Chapter 135

Not long after the first quarter began, both teams engaged in a frenzy of dunks. Cameron Anthony scored first with a dunk unguarded, while Amare Stoudemire responded within just 5 seconds by catching a perfect pass from Zhou Yi and dunking with both hands. The West then delivered another dunk performance as Chris Paul threw the ball high, prompting Kobe Bryant to jump and dunk with both hands. Even after both teams took timeouts, the dunking spree continued—LeBron James jumped so high his head nearly touched the rim, and after a reverse dunk, the East was only down 13-14. Zhou Yi was really unaccustomed to such a game; once the ball was sent out on offense, it was almost impossible to get it back. These veteran players in their respective teams had been building up momentum and were showing off their skills on this stage. More than three minutes into the game, Zhou Yi hadn’t taken a single shot. Since offense wasn’t working, he had little to do defensively as well—after all, he couldn’t give it his all in such an atmosphere. But that was just Zhou Yi’s thinking; to outsiders, his performance was quite impressive, as he had already contributed four assists so far. Kenny Smith remarked, “Both teams were slow to get going in this game. Kobe and McGrady’s shooting kept it tied, but so far, Zhou Yi’s performance has been the most standout. His alley-oop with Amare Stoudemire was one of the best plays so far.” The West struggled to find their rhythm in the subsequent attacks, allowing the East to widen the gap to 10 points. With a timeout by the West, both head coaches made adjustments to their lineups. On the West side, Blake Griffin replaced Yao Ming, and Tim Duncan replaced Cameron Anthony; on the East side, John Kuester wanted his star players to stay on the court longer, so he didn’t replace Zhou Yi or McGrady. Kevin Garnett replaced Amare Stoudemire, and Dwyane Wade replaced LeBron James. Kobe Bryant performed another alley-oop dunk, while Zhou Yi showed off his “Chinese Flying Man” skills by scoring with one hand. The West’s attacks failed, and after grabbing a defensive rebound, Zhou Yi quickly drove to the basket and scored. He also forced a foul on Cameron Anthony, earning 3 points from both a shot and free throws.

But his most spectacular moment came with four minutes left in the first quarter. Zhou Yi controlled the ball as if strolling leisurely, ignoring Kobe’s close defense, and passed a long ball over four players to McGrady at the baseline. As soon as the ball left his hands, Zhou Yi quickly cut toward the basket. With space open, McGrady didn’t shoot—he had already noticed Zhou Yi’s move. After working together for most of the season, the two had developed a seamless understanding. McGrady silently counted down, and the moment Zhou Yi stepped into the free-throw line, he threw the ball high toward the basket. The Western Conference All-Star was still guessing his intentions; since there were no defenders in front of him, there was no need to shoot so boldly. With his keen eyes and experience, Zhou Yi immediately figured out McGrady’s plan and felt pleased. Suddenly, Zhou Yi exerted force with his legs, soaring upward like a giant bird, stretching his body in midair. McGrady’s pass was precise—just as Zhou Yi reached his peak, the ball landed at his waist. With a gentle motion of his left hand, he caught the ball and switched it to his right hand behind his back. Suddenly using strength from his waist and abdomen, he came to a complete stop. His astonishing hanging ability won admiration from all fans. From motion to stillness, such a bizarre change happened so suddenly, followed by a powerful reverse dunk. “Clang”—Zhou Yi’s body swayed a few times on the backboard, displaying sheer dominance. McGrady stepped forward to high-five Zhou Yi, clearly happy about their seamless coordination. With Kobe’s three-pointer missing, the first quarter came to an end. The Eastern Conference led 39–31 temporarily. The Eastern Conference All-Stars took 39 shots in the first quarter, setting a new record for the most shots in a single quarter of the All-Star Game. Zhou Yi was substituted out with two minutes left in the first quarter. He had attempted four shots, all successful, plus two free throws, scoring 11 points, along with six assists, four rebounds, and two steals.

Taking advantage of the break, the commentator from the court broadcasted the game: “At the moment, Kobe leads with 13 points, while Zhou Yi leads the Eastern team with 11 points. As the media predicted before the game, both of them started strong right from the beginning. However, if we look solely at the statistics, Zhou Yi’s performance is actually the best—11 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. His all-around performance means a double-digit assist total is only a matter of time. If Zhou Yi becomes a bit more self-interested in future games, hitting double digits in stats shouldn’t be a problem, and he will then be a strong contender for MVP.”

The Eastern team unleashed a barrage of three-point shots after the start of the second quarter. Ray Allen, Zhou Yi, and Paul Pierce hit consecutive threes, quickly widening the gap to 49-35. Yet the Western Stars put on an even more impressive show. Shortly after the start of the quarter, Blake Griffin passed the ball to Steve Nash, who immediately followed up. Steve Nash drove to the basket, and Blake Griffin dunked on the rebound.

The Eastern team controlled the pace of the game, with the gap between the two teams reaching 21 points at one point. By the end of the first half, the Eastern team led the Western team by 20 points, 78-58. Zhou Yi scored 17 points in the first half, while Kobe scored 19 for the Western team. However, Zhou Yi also recorded 10 assists and 7 rebounds without anyone noticing.

Chapter 337: The Youngest All-Star MVP in History

As the head coach of the All-Star game, although it’s a great honor, the challenges involved are beyond what most people can imagine, especially when it comes to managing the playing time of the players. Figuring out how to arrange everything to satisfy everyone isn’t an easy task. But when John Kuster saw the statistics, he was shocked. Unbeknownst to everyone, Zhou Yi had achieved such impressive numbers—leading in assists and rebounds, with his scoring only second to Kobe’s. John Kuster never expected Zhou Yi to be so good at accumulating stats.

The second quarter was mostly dominated by dunks from both sides. Behind those star players’ impressive displays, the statistics were merely satisfactory. But Zhou Yi, who had remained relatively low-key on the court, delivered an absolutely perfect set of stats. It was only the end of the first half; with a little more time in the second half, a triple-double was within reach. What an honor that would be!

The All-Star Game has been held for many years, but Jordan is the only one who has ever achieved a triple-double there. Clearly, the atmosphere on the court just now still influenced the players, who were very energetic in the locker room, especially those aiming for MVP, who were eager to prove themselves. They didn’t seem to notice that there was someone around them gradually bringing the All-Star MVP trophy into their grasp.

McDyess might be the only one among these players who cared about Zhou Yi’s stats. As halftime approached, he quickly glanced at the stats in John Kuester’s hand. Kuester had marked Zhou Yi’s numbers heavily with a pen, making it clear: 17 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds, 3 steals. This indeed matched Zhou Yi’s stats, but it was only at halftime—such perfect numbers seemed a bit too extreme.

It seemed he was determined to win the MVP this time. The players who could compete in the All-Star Game were all top-tier athletes. Although the All-Star MVP award wasn’t the most prestigious, it was still an MVP award, chosen from so many elite players—this alone was a huge draw for everyone.

McDyess naturally wanted the All-Star MVP too, but his playing style wouldn’t stand out in the All-Star Game, where performance was key. He was no longer the team’s core or primary scorer. Especially since halftime had passed and he had only scored 8 points, while both teams already had scores approaching 20+—with no chance of achieving his own goal, McDyess undoubtedly hoped Zhou Yi would receive this honor.

It would be a honor for the Pistons, for Detroit. As a teammate, he had reason to be proud, and at this point in the MVP race, Zhou Yi was clearly in the lead. Once he achieved a triple-double, the MVP would hardly slip away from him. After all, Jordan’s last All-Star triple-double had caused the MVP to go to someone else, leaving a negative impact in the league.