One Year Left to Play-Chapter 332 - 106: Could 40+ Be That Easy to Miss?
Of course, if the Lakers could play against the Pacers like they did and dominate them, it wouldn’t matter if this opportunity didn’t arise. But with Sibaros failing to gain an advantage and the opposing Grant Hill targeting the Lakers’ two inside players who weren’t good at defending pick-and-rolls, the score remained tight for a long time, and the opportunity arose!
The Pistons once again felt the terror of the opening game, brought by a super fast-break master with the height of an inside player, faster speed than a guard during counterattacks, and excellent confrontation skills!
Del Harris, who originally hoped to extend the lead and then switch to a defensive lineup in the latter half of the third quarter to grind down the game, didn’t substitute Zhang Hao out. He even put in George Lynch, who had better defense and athletic ability, at the start of the fourth quarter. Inside, it was Zhang Hao and Jason Williams playing consistently, one protecting the rebound and the other initiating the fast break. The point guard was switched to Van Exel, the best passer in the team who could also shoot carelessly if the fast break didn’t work, focusing on fast breaks!
With 4:37 left in the fourth quarter, Lynch Hunt from the Pistons seemed to just play randomly, missing a hurried three-point shot.
This time, the Pistons put all their effort into retreating for defense, and they truly managed to make it back.
Zhang Hao, when advancing to the frontcourt, might not have received the ball under the basket, so he simply stopped outside the three-point line, ready to wait for Van Exel to come over and take a wild shot.
But Zhang Hao reached beyond the opponent’s three-point line and received the pass from Van Exel, who had just run to the midcourt!
The excitement kicked in, Zhang Hao caught the ball, and made a push-shot styled three-point attempt...
A fast break three-point shot, this scene is rare to see, and the Pistons completely didn’t expect Zhang Hao to play like this, watching as Zhang Hao pushed the ball out in a manner surprise to everyone...
The ball arched high and then plunged into the basket!
to 87, with Zhang Hao’s three-point hit, the Lakers’ lead expanded to 21 points!
Zhang Hao’s personal score also increased to 40 points!
The Pistons called a timeout!
They decided to give up!
At this point, when the Pistons called for a timeout, Del Harris also knew the opponent had given up and decided to substitute Zhang Hao and Van Exel. As Zhang Hao came off, he surprisingly felt a bit reluctant.
Even as a head coach, and Zhang isn’t his favorite player, he was deeply fascinated by Zhang Hao’s performance.
With 24 attempts made good on 15, including 2 out of 5 from the three-point line and 8 out of 9 free throws, Zhang Hao scored 40 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks!
On the other side, even Grant Hill acknowledged, Zhang Hao scored 18 of his points from fast breaks tonight, including one fast-break three-pointer, earned 3 points from drawing fouls on fast breaks and hitting free throws, and the remaining 12 points all came from fast-break dunks or layups.
He felt that nobody else on the Lakers controlled them except Zhang Hao. After grinding on defense and fighting hard for so long, Zhang Hao could still play the fast break like that in the latter part of the third quarter.
What others didn’t consider as opportunities, for Zhang Hao, became just the right chance!
In the end, the Lakers triumphed over the Pistons with a 122 to 101 victory, improving their record to 12 wins and 6 losses!
As the final whistle blew, Zhang Hao was just preparing to head back to the locker room for rehab. Current rehab methods are not advanced, which requires quite a lot of time, and sprinting hard during that fast-breaking time indeed was tiring, urging him to go home early for rest.
Tonight, he also planned to review the game, carefully evaluating the change in strategy toward using his offensive strengths in the team’s offensive approach for better utilization of these aspects.
But as he just got up, a notification for task completion came.
"There’s no task tonight!"
"The Los Angeles Lakers faced off against their rivals the Detroit Pistons. Lakers fans had high expectations for Zhang Hao, the rookie who had once set a record against the Detroit Pistons, presenting a rare opportunity for Zhang Hao, triggering the hidden task: This is My Stage, Phase Two Objective.
Objective 1: Under the host’s guidance, Zhang Hao needs to secure the highest score in the game. (Zhang Hao scored 40 points, while Grant Hill had the second-highest at 31 points, accomplished.)
Objective 2: Under the host’s guidance, Zhang Hao needs to help the Lakers defeat their rival, the Pistons. (Accomplished)
Congratulations, you have obtained the hidden task reward: +24 days of life expectancy.
Specially contracted player Zhang Hao helped the Lakers win as the main force in the game, congratulations on accumulating an additional life expectancy reward of 5 days.
Remaining life expectancy is 515 days, available life expectancy is 514 days."
"The host has triggered and completed the hidden task; task: This is My Stage, the ultimate goal triggered."
"This is My Stage: Specially contracted player Zhang Hao needs to prove to the fans that he is the best rookie of the 1995 batch.
Objective 1: In the upcoming games, whenever facing rookies who were picked higher in the same draft, Zhang Hao’s score must exceed that of the opponents and he must help the team defeat the opponent’s team.
Task reward: For each occurrence accomplished, the host gets +10 days of life expectancy reward, halting when failing.
Objective 2: Zhang Hao needs to win the 1996 Rookie of the Year award.
Task reward: 1 Golden Lottery Draw opportunity."
"The reward equates to 180 days of life expectancy! Indeed, Rookie of the Year is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a player, deserving such a substantial reward... Wait! 510 Celestial Mandate! It’s time for a lottery draw!"
...
Post-match press conference, Zhang Hao attended the Lakers’ post-game press conference for the first time.
He was happy today; even when faced with tricky questions, he opted for official responses, much to Del Harris’s relief.
In the press conference when Zhang Hao joined, Del Harris didn’t attend, but he saw the news and noted how Zhang Hao came across as critical of everything, a stark contrast to the poker-faced demeanor he maintained even after making a buzzer-beater against Jordan.
