Capítulo 1312: Chapter 530: One Versus Two—Conquering the Thunder Twins!

On December 12th, in the last game of their Texas trip, the Bobcats were not in good form and were defeated 94 to 105… The ‘Youth Army’ with an average age of just under 27, surprisingly faced stamina issues in a back-to-back-to-back Texas trip with no rest, something only a Texas trip could bring about.

First, they clashed into overtime with the Mavericks, then faced full-court defense from the Rockets, and finally went up against the Spurs with a more complete system and ranked second in offensive efficiency, and back to the top ten in defense in the league.

Thanks to the winning streak earlier this month, the Bobcats had managed to jump to second place in the East with a 16-4 record, but after being knocked by the Texas trio to a 17-6 record, they slid directly to fifth in the East, while the Bulls with an 18-6 record surged from fifth to second.

After finishing the Texas trip, they returned to Charlotte for a night’s rest, and on the 14th faced the iron-like Jazz at home.

Faced with stamina issues, and Shaq and Perkins struggling with pick-and-roll defense, Okafor and Millsap played extended minutes and both exploded!

Okafor shot 5 of 9 field goals plus 8 of 10 free throws, grabbing 18 points and 22 rebounds; Millsap made all of his 6 field goal attempts for 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists, supporting the second unit’s offense.

Felton clashed with Deron, both affected by fatigue, resulting in a poor shooting percentage but still managed a performance of 18 points and 5 assists from 7 of 17 shots.

The critical factor was Zhang Yang, who despite poor shooting from the wing and being blocked at mid-range, continuously attacked the basket, scoring 30 points from 9 of 16 shooting and 12 of 13 free throws, while adding 4 rebounds and 7 assists. He fed the ball plenty of times to Millsap and Okafor, and with fewer fouls on Okafor, Zhang Yang might have had a 30+10 game.

The ‘New Four Youngsters’ dominated, overpowering Deron’s 17 points and 9 assists, Boozer’s 25 points and 9 rebounds, and Korver’s 20 points and 5 rebounds, leading the Bobcats to a 96-89 victory in this defensive battle.

After four consecutive hard-fought games, the Bobcats faced the season’s densest schedule — 5 games in 4 days.

On the 16th and 17th, the Bobcats consecutively defeated the Pistons 107-89 and the Bucks 88-79 at home.

The game against the Pistons was a crushing victory, but against the Bucks, the Bobcats performed sluggishly, entirely relying on Zhang Yang to reignite Jennings’ Los Angeles spirit…

Under Jennings’ leadership, the Bucks as a team only made 30 of 78 shots, for a 38.5% shooting percentage.

Zhang Yang’s shooting percentage wasn’t great either, making 11 out of 26 shots, including 4 of 11 from three, with 7 of 9 free throws, to rack up 33 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block.

However, he defended Jennings to 5 of 18 shooting, including 2 of 7 from three, with 3 of 4 free throws, limiting him to just 15 points, 2 rebounds, and 5 assists, along with 5 turnovers!

‘Luring’ Jennings into bricking was straightforward, just some trash-talking and missing shots, which Zhang Yang was quite skilled at.

However, for one-on-one matchups, Jennings was indeed stronger than Curry, at least being able to shoot, setting him apart among this year’s rookies, much like rookie Iverson, capable of handling a large volume of shots.

Of course, in terms of physical condition, skills, and stamina, Jennings was far behind rookie Iverson.

After the game, Zhang Yang said to the camera: “Brandon is a bit more interesting than Stephen, but not by much.”

After finishing the home back-to-back, Zhang Yang left Charlotte with the team and headed to the north, facing the Raptors on the 19th in a scrap between struggling teams. In the final moments, Zhang Yang drew a foul from Turkoglu and made both free throws, while Turkoglu missed a buzzer-beating three-pointer, allowing the Bobcats to narrowly win 107-104 against the Raptors, achieving a 4-game winning streak and boosting the record to 20-6, surpassing both the Magic Team and the Bulls to reclaim second in the East!

…

On the 20th, the Bobcats arrived in Oklahoma City, rested for an afternoon, and at 6:40 PM, stepped onto the Ford Center court to compete against the Thunder.

Zhang Yang, Durant, and Rose took a photo together before the game, with commentators exclaiming that the three were born the same year but felt like players from two different eras.

When Zhang Yang entered the NBA, the league was just leaving the era dominated by Shaq and the Stone Buddha. It was he who ended the third peak period of the Stone Buddha.

Now Durant and Rose are beginning to achieve great results, becoming promising newcomers, in an NBA era where Eastern Conference teams have won 4 consecutive championships and the ‘Bad Boys’ have 2 titles in 3 years.

Zhang Yang had no personal relationship with Durant and Rose, but no conflict either… at least that’s what Zhang Yang thought.

As for the 07-08 season when he relentlessly guarded Durant and last season when he teamed up with Perkins to block Rose, which outside rookie talents haven’t experienced Zhang Yang’s passion for newcomers over the past two years?

It’s mainly because Zhang Yang, unlike Payton back then who bullied every rookie, only targeted those he considered worthy.

Besides, being the highest-rated super talent under 22 with unprecedented honors, although Durant and Rose felt agitated when targeted, they also felt somewhat ‘honored’ afterward. Of course, they harbored resentment, but it didn’t detract from their admiration for this peer king’s talent and achievements.

After greeting the Thunder’s twin stars, Zhang Yang returned to the bench. Another fierce battle awaited tonight.

It’s not that the Thunder team is particularly strong; they have currently played 27 games with a 16-11 record, placing ninth in the West. Even if they squeeze into the playoffs, they are likely to be knocked out in the first round.

But their Bobcat team had just finished the grueling Texas trip and the Iron Jazz, then faced 5 games in 4 days. Now it was the last game of consecutive back-to-backs, the 13th game in 9 days. The teammates were half dead playing against the Raptors last night, and flew from Toronto to Oklahoma City this morning…