Chapter 219

In the first 5.5 minutes of the fourth quarter, both teams were playing with substitutes. Although it was substitutes on the court, the Magic had a slight advantage. Brandon Bass kept attacking the Pistons’ paint, causing trouble for their interior players. In those short 5.5 minutes, Bass made 5 out of 6 shots, scoring 10 points, while his opponent, Taylor Hansbrough, scored only 2 points. If not for James Posey and Austin Daye hitting three three-pointers together from beyond the arc, the Magic would have narrowed the gap even further. Still, the Magic managed to reduce the deficit somewhat. By the time Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy called a timeout, after 5.5 minutes of the fourth quarter, the score stood at 107–94, with the Magic cutting the lead to 13 points. After the timeout, both teams switched to their starting lineups. Although the Pistons still led by 13 points, they weren’t arrogant enough to keep using substitutes. … Jamal Nelson wanted to shoot a three to further narrow the gap, but he was afraid it wouldn’t go in, so he opted for a safer play by driving to the basket for a layup. The Pistons’ lead was now only 12 points! McGrady took on his cousin Jason Richardson one-on-one and attempted a beautiful backspin jump shot, but it missed. Dwight Howard was trapped behind Ben Gordon and couldn’t compete for the rebound. Zhou Yi grabbed another offensive rebound and passed it to Samuel Dalembert. It seemed this offensive play should have been easy to complete, but Samuel Dalembert’s layup also missed—what a frustrating situation. Howard finally pushed past Ben Gordon and secured a defensive rebound, handing it to Jamal Nelson. Jamal Nelson had the ball and initially wanted to take care of it himself, but seeing Zhou Yi sticking close to him, he decided to give up on the opportunity, as he was well aware of Zhou Yi’s defense. With a quick pass, the ball went straight to Jason Richardson, who was lurking in the corner. After catching the ball, Jason Richardson didn’t hesitate and immediately shot a three-pointer. He was still half a step away from the three-point line, and although McGrady had already tried to defend him, he was still a step slow. The ball was shot high but accurately, landing firmly inside the rim and bouncing in.

The Pistons’ Greg Monroe replaced Samuel Dalembert, while Taylor Hansbrough took over from Darvin Ham; the Magic’s Brandon Bass substituted for Ryan Anderson.
Zhou Yi passed the ball directly to Greg Monroe. As soon as Monroe caught it, Brandon Bass closed in immediately. This was a critical moment—defending this play well could boost the Magic’s chances of turning the game around.
But Greg Monroe didn’t give Brandon Bass that chance. After catching the ball, instead of attacking as Brandon Bass expected, he passed it right away to Andre Iguodala, who then drove along the baseline and passed the ball to Zhou Yi just outside the three-point line.
Zhou Yi used two fake moves to distract Jamal Nelson, then stepped to the other side for a three-point shot. The ball hit the inside of the rim and bounced in.
12 points—the score gap was back to double digits!
John Kuester sighed in relief and sat down on the coaching bench.
……
With only 1 minute and 11 seconds left in the game, the score gap had widened to 15 points. At that point, Stan Van Gundy knew it was almost impossible to turn things around. Even if there was a theoretical chance, the Magic’s morale was completely broken—it had collapsed the moment Dwight Howard was blocked by Zhou Yi.
In the end, the Pistons defeated the Orlando Magic 117–107.
When the game ended, the entire arena erupted in cheers—cheers directed at every member of the Pistons team.
Chapter 469: Eastern Conference Semifinals (Part 2)
The first game of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Pistons and Magic ended with a Pistons victory. While Pistons fans thought they would sweep the Magic 4–0, just like they did against the Knicks, they lost the next game 97–109.
A key reason for the Pistons’ loss was their failure to contain “The Beast” Howard. In that game, Howard scored 41 points, grabbed 17 rebounds, and added 5 blocks.
After thoroughly reflecting on their mistakes, the Pistons traveled to Orlando two days later, determined to win two consecutive games on home court.

With their game plan against Howard established before the match, the Pistons successfully contained his performance. Although they gave him 30 free-throw attempts throughout the game, Howard only converted 12 of them. In the end, the Pistons defeated the Magic 91:82.

Howard scored only 21 points in this game, while his opponent, Greg Monroe, scored 29 points and was the key to the Pistons’ victory.

Zhou Yi had an average performance, scoring 18 points and providing 11 assists.

However, in the fourth game, the Pistons lost 81:88. Both teams played poorly throughout the game, with abnormally low shooting percentages. The Pistons’ shooting percentage was 36.2%, while the Magic’s was 38.8%.

Back at home, the Pistons made timely adjustments and, thanks to the outstanding performances of Zhou Yi and Tracy McGrady, narrowly defeated the Magic 96:94.

At this point, they led 3:2 in the series. If they could win one more game at the Magic’s home court, they would advance to the Eastern Conference Finals once again.

Amway Center in Orlando was buzzing with noise. As the Pistons’ players entered the court, the home crowd booed loudly. But Zhou Yi didn’t mind it—compared to the boos directed at other teams at Auburn Hills Palace, these were nothing.

Waving at his teammates as he entered the court, Zhou Yi was surprised to find the arena already packed to capacity. The huge stadium was filled with people, even though there was still some time before the game started. It seemed the Orlando fans were truly enthusiastic!

“A semifinal is just a semifinal—I didn’t expect it to be so exciting.”

…

With only 23.1 seconds left in the first half, the Pistons had to use up every second of it. Zhou Yi slowly controlled the ball across half-court, then adjusted his pace to waste time. When 8 seconds remained, he passed the ball to Greg Monroe in the paint with a quick ground pass.

Brandon Bass was guarding Greg Monroe. Feeling Brandon Bass pressing against him from behind, Greg Monroe leaned back, lifted his hips to create space, and immediately turned to take a jump shot. Although the shot wasn’t disturbed, Greg Monroe’s form wasn’t good, and the ball missed.

But time wasn’t up yet. Greg Monroe made a desperate jump and gently pushed the ball into the basket with his hand. It was then that the whistle marking the end of the first half sounded.
At the end of the first half, thanks to Monroe’s last-second layup, the Pistons took a 59–53 lead into the second half.
Zhou Yi played 15 minutes in the first half, hitting 4 out of 8 shots for 11 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks—a performance that earned him the title of best player in the first half.
Madison hit 3 out of 7 shots for 9 points, 2 rebounds, and 4 assists; Greg Monroe scored 8 points with 6 rebounds.
On the Magic’s side, Dwight Howard hit 7 out of 9 shots for 16 points and 10 rebounds, achieving a double-double in the first half, showcasing his absolute dominance in the paint. Jason Richardson scored 10 points with 3 assists; Brandon Bass also scored 10 points. Jamal Nelson, paired up with Zhou Yi, hit 2 out of 8 shots for 5 points and 3 assists in the first half.
In the first half, the Pistons sacrificed a lot of energy to close the gap caused by Howard in the paint, especially their outside players.
At this point, they naturally needed to rest properly in the locker room.
When the second half began, since Zhou Yi was shifted to shooting guard, he was paired up with Jason Richardson.
Zhou Yi stayed close to Jason Richardson, who casually held the ball at his waist. Taking advantage of his distraction, Zhou Yi reached out and stole the ball.
Before Jason Richardson could react, he felt the ball go light in his hands along with a sharp pain. Without looking, he knew he had been stolen by Zhou Yi.
Zhou Yi picked up the ball and launched a fast break, forcing Jason Richardson to chase after him, but it was too late—Zhou Yi easily scored by layup.
…
Meanwhile, the Pistons continued to perform steadily, taking a 6-point lead by the end of the third quarter.