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"This kid is really amazing!"
On the Lakers' bench, O'Neal laughed out loud, feeling extremely happy.
He had spent the past half month sidelined due to an injury, which left him quite frustrated. This frustration only grew after the results of the All-Star voting were announced. Although his votes were very close to Yao Ming's, he never managed to overtake him.
With only two days remaining until the final round of All-Star voting ended, it seemed like he would be Yao Ming's substitute again, which made O'Neal very unhappy.
However, the Lakers' ability to maintain their record even in the absence of both him and Kobe, especially with Wang Chong averaging almost 30+ points per game and leading the Lakers to victory after victory, was a pleasant surprise.
O'Neal, as a Laker, was the happiest to see Wang Chong perform well. On one hand, Wang Chong's rise made the Lakers stronger and solidified their championship hopes. On the other hand, as an outside player, Wang Chong's excellent performance could threaten Kobe's standing in the team. If the Lakers decided to invest in Wang Chong's development and eventually let go of Kobe, O'Neal would be even happier.
From O'Neal's perspective, Wang Chong was superior to Kobe in terms of both playing style and potential.
"You little brat, you challenged me for the team leader position. Now, instead of competing for that, you should start worrying about your own tactical position in the team..."
O'Neal glanced smugly at Kobe, who was also dressed in a suit and seated not far away.
While O'Neal was laughing heartily, Kobe's expression was far from cheerful.
The better Wang Chong performed in the game, the more Kobe felt a sense of crisis. Many media outlets in Los Angeles were already discussing how Wang Chong's shooting was more accurate and had a higher hit rate than Kobe's. They were questioning whether the Lakers should increase Wang Chong's shot attempts to make winning easier.
Everyone off the court had different thoughts, but the game continued.
After a short timeout, the Mavericks put their main players back on the court, but they were shocked to find that even with their full lineup, they still couldn't stop Wang Chong from scoring.
It seemed that the previous offensive surge had fully ignited his shooting touch. Even when facing Nowitzki, Wang Chong did not hesitate to pull up for a jump shot, consistently hitting the target.
On the other hand, the Mavericks seemed bewildered by Wang Chong's aggressive offense, and their offensive rhythm began to falter. Nash made a poor pass from outside, which was intercepted by Payton. The Lakers quickly transitioned into a fast break, with Wang Chong receiving the ball and finishing a layup after rushing to the basket first.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was so angry on the sidelines that he jumped up and down, cursing without reservation.
It was clear he was fed up with Nash, and it wouldn't be surprising if he planned to move on from him after the season ended.
Thanks to this defensive counterattack, the Lakers tied the score and held it until the end of the third quarter.
Throughout the third quarter, Wang Chong took 14 shots, making 8, including 2 of 3 three-pointers and 2 of 2 free throws, scoring an impressive 20 points in the quarter. After three quarters, Wang Chong's personal score was a whopping 39 points! Clearly, Wang Chong's performance played a significant role in the Lakers' ability to keep pace with the Mavericks.
Heading into the fourth quarter, both teams returned to an even playing field, but their mentalities were completely different.
The Mavericks were anxious. They were up against a Lakers team without O'Neal, Kobe, and Malone, yet they were still struggling. It was an embarrassing situation!
The Mavericks had a rough start to the season. Even though they had strengthened their lineup, their record was worse than last season, currently only ranking fifth in the Western Conference. People were beginning to question what was wrong with the team.
In the fourth quarter, the Mavericks' offense became even more rushed, resulting in many unforced errors. Even Nowitzki struggled on offense, missing two consecutive mid-range shots.
The Lakers capitalized on these mistakes, launching a counterattack under Payton's leadership and taking a 5-point lead.
The Lakers' smooth offense was largely thanks to Wang Chong. His 20-point performance in the third quarter had scared the Mavericks, and they were desperate to contain him. Even the defensively-challenged Mavericks tried their hardest to limit Wang Chong on the court, sometimes even resorting to double-teaming him just to prevent him from getting the ball and scoring.
This tactic did manage to curb Wang Chong's offensive momentum, as his overall ability rating was only 84. Despite his offensive efficiency, he was vulnerable to double teams.
However, the Mavericks' focus on Wang Chong left other Lakers players open. Fisher, Devin George, and even backup center Medvedenko all stepped up in the fourth quarter, and the Lakers' overall offensive efficiency was higher than in the previous three quarters. Conversely, the Mavericks' rhythm was completely thrown off by Wang Chong, leading to their defeat.
Throughout the fourth quarter, the Lakers outscored the Mavericks 28-21, finishing with a total score of 98-92, successfully completing a comeback to defeat the Mavericks.
Although Wang Chong had fewer shooting opportunities in the fourth quarter, he still managed to make the most of his chances, hitting two mid-range shots and drawing a foul to make 2 of 2 free throws. In the end, his final stats for the game were 45 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists, with a shooting percentage of 52%. Despite taking a large number of shots, his shooting percentage actually increased.
Wang Chong was unaware that his rhythm badges were not fully stacked in this game, but his shooting touch on the court felt better than ever since he joined the NBA.
"It seems that to perform at my best, I need to take a lot of shots. At least 20 shots in a game should be enough to fully stack the rhythm buff effect," Wang Chong thought to himself, a bright smile forming on his face.
As the final whistle blew, a system prompt sounded in Wang Chong's mind almost simultaneously.
"Ding - Mission accomplished. With O'Neal and Kobe both absent, I led the Lakers to win at least 4 games. The current record is 4 wins and 2 losses!"
"Rewards are now being distributed, please check them carefully."
Entering his consciousness space, Wang Chong saw the amount displayed on his points interface: 1000!
Without any hesitation, Wang Chong immediately spoke to the system.
"System, accelerate the integration of growth templates!"
As he spoke, the 1,000 points that had just arrived in his account quickly drained away, reducing his balance to zero in the blink of an eye.
Wang Chong spent all the points he had just earned without a second thought, and he didn't feel the slightest bit of regret.
Currently, the only function of system points is to accelerate the fusion speed of growth templates. Spending them all on acceleration is certainly not a waste.
Having spent all his points, Wang Chong immediately checked the status of the enhancement on his data panel.
"Wang Chong, overall ability rating: 87!"
End of this chapter
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