novellk Chapter 73 Overtime: A Career Debut Night?
Chapter 73 Overtime: A Career Debut Night?
The substitutes' bench.
Zeng Zhen sighed as he looked at Westbrook, who wanted to play but had no chance, and Durant, who looked a little dejected.
The current duo is still in their infancy, and it's unrealistic to rely on them. The Thunder have to shoulder everything themselves, and Zeng Zhen doesn't want to lose his debut.
Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and then open them again.
"Clang! [God of Three-Pointers] activated! Overtime activates the skill and its accompanying mission: Win tonight's game, reward 2 B-grade attribute points! Mission failure: During a reporter interview, shout out, 'Liu Yifei/Gao Yuanyuan, I want to drink your bathwater.' Accept the skill and its accompanying mission?"
"accept."
Clearly, if you want to unleash the power of your skills after the regular time expires, you'll need to accept a side mission.
Damn, they've gone all out.
Zeng Zhen stopped thinking about the mission failure and quietly focused on getting his feel for the game.
Zeng Zhen is very confident that he can win tonight's game!
If the opponent can withstand your offensive, then there's nothing to say about losing the game.
"Don't be discouraged, stand up and take them down." Zeng Zhen clapped to encourage everyone. The other Thunder players were a little less panicked when they saw Zeng Zhen. This rookie was much more reliable than Westbrook.
"Zeng, keep going!"
"Kill them!"
Westbrook was yelling on the sidelines, hoping to see Zeng Zhen explode and lead the Thunder to victory tonight.
Carlesimo walked over, put his arm around Zeng Zhen's shoulder, and asked, "Zeng, I'm giving you unlimited firing rights. What kind of support do you need?"
"I need a big man to screen for me, I need mismatches. Also, I hope Russell is on the court, we have better chemistry." Zeng Zhen made his request directly.
In Zeng Zhen's opinion, even in his rookie season, Westbrook was better than Earl Watson as long as he didn't get carried away. What's needed now is his defense and fighting spirit.
Offensively, Zeng Zhen has a higher chance of capitalizing on mismatches. Unlike the NCAA, he can't just shoot randomly in the NBA, especially against a defender of Artest's caliber. He needs to find the best opportunity.
"No problem," Caleimo nodded, then gestured for everyone to gather around.
"In the upcoming overtime, give the ball to Zeng and let him lead the offense. Also, Earl, you're off, Russell, you're on." Carlesimo made the decision, giving Zeng Zhen complete control in overtime without Durant. Zeng Zhen had a chance to lead the team to victory.
Carlesimo truly witnessed Zeng Zhen's abilities tonight, and he was even more impressed by Zeng Zhen's high score at the Olympics.
After hearing this, Westbrook looked at Zeng Zhen, who nodded at him. Westbrook knew that this was what Zeng Zhen had asked the coach to do.
What a good brother.
"OK, no problem!" Westbrook shouted even louder.
Soon, overtime began.
The Thunder fielded a second unit consisting of Zeng Zhen, Westbrook, Sefolosha, Joe Smith, and Collison as their main lineup.
The Rockets fielded a starting lineup consisting of Aaron Brooks, McGrady, Artest, Scola, and Yao Ming.
"Beep beep!!"
Overtime has officially begun.
Yao Ming and Collison jump ball.
Yao Ming passed the ball to Brooks.
Aaron Brooks, standing at only 1.83 meters tall and weighing 73 kilograms, is a typical small offensive point guard who relies on speed and three-pointers as his main weapons. His strengths lie in his ability to quickly advance the ball, create shooting opportunities, and explode for points, while his weaknesses are concentrated on the defensive end due to his size limitations and lack of playmaking ability.
Adelman brought him up hoping he would score.
Brooks quickly dribbled the ball up the court, and Westbrook pressed him defensively.
Westbrook is also a guard known for his speed and explosiveness, and he is not afraid of Brooks.
Brooks moved to the left side, observed the defense, and tried to drive past Westbrook, but failed.
Yao Ming went up to screen, blocking Westbrook. Brooks drove to the free-throw line, but Collison rushed in and there was no chance.
At this moment, Artest was positioning himself against Sefolosha at the free-throw line. He blocked Sefolosha behind him and raised his hand to call for the ball.
Brooks lobbed the ball high over there.
After Artest got the ball, the fans in the arena kept putting pressure on him.
However, Sefolosha was at a physical disadvantage against Artest. Artest took a step back after receiving the ball, then turned and stumbled to make a layup.
99:97.
In overtime, Artest scored first for the Rockets.
After scoring, Artest arrogantly provoked the Thunder fans, flexing his left arm muscles and sweeping his right hand around the court, his eyes scanning the entire arena.
The boos from the fans at Ford Center were deafening!
Zeng Zhen glanced at Artest but didn't pay him any attention.
Collison passed the ball to Zeng Zhen.
OKC!
OKC!
OKC!
"Once, responding to the past!"
Zeng Zhen leaned against Brooks as he crossed the halfway line.
Zeng Zhen observed from 1.5 meters beyond the left three-point line that his teammates were waiting for his tactical instructions.
It's clear that Adelman assigned Brooks to defend Zeng Zhen first, intending to use Brooks' speed to disrupt him.
Brooks was a bit impulsive. When Zeng Zhen dribbled the ball to the right and it was hovering there, he immediately tried to steal it.
As a result, Zeng Zhen passed the ball behind his left side with his right hand.
"Bang!"
Zeng Zhen dodged Brooks' steal, then took a step back and decisively jumped for a three-pointer.
With light footwork and extremely fast speed, Brooks had no chance to react at all.
At this moment, Zeng Zhen's terrifying aspect was different from usual. His attack range had increased, and as long as he crossed the halfway line, he was in attack range. If there was any opening, then sorry, Zeng Zhen would not be polite.
"OMG!!"
"He actually shot from that far."
"Is he really a point guard?"
Thunder fans felt that Zeng Zhen's playing style was unreasonable, and they were really not used to it.
Zeng Zhen: I'll get used to it gradually.
For Zeng Zhen, this was an opportunity.
The basketball hoops are like an ocean!
That's how he feels right now.
The basketball shot out with an incredible trajectory, right before the eyes of the fans at the Ford Center.
"Whoosh!"
Hollow-core netting!
Three points secured!!
99 is better than 100
"Fuck, they're letting this in?"
"OMG, it's true!"
Almost instantly, the fans at the Ford Center erupted in screams.
Zeng Zhen spread his arms and waved his hands, signaling the fans in the stadium to get excited.
Tonight, he's going to crush the Rockets in his debut night!!
As Zeng Zhen rallied the crowd, the fans at the scene continued to celebrate wildly.
Because last season the Thunder were called the Seattle SuperSonics, Oklahoma City fans didn't have much admiration for Durant. They didn't all recognize Durant as the team's leader. But Zeng Zhen now seems to have too much leadership qualities!
Cheers, applause, and screams erupted.
Zeng Zhen's response to Artest was very assertive.
"Ah Zhen is awesome, he took a step to the side and launched a three-pointer from way beyond."
"666. His personal abilities are beyond question."
"Haha, I feel like I'm seeing Zeng Zhen at the Olympics."
"To be honest, the Thunder players are all better than the Chinese players, so if Zeng Zhen is still playing, this game is really hard to predict."
Users on Hupu were very excited when they saw the GIF of this super long-range three-pointer.