Eve of the Great Battle! Strength Increases Again!

Not long after, inside the practice facility.

Sweat ran down Zhou Ze's cheeks and dripped onto the floor.

Though his body was exhausted, Zhou Ze wore a satisfied smile.

Two more badges had completed their upgrades.

[Corner Three-Point Shooter (Silver)] Function Description:

1. When taking corner threes, three-point attribute +8.

2. To upgrade to the next stage (Gold), make a cumulative total of 50,000 three-pointers in games or training.

[Sharpshooter (Silver)] Function Description:

1. Improves shooting resistance to interference to a certain extent, further enhancing contested shooting ability.

2. To upgrade to the next stage (Gold), make a cumulative total of 50,000 contested three-pointers in games or training.

With [Three-Point Agent (Silver)], [Catch-and-Shoot (Silver)], [Corner Three-Point Shooter (Silver)], and [Sharpshooter (Silver)], Zhou Ze's three-point attribute gained +24 on catch-and-shoot attempts, reaching an astonishing 118, while also giving him a certain ability to hit contested shots.

This meant that Zhou Ze's shooting percentage on catch-and-shoot attempts after running off the ball would rise to a whole new level.

Besides that, the rebounding special training of the past few days had also yielded some results:

Defensive Rebound +2, raised to 76 (112).

Offensive Rebound +1, raised to 74 (101).

The next day.

Smoothie King Center, the home arena of the New Orleans Charlotte Hornets.

Inside the visiting locker room, Zen Master Phil Jackson was delivering the pregame pep talk.

Besides being broadcast nationwide, tonight's game would also be aired on major platforms such as TNT and China Sports.

It was a highly crucial game, one that would, to some extent, decide the recipients of Western Conference Player of the Month and Western Conference Rookie of the Month.

For that reason, New Orleans's major media outlets had begun hyping up this game days ago.

The media had also dug up Zhou Ze and Chris Paul's history in the NCAA.

Zhou Ze had once elbowed Paul during a game, nearly turning the basketball court into a martial arts arena.

Paul had never let the matter go, and in a recent interview, when a reporter brought up Zhou Ze, Chris Paul said with a dark expression that Zhou Ze was the dirtiest guy he had ever encountered.

Los Angeles Lakers starting lineup: Smush Parker, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Zhou Ze, and Kwame Brown.

Charlotte Hornets starting lineup: Chris Paul, Kirk Snyder, Desmond Mason, David West, and P.J. Brown.

Both of the Hornets' big men possessed a solid mid-range game, especially David West, known as the 17-Foot Assassin.

Right from the opening, Paul planned to target Zhou Ze on defense, using a switch with David West as the opening move of his attack.

Seeing that Zhou Ze had not switched over to him in time, Paul dribbled left for a step and immediately pulled up from mid-range. Unfortunately, it came up a little short, and the ball bounced off the rim.

Zhou Ze glanced toward the basket and saw that Kwame Brown had secured favorable position. He was about to get back on defense when he suddenly heard the sound of the ball swishing through the net, followed by the cheers of the Hornets fans.

The seasoned P.J. Brown, at a disadvantage in rebounding position, tipped the ball to the cutting Hornets forward, Mason. Facing Kwame Brown's rotating defense, the latter finished with a jelly layup.

"FUCK, Lamar, what are you doing?" Kobe directly tore into Odom for losing his man.

Knowing he was in the wrong, Odom naturally did not dare say much when it was Kobe yelling at him.

This was a true road back-to-back for the Lakers tonight, and Odom, whose willpower was not particularly strong, was clearly in worse form than usual.

At the first official timeout, with the Lakers trailing 8-13 by five points, Zen Master Phil Jackson subbed out Lamar Odom and brought in Devin George, who was physically strong and also capable of occasionally catching fire from three.

Devin George was strong, and his athleticism was above average for a small forward. His defense was also fairly ordinary, but at the very least, he was better than Lamar Odom tonight.

Paul isolated against Zhou Ze on a mismatch. Zhou Ze was quick on his feet, and his one-on-one battles with Kobe had also taught him the good habit of not jumping recklessly. Even so, Paul's Shamgod got him beaten by more than half a step. Now behind Zhou Ze, Paul caught a glimpse of Kwame Brown being too late to help and went for a leaning scoop layup.

With a resounding "Bang!", the stirring sound of a block echoed through the arena.

"Man, great job!" Zhou Ze could not help praising Devin George, the teammate who had rotated over to help and sent Paul's shot flying. Then he turned and sprinted out on the fast break.

Zhou Ze once again displayed his speed advantage. David West simply could not keep up. Kobe, handling the ball, fired a long pass across half court with plenty of lead. Zhou Ze caught it with both hands in midair and, facing Mason as he charged in to disrupt the play, "Boom!" knocked him over while throwing down a thunderous poster dunk.

16-17. The Lakers had cut the deficit to just one point.

That poster dunk ignited the Lakers' morale while also dealing a blow to the Hornets.

"Man, it's just a normal two points." Paul crossed half court while dribbling, gesturing with his fingers to direct his teammates' movement as he consoled the teammate who had been posterized.

Paul used a pick-and-roll once more, but this time he targeted Kwame Brown. Though Paul hated Zhou Ze to the core, he had to admit that the guy's footwork was indeed quick. The payoff for isolating against him was not high.

Using the screen, Paul drove toward the basket and caught Smush Parker overhelping. He then whipped a behind-the-back pass to P.J. Brown at the high post, but Brown bricked the open shot.

"Get back!"

"Get back!"

Chris Paul hurriedly shouted for his teammates to retreat on defense.

Zhou Ze grabbed the defensive rebound and handed it off to Kobe, who came over to receive it.

Right after that, David West felt a gust of wind whip past him. For someone with David West's average athleticism, the speed left him stunned.

Very quickly, all he could see was Zhou Ze's perky backside.

Kobe crossed half court, dribbled to beyond the three-point line, and drew the defense. The next second, he lofted the ball high to Zhou Ze, who was cutting in from the wing.

Chris Paul spotted the opportunity and set up outside the restricted area in advance, covering his groin as he prepared to draw an offensive foul.

Chris Paul had positioned himself perfectly, right in Zhou Ze's inevitable "flight path" after catching the pass.

As long as he fell ahead of the contact, he would definitely draw an offensive foul.