CHAPTER 1245: CHAPTER 506: SHOWDOWN AT THE SUMMIT (PART 3)

Kobe, after the team offense opened up, reduced his isolation shots and instead looked for opportunities to connect after initiating the offense. With the team offense set, his burden of organizing the offense suddenly lightened, as Kidd and Garnett took on the majority of the playmaking duties. However, unlike Zhang Yang, he took on the primary task of defending the opponent’s top scorer, which was Zhang Yang.

After the start of the second quarter, both teams continued to play team offense and defense. In this quarter, the Lakers led the Bobcats 24 to 23, but by the third quarter, the Bobcats returned the favor with a 24 to 23 lead over the Lakers.

In these two quarters, both teams scored less than in the first quarter, but purely from the standpoint of team offensive coordination, both teams actually performed better. However, both teams also played excellent defense, suppressing the opponent’s pace. Zhang Yang and Kidd found it difficult to push fast breaks, and on this basis, both teams effectively defended against perimeter three-point shots in each other’s set plays!

Kidd, Kobe, Fisher, Ariza, the Lakers’ four best three-point shooters in this year’s playoffs, combined for just 1 out of 8 from beyond the arc in these two quarters, with the lone successful shot being Fisher’s wide-open three-pointer at the end of the half, which helped the Lakers take a one-point lead at halftime.

On the Bobcats’ side, their three-point shooting over the two quarters was as unsuccessful as the Lakers’, with seven misses. However, they scored a bit more: Zhang Yang threw six times, matching the combined attempts of Kobe, Kidd, and Ariza, hitting 2 out of 6, while the others hit 1 out of 4.

The Lakers combined for 35 field goal attempts, hitting 16, excluding the 1 out of 8 from three-point range, their performance inside the arc was an astonishing 15 out of 27. The Bobcats did even better, with 34 attempts and 17 hits, excluding their 3 out of 10 from three, inside the arc they were 14 out of 24, with a shooting percentage nearing sixty percent. Both teams were identical from the free-throw line, each going 10 out of 14.

In the third quarter, led by Zhang Yang, the Bobcats actually gained the upper hand overall, but Garnett delivered a major contribution for the Lakers in this quarter. He frequently disrupted the opponent’s passing and catching, and although he didn’t have many successful steals, he forced the Bobcats into three out-of-bounds passes, effectively dampening the offensive momentum Zhang Yang initiated in the third quarter.

After three quarters, the teams remained tied at 75 to 75!

...

During the break, both team coaches were actively making adjustments.

Carlisle always likes to make everything perfect, and although he’s changed a lot in private over the years, on the court, he still aims to be as thorough as possible, striving for an ideal state.

The Zen Master’s approach, however, was rarely seen.

Because the adjustments the players autonomously made had already reached their peak—with the Wolf King on the left, the Ironsmith on the right, and Ji Bugong in the center—these three independently adjusted their offensive and defensive play styles, achieving something even the head coach would find difficult to improve. But precisely because of this, he had to speak more, emphasizing details players might overlook, providing top-level analytical insights from another perspective.

After the break, Zhang Yang returned to the court, accompanied by Felton, Afflalo, Okafor, and Brad Miller.

He glanced at the other side, where Fisher, Kobe, Ariza, Garnett, and Gasol had taken the floor, then looked up at the big screen.

It displayed the stats of the best-performing players from both teams.

He had played 31 minutes up to that point, rested for two minutes after a timeout in the second quarter, and again for three minutes at the start of the third quarter before rejoining, with 19 attempts and 9 successful, including 4 out of 10 from three-point range, plus 5 out of 6 free throws, totaling 27 points.

One point more than Kobe’s 26, who had 21 attempts and 10 successes, including 1 out of 5 from three, plus 5 out of 5 free throws.

He scored 4 points in the second quarter and 9 in the third, still not as high as his first-quarter total, but his scoring efficiency wasn’t much lower compared to the first quarter, with 9 shots and 4 hits in total, 6 of which were threes, hitting 2. More importantly, his number of attempts was limited by the opponent, making only four successful field-goal attempts inside the arc in 19 minutes, hitting 2 out of 4, plus 3 out of 4 free throws.

This was a situation he anticipated before the game. As long as he started hitting shots, the defense would definitely be tighter than in Game 1. After scoring 8 points at the end of the first quarter, he had already prepared himself; in these two quarters, he effectively used the opponent’s defensive tendencies, leading his teammates in maintaining high-efficiency team coordination.

Moreover, the opponent couldn’t completely shut down his shot attempts. Although he missed four threes around the perimeter, he also made two, single-handedly averting a crisis where the team could have scored no points from long range, stretching the floor wide open.

It was precisely with these two three-pointers that he scored a combined 13 points in these two quarters, surpassing Kobe, who made four mid-range jumpers, one layup, and two free throws for a total of 12 points.

Nevertheless, he scored eight mid-range jumpers through three quarters, something no one could match except the Silver Horned King, because the Silver Horned King’s post-up game was still lacking... Thinking of this, Zhang San was not afraid but even more excited.

Without such an opponent, what’s the point of playing in the Finals?

The tactical cooperation from the other side also excited him as their opponent.

Garnett’s shooting tonight hadn’t faltered, with five attempts inside and outside the free-throw line in the first three quarters, hitting two, plus his 2 out of 3 performance under the basket, totaling 8 shots with 4 hits maintaining a fifty percent shooting. Felton’s distant shots supported the Lakers’ outside shooting. Kidd’s effective directing provided better cutting opportunities for Ariza, who was hesitant to shoot from afar, avoiding the tactical risk of playing 4-on-5... Surrounding Kobe’s terrifying 13 of 8 mid-range jump shooting, they continued to deliver efficient coordination.