Chapter 80: Nearly decisive
This year's All-Star Game was indeed not serious at the beginning, but it started to get a bit tense from the second quarter.

Both physical confrontation and defensive intensity are gradually improving.

Zheng Yang played for a long time today, but was replaced by Popovich with only four minutes left in the first quarter.

After all, this is not his team alone, so it is impossible for him to play the whole game.

In fact, Popovich didn't plan to let him play for so long at first, but before the game started, David Stern called him and asked him not to do anything tricky to Zheng Yang.

Popovich had no choice but to let Zheng Yang play for a while longer.

The West was still in the lead in the first quarter, but starting from the second quarter, the Eastern All-Star team, led by Iverson, began to fight back.

Iverson's touch was average today, but he organized the game well. By the end of the first half, he had already received 6 assists.

It can be seen that he is eyeing today's MVP, but unfortunately his touch today is really not good. Under such low-intensity defense, he has only made 9 of 2 shots.

At the end of the first half, the East led the West by 75 points, 68:7.

"Hey guys, let's get serious in the second half!"

During the halftime break, Kobe clapped his hands and shouted to everyone. Seeing that the players from the Eastern Conference had started to get serious while his team was still laughing, he couldn't stand it anymore.

The others looked at each other and then nodded.

Although no one takes this game seriously, no one likes the feeling of losing a game. In addition, the league has long been rumored to have a "strong West and weak East" mentality. If they lose this game, they will be somewhat embarrassed.

Coming back in the second half, Garnett first hit a three-pointer against James' defense, and then Iverson threw the ball directly to the frontcourt when serving.

Vince Carter appeared there at the right time, then took a step forward and jumped high, making a windmill dunk.

The fans in the stadium immediately burst into loud cheers. In the United States, the most popular player this year is still Vince Carter.

I have to say that his dunks are really spectacular. The smoothness and ease of his movements and the strong visual impact are truly unmatched.

No wonder some people say there are only two kinds of dunks in the world, one is Vince Carter's dunk, and the other is everyone else's dunk.

In the next round, the ball came into Zheng Yang's hands. Kobe reached out for the ball at the forty-five-degree position on the left, but Zheng Yang did not give it to him.

He accelerated and passed Grant Hill directly, of course this was because the latter did not defend seriously.

Although everyone was getting serious, it was only the third quarter after all, and it was not time to use bayonets yet.

After rushing into the inside, Shaquille O'Neal jumped high, as he was worried that Zheng Yang was going to dunk on him.

He doesn't want to be this guy's background.

James appeared behind Zheng Yang at some point, and he was ready to give him a hotpot to relieve his resentment.

Zheng Yang, who had a broad field of vision, guessed that James was going to block him when he jumped. In addition, O'Neal was as tall as a mountain in front of him, and there was a high probability that he would miss the dunk or be blocked if he forced it.

So he bent his outstretched arm back, and then as he began to fall, the ball moved from his right hand to his left hand, and the basketball appeared on the other side of O'Neal's body.

Now in the air, Zheng Yang had no leverage point, but relying on the strength of his waist, abdomen and arms, the basketball was flicked out from his fingertips and rose up in a spin.

It attracted the attention of countless people and bounced into the basket after hitting the backboard.

"Shh."

The basketball hit the net!

Zheng Yang scored the goal with an extremely incredible pull-up shot.

The Eastern Conference players on the sidelines who witnessed the entire process were stunned with shock.

Ward, what did they see?
Zheng was able to turn a dunk into a pull-up shot and still make it under the double-team of O'Neal and James.

This physical talent and this soft touch actually appeared in one person at the same time.

This guy is a genius!

Wade, whose cheeks were slightly bulging, didn't come back to his senses until Zheng Yang returned to defense.

The boss is worthy of being the boss. With such scoring ability, no wonder he can compete for the scoring title.

As for Kobe, who was about to ask for the ball at the beginning, he was also shocked by Zheng Yang's goal.

But he still pretended to be calm and made up his mind secretly.

He will score a goal in the same way later. If a second-year rookie can do it, there is no reason why he can't do it.

In the third quarter, the stars on both sides began to show their best skills. Under Nash's coordination, the Western Conference not only played smoothly but also had a very good visual effect.

Although the Eastern Conference lost such a good passing guard, they still maintained their leading advantage by playing steadily.

However, the original 7-point advantage was reduced to only 2 points after the third quarter.

Entering the fourth quarter with a 2-point difference, there is still a lot of suspense in today's game.

The fans also saw that everyone was ready to play seriously in today's game, so they were particularly excited.

To see the best players in the league go head to head in a real fight is something you never dare to imagine.

When a star meets another star, who will be the better one?
The answer will be revealed soon.

After the fourth quarter, when Iverson's three-point shot was blocked by Stoudemire, all the players understood that the game had officially begun.

After the blocked basketball was passed to Grant Hill, he shook off Nash in a disguised way and then made a layup.

Grant Hill is indeed a gentleman off the court, but he is never soft-handed on the court and he is also a scoring weapon.

Then Nash got a chance for a mid-range shot under Stoudemire's pick-and-roll, helping the team score another two points.

This pick-and-roll combination is still useful even on the All-Star stage.

……

In the fourth quarter, both sides played very seriously and truly put on an epic offensive and defensive battle.

Although these players played together without much running-in, they still played many perfect combinations with their personal abilities and basketball IQ.

When the time came to the last two minutes of the fourth quarter, the two teams were tied.

The current score is 120:120, and the ball is on the Eastern side.

After Iverson brought the ball across half court, he dribbled the ball and observed the situation.

The Western Conference's lineup on the field at the moment is the starting players. This lineup's defense is very good, and they can keep a close eye on their opponents with just one defense.

Seeing that others could not create good open opportunities, Iverson, who had been in poor form today, decided to complete the attack himself.

Confidence is the most important thing for a player. Only with it can he have the opportunity to step onto a higher stage. O'Neal also ran out from the inside and made a pick-and-roll for him. He believed that this little guy who led the team to win against them in Game 1 of the Finals that year would score this goal.

With the help of O'Neal's pick-and-roll, Iverson came to the paint area. At this time, Garnett blocked him, with a pair of long arms covering the sky, and he could hardly see where the basket was.

But Iverson did not choose to pass the ball. He suddenly stepped back to shoot, and Garnett pounced on him.

Who would have thought that Iverson was just faking a shot and then accelerated to rush to the basket.

Then he carried Yao Ming and scored.

Iverson has scored this kind of layup by carrying the center too many times.

122:120, Iverson helped the team lead by 2 points.

It was the West's turn to attack. Kobe dribbled the ball across half court. He also had no intention of passing the ball. His touch was not very good today, but he still chose to shoot himself.

The moment the basketball was shot, Zheng Yang knew the ball was gone. His excellent rebounding sense allowed him to reach the right side of the paint area earlier than anyone else.

That would be the best position to grab the rebound.

Relying on his rich experience and physical advantage, O'Neal had already trapped Yao Ming behind him. Just as he was about to jump up to grab the rebound, a figure grabbed the basketball before him.

Because the distance was too far, Zheng Yang was unable to make a tip-in, but as he was falling, he gently pushed with his palm and threw the basketball he had just received out.

The soft touch made the basketball draw a perfect arc in the air and then fall gently into the basket.

122:122! The two teams tied again!
At this moment, Zheng Yang's score has reached 25 points, which is currently the highest score in the game. He is also the only player in the game with a score of more than 20 points.

As long as the West wins this game, Zheng Yang will be the player most likely to win the MVP.

Eastern Conference head coach Van Gundy did not choose to request a timeout, and continued to let the players solve the problems on their own.

Iverson dribbled across half court and Kobe began to defend him closely. He was a little frustrated after missing the three-pointer just now, and he wanted to make a perfect defense in this round to prove himself.

Iverson did not rush to attack, but kept observing the situation. Finally, after breaking through and attracting a double-team, he threw the ball to Vince Carter who was lurking in the bottom corner.

This ball is exactly the same as the first round of this game.

Vince Carter successfully scored the ball in that round, but in this round, can he help the team take the lead again?
Today he made 5 of 3 three-pointers, accounting for half of the team's three-pointers, and it is obvious that he has a good touch.

The basketball flew out from Vince Carter's fingertips. McGrady's defense didn't really bother him. The fans in the audience were staring at the basketball intently, forgetting to breathe.

"Shh!"

"Yeah yeah yeah..."

Excited fans began to cheer, and some even took off their Carter jerseys and waved them in their hands. The security guards nearby did not care about maintaining order because they were cheering too.

Carter is very popular in the United States. I don't know how many people in this stadium came just for him.

Popovich honestly called a timeout and then arranged a three-point tactic for Kobe. Although Zheng Yang also wanted to have this shot, his qualifications were still too inexperienced.

Although his average points per game is the highest this year, compared with players like Kobe who have been famous for a long time and won many championships, it is still not reassuring.

After the timeout, after a while of running, the basketball came into Kobe's hands. He held the ball in the three-point position but did not rush to shoot.

The person defending him was James, and he didn't know whether the opponent would shoot a two-point shot or a three-point shot, so he was not sure about the defensive distance.

Kobe seized this opportunity and, after a tentative step, shot a three-pointer.

With the same swish sound, the basketball went into the net.

125:125! The two teams tied again.

The back-and-forth plot made the fans very excited, but at the same time their hearts were in their throats and they were very nervous.

Can the Eastern Conference score in the next round? If so, who will score?
Can the West respond?

Will there be a buzzer beater today?
Who will win the game today?
No one knew the answer, but it soon became clear.

With only 28 seconds left in the game, Van Gundy requested a timeout. He needed to plan a tactic for this round because this could very well be their buzzer-beater.

After the timeout, the West adopted a man-to-man tactic and kept a close watch on Iverson. In the past two rounds, his attack and pass left a deep impression on the West.

Iverson has scored 15 points and 10 assists so far. If the East wins the game, he will be the player most likely to win the MVP.

The original Eastern Conference tactic was to pass the ball to Iverson, who would decide the team's offense.

But Kobe's defense was too good, and Zheng Yang was also watching closely. In order to avoid a timeout, Vince Carter had to throw the ball to Hill.

After receiving the ball, the latter did not rush to attack, one to find a better opportunity, and the other to shorten the West's offensive time.

After passing the ball from hand to hand, the ball finally came into Iverson's hands. When there were only 6 seconds left, he rushed into the inside with the help of a screen.

When Yao Ming double-teamed him, O'Neal made a ground pass and jumped up to dunk the ball, ravaging the basket.

The East led by 2 points again, and the West had only 5.6 seconds left to attack.

Popovich called the last timeout, glanced at the players around him and spoke seriously.

"It was a good night, but I didn't want to waste any more time with them.

Kevin, Ray Allen will take your place and I'll draw up a three-point play for Kobe, but everyone needs to be ready to catch and shoot."

He took out a tactical drawing board and started drawing on it, while Kobe bit his jersey and his eyes became more determined.

After the timeout, Yao Ming served the ball. The Western players kept screening for Kobe, but the Eastern players stared at him and didn't give him a chance to receive the ball.

Ray Allen is also one of their close targets.

At this moment, Zheng Yang, who was originally covering for Kobe in the paint area, suddenly bounced out to the bottom corner. Yao Ming immediately reacted and passed the ball to him.

The other players in the East just reacted, but Zheng Yang was already in shooting position, ready for a three-point shot!
Can Zheng Yang seize this absolutely open opportunity?
Zheng Yang, who became the focus of everyone's attention, was not nervous at all. He had said a long time ago that he was born for big scenes.

But it was just a small All-Star Game and it couldn't scare him.

Zheng Yang made his fourth three-pointer of the game. He made one of three before, but after this shot, will he make one of four or two of four?

"Shh!"

With only 2.8 seconds left on the timer, the basketball went into the net. The sound of friction on the net reached Zheng Yang's ears, like heavenly music.

127: 128!

Zheng Yang almost scored the winning goal against the Eastern Conference!

(End of this chapter)