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The sophomore team fought back fiercely in the fourth quarter. Even though it was just an exhibition game, no one wanted to lose—especially not Stoudemire, who had a strong desire to perform and certainly had the ability to back it up.
Facing a freshman team whose inside lineup consisted of Bosh and Kaman, Stoudemire went on a scoring rampage. However, the score difference did not narrow as he had imagined. While he was scoring, the freshman team was also putting up points, and their scoring efficiency was just as high.
Wang Chong, who finally returned to the small forward position in the fourth quarter, felt like a fish in water. He excelled at using his height and wingspan to make mid-range shots over shorter defenders. At the power forward position, where he was often matched up against Stoudemire—who wasn't much shorter than him—his shooting percentage could be affected.
Even in a head-to-head scoring battle, Wang Chong wasn't necessarily inferior to Stoudemire. Now that Yao Ming had left the court and the sophomores no longer had an inside height advantage, they didn't have much of an upper hand against the freshman team.
Quickly, Wang Chong's points surpassed the 30-mark, and he seemed to be in a personal duel with Stoudemire as their scores rose in tandem.
Watching from the bench, James grew increasingly anxious. He turned to Coach Collins and suggested, "Coach, let me get back in and help! If I play, we should be able to win this game."
Collins glanced at James, thinking to himself, Help? You're clearly just worried that Wang Chong's stats will surpass yours and you'll miss out on the MVP!
Collins didn't want to alienate the Los Angeles fans, but he also didn't want to offend James' supporters. He waited until a stoppage in play before subbing James back into the game.
"I can't control who wins the MVP; it's up to the players to prove themselves," Collins muttered.
As soon as James returned to the court, Wang Chong became more alert. He didn't want to be overly sensitive, but James immediately ran to the baseline and called for the ball, almost right in his face.
With James so aggressively demanding the ball, Kaman had no choice but to pass it to him.
James, with the ball in hand, sprinted down the court, and without waiting for his teammates to get in position, he attacked the basket. Having rested on the bench for a while, he was fresh and full of energy, making his offense quite formidable.
However, at this point, it was too late for James to make a significant impact.
Wang Chong, who had already accumulated momentum from a high volume of shots, was at his offensive peak. Given the relatively low defensive intensity of the Rookie Challenge, he was nearly unstoppable, making shot after shot.
In the following sequences, James took the vast majority of shots, while Wang Chong only had a few chances. Despite this, their scores remained remarkably close.
James went 3-for-6 from the field and 1-for-2 from the free-throw line, scoring 7 points, while Wang Chong went 2-for-3 from the field and 2-for-2 from the line, scoring 6 points, pushing his total to over 40 points!
Both James and Stoudemire seemed to be losing their composure.
James, who was desperately scoring, could barely keep up with Wang Chong. Stoudemire, meanwhile, was struggling to close the gap against Wang Chong's relentless offense. Now, James was back in the game, adding another layer of difficulty.
While James' offensive efficiency wasn't as high as Wang Chong's, he was still a challenge on the court. Consequently, with James on the floor, the sophomore team found it harder to play cohesively, and the score gap began to widen.
In the blink of an eye, there were only 2 minutes left in the game, and the gap between the two teams had grown to more than 15 points. The outcome was all but decided.
The sophomore team couldn't mount a comeback in the final 2 minutes.
Wang Chong was substituted out with 1 minute and 46 seconds remaining, having scored 41 points.
James, meanwhile, scored a few more times in the last moments, bringing his total to 30 points.
When the game ended, the freshman team defeated the sophomore team 142–133 and won the Rookie Challenge.
Wang Chong finished with 41 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists, breaking the Rookie Challenge scoring record with his 41 points. He was the undisputed All-Star MVP.
James, who finished with 30 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists, and sophomore Stoudemire, who ended with 36 points and 11 rebounds, both found themselves overshadowed by Wang Chong.
Stoudemire, though disappointed with the loss, managed to muster a smile and offer his congratulations to Wang Chong.
James, however, who had won the game, was also in a sour mood.
This wasn't the first time Wang Chong had stolen his thunder, but it was the first time it happened on the All-Star stage, with everyone watching. Where could "the chosen one" hide his face now?
Among the other rookies in the game, most were relegated to supporting roles with little playing time or opportunities, including Yao Ming, who had only 6 points and 5 rebounds.
Yao Ming's average stats were primarily due to his limited playing time. Also, true inside players are rarely the stars of the All-Star stage. Even someone like Duncan often played a supporting role in most All-Star games.
For the freshman starters, aside from Wang Chong and James, and excluding the invisible Kaman, the remaining two, Wade and Anthony, scored 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 11 assists, and 17 points and 5 rebounds, respectively.
In terms of impact, Wade played far better than Anthony, thanks mainly to his frequent pick-and-roll plays with Wang Chong. Of Wade's 11 assists, 8 were direct passes to Wang Chong.
Wade's support was crucial for Wang Chong's 41 points in the Rookie Challenge.
Holding up the Rookie Challenge MVP trophy amidst cheers and applause from the fans, Wang Chong finally felt a sense of relief.
Although the process seemed smooth, the Rookie Challenge was quite risky.
It wasn't just Stoudemire who was gunning for the win and the MVP; James put immense pressure on Wang Chong as well.
Truthfully, if James had been on the opposing team, Wang Chong might have felt less pressure. But as a teammate, James' ball-dominant style could stifle those around him. If you weren't careful, you'd end up being a corner three-point shooter or, worse, get an awkward pass as the shot clock wound down.
Fortunately, Wang Chong was bold enough to take action. Seeing that James was focused on padding his stats and had no intention of passing, he teamed up with Wade to dominate possession and avoided getting tangled up with James. In doing so, he managed to meet the system's task requirements.
With the game won, the Rookie Challenge MVP in hand, and the system task completed, it was time for Wang Chong to reap the rewards!
End of this chapter
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