dognovel Chapter 723 The Crucial Defense!
Chapter 723 The Crucial Defense!
87:83.
On the French team's bench, Gobert sat with a towel, his face grim.
Being dunked on, especially twice in a row, is a first for Gobert in his career.
One of them was Li Kai'er, which made it even more unacceptable to him.
But what can you do if you don't accept it?
Go up there and fight Lee Kyle again?
Then he and Li Kaier left the scene together.
Do you think the Chinese people will laugh so hard they can't straighten their backs?
The timeout ended quickly, and both teams returned to the court.
Gobert then repeatedly called for the ball and drove aggressively into the paint, scoring two points.
With Gobert drawing attention inside, it actually gave Wabbana more opportunities on the perimeter.
However, during this period, Wang Xiucheng frequently used fadeaway shots, rendering the French team's defense ineffective.
Wang Xiucheng's fadeaway shot is quite unique. It's one thing to make fadeaway three-pointers, but after being teammates with Durant for so long, his fadeaway angle is exactly the same as Durant's.
But every time Wang Xiucheng drove into the paint, he would shoot a fadeaway floater, which was just too weird!
Who would be so kind as to combine a lean-back and a throw-off into one motion?
Most people throw forward so they can generate force.
When leaning back, it takes more force to throw the ball out, which is why you need two hands to shoot.
Wang Xiucheng used it, and he didn't fail!
With 1 minute and 12 seconds left in the game, France's lead was only 4 points, which is practically no advantage in the modern small-ball era.
Fortunately, the big man on the Chinese team was fouled out by Gobert with five fouls.
97:93.
Both coaches held onto a timeout but didn't use it.
Everyone knows that the outcome will be decided in this very minute.
Comparatively speaking, the French team, which is leading by 4 points, has the advantage, as they still control possession of the ball.
However, the time had come for "the king's time".
Just how terrifying is "King Time"? Anyone who has watched any Nets game knows what it means.
Fournier dribbled forward, with Gobert in front of him, blocking Wang Xiucheng who was trying to approach Fournier.
Once in the attacking third, Fournier began to run down the clock.
With France leading by 4 points, there's absolutely no need for them to rush.
The Chinese team is the one in a hurry now.
The entire stadium of French fans stood and chanted together, cheering for their team.
With 6 seconds left on the shot clock, Wenbanyama suddenly broke away from David Muoka in the corner and ran out.
Wang Xiucheng saw Wenban Yama and immediately moved into his path, getting stuck between Wenban Yama and Fournier.
Wenbanyama had no choice but to dodge and reach out to catch Fournier's ball.
At this moment, Gobert, who was inside, also ran out from inside to outside.
This is a tactic frequently used by the French team.
When Wenban received the ball, Gobert set a screen for him, allowing Wenban to shoot.
With Gobert's screens and Wimbledon's height and wingspan, few could interfere with Wimbledon's shot.
The best chance to break this tactic is actually before Wenbanyama receives the ball.
In order to avoid Wang Xiucheng, Wen Ban took an extra step, which made Wang Xiucheng's turning radius much smaller than Wen Ban's.
Just as Fournier passed the ball to Wenbanyama, Wang Xiucheng took a long step and flew out, extending his arm at the same time.
Fournier had already noticed Wang Xiucheng moving behind Wenban Yama, but it was too late. He didn't even have time to warn him before he saw Wang Xiucheng, like a fencer, slap the basketball with his large hand almost simultaneously with Wenban Yama's.
With a snap, the basketball flew to the side.
Fournier immediately lunged at the basketball.
But at that moment, Choi Young-seok, who had been watching this area closely, also rushed out.
With a thud, the two men fell to the ground almost simultaneously, their four hands landing on the basketball.
The two were locked in a struggle, each trying to use their strength to shake off the other's hand, but neither of them, sitting on the ground, could muster any strength.
David Mourinho and several others rushed over, and in an instant, four or five people were lying sprawled on the ground.
Beep!
The referee blew his whistle and then gave two thumbs up.
Fight for the ball!
Both Xiao Cui and David Muoka on the floor clenched their fists.
Wang Xiucheng and Zhou Qi were helped up by Li Kaier, who then patted them on the lower back.
Beautiful defense!
The last time they contested for possession, the ball went to the French team.
Therefore, possession of the ball belongs to the Chinese team this time.
This defense was successful.
Zhou Qi looked up at the time; there were still 48 seconds left.
Once outside the sideline, Zhou Qi wiped his hands on his clothes and took the ball from the referee.
Serving from the sideline, especially in the final moments of a match, is a global challenge for all teams.
But actually, the inability to serve the ball is related to the server, but even more so to the player who is positioned to receive the ball.
With Wang Xiucheng on the team, serving has become much easier for the Chinese team.
"If you really can't pass the ball, just throw it onto the basket."
This is what Wang Xiucheng told them.
Although Wang Xiucheng can't get the ball and dunk every time, he succeeds about 50% of the time, which is still incredibly impressive.
So even though the referee was already counting down, Zhou Qi wasn't in a hurry.
Wang Xiucheng was already rampaging across the field, and in almost two seconds he had completely disrupted the French team's formation.
As soon as Li Kaier turned around, he received Zhou Qi's serve.
He immediately saw Wang Xiucheng rushing forward, so he threw the ball onto the floor in front of him.
The basketball bounced off the floor with a thud and then shot forward.
Wang Xiucheng happened to come over and catch the basketball, while simultaneously blocking Fournier.
Upon receiving the ball, Wang Xiucheng immediately braked and slowed down. Without thinking, Fournier reached out and hugged Wang Xiucheng, while simultaneously slapping the basketball with his hand.
Wang Xiucheng was held so tightly that he couldn't jump, but he still managed to lift his back foot, positioning himself in the frontcourt, and then threw the basketball out with one hand.
With a whistle, the referee first blew the whistle, then held up three fingers and stared at the basketball.
The basketball traced a parabola, flying across the court before plummeting like a cannonball after reaching its highest point.
With a thud, the basketball barely made a splash as it slid straight into the net and then bounced off the floor.
Three-pointer, in!
The referee signaled that the goal was valid, and then signaled that Fournier had fouled Wang Xiucheng and that Wang Xiucheng needed to take a penalty kick.
The entire room was completely silent, even Yang Yi and the others in the live broadcast booth were silent.
That ball went in!
Wang Xiucheng's seemingly casual toss actually went in?
It seems Lady Luck is truly on China's side tonight!
This means that the Chinese team has a chance to tie the score!
Wang Xiucheng flung Fournier's hand off him and then raised his hands high.
In an instant, Li Kaier and the others pounced on them.
Only then did the fans belatedly begin to scream or grumble in disappointment.
"The three-pointer went in! This shot went in!" The younger and quicker-reacting Yang Yi didn't let Zhang Weiping get the chance this time. He shouted immediately, "Wang Xiucheng made a three-pointer and will get a free throw. The Chinese team has a chance to tie the score!"
Wang Xiucheng emerged from the crowd, raised his hands, and formed a heart shape above his head.
In the stands, all the Hebei China Fortune fans responded by making heart-shaped hand gestures.
Yang Mi, Liu Shishi, Liu Yifei, and Tang Yan are naturally the same.
This younger brother is so charming!
Fan Chengcheng stood up and shouted Wang Xiucheng's name while making a heart shape in response.
Although Fan Bingbing didn't stand up to respond like the others, her eyes were fixed on the big boy in the room.
At that moment, she felt that he was the center of her world!