Chapter 55: The Last Game of the Regular Season (Part II)
Seeing Zhang Zifeng's excellent performance, the head coach of the University of Notre Dame, Mike Bray, called a timeout.
During the pause, the commentator also took the opportunity to explain the game.
"In the situation where Parker is plagued by fouls, Coach K needs to rely more on Zhang Zifeng!"
"It can be seen that Zhang Zifeng feels very good today. It seems that under his leadership, Duke University has been able to weather this difficult time. Maybe that's why Old K wants to put him on the bench! ”
As the referee blew the whistle and the game continued, the University of Notre Dame still did not replace Connaughton, and it seemed that Connaughton was determined to use Connaughton to contain Zhang Zifeng.
Jackson advanced quickly, and Zhang Zifeng followed Connaughton closely.
In the face of Zhang Zifeng's defense, Connaughton became much calmer.
Looking at Connaughton, who reached for the ball inside, Jackson hesitated for a moment, but still chose to pass.
After Connaughton received the ball, Zhang Zifeng immediately took a step back.
August and Beecham were undoubtedly Duke's most feared men, and when the two of them started to run, they immediately pulled Duke's defense.
"I'm sure you won't be able to score this goal, don't waste your time. You've been fighting for so long, you should be tired, run to the outside line to rest! Zhang Zifeng trash talk disturbed Connaughton
Connaughton looked expressionless, as if he hadn't heard Zhang Zifeng's trash talk.
Suddenly, Connaughton lifts the ball up.
When Zhang Zifeng hurriedly raised his right hand, Connaughton withdrew the ball and passed it from Zhang Zifeng's right side with a blow from behind.
Beechm took advantage of August's cover from the other side and shook off his marker Hairston to cut inside, received a pass from Connaughton and immediately made a layup.
In the face of the impactful Beechm, Hairston's defense was a beat slower.
Connaughton, who was paralyzed, turned around and immediately ran to the backfield.
"Connaughton's wonderful passing, although Connaughton's offense is average, I have to say that he has a lot of spirit in passing, and he can often be seen easily tearing apart the opponent's defense and assisting teammates with his passes." The commentator at the scene was full of praise for the pass just now.
The University of Notre Dame used Connaughton to pass and receive the ball in the central axis, and at the same time contained Zhang Zifeng, making him unable to help defend anymore.
The University of Notre Dame played very patiently on the offensive end, and Zhang Zifeng couldn't overtake the score by hitting three three-pointers in succession.
Fast by, halftime, Duke 41-43 Notre Dame, two points behind.
Half-time back, Parker was back on the court.
At the beginning, Lao K also left Zhang Zifeng on the field, wanting to see if he could make them together.
But it's a pity that Zhang Zifeng and Parker are okay off the court, and they can say a few words.
When you get on the field, communication is dispensable.
Zhang Zifeng got the ball, no matter how hard and tired he was, he had to come by himself.
Parker will definitely not pass the ball to Zhang Zifeng when he gets the ball.
Two people, you hit yours, I hit mine.
If you can't score, I won't say anything.
I can't vote, and don't complain.
Seeing that the two people did not cooperate, Lao K knew that it was impossible to forcibly fit them.
The two of them played for three minutes, and Lao K replaced Zhang Zifeng off the field.
As soon as Zhang Zifeng got off the court, Parker had no worries, completely let go of his hands and feet, and took over the game.
He scored 10 points, plus three rebounds and four assists.
led Duke University to overtake the score in one fell swoop, and by the 32nd minute of the second half, Duke University was 65-60 Notre Dame.
Parker went off the break, and Zhang Zifeng went up.
After Zhang Zifeng returned to the court, he probably sat on the bench for too long, and his hand felt a little cold.
Four consecutive shots were ironed, and the University of Notre Dame took the opportunity to play a wave of 8-0 mini-climaxes to overtake the score.
65:68。
When Lao K saw it, he quickly called a timeout.
'With five minutes to go, we will win. Parker, I'll get you back on the court. They are a team of belligerent Irishmen who will not give us victory easily. So it's up to us to fight for it, you know, for it! Scramble! Scramble! Old K stretched out his hand and shouted, "One, two, three, Blue Devil!" ”
"Blue Devil!" All Duke players shouted in unison.
Parker stabilized the situation with a mid-range shot as soon as he came on the court, and Parker played well in the second half.
No matter how desperately the University of Notre Dame tried, the two-point difference was like a gutter, making it impossible for the University of Notre Dame to overtake the score.
Before the time came in the final 40 seconds of the game, Parker made a layup to give Duke a two-point lead.
University of Notre Dame coach Mike Bray looked up at the big screen and motioned to the referee to ask for a timeout.
Mike Bray roared excitedly, "In the past, when you had no way back, you went forward and then won, you did it. It is through your efforts that the University of Notre Dame has come to where it is today. I firmly believe that the victory will still be ours today, and we will achieve it on the field! One-two-three, the belligerent Irishmen! ”
"The belligerent Irish!"
All the members of the team of the University of Notre Dame also shouted their slogans in unison, and the decisive battle really began.
After the timeout, Parker pestered Beecham to prevent him from receiving the ball.
Beechm took advantage of August's cover and ran out of the three-point line to receive the ball.
Beechm didn't rush to attack, waiting until the clock was ten seconds into the clock before activating, using the double cover of Pruger and Auguste to shoot directly from beyond the three-point line.
The ball flew over an arc and plunged headlong into the basket.
Three-pointer hit 75:76 and Duke trailed by one point.
There are only 7.8 seconds left for Duke University.
The old K immediately used up the team's last timeout.
The last shot, whether it wins or loses, depends on the ball.
"When it comes to the critical moment, who will it be handed over? Jabari is still Zhang Zifeng, and it should be handed over to Jabari if nothing else. The on-site commentator analyzed.
Just as Lao K was thinking about what tactics to arrange, Zhang Zifeng stood up and asked for his life.
"Coach, give me the last shot, I'm confident to throw the ball in!"
Everyone thought they had a mistake in their ears, although Zhang Zifeng had a good shooting percentage.
However, the boss of the team has always been Parker, and the last shot has always been executed by Parker.
"Let me do it, I promise the game will be over the moment the ball goes in." Parker shouted as well.
Old K thought about it for a while, and finally chose Parker, "I'm sure you can do it, go on, and bring the victory home!" ”
"I'm going to make it!" Parker said firmly.
At the last moment, just in case, but also to involve the opponent's defense.
Lao K put Zhang Zifeng, Hood, and Cook, the three most accurate shots, on the court.
Once Parker is locked by the opponent, it's up to him to see who can catch the ball, so shoot!
In the final 7.8 seconds, Duke should have picked the most likely two-point over the gamble-like three. After all, Notre Dame is only one point ahead. Accompanied by the commentary of the on-site commentator, the referee blew the whistle in his mouth.
At the last moment, the University of Notre Dame tried its best to entangle Duke's players, Zhang Zifeng stood at the free throw line, and Connaughton was clinging to him.
7.8 seconds, the last 7.8 seconds!
As soon as the referee's whistle blew, Plumlee, who was standing on the sidelines, held the ball and waited anxiously for Parker to run out of the open space to receive the ball.
The Duke players who were standing in the line exploded in an instant and ran away in all directions.
Parker and Zhang Zifeng are Duke's most threatening people, and the running of the two of them immediately affects most of Notre Dame's energy.
Cook spun around and rushed out to the outside to catch the ball.
"Stop him!" Mike Bray saw it rushing to the sideline and shouting at the top of his lungs.
Jackson heard the rush over to make up for it.
At this time, Plumley also ran to the field and helped Parker make a cover.
Cook saw Parker run out of space and immediately passed the ball over.
Seeing Parker receive the ball, Beecham immediately came over.
Parker turned, dodged Beechhim, and went inside.
"Out of any expectation, but good enough to pass, Parker he passed Beechm. Chance, Parker almost faces the basket! The on-site commentator shouted loudly.
Bekim didn't have time to get annoyed, and as soon as he gritted his teeth and turned around, he chased after him.
August on the other side also immediately ran over, and the posture of rushing straight to kill.
It's definitely a willing foul and won't give Parker a chance to make a layup.
Seeing someone rushing over to block, the time was nearing the end, and there was no time to think about it, Parker immediately jumped up and threw the ball to the basket.
"Parker makes a shot, will the ball go in?" The on-site narrator shouted.
The moment Parker just made a move, Zhang Zifeng had an inexplicable feeling in his heart.
This goal will not be scored!
Zhang Zifeng immediately rushed to the inside line and jumped up hard.
Touch!
The sound of basketball smashing the hoop relieved Notre Dame fans.
However, when they were about to whirring, Zhang Zifeng was like a ghost, passing through the crowd and flying in mid-air.
Zhang Zifeng's mind was blank at this time, and when he saw the basketball pop out of the basket, he reached out and lightly tapped the basketball.
The red light behind the rebound came on instantly.
When Zhang Zifeng fell, the basketball that flew out flew towards the basket again.
Parker's shot was wrong, Zhang Zifeng made a basket, and the red light came on at this time. Will this ball be scored, and if it does, will there be a timeout......" The on-site commentator almost shouted with a roar.
The fans at the University of Notre Dame prayed that the basket would not be scored, or at least that the basket had been overtimed.
Everyone in the arena at the University of Notre Dame stared at the ball flying into the hoop in the air.
I saw the ball fly to the basket and bounce it, and finally plunged into the basket.
When the basketball fell to the basket, the entire Notre Dame staff instantly turned their heads to the referee.
Whether it counts as a score or not depends on the final decision of the referee.
"What you need to do is wait for the referee's final decision, the rebound and the red light are almost the same time, it's hard to judge, and the referee needs to watch the video to finally determine the answer." The on-site narrator spoke everyone's mind.
The three referees watched the replay and slow replay repeatedly around the technical table to confirm, and the replay and slow play were played on the big screen on the scene.
At this moment, all the players of Duke University also looked at the referee anxiously.
entered, and there is still hope to compete for the first place. If you lose, you're going to fall into third place.
The video of the last moment was replayed several times, and when the slow-motion footage appeared on the big screen again, it was clearly displayed that the red light only came on after the basketball left Zhang Zifeng's finger.
The referee blew the whistle and waved two fingers downward, and the goal was valid.
2 points!
“YES! YES! YES! Zhang Zifeng clenched his fists and shouted loudly.
The rest of the Duke players cheered when they saw it.
In the crowd of celebrations, only two people were lonely. One is a guy named Hood, and the other is a guy named Parker.
Looking at Zhang Zifeng's celebration, Parker showed a smile that was even uglier than crying.
Why wasn't it me who saved the team in the end, it was Zhang Zifeng's guy!