Mosaic arrived in Seattle the next day.
In the last game, Mosaic lost to the Nuggets at home and suffered its second loss of the new season. The record was 22 wins and 2 losses, still ranked first in the league.
The Sonics are 20 wins and 3 losses. If they play one less game, they will lose one more game and win by 1.5 games. If they win this game, they will be 21 wins and 3 losses, only 0.5 wins behind Mosaic.
"We will not allow a losing streak. Tomorrow night we will double-kill the Sonics, and I will double-kill the Iron Fist." Dream Olajuwon put down his bold words during an interview with the media at the airport.
"If we meet the Sonics in the playoffs, are you confident we can win the series?" a reporter asked.
"We are not the Knicks. Whenever we encounter the Sonics, we will kill them in that round." Dameng said confidently.
"This bastard actually satirized us and stepped on me?" Ewing saw Dameng's words from media reports and was very angry.
O'Neal is not included. Among the three super centers, because they are all friends of Jordan, Ewing and Dream have a good relationship, and they have some off-court interactions. The two of them have no off-court interactions with David Robinson. The general is a top student. , and disdain to associate with rough people like them.
But in fact, the competition between the three is everywhere, including All-Stars, regular season honors, and playoffs. Now with the addition of O'Neal, the competition among the four super centers has become more intense.
For example, last season, Olajuwon was selected to the All-NBA First Team, while Ewing was only selected to the Second Team. This is a competition for hard honors. If you get it, I won't.
Now seeing Dameng mocking him and stepping on him, Ewing felt a little uncomfortable.
…
December 25th, Christmas Day.
That night, the NBA had only two games scheduled. The Magic played the Bulls away from home, and the Mosaics played the SuperSonics away from home.
At 7:30, the SuperSonics and Mosaic announced their starting lineups.
Mosaic: Olajuwon, Ostie Thorpe, Robert Horry, Vernon Maxwell, Kenny Smith
SuperSonics: Sam Perkins, Rodman, Schrempf, Kendall Gill, Zhou Quan
This game will be broadcast live across the United States by ABC.
Bill Walton laughed and said: "Dameng promised to double-kill the Iron Fist and double-kill the Sonics at home and away. He is very confident. However, there are four games between them in the regular season this season. I am very curious, why did he not say four-kill Iron Fist? Where’s the four-kill Sonics?”
Lewis Williams smiled and said: "Let our colleagues ask him this question later. Maybe he missed two games?"
"Haha, yes." Bill Walton laughed.
There was also a live broadcast on CCTV. Zhang Lijia said at this time: "Who will win tonight will depend on who performs better, Zhou Quan or Dameng."
Sun Zhenping said: "The state is good or bad. Anyway, I don't believe that Mosaic has the strength to double-kill the Sonics. Dameng and Zhou Quan are not in the right position, and he does not have the strength to double-kill the Iron Fist."
…
"Victory! Victory..."
In the Seattle Center Arena, under the leadership of Zhou Quan, the SuperSonics team and fans rang out with high momentum and loud shouts.
At eight o'clock, the game starts.
Jump ball, mosaic offense.
Jets Kenny Smith holds the ball, guarding Zhou Quan one step away while observing the situation on the court.
"squeak!"
Seeing the opportunity, when the opponent's ball had just hit the ground, Zhou Quan suddenly stepped forward and leaned over to poke the ball.
Kenny Smith was so frightened that he quickly pulled the ball back. He made a mistake while he was busy. He took a step back, but the ball was not caught. Zhou Quan took advantage of the situation and grabbed the ball.
"Steal the ball, Iron Fist steals the ball at the start!"
on-site commentator Hernem Krisman shouted excitedly.
After Zhou Quan intercepted the ball, he immediately started to move quickly and broke through from the right side. Kenny Smith moved sideways to block the ball. He immediately accelerated and stepped past the opponent, directly knocking away the opponent. However, when he rushed past, he was secretly pulled by the opponent. Putting on the jersey, the speed didn't come up at first.
At this time, Da Meng under the basket had already begun to catch up, and his speed was extremely fast.
Zhou Quan carried Kenny Smith to the basket with his left elbow and made a one-handed layup.
"Beep!"
The Jets got anxious and pulled people in. At the same time as the whistle sounded, Zhou Quan threw the ball toward the basket with his right hand.
"Snapped!"
A figure from behind came with a hurricane, and while flying into the air, he slapped the basketball on the basket and flew directly out of the left sideline.
"Oh, Dream?"
On-site commentator Hernem Krisman exclaimed and immediately reacted: "Interference ball, this is interference ball!"
"The ball is already directly above the basket, and he violated the basket cylinder." McGim shouted.
At this time, the referee ran up and signaled Kenny Smith to pull a foul and add a free throw. Dameng's blocking action was a technical foul after the whistle, and the SuperSonics made a free throw.
"Oh ho!"
The whole place suddenly boiled.
Blocking shots didn't count, and he was called a technical foul. Dameng's face suddenly turned foul.
Zhou Quan secretly praised Dameng: "This bastard runs so fast!"
"brush!"
"brush!"
He first hit the extra free throw, then hit the technical foul and hit again.
"This time the offense and defense were wonderful, the score was 2+1+1, beautiful!" Zhang Lili laughed.
"But if it was an away game, it might not be so. Since the new season, the American media has been hyping up negative news about Zhou Quan. I feel the same as Jordan last season." Sun Zhenping said with a smile.
Zhang Lijia nodded heavily and said: "The American media is like this. Whoever is popular will hype it up, especially negative news, which is very popular."
On the field, Mosaic offense.
At the top of the arc, Zhou Quan blocked Kenny Smith's downward passing angle, and Smith immediately passed the ball to small forward Robert Horry on the left three-point line.
Schrempf raised his hands high and kept waving, blocking Horry's downward passing angle. Horry lobbed the ball to the low dream on the left wing.
"Pinch attack!"
The moment he passed the ball, SuperSonics coach George Karl's passionate shout sounded from the sidelines.
From a high position, Zhou Quan quickly pounced.
Under the basket, Rodman pounced.
"Three-person double team!"
Zhang Lili shouted loudly.
In the low post on the left wing, Dameng just received the lob. The three-man double team was already around him. He had no chance to take action. He could only hold the ball high with both hands and prepare to pass the ball.
Horry ran toward the left corner from the 45-degree position of the three-point line, but Schrempf kept up with him and the chance to catch the ball was not good.
Jets Kenny Smith at the top of the key was running to the left wing with no one around him.
When Zhou Quan completed the double-team, he knew that Dameng had no chance of taking action. He did not forget to take advantage of his full-level panoramic vision.
With a slight movement of his head, he saw the Jets running out of the corner of his left eye, and he judged that Dameng would definitely pass the ball to the Jets.
Thanks to the full-level panoramic vision, when his head was swinging, the peripheral vision in the corner of his right eye was still locked on Da Meng, and his every move was very clear.
The next moment, Dameng suddenly threw his hands above his head and in the direction of the jet.
At this moment, the power of the 96-level neural reaction speed was perfectly reflected. Dameng's passing action was like a signal gun on the 100-meter starting line, making him jump upward instantly.
"Snapped!"
The top precision strike effect was displayed at the same time. A pair of big hands stretched out and directly confiscated the basketball that Dameng had just passed.
"Oh, oh oh oh, steal the ball! This is the most perfect football interception in the air, haha..." On-site commentator Henem Chrisman laughed excitedly.
"Oh ho!"
The moment the steal happened, the whole place suddenly burst into excitement.
"What a quick response!" Bill Walton also praised.
"Zhou Quan's reaction is amazing!" Zhang Lili said excitedly.
Dameng regretted not making a fake move first. He thought he had the advantages of height and wingspan, so there would be no problem in passing the ball suddenly, but there was no time for him to regret it. Zhou Quan landed, turned around and dribbled the ball, running wildly, and had already started to make a quick pass. , he quickly chased after him.
Kenny Smith on the three-point line had already returned to defense, and Vernon Maxwell on the other wing had also returned to the backcourt. When Zhou Quan held the ball and drove in from a position two meters to the right of the top of the arc, the two of them started from The left and right wings attack in a closed-door defense in the middle.
One step behind Zhou Quan, there is Da Meng who is chasing after him. His speed is comparable to that of a defender. It is extremely fast. Rodman and Perkins who are in the same position as him are lagging behind.
Zhou Quan reached two meters in front of the two men, suddenly slowed down, then took off with the ball in hand. While sliding forward, he threw the ball towards the basket with one hand with his right hand.
The big dream behind him chased the hat and swept it away.
The two people in front also took off to block shots, but the block was empty. This was a throw, and the defensive height was lower than that of the boss.
"Get in!"
Sun Zhenping shouted loudly.
"brush!"
The water splashed and Zhou Quan hit the ball with a throw.
"Oh ho!"
At the Seattle Center Stadium, huge cheers erupted.
"Beautiful! Quan was in hot form in the opening week. He scored 6 points in a row on the fast break after two steals." Zhang Lili said excitedly.
Sun Zhenping smiled and said: "This defensive state is obviously better than the last game against Mosaic."
Zhang Lili explained with a smile: “It’s just the regular season, there are 82 games, it’s impossible to give your best in every game, that would be exhausting.
Especially in the away game, the opponent's home team will definitely want to win more. The away team will look at the situation and generally just stop playing. The home team will perform better and the whistle will be biased towards the home team. "
Sun Zhenping joked: "So yesterday the dream only talked about the double kill against the Sonics, but not the quadruple kill."
Zhang Lili couldn't help but laugh and nodded: "SuperSonics' defense itself is strong. The team that has lost the least points in the Western Conference can be said that the overall defensive effect is better than Mosaic. Of course, this is from the perspective of points lost.
If Dameng dares to say such crazy things about four kills and angers the SuperSonics players, then he will not get any good results. The SuperSonics have a lot of defensive moves and injuries are normal. "
Mosaic offense, under Zhou Quan's blockade, Kenny Smith could not pass the ball to Dameng in the low post, so he passed it to Horry first.
Horry played sideways, suddenly hit the ground and passed the ball.
This pass is faster than a lob. Zhou Quan fails to double-team in time. Rodman helps defend from the basket, but Dameng has noticed Rodman's help behind him and immediately turns around and passes the ball after receiving the ball. , Thorpe caught the ball under the basket and made a layup.
"Snapped!"
At this time, Zhou Quan, who came down from the high position, arrived in time, struck accurately in the air, and slapped the ball into the sky.
"Oh oh..."
After two steals, he made another big block, and it was the opponent's power forward. SuperSonics fans' adrenaline was already bursting, and they cheered in excitement.
The ball landed on the right side of the paint area and was picked up by Osty Thorpe. Zhou Quan switched positions to defend, using a small one to defend the big one. Thorpe dribbled the ball inward without hesitation.
Leaning forward, Zhou Quan pressed his shoulders and elbows against Thorpe's lower back. His feet were rooted like nails on the floor. inch forward.
"How can it be?"
After thrusting twice, Thorpe, who weighed 110 kilograms, discovered to his surprise that he could not move Zhou Quan?
The next moment, Zhou Quan suddenly dodged to the side, Thorpe fell backwards and fell to the ground, and Zhou Quan got the ball.
"Oh oh oh……"
The shouts in the Seattle Center Arena never stopped, and at this time, the decibel level climbed up a notch again.
"The point guard defends the power forward. This is power. Well done Iron Fist!" Bill Walton roared excitedly.
At this time, Zhou Quan passed the ball, and Kendall Gill, who was about to get off the ball, caught the ball and rushed in. He got rid of Maxwell, who was unable to catch up, and successfully made a layup.
"With 3 steals and 1 block, Zhou Quan played the most exciting defense at the beginning. In this state, the SuperSonics will definitely win today!" Zhang Lili shouted excitedly.
In the first quarter, Zhou Quan played for 10 minutes before getting off the court. He was in great defensive form. He made 5 steals and 1 block in a single quarter. He also made 8 of 10 shots, all of which were two-pointers, and all 5 of his fast breaks were scored. , 3 of 5 shots from the field, 4 of 4 free throws, scored 22 points, and received 3 assists.
The SuperSonics took as many as 22 shots in ten minutes, but Mosaic made 7 turnovers and only took 14 shots. In one quarter, they took 8 fewer shots.
With Zhou Quan's strong defensive performance, when he came off the court, at 14:30, the SuperSonics had a 16-point lead.
Bill Walton praised: "Just like Dameng in the last game against the SuperSonics, this time it's Iron Fist's turn to use his defense to defeat Mosaic, haha!"
"Too strong! Tekken's steal ability is so strong, with 5 steals in a single quarter, can I say that he is the most powerful steal leader in history?" Lewis Williams also praised.
Bill Walton said excitedly: "The reaction is super fast, the anticipation is first-class, the step up is fast, the arms are long, and as we have said before, he has a very good talent for precise strikes and a full sense of space, which is very beneficial. He is very accurate in stealing and hitting the ball. The combination of various abilities and qualities forms his stealing ability.
Lewis, I agree with you, Iron Fist is really the best steal leader in NBA history. No, it should be said that he is the most powerful steal king in basketball history. "
"Zhou Quan's steal is really amazing!" Zhang Lili repeatedly praised in the CCTV commentary box.
"If we keep playing, it shouldn't be difficult for Tekken to hit a triple-double today." Sun Zhenping said excitedly.
"has hope."
Zhang Liji said with a smile: "Zhou Quan worked so hard on the defensive end today. First, he lost on the field and lost to Dameng's defense and all-around performance. Today is home court, and he definitely wants to get back a win. Second, yesterday, Dameng lost. Meng said that he wanted to complete a home and away double play, which should have angered Zhou Quan."
At the end of the first quarter, at 18:34, the SuperSonics led by 16 points.
Dameng was sitting on the bench, wiping his sweat and complaining: "When that bastard just stole my ball, he hit my wrist. The referee should have seen it and didn't blow it. The home whistle was too obvious!"
He was also stunned today. Zhou Quan stole the ball from him twice in a single quarter, made 3 turnovers in a single quarter, made 2 of 5 shots, and 2 of 2 free throws. He only had 6 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist in the first quarter.
"I also saw him turn his wrist, but he didn't blow it either." Kenny Smith complained.
"I saw him walking," Maxwell complained.
Behind the bench, an old fan in his 60s or 70s said loudly: "Hey, boys, only the weak will complain about this and that, the strong will only use absolute strength to defeat their opponents.
Just like Iron Fist did in the tiebreaker of the Finals, just like Michael Jordan did in the Bad Boys Legion's constant flagrant fouls, when they faced misjudgments and misjudged the home whistle, they did not complain, but chose to use more powerful Performance defeats the opponent, so they can succeed and gain the respect of our fans.
So don't complain about the whistle like a bitch, this is our home court, and it's the same at your home court. Don't say your home court doesn't have a home whistle, it will make me laugh my dentures off. "
"Ha ha……"
A group of fans laughed loudly.
Being scolded by the fans of the home team, Dameng and others turned red in the face, holding their breath and became silent.
At the beginning of the second quarter, they were too far behind and Dameng came on.
Seeing Dameng come on the court, Zhou Quan also came on the court.
In this game, he would not give Dameng a chance to make a comeback, and would keep rubbing him on the floor.
SuperSonics offense, Kendall Gill missed a jump shot, Dameng grabbed the rebound, Mosaic offense.
Kenny Smith still gave the ball to Horry first, and then Horry passed it to Dameng. Zhou Quan not only blocked his offense, but also completely blocked his downward passing angle.
Horry leaned away from Schrempf and passed the ball down.
Dameng caught the ball, and Rodman's defense under the basket was very fast. He was already behind him along the baseline. He immediately turned around and dribbled into the paint area in one step.
Zhou Quan, who was in a high position, turned around and rushed down.
He and Rodman's flanking attack cooperated with each other. Rodman flanked along the baseline and was responsible for blocking the direction in which Dameng turned and slipped to the bottom. He came down from the high position to flank and was responsible for blocking the direction in which Dameng turned and broke through.
Dameng turned around and dribbled into the paint area, and the next moment...
"Snapped!"
Zhou Quan leaned forward and took a step forward, stretched out his right arm, and swiped with his big hand. When the basketball he pulled up from the floor fell into Dameng's hands, he swiped it.
"What?"
The next moment, Dameng jumped up, but he found that the ball was gone.
The ball was snatched by Rodman, and Zhou Quan immediately turned down and accelerated after catching the ball.
"Steal the ball! Steal the ball again! Iron Fist steals Dream again, hahaha..." Mike Jim, the on-site commentator, kept shouting excitedly.
"Oh ho!"
Only then did the Seattle Center Stadium react, and huge cheers rang out again.
"The Mosaic ball is unbeatable. Haha, Zhou Quan will definitely steal double figures today. He is in great shape!" Zhang Lili couldn't stop laughing.
This is also true. In just three quarters, Zhou Quan played 31 minutes and sent out 11 steals. Not only did he set his own regular season steal record in a single game, but he also tied the 1976 Spurs player Larry Kennon's single game record of 11 steals.
At this time, the Sonics were already 31 points ahead of Mosaic, but Mosaic gave up in the final quarter. Zhou Quan also clocked in for three quarters and did not play in the final quarter, losing the opportunity to break this record.
In the final game, 75:116, the SuperSonics defeated Mosaic by 41 points, thwarting Dameng's wild plan to double-kill the Sonics and double-kill Zhou Quan.
In 31 minutes, Zhou Quan made 14 of 22 shots, 63.6% from the field, 1 of 2 three-pointers, and 10 of 10 free throws. He scored 39 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists, 11 steals, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers, and 2 fouls, a triple-double.
Dameng made 7 of 17 shots (41.2%), 8 of 10 free throws, 22 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 8 turnovers and 4 fouls in 33 minutes.
"Hey, super center, where's the promised double kill of the Iron Fist and double kill of the Sonics?"
"Dameng, how does it feel to make 8 turnovers in a single game? Do you remember it very much and want to do it again?"
After the game, a group of local reporters blocked Dameng in the player tunnel and asked him various sarcastic questions that made his face turn green with anger.
After Zhou Quan attended the press conference, he drove away from the Central Stadium with Zhang Lili and others.
"Xiao Zhou, how does it feel to steal 11 times in a single game?" Zhang Li asked with a smile.
Zhou Quan shook his head and said, "Actually, I'm very tired, because when I'm defending, my nerves are tense every second, and I feel very tired."
"Concentrate 100%. I was very excited at the time, but I will definitely feel tired afterwards and my brain will hurt, right?" Sun Zhenping said.
"Yes, it feels like my brain has been ripped out. This extreme state is rarely achieved." Zhou Quan laughed.
…
(End of chapter)
