Chapter 108

In just over 5 minutes of play in the first quarter, Dwight Howard scored 9 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, and had 2 blocks. His performance was absolutely insane; if not taken off early by Stan Van Gundy, he would have once again dominated the Pistons’ front line, and it would have been the Magic leading instead.
“That’s absolute dominance!” Those words suddenly popped into Zhou Yi’s mind for no reason.
Dominance—simple in theory, just three words—but how hard is it to achieve?
Watching Dwight Howard gently dribble with his right hand while pushing past Samuel Dalembert behind him, Dalembert tried to push hard but found nothing in front of him. Dwight Howard spun around and easily dodged him, causing Dalembert to lose his balance and crash into him. Yet Dwight Howard only swayed slightly before shooting a hook shot with his right hand, hitting the ball easily, just as the referee blew the whistle.
Dwight Howard shook his neck, as if it had all been extremely easy.
The free throw missed. Haha, Dwight Howard’s free throws were still terrible. Tyler Hansbrough grabbed the defensive rebound.
James Posey caught a pass from Will Bynum and scored easily, keeping the lead.
Jason Richardson rushed to the paint and forced a foul on Tyler Hansbrough, making both free throws, keeping the score difference at around 5 points.
Charlie Villanueva’s three-point attempt from beyond the arc missed. Dwight Howard grabbed the rebound and passed it to Chris Duhon. Then, Dwight Howard set up a pick-and-roll for Chris Duhon, who rushed to the paint.
Seeing Dwight Howard without the ball also moving back toward the paint, Samuel Dalembert involuntarily swallowed hard. Just as he prepared to confront Dwight Howard head-on, the latter had already jumped in front of him.
His incredible explosive power and superhuman jumping ability instantly became the focus of the entire court. When he caught the ball from Chris Duhon in mid-air, Samuel Dalembert was stunned, watching as this black superhero leaped right in front of him and completed a dunk. Seeing the swaying basket and the creaking backboard, Samuel Dalembert was still shaken.
“Roar!” Coming down from the basket, Dwight Howard kept pounding his chest to show off his strength.

Zhou Yi could sense that although they still led by 5 points, the Magic’s overall momentum had been boosted by Dwight Howard. Perhaps Howard’s energy had infected his teammates, as the Magic became more aggressive and scored an 8-2 run against the Pistons in just 3 minutes. By the time there were 6.5 minutes left in the first half and John Kuester called a timeout, the score gap had narrowed to just 2 points. The Pistons’ momentum was suppressed, while the Magic grew more confident. It was evident from Dwight Howard’s final assist to Jason Richardson for a three-point shot that he was in full flow. “Zhou, Tracy, come on out!” Seeing the situation on the court, John Kuester had to make another adjustment and send Zhou Yi and Tracy McGrady onto the court, hoping they could stabilize the situation. “Yes,” Zhou Yi stood up, placed his towel on his seat, and followed McGrady onto the court. What they needed to do now was not to overwhelm the opponent but to stabilize the situation, as it was very dangerous for the Pistons. As Zhou Yi dribbled, he kept an eye on his surroundings. His defender at that moment was Jamal Nelson, not Chris Duhon—Chris Duhon had already left the court for a break after the timeout. Zhou Yi squared his shoulders, passed the ball to his right hand, and charged inward. When he thought he could easily slip past Jamal Nelson, he was surprised to find that the guy held his ground! Zhou Yi was confident in his speed. But this didn’t stump him; his passing was quite precise. The ball was accurately passed to Tyler Hansbrough, who took a jump shot just inside the free-throw line and made it. “Don’t worry, we’ll get one back!” Seeing Ryan Anderson looking frustrated, Dwight Howard walked over and patted his shoulder. Jamal Nelson was a typical pseudo-point guard who didn’t pass to the stronger big men and instead tried to drive to the basket himself, only to be blocked by Zhou Yi. Ryan Anderson grabbed the offensive rebound and handed it to Dwight Howard, allowing him to attack inside. Samuel Dalembert couldn’t stop Dwight Howard, who slowly moved toward the paint, with Tyler Hansbrough immediately rushing over to help defend. But this left Brandon Bass unguarded.

Dwight Howard glanced around and locked eyes on Brandon Bass, who was lurking just beyond the three-point line. He prepared to pass the ball to that open spot. But as soon as he passed, the ball didn’t reach Brandon Bass’s hands—it was intercepted by Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi successfully penetrated the paint and completed the fast break with a one-handed dunk. Thanks to Zhou Yi’s performance, the Pistons once again widened the score gap to 8 points. However, the Pistons’ luck ran out for a while, as the Magic gained momentum. After Jason Richardson and Brandon Bass each hit a three-pointer, and Hakeem Olajuwon scored from inside, the Magic took the lead after three consecutive failed Pistons attacks. “Time out!” John Kuester had to call a timeout, as continuing would only make the Pistons fall further behind. “Zhou, I’m giving you control of the game! You have full authority to make decisions. Tracy, you’ll focus on supporting from the wings, mainly feeding Zhou. Ben, I’m assigning you the task of guarding Dwight—that jerk. With your experience and physical strength, I believe you can contain him. Greg, you’ll help guard Dwight, but also be ready to move and seize offensive opportunities. Andre and you, pay attention to overall defense and help defense. That’s all I have to say. Everyone, give it your all and win this away game,” said John Kuester. “Yes.” But as soon as the game resumed, McGrady made a mistake. His pass was stolen by Jason Richardson, who scored a layup, pushing the lead back to 3 points. Before the Magic could celebrate, Zhou Yi suddenly stopped abruptly in front of Jamal Nelson and hit a three-pointer, tying the score at 49:49. With Zhou Yi leading the attack, the Magic’s offense stalled. Fortunately, veteran Jason Williams scored a layup at a critical moment, breaking the deadlock. Although the Pistons couldn’t contain the Magic on defense, they performed well offensively. On the next offensive drive, Zhou Yi passed skillfully to McGrady, who hit a jump shot to add 2 more points, giving the Pistons a 55:51 lead of 4 points. Dwight Howard’s drive to the basket missed, and Zhou Yi grabbed the defensive rebound before racing toward the Magic’s half-court. Suddenly, Zhou Yi stopped abruptly, dodged Jamal Nelson, and hit a jump shot.

Zhou Yi swung his arm forcefully, punching his chest with great dominance before stepping back to defend.
“Damn it!” Jamal Nelson growled in frustration as he watched Zhou Yi easily hit a jump shot.
Jamal Nelson stepped forward, making continuous feints, but Zhou Yi didn’t fall for them. Not daring to dominate the ball entirely, he passed it to Jason Richardson when he saw no chance.
Maddie stood in front of Jason Richardson, focusing on defense. Jason Richardson took on Maddie one-on-one, shot a backdoor jump shot, and also made it.
Only 23.1 seconds remained in the first half, and the Pistons had to use up every second of it.
Zhou Yi slowly controlled the ball across half-court, then adjusted his pace to waste time. When 8 seconds were left, he passed the ball to Greg Monroe in the paint with a bounce pass.
Brandon Bass was guarding Greg Monroe. Feeling Brandon Bass pressing against him from behind, Greg Monroe leaned back, lifted his hips to create space, then immediately turned to shoot a jump shot.
Although the shot wasn’t disturbed, Greg Monroe’s form wasn’t ideal, and the ball didn’t go in.
But time wasn’t up yet. Greg Monroe jumped desperately, gently nudging the ball into the basket. It was then that the whistle signaling the end of the first half sounded.
At the end of the first half, thanks to Greg Monroe’s last-second layup, the Pistons led 59–53, six points ahead, heading into the second half.
Zhou Yi had played 15 minutes in the first half, hitting 4 out of 8 shots for 11 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks—making him the best player in the first half.
Maddie hit 3 out of 7 shots for 9 points, 2 rebounds, and 4 assists; Greg Monroe scored 8 points with 6 rebounds.
On the Magic’s side, Dwight Howard hit 7 out of 10 shots for 17 points and 11 rebounds, recording a double-double in the first half, showcasing his absolute dominance in the paint. Jason Richardson scored 10 points with 3 assists; Brandon Bass also scored 10 points. As for Jamal Nelson, who guarded Zhou Yi, he hit 2 out of 8 shots in the first half, scoring only 5 points with 3 assists.
Chapter 291: Humiliating the Great General
The Pistons all rushed into the locker room to avoid the reporters. After chatting with Xiang Yun for a while, Zhou Yi also went into the locker room.

In the first half, the Pistons sacrificed a lot of energy to close the score gap, trying to make up for the losses caused by Howard in the paint, especially their outside players. At this moment, in the locker room, they naturally needed to rest properly. Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, halftime was over. The Pistons players stretched their bodies and rushed back onto the court. At the start of the second half, since Zhou Yi was moved to the shooting guard position, he naturally had to face Jason Richardson. Zhou Yi stayed close to Jason Richardson, who casually held the ball at his waist. Taking advantage of his distraction, Zhou Yi reached out and snatched the ball. Before Jason Richardson could react, he felt the ball go light in his hands along with a sharp pain; he knew without looking that Zhou Yi had stolen the ball. Zhou Yi picked up the ball and launched into a fast break, with Jason Richardson chasing after him, joined by Jamal Nelson as well. Although Jason Richardson tried his best to run, his speed was far inferior to Zhou Yi’s, so he could only watch as Zhou Yi grew further ahead. Jamal Nelson, however, caught up to him first. They were now inside the three-second zone, and seeing that he was two steps away from the free-throw line, Zhou Yi jumped without hesitation. “No way!” Jamal Nelson shouted and also jumped, leaping without even adjusting his stance. He didn’t expect to be able to stop this dunk—the first offensive play of the second half being stolen and leading to a fast-break dunk was undoubtedly demoralizing. Jamal Nelson grabbed Zhou Yi’s shoulder with his right hand. He jumped too late, and Zhou Yi had excellent jumping ability; he simply couldn’t reach Zhou Yi’s arm. Veins bulged in Jamal Nelson’s right arm, his face was tightly furrowed, and he gritted his teeth, looking fierce. Zhou Yi roared and switched the ball to his left hand, slamming his body into Jamal Nelson’s short, strong frame in an attempt to knock him away. If it were just a simple strength contest, the older Jamal Nelson would lose to Zhou Yi by a large margin. But since both were in the air, it was clearly willpower that determined the outcome. Jamal Nelson snarled, feeling as if he had been hit by a speeding tank. His chest hurt badly, but that wasn’t a reason for him to give up. He still clung tightly to Zhou Yi’s shoulder, continuing to pull down with all his strength.

Impossible! Zhou Yi gathered his last ounce of strength to lift his arm, trying to slam the basketball through the hoop. But he no longer had any leverage, and Jamal Nelson’s weight was still on him, preventing his left arm from moving upward. The basketball hit the backboard with a loud thud. Through the “speakers” on the backboard, the sounds of Zhou Yi and Jamal Nelson colliding, along with the sound of the basketball hitting the backboard, echoed throughout the gym like two gunshots. Once the basketball slipped from his hand, Zhou Yi no longer had the strength to maintain his balance, and he and Jamal Nelson stumbled to the ground together. Every spectator near the court saw Zhou Yi holding off Jamal Nelson mid-air as he attempted a dunk; they could almost feel the immense force of their collision. A few spectators who had stood up collapsed back into their seats as if struck by force. Jason Richardson was raising his hand to complain to the referee about Zhou Yi’s foul, but the referee didn’t even glance at him. They were discussing whether to call a malicious foul on Jamal Nelson. As Zhou Yi fell, he landed on top of Jamal Nelson, whose height allowed him to be completely covered by Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi got up and kindly reached out to pull Jamal Nelson to his feet. It was this veteran who truly showed him what an NBA-level guard was like—at least his iron will was something Zhou Yi currently lacked. Jamal Nelson was stunned for a moment before taking Zhou Yi’s hand and standing up. He thought Zhou Yi would argue with him over his earlier malicious foul. After pulling him up, Zhou Yi turned and stood at the free-throw line. Seeing that both Zhou Yi and Jamal Nelson remained calm, the referee only called a regular foul, not a malicious one. Jamal Nelson watched Zhou Yi’s proud and arrogant back with a complex expression. He knew this rookie’s future achievements would far exceed his imagination. At least he, during his rookie days, couldn’t stay calm after being fouled maliciously and learn from his opponent. “Amazing willpower!” Zhou Yi made both free throws and, as he turned around, praised Greg Monroe beside him. Greg Monroe was surprised but nodded, though no one knew why—he might not even know himself.

Jason Richardson caught the ball again and said fiercely, “Kid, you were pretty tough just now, but you won’t have another chance in this game. I’m going to teach you a lesson.” Zhou Yi remained calm, sneering, “Go ahead!” Jason Richardson feinted a move to the left, but Zhou Yi didn’t even move—come on, how could you compare to McGrady in terms of the realism of feints? Seeing that Zhou Yi hadn’t been fooled, Jason Richardson drove past him on the left while holding the ball. Zhou Yi closely followed him, not giving him any chance to break through. Realizing he couldn’t get past Zhou Yi, Jason Richardson stamped his right foot hard, then used a crossover to change direction and charge forward. Brandon Bass kept Greg Monroe firmly behind him, preventing him from coming back to help defend. Jason Richardson widened his eyes, jumped high, and shot the ball. “Thwack!” Zhou Yi also jumped up, blocking the shot. Seeing Jason Richardson break through Zhou Yi, all the spectators started cheering. When they saw him jump to shoot, everyone prepared to celebrate a score. But a figure suddenly appearing behind Jason Richardson interrupted everyone’s cheers. Zhou Yi used his amazing flexibility to change direction abruptly and knocked the ball away from Jason Richardson’s shot. Jason Richardson frowned, secretly surprised by the rookie’s speed and jumping ability, as well as his cleverness and sharpness. Zhou Yi shrugged and continued to defend, having just blocked the shot—so naturally, it was still the Magic’s ball. Jamal Nelson drove to the paint and passed to Brandon Bass, who then passed to Hedo Turkoglu, who scored with a mid-range shot. Will Bynum controlled the ball and drove past Jamal Nelson, passing to Samuel Dalembert, who scored off the backboard. Jamal Nelson passed to Hedo Turkoglu, who then passed to Dwight Howard. “The Beast” pushed aside Spencer Hawes and scored with a double dunk. The Pistons’ attack failed, and Howard grabbed the defensive rebound. On the Magic’s side, Howard tried to force his way to the paint but was desperately defended by Spencer Hawes.

Andrei Iguodala grabbed the ball and launched a fast break with Zhou Yi; Jamal Nelson blocked Iguodala’s path, and Iguodala passed back, allowing Zhou Yi to score with a layup. Jamal Nelson drove past Will Bynum and then threw the ball high into the paint, where “The Beast” Howard caught it and dunked, boosting the Magic’s morale with this aerial pass. On the next possession, Will Bynum assisted Greg Monroe, who hit a shot from 45 degrees. However, the Magic’s subsequent attack was smooth—Jason Richardson scored a three-pointer using Hedo Turkoglu’s pick-and-roll. Will Bynum drove past Jamal Nelson but missed a quick jump shot; Brandon Bass grabbed the rebound, and Jamal Nelson scored with a fast-break layup. The Magic’s consecutive scores thrilled the crowd, and DJ praised the team’s players excitedly. John Kuester frowned but said nothing; he called a timeout during a dead ball situation and substituted Samuel Dalembert in while Spencer Hawes came off the court. As soon as Samuel Dalembert entered, he grabbed a rebound and passed it to Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi’s fast break drew the attention of Jamal Nelson and Jason Richardson; as he rushed into the paint, he passed back, allowing Iguodala to easily score from beyond the three-point line. Jamal Nelson then responded with a long-range three-pointer, embarrassing Will Bynum, who failed to defend him—after all, Jamal Nelson was still over a meter away from the basket, and no one expected him to shoot from there. But the Magic had a strong start to the second half; despite the Pistons’ solid defense, they maintained their lead thanks to their three-point and mid-range shots. On the Pistons’ offense, Zhou Yi’s mid-range jump shot missed, and Howard grabbed the defensive rebound. With the ball back with the Magic, Jamal Nelson stepped forward to catch it. Zhou Yi was surprised to find Gilbert Arenas as his opponent, as Jason Richardson had already been substituted out. Zhou Yi smiled friendly at Arenas, who gave him a blank stare—he was eager to prove he was still the same “Agent Zero” as before. Zhou Yi looked at Arenas in confusion; it turned out the “Great General” wasn’t very easy to deal with.

Dissatisfied with Gilbert Arenas in his heart, he intensified his defense significantly. The fact that the Magic took the lead earlier angered the Pistons players, and their defense improved in the second half of the third quarter. Jamal Nelson had no good passing options with the ball in his hands. At this point, Gilbert Arenas was at his best both physically and mentally; he quickly moved around beyond the three-point line, rushing to steal the ball whenever he saw Jamal Nelson unable to pass. Jamal Nelson was glad to have someone share the offensive pressure; seeing Gilbert Arenas approaching, he casually threw the ball to him. “Swish”—the ball was stolen. As soon as the ball left his hand, Jamal Nelson felt a sense of dread. He realized he might have been too confident in the first half of the third quarter and had become careless. Seeing Zhou Yi closely following Gilbert Arenas, he suddenly had a badpremonition. Unbeknownst to him, hispremonition came true. Just as Jamal Nelson passed the ball, Zhou Yi suddenly accelerated and overtook Gilbert Arenas, using his body to block him before stretching out his arm to steal the ball. Fast break, again a fast break. Although Gilbert Arenas was slower than Zhou Yi, with Zhou Yi holding the ball, their speeds were roughly equal. Gilbert Arenas tried his best to reach Zhou Yi first, trying to stop his fast break, but Zhou Yi’s ball-handling skills were excellent—with constant changes of direction and sudden stops—almost causing Gilbert Arenas to fall. Entering the paint, Zhou Yi jumped again. Gilbert Arenas raised his right hand high and leaped to meet Zhou Yi, who also rushed forward without hesitation, aiming straight for the basket. Anger flashed in Gilbert Arenas’ eyes. “Damn it!” he roared inwardly. He leaned forward, swinging his raised right hand at the ball in Zhou Yi’s hands. Zhou Yi shook his head slightly and smiled; their bodies collided instantly, even more violently than their earlier clash with Jamal Nelson. It was like a collision between Mars and Earth! Using the strength in his wrist, Zhou Yi raised his right hand high and gently tipped the ball, sending it smoothly into the basket. “Beep!” The referee called a defensive foul on Gilbert Arenas. Gilbert Arenas glared angrily at the Chinese kid as Zhou Yi accurately made the free throw.

Continuous breaks left Jamal Nelson extremely exhausted; he could only gesture for a positional battle, asking everyone to take their spots. Brandon Bass and Dwight Howard stopped moving inside the paint, positioning themselves on either side to block the opponent and wait for Jamal Nelson’s pass. Jamal Nelson passed to Brandon Bass, who tried his best to push Greg Monroe toward the basket. Greg Monroe used his knee to press against Brandon Bass’s leg, preventing him from exerting any force. Brandon Bass was too focused on Greg Monroe behind him and didn’t notice Andre Iguodala pouncing on him. Andre Iguodala jumped and knocked the ball out of Brandon Bass’s hands. Greg Monroe quickly bent down to pick up the ball and threw it to Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi protected the ball, stepped forward sharply with his right foot, and shouted, “Fast break!” Will Bynum took quick steps and rushed forward. Hearing this, Jamal Nelson and Gilbert Arenas rushed down desperately to try and stop Zhou Yi’s fast break. But once they started moving, they realized Zhou Yi wasn’t going for a fast break but was instead slowly pushing forward. “Damn it!” Gilbert Arenas snapped angrily. Jamal Nelson was both amused and frustrated—he had been in the league for years, yet now he was being tricked by a rookie. He placed his hands on his knees and gasped for breath, trying to regain his strength before Zhou Yi reached him. By then, Will Bynum had already rushed into the frontcourt beyond the three-point line. Zhou Yi brought his hands together in front of his chest and then stepped back abruptly, passing the ball straight to the frontcourt. Will Bynum caught Zhou Yi’s pass, took a few quick steps, and scored, leaving Gilbert Arenas and Jamal Nelson fuming in frustration. On the next attack, the ball went to Gilbert Arenas. He picked up the ball, rose up, and pretended to shoot—a move he had practiced extensively with McGrady—but Zhou Yi remained unmoved. Suddenly, Zhou Yi noticed Gilbert Arenas actually jumping and forcefully shooting the ball toward the basket. Zhou Yi quickly turned around and saw the ball flying into the hoop in a wobbly arc. Gilbert Arenas sneered. Greg Monroe passed the ball to Will Bynum, who took advantage of the Magic players’ carelessness and rushed forward, forcing Gilbert Arenas and the others to chase after him desperately.

Will Bynum charged into the paint and threw the ball toward the hoop before Gilbert Arenas could catch up. It was only because of Arenas’ pursuit that Jamal Nelson didn’t have the strength to stop him. Although Arenas failed to block Bynum, he could tell the shot couldn’t go in—its trajectory was too straight; how could it possibly score? As Arenas steadied himself to grab the rebound, he suddenly saw a strange smile on Bynum’s face. His heart sank; he realized that if he could keep up, then Zhou Yi, who was even faster, surely wouldn’t be left behind. Sure enough, as this thought crossed his mind, a powerful force hit his back, and a heavy weight pressed down on him. “Bang!” That was the sound of hands hitting the hoop. Arenas staggered but didn’t fall, yet he felt greater shame and anger than if he had hit the ground. He had become the backdrop for Zhou Yi’s dunk in mid-air—he was utterly humiliated. With his pride severely damaged, Arenas performed poorly in the following moments, making numerous mistakes. The third quarter was coming to an end. Chapter 292: Taking Care of the Magic