Chapter 96

In the third quarter, the Pistons once again sent in Greg Monroe, while Teyshawn Prince and Tracy McGrady, who had lost a lot of energy in the second quarter, were replaced by veterans James Posey and Will Bynum to conserve strength for the final push.
Additionally, Rajon Rondo of the Celtics returned to the court, and his opponent was Zhou Yi!
“Heh, I didn’t expect it to be you guarding me again, Zhou!” Rajon Rondo stared at Zhou Yi with a faint smile. “Haven’t you realized the gap between us yet? You definitely can’t stop me now.”
“There is indeed a big gap between us! But…” At that moment, Rajon Rondo got the ball, and Zhou Yi prepared to defend by spreading his arms. “I definitely won’t back down! Only by facing you bravely can we gradually narrow that gap! If I avoid facing you, the gap will always remain—both in terms of strength and mentality! So come on, Rajon Rondo, show me your best! I definitely won’t let you get past me easily!”
Rajon Rondo remained silent, his eyes fixed on Zhou Yi’s determined gaze.
“Heh, so you really understand what the gap between us is. At first, I thought you were just forcing yourself to fight me. Heh, great! Since you know how to narrow the gap, let me show you just how big it is!”
Rajon Rondo suddenly moved, breaking through Zhou Yi’s defense effortlessly from the right side and charging toward the Pistons’ interior. His speed and perfect footwork were so fast that Zhou Yi didn’t even have time to react!
Zhou Yi widened his eyes in disbelief. He had clearly seen Rajon Rondo breaking through from the left! So why did he pass by from his right? What was going on?
Instinctively, Zhou Yi turned to look at Rajon Rondo, and all he saw was a flying silhouette in the green Celtics jersey, stopping abruptly to the right of the free-throw line, jumping back, and shooting the ball into the basket!
“Swish!” A clean, precise mid-range shot went through the net.
56:54—two points apart.
After landing, Rajon Rondo casually shook his hand and ran back to the backcourt. Of course, as he passed by Zhou Yi, who was stunned, he let out a cold snort.

“Strange that I could beat you so easily, right? Let me tell you! This is the gap between us. As for how I did it, you’ll have to figure it out on your own! Hehe…” With that, Lajon Randolph returned to the backcourt with a relaxed smile alongside his teammates.
Zhou Yi silently watched Randolph’s retreating figure, pondering what had just happened, but he ultimately found no answer.
James Posey served the ball to Zhou Yi, then rushed over to him and said, “Don’t overthink it! This is a game, and the gap between you and him can’t be closed just by thinking—it requires valuable experience.”
After hearing this, Zhou Yi nodded silently and dribbled toward the frontcourt.
There indeed was a gap between him and Lajon Randolph—a gap that couldn’t be bridged solely with brains! Experience and growth were the best ways to close such gaps. Still, experience gained from playing could still yield unexpected results.
Zhou Yi threw the ball into the paint; Greg Monroe caught it and passed it to James Posey, then provided a screen for him, allowing James Posey to score with a mid-range jump shot.
Lajon Randolph attacked with the ball, sneered at Zhou Yi’s defense, accelerated to his maximum speed, and used a crossover to slip past Zhou Yi, rushing into the Pistons’ basket for a layup.
The Pistons attacked—Greg Monroe went one-on-one with Garnett but was defended by him. Samuel Dalembert grabbed an offensive rebound and attempted a free throw, but missed. Paul Pierce secured a defensive rebound.
With the teams switching sides, Ray Allen’s three-point shot also missed, and Zhou Yi grabbed a defensive rebound.
Zhou Yi assisted Greg Monroe, leading to a brilliant alley-oop pass.
Lajon Randolph made a clever pass to Garnett, helping him score a jump shot near the free-throw line.
Zhou Yi broke through and passed to James Posey, who shot from 45 degrees on the left wing beyond the three-point line and made it.
Paul Pierce forced James Posey into a foul beyond the three-point line, earning two free throws that he made both.
Zhou Yi drove with the ball and passed it skillfully to James Posey. Lajon Randolph abandoned his defense of Zhou Yi to focus on James Posey, but Zhou Yi chose to score on his own at that moment, hitting a three-point shot easily with help from Greg Monroe’s screen.

Zhou Yi drove to the front court with the ball. Faced with Rajon Rondo’s defense, he continuously drove with a crossover, then suddenly used another crossover to get away from Rondo. But just as he was about to lay up, a large hand descended. A flash of determination appeared in Zhou Yi’s eyes as the ball went to James Posey, who was in a higher position. Posey caught the ball and immediately took a jump shot, scoring.

After high-fiving each other, Zhou Yi and James Posey quickly retreated to defend.

Rajon Rondo took control of the ball and passed it to Kevin Garnett. Garnett faced Greg Monroe alone, finished off the offensive play with a backdoor jump shot.

It was Zhou Yi who had the ball again, outside the three-point line. Suddenly, he threw the ball high above the basket. Greg Monroe, who had been waiting under the basket, pushed Garnett aside, jumped to catch the ball, and scored with a dunk.

“Nice aerial pass!” Maddie exclaimed excitedly from the bench.

Paul Pierce received a brilliant pass from Rajon Rondo and took a jump shot from outside the three-point line, also scoring.

Will Bynum moved strategically, using Greg Monroe’s screen to get to a 45-degree angle just one step outside the three-point line. Zhou Yi flipped the ball and passed it right away. Bynum caught the ball and immediately took a jump shot. Before the Celtics players could react, the ball had already gone through the basket.

Bynum let out an excited shout, high-fived Zhou Yi, then retreated to defend.

Kevin Garnett of the Celtics passed the ball, and Rajon Rondo caught it.

Rajon Rondo drove slowly toward the front court and passed the ball to Paul Pierce as soon as he arrived.

James Posey was guarding Paul Pierce. As Pierce broke through, Posey kept retreating, trying to cut off his path. Suddenly, Pierce passed the ball to Ray Allen on the other side. Allen caught the ball and shot instantly, so fast that Bynum didn’t even have time to react. However, Allen’s shot didn’t go in. The ball rotated a few times around the rim before bouncing out, and Greg Monroe grabbed the defensive rebound.

On the Pistons’ side, Zhou Yi broke through and scored with a layup.

Rajon Rondo’s three-point shot missed, while Kevin Garnett scored on a free throw.

Zhou Yi organized the offense from the top of the key and made a brilliant pass that led to Greg Monroe’s reverse layup, scoring.

Paul Pierce’s mid-range shot missed, and Greg Monroe grabbed the ball from above the Celtics players. While everyone’s attention was on the rebound, Zhou Yi had already taken advantage to go to the other end of the court. With a long pass from Greg Monroe, the ball quickly flew across the court and landed precisely in Zhou Yi’s hands. Then, Zhou Yi scored easily with a smooth layup, adding 2 more points.
Under Zhou Yi’s leadership, the Pistons exploded offensively, completely overwhelming the Celtics with their storm-like attacks and aggressive defense. Although Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce performed well, the Celtics were left in a constant disadvantage due to their overall poor performance.