Chapter 195

In the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, it was still the turn of the substitutes to play. Four minutes into the fourth quarter, both teams brought in their starters. Once play resumed, the Lakers intensified their defense on Zhou Yi. Phil Jackson even went to extreme measures by assigning Kobe to guard Zhou Yi, believing that containing Zhou Yi was more important than winning the game. Yet Zhou Yi didn’t continue to score at an unstoppable pace as expected. In the fourth quarter, he continued his pattern of running without the ball from the previous two quarters—once the ball reached him, he never held it for more than three seconds, which really angered Kobe. McGrady passed the ball to Zhou Yi at the baseline. Using Andre Iguodala’s screen, Zhou Yi broke free from his defenders and quickly cut toward the basket. Zhou Yi raised his hands high, startling Kobe, who had relaxed his defense slightly. Kobe quickly tried to close in, but Zhou Yi’s movements were smooth; with a slight shake of his wrist, the ball flew over Kobe’s head. “Rebound!” Kobe yelled. From his angle, he thought Zhou Yi’s shot had some issue—it definitely wouldn’t go in. But since the ball didn’t hit the rim, there was no rebound. Zhou Yi had been almost inactive in the early part of the fourth quarter, but his running without the ball had left holes in the Lakers’ defense, finally giving McGrady space to operate from outside. Zhou Yi drove fast with the ball, with Samuel Dalembert pulling up high to set a screen for him, allowing Zhou Yi to quickly cut toward the basket. But just as Zhou Yi was about to attack the basket, Andrew Bynum rushed in to help. Instead of panicking, Zhou Yi casually threw the ball upward toward the backboard. With a clang, the basket groaned. Greg Monroe slammed the ball through the rim, then landed and high-fived Zhou Yi before retreating to defend. Steve Blake steadied the pace, suddenly accelerated with a drive, and used a sudden behind-the-back dribble to create space from Zhou Yi. Andre Iguodala quickly came over to help defend, and Steve Blake decisively passed the ball to Kobe, who then made a long pass to Ron Artest at the corner. “The Beast” glanced at the basket and shot a three-pointer—swish! It went in! On the Pistons’ end, Andre Iguodala’s three-point attempt missed, Andrew Bynum secured the defensive rebound, and passed it to Kobe.

Ron Artest’s shooting form seemed to heat up suddenly. After driving the ball across half-court, Kobe passed it to the “Beast.” Ron Artest forced his way through defenders and then stopped abruptly in front of Andre Iguodala to take a jump shot—another basket. After scoring, the “Beast” pounded his chest and let out a furious roar. The home crowd cheered wildly at the sight of him going wild. “Nice job, man!” Kobe bumped into Ron Artest before stepping back together to defend. During this period, Zhou Yi didn’t attack, nor did Kobe. Instead, after breaking through, Kobe would draw double-team defense from the Pistons and pass the ball to an open teammate, with the “Beast” being the biggest beneficiary. Zhou Yi organized the offense, moving back and forth outside the three-point line, while Steve Blake tried his best to defend him. So, Zhou Yi couldn’t find an opportunity for a while. A bounce pass sent the ball to Samuel Dalembert at the basket. Samuel Dalembert shook him off a bit, then spun around and took a backboard jump shot—clang! It missed. But Greg Monroe jumped up quickly, tapped the ball, and pushed it back into the basket. The Lakers regained possession; Paul Gasol passed the ball to Steve Blake. Steve Blake drove across half-court, then drove inside and passed the ball to Andrew Bynum. Andrew Bynum shook him off and tried to lay it in but missed, allowing the Pistons to grab the defensive rebound. McGrady broke into the Lakers’ paint, with Ron Artest coming to cover him. McGrady passed the ball to Andre Iguodala behind him. Andre Iguodala shot right away—and hit a three-pointer! As time passed, the Pistons still controlled the game. Although their lead wasn’t large, it was around five or six points, and the Lakers couldn’t catch up. Steve Blake drove with the ball; Zhou Yi tried to steal it but failed and even committed a personal foul. Zhou Yi drove again and then threw a long pass, aiming to give it to Andre Iguodala at the right wing baseline. But halfway through the pass, a hand suddenly appeared and snatched the ball away. Ron Artest rushed quickly to the Pistons’ basket and then hit a one-handed dunk!

“Roar…” The ‘beast’ opened its mouth wide again, letting out a frantic roar.
Seeing no chance to attack, Zhou Yi passed the ball to Greg Monroe.
Greg Monroe dribbled the ball twice with Paul Gasol behind him, then passed it to the ground. Zhou Yi, who had cut in from the baseline, caught the ball and executed a one-handed dunk—both graceful and powerful.
Paul Gasol received a pass from Ron Artest and tried to attack under the basket, but missed.
The Lakers’ attack failed, and Greg Monroe grabbed the rebound.
The moment Greg Monroe secured the rebound, Zhou Yi accelerated toward the Lakers’ half of the court. Without the ball, Zhou Yi displayed astonishing speed, rushing into the opponent’s half in just a few steps, while Greg Monroe’s long pass arrived just in time.
With a smooth layup, Zhou Yi sent the ball into the basket.
Steve Blake’s three-point shot bounced high off the backboard. Ron Artest suddenly rushed toward the basket from the middle, leaped high, grabbed the offensive rebound, and then scored another 2 points with a hook shot.