Chapter 31

At the end of the first quarter, the score between the two teams was 26:23, with the Trail Blazers still leading by 3 points.
“Heh, it seems quite difficult for Zhou Yi to score 20 points in this whole game. After the first quarter, he only scored 2 points. More importantly, his chances of leading his team to victory are very slim!” Kenny Smith said, glancing at Zhou Yi and then at Barkley with a smile.
Barkley was momentarily speechless. He glared at Kenny Smith and replied calmly, “This is just the first quarter. Although Zhou only scored 2 points, he provided 3 assists, so let’s not jump to conclusions too early.”
While the three of them were talking, the second quarter was about to begin.
After dribbling past the half-court line, Armon Johnson suddenly accelerated his pace. Like a taut bowstring, he stepped back to create some space and burst forward with lightning speed. Yet Zhou Yi still clung tightly to him. Their bodies suddenly collided, and the tremendous force emanating from Armon Johnson nearly knocked Zhou Yi off his defensive position. But in that instant, Zhou Yi’s hand moved as fast as lightning, snatching the ball from Armon Johnson’s grasp. The ball rolled toward McGrady, who quickly stepped forward to catch it.
The moment he grabbed the ball, Zhou Yi was like an arrow released from a bow—sprinting swiftly toward the opposing half-court. McGrady also drove fast with the ball, but Zhou Yi was much faster. So when Zhou Yi reached inside the opponent’s three-point line, McGrady passed the ball to him with a long pass.
Because they had performed so poorly in the first quarter, Zhou Yi immediately jumped high after catching the ball and slammed it hard into the basket.
“A seamless offensive move, without any hesitation. Heh, this is Zhou’s true strength!” Barkley watched Zhou Yi’s figure and couldn’t help but laugh, sighing contentedly as if seeing his own past self.
Armon Johnson stared coldly at Zhou Yi, who had just completed the dunk, while skillfully dribbling the ball. After half a court, Armon Johnson passed the ball to Lamar Odom. Once again, it was Odom who, after receiving the pass from Armon Johnson, hit a backdoor jump shot in response to Zhou Yi’s dunk.
McGrady drove with the ball and passed it to Zhou Yi outside the three-point line. Armon Johnson tried to close in but collided with a solid shield—looking up, he saw it was Hansbrough.

A glint appeared in Zhou Yi’s eyes as he took a jump shot from beyond the three-point line. With a swish, it hit straight through. Hansbrough immediately shook hands with Zhou Yi, then the two of them defended side by side.

Following Zhou Yi’s lead, the Pistons unleashed a barrage of three-point shots. Zhou Yi hit two consecutive three-pointers, while McGrady and Austin Daye also each scored two. Fortunately, the Trail Blazers, led by Aldridge, put up an efficient offense as well, so the score gap didn’t widen much.

Still, the Pistons managed to take the lead. By the time the official timeout was called, the score stood at 43:38, with the Pistons ahead by 5 points.

Chapter 133: You’ve Already Lost Half

The game went into an official timeout at 4 minutes and 54 seconds, so many people thought both teams would bring in their starters after the timeout. And indeed, that’s what happened, though there was one difference from expectations—Zhou Yi and Hansbrough of the Pistons remained on the court. Zhou Yi had been playing since just over 5 minutes remained in the first quarter, and people couldn’t help but admire his incredible stamina.

With a dull thud, Zhou Yi suddenly felt a sharp pain in his ribs. Andre Miller quickly used his right elbow to jab at Zhou Yi’s ribs while dribbling—a very subtle move that not only went unnoticed by the fans but also the referee standing nearby.

Just as Zhou Yi showed signs of weakness due to the pain, Andre Miller swiftly broke through him and then completed a beautiful three-step layup to score 2 points, ending that attack.

“That old guy…”

Taking a deep breath, Zhou Yi’s ribs recovered quickly. He inwardly cursed—Andre Miller had been in the league for so many years and naturally had plenty of experience in using such subtle tactics to avoid detection by referees and fans.

Zhou Yi couldn’t help but think more deeply about things. The NBA, now completely commercialized, had, to some extent, seen many of its inherent qualities deteriorate precisely because of its commercialization. In the pursuit of victory, various underhanded tactics had become part of some players’ gameplay. Even the “Bad Boys” squad, which Zhou Yi greatly admired, had its flaws. The playing style of the Pistons’ “Bad Boys” was widely regarded as the most reckless and dirty, and thus their reputation began to deteriorate in the early 1980s, earning them deep resentment from other players. Although these things were well-known, their effectiveness in games was still very high.

When Zhou Yi officially decided to enter the NBA, Blake had advised him to take good care of his body, and Zhou Yi’s father, Zhou Miao, had given him similar advice.

Zhou Yi slowly controlled the ball and slowed down the pace. After half-time, he passed the ball to Bynum, who was playing as his twin point guard. Bynum drove to the basket and passed to Hansbrough inside. Hansbrough tried to force a shot but missed; he then grabbed the offensive rebound and shot again, still missing, but drawing a foul on Marcus Camby.

Hansbrough took the free throw, making the first one but missing the second. As the ball missed, Big Ben grabbed the offensive rebound and passed it to Zhou Yi on the outside.

After catching the ball, Zhou Yi immediately attempted a three-point jump shot. “Bang, bang, bang”—the ball bounced a few times around the rim before falling through.

The Pistons cheered again, while Kenny Smith in the commentary booth grew nervous. By now, Zhou Yi had already scored 13 points, just 7 short of 20.

“Does old John Kuester know I made a bet with Charles? Is he deliberately letting Zhou Yi play for so long and take so many shots? Ugh, is this really going to go against me today? But it’s even harder for the Pistons to beat the Trail Blazers than for Zhou Yi to score 20 points. I wonder how Charles will win,” Kenny Smith thought to himself.

On the other hand, Charles Barkley looked beaming with pride.

On the Trail Blazers’ side, Brandon Roy also scored a three-point shot after a clever pass from Andre Miller.

From the same position, Zhou Yi once again used his teammate’s screen to shoot a three-point jump shot—this was already his fourth three-point shot of the game, even though it was still less than halfway through!

“That guy’s touch is insane,” exclaimed a home crowd fan.
“Yes, he’s already scored 16 points—just 2 in the first quarter and 14 in the second. As a rookie and an international player who didn’t go through the draft, his performance is absolutely unbelievable.”
“Andre Miller will shut him down.”
……
“Kenny, you’re about to lose half the game!” Charles Barkley said jokingly to Smith beside him.
Kenny Smith snorted coldly, ignoring Barkley’s words and focusing intently on the game. With 2 minutes and 11 seconds left in the first half, Zhou Yi still hadn’t been substituted out by Koostert, and Kenny Smith began cursing John Koostert.
So far, the two teams had been evenly matched, but since the Pistons had led by 5 points earlier, they now led by 4.
The game continued fiercely. Brandon Roy drove to the basket, bypassing Bynum’s defense. Zhou Yi rushed in to help, but Roy scored with a backdoor jump shot.
Bynum drove to create space and passed to Zhou Yi near the free-throw line, who scored with a catch-and-shoot.
Lamar Odom tried to score against Wilcox with a backdoor jump shot, but Kemp grabbed the offensive rebound. Just as he was about to lay it in, Zhou Yi stole the ball. Zhou Yi drove fast, passed to Prince cutting to the middle, then rushed back toward the basket. Prince passed the ball immediately, and Zhou Yi scored a layup, forcing a foul on Nicholas Batum.
“Kenny, you’re about to lose half the game,” Barkley reminded him with a smile.
Smith glared at Barkley and sneered, “What matters is whether he can lead the team to victory.”
Barkley shrugged and replied, “Well, let’s wait and see!”
Zhou Yi took a deep breath, dipped slightly, and shot. With a swish, the free throw went in, and the two-point play was also successful.
Zhou Yi’s total score rose to 21 points thanks to this two-point play. It’s unclear whether Koostert had foresight in substituting Zhou Yi out at that moment.
“Uh, is John Koostert crazy? Substituting that kid out after he scored 21 points? Is he trying to antagonize me on purpose?” Kenny Smith said in exasperation.

Charles Barkley looked at Zhou Yi, who was leaving the court for a break, and said to Kenny Smith beside him with a smile, “Kenny, you’ve already lost half.” Kenny Smith sighed and replied helplessly, “Yes, I’ve already lost half. But I don’t think I’ve lost everything, because I don’t believe he can lead the Pistons to beat the Trail Blazers.” Charles Barkley chuckled, shook his head slightly, and said, “Then let’s wait for the final result!”