Capítulo 1314: Chapter 530: One Against Two, Conquering the Thunder Twins!

Last year, Zhang Yang could still stand up to Durant. Now, this self-proclaimed 206 cm shooting guard has bulked up to 108 kg. Although his strength is strong, he lacks enough mass. In a breakthrough, Durant initiates contact and then changes direction with a step diagonal insertion. It’s now hard for Zhang Yang to stop him.

It’s up to Tony Allen, who transformed into a floor-flow defender after a major injury and strengthened his lower body strength, to ensure both mobility and lower body combat can keep up.

In transition from defense to offense, as they ran towards the frontcourt, Zhang Yang saw that after only one possession of defense, Sefolosha was already starting to warm up. This was Carlisle’s signal to him, and exactly what he wanted.

He moved to the interior, coordinating with Felton and Okafor to initiate a pick-and-roll attack, using Millsap as a screen on the wing to shake off Durant, reaching beyond the three-point line at a 45-degree angle on the right side to receive the pass just inside the free throw line from Okafor, shooting a fadeaway three-pointer… and scores!

He also drew a foul from the leaping defender Krstic!

Opening with a 3+1!

Afflalo: I just swiveled my hips a bit and now I have to get up? Zhang San, can’t you slow down a bit?

A low whistle sounded, the Bobcats made a substitution, and Afflalo replaced Hill.

Watching Zhang Yang walk to the free throw line, the exchange of glances between Rose and Durant saw their faces full of ‘Whoa,’ realizing that Krstic’s switch to defend the pick-and-roll was unexpectedly well-done, absolutely in place.

If Durant were switched onto this ball, he would also pass it to Millsap, who detached after a non-ball screen for a cut, while Little Jordan was drawn to the baseline mid-range by Felton, it’s impossible to cover back in time.

But Zhang Yang went for the shot, turning and jumping directly into a fadeaway during the catch. He knew that Krstic had covered well, but he just wanted to shoot over the 213 cm power forward!

And this was just the beginning; the Thunder twins witnessed what it means to be ‘the most flamboyant player ever’ in the upcoming period.

In the first half of the quarter, the Bobcats made a total of 11 shots in 6 minutes and 33 seconds, Zhang Yang took 7 of them, averaging more than one per minute! He also had a put-back that drew a foul and went to the free throw line!

And the shooting percentage was quite good, hitting 4 out of 7 shots, including one out of one three-pointer, plus three out of three free throws, scoring 12 points in half a quarter!

In terms of the score, the Thunder team was not behind. While their overall strength wasn’t as good as the Bobcats, they played 19 games in the first month, only 8 games this month before tonight—resting while the Bobcats were in a fatigued state, mainly relying on the trio for offense; Felton and Okafor were in average form, allowing the Thunder team to occasionally reverse the score.

It’s just Durant here… Afflalo and Cunningham alternated, yet neither could defend him, but in terms of stamina, he was a notch below Zhang Yang.

While Zhang Yang scored consecutively at over 50% shooting percentage, on the offensive end, Durant almost had no breath to recover and was forced to join Zhang Yang’s offensive rhythm…

Zhang Yang scored 18 points in the first quarter, leading the team to a 28-to-26 lead over the Thunder by two points;

In the second quarter, Zhang Yang made 5 out of 11 shots to ‘only’ score 12 points, with the Bobcats losing by 4 points with a 23-to-27 score, trailing the Thunder by two points at halftime going into the second half;

In the third quarter, Zhang Yang scored 15 points, leading the Bobcats to tie with the Thunder 25 to 25.

Durant played 31 minutes in the first three quarters, making 13 out of 23 shots, including 2 out of 4 three-pointers, plus 5 out of 6 free throws, scoring 33 points. Although not as many points as Zhang Yang’s 45 points in three quarters, his shooting percentage was stronger.

Along with 12 points and 7 assists from Rose assisting him, they led the team to a slim lead of 78 to 76 over the Bobcats.

But moving into the final quarter, Zhang Yang shot 11 times again, with higher efficiency than the 5 out of 11 in the second quarter and 5 out of 10 in the third quarter, hitting 6 out of 11 shots, including 1 out of 2 three-pointers, plus 3 out of 3 free throws, scoring 16 points!

While Durant played the entire final quarter, he only made 2 out of 7 shots, facing the experienced defense of Hill, fighting to the last moment where he found it hard to raise the ball for a shot during opposition!

As Zhang Yang’s offense exhausted Durant from scoring, Hill stuck close to him, while Rose was also suffering as the Bobcats collectively tightened their defense around the basket. Okafor and Perkins guarded the rim fiercely, forcing Rose into blocked shots or missed attempts on his drives…

The final quarter score was 22 to 16, with the Bobcats narrowly defeating the Thunder by a score of 98 to 94!

After the final buzzer sounded, Durant looked at Zhang Yang surrounded by teammates, as if seeing a non-human entity!

They were known as ‘the most promising new generation twins,’ yet in a two-on-one situation, they didn’t manage to win!

Rose made 6 out of 14 shots, scoring 18 points and 9 assists; Durant made 15 out of 30 shots, scoring 39 points.

On the other side… 22 out of 43 shots were made, including 4 out of 9 three-pointers, plus 13 out of 15 free throws, Zhang Yang played 46 minutes and exploded with 61 points!

Together, their twins only put up 44 shots; Zhang Yang’s solo shot count nearly matched theirs combined, and if calculated with the offensive rounds consumed by free throws, he surpassed them!

And the score outranked theirs combined!

The fans at Ford Center gradually quieted down after Zhang Yang hit a decisive mid-range shot with 22 seconds left, extending the lead to 4 points.

Tonight, Zhang Yang’s performance was beyond words, a frenzy enough to conquer the away fans!