Chapter 104

With 41 seconds left in the third quarter, Zhou Yi accelerated the pace, aiming to secure another scoring opportunity after this attack ended. Zhou Yi skillfully dribbled past defenders, using his exceptional explosive power to squeeze past Steve Nash, while quickly passing the ball to Andre Iguodala at the baseline. Iguodala easily scored from that spot—he rarely missed shots like that. With 32 seconds left in the third quarter, it was the Suns’ turn to attack. Steve Nash drove to the basket, taking advantage of Goran Dragic’s screen to shoot from mid-range. Unfortunately, the shot was short, hitting the front of the rim and bouncing back, with Zhou Yi grabbing the rebound. Zhou Yi protected the ball and slowly moved toward the Suns’ half. With 22 seconds left, he was determined to make the most of those final seconds. As time passed, sweat beaded on Zhou Yi’s forehead, but he paid it no mind. At that moment, Steve Nash stood ready in front of him, determined to stop the final shot. Suddenly, Zhou Yi moved—since only 10 seconds remained in the third quarter. He drove to the basket and passed backward to McGrady. After catching the ball at the baseline, McGrady used a feint to deceive Vince Carter and then drove toward the basket. Robin Lopez immediately chased after him. At that moment, the Pistons’ Spencer Hawes was left open. McGrady flipped his hand, and the ball ended up in Hawes’ hands. He shouted loudly and slammed the ball hard into the basket with both hands. The basket shook as Hawes held onto it. The entire crowd was stunned by his dunk—the Pistons’ final attack was perfect, clever, and flawlessly executed. With Spencer Hawes’ successful dunk, the third quarter came to an end. The home crowd erupted in cheers, clearly in support of their home team, the Pistons. At the end of the quarter, the Pistons led the Suns 106–92 by 14 points, heading into the fourth and final quarter of the game.

Soon, the fourth quarter began. At the start of the fourth quarter, both teams sent in their bench players. The Pistons switched to their bench because they were ahead and their starters needed rest, while the Suns had no choice but to do the same as their starters were severely exhausted. If they had kept their starters playing, they would have lost this game, and their starters’ stamina might not have recovered for the next game either. Therefore, for overall consideration, Ervin Gantley had no choice but to switch to the bench.