Is a New Record About to Be Set?

Meanwhile.

The Los Angeles Lakers bench was filled with laughter and cheers.

Even Kobe, who rarely smiled, found Zhou Ze more and more pleasing to the eye, though the rookie occasionally ignored his calls for the ball.

But it had to be said...

This guy's three-pointers were damn sweet.

Not only that, the little bastard was incredibly fast on the break.

His teammates were excited and happy about Zhou Ze's performance.

All kinds of praise and compliments were showered on Zhou Ze as if they cost nothing.

Having been steeped in Confucian culture, Zhou Ze accepted every bit of it while secretly hoping they would say it louder.

Of course, some players were plunged into the depths of despair by Zhou Ze's outstanding performance.

That was right.

It was Sasha Vujacic, the player from Europe. After clashing with Zhou Ze—no, more accurately, after being bullied by him—Vujacic hated Zhou Ze to the core.

His expression was awful, as if Zhou Ze had stolen his wife.

Seeing Vujacic's green face, the Lakers' assistant coaching staff worried that the media would use the incident to stir up controversy again, so they occasionally reminded Vujacic to manage his expression.

The happiest one, however, was Kwame Brown. Other Lakers players might have been putting on an act, but this bust of a first overall pick was genuinely happy for Zhou Ze.

"Zhou, my big brother, your shooting is insanely accurate."

"Minnesota's fans, and KG too, are practically crying from getting shot by you."

Kwame Brown danced around in front of Zhou Ze like a child, thrilled beyond measure.

"Haha, man, you did a great job grabbing those defensive rebounds too." Zhou Ze laughed and patted Kwame Brown on the shoulder.

"Haha." Kwame Brown's smile grew even brighter.

Ever since joining the NBA, he had been burdened by endless criticism.

His former team leader, Michael Jordan!

And his current leader, Kobe Bryant!

Neither had ever really given him a smile.

But this young man before him was different.

Even though Zhou Ze had taken away some of his playing time, for some reason, playing alongside him always gave him an overwhelming sense of security.

Kwame Brown had been selected first overall for a reason. His athleticism and physique were both at the level of a quality big man.

It was just that the two team leaders he encountered early in his career had both been paranoid maniacs with absurdly intense survival instincts. With his weak mentality, the more he played, the less confidence he had, and the more dispirited he became.

Even so, this bust of a first overall pick had averaged 10.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in the 2003–04 season.

After the timeout.

Zhou Ze returned to the court with a brilliant smile and greeted Garnett.

"Rookie, looks like you really stepped in dog shit tonight," Garnett said, glaring at him.

Zhou Ze kept smiling, but as he approached Garnett, he deliberately stepped on Garnett's shoe.

"Damn rookie, are you trying to die?" Garnett roared.

The veins on his forehead and neck bulged, while the fury in his eyes seemed capable of burning everything. From the look of him, he resembled a lone wolf ready to pounce at any moment.

However...

The attentive fans in the front rows could clearly see that Garnett's feet seemed glued to the floor with superglue. They never left the ground.

Well then!

Faced with a prickly rookie who dared to elbow Kobe and had smashed Raja Bell's head open with an elbow, knocking him unconscious on the spot, Garnett's body was still being very honest.

This showed that all that muscle was pretty useful after all.

The referee also looked in Zhou Ze and Garnett's direction, and Zhou Ze quickly lifted his foot with an innocent expression.

Making it seem like the whole thing had been accidental.

After sternly warning Zhou Ze and Garnett not to cause trouble on the basketball court, the referee resumed the game.

The instant the referee turned his head away, Zhou Ze said to Garnett with a smug grin, "KG, you were right. I really did step in dog shit tonight."

Kevin Garnett froze for a full two seconds before finally understanding.

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"Damn rookie, you'll pay a painful price for this," Garnett said viciously.

After the timeout, the Timberwolves still did not have Garnett match up against Zhou Ze. But now, the one defending Zhou Ze was no longer a Timberwolves big man—it was their small forward, Wally Szczerbiak.

Szczerbiak stood 201 cm tall and weighed 109 kg. He had decent leaping ability and, compared to most white players, a fairly strong build—at least for a wing.

His most obvious weakness was his lack of speed, which made it difficult for him to defend quick guards.

But keeping up with Zhou Ze's footwork was no problem.

"Wow... this rookie Zhou seems to have caused Minnesota quite a bit of trouble."

"Looks like Minnesota really doesn't want to become Zhou's highlight reel."

Charles Barkley joked about the Timberwolves' defensive strategy on TNT's broadcast.

"Although there are still seven minutes left in the first half, against a Minnesota team that's taking him completely seriously now, does Zhou have a chance to make another two—or even three—three-pointers?"

"I think that'll be very difficult!"

Kenny Smith was not optimistic that Zhou Ze's hot three-point shooting could continue.

Szczerbiak, the handsome guy from Spain, stayed glued to Zhou Ze with complete focus, like a strip of adhesive plaster, practically wishing he could stick himself directly onto him.

That kind of defense made it difficult for Zhou Ze to receive passes on the move.

Catching the ball while stationary was not a problem. He could use his shoulder and back to keep Szczerbiak on the other side, but that would leave Zhou Ze with no shooting space after receiving the pass.

Besides, European players were all quite good at stripping the ball. Even if they failed to get a steal, they could still seriously disrupt Zhou Ze's shooting rhythm.

The force, position, and angle of his gather would all be affected.

But...

They seemed to have forgotten that Zhou Ze was an interior player.

Zhou Ze cut directly toward the basket. Szczerbiak simply could not hold him off. He tried desperately to stop him, but Zhou Ze still forced his way inside and drew a defensive foul from him.

"Buddy, let him get to the low post. I'll help you on the double," Garnett said to Szczerbiak.

Szczerbiak nodded.

Lakers sideline inbound. Odom took the ball out.

Zhou Ze tried to cut inside again.

This time, Szczerbiak did not intercept Zhou Ze up high. Instead, he quickly collapsed toward the basket.

However, Zhou Ze suddenly popped back out midway through the cut, arriving beyond the three-point line at the top of the arc.

The left-handed magician Odom whipped the ball over, putting it right into Zhou Ze's hands.

The next instant, Zhou Ze caught it and rose for a jumper.

During the process, Szczerbiak realized something was wrong and rushed over. Knowing he could not get the block, he went for an eye-covering contest.

Swish!

The crisp sound of the basketball snapping through the net rang out again.

"Ouch..."

"Ouch..."

Some Timberwolves home fans instinctively let out pained cries.

Zhou Ze had made his seventh three-pointer of the game.

Szczerbiak could not help feeling frustrated. He had not expected the rookie in front of him to be so flexible in his offensive approach. He had looked ready to bully his way through him in the paint, only to suddenly pop out for a three without any warning.

In this era before the three-point shot truly exploded.

The record for three-pointers made in a half was eight.

The record for three-pointers made in a single quarter was seven, held by John Ross.

The record for three-pointers made in a single game was twelve, jointly held by Kobe Bryant and Donyell Marshall.

In just a quarter and a half, Zhou Ze had already made seven threes and was charging toward those records.

I hope everyone won't stockpile chapters!

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