"Wow!"
"Wow!"
"Wow!"
A chorus of "wows" erupted through the Lakers' home arena.
The commentators at the scene had both hands on their heads, momentarily at a loss for words to describe what they had just witnessed.
Then one of them finally cried out, "Crazy, Zhou! That play was absolutely insane!"
"Insane! That has definitely locked up a spot in the NBA's Top Ten Plays of the Year!"
On the giant screen at the center of Staples Center, the moment was being replayed in slow motion.
Zhou Ze, cutting in without the ball, took Kobe's pass and launched himself upward.
Bogut came flying in from the side—no, more accurately, he came straight at the man.
It was a clear flagrant foul, an attempt to drag Zhou Ze down while he was in the air.
But what Bogut had not expected was that Zhou Ze kept rising, his entire torso soaring above Bogut's head.
With absolute elevation in midair, Zhou Ze smashed the basketball into the rim, like a meteor falling from the heavens and tearing through the sky.
At the same time, Bogut, who had charged at him, slammed his head into the elbow of Zhou Ze's off hand.
The instant the ball was dunked, Bogut, having collided with that iron elbow, passed out cold and fell backward onto the hardwood.
At that moment, Zhou Ze looked at the unconscious Bogut on the floor. After hesitating for several seconds, he held his head in both hands, looking deeply annoyed.
Kobe walked over to comfort Zhou Ze. "Rookie, I know you didn't mean to do it. You didn't want this to happen either."
The other teammates came over as well.
Zhou Ze nodded.
He truly regretted it.
He regretted getting so carried away during the Meteor Dunk that he had failed