As a Kobe hater, he was actually teammates with Kobe!

With a clang, Zhou Ze's mid-range shot went blank. The Hornets initiated a fast break, and Paul dribbled down the court. Facing Zhou Ze's pursuit, Paul pulled back between his legs, successfully tricking Zhou Ze into closing in. At that moment, with a whoosh, Paul assisted Tyson Chandler, who was following behind him, for a dunk, making it 34-40. The game was now at the 4:11 mark of the second quarter.

Paul passed the ball to Morris Peterson who was in a small open position, but the latter missed the mid-range shot.

The Lakers grabbed the rebound, and Zhou Ze made a pass across half court. After receiving the ball, Rondo rushed to the basket from the left. There were two people on the defensive side, Paul who was almost sticking to him, and Morris Peterson who retreated to the middle.

Rondo used his hand to protect Paul while keeping an eye on Morris Peterson. If he dared to come over, he would pass it to Odom. However, unlike Paul, Rondo suddenly put the ball behind him, seemingly preparing a behind-the-back pass, which immediately attracted Peterson and Paul, especially Peterson, who quickly turned around to look at Odom. In a flash, Rondo completed a layup.

"Oh..."

"My goodness, both sides are really scheming."

"Yeah, each one is more cunning than the other..."

"This young generation of point guards are indeed mature beyond their years."

Coach Zhang and Teacher Su from the Tianchao Sports Studio couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

...

...

The Lakers attacked, Rondo and Kwame Brown set a pick-and-roll on the right, Zhou Ze set a screen for Kobe on the left, "bang!", the 206cm tall guard Peja Stojakovic seemed to have hit a wall, not only did he fail to squeeze through the screen, he was knocked to the ground.

Kobe got an open position and made a three-pointer, 42 to 54!

With 4 minutes left in the first half, the Lakers' lead had reached 12 points.

But at this time Paul complained to the referee very dissatisfiedly.

"Referee, he just stuck his butt out..."

"That was a screen foul without the ball."

"Referee, if you don't believe me, go watch the replay."

Paul was like a nagging woman, constantly complaining to the referee.

But the referee ignored him.

Soon, a similar play occurred, and this time Peja collided with Zhou Ze again. Although he didn't fall directly, it did leave Kobe with a wide-open position. Paul, at the top of the key, rushed to cover Kobe in the right corner of the three-point line at the moment Rondo passed the ball.

While making up for the defense, he ran into Zhou Ze who had just "released" the pick-and-roll and was about to rush for the rebound. At this moment, Paul fell backwards.

"drop!"

The referee whistle sounded.

Zhou Ze committed a foul without the ball.

"what?"

Zhou Ze was speechless.

But soon, he saw Paul lying on the ground.

"Mmm, this guy is faking a fall on himself."

Paul touched his butt and limped to his feet.

Hornets have the ball.

After Peja set up two consecutive pick-and-rolls, he came to the corner and hit a three-pointer against Kobe's defense.

The Lakers attacked, and Zhou Ze asked for the ball in the low post. Rondo had no shot, and Paul came to double-team him, but Zhou Ze seized the moment when Paul stole the ball and made a big loop, resulting in 2 free throws.

Paul looked helpless and spread his hands.

Paul was about to complain to the referee, but Zhou Ze was the first to complain, saying, "Referee, Chris not only hit my arm, but also my knee..."

As he said that, Zhou Ze planned to roll up his pants so that the referee could take a good look.

"Eh..."

"Can you guys please calm down a bit?"

The referee sighed tiredly.

...

...

The Hornets' transition offense did not form a full transition and get the opportunity for a direct fast break, but it created a mismatch.

Rondo faced David West in the high post, who directly backed up and advanced, observing Zhou Ze's position under the basket.

Rondo was completely unable to stop David West's back-to-the-basket play. After the latter advanced to the paint area, he turned over to his right back and faced the basket. Zhou Ze rushed out from the side and blocked the shot with a "pop".

The Staples Center was suddenly filled with shouts of "MVP".

"MVP! Zhou!"

"MVP! Zhou!"

"MVP! Zhou!"

...

...

The Lakers' offense and defense switched, and the fast break was delayed by the defense, which was also a semi-transition offense.

David West and Kobe were in a mismatch, and Zhou Ze and Paul were in a mismatch. The most reasonable approach to this ball was naturally to pass it to Zhou Ze in the low post, but Kobe, who had scored three consecutive goals before, was in hot form.

After an eye contact between the purple and gold elbows, Kobe took a three-threat tentative step, took a step forward, stepped firmly, glared at the ground, wiped out the defense, rushed to the basket, and completed a dunk on Paul.

Well...

In fact, Paul didn't need to help defend at all. After all, Kobe could dunk the ball whether he did or not. Also, if he did help defend, Kobe could easily make it a 2+1.

Paul was very depressed after being dunked on.

But what Kobe said next left Paul speechless.

"what?"

"Referee, he just committed a foul!"

"My head almost hit Kobe's head..."

"Referee, why don't you blow the whistle?"

"Although Kobe now has two daughters and one son, Vanessa still wants to have a son."

Zhou Ze complained to the referee.

"week..."

"Fuck!"

This made Kobe, who was standing by, roll his eyes and couldn't help but give Zhou Ze an elbow.

With this dunk, the Lakers' lead has reached 20 points.

72 to 92, with 10 minutes and 38 seconds left in the game.

...

...

Tianchao Sports Studio.

"Some audience friends asked questions. The Hornets' offense was not bad tonight, and Paul's performance was normal. Why did they lose by 20 points now? What do you think about this, Teacher Zhang?" Su Qun asked with a smile when the game entered a timeout.

"The Hornets' offense is indeed reasonable. Paul has only made two turnovers and has also made eight assists. However, the Hornets' offensive tolerance is too small..." Coach Zhang said.

"The Hornets' pick-and-roll tactics weren't executed particularly smoothly. Rondo's squeeze screen played a big role, although it didn't always succeed. However, even if the squeeze screen failed, Paul broke through, and Zhou Ze could help defend the basket. The Lakers' defense rotated quickly..."

"As for the Los Angeles Lakers, Zhou Ze alone can destroy the Hornets' defensive system..."

As Coach Zhang was speaking, the game began again.

On the court, the Lakers had the ball. Zhou Ze, this time, shot out wide after the pick-and-roll. Although there was no switch defense, David West, who rushed in hastily, was directly passed by Zhou Ze with a deep acceleration, drawing the free throw line to 1...2...3...

After being defended by nearly three people, there was a vacuum under the basket. Odom slipped to the baseline, and Zhou Ze shook his hand, and with a "boom", he completed a slam dunk.

Odom, the left-handed magician, was in top form tonight. As long as he saw Chandler leave the basket, he'd consider cutting inside. If the Hornets' twin towers were out, there was nothing to say...

Throw it into the basket with all your strength!!!

...

...

The whole game is over.

92 is better than 120!

The Lakers eventually won Game 28 of the Western Conference Finals with a 1-point lead.