One Year Left to Play

Chapter 391 - 116: Frenzied December!

In the first half, David Robinson, who was worn down and didn’t get to rest in the third quarter, played recklessly in the fourth. His defense was rough, and he committed consecutive fouls, becoming overly aggressive on offense, forcing plays against the Magician...

The Lakers seized the hard-earned opportunity, maintaining their lead of over 5 points in the final quarter.

Thanks to Zhang Hao’s 7 points in the final quarter, the Magician’s 5 points and 2 assists, Van Exel’s 4 points and 2 assists, Jason Williams’ continuous efforts leading to 4 points, and Doug Christie’s three-pointer, the Lakers scored 23 points in the final quarter. Though the Spurs attempted a comeback, they only managed to score 25 points, failing to match the Lakers.

In the end, the Lakers turned the game around to beat the Spurs 111 to 105, improving their record to 21 wins and 8 losses!

...

As the final whistle blew, the entire Lakers team gathered excitedly to celebrate.

It was not an easy win!

They gave it their all and used all kinds of unorthodox strategies, and even then, nearly lost the game.

Doug Christie, a new addition to the Lakers returning to the team, scored 20 points in his debut, played exceptionally well, hit three three-pointers, and made some tough drives to the basket in the latter half of the third quarter, helping to keep their hard-earned lead.

Jason Williams didn’t grab many rebounds tonight, with only 11, around his season average, but his fame rose after joining the Lakers, making opponents guard him more closely, thus providing Zhang Hao, the Magician, and George Lynch chances for offensive rebounds.

The Magician’s 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, Van Exel’s 18 points and 8 assists, and the shooters’ decisive and accurate shooting during their heightened morale period also made crucial contributions.

However, what thrilled the spectators most was Zhang Hao’s performance!

Playing for 36 minutes, Zhang Hao scored 33 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 blocks, and 1 steal! He also managed to keep his turnovers to just 3!

Tonight, Zhang Hao was undoubtedly the key player.

Even though no one, except those on the court, knew his defensive plan, his performance in the first half, keeping the team within striking distance, was enough!

Of his 33 points, 18 were scored under the basket. He battled for 6 offensive rebounds, converting 4 directly into points, 3 with put-back dunks, and 1 close-range turnaround fadeaway.

When opponents started guarding against his mid-to-long-range shots, he decisively used those attempts as threats, searching for opportunities to silently attack the basket.

With David Robinson scoring 30 points in the first half and totaling 42 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists for the game, Zhang Hao led the team to defeat the formidable Spurs after an unfavorable start, achieving revenge!

It was indeed Zhang Hao leading the team, as seen by the spectators.

Whenever their side seemed on the verge of collapse, it was Zhang Hao who stepped up to reinvigorate his teammates, creating runs to stay competitive, leading to their eventual comeback!

Del Harris’s emotions were extremely mixed; winning felt great, of course.

However, the game’s process differed significantly from the scenarios he predicted for a possible victory...

Of course, the basic cooperation strategy, tactical positioning, and scoring distribution were as expected, but the process varied greatly.

"How does such a wonderful chemistry occur? It’s incomprehensible!"

Since he couldn’t figure it out, Del Harris intended to go with the tried-and-true method — analyze the unexpected situations from this game, document them, and see if they could be integrated into conventional strategies.

As a head coach, Del Harris was indeed professional!

As for Zhang Hao, when he saw his teammates celebrating and leaving him behind... it felt a bit disappointing.

He wanted to celebrate too!

But after playing over a dozen games with the Lakers, as he got to know his teammates better, they habitually left him out during celebrations...

Melancholy...

At that moment, Zhang Hao felt a hungry gaze on him.

The gaze came from the deluxe beast mode David Robinson. Brother Ritian’s little black book entry: Offend a superstar +1...

Zhang Hao felt he was trying hard to stay low-key, even refraining from celebrating slam-dunks! To avoid offending others, and to avoid being targeted, his goal was to grow stealthily.

Yet, after nearly two months into the regular season, he still couldn’t manage to stay low-key.

But he didn’t mind, having sensed from the start of this game that David Robinson wanted to target him. Tonight, his shooting score wasn’t high. Excluding the technical free throw, he scored only 14 points from shooting, which included a 3+1 from drawing a foul on David Robinson. Otherwise, his jump shots from set plays and mid-range scores only resulted in 5 successes, for a total of 10 points.

David Robinson’s excellent help defense, coverage, and cut-off abilities provided the greatest limitations for him.

However, thanks to David Robinson’s extra attention, he was able to devise ways to wear him down.

Reflecting on how he was gradually becoming a new-generation star attracting jealousy like Anfernee Hardaway and Grant Hill, Zhang Hao sighed wistfully: "I truly want to keep a low profile!"

...

...

The Lakers overpowered the Spurs, with a record of 21 wins and 8 losses, surpassing the Utah Jazz, and climbing back to third in the West! They are now only 1 game behind the Spurs, who hold the second spot in the West with a 22-7 record!

Before the game, it was predicted that the Lakers might lose even worse than their last visit to San Antonio.