One Year Left to Play

Chapter 524 - 159: Jordan Is About to Be Broken Too!

During the period of back-to-back championships, apart from Drexler wanting to latch onto the Rockets and being brought back with the same salary, there was virtually no substantial reinforcement. During these championships, the salaries of their players generally remained low, with Olajuwon’s salary increasing from 3 million to 5 million, and they never reached the salary cap in the championship seasons...

Tomjanovich really misses his former boss... But just in ’93, the summer before the championship year, a Jewish owner bought their team and started cutting expenses...

This led to the situation where, after the back-to-back championships, the players were over-exhausted, plagued by injuries, and the aging roster couldn’t be updated!

If it weren’t for the divine stroke of luck in the tail end of the first round ’93, where they selected the 23-and-a-half-year-old rookie Cassell, their point guard line would have collapsed.

Tonight, Drexler, originally expected to be the biggest advantage, was greatly limited after Doug Christie stepped onto the court, performing below expectations, and Tomjanovich could only continue relying on the 33-year-old Olajuwon alone.

The Rockets had a clear goal; they aimed to establish a lead in the third quarter and then give Olajuwon some rest at the beginning of the fourth quarter. If they could decide the outcome in the third, that would be better, but at least the goal was to establish an advantage to drag into the critical moments.

Meanwhile, the Lakers also had a clear goal, nothing else but to keep the score tight in the third quarter!

In the end, the Lakers were successful!

Having rested the entire second quarter, the Magician took to the court in the third quarter, with Anthony Piller, Doug Christie, Zhang Hao, and Campbell in the lineup. They engaged in a positional battle with Olajuwon for a while. With Del Harris, who had more resources at his disposal, precisely controlling the rotation timing, Van Exel, George Lynch, Donyell Marshall, Jason Williams, and others alternated onto the court, exerting all efforts to contend with the formidable Olajuwon!

When three quarters were over, the Lakers hadn’t been overtaken, leading 93 to 92 going into the fourth quarter!

Though the Rockets had a 31 to 28 score in the third quarter, having an advantage for the quarter, they were behind overall!

Inside offense was unfavorable to team offense, and tonight, Olajuwon, mostly playing high post most of the time, was already exhausted, but still needed to start the fourth quarter.

Drexler only scored 11 points in the first three quarters tonight, but he was quite spent too. He was a crucial part of the Rockets’ perimeter defense, needing to cooperate with Horace in defense, alongside Olajuwon, and also Cassell.

The Lakers were defending fiercely and attacking vigorously as well, also quite fatigued. But at the start of the fourth quarter, Zhang Hao surged!

Unstoppable!

Zhang Hao initiated a "Single Rider" counterattack, ranking exceedingly prominent when most players on the court were extremely fatigued.

Within the first two minutes, Zhang Hao completed two counterattack dunks, helping the Lakers launch with high morale. Then came another counterattack three-pointer hitting amidst cheers... following a wave of 13 to 4, the Lakers successfully pushed the score to 106 to 96, achieving a 10-point lead!

This wave of offensive locked in the Lakers’ victory!

Watching Zhang Hao play with increasing enthusiasm, Olajuwon felt the essence of youth, as if seeing himself running at sunset, that was his bygone youth...

...

With a final score of 122 to 108, the Lakers ultimately defeated the Rockets by a margin of 14 points, elevating their record to 43 wins and 10 losses, securing a 5-game winning streak!

out of 16 field goals, including 2 out of 4 three-pointers, coupled with 7 out of 8 free throws, Zhang Hao leveraged the second quarter’s single quarter 10 points and the final quarter’s single quarter 17 points, playing a full 48 minutes, explosively scoring 41 points, grabbing 10 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 5 blocks with a 40+10+5 statistic!

The seventh 40+ performance this season, it’s been a while, but it finally came!

Constantly sprinting towards the opponent’s basket in the final quarter, Zhang Hao scored 6 out of 9 field goals, made one three-pointer, and earned 5 free throws, making 4... providing a vivid visual impact for the fans watching this live broadcast.

Clearly, when defending all were already positioned close enough to blue collar disruption... it’s equivalent to directing traffic, but when counterattacking, excessively aggressive!

Many fans watching this game for Olajuwon were properly captivated by Zhang Hao’s splendid final quarter performance.

Olajuwon had a great performance tonight as well, going 13 out of 26 field goals, 8 out of 9 free throws, collecting 34 points, 8 boards, 7 assists, 4 blocks, and 2 steals, but he went 12 for 18 in the first three quarters, with the final quarter being the one he took the most shots in a single period but only managed 1 out of 8.

Though it’s evident to discerning folks that Olajuwon’s impact in the game was stronger than Zhang Hao’s better stats, but who can limit the endless youthful energy?

Losing naturally doesn’t bring joy; Olajuwon gave Zhang Hao a senior’s caring handshake post-game before leaving.

Zhang Hao, as usual, calmly accepted the post-game interview, voiced an utter disinterest in the 40+ performance, and was about to leave but realized someone was staring at him...

Who? No one! But the gaze was coming from this direction.

He looked down, almost taken aback.

Luckily, he professionally played the... cold Gentleman.

Zhang Hao, seeing the other party’s awkward demeanor, took the initiative to ask: "Hello, Mr. Cassell, is there anything you need?"

No disdain! Cassell again showed a warm smile.

Never mind Cassell as a rough player entering the NBA, but off-court, he is rather the self-doubting kind.

Zhang Hao almost couldn’t resist turning away, but fortunately due to his personal setting, held back.