bookrandom Chapter 607 Birthday Wishes!
Chapter 607 Birthday Wishes!
The Knicks had the final possession.
Swish!
Barrett made a two-pointer with his foot on the three-point line.
The first quarter of the game then came to an end.
Thanks to Wang Xiucheng's eight consecutive points in the final minute, the Nets are now trailing by four points, 28-32.
Although they were behind, the excitement of the fans throughout the stadium showed that they were very satisfied with the score.
Just a minute ago, the Nets were down by 10 points.
New York's sizzling cheerleaders, dressed in sexy red Christmas-themed outfits, took to the stage to perform.
The few kids who weren't interested in the pretty girls finally sat down to continue eating their hamburgers and cola, discussing how to get underwear like the Green Army soldiers.
After a short break, the second quarter began quickly.
Similar to the first quarter, the Knicks took the initiative once again.
However, this time, because of the substitutes, the Nets came from behind and took the lead, going on a 10-3 run.
Although they're called substitutes, the Nets have Durant, Towns, and Westbrook on their side.
On the Knicks' side, it really was the bench players.
Last week, Shams said on a late-night show that the Knicks were planning a big trade.
This statement is actually quite normal.
Not to mention the fiercely competitive Eastern Conference, even in the city of New York, the Knicks have been overshadowed by the Nets.
Especially this season, the Nets brought in a third star, which has put the Knicks under immense pressure.
These days, if tourists visiting New York want to watch an NBA game, Madison Square Garden, the Knicks' home stadium, is no longer their first choice.
It's the Barclays Center, not the Barclays Center.
This doesn't even include tourists from China; otherwise, the Knicks' statistics would be even worse.
The name "Huaxia Home Team" is not just for show!
So if the Knicks do nothing this season, it can be said that they have already fallen out of the championship contention team at the start of the season.
The fans can't agree to this, and neither can the owner.
Wang Xiucheng entered the game in the sixth minute of the second quarter.
The score was now tied.
Durant, Towns, and Westbrook tied the score.
This caused Wang Xiucheng to switch to lazy mode as soon as he entered the game, frequently squatting in the bottom corner and pretending to be dead.
But the Knicks dared not release Wang Xiucheng, otherwise they would really be courting death.
So most of the time, it was an eight-person game, with Wang Xiucheng, Brunson, or others always detached from the game, squatting in the bottom corner.
They looked like they wanted to grab a stool and some melon seeds.
Finally, the game reached the last minute of the first half.
The entire stadium erupted in cheers as if they were on drugs, and the fans stood up again.
Wang Xiucheng, who had been keeping a low profile, first stole the ball from Brunson and slammed it home from the free-throw line.
Then he hit a three-pointer over Brunson.
Brunson didn't even dare to extend his hand, for fear of being framed by Wang Xiucheng.
With those 5 points, the Nets finally finished the first half with a 63-58 lead at home.
Udoka walked toward the players' tunnel and glanced up at the fans who were chatting and laughing as they walked toward the outer field.
"Alright, you guys win," Uduka muttered to himself. "Being down by ten or eight points isn't a big deal!"
He had already planned how to boost the players' morale during halftime.
But what's the point of boosting things now?
How can we boost morale when we're already leading?
Only when you fall behind do you need to boost morale!
Wang Xiucheng sat for a while as usual before getting up and walking towards the players' tunnel.
Towns really wanted to wait for Wang Xiucheng on the sidelines.
But when he saw Durant and Westbrook waiting for Wang Xiucheng, he could only leave dejectedly.
If he were to stand on the sidelines again, it would be too crowded.
"Hmm, get a towel for Wang Xiucheng next time." Tang Si's eyes suddenly lit up as he discovered a new idea.
Towns nodded to himself as he walked into the player tunnel.
At the end of the first half, Barclays Center still had plenty of entertainment planned, aiming to keep the audience engaged.
As more and more fans returned to the arena, the second half of the game began.
The two sides immediately engaged in physical combat, with both Westbrook and Durant engaging in hand-to-hand fighting.
The referee's whistle started blowing more frequently.
Fortunately, Wang Xiucheng disappeared again, crouching in a corner, oblivious to worldly affairs.
This, in turn, kept him away from hand-to-hand combat.
And so, the third quarter lasted much longer than the first two quarters, until finally the last minute.
The Knicks employed a fouling tactic.
As soon as Wang Xiucheng has the ball, the Knicks immediately come up and foul him.
This method produces immediate results.
Wang Xiucheng didn't get a single shot attempt, only managing to score 3 out of 4 free throws in the final minute.
This can be considered as achieving the minimum goal of getting 3 points during "King's Time".
However, there were already many fouls in this quarter, and the Knicks players had accumulated quite a few fouls.
This could be a potential problem in the fourth quarter.
Sure enough, when the fourth quarter started, everyone discovered that Wang Xiucheng hadn't rested at all.
And Wang Xiucheng, who often went into hiding, started soloing.
Whether it was Brunson, Barrett, or the starting center Hartenstein, Wang Xiucheng repeatedly drew fouls from them.
The Knicks had no choice but to frequently make substitutions to avoid their key players accumulating too many fouls.
With this one-on-one play, Wang Xiucheng scored 10 points and had 3 assists.
The Nets extended their lead to 15 points.
Then, in the sixth minute, Wang Xiucheng went to the bench to rest, and Westbrook and Durant took over the team.
Perhaps because Wang Xiucheng set an example, Westbrook also began to frequently attack the Knicks' interior.
The game started to become fragmented.
Uduka, who originally only wanted Wang Xiucheng to rest for two minutes, watched as time gradually passed, but the score between the two sides remained at a difference of about 15 points.
Udoka ultimately abandoned the idea of bringing Wang Xiucheng back onto the field.
When the final whistle blew, the Nets defeated the Knicks 121-102 at home, securing their first derby victory of the new season.
With their first home game in nearly two weeks, the Nets improved their record to 16 wins and 11 losses, moving back to second place in the Eastern Conference.
The Knicks, with a record of 15 wins and 12 losses, are right behind the Nets.
However, whether looking at the home and away schedule or the opponents' winning percentage, the Nets' 27 games were of much higher quality than the Knicks'.
With the game over, the NBA, and indeed the entire United States, officially entered Christmas week.
For Wang Xiucheng, Christmas week has another meaning.
That's a birthday!
On December 23, the Nets hosted the Pistons at home.
According to Chinese time, this match took place on the 24th.
This day also happened to be Wang Xiucheng's birthday.
The Barclays Center was filled with joy during the game, with Chinese fans holding up portraits of Wang Xiucheng everywhere.
During the first timeout of the first quarter, the big screen even played birthday wishes for Wang Xiucheng from fans all over the world.
Of course, most of them are Chinese fans.
However, there were still some blessings from film and television stars, including a collective blessing from the entire Running Man cast, including Yang Ying.
Then, during the break after the first quarter, the big screen started playing birthday wishes from various players in the league to Wang Xiucheng.
James, Curry, Jokic, Doncic, Davis, Giannis, Lillard, and seven other Chinese players who are playing in the NBA this season.
Wang Xiucheng was touched when he saw the blessings from the fans.
But when he saw these guys wishing him well, Wang Xiucheng felt a little embarrassed!
Wang Xiucheng wished he could cover his head with all the towels on the bench!