to Brian Shaw, who caught it but missed the three-pointer. Sabonis boxed out O’Neal but couldn’t block the suddenly charging Zhang Hao!
Zhang Hao fought for the rebound and made the putback!
After the transition, the Blazers attacked again. The Lakers players tightened their defense around Nash and Rashid Wallace. His teammates could see clearly that Zhang Hao wasn’t aiming to score more than either Rashid Wallace or Nash individually but wanted to outscore the combined total of both players.
Guard the inside, defend Rashid Wallace and Nash, leave the others open!
Isaiah Rider cut to the basket unguarded and received the ball, but his shooting was quite ordinary. To be cautious, he drove into the lane, but his floater was interfered with by O’Neal, and Zhang Hao secured the defensive rebound.