The Bobcats were not flustered by this; with just over ten seconds left, they just needed to run out the clock.
But, ball-handler Felton was intercepted by Iverson!
Iverson gambled with a charge, deftly maneuvering his feet to get in front of Felton, who was protecting the ball on the side, and swiped it away!
The Bobcats players running toward the front court hurriedly retreated, while Iverson dashed to the three-point line, made a crossover to shake off Zhang Yang, who was in position, broke through to the free-throw line, stopped abruptly, jumped, took a mid-range shot... and was knocked down by Millsap.
But before falling, Iverson had already successfully released the ball!
Along with the referee’s whistle, the ball swished into the basket.
Iverson’s mid-range shot was effective, and he got an additional free throw!
With Iverson’s successful free throw, the score went to 122 to 122 tie!
The fans went wild, from hell to heaven, from despair to ecstasy, in just 19 seconds of ga ti!
With 8 seconds left, the fans were anticipating a coback in overti, George Karl had already planned his defensive layout, but his team lineup was as such, maintaining defensive intensity for a long ti was impossible, but a one-possession clutch defense was doable.
However, unexpectedly for the Nuggets, the Bobcats didn’t call a tiout, Millsap was instructed to go directly to the baseline to receive the inbound from the referee!
Fortunately, the Nuggets players didn’t get overly excited from Iverson’s 5-point burst in 19 seconds to tie the score, Nene noticed Millsap’s movent and signaled his teammates to fall back on defense.
Felton received the inbound and advanced quickly, Iverson rushed to attempt another steal, this ti Felton didn’t protect the ball but passed it directly, throwing it to Zhang Yang who had run to mid-court.
Zhang Yang received the ball, sprinted to the top of the arc, slowed down, and from a step beyond the three-point line picked up his dribble, took a stride to a half-step outside the three-point line to jump, Ray Allen was not out of position this ti, intercepting Zhang Yang’s possible drive, and imdiately pounced on Zhang Yang who had stopped.
However, just as Ray Allen analyzed, Zhang Yang himself increased the difficulty of the shot, and when he slowed down, collected the ball, and took the stride, he had already instinctively calculated the extre point Allen could interfere, confirming Allen couldn’t block him, he shot decisively and resolutely!
Ray Allen’s defense was pushed to the extre this ti, but when he jumped, stretched his hand to the highest point, he could barely touch Zhang Yang’s forearm, the ball flew over him...
When the ball began to fall, the red light lit up, the long whistle sounded, and when Ray Allen landed and turned to look, he saw the ball fall into the basket!
From cheers to wails, the fans took only 8 seconds, many fans shouted "overti", and so Nuggets players gestured the referee’s tiout hand signal to indicate overti.
However, the referee confird the goal was valid, and the ga was over!
With 27 shots hitting 15, including 6 out of 9 three-pointers, plus 6 of 7 free throws, Zhang Yang erupted for 42 points, leading the Bobcats along with Okafor’s 26 points and 22 rebounds to narrowly defeat the Nuggets 125 to 122!
For a mont, the majority of the spectators were silent, and the cheers of the few away fans dominated the entire arena.
Iverson, Ray Allen, and Anthony stood side by side, their hands on their hips, staring at Zhang Yang, who was surrounded by teammates with his arms raised, expressions of disbelief on their faces.
Especially Ray Allen, who usually is either expressionless or disdainful, now had a rich mix of expressions.
Mr. Ray: I, the XXX reserve historical three-point king, got a three-point buzzer beater right in my face!
...
After the match, this nationally televised coback battle ignited dia hype and heated fan discussions.
The Three Juniors VS Three Guns, the duel between the two No. 3 superstars drew a lot of attention, the ga was intense, and the final 27-second showdown between the two No. 3s pushed the post-ga buzz to the extre.
Zhang Yang hit 6 threes in a single ga, with 4 being in Ray Allen’s face, a topic hotter than Zhang Yang’s showdown with Iverson.
Even though each ti the Big 4 No. 3s faced off it was highly anticipated, it had beco an old topic.
Yet, fans weren’t debating whose three-point shot was more accurate between Zhang Yang and Ray Allen.
Zhang Yang often sees his three-point shooting percentage drop below 40%, sotis shooting fiercely, but often missing, not yet breaking an average of three threes per ga;
Whereas Ray Allen had averaged over 3 threes for 4 consecutive seasons, with a career-high 44.1% three-point shooting percentage this season, historically the first in made threes, along with Nash and Kerr level three-point percentages.
Most people, aside from a few ’Zhang San only fans’ blowing hot air, think Ray Allen is the best three-point shooter, both currently active and historically.
The focus of the debate was on whose three-point shooting thod between Zhang Yang and Ray Allen was superior.
After this ga, Ray Allen’s fans were particularly vocal, firmly asserting that the continuity of three-point threat, the ability to maintain hits throughout the ga, was the correct approach to three-point shooting.
anwhile, Bobcats fans believed that the ability to quickly close the score, to launch a fierce attack to clinch the ga, could better serve the purpose of a ’plus one point’.
The two sides argued incessantly, neither convincing the other, but despite more support for Ray Allen from fans, the montum was on the Bobcats fans’ side, who had more confidence, having just defeated the Nuggets to complete revenge, largely due to Zhang Yang’s four successful threes against Ray Allen in the ga.
Moreover, Bobcats fans were united with a single viewpoint, while the ’fan army’, supporting Ray Allen, often slipped in praise for their star...
So fans weren’t interested in the debate and instead discussed the offensive battle itself.
One of the hotter topics was the role allocation of the Bobcats’ three young stars, not just for this ga, but also incorporating recent Bobcats matches into the discussion.
In their second year together, the Bobcats’ Three Juniors had already won a championship, with talent, strength, luck all in their favor, sothing even detractors couldn’t deny.
But rarely were they associated with ’selflessness’.
However, this season their ’selflessness’ beca increasingly apparent, as they actively adjusted their court roles when facing different opponents and situations; all three could be the main attackers and were willing to distribute opportunities.
Like in the second quarter of the ga against the Nuggets, Okafor was the main attacker, Felton served as the decoy, and Zhang Yang ran to set up, giving Okafor the opportunity.
They have talent, have converted it into strength, are lucky... and selfless; fans of other teams might be aggravated, as this trio is only 26, 24, and 20 years old, with no overlap in peaks and no position competition... reminiscent of the Lakers’ three top picks from the 80s.
Felton’s recent performances were praised, with many fans noting he seed more mature after returning from the Olympics.
Of course, he often still looked impulsive, but at critical monts, he was much calr than in previous seasons.
As was evident in the final critical monts of the ga tonight, after committing a significant mistake, he didn’t rashly try to redeem himself nor was flustered, instead, he handled the final play more calmly, waiting for Iverson to press him before passing to Zhang Yang, who was ready to drive once receiving the ball, making the greatest contribution he could to secure the team’s ultimate victory!
In that situation, if the Bobcats had been dragged into overti and then lost, the bla would have been placed on him, but he played so calmly, refreshing many fans’ perceptions of him, including those of Bobcats fans.
The day after the ga against the Nuggets, the Bobcats flew to the second city on the Northwest Plateau, Salt Lake City, to face the Utah Jazz, the third opponent in their four-ga road trip.
Upon seeing himself being praised in the news, Felton, initially apprehensive after the previous night’s ga, couldn’t help but smile.
Little Fatty: I am the destined Boss!
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