Chapter 107

At 2 minutes and 31 seconds into the fourth quarter, Andre Iguodala stole the ball from Grant Hill, launched a fast break, drove into the Suns’ paint, and passed behind him to Zhou Yi, who caught the ball and scored with a mid-range jump shot. On the Suns’ side, Steve Nash responded with a three-pointer. McGrady gently dribbled the ball, moving slowly, his sleepless-looking eyes fixed on his opponent. To those unaware, McGrady might seem like he wasn’t fully awake, almost as if he were sleepwalking. Yet it was precisely this demeanor that kept his cousin Vince Carter on high alert, unable to relax or make any moves. Vince Carter knew very well that McGrady at that moment was a dangerous opponent—any slight mistake would lead to disaster. McGrady appeared to have no fighting spirit, as if in a daze, but in reality, he was constantly plotting attacks, ready to destroy his opponent at any moment. When McGrady reached just outside the three-point line facing the basket, he changed his approach. He suddenly stopped dribbling, turned his body naturally, bent his knees, and relaxed his entire body, looking ready to shoot a three-pointer! Seeing McGrady’s move, Vince Carter immediately gritted his teeth and reflexively jumped up, raising his hands to block McGrady. But as he jumped, he realized he had made a huge mistake—McGrady hadn’t shot right away. A cold smile of triumph appeared on McGrady’s face. Then he jumped forward, crashing into Vince Carter and losing his balance. “Bleep!” The referee’s whistle sounded at that moment, and as McGrady lost his balance, he pushed with both hands and shot the ball. “Thud!” To the disappointment of McGrady and the Pistons, the shot missed. But that didn’t mean the attack was a failure—since the referee hadn’t called a foul yet! “Player 25, hand foul—three free throws!” McGrady made two of the three free throws, missing the last one. Marcin Gortat of the Suns grabbed the defensive rebound. Immediately afterward, the Suns’ head coach, Ervin Johnson, called a timeout.

After the timeout ended, the Suns suddenly unleashed a level of performance they had never shown before in this game. It was as if they had become a different team, dealing a devastating blow to the Pistons, leaving everyone on the team and the fans in the arena utterly shocked.

With 1:50 left in the game, the Suns finally narrowed the score gap to single digits. The fans at the Auburn Hills Palace could hardly believe what they were seeing. Even though the Pistons were still managing to score fairly well, the Suns gradually closed the gap. Less than two minutes later, they still held an 8-point advantage, yet the fans couldn’t see how that could guarantee their team’s victory.

Although the ball was in the Pistons’ possession, they didn’t need to score now—they just needed to defend tightly. Whether they scored or not no longer mattered. As long as they made good use of their advantage left and suppressed the Suns’ counterattacks, victory was what they wanted most.

Zhou Yi suddenly stumbled and made a mistake while dribbling. For some players, even a brief moment is enough to complete many actions, and Steve Nash, who was defending him, was one of the best at that. Taking advantage of his moment of distraction, Nash swiftly snatched the ball from him with his right hand and immediately passed it long.

The Pistons’ players were clearly unprepared for this mistake. They watched as Marcin Gortat jumped high inside the three-second area, raised his hands high above his head, and then slammed the ball down with great force at the peak of his jump. Such a powerful dunk seemed to shake the entire arena.

126:120. Seeing the impressive score on the scoreboard, John Kuester finally called a timeout. In just a few short minutes, the Pistons’ 10-point advantage was about to be completely erased. What angered him even more was that since Steve Nash came on the court, three Suns players had scored one after another, and Robin Lopez in the paint also defended very well, preventing two crucial Pistons shots.

This definitely wasn’t the Suns’ true strength, nor was it the Pistons’ true strength. Yet the teams’ on-court performance was the exact opposite of their actual capabilities. With 1:30 left in the game, as long as they used this timeout wisely, they could still keep control of the game.

“The Pistons’ timeout was timely. Based on the current score, they still hold a clear advantage, but judging from both teams’ performance so far, that 6-point lead isn’t that significant—it could be erased in just a couple of exchanges. What the Pistons need to focus on now is avoiding any mistakes of their own,” analyzed Zhang Lihe.

John Kuester was concerned about more than just that. The Pistons also had issues with rebounds. In the past few minutes, Marcin Gortat alone grabbed three offensive rebounds, giving the Suns three scoring opportunities. Now that the game has reached a critical moment where every second counts, every rebound is invaluable.

The Pistons had been using a lineup of one big man and four smaller players, relying on speed as their advantage. However, their weakness in rebounds was inevitable. It seems this lineup wasn’t very effective against the Suns. To regain control of rebounds, John Kuester brought back Samuel Dalembert.

Samuel Dalembert joined the Pistons this season. The team acquired him from the Kings specifically to strengthen their interior play. After joining, he performed well at first, averaging 7.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. But as the season progressed, his performance declined, mainly due to injuries.

Once Dalembert entered the game, he and Greg Monroe gave the Pistons an edge inside the paint.

On the Suns’ bench, Elvin Gantley looked very serious. He tapped on the strategy board a few times and calmly outlined the tactics for his players.

“At this stage of the game, both teams are running low on energy, especially the Suns. It’s all about who loses their composure first—once that happens, the game is almost over,” Yu Jia said with a serious expression as well.

Samuel Dalembert proved to be a talented player. As soon as he entered the game, he grabbed an offensive rebound and passed it to Zhou Yi for a three-point shot that widened the lead to double digits. This shot was arguably the most valuable for the Pistons so far. With only 1 minute and 13 seconds left in the game and a 9-point advantage, victory seemed within reach for the Pistons.

Will Bynum and the other bench players could no longer sit still; they stood up, raising their fists high to celebrate the Pistons’ victory. The fans in the Auburn Hills Palace also became lively, with many cheering for the win.

Ervin Johnson’s face turned pale instantly. He had been full of confidence just moments ago, but the Pistons’ goal left him completely disheartened—less than a minute remained.

Zhou Yi enjoyed the wonderful moment to the fullest, but he didn’t become arrogant, as Steve Nash stood right in front of him. Steve Nash was rushing toward his own half of the court and soon reached beyond the three-point line. Suddenly, a dark figure flashed past him. Steve Nash’s movements seemed extremely slow in front of his eyes, and every action was precise. Watching Steve Nash gracefully jump, the ball flew out swiftly from his fingertips.

“Swish.” In fact, Zhou Yi didn’t even need to hear it to know the shot would definitely go in—Steve Nash’s shooting had been textbook-perfect.

McDyess didn’t notice Zhou Yi’s distraction. Seeing him still on the Suns’ half of the court, he felt delighted. This was an excellent opportunity to launch a fast break. If Zhou Yi could execute this fast break, they could secure the victory.

Just as Zhou Yi regained his focus, a large basketball flew rapidly toward him. Instinctively, he dodged, and Steve Nash easily caught the ball and passed it quickly to Robin Lopez. There were no Pistons defenders in front of Robin Lopez, and his dunk seemed capable of tearing apart the Pistons’ backboard.

With one minute and five seconds left in the game, the Suns players erupted again—no, it was Steve Nash. He scored five points in just half a minute, bringing the game back into uncertainty.

The score was now 130:126. The Pistons had only one more 20-second timeout left, but obviously, Yuehan-kusite wouldn’t foolishly call a timeout for the Suns at this point.

The Suns’ strong counterattack raised the suspense even further, especially after Steve Nash returned to the court, as the Suns completely dominated the Pistons.

Zhou Yi drove with the ball, drew double coverage, and then passed it to McDyess. McDyess took a mid-range jump shot, and with a “swish,” the ball went in.

The Pistons regained their momentum. Their new trio of stars proved their value as key players at critical moments.

The Suns attacked, but the Pistons enforced a three-second rule, giving the Suns a free throw and a shot. With Steve Nash’s free throw successful, suspense returned to the game. There was no longer any focus on which team would win; everyone’s attention was entirely on the match. Zhou Yi felt the most complicated emotions—his distraction at such a critical moment had pushed the team to the brink. John Kuester’s recent misbehavior was also largely his fault; he surely hadn’t expected his most trusted player to be the one who put the team in danger. Seeing the excited expressions on the Suns’ players’ faces, Zhou Yi felt an unprecedented fighting spirit. He was known for his composure throughout the game, but now he was also driven by impulse—to get back up where he fell and make amends for his mistakes. John Kuester looked anxious, completely devoid of his usual calmness. He had been very proud after that timeout, believing he had turned the game around at a critical moment. Steve Nash took the ball from Grant Hill and began organizing the team’s offense. With less than a minute left, the game truly entered the final seconds. Steve Nash drove with the ball and then passed it to Marcin Gortat, who pushed Samuel Dalembert aside before shooting a hook shot. The ball bounced around before finally going into the basket. 132:129—the Pistons led by only 3 points. As the game reached its most critical moment, every second was crucial. To prevent the Pistons from regaining their rhythm, the Suns played tight defense throughout the game. In such desperate situations, the trailing team usually resorts to two tactics: either intense man-to-man defense to force mistakes from the opponent or fouling. But with the score still close and time left, fouling wasn’t necessary. Moreover, they were facing the Pistons, whose players were very consistent from the free-throw line. As soon as Zhou Yi received the ball at the three-point line, Steve Nash rushed to his side, trying to force him out of the court. With a feint, Zhou Yi got past him. Steve Nash grew anxious—what seemed like a simple move, but Zhou Yi was decisive, showing no signs of fatigue from the game. It seemed the earlier mistake had stung the young player’s pride.

After facing this young man twice, the deepest impression Zhou Yi left on Steve Nash was his resilience. In terms of pure speed, Zhou Yi might be slightly inferior to his peak self, but in those two head-to-head encounters, their performances were fairly even—Zhou Yi always found a way to escape desperate situations at critical moments.

Just past the halfway point, Steve Nash didn’t give Zhou Yi any breathing room and pressed hard. Once Zhou Yi got fully going, even Steve Nash at his best might not have been able to stop him, let alone now that Nash was already in decline.

Ervin Johnson was already restless, pacing anxiously on the sidelines. Especially upon seeing Zhou Yi’s expression, he kept shouting about defense.

The Suns had already switched to zone defense. Unlike other teams, the Pistons’ five players all had solid scoring abilities, and none of them could be overlooked.

Despite sweat dripping from his forehead onto the ground, Steve Nash didn’t dare wipe it away. He seemed completely focused on defense, oblivious to the noise in the O’Brien Center.

Zhou Yi displayed lightning-fast speed, appearing right in front of Steve Nash in the blink of an eye. At that moment, everyone in the arena and among fans watching on TV knew the game’s most crucial play was about to happen. With less than a minute left, this confrontation would determine the outcome. The Suns had nowhere left to retreat—if they failed to defend this shot, winning the game would become purely theoretical.

As the two players neared collision, Zhou Yi’s movements seemed unchanged—his speed remained steady, while his hand movements subtly shifted. He caught the bouncing ball with his left hand and swiftly drove it toward Steve Nash’s left side. The ball was moving extremely fast. Steve Nash’s mind tightened as he shifted his weight slightly backward, adapting to Zhou Yi’s ever-changing moves.

At the exact moment the ball was released, Zhou Yi made a surprising move—he quickly spun 360 degrees in place, bent his right hand slightly, and appeared on Steve Nash’s right side. Realizing his mistake, Steve Nash tried to cover immediately, but unnoticed, Andre Iguodala had already moved to the outside and set up a simple screen with Zhou Yi.

Just as Zhou Yi was about to shoot inside the three-point line, Grant Hill rushed out quickly. By the time Andre Iguodala pulled back to the outside, Hill had already guessed his intention and followed closely, managing to block Zhou Yi in time.

Zhou Yi wasn’t the type of player who liked to take matters into his own hands. After his shooting attempt was intercepted by Grant Hill, the ball hit the floor to the right of Hill and quickly bounced into the hands of Samuel Dalembert inside. By then, Hill was defending Zhou Yi, leaving Iguodala unguarded.

Iguodala rushed into the Suns’ basket area, received a pass from Zhou Yi, and scoring seemed inevitable. Sure enough, Iguodala easily dunked, helping the Pistons gain another 2 points.

With 37.2 seconds left, Steve Nash drove to the basket, passed past Zhou Yi, drew Greg Monroe’s defense, and then made a bounce pass to Robin Lopez. By this point, Greg Monroe had moved out to cover Nash, while Samuel Dalembert was held back by Marcin Gortat.

Robin Lopez stepped forward slightly, and scoring seemed inevitable. A faint smile appeared on his lips—being able to score such a crucial shot in an important game was a rare achievement for him.

Yet the Pistons players didn’t give up. Several of them rushed toward the basket. With the game already decided, they were determined to do everything in their power.

This time, Robin Lopez jumped very high. At the peak of his jump, he bent his waist slightly, his body like a taut bowstring, as a stunning dunk was about to unfold before all the fans’ eyes.

Just as his raised right hand was about to slam down, a sense of unease arose in him. He couldn’t see it, but all the Suns fans witnessed something they couldn’t believe.

The moment Steve Nash made the bounce pass, a dark figure rushed straight into the basket area from outside the three-point line. By the time Robin Lopez leaped, that figure was already inside the free-throw line. There was no time to hesitate—like a projectile, he quickly soared into the air.

Watching the ball in Robin Lopez’s hands rising little by little, Zhou Yi’s determination grew even stronger. Yet his stamina had been greatly depleted; as his body soared into the air, exhaustion spread throughout his body, making it seem as though he might plummet straight down at any moment. But his perseverance kept him from letting go.

He didn’t have the energy to pay attention to anything else; it seemed as though only the basketball existed in his sight. Zhou Yi let out a roar and stretched out his right hand forward.

Finally, his fingers touched the basketball. Though it was just his fingers, they exerted unimaginable strength. Robin Lopez’s dunk was blocked by Zhou Yi right at the front of the backboard, causing the ball to bounce out instantly and be grabbed by Greg Monroe.

Thanks to Zhou Yi’s incredible block, the Pistons’ morale soared.

In the subsequent offensive wave, Andre Iguodala and Tracy McGrady executed a clever combination, with Iguodala eventually hitting a three-point shot.

Throughout the rest of the game, although the Suns used foul tactics against the Pistons and managed to score a three-point shot, their fierce counterattack was extinguished by the powerful Pistons.

“Ding,” as the final whistle blew, the game came to an end.

The Detroit Pistons won at home 136–132 against the visiting Phoenix Suns, completing a sweep of their opponents this season.

Chapter 290: Battle Against the Magic

The Amway Center in Orlando was now filled with roaring noise.

As the Pistons’ players entered the court, the home crowd burst into loud boos. But Zhou Yi didn’t mind it—compared to the boos directed at other teams at the Auburn Hills Palace, these were nothing.

Waving at his teammates as he walked onto the court, Zhou Yi was surprised to find the stadium already packed to capacity. The huge arena was filled with people, even though there was still some time before the game started. It seemed the Orlando fans were truly enthusiastic!

“This is really an interesting game,” Zhou Yi said excitedly. He loved the feeling of defeating opponents in front of tens of thousands of fans.

In this game, McGrady sat on the bench for the Pistons, probably because of a busy schedule that had left him exhausted. Will Bynum took his place in the starting lineup, while Zhou Yi was moved to the shooting guard position.

The Pistons’ starting lineup was: center Samuel Dalembert, power forward Greg Monroe, small forward Andre Iguodala, shooting guard Zhou Yi, and point guard Will Bynum.

The Magic’s starting five: Jamal Jamal Nelson at center, Jason Richardson at power forward, Hedo Turkoglu at shooting guard, Brandon Bass at small forward, and Dwight Howard at forward.
The game started quickly, with both teams beginning with a jump ball.
Samuel Dalembert vs. Dwight Howard — naturally, Howard won the jump ball.
On the Magic’s first offensive play, Jamal Jamal Nelson took control and organized the attack.
Howard sought the ball inside, and Jamal Jamal Nelson passed it high to him. With Samuel Dalembert nearby, Howard tried a hook shot, but it missed; Greg Monroe grabbed the defensive rebound.
Andre Iguodala easily broke away from Hedo Turkoglu with a reverse move, received a pass from Will Bynum, and scored the Pistons’ first two points with a precise mid-range shot.
Stan Van Gundy yelled at Hedo Turkoglu, saying he was completely useless!
During the Magic’s offense, Dwight Howard went inside to get the ball, aiming to chase down Brandon Bass. Greg Monroe and Samuel Dalembert trapped Dwight Howard in between. Jamal Jamal Nelson hesitated for a moment before deciding to pass the ball to the team’s Jason Richardson, who had no one in front of him.
Greg Monroe blocked Dwight Howard’s path to chase after Brandon Bass, so when Jamal Jamal Nelson passed the ball to Brandon Bass, Greg Monroe was already behind him, allowing the pass intended for Brandon Bass to end up right in Greg Monroe’s hands.
Receiving this precise pass, Greg Monroe was momentarily stunned — what was going on? Were the Orlando players giving up already at the start of the game?
With the ball in hand, Will Bynum habitually rushed downward, forcing Jamal Jamal Nelson to chase after him as well. However, his speed was far inferior to that of Will Bynum, the “tank.” By the time Will Bynum rushed into the paint, Jamal Jamal Nelson had already been left far behind.
This kind of coordination had happened countless times in previous games: Will Bynum rushed into the paint, and Greg Monroe delivered a powerful and precise pass to him. After receiving the ball, Will Bynum passed it further to Andre Iguodala, who had also followed up.

Andre Iguodala strode toward the baseline, lowered his center of gravity, then launched himself into the air like a rocket, holding the ball behind his head with his strong arms slightly bent backward before slamming it into the basket for a stunning dunk. Dwight Howard easily secured position inside and reached for the ball, while Jamal Nelson, seeing Greg Monroe guarding Brandon Bass nearby, promptly tossed the ball inside to Dwight Howard. From the start of the game, Dwight Howard was full of offensive desire, repeatedly seeking the ball and determined to dominate the Pistons’ interior. Dwight Howard pushed hard backward, forcing Samuel Dalembert to move aside; seeing this, he immediately turned, grabbed the ball with both hands, and jumped high to dunk it into the basket. After the successful dunk, Dwight Howard let out an excited roar, and the home crowd joined in. Seeing Dwight Howard’s arrogance, Greg Monroe wanted to pummel him, but per John Kuester’s plan, he had to focus on Brandon Bass, with Dwight Howard already assigned to Samuel Dalembert. With the offense and defense switching, Dwight Howard signaled Brandon Bass to guard Samuel Dalembert, while he personally took on Greg Monroe. “I heard your dunks are pretty impressive? Kid, care to try one in front of me?” Dwight Howard, renowned as the best defender in the league and winner of multiple Defensive First Team and League Defensive Player of the Year awards, saw the rookie defender Greg Monroe as an easy target. Greg Monroe pushed against Howard and suddenly tried to drive to the basket, but Dwight Howard raised his arm. Greg Monroe sneered, passed the ball to Zhou Yi on the outside, who immediately shot a three-pointer. Dwight Howard wreaked havoc on the Pistons, leaving Samuel Dalembert badly hurt. Under Dwight Howard’s leadership, the Magic scored a 13-4 run, quickly widening the score gap to double digits. Seeing this, John Kuester quickly called a timeout. At that point, about six minutes had passed in the first quarter, with the score at 18-8. After the timeout, Stan Van Gundy, seeing he had control of the game and knowing he still needed Dwight Howard for the rest of the match, substituted him out for rest; Dwight Howard also accumulated a foul.

After Dwight Howard was taken off the court, the Pistons were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief for the rest of the first quarter. With counterattacks led by Zhou Yi and others, the Pistons quickly tied the score and even took the lead. At the end of the first quarter, the Pistons led the Magic 32-28 by 4 points. Zhou Yi played nearly 10 minutes in the first quarter, scoring 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists. Right at the start of the second quarter, Will Bynum, who replaced Zhou Yi, scored 2 points with a jump shot, further widening the gap. The entire Pistons team was delighted, but during the Magic’s subsequent attack, their backup point guard, Chris Duhon, firmly passed the ball to the interior, where there was only one player—the Magic’s Dwight Howard. When Dwight Howard stretched out his long arms to grab the ball, the hearts of everyone on the Pistons team trembled.