In the 15th second of play, as Marcus Camby attempted a basket, Zhao Dong was already in the air, his insane vertical on full display, swatting Camby's shot with a brutal volleyball-style block. Camby froze, clearly shook. The worst part? He hadn't even scored yet, and dude was already getting cooked. Without the ball, Zhao Dong couldn't block him, but he made damn sure Camby couldn't get comfortable in the paint.
Zhao Dong kept him locked up, pushing Camby just over two meters from the basket. Camby could feel the pressure.
Camby tried to act tough, waving for the ball from Damon Stoudamire. The pass came in, but Zhao Dong backed off just enough, daring Camby to take the jumper. With Camby's slow-ass release, Zhao Dong was already loading up for the block.
Sure enough, Camby took the bait. "Snapped!" Another shot sent flying. Madison Square Garden was lit.
"Goddamn! Zhao Dong's sending this man back to college!" Doug Collins shouted from the NBC broadcast.
"You gotta love his defensive instinct—perfect timing on the block," Marv Albert added.
Camby looked like he wanted to crawl under the floor. Zhao Dong wasn't done, though.
"Yo, Marcus! We gotta fail before we learn, bro! Don't quit on me now!" Zhao Dong called out, hyping him up mid-game.
Camby nodded weakly. "I got this."
"Nah, you will get there—if you keep grinding."
By the final whistle, the Knicks had wrecked the Raptors 108-75, a 33-point blowout. The rebound battle? 45-30 Knicks. Straight domination.
Zhao Dong played 33 minutes:
25 points
12 rebounds
6 blocks
1 steal
1 assist
1 turnover
2 fouls
10 of 15 from the field (70%)
5 of 7 free throws
Meanwhile, Camby fouled out with:
5 points
3 rebounds
1 assist
1 block
5 turnovers
6 fouls
2 of 11 shooting
Zhao Dong bodied him—no contest.
---
In Chicago, Jordan was chilling in his hotel room, watching the highlights with Pippen and Rodman.
"He's not bad," Jordan admitted, but his eyes stayed cold. "But he's got no signature move. If I guarded him, I'd shut his ass down."
Rodman laughed, stretching out on the couch. "His rebounding's trash. If I was out there, he'd be lucky to grab three boards a game."
Luc Longley chuckled. "One-on-one in the post? I'd eat him alive."
Jordan leaned back, smirking. "He's not special. He's just a hype train waiting to derail."
---
On the NBC broadcast, Doug Collins couldn't hide his excitement.
"Zhao Dong's game might not be flashy, but he's putting up numbers—back-to-back 20+10 nights. That's how you earn respect in this league."
Marv Albert, always playing devil's advocate, chimed in:
"He's efficient, but this style won't last against stronger defenders. Once teams figure him out, his numbers will dip."
Collins grinned. "But until then, he's killing the game."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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