No.1 in basketball scoring

Compared to that, what made Wade more uncomfortable was that he couldn't stop Zhang Yang's shooting. He could only influence the jump, rhythm, and confrontation aspects, and there was no way to change this—disadvantage in height and wingspan.

When it was Miami Heat's offense, Wade continued to initiate team cooperation with Haslem through the pick-and-roll.

This time, it was Marion who received the pass, taking a close-range shot on the left side of the paint and scoring.

On the defensive end, Wade put all his effort into guarding Zhang Yang, and on the offensive end, he fought with all his strength. Under his leadership, the Miami Heat kept the score tight around a 5-point difference during several crucial plays before and after the official timeout, preventing the Bobcats from further extending their lead.

These were not the best conditions Wade had analyzed previously, but he had already given it his all. He could feel that his teammates were also trying their hardest, even Marion, whose performance had collapsed, was still trying to score and defend.

On the other side, Zhang Yang, maintaining the current situation, was only doing one thing, the simplest thing—isolated scoring...

The game reached the end of the first quarter at 9:16, with the score at 23 to 19. The Bobcats led by 4 points. In the past 5 minutes, they had played the Miami Heat to a draw at 11 to 12, and now it was Miami Heat's possession.

Wade held the ball to attack, continuing the pick-and-roll. This time Marion came out for the screen.

After breaking it open, Wade passed to Marion at the top of the arc. Marion then connected and passed to Haslem, who took the ball in motion, took a step, and shot a close-range floater... He bricked it this time after successfully hitting two shots from a similar position earlier!

This wasn't a shooting spot he was good at, but the opponent wouldn't give him a better opportunity. If he stepped another step forward, he would be covered by the opponent's inside, and pulling back for a mid-range shot would be closely contested by Zhang Yang. The earlier successes were due to good touch and luck, which clearly couldn't be sustained over time.

The ball hit the front of the rim and bounced out. Zhang Yang turned, took a step, and jumped up, seizing the defensive rebound at the center of the paint!

Wade failed to get in position to contest for the rebound. Seeing Zhang Yang leap for the ball, he immediately turned and retreated on defense with Beasley and Marion.

Zhang Yang launched a counterattack, with Hill off the bench and Brad Miller back to the power forward position after Okafor joining him on the wings.

Beasley and Marion expanded to the wings, blocking Hill and Okafor, while Wade confronted Zhang Yang in the middle.

As Zhang Yang slowed down two meters outside the top of the arc, Wade quickly lunged from a step inside the three-point line to defend against the drive... but it was too late!

Zhang Yang took a step, picked up the ball, jumped to a spot more than half a meter from the top of the arc, leapt, and shot a three-pointer over Wade's defense... It's in!

Watching Zhang Yang spread his arms and backpedal amidst the boos, Wade again felt the powerlessness he experienced in the first game of the Olympics.

He had defended other trailing three-point shooters—Terry and Billups—but neither was as difficult as Zhang Yang, and it wasn't just a matter of height difference.

For those two, it was more like a simple stop-and-pop three-pointer in transition rather than chasing down a three. He might still concede a basket, but at least he could close out properly, creating effective interference.

But whenever this guy decided to take a trailing three, Wade felt that no matter what he did, it was futile, as if the opponent didn't care about him at all...

The fans watching the broadcast also had the same feeling as Wade through the replays—Zhang Yang seemed to ignore Wade's presence when shooting the trailing three-pointer.

Indeed, it was so. Once Zhang Yang reached the slowdown point and saw Wade's position rushing out, he was confident that Wade couldn't interfere with him. When choosing the jump shot point, Zhang Yang had already factored in the extreme distance Wade could disturb. If Wade took one more step back, Zhang Yang would opt for a quick stop and go, disrupting the rhythm.

Experts at the Olympics had already analyzed this aspect of Zhang Yang, believing that being able to instantly make precise judgments and execute offensive decisions from a long-distance fast move is a rare talent.

Terry doesn't have this! Billups doesn't have it either!

With the score at 26 to 19, Zhang Yang's shot ignited the Bobcats' aggressive onslaught at the end of the quarter.

In the next two minutes, the Bobcats scored 6 points, while Wade, despite his all-out efforts, led his team to 4 points, keeping the deficit in single digits.

Back on the Miami Heat's offense, Wade held the ball at the top arc, while Zhang Yang stepped back significantly, defending the drive and not the long shot. Wade hesitated slightly, but still picked up the ball, jumped, and attempted a three-pointer... Missed!

Okafor grabbed the defensive rebound. The Miami Heat tried their best to retreat in defense, blocking the Bobcats from executing a fast break but not from stopping the great Jack!

Jarrett Jack drove into the paint with the ball, launched a floater against Haslem, who had moved to the center position... As the ball was descending, the red light flashed, and the long whistle sounded. The ball went into the hoop!

At the end of the first quarter, the score was 34 to 23, with the Bobcats going into the break with an 11-point lead!

With 10 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 block in the first quarter, faced with the Bobcats' top-notch rotations and excellent interior clamping, Wade had played his heart out, but in the end, the opponent still managed to widen the gap to double digits.

On the other hand, Zhang Yang only needed to do the simplest thing—score.

Playing the full 12 minutes of the first quarter, making 6 of 12 shots, including 1 of 2 from three-point range, and hitting 2 of 2 free throws, he scored 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist, raising his shooting percentage from 33% to 50%.

Wade's heart felt weary, but he was somewhat used to it. It wasn't the first time this season he encountered such a situation. After all, his team was indeed weak, with the rookie number one pick Beasley below expectations and Marion, who emotionally collapsed, leading to a decline. These were already his best two teammates...