to 35, the Lakers lead by 3 points!

The turnover, the Heat attacks, the Lakers’ perimeter defense becomes like mad dogs, even Van Exel, who was swapped in to shoot forcefully, is frenziedly active on defense against Koels.

Moning has an absolute advantage under the basket, Koels lobs the ball to Moning, just as Moning receives the ball and attempts to turn and dunk over Jason Williams, Zhang Hao, who has gone wild, slaps the ball!

Steal!

Though the Lakers failed to counterattack immediately afterward, the Heat engaged in equally intense confrontation. However, after the Lakers finished this offense, just as the Heat put the ball in play, the halftime buzzer sounded. With a score of 38 to 35, the Lakers, relying on Zhang Hao’s single-handed 15 points, outscored 23 to 16 in the second quarter, overtaking by 3 points entering halftime!

During halftime, the Lakers made no technical or tactical adjustments. There’s nothing to adjust now; it’s all about whether the Magician can pass the ball to open teammates, and whether the scoring powerhouse can make shots despite tight defense when the team’s shooting touch isn’t good.

Del Harris emphasized the details of playing life-or-death defense during halftime.

Zhang Hao continued to receive ice therapy at halftime to relieve pain.

The second half began with the situation the same, but the Lakers’ fighting spirit was particularly high!

Both the Lakers and the Heat emphasized defense. Due to increasingly rough confrontations and physical depletion, minor conflicts were evidently increasing, with both teams falling into a string of fouls in the first half of the third quarter.

By mid-third quarter, after the official timeout and thanks to Owens’ mid-range shot, the score became 44 to 45. The Lakers were overtaken by 1 point by the Heat. Such a game clearly felt more familiar to the Heat, as they scored a 10 to 6 run over the Lakers in this half-quarter.

After holding on for half a quarter and being overtaken, as the Lakers’ belief in certain victory was about to crack, Van Exel, who received the inbound pass, saw Zhang Hao had already sprinted out!

Van Exel quickly got energized, pushed fast, and, as Zhang Hao sped past mid-court, the ball was sent out!

Like a leading cavalryman, Zhang Hao surpassed the opposing defender, first entering the free-throw line to receive the long pass, dunking with a single hand without any fancy moves!

Clearly feeling the opponent’s retreat speed slowing, Zhang Hao waited for a long time, finally waiting for this moment!

After scoring 4 points with free throws and a turnaround fadeaway in the last minute-plus of the second quarter, Zhang Hao realized that relying on defense and one-on-one plays against the Heat was very difficult; his mid-range shots during movement were also hard because the opponent’s defense was very tight. He had to shoot immediately upon receiving the ball; hesitating would lead to fouls.

Force a shot?

No, Zhang Hao chose to exhaust!

Though the Lakers’ energy consumption was large too, and Mr. Zhang’s consumption was equally large, under mutual depletion conditions, Mr. Zhang had an advantage—he could counterattack now; the opponent couldn’t keep up!

Charge!

He hadn’t felt like this in a long time. Since joining the Lakers, many games were won easily, while some were hard-fought, dragging into the last moments, without giving him a chance to counterattack.

Finally, the opportunity arose!

Zhang Hao’s dunk reignited the declining morale and fighting spirit of the Lakers, boosting them to the peak!

In the third quarter, the Heat actually played well. While holding the Lakers to only 6 points in half a quarter, they scored 8 points through Owens’ solo break, narrowing the gap to just 1 point with an 8 to 6 run. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Logically speaking, they had established an advantage, but after returning from an official timeout and just taking the lead, Zhang Hao’s unbelievable counterattack was witnessed!

In the next two possessions, the Heat hit surprisingly well, scoring a three-pointer and a long two-pointer.

But regardless of whether they scored or not, Zhang Hao initiated a quick counter every time; at this point, Heat players couldn’t catch up anymore!

They scored 5 points, while Zhang Hao personally scored 4!

Another Heat attack, after connecting three consecutive shots post-official timeout, missed the basket. The Lakers focused on defending Owens and Resk Chapman, hanging around the basket, and Koels missed an open three-pointer. As Zhang Hao took off once more, receiving the Magician’s long pass, he leaped and dunked with both hands, tying the game at 50!

The game stood at a delicate turning point. The Heat played exceptionally well in the third quarter tonight, with outstanding defense and unexpectedly accurate shooting, managing to limit the Lakers’ field goals to just 1 in the first 8 minutes, a fantastic performance.

However, Zhang Hao’s three consecutive fast-breaks netted 6 points, and just 1 missed shot from the Heat allowed the Lakers to tie the game again!

The changing score should not heavily impact the Heat’s players’ psyche, but Zhang Hao’s relentless counterattacks instilled a shiver of desperation within the Heat... They recalled the encounters early in the season when Zhang Hao, then with the Brooklyn Nets, battered them.

The Brooklyn Nets weren’t even stronger than the Heat, but they shattered the Heat with Zhang Hao’s insane counterattacks in the third quarter!

Just like now!

Initially, after half a season of adjustment and integration, the Heat had plans for distributing stamina well; defending full-court wasn’t an issue, and if executed properly, even the Bulls couldn’t dominate them in regular time.

They hadn’t regarded the Lakers’ defense that highly, unexpectedly finding themselves with the Lakers in a physical consumption battle!

By mid-third quarter, their stamina visibly waning, the Lakers were also showing exhaustion. The Heat initially capitalized on this advantage to make a scoring surge, seemingly about to seize the initiative; sustaining it would likely drag the game to an end.

But then, Zhang Hao returned!

That incredible super counterattack was back!

At this moment, Zhang Hao had only one thought—"Charge! Crush them!"