Fierce Battle!

At the end of the first half, the score stood at 49–52, with the Los Angeles Lakers leading by 3 points.

As the game entered the second half, Zen Master Phil Jackson sent Zhou Ze and the other four starters straight onto the court.

In other words, based solely on his first-half performance, Zhou Ze was very likely to replace Kwame Brown as the team's starting power forward.

Kwame Brown, the original starting power forward, felt somewhat dejected, but even more relieved.

Playing alongside Kobe on the court was simply too stressful.

After the second half began, Carmelo Anthony started turning it on. Strong, agile, and blessed with a soft shooting touch, Anthony gave Lamar Odom a miserable time on the offensive end.

As one of the Lakers' three big men, Lamar Odom had undeniable physical gifts, but he occasionally lost focus on defense.

Throughout the entire third quarter, Anthony easily got past Odom three times and charged straight to the basket. Zhou Ze rotated over to help twice.

The first time, Zhou Ze came flying in from the side, but his slow leaping speed and Tyrannosaurus-like wingspan allowed the quicker Anthony to finish a powerful layup first.

The second time, Zhou Ze rotated over in time and used his strong body to disrupt Carmelo Anthony's layup. However, his second-jump speed, Tyrannosaurus-like wingspan, and mediocre rebounding instincts allowed Anthony to grab the offensive rebound first and use the timing difference to draw a defensive foul on Zhou Ze.

On the court, the Lakers were on offense.

Kobe used a screen, took one dribble, and pulled up for a shot!

Clang!

Zhou Ze established position immediately. With his burly frame and excellent strength, he held off Kenyon Martin, who was trying to fight for position from behind.

But Zhou Ze misjudged the timing of the rebound and jumped first. His Tyrannosaurus-like wingspan could only grasp at air, and the offensive rebound slipped right past him.

With a smack, Kenyon Martin rose behind him and snatched the rebound right over Zhou Ze's head.

The Lakers fans in the stands could not help shaking their heads.

"Zhou Ze may have a broad, sturdy build, but his arms are too short."

"His jumping height is decent, but his leaping speed is slow, his second-jump ability is poor, and on top of his short arms, his margin for error when fighting for rebounds is just too small."

After failing to secure the offensive rebound, Zhou Ze hustled back on defense.

Once again, Zhou Ze displayed his outstanding running and jumping talent.

With guard-level off-ball speed, he reached the basket immediately.

Andre Miller, who had wanted to fire a direct pass inside to Marcus Camby, quickly abandoned the idea and passed out to Carmelo Anthony on the perimeter instead.

But Kobe suddenly darted out and stole the pass.

After the steal, the first thing Kobe saw when he looked up was Zhou Ze charging at the front, galloping down the court.

Although Kenyon Martin possessed excellent athleticism, he simply was not as fast as Zhou Ze.

"This kid is pretty active on the fast break." A faint smile appeared on Kobe's lips as he sent the ball forward.

Zhou Ze caught the pass a step inside the opponent's three-point line. At that moment, the Denver Nuggets' starting shooting guard, Voshon Lenard, had caught up to him.

Rather than pressuring Zhou Ze closely, he took a step back to defend, preventing Zhou Ze from driving straight to the basket.

With Zhou Ze's poor ball-handling, it was difficult for him to beat Voshon Lenard off the dribble while facing up.

As for posting up, he might have been able to overpower him, but the opposing defense was getting back quickly.

Just as Denver head coach George Karl thought Zhou Ze would wait for his teammates to arrive, Zhou Ze suddenly took a step-back, moved directly beyond the three-point line, and rose for a jumper.

"Fuck!" Seeing Zhou Ze choose a step-back three despite the mismatch, Kobe, who had just passed him the ball, immediately cursed out loud.

But the next second...

Kobe froze.

With a swish, the basketball traced a beautiful arc through the air and dropped cleanly through the net.

The score became 71–81!

With that three-pointer, Zhou Ze directly stretched the lead to 10 points.

At the same time, thunderous applause erupted from the Lakers' home arena.

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