Chapter 10
At the start of the fourth quarter, Villanueva once again captured the fans’ attention. After stealing Sinrich’s pass, Villanueva dribbled swiftly toward the front court and scored with a dunk using both hands after reaching near the opponent’s basket. The fans applauded for Villanueva; although the cheers weren’t as intense as those for Zhou Yi before, Villanueva was still very excited, his face filled with a smile.
Buck is a physical interior player who likes to end attacks with dunks and is also a strong rebounder. However, his weaknesses are equally obvious: his offensive options are limited, and he lacks height. After receiving Sinrich’s pass, Buck dribbled in the low post, then spun around to complete a dunk.
Bynum drove with the ball, but the referee blew the whistle. The referee made a gesture, indicating that Bynum had violated the rules by twisting his wrist. Bynum reluctantly handed the ball to the referee, shrugged helplessly, and then looked at Zhou Yi sitting on the bench. Zhou Yi also shrugged, giving him a helpless look.
Sinrich’s playmaking skills are still commendable. He drove past defenders and passed to Hudson, who hesitated for a moment before shooting a jump shot that went in.
Bynum responded with a 2-point jump shot from the baseline, then stole Sinrich’s ball and passed it to Hamilton, who scored with a layup.
From beyond the three-point line, Nick Young received a pass from Sinrich. Facing Hamilton’s defense, he used a fake move to force a foul from Hamilton, earning Nick Young three free throws.
He missed the first free throw. Nick Young took a deep breath and then made the remaining two. After halftime, Bynum passed the ball to Stakki, who rushed into the Wizards’ interior, dodged Buck’s block, and scored with a layup.
At 8:52 remaining in the game, an official timeout was called.
When the timeout ended, play resumed. The Wizards had the ball. Hudson inbounded from the baseline, and Sinrich took over the offense.
Sinrich passed the ball to Nick Young, who drove sideways before passing it back to Sinrich, who easily shot a float shot for 2 points.
Stakki wasn’t to be outdone. After receiving a pass from Bynum, he moved into the Wizards’ interior and scored a jump shot despite losing his balance.
The teams traded blows, and another 3 minutes passed. With 5:11 left in the game, both teams made lineup changes, and these adjustments would prove crucial in determining the winner.
Pistons: Zhou Yi, McGrady, Hamilton, Prince, and Monroe; Wizards: Wall, Nick Young, McGee, Yi Jianlian, and Martin.
Zhou Yi orchestrated the Pistons’ offense, while the Wizards employed a full-court press, as they were currently 10 points behind their opponent. Despite Wall constantly trying to steal the ball, Zhou Yi steadily drove it forward. After passing to McGrady, he quickly moved to an open spot. Though McGrady’s skills weren’t what they used to be, his reputation remained strong. As a result, when McGrady broke through, his opponents instinctively tried to double-team him. His sleepy eyes vanished, replaced by a sharp gaze. After luring the defenders in, McGrady quickly passed to Zhou Yi, who caught the ball and immediately took a jump shot—making it. Zhou Yi’s catch-and-shot ability had improved significantly, and Kuster nodded in satisfaction from the coaching bench.
Wall was indeed among the best rookies this year—he first dodged Zhou Yi’s defense before hitting a jump shot. Then, he stole the ball from Zhou Yi and passed it to a teammate, who scored a layup.
Zhou Yi wasn’t going to let Wall dominate. With Wall’s speed clearly reduced, Zhou Yi sneered inwardly and drove fast with the ball. By now, Wall could no longer keep up with Zhou Yi’s pace. From the start of the game, Zhou Yi had planned to save his energy for a final burst. His plan worked—Wall relied heavily on speed, and once he couldn’t keep up, his efficiency dropped greatly.
After easily shaking off Wall’s defense, Zhou Yi drove past the free-throw line and took a jump shot. The ball rotated several times around the rim before falling through.
Wall was breathing heavily, his chest heaving. Wiping the sweat from his face, he glared coldly at Zhou Yi, a fierce expression flashing across his face.
“That Chinese kid is really clever—he already found a way to deal with Wall,” said Sanders from the sidelines, giving Zhou Yi a deep look before turning to Wall, who was still gasping for breath.
Kuster also realized this and inwardly marveled at Zhou Yi’s basketball intelligence, which far exceeded that of ordinary players. Unnoticed, the Pistons had taken a 15-point lead over the Wizards, with only 3 minutes and 5 seconds left in the game.
Walton passed the ball to Yi Jianlian, who was in an open position. After receiving the ball, Yi Jianlian shot immediately, but the shot missed. However, McGee grabbed the offensive rebound and passed it to Yi Jianlian again beyond the three-point line. After catching the ball, Yi Jianlian adjusted slightly before taking a jump shot. The ball spun rapidly and, with a swish, went through the net, even causing the backboard to rattle.
Madison drove to the basket and passed to Monroe, who tried to drive past McGee for a layup but was blocked by Yi Jianlian, who was helping out defensively. Yi Jianlian secured the defensive rebound and then passed it to Walton. Walton drove quickly and passed the ball to Nick Young beyond the three-point line. Young took an immediate three-point shot that actually scored.
Kuster suddenly stepped out from the coaching bench, called a timeout to discuss the final tactics. He didn’t emphasize anything specific but reminded the players to pay attention to helping defense.
When play resumed, the Pistons’ lineup remained unchanged, while the Wizards made a slight adjustment, replacing Martin with Sinrich.