No.1 in basketball scoring
Chapter 322 - 155. Come on! Let’s hurt each other!_3

Chapter 322: 155. Come on! Let’s hurt each other!_3

...

At 8:24 PM, the final whistle blew.

The outcome of the game was hardly a surprise, as the Bobcats handily defeated the Eastern conference cellar-dwelling Celtics, 107 to 83.

Okafor scored the game-high, capitalizing on fast breaks and thriving in one-on-one opportunities during set plays, making 12 of 18 shots and sinking 6 of 9 free throws, tallying up 30 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 blocks.

On Pierce’s end, he, along with Tony Allen, Farmar, and Gerald Green, ganged up to target Zhang Yang’s midrange shooting.

Pierce originally had little fighting spirit, slipping into a state of counting down the minutes at work after playing just two games this season.

But seeing Zhang Yang sinking 3 out of 5 in the first quarter, looking like he was gunning for a high score, and recalling how Los Angeles media recently hyped Zhang Yang to the skies... clearly he didn’t read the news article, just saw the headline ’Midrange’ and the accompanying photo of Zhang Yang’s near buzzer-beater, which gave him a target for the night—the high school scorer had to be challenged!

Zhang Yang didn’t care about their three-point strategy; if they wouldn’t let him shoot midrange, he’d furiously launch threes... not very effectively, though, with only 2 out of 8 threes made in the second half.

In the end, after playing 33 minutes, Zhang Yang made 8 of 20 shots, including 3 of 9 from three, and went 5 for 5 at the free-throw line for 24 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

Looking at Pierce’s 10 of 22 shooting, including 2 of 6 threes, and 4 of 5 at the line totaling 26 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists, Zhang Yang was livid!

He had meant to be gracious to Pierce, but not only was his kindness unappreciated, he was targeted!

This grudge, noted!

But on Pierce’s end, his head throbbed from all of Zhang Yang’s throwing; the 18-year-old was just so willing to take shots!

Last season at the end of the regular season, he saw a news article teasing Zhang Yang’s three-point attempts, suggesting that if Zhang Yang improved, he could be expected to take 8-10 three-point shots a game.

Pierce thought even the hyperbolic reporters had underestimated Zhang Yang, this kid dared to shoot like that even though his three-pointers weren’t reliable yet!

Following their win over the Celtics, the Bobcats rested for a day, then faced the challenge of the West’s new bottom-dweller, the Seattle SuperSonics, at home.

The Lakers had ’betrayed’ the ’Yellow-Green Alliance’, no longer being the bottom team.

After starting the season with 3 consecutive losses, the Lakers faced the Clippers in their fourth game, where Kobe switched up his style from the previous games and went wild shooting, making 13 of 27 shots and 15 of 16 free throws, netting 41 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals, leading the Lakers to a narrow 106-101 victory over the Clippers and ending their losing streak.

Kobe proved with actions that the Lakers must let him go wild and carry the team solo for a chance to win, while the SuperSonics, at 1 win and 4 losses, willingly took their desired spot as the last in the West, mutually satisfying the unspoken arrangement.

Last season, the SuperSonics still tried to disguise their intentions, but this season, like the Celtics, they made no attempt to hide their tanking for Oden.

Zhang Yang played 26 minutes tonight, making 6 of 11 shots, including 2 of 4 three-pointers, and 6 of 8 free throws, pocketing 20 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal, clocking out after three quarters.

The Bobcats easily subdued the SuperSonics, 109 to 95, securing a three-game winning streak and improving their record to 4 wins and 1 loss, tying with the Pistons, and temporarily sharing the top spot in the Eastern Conference!

The two highest scorers of the night were both from the SuperSonics; Ray Allen scored 27 points on 11 of 23 shooting and Lewis contributed 24 points on 9 of 20.

Allen played with much more zest this season than the last.

During the off-season, Carlisle revealed that the ’Big Bird’ refused to trade Artest for him, opting for Peja instead, which greatly provoked him, and now at 31 years of age, he was eager to prove himself.

Lewis was in a contract year and wanted a sizable new deal.

Effort does pay off, Lewis could never have imagined in his wildest dreams that a team that refused to offer O’Neal a billion-dollar contract would offer him an even larger contract...

After the game, when Zhang Yang was looking at the stats, he didn’t pay attention to the two brothers on the opposite side, his gaze was fixed on his own rookie.

Tonight he and Big Baby only played a little over 20 minutes each, Rondo got 22 minutes of playtime, shooting 1 for 4, plus 1 for 2 from the free throw line, scoring 3 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists...

In the game against the Celtics, Rondo finally managed to score 10 points by shooting 4 out of 6, but tonight as the SuperSonics didn’t guard the paint and ignored the perimeter, Rondo’s scoring cooled off again.

However, Rondo’s ability to find open spaces for shooting was indeed outstanding; when Big Baby and Rondo were on the court together, they both buzzed around off the ball to find gaps to shoot threes.

After finishing two home games back-to-back, the Bobcats started a two-game road trip.

The first stop was Boston on November 11th, where the Bobcats went to the North Garden arena to challenge the Celtics.

A gentleman always seeks revenge when wronged, Big Baby called on his teammates to target Pierce, to avenge their little brother who was picked on in their last encounter!

On Zhang Yang’s side, he originally wanted to stealthily pad his stats, but it turned out that the other side harbored the same thoughts, with Pierce gathering a group of teammates to besiege Zhang San.

Under siege, Zhang Yang shot 3 out of 11, including 1 for 4 from three-point range, plus 5 for 6 on free throws, scoring 12 points; Pierce shot 5 out of 15, including 0 for 2 from three-point range, plus 3 for 4 on free throws scoring 13 points.

It’s certainly uncomfortable to perform poorly oneself, but seeing the other side play just as bad brings so much more comfort... mutual hurt it is!

Okafor scored the highest points in the game against the Celtics again, shooting 10 out of 18, plus 8 for 12 on free throws, scoring 28 points.

Felton had the second-highest score of the game, shooting 8 out of 15, including 2 for 4 on threes, plus 4 for 6 on free throws, scoring 22 points and making 5 assists.

On the opposing side, Morrison had a good night, shooting 7 out of 16, including 2 for 5 on threes, plus 4 for 4 on free throws, scoring the team-high 20 points.

Ultimately, the Bobcats easily took down the Celtics 100 to 87, bagging four straight wins!

The next morning, the Bobcats left Boston and headed to Memphis; after resting for an afternoon, they played the Grizzlies at 8 p.m. back-to-back on the road.

If the Grizzlies were still the same team as last season, the Bobcats players would have wanted to curse out loud.

But the Grizzlies had already dismantled their team; during the offseason, they traded Battier for Rudy Guy’s signing rights and sent away their three main players, Bobby Jackson, Lorenzen Wright, and Eddie Jones, all traded away for either second-round picks or highly protected first-round picks, announcing a tanking strategy for a shot at the number one draft pick.

A 50-win team directly dismantled for tanking, the Grizzlies’ offseason moves stunned everyone, and before the season began, they were ranked by major media outlets as the last in the Western Conference.

To tank to such an extent, the Grizzlies would certainly be desperate to lose games this season, and the media were unafraid of being contradicted.

Indeed, that turned out to be the case; up to now, 7 games into the season, the Grizzlies won only against the Trail Blazers, the second-to-last team in the West, and lost all their other games.

Last season, the Grizzlies only conceded 88.5 points per game on average, leading the league in defensive capability; this season, in the first 7 games, they conceded an average of 109 points per game, the most in the league.

Tonight, the Bobcats easily won the back-to-back game as well, 115 to 96.

Zhang Yang scored 22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, Gerald Wallace 21 points, 2 steals, 3 blocks, Okafor 15 points, 15 rebounds, Felton 16 points, and 7 assists. The four core players performed excellently, and the role players also put on a good show, contributing 41 points.

After the game, Zhang Yang looked at Gasol sitting disconsolately on the opposite bench... it was indeed miserable!

Gasol led the team to the playoffs three years in a row, maintained a 50-win level in the West, was just elected to the All-Star team last season, returned from the offseason with a championship from the World Championships, and wanted to strive for great things in the new season, only to find his team was gutted!