The T-Wolves were on the attack, and KG had the rock down low on the left wing. He tried to hit a turnaround, step-back J. Now, that move's a beast in the post—using your back to shield the defender and stepping back to create space. But KG was still getting the hang of it. His turn wasn't smooth, and there was a hitch in his jump, giving Zhao Dong the chance to pounce.
Zhao Dong stepped up, exploded off the ground with his insane hops, met KG at the apex, and swatted the ball outta bounds.
"Oh, what a volleyball spike! Zhao Dong just denied KG again!" the commentator shouted.
"Dammit!" KG snarled, shooting daggers at Zhao Dong, fists clenched.
Zhao Dong could pull off that turnaround, step-back J too, but he was only at level 55 with it—not his go-to move. He rarely used it in college and hadn't busted it out since hitting the NBA. He figured KG's version was around level 50 or 60, no better than his. Trying it in a game would tank his shooting percentage, and Coach Van Gundy would probably chew him out.
The T-Wolves went back on offense.
On the left wing, Stephon Marbury had the ball and eyed Zhao Dong. He made a sudden move, blowing past Charlie Ward and charging toward Zhao Dong with the rock. KG slid up to screen Zhao Dong, giving Marbury a lane.
Zhao Dong had to drop back to protect the rim, leaving Marbury's jumper uncontested. But Marbury wasn't settling; he drove hard into the paint, attacking the basket.
KG trailed behind Zhao Dong, ready for the dish.
Marbury reached the rim and went up for a layup, drawing Zhao Dong into the air. But it was a fake—he dumped it back to the trailing KG.
"You're trying to posterize me?" Zhao Dong thought, hitting the deck immediately.
Behind him, KG, grinning wickedly, soared with the ball, aiming for a monster jam.
"Not on my watch!" Zhao Dong spun around, saw KG blocking his view, and without hesitation, grabbed KG's shoulders and yanked him down.
"Ahhh!" KG yelled, caught off guard, crashing hard to the floor.
The crowd gasped in unison.
"What the hell?" Marbury shouted, rushing over and shoving Zhao Dong.
"Back off!" Zhao Dong barked, shoving Marbury aside. "Try to dunk on me, and you'll risk your career. Consider this your warning."
"You..." Marbury fumed.
He hadn't expected a rookie like Zhao Dong to play so rough. If he'd known, he wouldn't have set KG up like that. Careers could end this way, and the thought scared him.
"Zhao Dong, hell yeah!" Oakley charged over, pushing Marbury away with one hand. "Rookie, this is the Knicks. You think you can mess with us? Even Laimbeer and Jordan couldn't."
Meanwhile, KG was still down, looking pale.
The ref blew the whistle, halted the game, called for the medical team, and hit Zhao Dong with a defensive foul.
Zhao Dong realized from this call how intense defense was in this era. No wonder Karl Malone, who'd elbowed countless opponents, could still be a superstar.
KG was helped off the court, heading straight to the locker room.
Coach Van Gundy kept Zhao Dong in the game.
Play resumed, and the T-Wolves subbed in center Dean Garrett, who sank both free throws.
"Is my mission to shut down KG on hold?" Zhao Dong wondered, checking his system. He'd lost a lot in this game. The system didn't cut him any slack and paused the mission.
If KG couldn't return soon, the system might cancel the task altogether.
But Zhao Dong had no regrets. If he had to do it again, he'd still pull KG down.
Next, Marbury hit both free throws, and the T-Wolves attacked.
Zhao Dong now faced Dean Garrett, but Garrett was just a fringe player, nowhere near sophomore KG's level. At only 225 pounds, he couldn't bang with Zhao Dong.
Marbury dribbled at the top of the arc, blew by Charlie Ward—who couldn't keep up—and Oakley's help defense was late, so Marbury penetrated the paint.
Ewing protected the rim, and Zhao Dong stepped up to cut off Marbury's drive.
Seeing Zhao Dong in front and Ewing under the basket, Marbury knew he couldn't finish, so he stopped abruptly, faked a pass to Garrett.
Zhao Dong instinctively glanced at Garrett.
But it was a fake. Marbury pulled the ball back and jumped for the shot.
Zhao Dong leaped, but he was a step too late to contest Marbury's shot.
"He's up that high?" Marbury thought mid-air, startled by Zhao Dong's reach, and adjusted his shot.
Clang! The ball hit the rim and bounced back to Zhao Dong, who had turned around.
For the next few minutes, Zhao Dong split his focus to help defend Marbury. With KG out, he aimed to shut down Marbury. A point's a point, after all.
But three minutes later, KG returned, and the T-Wolves called a timeout to sub him back in.
"Sweet, mission's back on! Time to deal with KG," Zhao Dong thought, checking his system and grinning.
"You punk, I'm not done with you," KG snarled, posting up Zhao Dong on the left wing, trash-talking.
"Get your stank breath away from me. By the way, your balls still intact?" Zhao Dong shot back.
"Asshole!" KG's veins bulged as he swung an elbow at Zhao Dong's head.
Zhao Dong blocked it with his arm but got knocked off balance, nearly falling.
"Motherf—!" Zhao Dong, furious at the near headshot, clenched his fist and lunged forward.
KG, seeing Zhao Dong's rage, quickly backed off, shouting, "That was just a tough move! What are you gonna do?"
"I oughta kill you!" Zhao Dong roared, charging faster.
"Zhao Dong, wreck him!" Oakley yelled, rushing toward KG, but Tom Gugliotta intercepted him.
The ref, seeing a brawl brewing, blew the whistle repeatedly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do you want to read Advanced Chapters?
Visit this link:
Påtreon.com/Fanficlord03