Chapter 884: I Just Put the Ball In

Tonight, Zhang Hao and O’Neal put on a show for three quarters, Barkley was lazy for three quarters, and indeed couldn’t find his rhythm in isolations, but when it came to rebounding, he never slacked off once he got on the court. He was lazy in terms of not wanting to exert energy on offense for isolations, but he hustled to compete for put-backs, receive passes and shoot, and on defense, he was relentless in boxing out and grabbing boards. He didn’t want to be a burden on the court, but at most, he couldn’t make any contributions.

The New York Knicks’ offense after the timeout was indeed undermined, but their defensive adjustments were exceedingly effective!

This time, when Zhang Hao turned and cut in to receive the ball on the left side of the free throw line, he was immediately blocked by Charles Oakley, but the referee didn’t blow the whistle! Because while Charles Oakley moved to help on defense, Larry Johnson directly blocked Kenny Anderson, who had just caught and passed the ball.

John Starks then rushed towards Zhang Hao after Kenny Anderson released the ball.

This defense was quite adept. Larry Johnson’s movement turned into a double-team on the ball handler; Charles Oakley’s movement became a switch with Larry Johnson, and John Starks’ movement became a double-team on Zhang Hao, who received the ball, effectively circumventing the “no early double-team” rule!

If it were another shooter, like the Knicks’ own Alan Houston, even catching the ball might have been difficult.

But Zhang Hao still caught the ball!

The New York Knicks had no way to stop it; Zhang Hao’s height was such that even when Charles Oakley blocked immediately, it couldn’t prevent Zhang Hao from catching the ball.

Having Zhang Hao be glued the moment he caught the ball and immediately double-teamed was already the limit of what the New York Knicks could do.

Another team might not even be able to achieve that!

Upon catching the ball, Zhang Hao didn’t force a shot, as the opponent was too close. With insufficient jumping height, it could be blocked; dribbling wasn’t appropriate with John Starks closing in, and Zhang Hao wasn’t arrogant enough to think he could maintain control of the ball against such a sharp defending guard while being tightly guarded.

But for this play, he didn’t have to shoot. He quickly passed the ball to an open Magician on the left side of the three-second area.

The Magician took the ball, dribbled once into the key, spun around Ewing’s help defense, and with a little hook shot… at the crucial moment, the Magician scored with a hook shot!

78 to 74, the Lakers took a 4-point lead!

When it came to the Knicks’ offense, Ewing stopped following the plays and called for the ball at the low block on the right side of the three-second area.

Ewing had no choice. Jeff Van Gundy’s defensive adjustments were consistently excellent in crucial moments, but the offensive adjustments were as if they were fooling around.

At this time, only the players themselves could rely on themselves.

As the leader of the New York Knicks, Ewing took center stage without hesitation!

Furthermore, looking at Patrick Ewing Jr. shouting madly “X” from the sidelines, Ewing was quite exasperated!

John Starks passed the ball to Ewing. At this point, passing to Ewing was the right decision.

Ewing was on the court, and naturally, it was Zhang Hao guarding Ewing.

One-on-one defense, Zhang Hao wouldn’t be shortchanged even when guarding a center. His strength was top-notch, and he had a pair of iron elbows, but defending Ewing in an isolation was still quite a challenge. Ewing caught the ball and quickly spun; his reception and spin move were considered unique in the league, perfectly predicting Zhang Hao’s movement, avoiding the iron elbows, coming under the basket, and scoring a layup while being defended by the returning Magician!

That play was fierce! Ewing’s score in the paint this season, apart from drawing fouls for free throws, had dropped to an average of 3.9 points, which was less than two paint scores per game. Tonight, until now, he hadn’t scored any inside. Even during the early fourth quarter when the Lakers were hurting, Ewing didn’t go inside but instead shot from close range, mid-range, and even beyond the three-point line.

As for the reason… Zhang Hao just saw Ewing being rough on his son and wanted to call the police to have Ewing arrested!

The fervent fans could be terrifying! Zhang Hao felt Ewing played much more fiercely after re-entering the game!

Now it was the Lakers’ turn to attack; Zhang Hao continued to cut and receive the ball, attracted a double team, then passed to the Magician, who further passed to Doug Christie, and finally, the opportunity fell on Kenny Anderson, who took a three-point shot from the right sideline… but missed!

On the return play, the Knicks’ overall offense was still at an advantage. Having faced O’Neal’s defense for three quarters, the Lakers’ current defense was like a paper tiger to them.

Ewing’s previous attack forced the Lakers to continue tightening their defense in the paint. Ewing caught the ball and passed it to John Starks on the wing. This time, John Starks’ three-point shot went in!

79 to 78, the New York Knicks took the lead again by 1 point!

The sky cleared, and the rain stopped; the Knicks felt they had regained their momentum!

But after returning to defense, as the Knicks prepared to stop the Lakers’ offense and widen the gap in the next possession, Zhang Hao forcibly jumped against Charles Oakley’s obstacle, executing a difficult fadeaway jumper even with insufficient jumping height, bending his legs in the air to delay his landing… and made it!

80 to 79, the Lakers took the lead again!

The Knicks side just thought their opportunity had come, then Zhang Hao hit a difficult shot like a cold shower over their heads, cooling down their momentum completely.

When it was the Knicks’ turn on offense, Larry Johnson’s baseline mid-range jumper missed!

Fortunately, the Lakers’ shot didn’t go in either. Zhang Hao passed the ball, and Kenny Anderson did a good job in ball distribution, regular-time scoring, and controlling turnovers, but to have him make a guaranteed critical shot under pressure was a bit too much to ask.

When it was the Knicks’ turn again, at crunch time, the Knicks still had to rely on Ewing,