One Year Left to Play

Chapter 554 - 169: Chopping Down Zhang Hao? (Part 2)

This shooting percentage really relies entirely on the two-man pressure from O’Neal and Anfernee Hardaway. It’s almost universally acknowledged that once separated from this superstar duo, the performance of the Magic’s shooters would drastically decline.

With O’Neal adopting a kamikaze style of play, the Magic’s offensive efficiency dropped significantly, and they couldn’t secure defensive rebounds on the defense end...

In this game, the Magic found themselves, just like last season, having to trade offensive blows with the Lakers, and they were doing so at a disadvantage!

The Magic were constantly wary of the Lakers resorting to hack-a-Shaq tactics when they were trailing or when the score was close and personal fouls had accumulated, feeling very uneasy about it.

But it turned out the Lakers weren’t even thinking about doing this!

Maybe they considered it, but the Magic weren’t performing well enough themselves. Before the game was over, they were already trailing 70 to 84, 14 points behind the Lakers! The opponents didn’t need to employ hack-a-Shaq!

It was Magic’s turn to attack again, and a mentally crumbling Anfernee Hardaway, somehow, attempted a three-pointer from beyond the arc while tightly guarded by Doug Christie, failing even to shake him off while trying to draw a foul. It was a mistake! He shot an airball, and Zhang Hao snatched the defensive rebound!

O’Neal had just reached the free-throw line when Anfernee Hardaway tossed it, so he rushed back to defend upon seeing Zhang Hao grab the rebound.

Despite his stamina on the verge of collapse, O’Neal sprinted extremely fast, retreating almost alongside Anfernee Hardaway to the three-point line, then immediately ran back under the basket to prevent the Lakers from executing a fast break.

But just as he returned to the restricted area and turned around, a big number "8" flew towards him... O’Neal wanted to pull him down but was too late!

"BANG"

Amidst screams and cheers from the fans, Zhang Hao sprinted fast on the counterattack, being the first of his team to cross half court, elbowing and pushing Anfernee Hardaway aside beyond the three-point line, charging towards the basket, receiving the ball, and dunking over O’Neal!

When Zhang Hao slammed the ball into the hoop, an enraged O’Neal pulled Zhang Hao down, causing him to land hard on the floor...

"Beep"

The referee blew the whistle!

As the whistle sounded again, Magic coach Brian Hill quickly called a timeout... Luckily, there was no escalation, as Zhang Hao stood up himself and held back his rushing teammates.

Brian Hill hurriedly subbed O’Neal out to avoid further incidents. With less than 50 seconds remaining in the third quarter, O’Neal had played 29 minutes across the first three quarters, shooting 24 times and making 10, hitting 3 out of 7 free throws, collecting 23 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block. His stats were just average for an All-Star, but he expended immense energy! He was almost as exhausted as Campbell, who also played 29 minutes on the opposite side.

O’Neal’s action of pulling someone down after allowing a basket only resulted in an ordinary foul, but fortunately, Zhang Hao wasn’t hurt, as there was no reaction from the medical staff. His butt hurt a little, just a bruise... dunking over O’Neal! Zhang Hao was overjoyed! His teammates were also ecstatic to the extreme!

And they managed to put O’Neal out!

After Zhang Hao shot a brick from the free throw in a calm manner, the Lakers didn’t let the Magic, with its refreshed lineup, launch a counterattack. Instead, using the excitement of putting O’Neal out, they scored 5 consecutive points in the last 50 seconds! Delivering a 5-to-0 run!

Three quarters ended with the Lakers leading the Magic by 21 points, 91 to 70, heading into the final quarter!

The Magic were originally looking forward to making a last-ditch effort in the final quarter, with Anfernee Hardaway leading the team to see if they could narrow the gap, hoping O’Neal could rest up for a decisive moment.

However, the Lakers were on fire, O’Neal stopped playing, with Van Exel and the Magician leading Zhang Hao, Anthony Peeler, and Donyell Marshall on the offense.

Despite the Magic scoring 31 points in the final quarter, the Lakers also managed to put up 29 points.

In the end, the Lakers scored a dominant victory over the Magic, winning 120 to 101! Pushing their record up to 52 wins and 13 losses, now sitting in second place in the league!

...

Zhang Hao didn’t score much tonight, mainly due to his free throws being off, as O’Neal single-handedly put him on the free-throw line 7 times, making 3 of them, and other unfortunate souls collectively gave him 8 more free throws, of which he only made 4!

out of 15 free throws, the most disastrous free-throw record of his career.

His shooting performance of 11 attempts with 6 makes was actually quite good, even though he didn’t score from beyond the arc, his shooting percentage exceeded 50%, tumbling a total of 12 points, but, despite having 15 free throws and an acceptable shooting percentage, Zhang ended up with only 19 points for the whole game!

points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks. He finally reached double digits on rebounds, but his score didn’t hit the 20 mark, missing a precious chance for a 20+10 game.

At least they won!

He couldn’t imagine O’Neal’s emotional state was so fragile...

Watching O’Neal sulkingly walk back to the player’s tunnel after the game, not looking happy at all... Zhang Hao felt strangely ecstatic, thinking it was a sign of good fortune.

This feeling was inexplicable but had indeed appeared.

Winning the game smoothly, the Lakers players were extremely excited.

It wasn’t just smooth; it was downright eerie that tonight, from the start of the game with Campbell’s peak stamina, O’Neal chose to go solo, with roughly 30 of the Magic’s attacks initiated through O’Neal, leaving Campbell slumping like a wet noodle on the bench after the game...

O’Neal’s choice could only be described as bizarre!

Only Campbell, slumped like a wet noodle, knew, not only was it physically exhausting, it was emotionally draining!

During the game, Campbell once felt he didn’t want to be in a small space alone with O’Neal because, whenever there wasn’t anyone around O’Neal, an evil gentleman in an 8-number jersey appeared.