Chapter 32: Reversal of Fate

The head coach of the Bruins, George Crent, is very helpless about the team's current performance, basketball is a game of putting the ball into the basket after all, the players are not in good shape, and the head coach basically has no more effective way.

As the half-time drew to a close, George Krent brought his main players onto the pitch in hopes of closing the gap to within 10 points before half-time.

Liu Han didn't go off the bench and he's the only point of consistency for the Bruins right now.

The Bruins attacked, Edio Bonno broke through at 45 degrees on the right side with the ball, Liu Han quickly ran to the left bottom corner to open up space, Eddie's breakthrough forced the Boars to shrink the formation, he gave the ball to Teus on the left side of the outside 45, Teus received the ball and dialed the ball directly to Liu Han in the bottom corner, Liu Han received the ball and hit three points, which was the eleventh point he got today.

"John, this oriental young man's three points are really accurate, but I can see that he won't break through, right?" Liu Han's accurate three-pointer made Abdul-Jabbar take notice.

"Haha, don't underestimate this guy, you might not believe me when I say it, because this little guy Jim Harrick is out of class, and can you believe it, he has been in basketball for less than a year." John Wooden explained Liu Han's situation to his disciples.

"Are you kidding? John, one year, that's impossible, you can't even learn the basic movements of basketball in a year. Abdul-Jabbar was very skeptical of Liu Han's words.

"I don't know what happened to him before he came to Los Angeles, but after coming to UCLA, his training has improved every day, and I have seen it firsthand. I believe that if we continue to train at this pace, he will bring us a 'big surprise'. John Wooden is full of confidence in Liu Han's future.

The game continued on the court, and Liu Han's three-pointer from the bottom corner made the score 42-32, and the Bruins were still 10 points behind.

The offense of the Wild Boars, the Wild Boars gradually replaced their main forces after the Bruins replaced their main team. Williamson, the number one star of the Wild Boars, received a pass from his teammate at 45 degrees on the right side of the three-point line in the front court, and the opposing defender Edio Bonno was in a reasonable position this time, with one hand faintly covering Williamson's shooter to prevent Williamson from shooting directly. Williamson saw that the opponent's attention was focused, and he beckoned his teammates on the inside to come out and cover for him. Williamson shook off Edio Bonno's defense through the cover of his teammates, but Liu Han made up for it well this time and stuck Williamson's breakthrough route. The Boars' Williamson had no choice but to give the ball to the point guard and start organizing the offense again.

Liu Han has gradually adapted to the team's defensive mode after many games, and he can now make up and change defenses at times.

The Bruins' defense was very successful, they forced the Wild Boars to spend a lot of time on this offense, and the Wild Boars, whose offensive time was almost up, were rushed by their number one star Williamson outside the three-point line, but what made the Bruins players a little depressed was that Williamson's shot actually bounced into the net after knocking on the front of the basket, a very lucky goal, 45-32, and the score gap widened to 13 points.

Liu Han hit another "big" three-pointer about one meter outside the three-point line at the top of the arc in the next attack of the Bruins, but the players of the opposing Wild Boars were like hanging up, and Clint McDaniel returned the same accurate three-pointer in the same position.

On the last offense before halftime, Edio Bonno's dunk was unfortunate enough to smash the basket and the Bruins' poor form affected everyone. The Wild Boars took advantage of the Bruins' distraction and successfully counterattacked, and Williamson hit a mid-range shot, and the gap between the two teams became 15 points before halftime. The Bruins are in crisis.

Liu Han felt the gloom of the team's atmosphere, and he wanted to say something to motivate his teammates.

"I don't think we should be afraid to shoot, if one doesn't score, try the second one, try the second one, try the third if the second one doesn't work, keep shooting, and there will always be goals."

"Liu, that's right, our interior height is now dominant, and with Liu, you will definitely score if you have the opportunity, the most important thing now is to let go of your deep fear of failure and fight for every rebound." Head coach George agreed with Liu Han's words.

At the end of the halftime, the re-entry of the Bruins began to change, the team's main point guard Teyus broke through the opponent's defense in the offense and gave the ball to Adio Bonno, after receiving the ball within one step of the three-point line, Edio Bonno did not hesitate to shoot, the ball bounced out of the frame again, but center George Zidike grabbed the rebound, and handed the ball to Liu Han in the bottom corner, Liu Han hit a three-point shot, 50-38, and the Wild Boars still led by 12 points.

The Wild Boars' offense, the Bruins' defense this time was very tight, they didn't give the Wild Boars any chance, they changed defenses and made up for positions very quickly, the Wild Boars shot three points by Clint McDaniel when the offensive time was approaching, this time the ball finally didn't go in, and the Bruins' Edio Bonno struggled to grab the rebound.

Edio Bonno, who grabbed the rebound, observed that Liu Han had run to the opponent's half, so he threw the ball directly at Liu Han, because he was afraid of being cut off by the opponent halfway, so Eddie's ball passed to the power a little big.

Liu Han glanced at the basketball that flew towards him, and he realized that if he didn't speed up, he might not be able to catch the ball, so he didn't turn around and prepare to catch the ball as usual, but ran towards the opponent's bottom line.

Liu Han received the ball at a position close to the bottom line of the opponent's half, but his speed is now very fast, there is no way to stop and shoot, he jumped backwards diagonally when he was about to go out of the baseline, and the basketball in his hand was thrown high when his body was close to a negative angle. The basketball crossed a parabola around the highest point of the hoop and plunged headlong into the net. 50 to 41.

Liu's bizarre goal ignited the atmosphere of the stadium, and his two three-pointers in the space of a minute brought the deficit back to single digits.

Liu Han, who ran back to his own half, was welcomed by his teammate Edio Bonno's chest.

The head coach of the Wild Boars, Nolan Richardson, quickly called a timeout to stabilize the situation on the court.

The Bruins, who had gradually played with momentum, successfully defended the Wild Boars' offense again in this defense after the pause, and the Wild Boars' hand began to feel less rebellious than in the first half.

Regaining his confidence and momentum, Bruins' number one star Edio Bonno began to show his strength, and he successfully limited the play of Williamson of the Wild Boars in the next eight minutes of the game, allowing the opponent to miss four consecutive shots and make two turnovers, while he scored eight points on consecutive shots on offense, including a long-range shot from beyond the three-point line. The scores of the two teams returned to the same running line about ten minutes into the second half, 55-55.

The head coach of the Wild Boars, Nolan Richardson, had to call another timeout, and the team is now in the same situation as the Bruins in the first half.

"Boys, good job, keep it up, Eddie, wait a minute, you continue to impact the opponent's inside, several of their interior players have more fouls, Teus, you can also break through appropriately, but pay attention to the outside line. Alright boys, let's settle the battle in the next ten minutes, and Los Angeles must be full of flowers ready for your return. George, the head coach of the Bruins, encouraged his players during the timeout.

The Wild Boars changed the focus of their offense after a timeout, and the number one star Williamson feintmed and distributed the ball to Clint McDaniel, who relied on teammates to cover and shake off Liu Han's defense, and the latter hit a three-pointer from the left 45-degree three-point line, 58-55, which was Clint's 11th point of the game.

The Bruins attacked, and Edio Bonno relied on his physical advantage to break through the opponent's defense and then forced a layup to cause a foul, hitting two free throws, 58-57.

The game has now entered a white-hot state, and the Bruins successfully limited the play of the opposing Williamson, but they did not expect the opponent's youngster Clint McDaniel to step up. And the Wild Boars have no way to deal with Edio Bonno, who is physically fit and has recovered his form.

Liu Han played a very depressed game today, the team has been in a backward state, and the object of his defense, Clint McDaniel, also has an excellent performance, he is separated by the opponent's cover every time, and there is no way to successfully prevent the opponent's shot. In the attack, Liu Han didn't have much way to get rid of the opponent's Clint's defense and catch the ball, he felt that if he had a certain ability to hold the ball at this time, the scene would definitely be different, and the opponent would not dare to be too close to himself.

The scores of the two teams alternated in the following time, and neither side had any way to widen the gap in the score, and until now, the managers of both teams did not dare to easily rotate the players on the field, and the game became a confrontation of will and spirit between the two sides.

In the second half or so sixteen minutes, the Boars' Clint McDaniel's physical strength finally began to be a little unsupportable, he has been running with Liu Han in this game, and he also needs to run with all his strength to shake off Liu Han's kraft candy style defense when attacking, Clint who has too much physical exertion finally showed fatigue, and his shooting in the offense went directly through the frame, a three-not.

The Bruins' offense, Liu Han seized Clint McDaniel's misposition and received Teus's pass outside the three-point line, hit a three-pointer, 72-76, and the Bruins finally led by more than three points.

The head coach of the Wild Boars, Nolan Richardson, finally couldn't help but call another timeout, and the team is now in a bad situation, and the honor of defending the title is starting to move further and further away from them.

The Wild Boars made another mistake on offense after a timeout, and their point guard dribbled the ball to his feet due to nervousness, and the Bruins unexpectedly won possession.

The game has entered the final three points, the Bruins attacked, point guard Teus dribbled and passed the ball to Liu Han in the bottom corner, Clint McDaniel defended very well this time, he clung to Liu Han, not allowing Liu Han to have a trace of space to shoot.

After receiving the ball, Liu Han failed to shoot immediately, but he found that the opponent's Williamson was very lax on Adeo Bonno's defense, so Liu Han made a wide range of transfers and passed the ball dangerously to Edio Bonno's hands, as the number one star of the Bruins, Eddie did not disappoint everyone this time, he received the ball and hit three points directly, 72-79, and the Bruins held their fate in their own hands.