First in scoring

Chapter 457 456. Enter the Western Conference Finals!
Leonard's three-pointer hit the rim, and Jordan Hill grabbed the rebound before Duncan. Although Duncan immediately knocked the ball away and grabbed the bouncing ball, when he threw it out again, the final whistle had already sounded...

The score was fixed at 130 to 127, the Lakers narrowly defeated the Spurs by 3 points and won this scoring battle!

The fans at the scene cheered wildly as soon as the ball hit the basket and bounced out. As soon as the final whistle sounded, his teammates rushed to Zhang Yang and gathered together to celebrate.

大屏幕上除了比分，还贴出了张杨今晚的表现，27投15中，其中三分球6中3，加上11中9的罚球，拿到42分5板3助攻2抢断2盖帽！

Kobe pursed his lips for two seconds, squeezed into the crowd, hugged Zhang Yang and pinched his buzz cut wildly.

Zhang San: Madko is bald, are you jealous of my thick hair? Do you want to take advantage of this opportunity to pluck my hair out? Without the Stone Buddha's hand, you have to rely on brute force, right?

Old Blacksmith: I used to shoot the key shots! I also defended the key shots! Now they are all taken away, I can’t kill you…

As a paranoid person, Kobe couldn't suppress his jealousy, so he simply gave up. However, jealousy was jealousy, and he knew very well that they would not have won the game without Zhang Yang, as the opponent's overall strength was beyond what he could handle on his own.

Maybe in one or two years, the team system will be perfected to the same level as the Spurs. Without Zhang Yang and given a top 3D, he can also lead the team to perform like the opponent. But Duncan is two years older than him. It is not certain whether he will be willing to play after one or two seasons... As for why he can't play or not, he believes that with Duncan's static physical condition and skills, as long as he wants to play, he can continue playing like Skyhook and Chief if it weren't for injuries.

But Kobe is also self-aware. He never had the thought of "It would be great if Zhang Yang didn't exist". He knew that if Zhang Yang didn't suppress him, he wouldn't be able to play like he is now, and it would be impossible to replicate the Spurs system...

Outside the crowd, Leonard stared blankly at the basket that went from shaking to still. In this last offensive and defensive round, he deeply felt the gap between him and Zhang Yang.

When he was defending, he was very close, but the moment he turned his head, Zhang Yang seized the opportunity and scored a 2+1 on him.

In his previous shot, his jumping force was limited and his shooting space was compressed, so he could only lean back and use his waist and abdomen strength, height and arm span advantages to throw the ball. He had no control over his force and direction.

As the second defensive leader, he knew that it was much more difficult for him to defend Zhang Yang's ball than for Zhang Yang to defend his ball.

They were trailing by 3 points and could only shoot a three-pointer on their last shot, and Zhang Yang took the shot when the score was tied.

However, under the same circumstances, if San Ge took his place and shot the ball, he would definitely not be as reluctant as he was, and would definitely be able to create a better chance. Even if he was reluctant, the probability of him making the shot would be higher than his...

Just when Leonard was at a loss, a big hand touched his head and held him in his arms.

Duncan comforted him: "Don't be discouraged, turn everything in front of you into motivation, the future is yours."

Kazi: If you want to comfort me, then comfort me. If you want to hug me, then hug me. I won’t say anything if you’re being a little gay. But where are you touching? Can you touch somewhere else?
Also, don't say that! I don't know why, but I always feel like it's not a good thing...

...

从开局0比1，到1比2落后，再到3比2领先，湖人队与马刺队这个本就备受关注的系列赛变得更加火爆。

Zhang Yang exploded in two consecutive games, scoring 4 points in G32 and 42 points in the decisive battle, leading the team to reverse the situation of the series, and the media's tone changed again.

After the first three games, the media followed the trend of the haters and hyped his performance by relying on the Spurs system. After the game 3, after tying the score, such voices became less, but the media were more praising Kobe's accurate mid-range shots...

In the past, Kobe was always the one being stepped on, like praising Shaq and stepping on Kobe, but after the Lakers got Zhang Yang, he became the one being praised in the comparison... Maybe this is one of the reasons why he accepts the status of being the second. This kind of happiness, once experienced, you can't stop.

After this decisive battle, the media finally started to praise Zhang Yang. Perhaps they wanted to save face for themselves. When they praised Zhang Yang, they said that although they played in the same Spurs system, their performances were completely different due to their different strengths.

The target to be stepped on this time is naturally Leonard.

伦纳德在天王山之战中15投7中，其中三分球3中0，加上4中4的罚球拿到18分5板2助攻2抢断1盖帽，表现其实不差。

But who made him take the last shot? And it was a one-on-one shot!

In the past, Leonard's fans and the Spurs fans during Duncan's fourth peak period could say that the two had a three-year age difference and Leonard was still in his growth spurt, and that it was unfair to compare the two. Zhang Yang's fans also accepted this statement and would even joke that "Jack is waiting for Leonard to grow up."

But this time, Leonard stood in that position, which meant that he took the initiative to choose to compete directly with Zhang Yang. That was very tragic. Zhang Yang scored 42 points and made a 2+1 near-game winning shot right next to him...

Leonard was outgoing once and took the initiative to shoot the buzzer-beater, which brought about a terrible public opinion storm.

Generally speaking, when the young future core encounters this situation, the coach and veteran teammates will give comfort and encouragement. The Spurs coaching staff, GP and other veterans are indeed prepared to do so, but they don’t know where to start. Duncan, who also looks cold, is just cold on the outside, so it is not difficult to communicate. But Leonard is so withdrawn that the coach and teammates can only worry about it. Little do they know that D has already stretched out his evil hand...

As for Zhang Yang, he chose to ignore the outside world's pursuit and completely entered a state of training. After waking up at 9 o'clock the next morning and having breakfast, he stayed in the study to watch the video clips of last night's game sent by the team in the morning. By the way, he also re-watched the videos of the first round and the first four games of the second round.

After analyzing the videos of several games, he determined that if he had not come, the Lakers would most likely lose the decisive battle!

The 'he' here has his own wild side, but his playing style is also greatly influenced by the Spurs... or to be more precise, by Duncan, and the influence is quite profound!
If conditions permit, he will give priority to stability, which is why the Lakers-Spurs system can be successfully built.

Of course, there will be special cases - being "stimulated" by Curry's extraordinary performance.

In the first round of the series against the Warriors, he started to play recklessly in the second game, with an unyielding attitude of "I will make more three-pointers than you". He used a large number of shots and a large number of three-pointers to break the Warriors' excellent rotation defense, thus helping the Lakers avoid being overthrown and avoid being on the same team as last season's Nuggets.

But the Spurs no longer have a player like Curry who can turn the game around purely by personal ability.

When Duncan was young, he was not a player who could turn the game around. His playing style has always been to push forward.

Parker...it's good enough if he doesn't have any negative impact when the wind is against him.

When Ginobili was young, he did have that ability, and he was one of the players who had the greatest influence on the direction of the game in the entire NBA. But not anymore. He is still very good, but he is old. He will be 37 years old in two months. His excellence is limited to the system. It is okay for him to play key balls when he has enough physical strength, but it is no longer possible for him to take down his opponents with a wave of outbursts like when he was young.

Zhang Yang saw in the video that in the first four games of the series against the Spurs, 'he' started steadily and tried his best to cooperate with his teammates. Even the reversal in Game 4 did not start until the third quarter.

If the Spurs follow the pace of the first four games, there is a high probability that their defensive plan at the beginning of last night will work.

Zhang Yang guessed that perhaps he came here just to change the original direction!
In fact, he didn't think too much at the beginning last night. He just felt that it was a one-on-one when he received the ball, and Leonard had not yet stood still while moving. As long as Duncan did not move up in time to double-team him, his chances of making a shot by throwing the ball himself would be higher than that of Bazemore catching the ball in an open position. After playing a few more rounds and noticing signs of the opponent's defense being in disarray, he gradually realized the role it played... You can also say that it was his instinctive reaction that helped him break the game.

However, even though he knew how to break the deadlock at the start of last night's game, Zhang Yang recalled his actual feelings during last night's game. If he were given a chance to play again, he still had no idea what the result would be.

When he was collecting information before, he saw the statement that "the Spurs can win four consecutive championships if they keep Zhang", and he thought it was exaggerated. After actually playing against each other, he felt that as long as Duncan did not leave early, this statement was just stating the facts!

After lunch at noon, Ana Armas, who felt empty for two days, gave Zhang Yang the middle finger, then slammed the door and left.

Zhang Yang wanted to try to persuade her to stay and explain that he was too busy, to comfort her, but he chose to give up in the end. What if something went wrong and he ended up cheating on her? It would feel too weird.

And judging by Ana Armas's condition, 'he' and the Cuban girl didn't seem to be lovers.

Even if that was the case, he believed that 'he', who was handsome and rich, would be able to win her back, so he didn't need to worry.

10 Zhang San: Thank you for your compliment!

...

In the afternoon, Zhang Yang flew to San Antonio with the team. When he arrived at the hotel, Zhang Yang found Kobe, Gasol and Nash to discuss playing strategies.

He was so active and only talked about the game without talking about personal matters, so the three of them didn't feel that there was anything wrong. He was always like this when there was a game, and this time he met his old club with whom he had a grudge, so it goes without saying.

Moreover, the three of them have always admired Zhang Yang's attitude towards the game. All players of their generation were like this. However, nowadays, there are fewer and fewer young players like Zhang Yang who have the spirit of old-school players.

Of course this is a good thing for them. Now the players are more and more talented. If everyone works as hard as they do, they will have to retire at least two or three years earlier. So they have no intention of changing this trend...except for a certain old blacksmith who gives advice to young people whenever he has time.

Son of Wind and his sister-in-law felt that if the old blacksmith had not had so many honors, high prestige and many fans, he would have been spurned by the young players long ago. It’s not that there weren’t people who would listen to advice, but one in ten is an optimistic estimate.

After a day of rest, on May 5, the sixth game day of the series between the Lakers and the Spurs arrived.

On the way to the ATT Arena in the morning, Zhang Yang learned from a casual chat with Nash that the Cavaliers got the No. 1 pick again last night, which he really didn't pay attention to.

"Jack, you said that the Cavaliers got the first pick for the third time in four years. Is the league using this to compensate the Cavaliers for losing James?" Nash asked in a low voice.

Zhang Yang was speechless for two seconds, then responded, "This isn't some shameful secret, there's no need to be so secretive."

Nash: “Oh, really?”

Zhang Yang: "I remember the Cavaliers ranked 33th in the Eastern Conference with 08 wins this season, right? The probability of drawing the first pick is ranked fifth from the bottom among the 02 lottery teams, lower than the Bulls in 33 and the Rockets in . It must be used to appease Gilbert. I heard that the year James left, Gilbert planned to sell the Cavaliers. Neither Stern nor the current president Xiao Hua wanted to see such a boss who was willing to spend money leave the NBA. I remember that the Cavaliers broke the salary record of small city teams every year in those years." Nash: "So there are these reasons, I didn't pay attention to them... The most annoying team now should be the Celtics. They sent Pierce, Garnett, and Terry away and played badly, but didn't draw the first pick. The Cavaliers worked hard to win and get wins but drew the first pick."

Zhang Yang: "Steve, you are becoming more and more like a Laker. You are so happy to see the Celtics have bad luck."

Nash shook his head in a frivolous manner and said, "I think after this season, when I introduce myself to others, I will prefer to call myself the Lakers legend."

Zhang Yang: "Of course..."

It was 7:40 p.m. at the ATT Arena in San Antonio, and the away Lakers entered the arena.

When Zhang Yang entered the venue, there was a lot of booing.

No matter what the reason for leaving, as long as you leave, you will be regarded as a "betrayal" by the fans. For example, after O'Neal left the Magic to join the Lakers, he would be booed by the fans every time he went to Orlando for an away game.

The Spurs fans treated Zhang Yang the same way, especially at the moment, when the Spurs went from an absolute lead of 2-1 to a 2-3 deficit and were in crisis of elimination. It was Zhang Yang who made this happen, scoring 32 and 42 points in the past two games respectively!

Zhang Yang's reaction to the attitude of the fans of his 'old club'... After he came to the center of the spotlight, he raised his hand and placed it behind his ear!

Old Blacksmith: Shit! I can’t be as sexy as you, okay?

On the other side of the player tunnel, Ginobili saw this scene and said with a smile: "Jack, this kid, really wants to kill us."

Parker echoed: "You actually want to provoke us in this way and make us lose our composure."

Duncan responded expressionlessly and without any emotion: "It's meaningless."

Yao Dao was just about to respond to his old partner's evaluation when he noticed the Ka disciple on the opposite side who was staring straight at him... Oh no, damn Zhang San, this crappy trick seems to have worked!

Ginobili wanted to wake Leonard up, but he opened his mouth and closed it again. Having started playing professional basketball at the age of thirteen or fourteen, he knew very well that it was best not to speak at this time, otherwise he would offend the young people, especially young people like Leonard who could not guess what was in their minds.

And Leonard has been wildly criticized by the media and fans these days.

On the bright side, anger and unwillingness may make Leonard explode. Didn't Zhang Yang withstand countless negative pressures and lead them to win the championship two years ago? We should have confidence in the young people! Right...

At 8 pm, Game 6 of the series between the Lakers and the Spurs begins.

Both teams' starting lineups remained the same. Duncan stood out this time and relied on his wingspan advantage to win the jump ball. The Spurs attacked first!

Parker advanced to the frontcourt and started a pick-and-roll with Duncan. He broke through to close range and was double-teamed by Zhang Yang, who passed the ball to Duncan.

Duncan assisted from a high position and lobbed the ball over Kobe who was intercepting the pass. Leonard moved to the right sideline to receive the ball and took a three-point shot...and it hit!
The Spurs' first attack was to pass the ball to Leonard, which surprised Zhang Yang a little. Popovich has really changed a lot. Is he using the language of the court to declare his support for Leonard? No, it should be to let Leonard see him declaring to the fans...

If Zhang San here leaves, will he help pave the way for Ka's disciples?
When the Lakers attacked, Zhang Yang saw the positions of the opposing players and knew that the opposing defense had not made any targeted arrangements and was just playing regular defense.

Zhang Yang saw the difference between Popovich and a few years ago. In terms of handling key balls, Popovich's adaptability is still insufficient. For more than ten years, the first choice is still to let Ginobili play one-on-one. This was the case in the first four games of the series, and the last game was an exception.

But in terms of playing style, they are no longer bound by rules and no longer insist on playing in a certain way, but play in whatever way is conducive to winning. When they played against the Rockets in the first round, they had a defensive tight game with a score of 90 to 85, and they also had the current series where they scored more than 120 points.

Compared with targeted defense, conventional defense may not necessarily consume less physical energy, but it definitely consumes less energy. Obviously, Popovich is ready to fight a desperate battle and launch a fierce attack tonight.

If so, let's fight!
Zhang Yang came to the frontcourt and moved to the tactical starting point under Leonard's still active defense. After Kobe and Gasol cooperated to launch the attack, Zhang Yang ran around the pole to the mid-range on the left.

Leonard followed Zhang Yang's footsteps closely, and stuck to him after Zhang Yang received the ball from Kobe, but his movements were not rough and he did not give Zhang Yang any chance to cause harm.

The defensive talent of Kazidi was demonstrated in this defense. His chasing and defensive methods have improved significantly and his control over his body has become better.

But it’s not enough…

After receiving the ball and being blocked, Zhang Yang reacted instantly, dribbled half a step back, dribbled sideways behind his back, passed Leonard who continued to press forward, and broke through from the left sideline of the three-second zone!

Duncan and Danny Green came up to double-team Zhang Yang, who jumped towards them. Leonard behind him also jumped up quickly to try to block the shot, but after he lifted the ball, he did not shoot, but threw it to the right rear.

Kobe received the ball on the right side of the free throw line and made an open mid-range shot!

Kobe was retreating with a silly smile on his face. He has been playing basketball for many years, but since he became a starter, he has enjoyed a lot of open shooting opportunities only in the past two years when he partnered with Nash and Zhang Yang. When he was retreating, he wanted to find Zhang Yang to high-five to celebrate... but Zhang Yang retreated too fast and didn't see the silly old man at all.

The old blacksmith was so embarrassed that he raised his hands but missed: It turns out that all the people who come out of the Spurs are not good people!

Both teams scored a goal and the curtain of the showdown began again.

The Spurs, playing at home, had a considerable advantage in the first quarter and performed much better than in the previous game.

On the one hand, they did not do any more useless work in the preparation stage, and their offensive preparation was more thorough, but the main reason was Leonard, who scored 9 points in the first quarter tonight! He made two three-pointers, a counterattack layup, and one of two free throws.

He usually averages 5 or 16.2 points per game, and only averaged points in the first five games of this series. However, he scored more points in one quarter than in a normal half game, which greatly improved the Spurs' offense.

伦纳德9分、帕克5分2助攻、邓肯4分2板1助攻、丹尼-格林2分、替补上场的吉诺比利8分，加上斯普利特的一次扣篮2+1、迪奥的一记三分球，马刺队首节狂轰34分！
With a good offense, the probability of being counterattacked is reduced. In addition, the Spurs' defense is really good. They prevented the Lakers from scoring only two points on counterattacks in the first quarter. The Spurs led the Lakers by 34 points with 26 to 8 in the quarter.

Zhang Yang played for 10 minutes in the first quarter and scored 6 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists. His score was outscored by Leonard who scored 9 points, 2 rebounds and 1 block. The director deliberately put the two people's data on the big screen. The fans at the scene cheered loudly, and some people around the visiting team's bench mocked Zhang Yang loudly.

Then, in the second quarter, Leonard played for 9 minutes and made 5 of 1 shots...

At the beginning of the game, if two players have a big difference in shooting basic skills, as long as they have good psychological quality, their performances will most likely not be much different. They will both be able to seize the opportunities when they come. It is even possible that the player with poor basic skills will perform better than the one with good basic skills at the beginning.

But as the game progresses, the shooting performance of players with poor fundamentals will naturally decline, while the players with good fundamentals will see their touch decline significantly more slowly, and it is even possible that they will feel better the more they shoot!

伦纳德首节打了10分钟6中3拿到9分，对于一个运动型3D球员来说，50%的命中率很高效，但他是先投了个3中2，后面3次出手只进了1球！首节他就因为张杨的肉搏消耗命中率越来越低了。

Zhang Yang only scored 7 points with 2 of 6 shots in the first quarter because he took the initiative to go deep into the double-team. He has played for the Spurs and is very familiar with how the Spurs execute their regular defense. By playing like this, he can effectively limit Duncan and Leonard's help defense, forcing other Spurs players to shrink their defense against Kobe and Gasol, thereby creating opportunities for the wing shooters. However, the quality of the Lakers' wing shooters was not as good as that of the Spurs, and they failed to make the shot.

At this time, Nash and Mix, the two most accurate open shooters in the team, came on the court, partnering with the frontcourt trio of Zhang Yang, Jordan Hill, and Gasol, and the offense took off!
纳什打了5分钟进了两个三分球拿到6分、米克斯打了8分钟也拿到6分、节末轮换上场打了4分钟的科比两次接过投篮都进了拿到5分，这三位队友的远投投开，张杨遭遇的防守压力骤减，准头立马提升，单节7投4中，其中三分球2中1，加上3中3的罚球拿到12分！
With Gasol, Jordan Hill and Kaman coming off the bench scoring 8 points, the Lakers scored 37 points in a single quarter!
The Spurs encountered difficulties in this quarter's offense. After Leonard started to miss shots, Zhang Yang decisively retreated on defense to help his teammates shoot. The Spurs naturally wanted to give the ball to Leonard, but Leonard's shots became more and more unsuccessful... He only scored 24 points in a single quarter!
At the end of the first half, the Lakers led the Spurs by 63 points with 58 to 5 and went into the halftime break.

Trailing at halftime and with their opponent having the strongest third quarter duo in the league, the Spurs needed someone to step up and lead the team in the third quarter, but they didn't have such a player!
Originally, Ginobili could have held off a little, just like in the previous game, at least preventing the Lakers from widening the gap quickly, but the Spurs made a fatal mistake from the start tonight - they attacked too aggressively.

As long as Duncan is there, the Spurs have always played the kingly basketball, that is, flat push. The so-called flat push means that "push" comes at the back and "flat" comes at the front. Maintaining a steady performance from the beginning to the end of the game has always been the Spurs' strongest point.

With the Spurs' high scoring efficiency in the first quarter tonight, if they can maintain a steady output, there is a high probability that they will defeat the Lakers.

However, after losing two games in a row and falling behind 2-3, although the Spurs players themselves did not feel anxious, their language on the court clearly revealed their uneasiness. Although Popovich did not put pressure on the players during the preparation stage, his repeated emphasis on offense had a somewhat negative psychological implication.

The Spurs had a steady pace in the first five games, but they couldn't control it from the beginning tonight. After they gained the advantage, the whole team attacked with all their might. Although they had a considerable advantage in the first quarter, they began to collapse from the second quarter.

Ginobili scored 8 points in the first quarter to help the team widen the gap, and 6 points in the second quarter to help the team prevent the gap from being too big. By the third quarter, his highlight moment of the night had passed, and he was unable to help the team hold on to the gap like he did in the previous game.

Parker was like invisible at this time, Leonard had the will but not the power, and as for Duncan, he was no longer able to lead the team forward by relying on personal offense a few years ago, and this is not the way he leads the team to win now.

Zhang Yang scored 8 points in a single quarter and Kobe scored 6 points in a single quarter. Led by the two, the Lakers defeated the Spurs 29 to 18 in the third quarter. After three quarters, the Lakers led the Spurs by 92 points with 76 to 16!
If they lost, they would be eliminated. The Spurs players fought back in the final quarter, but the score difference did not narrow substantially. The Lakers players, who had already seen the dawn of advancement, were unwilling to give up the victory and fought hard.

Not to mention, when trailing by 15 points, Parker performed very well, scoring 9 points on 6 of 13 shots in a single quarter...but the Spurs team only scored 26 points, just 1 point more than the Lakers.

At 10:24 pm, the whistle for the end of the game sounded, 117 to 102, the Lakers came from behind and defeated the Spurs by 15 points, advancing to the Western Conference Finals 4 to 2!

6 points in the first quarter, 12 points in the second quarter, 8 points in the third quarter, and 4 points in the final quarter. Zhang Yang played for 37 minutes and scored 30 points, the second highest in the game. The highest scorer was Parker, who scored 32 points in the final quarter...

After Zhang Yang and his teammates celebrated for a while, they looked around and found that not many of the 20,000 people left the stadium early. As expected of Texas, a sports state, the fans had different reactions to the result of the game. Some cried, some cursed, some wailed, and some fans who came with the Lakers cheered and celebrated...

Whether advancing or being eliminated, Zhang Yang has different feelings every time he sees these scenes.

He set his eyes on Duncan sitting at the technical desk... Hmm?
Zhang Yang remembered that after the team was reversed in the 2013 Finals, Duncan slammed the floor in anger. It was the first time he showed a look of collapse after losing a game. It's 2014 now, how can he be so calm?

(End of this chapter)