Chapter 45

At the end of the third quarter, the score was 77:74, with the Pistons still holding a 3-point lead.
“Guys, the fourth quarter is the most crucial. Although you all performed very well in the first three quarters, it’s the fourth quarter that truly decides the outcome. So I hope everyone will give it their all in the fourth quarter and play just as well as they did in the previous ones. I believe in you all; I believe we can win,” said John Kuester, his eyes shining with excitement as he looked at his players.
The Pistons nodded, gathering together to encourage one another.
“Ding,” the whistle blew, and the final quarter began.
The Pistons took the first shot, with Zhou Yi holding the ball. From the very first second of the game, Mario Chalmers stuck closely to Zhou Yi, who now felt a different kind of pressure compared to the previous quarters.
After half a minute, Zhou Yi passed the ball to McGrady, who was positioned low on the court. Immediately afterward, Zhou Yi moved to the other side to set a screen for Teyon Prince. Teyon Prince quickly moved sideways, breaking free from LeBron James’s defense. By the time he reached the middle, McGrady’s pass arrived. Teyon Prince attempted a three-step layup, but despite breaking free from LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, who had moved over with McGrady, caught up just in time and swatted the ball out of Teyon Prince’s hands.
The ball went out of bounds, and the Pistons continued their attack.
“Good job, Dwyane,” said LeBron James, walking over to Dwyane Wade and patting his shoulder.
Dwyane Wade patted LeBron James back before smiling and going back to defend.
Teyon Prince inbounded the ball at the baseline. After catching it, Zhou Yi immediately passed it to McGrady for a one-on-one situation. With only 24 seconds left, McGrady didn’t hesitate at all. He took a step back and launched a fadeaway jump shot. Although Dwyane Wade tried his best to block it, McGrady’s attack was too decisive and swift, so the shot went through without interference.
“Yesss,” McGrady swung his arm, bumped into Zhou Yi, who was rushing over, then stepped back to defend.
Dwyane Wade steadily drove the ball across half-court. After Chris Bosh got into position, he passed the ball decisively to Chris Bosh to take the shot. However, just as Chris Bosh caught the ball, McGrady suddenly came over to double-team him, tightly blocking Chris Bosh’s passing routes and line of sight.

But Chris Bosh was still one of the Big Three, not someone incompetent. He used his height to accurately pass the ball to Dwyane Wade, who was already open. However, the Pistons’ defense switched quickly, with Zhou Yi immediately pouncing on Wade. Seeing no chance of scoring, Wade quickly passed the ball to Mario Chalmers, who was unguarded on the other side. Mario Chalmers glanced around quickly to ensure no one was guarding him, then jumped and threw the ball. With a swish, the ball went through the net. “Well done,” LeBron James said, pleased to see Mario Chalmers succeed in that attack and going over to praise him. Hearing praise from one of the team leaders, LeBron James, Mario Chalmers was overjoyed and began to get complacent. Zhou Yi gloomily took the ball at the baseline from Greg Monroe, glanced at Mario Chalmers, who had returned to the Heat’s half-court, and drove toward their half-court. McGrady received the ball at the top of the key; after catching it from Zhou Yi, he stepped forward with his right leg before pulling back swiftly. Dwyane Wade rushed over immediately but didn’t dive, as it might have been McGrady’s feint. Sure enough, McGrady didn’t shoot but passed the ball to Greg Monroe, who was cutting toward the basket from the left wing. After catching the ball, Greg Monroe slapped it down with both hands, took a big step forward, and prepared to dunk. But as soon as he jumped, a black hand pulled him down. Greg Monroe looked up and saw it was Chris Bosh again. It turned out that after spotting Greg Monroe open, Chris Bosh quickly chased over to defend him, but unfortunately, it was too late—Greg Monroe was already ready to dunk, so Chris Bosh had no choice but to pull him down. “Weakling king, is that all you can do? Is that your skill?” Greg Monroe taunted Chris Bosh. “TMD, what did you say?” Chris Bosh snapped, rushing at Greg Monroe angrily, ready to beat him up. The previous incidents had already angered Chris Bosh, but he was still a top-tier star with good mental strength. He couldn’t believe this rookie kept humiliating him, which left him utterly frustrated.

Chris Bosh immediately pushed Greg Monroe, almost knocking him to the ground. Just as Greg Monroe was about to retaliate, Zhou Yi rushed over and grabbed him.
“Greg, calm down. We’ve already gotten one technical foul. If there’s another fight, we’ll both get ejected. Bosh’s actions just now will definitely result in a technical foul from the referee. Stay calm—it’ll work in our favor,” Zhou Yi whispered in Greg Monroe’s ear.
After hearing Zhou Yi’s analysis, Greg Monroe calmed down right away. Yes, Bosh would definitely be ejected. Haha, if he was gone, the Pistons’ chances of winning would be even greater.
With that in mind, Greg Monroe stopped thinking about fighting back but still pretended to be angry, staring furiously at Bosh.
The referees quickly noticed the sudden altercation, and as Zhou Yi tried to pull Greg Monroe away, they rushed to the scene and brought both sides under control.
Next, the referees watched the footage of the earlier fight and found that Bosh had started it.
So, things became simple.
Bosh received another technical foul and was ejected as a result. Zhu Wan Howard, nicknamed “Uncle Huo,” took his place.
“Softie King, still think you’re so tough?” Greg Monroe thought to himself with a smirk.
The Pistons, on the other hand, didn’t face any penalties.
Bosh refused to accept it and explained to the referees that Greg Monroe had insulted him first. But the referees didn’t listen to his side of the story because he and the other referee hadn’t heard Greg Monroe insult Bosh. Instead, they saw from the footage that Bosh had angrily pushed Greg Monroe.
The game continued, with the Pistons ready to take free throws.
Chapter 190:LeBron James and Dwyane Wade explode，The Pistons are in crisis.
The Pistons started with Greg Monroe taking free throws, hitting both. Then Zhou Yi took a technical foul free throw, also making it. With that, the Pistons led by 6 points, with the score at 82:76.
But just as the Pistons were celebrating their 6-point lead and the ejection of Bosh, their key player, the situation on the court suddenly changed. In the following moments, the Pistons found themselves in deep trouble.

After a timeout, Heat head coach Eric Spoelstra insisted that his best defensive player, Dwyane Wade, stay glued to Zhou Yi to disrupt his playmaking and prevent the Pistons from executing smooth attacks. Without Zhou Yi’s coordination, the Detroit team became panicked. They were accustomed to relying on his playmaking, so without it, their offense gradually fell into crisis. Fortunately, there was still a player like Tracy McGrady who could initiate the team’s attacks, and under his leadership, the Pistons managed to keep attacking. Watching the Heat gradually close the score gap, John Kuester shook his head and decisively replaced Zhou Yi with Will Bynum. LeBron James drove with the ball, while Dwyane Wade quickly moved to the baseline, shedding defenders to find an open spot. LeBron James, who was driving on the other side, passed quickly, and Dwyane Wade caught the ball in an open position and hit a jump shot. Seeing this series of coordinated moves, John Kuester shook his head again. On the Pistons’ side, McGrady forced his way through defense and passed to Ben Wallace at the basket. Ben Wallace’s reverse layup missed, and LeBron James secured the defensive rebound. LeBron James held the ball at the top of the key and signaled to Big Z, who quickly rushed over to take the ball. At that moment, LeBron James quickly cut to the basket without the ball, and Big Z passed it to him, who then executed a one-handed dunk. Watching LeBron James and Dwyane Wade score continuously and narrow the deficit to just 1 point, Pistons head coach John Kuester had no choice but to call a timeout. “I have to say, the Miami team is really strong, especially LeBron and Dwyane. We’ve barely been able to contain their offense. You still need to be careful guarding LeBron—he’s the brain behind the Heat’s attacks. Be vigilant against their cuts without the ball. Don’t rely too much on Zhou’s playmaking, Tracy. After Zhou leaves the court, you’ll be in charge of the team’s offense, understand?” John Kuester said carefully to his players. “Understood,” replied McGrady and the others. But reality wasn’t as simple as John Kuester had described. The Heat’s offense remained as smooth as ever. Even though Tychon Prince did his best to stick to LeBron James, he couldn’t stop their attacks.

In the blink of an eye, the Heat took the lead back. With 6 minutes and 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the score stood at 90:97, with the Pistons trailing by 7 points.

The Pistons launched an attack, and Will Bynum drove hard to the paint, resulting in a foul on Mario Chalmers. At that moment, the Heat’s coach called a timeout.

Looking at his players, drenched in sweat, John Kuester frowned slightly, glanced at the stats in his hands, and said, “We’re in trouble, guys. There are less than 6 minutes left in the game, and we’re still 7 points behind. This score might not mean much to other teams, but for a team like the Heat, it’s enough for them to maintain their lead until the end and send us home defeated. So in these last few minutes, we must make changes. Since we can’t strengthen our defense, we need to boost our offense.”

John Kuester took the water bottle from his assistant coach, took a sip, and continued, “For the rest of the game, Zhou will replace Tracy so he can rest. Zhou and Will will form the backcourt duo, which will help us speed things up and make our offense easier. Samuel will replace Ben to add height and offensive power in the paint. Teyshawn, stay on the court—you might not get a single second of rest. Your defense and offense will both help the team. Taylor, you’ll replace Greg. You have more experience than him, so I expect great performance from you. Zhou, get moving and revitalize our offense.” John Kuester carefully outlined the tactics for the rest of the game.

“I understand,” Zhou Yi nodded and replied seriously.

“Good, guys, get ready to play,” John Kuester said with a smile as he glanced at his players.

The game continued. Will Bynum took to the free-throw line. Amidst the boos from the crowd, his first attempt missed, and he adjusted before making his second.

LeBron James orchestrated the offense, with Teyshawn Prince standing in front of him to guard him closely. Seeing Dwyane Wade being held back by Zhou Yi and Big Z being tightly covered by Samuel Dalembert with few opportunities, LeBron immediately signaled to Big Z.

Seeing the gesture, Big Z immediately moved toward the ball. His defender, Samuel Dalembert, quickly cut off LeBron James’s passing route. Noticing Dalembert’s defense, Big Z quickly changed direction and moved toward the basket. LeBron James then passed the ball to Big Z, who was running back toward the basket. Big Z caught the ball and drove to the basket, scoring a point. It was so easy. Watching the Heat players’ relaxed expressions, the Pistons were furious but could do nothing. LeBron James and Big Z had excellent chemistry—true partners after eight years together. Zhou Yi took a deep breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and took the basketball from Tyler Hansbrough’s hands. This was a critical game, so the Heat started pressing hard all over the court. Mario Chalmers closely guarded Zhou Yi as he moved from the Pistons’ half to the Heat’s half. Although he tried to disrupt him, he failed to steal the ball. Once in the Heat’s half, Zhou Yi suddenly sped up, leaving Chalmers behind and charging straight toward the basket. Dwyane Wade had to defend Will Bynum to cover Zhou Yi. Seeing this, Zhou Yi passed the ball to Will Bynum, who was open beyond the three-point line. Bynum adjusted slightly and shot a three-pointer. “Swish”—the ball went in. Smooth, coordinated, and efficient—this was Zhou Yi and Bynum’s teamwork just now. John Kuester watched satisfiedly, nodding repeatedly. On the other hand, Eric Spolsky frowned at the game on the court. The Heat were attacking, with Dwyane Wade in control of the ball. Wade tried to force his way past Zhou Yi and shoot a three-pointer from beyond the line, but missed. Big Z grabbed the offensive rebound. He immediately passed the ball to LeBron James on the perimeter. After catching the ball, LeBron raised it high, aiming to shoot another three-pointer. But Tashaun Prince wouldn’t give him that chance. Seeing LeBron about to shoot, he immediately jumped and rushed at him. However, Prince was deceived. LeBron shifted his body slightly, and when Prince lunged at him, he jumped and shot the ball. “Swish”—it also went through the net. 94:102, the Pistons were still 8 points behind.

The Pistons called another timeout, with only 3 minutes and 52 seconds left in the game. Trouble—the Pistons were really in trouble!
Chapter 191: A Desperate Counterattack
“These last 3 minutes and 52 seconds are crucial for us. I hope we can launch a desperate counterattack in this final period; I believe we can win. Do you believe it?” said John Kuester.
“We do.”
John Kuester nodded and made arrangements for the final 3 minutes and 52 seconds of the game.
After the timeout, the Pistons made another lineup change—Madison replaced Will Bynum, and Greg Monroe replaced Taylor Hansbrough.
The Heat also made adjustments—Carlos Arroyo replaced Mario Chalmers, and Joel Anthony replaced D-Wade.
The game resumed with the Pistons attacking. Greg Monroe passed the ball directly to Zhou Yi, who drove forward. Boos rang out as he received the ball, but Zhou Yi remained unfazed, ignoring them.
After crossing the midcourt line, Carlos Arroyo immediately followed, blocking Zhou Yi’s path to prevent a direct breakthrough. Zhou Yi kept dribbling forward step by step, while his teammates kept moving around, hoping to create an opening. Finally, Greg Monroe broke through, and as soon as he did, Zhou Yi passed the ball to him.
Without giving Jwan Howard time to react, Greg Monroe jumped and shot—the ball went straight through the net!
“Yay!” The ball went in, and Greg Monroe was overjoyed, waving his arms excitedly.
Having been held back by Chris Bosh for so long, he could finally explode—this feeling was truly satisfying for Greg Monroe.
“As long as you position yourself well, I’ll definitely pass the ball to you!” Zhou Yi said, looking at Greg Monroe.
Jwan Howard sent a baseline pass, which Carlos Arroyo caught.
But just as Carlos Arroyo caught the ball, a gust of wind swept past him. When he looked down, the ball was gone.
When he looked up again, Zhou Yi was already at the basket again, scoring with a dunk.
“Wow…” The crowd was in shock, though there were also cheers.
LeBron James glared at Carlos Arroyo, who had made the mistake, then snorted.

The Pistons scored on two consecutive attacks, changing the score to 98:102, narrowing the deficit to just 4 points. These two attacks took less than 20 seconds, with 3 minutes and 35 seconds left, so the Pistons still had a good chance of winning.

Zuan Howard served the ball from the baseline again, and this time it was LeBron James who caught it. LeBron James looked at Zhou Yi and slowly dribbled across half-court. After crossing half-court, Zhou Yi switched defenses with Teyshawn Prince, who then guarded LeBron James. LeBron James drove with the ball and then took a quick stop to shoot, hitting the shot.

Teyshawn Prince shook his head in frustration; he had done his best but still couldn’t stop him. “It’s okay, just did your best,” Maddie said, patting Teyshawn Prince on the shoulder.

Maddie dribbled across half-court, but Dwyane Wade wasn’t guarding from half-court—he stood at the three-point line, waiting for Maddie. “If you can shoot from that distance, then I’ll just accept it!” Dwyane Wade thought.

Maddie didn’t go for a solo drive but instead passed the ball to Zhou Yi after breaking through. With Greg Monroe providing coverage, Zhou Yi found an open spot. At that moment, Maddie passed the ball to him. Zhou Yi jumped right up and shot, and the ball somehow went in. Although it wasn’t a smooth shot, it was still a good shot.

100:104—still 4 points behind!

Dwyane Wade dribbled four times in a row outside the three-point line before suddenly shooting the ball. With a “clang,” the miss echoed across the AMC Arena. Greg Monroe used his strong physique to push aside several big players and secure the rebound.

Zhou Yi drove with the ball, heading straight toward the right side of Carlos Arroyo. Although Carlos Arroyo did his best, he didn’t expect the opponent to break through so quickly. In just one play, he was left behind.

Fortunately, Carlos Arroyo was still sharp enough to see Dwyane Wade moving to help defend Zhou Yi, so he quickly went to assist Dwyane Wade in guarding Maddie. As expected, Zhou Yi, realizing he had no chance to score, passed the ball to Maddie. Thankfully, he had the foresight to come help guard Maddie; otherwise, Maddie would have had another open shot and easily scored again.

But Maddie’s physical strength and experience meant it wasn’t easy to defend him.

Madison’s continuous crossover moves and feints gradually confused Carlos Arroyo. Then, Madison jumped and shot over Arroyo’s head.
Fortunately for Arroyo, Madison’s jump shot missed. However, the Pistons secured the offensive rebound.
Samuel Dalembert scored a putback.
102:104, a 2-point deficit—just 2 points behind. Heat head coach Eric Spoelstra could no longer sit still and called a timeout.
After the timeout, the Pistons’ Tychon Prince was replaced by James Posey, the Heat’s Joel Anthony was replaced by Dwyane Wade, and Carlos Arroyo was replaced by Mike Miller.
The Heat’s lineup change was somewhat unfair, as they assigned LeBron James to the point guard role, putting Zhou Yi directly against him, which gave Zhou Yi no advantage.
But the Pistons had no choice but to keep playing.
LeBron James used Zhou Yi to break inside. Zhou Yi wasn’t strong enough to match LeBron, so he easily pushed past Zhou Yi to the basket and scored with a layup.
102:106—the gap was back to 4 points!
Zhou Yi was frustrated, as were the entire Pistons team.
“Zhou, I can also play point guard. I’ll defend LeBron; I’ll leave Dwyane to you,” Madison said, patting Zhou Yi’s shoulder.
“Hmm, it’s the only option,” Zhou Yi replied.
Next, Madison faced LeBron James, while Zhou Yi faced Dwyane Wade.
Zhou Yi organized the offense, but it was LeBron James defending him. Zhou Yi accelerated and tried to break past LeBron.
Despite being very strong, LeBron wasn’t slow at all. Though not as fast as Zhou Yi, he could still keep up.
Suddenly, LeBron reached for the ball when Zhou Yi wasn’t looking. The ball was taken, but it went out of bounds—LeBron’s effort was in vain.
The Pistons continued their offense. Zhou Yi drove with the ball, organizing the play. Just as LeBron happily chased after Zhou Yi, he suddenly collided with a solid figure. Looking up, it was Greg Monroe. Glancing around, Zhou Yi had already run away.
LeBron quickly shook off Greg Monroe and rushed after Zhou Yi.

When Greg Monroe came up to set a pick-and-roll for Zhou Yi, he also drew Jwan Howard into it. As soon as the pick-and-roll was completed, Greg Monroe quickly rushed back to the basket—this was a tactic he and Zhou Yi often used together. Sure enough, just as he reached the basket, Zhou Yi’s pass arrived. Although Jwan Howard realized Greg Monroe’s trick and tried his best to defend, his age meant he couldn’t keep up in speed. So, he could only watch helplessly as Greg Monroe executed this offensive move. After catching the ball, Greg Monroe leaped high and completed a dunk. “Nice!” Cheers erupted from the Pistons’ bench, with Will Bynum being the most enthusiastic. The Pistons narrowed the score gap to 2 points again, with only 2 minutes and 40 seconds left in the game. Chapter 192: Intense Stalemate The final 2 minutes and 40 seconds—true battle time. LeBron James drove with the ball and then passed it to Big Z in the paint. Big Z attempted a hook shot using Samuel Dalembert as a screen, but missed. Jwan Howard grabbed the offensive rebound and passed the ball back to LeBron James. LeBron James slowly adjusted his rhythm, dribbling while observing the game situation. When 10 seconds remained out of the 24-second clock, he suddenly spun around. McGrady didn’t have time to react before seeing LeBron James backspin and shoot. Fortunately for McGrady, LeBron’s form was off that day, and the ball hit straight on the back of the rim. “Good thing it didn’t go in,” McGrady said, relieved after seeing the shot miss and Zhou Yi grab the rebound. “Hmph, you won’t be so lucky next time!” LeBron James snarled at McGrady before quickly returning to defend his own half. Zhou Yi rushed forward like an arrow released from a bow. Although James Posey was older, his awareness and experience were excellent. The moment he saw Zhou Yi grab the rebound, he rushed full speed toward the Heat’s half. By the time Zhou Yi reached the front court, he was already lurking outside the three-point line in the opposing corner. “James,” Zhou Yi called out, then passed the ball accurately to James Posey. At that moment, James Posey was completely open, with Jwan Howard, the closest defender, too slow to block his shot. James Posey took a deep breath, adjusted his rhythm, and shot from three points.

Although this shot didn’t determine the outcome, almost everyone held their breath and watched it intently. “Bang bang bang bang,” the basketball bounced back and forth against the rim before finally falling down in defeat. Three-point shot made! “Wow, wow… It’s amazing, absolutely amazing…” Will Bynum started dancing, drawing laughter from his teammates. The entire arena was in uproar!!! The Pistons took a 1-point lead, with the score now 107:106! Neither team called a timeout, and the game continued. LeBron James was once again orchestrating the Heat’s offense. After half-court, he began driving to the basket. Under Maddie’s close defense, he didn’t dare attack recklessly, so he passed the ball to Dwyane Wade and started moving around. Dwyane Wade gave it his all; using his strong physique and top-tier explosive power, he finally broke free from Zhou Yi’s clingy defense and scored a jump shot after breaking through. The fans cheered in awe at Dwyane Wade’s performance. After scoring 2 points, Dwyane Wade’s chest heaved heavily, and he gasped for breath—clearly such aggressive attacks drained too much of his energy and couldn’t be repeated. Zhou Yi organized the offense, weaving through the crowd in search of the best opportunity to score. The Pistons’ players also actively moved around, trying to deliver a fatal blow to the Heat. “James, get the ball.” Zhou Yi’s eyes lit up as he quickly passed the ball to James Posey, who had once again found an open spot. However, this time Posey didn’t have much of a chance, as Mike Miller was already close by. Even if he shot right after catching the ball, he would definitely be disturbed by Miller. But an experienced player is still an experienced player—especially one with championship experience who can deliver a fatal blow at critical moments. After catching the ball, Posey, as before, glanced at the basket, adjusted his rhythm, and prepared to shoot a three-pointer. Just as he raised the ball above his head and tilted his upper body upward, Mike Miller rushed at him. “Heh, that’s exactly what I was waiting for you to do,” Posey sneered. “Mike, you’ve fallen for it,” Dwyane Wade said immediately upon seeing that Posey wasn’t jumping, realizing it was a feint. Since Posey had once been his teammate, he knew his playing style well, which is why he shouted at Mike Miller.

But reality is always cruel. When Mike Miller leaped to contest, James Posey quickly darted to the other side, made a slight adjustment, and shot a three-pointer. True heartiness—absolute heartiness—because James Posey’s three-pointer went in again! Again! The Pistons’ bench erupted in celebration, with players hugging each other, while John Kuester clenched his fists in excitement. If they won this tough game, the Pistons’ morale would surely soar even higher, and their reputation would grow even stronger. 110:108, the Pistons leading by 2 points! With 1 minute and 15 seconds left in the game, just as LeBron James took the inbounds pass from Mike Miller, Heat coach Eric Spoelstra called the team’s second-to-last timeout. After a short 20-second timeout, both teams returned to the court. The Heat’s lineup remained unchanged, but the Pistons made a move that puzzled many—John Kuester substituted James Posey, who had just hit two three-pointers, for Tyshawn Prince. The game resumed with the Heat attacking. After LeBron James broke through to the paint, he passed to D-Wade, but just as D-Wade reached for the ball, a big yellow-skinned hand snatched it away before he could touch it. Another steal—this was Zhou Yi’s fourth steal of the game. After the steal, Zhou Yi took off at full speed. Even LeBron James, who had started faster, could only follow behind him. Zhou Yi rushed to the Heat’s basket and completed the fast break with a reliable layup. 112:108, the Pistons extending their lead to 4 points. At this point, 51 seconds remained in the final quarter, truly the countdown phase. “That’s it, that’s it!” John Kuester jumped up excitedly from the bench, ignoring his image, waving his fists nonstop. Meanwhile, Eric Spoelstra wasn’t in such a mood at all; he had already called a timeout, their last timeout of the game. “Do you want Detroit to take the win from our home court? Do you want that yellow-skinned kid to beat us alone?” Eric Spoelstra asked his players, frowning tightly.

“We absolutely cannot lose, understand?” Eric Spoelstra picked up his tactical board, which didn’t contain any tactics at all—only one sentence. For these players, writing down tactics would instead restrict their performance, which wasn’t what he wanted to see.
20 seconds was a very short time. By the time the Heat took the court, Zhou Yi and the others were already on the field.
With a whistle, the game resumed.
Chapter 193: Last-Minute Victory? Counter-Victory?
Mike Miller sent in a corner shot, and Dwyane Wade caught the ball.
Facing Zhou Yi, Dwyane Wade rushed full speed toward Zhou Yi’s right side as soon as he got the ball. Naturally, Zhou Yi wouldn’t let him pass by as easily as last time; he stayed close to Dwyane Wade, preventing him from scoring easily.
The Heat’s interior players were already weak, and without Chris Bosh, they were even weaker. So, relying on the interior was basically pointless—winning the game still depended on the outside players.
Zhou Yi’s defense worked effectively. Dwyane Wade didn’t dare to charge recklessly, as if Zhou Yi caused an offensive foul at that moment, it would be too costly.
Fortunately, the Heat had more than just him as a main attacker—there was also LeBron James.
Dwyane Wade began looking for LeBron James. Coincidentally, LeBron James had already cut to the basket. Dwyane Wade decisively passed the ball to him with a bounce pass.
After catching the ball, LeBron James immediately dunked for 2 points.
Zhou Yi retrieved the ball at the baseline and rushed straight toward the Heat’s half-court. Along the way, LeBron James kept interfering with Zhou Yi’s dribbling, forcing him to make mistakes. But Zhou Yi had excellent ball-handling skills. Despite being under pressure, he still managed to carry the ball across half-court.
After crossing half-court, Zhou Yi passed the ball to McGrady to organize the attack. McGrady broke through, and Greg Monroe provided a screen for Teyshawn Prince, allowing Teyshawn Prince to easily get into an open spot.
Seeing Teyshawn Prince in an open position, McGrady didn’t hesitate to pass the ball to him.
After catching the ball, Teyshawn Prince shot immediately, but the ball missed despite no one guarding it. What worried the Pistons even more was that LeBron James grabbed the defensive rebound.

With only 29 seconds left until the end of the game, if the Heat could convert this offensive drive into a three-point shot while using up most of the time, their chances of winning would be very high. Even if it wasn’t a three-point shot but just a two-point shot, they still had a chance to go into overtime and win in overtime. At this thought, the home crowd immediately felt hopeful.

The Heat no longer had timeouts, and the Pistons also had only one left, so neither team called a timeout. LeBron James dribbled across half-court, slowly wasting time, seemingly aiming to complete the attack as the 24-second clock neared its end. When 10 seconds remained, LeBron James took action. He suddenly accelerated and charged toward the basket. At this point, LeBron was giving it his all, so despite McGrady doing his best, he couldn’t stop LeBron from reaching the basket.

Greg Monroe and Samuel Dalembert were already prepared to defend both LeBron James and the inside players. But just as everyone thought LeBron was going to attack the basket, he passed the ball. The receiver was Dwyane Wade, who was lurking outside the three-point line—the Heat wanted to use a three-point shot to seal the win against the Pistons.

At that moment, Zhou Yi was right in front of Dwyane Wade, but after catching the ball, Dwyane Wade immediately jumped up to shoot a three-point shot. Zhou Yi rushed at him, but it was still too late. Although he failed to block Dwyane Wade’s shot, he still disrupted him. Due to inertia, Zhou Yi still bumped into Dwyane Wade in mid-air, but it wasn’t a foul. Dwyane Wade lost his direction and balance, then fell to the ground, already preparing to protect himself as he fell!

With a loud thud, Dwyane Wade crashed to the court, while Zhou Yi wasn’t hurt at all. But no one paid attention to that—they were focused on that three-point shot, including Zhou Yi and Dwyane Wade, who was already on the ground. The entire American Airlines Center was eerily quiet, so quiet that people could hear their own breathing. Under everyone’s gaze, that three-point shot floated toward the basket, bounced three times around the rim, and then reluctantly fell through.

The moment the basketball went through the hoop, fans across the arena cheered, Heat players cheered, and even head coach Eric Spoelstra cheered. “MVP, MVP…” The crowd chanted for Dwyane Wade. “Great!” After watching the shot, LeBron James waved his fist before rushing over to Dwyane Wade and helping him up. “Are you okay?” LeBron asked concernfully. “I’m fine, haha,” Dwyane Wade replied with a smile after moving around a bit. “Did we win?” Dwyane Wade asked. “Not yet. There are 7.6 seconds left, we’re only up by one point, and they’ve called a timeout. We need to defend well in these next 7.6 seconds,” LeBron said cautiously. Hearing LeBron’s words, Dwyane Wade nodded. The fans at the arena were wild, their cheers reaching the heavens. Anyway, the victory belonged to the Heat that night—they had already considered Dwyane Wade’s three-pointer as the game-winner. “Guys, Dwyane’s shot wasn’t the game-winner. Game-winner? Ridiculous. We’re going to come back and win. Guys, the Heat’s weakest side is their interior players, and we’ve been doing well from outside before, so they definitely don’t know whether we’ll play from outside or inside. So, let’s catch them off guard. Of course, they’ll probably think we’re more likely to score two points since we’re only up by one. It’s easier to score two points, but we want to create that illusion so they can’t tell whether we’ll score two or three. So…” John Kuster paused for a moment, then turned to Zhou Yi and said, “So, Zhou, in these next 7.6 seconds, you’re crucial. You need to create scoring opportunities for everyone. Of course, if you get a chance, you can go for it yourself. Guys, I want a victory, and I believe everyone wants to win this game too. Let’s go, guys! I believe in you!” The timeout ended quickly, and the game resumed. Teyshawn Prince stood at the sideline to serve, with Mike Miller in front of him, ready to disrupt his serve. Zhou Yi kept moving through the crowd until he found an open space and caught Teyshawn Prince’s serve. “Roar!” Zhou Yi growled, using all his strength to maximize his speed and break through LeBron James.

But LeBron James stuck closely to Zhou Yi, leaving no chance for him. Zhou Yi pulled back sharply and then executed a crossover from LeBron James’s right side. LeBron James was shaken off by Zhou Yi! After getting rid of LeBron James, Zhou Yi headed straight toward the basket, forcing Zwan Howard in the paint to divert his attention to defend him. But Zwan Howard was already tightly held back by Greg Monroe, so by the time Zhou Yi reached the paint, he was essentially unguarded. “Zhou, there’s no time!” John Kuster shouted at Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi naturally heard Kuster’s call and had already calculated the timing; when he reached the paint, he stopped. With a quick stop and jump shot, he released the ball. At that moment, the final buzzer of the game sounded. Everyone held their breath once again, watching this shot more intently than before, as it would determine the outcome of the game. If it went in, the Pistons would win on the road; otherwise, the Heat would claim a home victory. At that instant, time seemed to slow down! The basketball wasn’t far from the basket, but the time it took to fly through the air seemed extremely long. “Swish!” A crisp sound broke the silence in the arena! Did the ball go in?! Chapter 194: Eastern Rookie of the Month Under everyone’s watchful eyes, the ball went in with a “swish,” causing the net to ripple. Everyone stared in shock, their faces filled with disbelief. “We won? We really won?” Some away-team fan shouted, and soon similar exclamations came from various parts of the arena. Greg Monroe swallowed hard, rushed up to Zhou Yi, bumped into him, and laughed loudly, “We won! We really won.” Zhou Yi was also stunned, not noticing Monroe’s bump, and stumbled almost to the ground. “We won?” Zhou Yi said in disbelief. “Yes, we won, haha…” McGrady also gathered around Zhou Yi, patting his shoulder and smiling. Cheers from the away-team fans filled the arena, while the home-team fans sat quietly.

The Pistons’ bench was also in an uproar, cheering wildly, including head coach John Kuester. The bench players rushed onto the court, heading toward Zhou Yi’s location. Zhou Yi was surrounded by his teammates on the ground, their faces filled with joy. The home team players stood there in shock, including LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. It took a while for them to realize they had lost, that they had been blown out by a young man with yellow skin. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade walked expressionlessly toward the player’s tunnel, with the rest of the Heat players following behind, sighing as they headed to the locker room. Disappointed, the fans left their seats and headed for the exits, ready to leave this disappointing place for now. The Pistons won narrowly 114–113 over the Heat. Zhou Yi scored 30 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, provided 11 assists, made 3 steals, and had 2 blocks, hitting 10 out of 17 shots, 2 out of 4 three-pointers, and 8 out of 8 free throws, and was named the game’s best player. McGrady scored 28 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and had 6 assists, hitting 11 out of 21 shots, 2 out of 5 three-pointers, and 4 out of 6 free throws, his performance second only to Zhou Yi. Greg Monroe also had a solid game, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds; TaShawn Prince scored 14 points and 5 rebounds. Another notable Pistons player was James Posey, who scored 17 points by hitting 5 three-pointers. On the Heat side, LeBron James had a near-triple-double with 33 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists; Dwyane Wade scored 27 points and 9 rebounds, but his shooting percentage was low at 9 out of 22 shots. Another star, Chris Bosh, played only the first three quarters, scoring 17 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. After the press conference, the Pistons boarded a private plane, carrying their road victory and joyful spirits as they flew back to Detroit. After the game against the Heat, the Pistons finally got a day off, and the next day they would host the Orlando Magic, led by “The Beast” Dwight Howard. The next day, Detroit Pistons made headlines in various newspapers.

“Detroit United to Quell Heat’s Fire” — The New York Times; “Young Chinese Star Delivers Game-Winner, Ending Miami’s 5-Game Win Streak” — The Washington Post; “Clash of Titans: Pistons Edge Heat in Tight Victory” — NBA News Today; “New Golden Duo Outplays Triple Threat to Secure Away Win” — Numerous other U.S. newspapers covered this game.

TV networks such as CNN and BBC also covered the match, and for a while, the Detroit Pistons became the focus of conversation, especially the new golden duo of Zhou Yi and McGrady.

The entire Pistons team was overjoyed upon seeing these reports. Zhou Yi, upon reading them, simply smiled without commenting.

On December 2nd, local time in the U.S., the NBA announced the winners for Best Player in the East and West, Rookie of the Month, and Coach of the Month for November.

Best Player in the East and West: LeBron James of the Miami Heat and Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks were chosen respectively.

Although the Heat had just assembled their triple threat, LeBron James’ performance in November wasn’t much worse than last season. He averaged 25.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game, with a shooting percentage of 48.4%. Over the past month, he had 20+ points in 11 consecutive games. In the 9 games where he led the team in scoring, the Heat went 8-1. Their overall record for November was 12-6.

Dirk Nowitzki averaged 27.1 points per game last month, with a shooting percentage of 57.6%, ranking second among all players behind Dwight Howard. He also averaged 8.1 rebounds and led his team to a 13-4 record, second in the West behind the defending champions, the Lakers.

Other nominees for Best Player of the Month included: Dwyane Wade of the Heat, Dwight Howard of the Magic, Joe Johnson of the Eagles, Kobe Bryant of the Lakers, Yao Ming of the Rockets, Carmelo Anthony of the Nuggets, Zhou Yi of the Pistons, Tracy McGrady of the Pistons, Blake Griffin of the Clippers, Steve Nash of the Suns, Amare Stoudemire of the Knicks, Deron Williams of the Jazz, and Manu Ginóbili of the Spurs.

To the delight of the entire Pistons team, Zhou Yi and Tracy McGrady were also nominated for Player of the Month, which was incredibly exciting news for them. However, the news that followed was even more thrilling.

Eastern and Western Conference Rookie of the Month: Zhou Yi of the Pistons, along with 2009 draft pick Blake Griffin, were chosen as winners.
It was not surprising that Zhou Yi beat out players like John Wall to become Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month, as his performance was well-deserved.

Last month, Zhou Yi averaged 19.9 points (second among Eastern Conference rookies, behind John Wall, and third overall), 9.8 assists (first among all rookies), 4.3 rebounds, and 2.7 steals (also first among all rookies), leading his team to a perfect 15-3 record. In 8 of those 18 games, he recorded a double-double, which is truly impressive.

Blake Griffin, with averages of 23.2 points (first among all rookies) and 11.8 rebounds (also first among all rookies) last month, helped his team achieve a 9-8 record, earning him the title of Western Conference Rookie of the Month.

Additionally, another Pistons rookie, Greg Monroe, received a nomination for Rookie of the Month.

Eastern and Western Conference Coach of the Month: John Kuester of the Pistons and Phil Jackson of the Lakers were chosen as winners.
There was no disagreement about John Kuester and Phil Jackson being named Coach of the Month, given their teams’ strong records.

Detroit Pistons: 15-3; Lakers: also 15-3.

The entire Pistons team was overjoyed by these news, as they were the biggest beneficiaries. They won three of the four awards; although they didn’t win Player of the Month, two of their players were nominated—a rare achievement for the Pistons in the past.

After returning to Detroit for a day of rest, the Pistons faced the Orlando Magic at 7:30 p.m. the following day.
In their last game, despite being overwhelmed on the interior by Dwight Howard, the Pistons relied on their strong outside play and the Magic’s poor shooting to secure a road victory.

In this game, the Pistons were determined to win again at home.
But this match was bound to be no easier than the last—it would be a tough fight!

Chapter 195: Fighting the Magic, Battling the Beast—First Triple-Double in Career (Part 1)

As soon as the game started, “The Beast” Dwight Howard wreaked havoc in the Pistons’ interior. But not long after, Dwight Howard was taken off the court due to a foul problem. After “The Beast” left, the Pistons went wild in the first quarter, taking a 10-point lead of 32–22 over the Magic. Zhou Yi played nearly 10 minutes in the first quarter, scoring 6 points, grabbing 5 rebounds, and providing 6 assists, giving the impression that he was aiming for a triple-double. Of course, Zhou Yi didn’t intend to achieve one. With a 10-point lead at the end of the first quarter, the home crowd began celebrating excitedly. Since they had been able to win against the Magic on their home court last time, and now they led by 10 points in the first quarter, they were sure to win again—the home fans were already celebrating victory. Leading the Magic by 10 points in just the first quarter was a very impressive achievement, and they imagined winning another 10 or 8 points in the second quarter to wrap up the game. But would things really go as they hoped? At the start of the second quarter, Will Bynum, who replaced Zhou Yi, scored 2 points with a jump shot. Seeing Zhou Yi’s strong performance in recent games, Will Bynum was certainly not willing to give up; he wanted to compete with Zhou Yi, but in a healthy way. As Will Bynum scored and widened the lead, the entire Pistons team was happy. However, during the Magic’s counterattack, their backup point guard, Chris Duhon, decisively passed the ball to the interior, where there was only one player—the Magic’s Dwight Howard. When Dwight Howard stretched out his long arms to grab the ball, everyone on the Pistons team felt a shock.