Chapter 186

With 5 minutes and 51 seconds left in the fourth quarter, after Zhou Yi scored twice in a row, the score stood at 115:100. Guided by Zhou Yi, the Pistons gradually regained control of the game. As the game neared its end, the Heat’s chances of winning grew slimmer. Especially after the Pistons’ timeout, not only did their defense improve significantly, but Zhou Yi’s consecutive scores also suppressed the Heat’s offensive efforts. Seeing the Pistons stabilize the situation, Mike Bibby’s expression grew increasingly stern, with a cold glint in his eyes. The Heat now had only two timeouts left. Despite Eric Spolsky’s frustration, he tried to stay calm, knowing the two timeouts needed to be used at the most opportune moments. The situation on the court couldn’t be resolved with just two timeouts. If Mike Bibby and his team could turn the crisis into an opportunity, these timeouts could become a key to the Heat’s comeback; otherwise, they would be useless. Mike Bibby quickly drove the ball across half-court and encountered Zhou Yi again. After several feints, Zhou Yi remained unfazed. It seemed Mike Bibby had “eyes” at the back of his head—he accurately passed the ball to Mario Chalmers, then stepped forward to block Zhou Yi on the right side. Seizing the opportunity created by Mike Bibby, Mario Chalmers didn’t hesitate and quickly shot, but unfortunately, his force was insufficient, and the ball bounced high in front of the basket. LeBron James spread his arms wide, holding Andre Iguodala back, and managed to score a difficult rebound. On the Pistons’ offense, Greg Monroe caught a brilliant pass from Zhou Yi, charged at Chris Bosh, and attempted a backdoor jump shot—unfortunately, it fell short, and Chris Bosh secured the rebound. With the referee’s whistle, Zhou Yi got up from the floor. He had just forced Mike Bibby into an offensive foul by positioning himself well. The Heat were now in the driver’s seat, and this offensive foul dealt a significant blow to their morale, especially with only 3.5 minutes left in the game and them still 13 points behind. Unless the Pistons made any mistakes, the game was practically over. McGrady’s shot lacked power; the ball hit the front of the basket, and Jwan Howard leaped up to easily grab the rebound, then passed it long, sending the ball quickly out of the paint toward the Pistons’ half-court.

Mike Bibby, who had been waiting in the half-court, saw the pass coming and quickly judged the situation before rushing toward the Pistons’ basket. As he had guessed, Jwan Howard’s pass had enough force to reach the free-throw line, giving him enough time to get away from Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi tried his best to chase after him, but to his frustration, Mike Bibby moved first, so despite his speed advantage, he couldn’t catch up. Securing the ball firmly, Mike Bibby maintained a slight lead over Zhou Yi and easily scored a layup. What frustrated Zhou Yi even more was that he kept trying to disrupt Mike Bibby’s shot by pursuing him, but when he reached the basket, he lost his balance and collided head-on with Mike Bibby. The referee immediately called a defensive foul without hesitation. Zhou Yi didn’t argue with the referee—after all, the collision was obvious, and the call was justified. He just felt frustrated, as he hadn’t intended to foul at all; it was simply due to his loss of balance. If he had known this would happen, he would have tried to pull Mike Bibby down earlier, at least to prevent an easy three-point shot. Free throws are Mike Bibby’s most reliable scoring method. Even when his form is poor, he rarely misses them. In regular season games, his free-throw success rate is as high as 91.2%, second only to Zhou Yi in the league. For the Heat players, exhausting themselves defending the Pistons has become a fatal flaw. So in the first half, John Kuester kept up a strong offensive pressure on the Heat, hoping to secure a lead by the end of the third quarter. Against the Heat, John Kuester’s plans worked well in the first half, but under Steve’s leadership, the Heat clung tightly to the score, always keeping hope of turning the game around. Just as Mike Bibby’s stamina was running low, something John Kuester didn’t want to see happened—the other Heat players, as if waking from a slumber, showed fierce determination and gradually narrowed the gap. But now, the Heat players’ stamina issues finally came to light.

Knowing this, John Kuester still didn’t call a timeout. Both teams now had only two timeouts left, and those two chances needed to be used wisely. In his view, although the Heat showed strong momentum in their comeback, with so little time left, all they could hope for was a miracle.

Zhou Yi took control and organized the offense; what the Pistons needed now was stability. After halftime, Zhou Yi passed the ball to Andre Iguodala in the corner. After catching the ball, facing LeBron James’s defense, Iguodala feinted twice before breaking toward the baseline. Suddenly, he stopped abruptly and shot a jump shot. With a swish, the ball went through the basket. Roaring cheers filled the arena—Iguodala’s shot was crucial.

The Heat launched an attack, and Mike Bibby took a shot from just outside the right-wing three-point line, using his teammates’ screens. Again, with a swish, the ball landed in the net. People couldn’t help but admire Mike Bibby’s composure; he remained so steady at such a critical moment. Thanks to Bibby’s three-point shot, the Heat brought the score to 111:122, only 11 points behind the Pistons. With 31 seconds left in the game, the Heat’s hopes grew again.

John Kuester called a timeout—they needed to stabilize the situation on the court. After the timeout, Zhou Yi was replaced by Will Bynum, as his energy was running low. Will Bynum took control, accelerated toward the top of the key, and made a behind-the-back pass to Iguodala, who was waiting nearby. Seeing this, LeBron James rushed over desperately. But Iguodala shot quickly, releasing the ball just before LeBron reached him. The ball traced a beautiful arc through the air before firmly dropping into the basket. “Wow…” The arena erupted in excitement.

At this critical moment, Andre Iguodala hit two consecutive shots, helping the Pistons hold their ground. His value was fully demonstrated at this instant. After driving across half the court, Iguodala immediately passed the ball to Zhou Yi, who bent down to protect the ball, ready to break through. Mario Chalmers stared intently at the young man with yellow skin, his expression unusually serious, as he crouched and spread his arms in a defensive stance.

Mario Chalmers didn’t look down on Zhou Yi just because he was a rookie. He knew that Zhou Yi was by no means inferior to those star players. No, in Mario Chalmers’ eyes, Zhou Yi was already a superstar—a superstar who could give anyone a hard time. So, his defensive approach toward Zhou Yi was the same as when facing superstars like Kobe.

Zhou Yi remained calm, casting a glance at Greg Monroe in the paint. Upon receiving that look, Greg Monroe, who was competing for position with the Heat’s center near the basket, immediately gave up what he was doing and rushed out beyond the three-point line to set up a pick-and-roll for Zhou Yi.

With his opponent blocked, Zhou Yi seized the opportunity. He quickly dribbled to the right, moving out of Mario Chalmers’ defensive range. At the same time, he gathered the ball, jumped in place, and shot.

However, he was still nearly a meter away from the three-point line.

A super-long-distance three-point shot?

That question arose in everyone’s mind. They didn’t understand why Zhou Yi would choose to shoot from such a distance—he could have scored more reliably by driving to the basket.

Filled with doubt, people watched silently as the basketball flew through the air. It wasn’t until the ball approached the basket that their confusion was completely resolved…

The ball was near the basket, but its trajectory deviated completely from it, heading straight for the backboard! Just as everyone thought Zhou Yi had missed the three-point shot due to forcing it, a figure in the Pistons’ white No. 1 home jersey suddenly rushed into the paint. As the ball was about to hit the backboard, he leaped high, caught the ball in midair with his right hand, and slammed it into the basket!

“Bam!” A passionate and dominant one-handed dunk was completed!

“Roar~~~” After landing, McGrady didn’t even glance at Eric Dampier standing beside him. After taking a deep breath, he let out a beast-like roar into the sky.

Hearing this roar, the Pistons’ fans felt their blood boil instantly, spreading throughout their bodies as their blood surged wildly.

“Tracy~~~ McGrady~~~” A thunderous roar filled the entire arena. All the fans were going wild, ecstatic, and thrilled!

Full of passion, wildly excited! Infinite enthusiasm, infinite passion!

John Kuster felt the intense atmosphere on the court and a smile of satisfaction and amazement appeared on his face: “Heh, it seems the outcome of this game is already decided…” Zhou Yi silently watched McGrady running back to the backcourt with Andre Iguodala and high-fiving him in celebration, a slight smile on his face as he murmured, “It seems this trade really freed McGrady! Andre Iguodala’s arrival has brought new vitality to the team.” Mike Bibby looked serious; the situation was very unfavorable for the Heat now. Mike Bibby controlled the ball and steadily advanced toward the Pistons’ half-court. After crossing half-court, he suddenly accelerated and rushed into the Pistons’ penalty area. Zhou Yi closely followed Mike Bibby, blocking his shooting and passing angles. Yet Mike Bibby still managed to pass the ball, and it was a very clever pass. LeBron James received the pass from Mike Bibby, shot from beyond the three-point line, and with a swish, the ball went through the net. The Pistons failed to score on their attack, and Mike Bibby grabbed a rebound in the backcourt, launching a full-court attack and coordinating perfectly with Eric Dampier. Mike Bibby assisted Eric Dampier in a perfect alley-oop dunk. Zhou Yi missed his three-point shot, but the power forward Greg Monroe grabbed a rebound in the frontcourt and dunked it with one hand.