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Nash: "So there were these reasons too, I never noticed... The Celtics must be the most annoyed now. They tanked by sending Pierce, Garnett, and Terry away but didn't get the first pick, while the Cavaliers worked hard to get 33 wins and got the first pick."

Zhang Yang: "Steve, you're becoming more like a Laker, so happy to see the Celtics have bad luck."

Nash shook his head playfully and said: "I think after this season, when I introduce myself to others, I'd prefer to call myself a Lakers legend."

Zhang Yang: "Of course..."

At 7:40 PM, at the San Antonio ATT Center, the visiting Lakers entered the arena.

As Zhang Yang entered, he was met with a chorus of boos.

Regardless of the reasons for leaving, as soon as you leave, you'll be seen as a 'traitor' by the fans. For example, when O'Neal left the Magic to join the Lakers, every time they went to Orlando, he'd be booed by the fans.

The Spurs fans treated Zhang Yang the same way, especially now, with the Spurs falling from a solid 2-1 lead to a 2-3 deficit and elimination crisis, the one who caused this was Zhang Yang, who scored 32 and 42 points in the past two games!

In response to the 'old team's' fans, Zhang Yang... as he reached the center spotlight, raised his hand to his ear!

Ironsmith: Darn! I can't out-show you!

In the other player tunnel, Ginobili saw this scene and laughed: "Jack, that kid really wants to beat us."

Parker chimed in: "He even wants to provoke us this way, trying to make us lose our cool."

Duncan, with an expressionless face and no emotional fluctuation, said: "It's meaningless."

The Demon Blade wanted to agree with his old partner's evaluation, but noticed Leonard's eyes were fixed on the opposite side... Damn, that Zhang San's trick seemed to have worked!

Ginobili wanted to wake Leonard up, but after opening his mouth, he closed it again. Since he was thirteen or fourteen, he's been in the professional basketball circle long enough to know that it's best not to speak up at such a time, lest he unnecessarily offends the young guy, especially someone like Leonard whose thoughts are unreadable.

Moreover, Leonard had been crazily criticized by media and fans these past few days.

Thinking positively, emotions like anger and unwillingness might trigger Leonard to explode, just like two years ago when Zhang Yang withstood endless negative pressure and led them to victory against the odds. Trust the young guy!...

At 8 PM, the 6th game of the series between the Lakers and the Spurs started.

The starting line-ups were unchanged. This time, Duncan relied on his wingspan advantage to win the jump ball, and the Spurs attacked first!

Parker pushed to the front court, engaged in a pick-and-roll with Duncan, broke through close range, and was double-teamed by Zhang Yang, then passed to Duncan.

Duncan at the high post, lobbed the ball over Kobe who tried to intercept the passing lane, as Leonard moved to the right sideline to receive the ball, shot for three... score!

The first attack of the Spurs was set up for Leonard, which slightly surprised Zhang Yang. Was Popovich declaring his support for Leonard using the language of the court? No, it should be letting Leonard see that he was declaring to the fans...

Did this Zhang San leaving, pave the way for the young star?

When it was the Lakers' turn to attack, Zhang Yang noticed the opponent's player positioning, and he knew the opposing defense did not make targeted adjustments, just routine defense.

Zhang Yang noticed differences from Popovich compared to a few years back, in handling key plays, Popovich's ability to adapt was still lacking. For over a decade, his first choice was always to let Ginobili do it one-on-one, just like in the first 4 games of the series, with the last game being an exception;

However, in terms of playing style, he's less rigid now, rather than insisting on a certain way of playing, it's more about what benefits winning. In the first round against the Rockets, there were games like 90-85 defensive grind outs, and now this series where both sides score over 120 points.

Routine defense, compared to targeted defense, might not necessarily require less stamina, but it definitely consumes less mental energy. Clearly, Popovich was prepared to gamble on this match with an all-out offense.

In that case, let's battle!

Zhang Yang moved to the front court, with Leonard still actively following him closely to the tactical initiation point, and when Kobe and Gasol started their offense, Zhang Yang ran around the block to the left mid-range area.

Leonard closely followed Zhang Yang's steps, sticking to him when Zhang Yang received Kobe's pass, but not acting roughly, not giving Zhang Yang a chance to draw fouls.

The young star's defensive talent was displayed in this defense, with significant improvement in the way he chased and defended, and better body control.

But it's still not enough...

As Zhang Yang received the ball and got stuck, he instantly reacted, a dribble step-back, then a behind-the-back cross dribble to evade the pressing Leonard, breaking in from the left sideline of the paint!

Duncan and Danny Green came over for a double-team block, Zhang Yang jumped facing the two, while Leonard also jumped attempting to block, but when he raised the ball, he didn't shoot, instead swung it to the right back.

Kobe caught it at the right side of the free-throw line, an open mid-range shot and scored!

Kobe grinned as he retreated on defense, in all his years of playing, ever since he became a starter, it was only these past two years playing with Nash and Zhang Yang that he enjoyed so many open shot opportunities. He wanted to high-five Zhang Yang in celebration while retreating, but Zhang Yang was running back too fast and completely didn't see the grinning veteran.

The embarrassed Ironsmith who raised his hand and missed the high-five: It turns out the ones coming out from the Spurs aren't good people!