Chapter 155

At the end of the third quarter, the score stood at 73:70, with the Pistons still holding a 3-point lead.
Chapter 362: The Big Three vs. The Big Three (Part 2)
“Guys, the fourth quarter is the most crucial. Although you all performed very well in the first three quarters, it’s the fourth quarter that truly decides the outcome. So I hope everyone will give it their all in the fourth quarter and play just as well as they did in the previous ones. I believe in you all; I believe we can win,” said John Kueste, his eyes shining with excitement as he looked at his players.
The Pistons nodded, gathering together to encourage one another.
“Ding,” the whistle blew, marking the start of the final quarter.
The Pistons took the lead with Zhou Yi in possession. From the first second of the game, Mario Chalmers stuck closely to Zhou Yi, who once again felt pressure unlike in the previous quarters.
After half a minute, Zhou Yi passed the ball to McGrady, who was positioned low on the court. Immediately afterward, Zhou Yi moved to the other side to set a screen for Andre Iguodala.
Andre Iguodala quickly moved sideways, breaking free from LeBron James’s defense. By the time he reached the middle, McGrady had passed the ball to him. Iguodala attempted a three-step layup, but despite breaking free from LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, who had followed McGrady, caught up just in time and swatted the ball out of Iguodala’s hands.
The ball went out of bounds, and the Pistons continued their attack.
“Good job, Dwyane,” said LeBron James, walking over to Dwyane Wade and patting his shoulder.
Dwyane Wade patted LeBron James back before smiling and going back to defend.
Andre Iguodala inbounded the ball at the baseline. After catching it, Zhou Yi immediately passed it to McGrady for a one-on-one situation. With only 24 seconds left, McGrady didn’t hesitate at all. He took a step back and launched a fadeaway jump shot. Although Dwyane Wade tried his best to block it, McGrady’s attack was too decisive and swift, so the shot went through without interference.
“Yess!” McGrady swung his arm, bumped into Zhou Yi, who was rushing over, then stepped back to defend.
Dwyane Wade steadily drove the ball across half-court. Once Chris Bosh was in position, he passed the ball to him to take over the attack.

However, just as Chris Bosh received the ball, McGrady suddenly came over to double-team him, tightly blocking Bosh’s passing routes and line of sight. But after all, Bosh was one of the “Big Three” and not someone incompetent. He used his height to accurately pass the ball to Dwyane Wade, who was already open. Yet the Pistons switched defenses quickly, with Zhou Yi immediately pouncing on Wade. Seeing no chance of making a shot, Wade quickly passed the ball to Mario Chalmers, who was temporarily unguarded on the other side. Chalmers quickly scanned the area to ensure no one was guarding him, then jumped and threw the ball. With a swish, the ball went through the net. “Good job,” LeBron James said, pleased to see Chalmers execute the attack successfully, and went over to praise him. Zhou Yi gloomily took the ball at the baseline from Greg Monroe, glanced at Chalmers, who had returned to the Heat’s half-court, and drove toward their half. McGrady pulled up at the top of the key, received the ball from Zhou Yi, stepped forward with his right leg, then pulled back swiftly. Dwyane Wade immediately rushed over but didn’t dive, as it might have been McGrady’s feint. Sure enough, McGrady didn’t shoot but passed the ball to Greg Monroe, who was cutting toward the basket from the left wing. After catching the ball, Monroe slapped it down, took a big step, and drove for a dunk. The Pistons took a 6-point lead, with the score at 82:76. After a timeout, the Heat’s head coach, Eric Spoelstra, decided to have his best defensive player, Dwyane Wade, stick closely to Zhou Yi to disrupt his playmaking and prevent the Pistons from executing smooth attacks. Without Zhou Yi’s playmaking, the Pistons became somewhat panicked. They were used to relying on his coordination, so without it, their offense gradually fell into trouble. Fortunately, there was still McGrady, who was skilled at initiating the team’s attacks, and under his leadership, the Pistons managed to keep attacking. Watching the Heat gradually close the score gap, John Kuester shook his head and decisively replaced Zhou Yi with Will Bynum.

LeBron James drove with the ball, while Dwyane Wade quickly moved to the baseline, shedding his defender and finding an open spot. LeBron, driving on the other side, passed the ball swiftly, and Wade caught it in an open position and hit a jump shot. Watching this series of moves, John Kuester shook his head in disbelief.

On the Pistons’ side, Tracy McGrady forced his way inside and passed to Ben Wallace at the basket. Ben Wallace’s reverse layup missed, and LeBron James secured the defensive rebound.

LeBron James held the ball at the top of the key and signaled to Dwyane Wade, who quickly came over and took the ball from him. At that moment, LeBron quickly cut to the basket without the ball, and Dwyane Wade passed it to him, who then executed a one-handed dunk.

Seeing LeBron James and Dwyane Wade score continuously and narrow the deficit to just 1 point, Pistons head coach John Kuester had no choice but to call a timeout.

“I have to say, the Miami Heat are really strong, especially LeBron and Dwyane. We’ve barely been able to contain their offense. You still need to be careful guarding LeBron—he’s the brain behind the Heat’s attacks. Be vigilant against their cuts without the ball. Don’t rely too much on Tracy’s playmaking. Tracy, once he leaves the court, you’ll be in charge of the team’s offense, understand?” John Kuester said carefully to his players.

“Understood,” replied McGrady and the others.

But things weren’t as simple as John Kuester thought. The Heat’s offense remained smooth as water, and even though Andre Iguodala tried his best to stick closely to LeBron James, he couldn’t stop their attack.

In no time, the Heat took the lead back. With 6:11 left in the fourth quarter, the score was 90:97, with the Pistons trailing by 7 points.

On the Pistons’ next possession, Will Bynum forced his way inside and drove to the basket, resulting in a foul on Mario Chalmers. At that moment, the Heat’s coach called a timeout.

Watching his sweat-soaked players, John Kuester frowned slightly, glanced at the data in his hands, and said, “We’re in trouble, guys. There are less than 6 minutes left in the game, and we’re still 7 points behind. That score might not mean much to other teams, but for a team like the Heat, it’s enough for them to maintain their lead until the end and cost us the win at home. So in these last 6 minutes, we need to make changes. Since we can’t strengthen our defense, we must boost our offense.”

John Kuester took the water bottle from his assistant coach, took a sip, and continued, “For the rest of the game, Zhou will replace Tracy so he can rest. Zhou and Will will form the backcourt duo, which will help us speed things up and make our offense easier. Samuel will replace Ben to add height and offensive power in the paint. Andre, stay on the court—you might not get a single second to rest. Your defense and offense will both help the team. Taylor, you’ll replace Greg. You have more experience than him, so I expect great performance from you. Zhou, get moving—let’s revitalize our offense.” John Kuester carefully outlined the tactics for the rest of the game.

“I understand,” Zhou Yi nodded and replied seriously.

“Good, guys, get ready to play,” John Kuester said with a smile as he glanced at his players.

The game continued. Will Bynum took a free throw, met with boos from the crowd. His first attempt missed, and he adjusted before making the second.

LeBron James orchestrated the offense, with Andre Iguodala standing in front of him to guard him closely. Seeing Dwyane Wade being held back by Zhou Yi and Big Z’s position tightly covered by Samuel Dalembert with few opportunities, LeBron immediately signaled to Big Z.

Big Z saw the signal and rushed toward the ball. His defender, Samuel Dalembert, immediately cut off LeBron’s passing route. Realizing Dalembert’s defense, Big Z changed direction and moved toward the basket. LeBron then passed the ball to Big Z, who was running back toward the basket.

Big Z caught the ball and drove to the basket, scoring a point.

It was too easy. Seeing the relaxed expressions on the Heat players’ faces, the Pistons were furious but powerless to do anything.

LeBron James and D-Wade have an amazing chemistry—no wonder they’ve been teammates for eight years.
Zhou Yi took a deep breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and took the basketball from Taylor Hansbrough’s hands. This was the most critical game, so the Heat started pressing hard all over the court.
Mario Chalmers stayed close to Zhou Yi, trying to stop him from crossing from the Pistons’ half to the Heat’s half. Though he created distractions, he failed to steal the ball.
Once in the Heat’s half, Zhou Yi suddenly sped up, leaving Mario Chalmers behind and charging straight toward the basket. Dwyane Wade had to defend Will Bynum to cover Zhou Yi. Seeing this, Zhou Yi passed the ball to Will Bynum, who was open beyond the three-point line.
Bynum adjusted slightly and shot a three-pointer.
“Swish”—the ball went in.
Smooth, coordinated, and efficient—this was the teamwork between Zhou Yi and Will Bynum just now.
John Kuester watched this scene with satisfaction, nodding repeatedly. On the other hand, Eric Spolstra frowned as he watched the game.
It was the Heat’s turn to attack, with Dwyane Wade in control of the ball. He tried to force his way past Zhou Yi and shoot a three-pointer from beyond the line, but missed. D-Wade grabbed the offensive rebound.
D-Wade immediately passed the ball to LeBron James on the outside. After catching it, LeBron raised the ball high, aiming to shoot another three-pointer. But Andre Iguodala wasn’t going to give him that chance. As soon as he saw LeBron about to shoot, he jumped up and rushed toward him.
However, Iguodala was deceived. LeBron shifted his body slightly, and when Iguodala lunged at him, he jumped up and shot the ball.
“Swish”—it also went through the net.
94:102—the Pistons were still 8 points behind.
The Pistons called another timeout, with only 3 minutes and 52 seconds left in the game.
Danger—the Pistons were really in trouble!
“These last 3 minutes and 52 seconds are crucial for us. I hope we can mount a comeback in this time. I believe we can win. Do you believe it?” said John Kuester.
“We do.”
John Kuester nodded and made plans for the final 3 minutes and 52 seconds of the game.

After the timeout ended, the Pistons made another lineup change, with McGrady replacing Will Bynum and Greg Monroe replacing Taylor Hansbrough. The Heat also made adjustments, with Mike Bibby replacing Mario Chalmers and Joel Anthony replacing D-Wade. The game resumed with the Pistons’ offense. Greg Monroe passed the ball directly to Zhou Yi, who drove forward. Boos rang out as Zhou Yi received the ball, but he remained unfazed and ignored them. After crossing the midcourt line, Mike Bibby quickly followed up in front of Zhou Yi to prevent him from breaking through directly. Zhou Yi dribbled step by step toward the front court, while his teammates kept moving around in hopes of creating an opening. Finally, Greg Monroe broke free, and as soon as he did, Zhou Yi passed the ball to him. Without giving Jwan Howard time to react, Greg Monroe jumped and shot—the ball went straight through the net! “Yay!” The ball was in, and Greg Monroe was obviously very happy, waving his arms excitedly. Having been held back by Chris Bosh for so long, he could finally explode, and that feeling made him thrilled. “As long as you position yourself well, I’ll definitely pass the ball to you!” Zhou Yi said, looking at Greg Monroe. Jwan Howard sent a baseline pass, which Mike Bibby caught. But just as Mike Bibby caught the ball, a gust of wind swept past him. When he looked down, the ball was gone. Looking up again, he saw Zhou Yi already at the basket again, scoring with a dunk. “Wow…” Cheers erupted from the crowd, along with some boos. LeBron James glared at Mike Bibby for the mistake and snorted. The Pistons scored twice in a row, bringing the score to 98:102, narrowing the gap to just 4 points. These two attacks took less than 20 seconds, with 3:35 left—so the Pistons still had a good chance of winning. Jwan Howard sent another baseline pass, this time caught by LeBron James. LeBron James looked at Zhou Yi and slowly dribbled across half-court. After crossing half-court, Zhou Yi switched defenses with Andre Iguodala, who guarded LeBron James. LeBron James drove with the ball, then stopped abruptly and shot—again, it went in.

Andrei Iguodala shook his head in frustration. He had done his best, but still couldn’t defend it.
“It’s okay. Doing your best is enough,” said McGrady, patting Iguodala on the shoulder.
McGrady dribbled past the half-court line, but Dwyane Wade wasn’t defending there—he was standing at the three-point line, waiting for McGrady. “If you can shoot from that distance, then I’ll just accept it!” Wade thought.
Instead of going it alone, McGrady drove and passed to Zhou Yi. With Greg Monroe providing coverage, Zhou Yi found an open spot. Just then, McGrady passed the ball to him. Zhou Yi jumped right up and shot; the ball went in awkwardly. Though not perfect, it was still a good shot.
100:104—still 4 points behind!
Dwyane Wade dribbled four times in a row outside the three-point line before suddenly shooting.
“Thud”—a miss echoed across the Auburn Hills Palace court. Greg Monroe used his strong frame to push aside several big men and secure the rebound.
Zhou Yi drove with the ball, heading straight toward Mike Bibby’s right side. Despite Bibby doing his best, he hadn’t expected such a quick breakthrough. In just one play, he was left behind.
Fortunately, Bibby was quick-witted. Seeing Dwyane Wade moving to help defend Zhou Yi, he quickly went to assist Wade in guarding McGrady.
As Bibby expected, Zhou Yi, realizing there was no chance to attack, passed the ball to McGrady. Thankfully, he had the foresight to come help defend McGrady; otherwise, McGrady would have had another open shot and easily scored again.
But McGrady’s physical skills and experience were still there, making it not easy to defend him.
McGrady used continuous crossover steps and fake moves, gradually confusing Bibby. Then, he jumped and shot over Bibby’s head.
Fortunately for Bibby, McGrady’s jump shot missed. However, the Pistons secured the offensive rebound.
Samuel Dalembert added a layup.
102:104—2 points apart. The Heat’s head coach, Eric Spoelstra, could no longer sit still and called a timeout.
Chapter 363: The Comeback, The Sweep
After the timeout, the Pistons’ Andre Iguodala was replaced by James Posey, while the Heat’s Joel Anthony was replaced by Big Z, and Mike Bibby was replaced by Mike Miller.

The Heat’s lineup adjustment was somewhat unfair, as they assigned LeBron James to the point guard role, putting Zhou Yi directly against him, which gave Zhou Yi no advantage at all. However, the Pistons had no choice but to play despite this. LeBron James used Zhou Yi to break inside, and Zhou Yi was no match for his strength, so LeBron easily pushed past him to the basket and scored with a dunk. The score was back to 102:106, a 4-point difference again! Zhou Yi was extremely frustrated, as were all the players on the Pistons’ team. “Zhou, I can also play point guard. I’ll defend LeBron; I’ll leave Dwyane to you,” said McGrady, patting Zhou Yi’s shoulder. “Well, it’s the only option,” Zhou Yi replied. Next, McGrady faced LeBron James, while Zhou Yi faced Dwyane Wade. Zhou Yi organized the offense, but it was LeBron James who defended him. Zhou Yi accelerated and tried to break through LeBron James. Despite LeBron’s strong physique, his speed wasn’t slow at all. Though not as fast as Zhou Yi, he could still keep up barely. Suddenly, taking advantage of Zhou Yi’s distraction, LeBron reached for the ball, stole it, but it went out of bounds—LeBron’s effort was in vain. The Pistons continued to attack, with Zhou Yi driving and organizing the offense. Just as LeBron was happily chasing after Zhou Yi, he suddenly collided with a solid figure. Looking up, it was Greg Monroe. Glancing around, Zhou Yi had already run away. LeBron quickly shook off Greg Monroe and rushed after Zhou Yi. As Greg Monroe set up a pick-and-roll with Zhou Yi, he also drew Jwan Howard into it. After completing the pick-and-roll, Greg Monroe quickly rushed back to the basket—this was a tactic they often used together. Sure enough, as he rushed back to the basket, Zhou Yi passed the ball. Although Jwan Howard realized Greg Monroe’s trick and tried his best to defend, his age meant he couldn’t keep up. So he could only watch helplessly as Greg Monroe completed this offensive move. After catching the ball, Greg Monroe leaped high and scored a dunk. “Nice!” The Pistons’ bench erupted in cheers, especially Will Bynum, who was the most enthusiastic.

The Pistons once again narrowed the score to 2 points, with only 2 minutes and 40 seconds left in the game.
Those final 2 minutes and 40 seconds were the true climax of the battle.
LeBron James took the ball and drove, then passed it to Big Z in the paint.
Big Z tried a hook shot with Samuel Dalembert’s help, but missed. Jwan Howard grabbed the offensive rebound and passed the ball back to LeBron James.
LeBron James slowly adjusted his rhythm, dribbling while observing the situation on the court. When 10 seconds remained out of the 24 seconds, he suddenly spun around. McGrady didn’t have time to react before seeing LeBron James backspin and shoot. Fortunately for McGrady, LeBron’s form was off that day, and the ball hit the back of the rim.
“Good thing it didn’t go in,” McGrady said, still shaken after seeing the miss and Zhou Yi grab the rebound.
“Hmph, you won’t be so lucky next time!” LeBron James snapped coldly at McGrady before quickly returning to defend his own half.
Zhou Yi rushed forward like an arrow released from a bow.
Although James Posey was older, his awareness and experience were excellent. The moment he saw Zhou Yi grab the rebound, he rushed toward the Heat’s half. By the time Zhou Yi reached the front court, he was already lurking just outside the three-point line in the corner.
“James,” Zhou Yi called out, then passed the ball accurately to James Posey.
At that moment, James Posey was completely open, with Jwan Howard, the closest player to him, too late to block his shot.
James Posey took a deep breath, adjusted his rhythm, and shot from three points.
Though it wasn’t the shot that decided the game, almost everyone held their breath and watched intently.
“Bang bang bang bang,” the basketball bounced back and forth inside the rim before falling out reluctantly.
The three-point shot went in!
“Wow, wow… That’s amazing, absolutely amazing…” Will Bynum started dancing, drawing laughter from his teammates.
Energetic applause and cheers filled the arena!!!
The Pistons took the lead by 1 point, with the score now 107:106!
Neither team called a timeout, and the game continued.

LeBron James was still orchestrating the Heat’s offense. After halftime, he began to drive with the ball. Under Maddie’s close defense, he didn’t dare to attack recklessly, so he passed the ball to Dwyane Wade and started moving around the court.

Dwyane Wade fought hard, using his strong physique and top-tier explosive power to break free from Zhou Yi’s clingy defense. After breaking through, he scored with a jump shot. The Heat fans cheered loudly in admiration of Dwyane Wade’s performance.

After scoring those 2 points, Dwyane Wade’s chest heaved continuously, and he gasped for breath—clearly such attacks drained too much of his energy and couldn’t be repeated frequently.

Zhou Yi organized the offense, weaving through the crowd in search of the best opportunity to score. The Pistons players also moved actively, trying to deliver a fatal blow to the Heat.

“James, get the ball,” Zhou Yi said, eyes lighting up, and quickly passed the ball to James Posey, who had found an open spot again.

However, this time James Posey didn’t have much of a chance, as Mike Miller was already close by. Even if he shot right after catching the ball, he would surely be disturbed by Mike Miller.

But an experienced player is still an experienced player—especially one with championship experience who can deliver a deadly shot at critical moments.

After catching the ball, James Posey, as before, glanced at the basket, adjusted his rhythm, and prepared to shoot a three-pointer. Just as he raised the ball above his head and tilted his upper body upward, Mike Miller rushed at him.

“Heh, that’s exactly what I was waiting for,” James Posey sneered.

“Mike, you’ve fallen for it,” Dwyane Wade said. Seeing that James Posey hadn’t jumped, he immediately realized it was a feint. Since James Posey used to be his teammate, he knew his playing style well, so he shouted at Mike Miller.

But reality is cruel. As Mike Miller leaped at him, James Posey quickly darted to the other side, adjusted slightly, and shot a three-pointer.

True guts—absolute guts, because James Posey’s three-pointer went in again! Again!

The Pistons’ bench erupted in celebration, with players hugging each other, while John Kuester also clenched his fists in excitement.

110:108, the Pistons led by 2 points!

With 1 minute and 15 seconds left in the game, as LeBron James received the in-bounds pass from Mike Miller, Heat coach Eric Spolsky called the team’s second-to-last timeout. Just 20 seconds after the timeout ended, both teams returned to the court. The Heat’s lineup remained unchanged, but the Pistons made a move that puzzled many—John Kuester replaced James Posey, who had just hit two three-pointers, with Andre Iguodala. The game resumed with the Heat attacking. After LeBron James broke inside, he passed to D-Wade, but just as D-Wade reached for the ball, a large yellow-skinned hand snatched it away before he could touch it. It was another steal—this was Zhou Yi’s fourth steal of the game. After the steal, Zhou Yi took off at full speed; even LeBron James, who had started first, could only follow behind. Zhou Yi rushed to the Heat’s basket and completed the fast break with a straightforward layup. 112:108, with the Pistons leading by 4 points. At this point, 51 seconds remained in the final quarter, entering the actual clockdown phase. “That’s it, that’s it!” John Kuester jumped up excitedly from the bench, waving his fists without caring about his image. Eric Spolsky, on the other hand, wasn’t in such a mood—he had already called a timeout, their last one of the game. Spolsky picked up his play sheet and began to strategize. 20 seconds was a very short time; by the time the Heat returned to the court, Zhou Yi and the others were already there. With a whistle, the game resumed. Mike Miller served the in-bounds pass, and Dwyane Wade caught it. Facing Zhou Yi, Dwyane Wade rushed toward his right side with all his might as soon as he got the ball, but Zhou Yi naturally wouldn’t let him get past as easily as before—he stayed close to Dwyane Wade, preventing him from scoring easily. Zhou Yi’s defense worked; Dwyane Wade didn’t dare to charge recklessly, as getting a foul from Zhou Yi at that moment would be counterproductive. Fortunately, the Heat had more than just him as a main attacker—there was also LeBron James.

Dwyane Wade started looking for LeBron James, who happened to be already at the basket. Dwyane Wade decisively passed the ball to LeBron James with a bounce pass. After catching the ball, LeBron James immediately dunked for 2 points. Zhou Yi took the ball at the baseline and rushed toward the Heat’s half-court. Throughout the journey, LeBron James kept interfering with Zhou Yi’s dribbling, forcing him to make mistakes. However, Zhou Yi had excellent ball-handling skills; despite being under pressure, he still managed to carry the ball across half-court. After crossing half-court, Zhou Yi passed the ball to McGrady to organize the offense. McGrady drove, and Greg Monroe provided a screen for Andre Iguodala, allowing him to get into an open position. Seeing Andre Iguodala in an open spot, McGrady immediately passed the ball to him. After catching the ball, Andre Iguodala shot right away, but the ball missed despite having no defender. What worried the Pistons even more was that LeBron James grabbed the defensive rebound. At this point, only 29 seconds remained until the end of the game. If the Heat could score a three-point shot and use up most of the time, their chances of winning would be very high. Even if it wasn’t a three-point shot but a two-point shot, they still had a chance to go into overtime and win in overtime. Thinking of this, the home crowd became worried. The Heat no longer had timeouts, and the Pistons only had one left, so neither team called a timeout. LeBron James dribbled across half-court and slowly tried to waste time, seemingly aiming to complete the offense just before the 24-second clock ran out. When 10 seconds remained in the 24 seconds, LeBron James moved. He suddenly accelerated and drove toward the basket. At this moment, LeBron James was giving it his all, so even though McGrady tried his best, he couldn’t stop LeBron James from reaching the basket. Greg Monroe and Samuel Dalembert were already prepared to defend both LeBron James and the inside players. But just as everyone thought LeBron James was going to attack the basket, he passed the ball. The receiver was Dwyane Wade, who was lurking outside the three-point line. The Heat wanted to use a three-point shot to seal the win against the Pistons.

At that moment, Zhou Yi was right in front of Dwyane Wade. But after catching the ball, Dwyane Wade immediately chose to shoot a three-point shot. Zhou Yi rushed over right away, but he was still half a step too late. Although he failed to block Dwyane Wade’s shot, he still managed to disrupt him. Due to inertia, Zhou Yi still bumped into Dwyane Wade in mid-air, but it wasn’t a foul. Dwyane Wade lost his direction and balance, then fell to the ground. As he fell, he was already prepared to protect himself! With a loud thud, Dwyane Wade crashed to the court, while Zhou Yi wasn’t hurt at all. However, no one paid attention to that; what everyone cared about was that three-point shot, including Zhou Yi and Dwyane Wade who was already on the ground. The entire O’Brien Center was eerily quiet—so quiet that people could hear their own breathing. Under everyone’s gaze, the basketball floated toward the basket, bounced three times around the rim, and then fell in reluctantly. The moment the ball went in, the crowd instantly became disheartened, while the Heat players cheered, even head coach Erik Spoelstra cheered. “MVP, MVP…” The crowd chanted for Dwyane Wade. “Great shot!” After watching the shot, LeBron James waved his fist and quickly ran over to Dwyane Wade to help him up. “Are you okay?” LeBron James asked concernfully. “I’m fine, haha,” Dwyane Wade replied with a smile after moving around a bit. “Did we win?” Dwyane Wade asked. “Not yet. There are 7.6 seconds left in the game. We’re only up by one point. The other team called a timeout. We need to defend well in these 7.6 seconds,” LeBron James said cautiously. Hearing LeBron James’s words, Dwyane Wade nodded. The Heat fans at the scene were absolutely wild; their cheers reached the heavens. Anyway, the victory belonged to the Heat that night—they considered Dwyane Wade’s three-point shot as the game-winner.

“Guys, DeVine’s shot wasn’t the game-winner. Game-winner? Ridiculous. We’re going to come back and win it. Guys, the Heat’s weakest point right now is their interior play, and we’ve been doing well from outside before, so they definitely don’t know whether we’ll play from outside or inside. So, let’s catch them off guard. Of course, they’ll probably assume we’re more likely to try to score 2 points, since we’re only down by 1. It’s easier to score 2 points that way, but we want to create the illusion that we might go for 2 or 3 points. So…” John Kuester paused for a moment, then turned to Zhou Yi and said, “So, Zhou, in the next 7.6 seconds, you’re crucial. You need to create scoring opportunities for everyone. Of course, if you get a chance, you can go for it yourself. Guys, I want a victory, and I believe everyone wants to win this game too. Come on, guys! I believe in you!”
The timeout ended quickly, and the game resumed.
Andrei Iguodala stood at the free-throw line to shoot, with Mike Miller in front of him, ready to disrupt his shot.
Zhou Yi kept moving through the crowd until he finally found an open space and caught Iguodala’s pass.
“Roar!” Zhou Yi growled, using all his strength to maximize his speed and break through LeBron James.
But LeBron James stuck closely to Zhou Yi, leaving no chance for him. Zhou Yi pulled back sharply and then used a crossover to get past LeBron James from the right side.
LeBron James was left behind by Zhou Yi!
After getting past LeBron James, Zhou Yi headed straight toward the basket, forcing Jwan Howard, who was on the interior, to divert his attention to defend him.
But Jwan Howard was already tightly covered by Greg Monroe, so by the time Zhou Yi reached the paint, he was essentially in an open position.
“Zhou, there’s no time left!” John Kuester shouted at Zhou Yi.
Zhou Yi naturally heard Kuester’s shout, and he had already calculated the timing. When he reached the paint, he stopped.
A quick stop-and-shoot—Zhou Yi released the ball. At that moment, the final buzzer of the game sounded.
Everyone held their breath once again, watching this shot more intently than before, because it would determine the outcome of the game.
If it went in, the Pistons would win on the road; otherwise, the Heat would claim a home victory.

At this moment, time seemed to slow down!
The basketball wasn’t far from the basket, but it felt as though the flight of the ball lasted an extremely long time.
“Swish” — a crisp sound broke the silence in the arena!
Did the ball go in?!
The home crowd became excited, with some even starting to shout Zhou Yi’s name, followed by “MVP”.
In the end, Zhou Yi’s last-second comeback helped the Pistons secure a victory at home, completing their sweep of the Heat this season. The Miami Heat fought hard for over two hours but had to return home with a loss.
Chapter 364: Stepping Forward
On March 25, 2011, the Detroit Pistons traveled to Cleveland to face the Cavaliers.
As of the 25th, the Cavaliers had a record of 14 wins and 56 losses, firmly holding the bottom spot in the league — of course, the worst in the league.
It was still a fairly decent record; without LeBron James, they had managed to achieve such results, which was quite impressive for them.
The Cavaliers, playing at home against the Pistons, though already out of contention, were determined to avenge their two previous losses this season. If they could defeat the Pistons, who were at the top of the league, then even if they ended up last in the season, it would be a glorious achievement for them.
Before the game, Cavaliers players like JJ Hickson, Antawn Jamison, and Anthony Parker said they would do their best to stop the Pistons.
However, reporters also interviewed Pistons players before the game, and their responses were that this was just an ordinary regular-season game.
The Pistons had no special plans for this match; they just wanted to play well in every game. Both teams prepared for the game with caution.
At 7:30 p.m. on March 25, the regular-season game between the Pistons and Cavaliers began at Quicken Loans Arena.
As usual, Greg Monroe was in charge of the jump ball, but this time he lost to JJ Hickson, and the ball went to Ramon Sessions.
After securing the ball and seeing no chance for a fast break, Ramon Sessions controlled the ball and steadily carried it across half-court.
They continued to use their own pick-and-roll tactics.
Ramon Sessions signaled to JJ Hickson to set up a pick-and-roll.
JJ Hickson quickly moved up to set up the pick-and-roll for Ramon Sessions.
After switching defenses, Ramon Sessions accurately passed the ball to JJ Hickson.

But the Pistons were well prepared. As soon as they saw JJ Hickson with the ball, McGrady, guarding Alonzo Gee, moved up immediately and closely followed Hickson. Seeing the tight switching defense from the Pistons, Hickson lifted the ball with one hand and passed it to Alonzo Gee, who was now open. Gee tried to shoot right away, but Zhou Yi had already quietly closed in. The Pistons’ defense was in place, with timely rotations. Such quick and accurate switching isn’t something every team can do. However, the Cavaliers also had solid short-range coordination. While Alonzo Gee was being guarded by McGrady, the Cavaliers’ center, Ryan Hollins, stepped in for a pick-and-roll, and Andre Iguodala, who had rotated to guard Anthony Parker, was immediately blocked. As Anthony Parker broke free, Alonzo Gee was right there with the ball. Parker caught the ball and shot, his form perfect. With a swish, the basketball went through the net with a clear sound. The Cavaliers took the lead first. Their series of clever plays made the home crowd cheer loudly, as if it were a spectacular dunk. But the Pistons remained unfazed, calmly passing the ball. Zhou Yi quietly brought it across half-court and handed it to Samuel Dalembert, who silently moved past Ryan Hollins and drove the ball straight into the basket despite Hickson’s help defense. The Pistons’ understated dominance was evident. The Cavaliers continued to attack, and after another series of moves, Hickson used his physical advantage to overpower Andre Iguodala. The Pistons continued their quiet approach—quietly receiving the ball, quietly attacking, quietly scoring. The first quarter ended under such a tense atmosphere. 22:21—the Cavaliers led the Pistons by one point temporarily. But by the end of the quarter, the Cavaliers’ players were breathing heavily, as if they had played half a game. Cavaliers head coach Byron Scott knew how much pressure his players were under. The Pistons’ offense and defense required each of the Cavaliers’ players to exert 120% effort in monitoring and reacting, further depleting their stamina. As JJ Hickson and Ramon Sessions went off to rest, the Pistons’ bench players all came in.

The second quarter was only about 3 minutes longer, and Byron Scott was forced to bring JJ Hickson onto the court. At least Hickson’s presence could help the Cavaliers score points. Even with Hickson on the field, the Cavaliers could only manage a tie with the Pistons. The Pistons’ powerful offense kept attacking the Cavaliers’ defense. With Zhou Yi’s outstanding performance, the Pistons were like a spaceship fueled by nuclear power, full of momentum. Looking at the increasingly mature young trio of the Pistons, Byron Scott felt sad. Comparing the Pistons’ young players to the Cavaliers’ young players, there was simply no comparison! The Cavaliers fought hard at home to stop the Pistons’ bench players from wreaking havoc. During halftime, the Cavaliers’ locker room was silent. Veteran players Antoine Jamison and Ramon Sessions were whispering to each other, while the others were either wiping sweat or drinking water. At that moment, Byron Scott slowly entered the locker room. Without saying anything, he picked up the tactical board and calmly explained the tactics for the second half. The tactics that were deeply ingrained in the Cavaliers’ players were explained by Byron Scott in detail. When the third quarter started, the Cavaliers seemed different from the first half—they acted like beasts, fighting fiercely against the Pistons. This group of players caused the Pistons a lot of trouble in the third quarter. JJ Hickson used his powerful elbows to dominate the court, while Ramon Sessions’ petty tactics were always criticized by guards across the league. Anthony Parker’s drives and shots became more aggressive, and Alonzo Gee’s defense became more intense. For a while, it seemed like the Cavaliers had turned into a wrestling team. Meanwhile, the Pistons were almost stunned at the start of the third quarter. But led by players like McGrady, the Pistons fought back with even more determination. JJ Hickson was hit in the chest with Greg Monroe’s elbow and couldn’t catch his breath for a long time. Ramon Sessions missed all six shots he took in the third quarter while being defended by Zhou Yi, and Anthony Parker was even knocked down by substitute Taylor Hansbrough with a slap, almost leading to a fight between the two teams. In this way, the third quarter ended in a cycle of fouls and physical fights. The third quarter left both teams completely exhausted.

67:65, the Pistons took a two-point lead into the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers’ key players could barely run anymore.