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6:13 remaining in the first quarter, score 16 to 20, the Lakers have one more free throw, but time is up, so they enter an official timeout stage first.

Watching the repeated playback on the big screen of Zhang Yang's Euro step slam dunk over Durant, even Harden had to admit, when it comes to the level of aggressiveness, Zhang San's Euro step is unparalleled in NBA history.

Euro step followed by a slam dunk, there have only been three people in NBA history who could do it in a real game—Ginobili, Wade, and Zhang Yang, in that order. To this day, the first two are already aging, and these past two years, you might not even see a single Euro step dunk from them in a whole season, while Zhang Yang is just entering his peak, finding it not difficult to execute.

Zhang Yang is also very different from those two. Ginobili and Wade wait for the opportunity, suddenly pulling off a Euro step before dunking, which comes as a surprise. Zhang Yang makes it the norm!

When he performs a Euro step and enters the dunk range, as long as the opposing player hasn't moved up to confront him or the confrontation isn't enough, he jumps up for a slam dunk... Lakers fans are used to it, and as soon as Zhang Yang starts the Euro step, they're ready to cheer and celebrate just like earlier.

Hard-pressed: Back in Compton, we developed the Euro step together. The technical details were the same. Why does it look so different in execution?

Did Zhang San secretly practice more? No way! I'm the one who practiced more! I'm watching myself get surpassed, working hard secretly every day...

Talking about scoring, Harden doesn't think Zhang Yang's Euro step is better, but the way he finishes is so stylish!

It's just like a step-back three-pointer; the same technical move, but Zhang Yang's height, wingspan, and physique make it look much more graceful.

Both teams' players returned to the bench, and the coaches made tactical adjustments.

Budenholzer was really using the time to adjust details and emphasize key points.

Brooks, on the other hand… was cheering his players on!

When it comes to coaching, Brooks certainly has his flaws, but he has strengths too. If the players' independent adjustments are effective, he'll steadfastly support them, not mess things up with unnecessary adjustments, but… if the players can't handle the situation, he'll start using his little brain, turning the situation into a deadlock.

For instance, in last year's Finals against the Miami Heat, when it should have been at least a 60-40 or 70-30 in their favor, he somehow managed to make it an 80-20 or even a 90-10 in favor of losing...

Coming back from the timeout, the Lakers put Nash, Zhang Yang, Wesley Johnson, Ed Davis, and Jordan Hill on the floor; the Thunder sent out Fisher, Harden, Durant, Ibaka, and Adams.

Zhang Yang made the additional free throw, bringing the score to 17 to 20, narrowing the gap to 3 points!

In the previous five and a half minutes, Zhang Yang only had two points, but with a sudden burst, he quickly reached 8 points, surpassing Harden's 7 points and Durant's 6 points!

However, this didn't really blow the Thunder players' confidence. They were consistently erupting, while Zhang Yang's was just a temporary burst.

Both teams continued an offensive battle, both sides actually trying hard to defend, just like in G3 and G4, but the actual effect, just like the last game, was maximum effort still couldn't stop them.

It's been the tenth year since the NHC rules were implemented, just like when the brutal era from '94 reached its peak in the 03-04 season, the assistance NHC rules provide to offense has been fully exploited by teams, hence the situation where even the Spurs and the Miami Heat, the two best defensive teams in the regular season, couldn't showcase defensive dominance in the playoffs.

The Lakers (or Spurs) and the Thunder are the teams that have pushed their respective types of offense to the extreme under the current rules.

The Lakers, after beating the Spurs, are the ultimate example of team offense, while the Thunder, with Harden and Durant, are naturally the ultimate example of star-driven basketball.

Winning four games to advance in the playoffs, by system, theoretically, the Thunder's style holds an advantage. Durant and Harden don't have to worry about the endurance of the long regular season; they just have to go all out.

Judging by the performance in this Western Conference Finals, if the Spurs indeed faced the Durant and Harden-led Thunder, unless they beat them outright with a 4-0 or 4-1 sweep, it's highly likely they'd be overturned.

And there's a fundamental difference between the Lakers and the Spurs... the Spurs don't have Zhang Yang!

By 10:53 in the first quarter, Durant hit a three-pointer, raising his personal score to 11 points, while helping the Thunder to a 35-29 lead, with a 6-point advantage.

But in the last 1 minute and 7 seconds, Zhang Yang and the re-entering Kobe exploded for 9 points!

Zhang Yang drove to the inside and scored a 2+1, grabbed a rebound after a successful defense and hit a trailing three-pointer, and with 6 seconds left, Kobe took the inbound pass, dashed past the mid-circle, and launched a super long-distance buzzer-beating three-pointer... giving the Thunder a 9-2 hit!

By the end of the first quarter, Durant had 11 points, Harden 14 points, Ibaka 7 points, the others combined for 5 points. The Thunder broke out with 37 points in a single quarter, but still lost by 1 point!

Zhang Yang shot 5 for 8, including 2 for 4 from three, with a perfect 4 for 4 from the free-throw line, scoring 16 points in the quarter!

With Kobe's 8 points, Nash's 3 points and 2 assists, and Jordan Hill's 5 points... the score reversed to 38-37, giving the Lakers a 1-point lead over the Thunder Team as they entered the break!

…

Zhang Yang's late-quarter surge finally made a crack in the seemingly unbreakable confidence of the Thunder Team's players.

Durant, Harden, Ibaka, Perkins, Sefolosha... the old Thunder Team players felt as if they were back to that night in Game 2 of last season.

It wasn't like thinking about this Western Conference Finals Game 1, though it seemed similar, but Game 1 was too special—7 three-pointers with a 100% field goal percentage. It only happened twice in over thirty years since the NBA introduced the three-point line.

The situation tonight is actually quite normal, just like Game 2 of the first round last year, Zhang Yang chose to go solo more. Once the point difference widened or there was a chance to close it, he trusted himself more than his teammates. If he could shoot, he'd shoot it himself... then scored 16 points in a single quarter, leading the team to turn the score around!

To others, Zhang Yang's performance wasn't as astonishing as in Game 1, but for the Thunder Team players on the court, it felt completely different. If Zhang Yang made those outrageous threes like in Game 1, they just needed to focus on blocking, at least having a clear defensive direction. Even if Zhang Yang still made those shots, they could at least reduce his attempts.

It was because Zhang Yang played 'standard' and 'ordinary' that they didn't know what to do at all.

So Durant, Harden, and Ibaka, the three core players, along with the experienced veterans, discussed their strategy during the entire break, concluding that they had no room for further adjustment.

Seeing their teammates looking worried, Harden felt this wasn't right, and he loudly said, "Hey, guys, cheer up! If we can't think of a solution, let's stop overthinking. We can still play to our advantage, right? It's just that we got overtaken at the end. If that's the case, let's widen the point gap so they can't catch up, right?

Don't focus on how great their scoring is. Concentrate on doing our thing. A good buddy once told me—just strive to do your best in your role, let luck decide the rest. But fortune doesn't favor those who don't strive with all their might."

That refreshing feeling came back. This is a good teammate—not like the former colleague who only internalizes when faced with challenges, entirely unhelpful in leading the team... Durant immediately responded, "Yes, that's exactly what I wanted to say."

Perkins rolled his eyes, not at Harden but at Durant, feeling this guy was a bit shameless.

He thought Harden's words were very true. If they couldn't come up with a solution, they should stop thinking. No matter how much they brainstorm collectively, they'll likely be outmatched by a top coach, so why not resolutely stick to what they're good at, like in the last game.

Beside him, Ibaka's anxious mood also subsided a lot...

On the other side, the pressure felt by Zhang Yang, Kobe, and others was no less than the three cores on the opposite team.

There's really no way to defend that kind of pure star basketball once it starts working!

Being suppressed at home and losing this game—losing two games in a row and going on the road for Game 7... even they feel that's a doomed trend.

But as former victors, they know what they should be doing now. Even if there's no other way, they can always find a point worth discussing, rather than needing Harden to help adjust emotions like Durant and Ibaka.

Moreover, they wouldn't show the pressure on their faces like those three. That might give the teammates a greater sense of urgency and fight harder, but for regular players, the boost from the pressure isn't as positive as the confidence given by the team's superstar... these could somewhat be considered the Lakers' advantage.

The teams resumed their fierce battle after the break.

This time, Zhang Yang chose to take the initiative!

Progress was good. After he made two consecutive mid-range shots, the Thunder Team players swarmed him.

Kobe and Gasol seized the opportunity to lead the team in a fierce attack, and the Lakers started with a 13-7 run, pulling the lead to 7 points, leading 51-44 against the Thunder Team.

But the Thunder Team responded to the Lakers' run with a 12-7 spurt before and after the official timeout, bringing the score to 56-58, narrowing the gap to two points!

Everyone thought it would be another back-and-forth game. The Thunder Team players were prepared for a grind, looking for opportunities, and so were the Lakers players, including Kobe, except for that man...

During the Lakers' offense, Zhang Yang was calling for the ball at a high position against Harden!

Screw the tactical cooperation. Scored 7 points in 4 minutes but conceded 12. He's going to do it himself.

Bazemore advanced to the frontcourt, saw Zhang Yang asking for the ball, glanced at Kobe, and lobbed the ball to Zhang Yang. Kobe saw this and ran to the support point, and the other Lakers adjusted their positioning accordingly.

Team above all is the core philosophy of the new Lakers system, but above that, there's Kobe... and Zhang Yang!