Chapter 99: Single Quarter Killing

104:105, Lakers attack.

Kobe was not in a hurry to attack. He dribbled between the right wing and the top of the arc to kill time.

"Kobe wants to win with one shot. He wants to kill the Knicks and doesn't want to leave the Knicks any chance." Barkley said excitedly.

"Pinch and attack."

He Zhongqiu was standing under the basket and saw Alan Houston having some difficulty defending Kobe, so he immediately shouted.

This was the first time he spoke on the court, but the effect was very good. Charlie Ward in the high position immediately responded, and the madman on the left wing also immediately moved to the high position, ready to make up for the defense at any time.

Thibodeau laughed when he saw all this. This was something he was very happy to see.

He came from the Ewing and Oakley era and believed that the Knicks needed a stronger leader, and that the gentlemanly mid-range shooter Alan Houston did not fit the bill.

Wolverine definitely has this potential. As long as his strength improves, with his current popularity, it will be natural for him to become the new leader of the Knicks.

I'm sure the management won't object, because Wolverine was brought in by Chairman and General Manager Layden, but Alan Houston was not.

As long as the owner doesn't fire Layden, Wolverine will become the new leader of the Knicks sooner or later.

On the court, Kobe broke through Alan Houston before the double team arrived.

But his first step was not quick enough, and his breakthrough was not thorough, so Alan Houston stuck to his right side.

He took two steps forward, stopped suddenly at the three-point line, then turned around, shook off Alan Houston, turned around again, and took a fadeaway jump shot for a long two-point shot.

Kobe's technical moves looked very difficult. He used up all his strength, but the basketball flew out of his palm lightly.

After the shot, his eyes were extremely determined, because at the moment of the shot, he felt very good and he knew that the ball was going in.

"Can I come in?"

In the TNT live studio, Magic Johnson's eyes widened.

At this moment, a figure jumped out from the paint area, took off from the right end of the free throw line three meters away, and flew in front of him in an instant.

He Zhongqiu jumped up with all his might. He used all his strength in this jump and his jump was definitely more than one meter, like an eagle soaring into the sky.

"Wolverine?"

Kobe, who had just landed, widened his eyes.

"Wolverine?"

Countless people’s eyes widened when they saw He Zhongqiu’s reinforcement.

At this moment, all eyes were focused on He Zhongqiu.

"Snapped!"

With a wave of his right arm, He Zhongqiu swung his claws and directly caught the basketball that Kobe had just shot.

The moment he finished catching the cap, a system prompt appeared in front of his eyes: "Congratulations to the host for your explosive increase in defense awareness, which has been raised from level 40 to level 50."

"Oh ho!"

At the moment of the block, countless Knicks fans stood up and cheered, and Madison Square Garden turned into a boiling ocean again.

"Lost!"

Magic Johnson shook his head helplessly.

On the sidelines, Phil Jackson was also shaking his head.

He was really unlucky today. Kobe played so well in the third quarter, but he ran into the Wolverines who played very well in the final quarter, and Kobe lost his touch again in the final quarter.

At this time, Kobe hugged He Qiu who had landed and adopted a foul tactic.

He Zhongqiu made two free throws with 3.1 seconds left in the game.

In the TNT studio, Barkley was watching the replay and exclaimed excitedly:
"When Kobe made a sudden stop and turn, the Wolverines started to defend from the basket, and when Kobe turned and shot a fadeaway jumper, he jumped from the right end of the free throw line.

Did you see that? The defense distance is at least six meters. This is what Garnett often does. When did Wolverine become so good at defense? "

Kenny Smith said: "Everyone has a chance to perform well, and with his athleticism, he is no less than Garnett. As long as he seizes the opportunity, it won't be difficult."

On the court, He Zhongqiu stood at the free throw line.

"Disgusting posture."

O'Neal felt it was irritating to see Wolverine put one hand on his waist and shoot a free throw with the other.

"Bang! Clank!"

The first free throw was missed.

"Ha ha!"

O'Neill laughed strangely.

"What are you laughing at?" He Zhongqiu scolded.

"Ha ha!"

Zhou Biao and Lin Ben, who were behind the baseline, were originally very nervous, but they burst into laughter when they heard these words.

He Zhongqiu took the ball thrown by the referee and without stopping for a second, he waved his hand and threw it into the basket.

"Don't worry!"

"It's over!"

Seeing He Zhongqiu's casual free throws, including Don Cheney, Layden, Thibodeau and others, many people on the Knicks side became anxious.

"Oh!"

"brush!"

The second free throw was made.

"Clap clap clap..."

Layden and others and the fans breathed a sigh of relief and applauded.

104:106, the Knicks lead by two points, the Lakers attack.

Phil Jackson called a timeout to arrange the final offensive tactics. After the timeout, Robert Horry was substituted in and he served the ball from the center line.

The Lakers still have time to attack and have a chance to defeat the Knicks, so at this time, all the Knicks fans are very nervous.

Mid-range shooting king Alan Houston tried hard to follow Kobe around, but Kobe's irregular movement made his pursuit and defense very passive, and he still lost him.

Kobe changed direction from the free throw line and ran outside the arc, when Robert Horry passed the ball to him.

"squeak!"

The madman knew that Kobe would not pass the ball at this time, so he decisively let go of Rick Fox and rushed in front of Kobe.

Kobe dribbled the ball twice in a row between his legs, suddenly broke through from the right side, suddenly stopped at the top of the right arc, and made a fadeaway jump shot.

The moment he made his move, time came to an end.

"Is there a killer move?"

Everyone on the Lakers side asked this question in their hearts.

This time He Zhongqiu had no chance to make a layup because O'Neal tried his best to entangle him, and he could only watch the basketball fly over.

At this moment, the outcome of the game was decided by Kobe's last shot.

The next moment, the basketball hit the basket with a clang, then bounced back and was grabbed by He Zhongqiu.

"Beep! Beep!"

The referee blew the whistle to end the game.

"Oh!"

All the fans in the stadium stood up and cheered for the victory.

"Ugh!"

Everyone on the Lakers side sighed.

"Scottie Xia, we will seriously consider your request. See you tomorrow." After the game, several AND1 executives stood up.

"Goodbye."

Xia Song said happily.

"Congratulations to the Knicks for a 25-point comeback, now 27 wins and 21 losses, and sixth in the Eastern Conference." Kenny Smith said at the end of the game.

“恭喜金刚狼，末节打出巨星表现，单节轰下18分，全场15投12中，12罚8中，轰下32分12篮板4盖帽1抢断3失误3犯规。”巴克利笑嘻嘻地说道。

Kenny Smith added: "Including Wolverine, the Knicks had a total of six players scoring in double digits, and the scoring was very evenly balanced."

"Kobe made 9 of 3 shots in the final quarter, plus 8 points from free throws, for a total of 48 points. Unfortunately, he encountered the amazing performance of Wolverine," said Magic Johnson.

“奥尼尔末节体力不支，只拿到4分，全场22投11中，6罚3中，25分8篮板5助攻2盖帽4失误3犯规。”肯尼史密斯说道。

"The OK combination combined for 73 points, the other three main players scored 19 points, and the six substitutes only scored 12 points, which was almost of no help. The Lakers lineup should undergo major changes next season." Magic Johnson said.

Kenny Smith sighed: "I didn't expect Wolverine to be able to perform like this against the Sharks, with a better performance than the Sharks.

Someone said he was not worthy of being compared to the Shaq. Will that person still say that now? "

Barkley kicked his partner again and said, "You can't say that. Wolverine scored a lot of points when Shaq was not on the court at the beginning of the last quarter. It was those crazy attacks that helped the Knicks regain morale. It was also during that period that his performance tonight surpassed that of the Big Shaq." Magic Johnson nodded and said, "In terms of the performance in the first three quarters, Shaq scored 21 points and Wolverine only scored 14 points. Shaq's dominance is still at its peak, and Wolverine cannot compare."

Barkley said quickly: "Yes, it is impossible for the Wolverines to play like they did in the final quarter of today in every game."

On the sidelines, the high-spirited He Zhongqiu was accepting a post-match interview. He was the best player of the game.

The TNT reporter said with a big smile: "Wolverine, congratulations, you scored 32 points on Shaquille O'Neal, with a hit rate of 80% and a free throw rate of 66.7%."

"Thank you!"

He Zhongqiu said politely.

The reporter asked again: "Wolverine, what power allows you to perform like this against the league's top player?

In particular, your performance in the final quarter was even more impressive, with all 7 shots made, an absolute superstar-level performance."

He Zhongqiu chuckled and said, "The OK Band provoked me before they came out on stage. They pissed me off."

"what?"

After hearing Philip's translation, the reporter was shocked. He didn't expect Wolverine to casually reveal such a big piece of news.

"Wolverine, how did they provoke you?" he asked excitedly.

He Zhongqiu said: "O'Neill questioned me about tearing the wardrobe with my bare hands, and he asked me to perform it for him on the spot, hehe..."

"How about it?"

The reporter looked at Philip expectantly, and Philip quickly translated.

He Zhongqiu continued: "I said that next time when we go to the Lakers to play away, I can go to the home team's locker room and perform for them, and then they got angry.

That’s it, they challenged me but they couldn’t follow up on my proposal, which annoyed me.”

"Ha ha……"

The reporter burst into laughter after listening to Philip's translation.

After laughing, he asked tentatively: "Wolverine, no one dares to doubt your strength now, but except for the insiders, no one outside has witnessed you tearing the wardrobe apart with your bare hands. Have you ever considered performing it in public? For example, during the All-Star Game?"

"NO, that is my trump card and cannot be exposed to the public." He Zhongqiu decisively refused.

On the other side, O'Neal returned to the locker room and took off his jersey.

"Oh, Shaq, you?"

Fisher and others gathered around in surprise, staring at O'Neal's belly.

O'Neal looked at his belly and saw a very clear purple-black claw mark. He touched it and it was still painful. He couldn't help but curse: "It's Wolverine's fault. I just elbowed him, and he retaliated against me like this. It's too much!"

The team doctor came over to check it out and said in surprise, "Shaq, this is a blunt force injury."

O'Neill said angrily: "He grabbed it with his hands."

"Tearing apart the wardrobe with your bare hands?"

"Are his hands made of iron?"

"God, please don't ever get physical with Wolverine on the field again."

Everyone was shocked and started talking about it.

"Shaq, you also have bruises on your waist," the team doctor said after checking.

O'Neal didn't think anything of it at first, but when he heard what the team doctor said, he suddenly felt the urge to pee and ran to the bathroom.

At the scene, He Zhongqiu finished the interview and was about to go back to the locker room with his teammates when Jessica Alba came over and said to him with a smile:
"Hey, Wolverine, you are the brightest star in Madison Square Garden tonight, brighter than Kobe."

"Yeah, thank you! I have something else to do. My agent wants me. Bye."

Jessica Alba looked at He Zhongqiu's back with resentment. She didn't understand. Was this man really not interested in her at all? Or was he gay?

"Mid-Autumn Festival, two good news." Xia Song said with a happy face.

"Say it."

He Zhongqiu said impatiently.

Xia Song said, "The NBA's backboard supplier, Rick Sports, wants to give you a 10-year, 30 million endorsement contract, but the condition is that you stop smashing their backboards."

"Is there such a good thing?"

He was pleasantly surprised to have three million dollars a year. This was simply free money. He asked again, "What if I break it?"

"It wasn't intentional, of course it's okay. I've agreed with them that there will be a maximum of three rebounds forgiven per season. If it exceeds that, they have the right to cancel the endorsement fee for that season." Xia Song said.

"Okay. What's the other news?" he asked again.

"AND1 said it would reconsider the contract amount."

At this point, Xia Song said excitedly, "Your performance against O'Neal tonight stimulated them. I asked for a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars, doubling the annual endorsement fee of 750 million US dollars, and they didn't refuse directly."

"Great."

He Zhongqiu suddenly became excited.

On the way back to the locker room, Phillip asked curiously: “Zhongqiu, you seemed to have rejected Jessica Alba just now, why?”

He hesitated for a moment, and finally told the truth: "The face is okay, but the figure is not good. I like those who are a little plump.

And you know, Wellington, I'm practicing the Iron Shirt, my whole body is made of iron, she's too thin, she can't stand my torture."

"..."

Philip was stunned and just wanted to curse, MMP.

He Zhongqiu returned to the locker room, took a shower, and opened the system to check the results of the game.

Not to mention the proficiency of various skills, a total of 2598, the biggest gain is the improvement in tactics and defense.

The offensive tactics have been upgraded to level 53, the defensive tactics to level 54, and because of the upgrade in defensive tactics, the assist defense has been upgraded to level 50, not to mention the backup defense.

……

"Mid-Autumn played like this over O'Neal's head. This kid has a bright future."

"Yeah, it's much better than Yao Ming's performance against O'Neal."

"Dayao, what do you think?"

"Uh-huh."

Far away in Houston, Yao Ming and his family just finished watching the game between the Knicks and the Lakers and discussed it. Of course, they were discussing Yao Ming's parents, but Yao Ming didn't say much.

"Dayao, why don't you call Zhongqiu?" asked Yao's mother.

"I'm too lazy to fight." Yao Ming said with a grunt.

"Zhongqiu scored 30+ points, and he was playing against O'Neal. You should call and congratulate him." Yao's mother said.

"We need to fight one." Yao's father agreed.

"OK then."

Dayao was just picking up his phone when it rang. He saw it was a call from He Zhongqiu.

"It's Mid-Autumn Festival, he must be here to show off." He said to Yao's father and mother.

Yao's father and mother smiled and motioned for him to answer the call quickly.

"Hello, Zhongqiu, I'm going to bed. We'll talk tomorrow if we have anything." Dayao said quickly after the call was connected.

"You are kidding me, you didn't have any games today, you must have just watched my game."

He Zhongqiu chuckled and said, "Come on, Dayao, tell me what you think. Five hundred words, no less than that."

"Are you writing an essay?"

Yao Ming rolled his eyes and said unhappily, "Isn't it just 30+? It's not like I haven't scored before."

"Yeah, so what were your numbers the last time you faced O'Neal?" He Zhongqiu asked proudly.

"I'm telling you, don't go too far." Dayao said with a grunt.

"10+10, right? O'Neal 30+10, haha!" He Zhongqiu laughed proudly.

"I'm going to bed. I'm hanging up."

Yao hung up the phone angrily and said to Yao's parents, "I was right, wasn't I? He came to me to show off. Look how proud he is."

Yao's father and mother laughed, stood up and went to rest.

After his parents left, Yao Ming said to the translator Colin Pan who was watching the show, "Colin, tell me, how come He Zhongqiu performed so well against O'Neal?

I played against O'Neal last month and it was too tiring. He made a move and I couldn't stand still. I had to hide from him and I shot 14 of 5. It was a far cry from the shooting percentage I had today."

Colin Pan analyzed: "Dayao, didn't you tell me the reason yourself? Strength and confrontation are the main reasons why Wolverine performed well today.

Defensively he could keep O'Neal from getting close to the basket, just like O'Neal was guarding you.

On the offensive end, he can participate in fast breaks, and his quick cuts and terrifying ability to rush to the basket in positional battles are all things that O'Neal cannot defend against."

Yao Ming nodded and said, "When I gain weight to 140 kilograms, I should be able to fight with O'Neal. At least I won't be as embarrassed as in the last game."

(End of this chapter)