Chapter 396 395. Execution of the Celtics!

In the 12-13 season playoffs, the Nuggets players were stunned by Curry’s shooting, and George Karl was also fired by Curry.

Led the Warriors, who had only 47 wins, to defeat the 57-win Nuggets with one three-pointer after another.

In that series, the Warriors played very conservatively in G1 and lost by two points, but they started to let themselves go in G2, scoring 3 points in three consecutive quarters from the second to the fourth quarter. The Nuggets players were at a loss at the end. They scored 35 points in a single game, which was not bad, even in the 117s. However, the Warriors scored 80 points with only 20 of 15 free throws, and made 131 shots in the game, including 51 three-pointers!

Curry’s performance in that playoff gave people a shocking feeling.

Because Curry later received so many and so dazzling honors, most fans have forgotten that was just the beginning of it all.

It is also related to the fact that Curry did not receive much attention at the time. If it weren’t for the old blacksmith’s push, Curry would probably have to wait until the 14-15 season when he became the scoring champion + MVP season to be an All-Star starter, just like Durant did five years ago, and enter the fans’ attention by scoring so much.

The impact suffered by the Celtics players here is much greater than that of the Nuggets team!

More than 20 years later, three-pointers have become a part that all teams attach great importance to. Kobe and Marshall have achieved the feat of making 12 three-pointers in a single game. Players averaging 3+ three-pointers per game are not only everywhere, but have also appeared many times.

Today’s players have never seen such a scene.

The main thing is that I don’t know how to defend it!
Jimmy Rogers was not confused this time. He wanted to clap his hands to call a timeout on the spot, but as soon as he raised his hands, he put them down again.

It’s only been more than 30 seconds since the timeout, and they keep calling for timeouts. Let’s not play this game anymore.

But he didn’t call a timeout, so the Celtics couldn’t play the game.

If Bird were on the court, he could rely on his personal ability and leadership to lead the team to compete with the Knicks. It is possible that, like in the first half of the quarter, even if the score difference is not narrowed, at least the team will not collapse directly.

But Bird is sitting on the sidelines now… The Knicks, with their momentum rekindled, are beating up the Celtics!
At the beginning, the Celtics were completely unable to defend, and as the game went on, their offense became difficult.

At the last moment of the first quarter, the Celtics were on offense. Kenny Smith advanced to the frontcourt and passed the ball to Jim Paxson like throwing a hot potato. Jim Paxson threw the long two-point shot directly… and missed!
Oakley grabbed the rebound and passed it to Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang counterattacked, and the Celtics lost their motivation to retreat… Chasing back, blocking the three-pointer, the opponent passed the ball, cutting to the basket, not blocking the three-pointer, the opponent directly threw it…

Zhang Yang surpassed other players on the court continuously and made a layup before the countdown of the first quarter ended, leaving the Celtics with 2.4 seconds.

The Celtics passed the ball, but Kenny Smith didn’t even dribble. More than two seconds later, the whistle sounded to end the first quarter…

The fans at the scene once again enthusiastically shouted “Jack”.

14投11中，其中三分球6中5，加上3中3的罚球……张杨最后那次反击命中，他单节得分提高到30分，超越了以赛亚-托马斯88年总决赛打湖人队时的单节25分、前勇士队球员斯里皮-弗洛伊德在87年季后赛打湖人队时的单节29分，刷新NBA历史季后赛单节得分纪录！
Led by Zhang Yang, the Knicks led the Celtics by 42 points, 24 to 18 in a single quarter!
Kenny Smith held the ball, looked at Zhang Yang’s data on the big screen, and looked at the scores of both sides… He wanted to go home so much!

His former boss was so powerful, but he was the opponent of his former boss when he went berserk. Could anything be more miserable than this?
Zhang Yang threw the ball 14 times in a single quarter and scored 30 points, which stunned his opponents, shocked his teammates, and ignited the scene.

The fans and players watching in front of the TV were also stunned.

Including Jordan who was watching the Celtics in front of the TV!
When he saw Zhang Yang go to the elbow area and the two inside players standing outside, he also realized that it was a tactic created for him by Doug Collins.

However, it was not easy for him to score with that tactic. He could just move down the inside and get into position. When he executed it, often two inside players would move back together. The real purpose of that tactic was to pass the ball to Horace Grant in the high position.

Horace Grant also relied on this style of play, shooting 45%+ on mid-range and long two-point shots last season and this season. From averaging 7.7 points per game in his rookie year to averaging 12 points per game in his sophomore year last season and 13.5 points per game this season, he earned the title of “the best power forward shooter in the Eastern Conference.”

When Zhang Yang started to execute that tactic, Jordan cursed continuously, how could that crappy tactic be played like that?

The inside line shrank, and Zhang Yang ran to the top arc, with the two inside players setting up a screen.

If the inside line doesn’t shrink, Zhang Yang will really attack the basket.

Jordan’s eyes turned red when he saw this tactic, because he couldn’t learn this trick! He didn’t have the ability to shoot three-pointers!

Move the two inside positions behind the door? He thought about it and it didn’t seem possible.

That way, the two inside players of the other team would be closer to the basket, making it easier to protect the basket; the distance he ran out would be shorter, and the distance he left behind his opponent with his speed advantage would not be far, so the effect would not be that good; and a group of people would gather within the free throw line, so after the center failed to set a screen, there would not be enough space to move down…

Watching the replay of Zhang Yang executing the “elevator door tactic” on TV, Jordan scratched his bald head frantically, pulling out some of the few remaining hair roots.

That year, I learned Zhang Yang’s isolation tactics. Although I was banned after only one year, at least I had a good year.

This time Zhang Yang had a new job. He could only watch but couldn’t learn. This was too frustrating! He watched the replay of Zhang Yang’s 30-point goal in a single quarter on TV. Suddenly, he thought of something…

Bald Qiao: Damn it! Zhang San is trying to steal my active single-game scoring record!

…

Jordan prayed to God, hoping that Zhang Yang would be more open-minded and that it would be enough to just beat the Celtics for one quarter. There was no need, really no need.

Then, he saw Zhang Yang throwing and throwing…

At the end of the first half, the game was almost in garbage time, but Zhang Yang just kept on going, seizing every chance to score. If there was a chance to counterattack, he would throw the ball. If there was no chance to counterattack, he would throw the ball in a positional battle against the defense, and he would continue to throw the ball even when double teamed…

At the end of the third quarter, when Zhang Yang scored 52 points, his scoring data was always displayed on the live broadcast screen, and fans could see his score changes in real time.

In the final quarter, he continued to play!
Normally, when the game enters garbage time, the opponent still wants to score points. The party being scored points will be angry and may become violent, but the Celtics players did not do that.

Fighting Zhang Yang? When this guy was still a rookie, he beat up the team leader and had a fight with Laimbeer on the court.

This guy used to be the best player in their team!
And now Zhang Yang is more than one person, behind him there is Oakley, whose one-on-one ability may be stronger than his!
Another very important point is that this person was originally their teammate and should have been their new boss.

They didn’t want to leave at first. Last season, Zhang Yang averaged 30+ points per game and led them to win every night. Until the last game before leaving, he never let them down…

With 1 minute and 58 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Zhang Yang made a mid-range shot and broke through to draw a foul and made both free throws, bringing his score to 56 points, surpassing Jordan’s 86 points in a single game against the Celtics in the first round of 55. He surpassed Jordan, tied with Chamberlain, and rushed to second place in the single-game scoring list of the playoffs!
At 4 minutes and 11 seconds, Zhang Yang made a layup and scored 58 points, surpassing Chamberlain and taking second place.

At 6 minutes and 17 seconds, Zhang Yang made a close-range jump shot, scoring 60 points and becoming the second player in NBA history to score 60+ points in a single game.

At 6 minutes and 58 seconds, Zhang Yang made a three-pointer and scored 63 points, surpassing Elgin Baylor and topping the single-game scoring list in the playoffs!

At 7 minutes and 25 seconds, Zhang Yang made a layup with a European step, and his score reached 65 points. Feeling that he could not move forward anymore, he glanced at his teammates.

Mark Jackson understood and committed a foul after the opponent served the ball. Stu Jackson understood what the two meant and called a timeout.

Seeing Zhang Yang walking towards the bench, the fans who were celebrating at the scene knew what this meant and shouted for him to continue.

He raised his right hand while shouting, clenched his fist, extended his index finger, and shook it…

In a villa in Chicago, Jordan was watching the scene of Zhang Yang extending his index finger in front of the TV. He heard the crazy cheers of the fans coming from the amplifier and smashed the remote control to the ground with a “bang”.

This show-off!

He was envious and jealous!
He originally thought that Zhang Yang would just refresh his current single-game scoring record in the playoffs.

It’s not like 25+ points in a single quarter has never happened before. There have been two such cases in the past few years, by Isaiah Thomas and Floyd. The time when Thomas scored 25 points in a single quarter, he only had 43 points in the game. The time when Floyd scored 29 points in a single quarter, he only had 51 points in the game.

没想到张杨扔了35次，35投23中，其中三分球12中8，加上11中11的罚球，拿了65分！
Bald Qiao: I want to come too! If he can do it, I can do it too!

Who is the next opponent? Shit! The Pistons!

Why? Why should I play against the Bad Boys when their opponent is a defensively lame team like the Celtics?
…

At 10:24 p.m., the final whistle sounded and the score was fixed at 129 to 98, with the Knicks winning over the Celtics by 31 points.

But no one cared about this anymore. At the end of the first quarter, everyone knew that there was no suspense in tonight’s game.

The moment the long whistle sounded, reporters rushed to the home team’s bench, surrounded Zhang Yang, and asked questions related to the 65 points in a single game.

When asked if this was revenge against the Celtics, Zhang Yang did not give a direct answer, but said: “When I was selected by the NBA team, surpassing the records of the Lakers players was one of my career goals. I just didn’t expect that the opponent I surpassed the records of the Lakers players would be the Celtics. This feels amazing.”

A local reporter asked: “When you mentioned the Celtics this time, you were very calm. Are you ready to turn the page and move on to a new path?”

Zhang Yang: “Turn over? It’s over? No, haven’t you ever thought that this is just the beginning…”

(End of this chapter)