in2ebook Chapter 295 Durant, who made himself the fifth star
Chapter 295 Durant, who made himself the fifth star
Wang Xiucheng drifted along aimlessly until the evening's game against the Raptors. From the start of the warm-up, the cameras were focused specifically on Wang Xiucheng, as if the machine was made just for him.
Wang Xiucheng's image was also continuously displayed on the dome screen.
Whether it's the Nets players or the Raptors players, their perception of Wang Xiucheng has completely changed at this point.
A person with assets worth billions, playing basketball with them on the court...
It feels like if this young Chinese player can't play basketball well, he'll have to tragically go home and inherit billions.
All the fans in the stadium were focused on Wang Xiucheng, a player whose assets almost instantly became comparable to Jordan's.
The match began in this eerie atmosphere.
The Raptors will be without Barnes, Achiuwa, VanVleet, and Siakam for this game.
The Raptors, who had almost lost their entire starting lineup, unsurprisingly lost 112-98 at home to the Nets, who were playing on the second night of a back-to-back game.
Wang Xiucheng played 28 games, scoring 29 points, 8 assists, and 3 steals.
杜兰特出战26分钟，只出手10次，拿下12分7篮板和5个助攻。
After playing the Raptors, the Nets team left the cold North overnight and flew to their next destination, Indianapolis.
After a two-day break, on the evening of November 25th, the Nets faced the Pacers, who had Haliburton, at Bankers Life Arena.
The Nets just defeated the Raptors, their third win in the last four games, and they remain in fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
The Pacers, playing at home today, lost to the Timberwolves in their last game, ending their five-game winning streak.
Fortunately, this five-game winning streak allowed the Pacers to overtake the Hawks and move into fifth place, behind the Nets.
As usual, Wang Xiucheng received a system update before the competition.
[Task 1: Reward 30 system points for each assist.]
[Task 2: Achieve at least the same number of assists as Haliburton by the end of the match. Reward: 300 system points.]
[Task 3: Win the match; all rewards will be doubled upon settlement.]
Looking at the task prompts, Wang Xiucheng knew what role he needed to play in this competition.
The competition began soon after.
From the jump ball onwards, the two teams displayed somewhat mirror images of each other.
That means both sides have a number one player who can control the overall situation.
For the first four minutes, both sides maintained a good shooting percentage.
The two point guards, both of similar age, have managed their respective teams very well.
The competition went very smoothly.
The first foul occurred when the game was approaching the 5th minute.
It was Wang Xiucheng who slapped Harry Burton's hand when he tried to steal the ball from him.
Nash stood on the sidelines, arms crossed, head down, lost in thought.
When Haliburton made the first free throw of the game for both teams, Nash called for a substitution.
Durant, who usually plays until the first timeout in the first quarter, was immediately substituted by Nash with Seth Curry.
"take a break."
Nash said something to Durant and bumped fists with him.
Meanwhile, Durant sat comfortably on the bench, striking a pose resembling the Chinese character "太" (tai).
This game was great!
In the last game against the Raptors, Durant only took 10 shots, including 5 three-pointers, making two of them, and didn't make a single free throw.
In other words, Durant didn't even bother to drive to the basket in the last game.
The more assertive Wang Xiucheng became, the lazier Durant became.
This left Nash somewhat helpless.
Although he told Durant to be careful not to get injured and to give the ball to Wang Xiucheng appropriately.
But you can't portray yourself as the fifth-in-command, can you?
In the last game, Durant was the lowest scorer among the starting five!
Durant was clearly still in the same form as in the last game, only taking one shot in five minutes, and failing to make it.
So Nash simply substituted him out and let him lead the team alone in the second quarter.
The stage is temporarily handed over to two young people.
Swish!
Haliburton scored another penalty.
15:13.
Thanks to those two free throws, the Pacers are currently down by 2 points.
Claxton reached the baseline and passed the ball to Wang Xiucheng.
Wang Xiucheng turned around, and after confirming it was safe, he shoved the ball forward.
Upon reaching the frontcourt, facing Haliburton who was bending over and staring at him, Wang Xiucheng smiled and then passed the ball to Claxton, who was already standing at the free-throw line inside.
Accelerating past Haliburton, Wang Xiucheng received a pass from Claxton at close range and then tossed the ball out.
I'll sneak in a vote!
The basketball fell directly into the net.
Halliburton was shielded behind Wang Xiucheng, completely unaware that Wang Xiucheng would choose to make his move here.
Meanwhile, Turner, who was inside, was blocked by Claxton and didn't even see Wang Xiucheng's shot.
17:13.
The Nets are leading by 4 points.
Turner passed the ball to Haliburton.
Once in the attacking third, Harry passed the ball to a furious Turner.
Turner pushed past Claxton and slotted the ball into the net, scoring two points.
Just as Turner turned to defend, Wang Xiucheng suddenly turned and accelerated, shaking off Harry and running towards the frontcourt.
Claxton lifted one foot and left the other foot outside the baseline.
With a powerful flick of his wrist, the basketball flew towards the frontcourt.
Halliburton instinctively reached out to grab Wang Xiucheng, but missed.
Wang Xiucheng looked back after crossing half-court and saw the basketball just above him.
Wang Xiucheng jumped on one foot, intercepted the basketball with one hand, and then, as he landed, turned and slammed the ball down in one fluid motion.
When Wang Xiucheng landed completely on the ground, he was facing the basket again.
After dribbling the ball and adjusting his direction and speed, Wang Xiucheng took a big step and entered the free throw line.
After jumping off one foot again, Wang Xiucheng swung a windmill dunk and easily slammed the ball down the rim.
Baseline serve and quick attack!
This is a new label for the Nets' games this season.
Durant stood up, clapped, and then sat down again, comfortably stretching his legs.
It's just that the Pacers' bench was relatively far from the sideline, otherwise Durant's long legs would have been stepped on long ago.
The game continues.
The Pacers then failed to score in the next three possessions.
The Nets, however, scored 8 points on three fast breaks.
Seth Curry made the first three-pointer of the game.
Joe Harper drove into the paint and scored two points.
Claxton scored two goals while also drawing a foul from Turner.
After making the free throw, the Pacers' head coach called the first timeout of the game.
Coach Carlisle, often referred to as the NBA's Jim Carrey, was somewhat puzzled by the team's sudden slump in offensive efficiency.
He squatted down in front of Harry Burton and talked to Harry alone for more than a minute, occasionally pointing to the Nets' bench, seemingly talking about Wang Xiucheng.
Last summer, when Wang Xiucheng faced contract renewal, most teams in the league made offers or trade proposals to the Rockets.
The Pacers were one of the few teams that did not make an offer.
Because they already have an exceptionally good and young point guard.
That's Halliburton.