Chapter 217

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 for his foul trouble, he would have once again dominated the Pistons’ front line, and it would have been the Magic leading by 10 points instead of the Pistons.
“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 make a move 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—easy as pie—while the referee blew the whistle at the same time. 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, hitting both free throws, keeping the score gap around 10 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, who also rushed back to the paint, Samuel Dalembert gulped involuntarily. 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 game. 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 10 points at the moment, 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, scoring 8-2 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 4 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 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. At the end of the first half, thanks to Greg Monroe’s last-second layup, the Pistons took a 59-53 lead into the second half. The halftime break ended quickly, and both teams’ players returned to the court and their respective benches, listening attentively to their coaches’ plans for the second half. “Fight hard, crush Jamal, crush their point guard lineup!” John Kuester said, patting Zhou Yi’s shoulder. Hearing this, Zhou Yi nodded with a smile. Then he headed to the court with his teammates. Soon, the second half began with the referee’s whistle!