บท 386: Chapter 386: Old Horse, Still Full of Aspirations
The second half began with the Pacers trailing by 6 points, but their faces were filled with confidence.
The Suns were already running on fumes, and they knew this would be a tough game to win.
George started the third quarter strong, hitting back-to-back three-pointers to tie the game.
Then, Wade Dong drove to the basket, scoring against Hibbert and drawing a foul in the process.
Swish!!!
Wade Dong calmly sank the free throw.
60:57!!!
But for the next seven minutes, the Suns seemed stuck in the mud.
Wade Dong's defense on George made scoring difficult, but Stephenson stepped up, scoring three consecutive times against Varick to take the lead.
Varick's face was tense, and he was clearly putting in a lot of effort on defense, but to no avail! The Pacers kept attacking him, and even when Carter took over defending Stephenson, West would single out Varick.
69:75!!!
With 7 minutes left in the third quarter, the Suns had only managed to score 12 points, and the Pacers had taken the lead.
As the score started to slip away, Gentry called a timeout.
However, the Suns' struggles didn't end there. Carter was the first to show signs of fatigue.
With 9 minutes left in the third quarter, Wade Dong, facing a triple team, passed the ball to Carter, who was wide open beyond the three-point line. Carter, with no defenders within a meter and a half, hesitated before taking the three-point shot.
Swish~
Carter's shot was way off, and the ball landed right in West's hands.
Yi Nan, under the basket, was eager to grab the ball but was called for a defensive foul.
The Pacers inbounded the ball, but Wade Dong intercepted the pass.
However, the Trail Blazers quickly retreated after Wade Dong's steal, and Gentry called a timeout.
As Carter walked to the bench, large beads of sweat fell to the floor, and his steps were heavy.
"Coach, I..."
Carter's face was grim.
Gentry's eyes flickered, and he asked, "Can you hold on?"
"I need a few minutes to rest..."
Carter replied, and in the Suns' current state, even if he focused solely on defense, playing almost three full quarters was a significant challenge for an old player like Carter.
"Sigh..."
Gentry sighed, "There are still over two minutes left in the third quarter. As long as the lead doesn't exceed 15 points, we'll be fine. Nash, do you want to go in and stretch your legs?"
"I can!" Nash nodded.
"Actually..."
Yao and Iverson spoke at the same time, "We can play for two minutes too."
"Alright, thank you all."
Gentry's eyebrows relaxed, "You three go in and play for two minutes. If we win this game, I'll treat everyone to drinks tonight. "
"Oh yeah!"
Even the away fans were excited to see Yao, Iverson, and Nash back on the court, and they all stood up and applauded.
Vogel was moved, but he still instructed his players, "Yao and the other two are back on the court, which means the Suns are running out of steam, except for Wade Dong. Our chance has come."
...
After the timeout, there were 2 minutes and 37 seconds left in the third quarter, and the Suns had possession.
Nash dribbled the ball up the court, and although the Pacers knew that Nash, Iverson, and Yao had been retired for a long time, their presence on the court was still formidable.
Wade Dong came out from under the basket, drawing the defenders' attention, and Nash tossed the ball into the air.
The ball landed perfectly above Yao, who barely jumped and caught it, then turned and took a jump shot.
Swish!!!
The ball swished through the net!
75:82!!!
The Suns were still trailing by 7 points.
"Oh yeah!"
The Suns' bench erupted in cheers!
The plan was to have Yao and the other two veterans on the court to buy some time and give Carter, Yi Nan, and Varick a break, but these three old players gave the Suns a huge surprise. Yao's movements were much slower, almost sluggish, but his sense of rhythm allowed him to score a few points against Hibbert.
The Trail Blazers had possession, and Yao stayed up front, not running back on defense.
In his current state, if he ran back, the defense might not be set by the time the Suns' offense was over, and he might not even make it back in time for the Suns' next possession.
Nash and Iverson's footwork had also slowed down significantly, leaving only two Pacers to defend against five Suns players.
George passed the ball to West, who saw Wade Dong rushing towards him and passed it to Hibbert!
Wade Dong turned and rushed towards Hibbert again!
Hibbert made a hook shot and passed the ball to the cutting Stephenson.
They were toying with Wade Dong!
Stephenson received the pass but didn't go for the layup, waiting for Wade Dong to defend him before passing it back to Hibbert.
At this moment, Wade Dong had his back to Hibbert, who casually took a jump shot!
"Damn it!"
Wade Dong roared and jumped, forcefully twisting his body in mid-air to swat Hibbert's shot away.
"Holy shit!"
Wade Dong had just blocked four players' shots!
Chinese fans watching the live broadcast went wild. Did you want to toy with Wade Dong? He was telling the Pacers with his superhuman ability that he could defend against four players.
Wade Dong's defense ignited Iverson's blood, and he had already run back to the frontcourt.
The Pacers inbounded the ball, but as soon as it reached West's hands, Iverson appeared behind him and stole the ball!
Iverson snatched the ball and passed it to Yao, who, facing an empty basket, jumped with all his might and slammed the ball home!
"Haha..."
After the dunk, Yao was delighted and shouted to the Suns' bench, "Did you see that? I can still dunk!"
77:82!!!
No one expected these three veterans to start catching up on the score.
There was only 1 minute and 13 seconds left in the third quarter.
George missed a three-pointer!
Wade Dong grabbed the defensive rebound, dribbled down the court, and passed the ball to Nash beyond the three-point line after dribbling past three defenders.
Nash caught the ball, adjusted his posture, and took a three-pointer.
Swish!!!
The ball swished through the net.
80:82!!!
The Suns were now only 2 points behind.
Then, Iverson stole the ball from Stephenson again and passed it to Yao, who, facing Hibbert, used his signature hook shot to score!
82:82!!!
The third quarter ended with the Suns tying the game.
"Oh yeah!"
Not only the Suns' bench but also all the fans watching the live broadcast were going wild.
Old horse, still full of aspirations!
No one expected these three veterans, who were just there to make up the numbers, to score 9 points in just over two minutes and help the Suns tie the game.
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