The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 65 Locker Room Conflict, Duel
After the Hornets returned to the locker room, Dell Curry jokingly said, "Don, you're getting better and better. If this keeps up, we'll have to call you the boss."

"boom!"

Upon hearing this, Larry Johnson finally lost his temper. Being rather emotional, he kicked over his chair.

Today he made 6 of 14 shots, a field goal percentage of 42.9%, plus 4 of 6 free throws, for a total of only 16 points, which was below his expectations.

His current scoring average has dropped to 17.5 points per game, which is less than his 19.2 points in his rookie season, while his shot attempts are about the same as last season.

Furthermore, his shooting percentage has also dropped significantly because Tang Bei has taken away his offensive space under the basket, forcing him to increase his near two-point and mid-range shots.

Moreover, after winning the Man of the Match award in the opening game, he never won that honor again; Tang Bei took it all away.

If he continues to play like this, he has no hope of becoming the Hornets' core player, let alone the team's leader.

Dell Curry's words became the trigger.

This kick released some of the anger and frustration, but it wasn't enough.

His anger, frustration, and dissatisfaction with the team and Tang Bei had been building up since the opening match, and this kick simply couldn't calm him down.

"Fuck you!"

He lost his temper and swore at Dell Curry.

"Fuck you too!"

Dell Curry and Larry Johnson had a verbal conflict before and didn't get along, otherwise he wouldn't have said that.

Actually, he said it on purpose. Now that Larry Johnson was coming at him, he certainly wouldn't hold back and retorted directly.

Enraged, Larry Johnson completely lost control of his emotions, strode over and pressed his chest against Dell Curry's chest, shouting angrily:

"You piece of trash, are you groveling to him? What right does he have to be the leader of the Hornets?"

Tang Bei has a good relationship with Dell Curry on the team. Curry passes him a lot of passes. Curry's words just now clearly showed that he supports him. Whether he really supports him or it was to provoke Larry Johnson, he has to stand with Curry now, otherwise who will dare to support him in the future?
Moreover, he has to respond to Larry Johnson's words, otherwise wouldn't that be acknowledging Larry Johnson's words and admitting that he is not qualified to be the leader of the Hornets?
He immediately stepped forward, forcibly separating the two, and said to Larry Johnson, "Hey, you've gone too far. If you have the right, why don't I?"

"asshole!"

Enraged, Larry Johnson's eyes blazed with fury, his fists clenched so tightly he was on the verge of losing all reason.

"Want to fight?"

In the locker room, the players perked up, some eager for a good show, others worried that things might escalate and affect their own interests.

"boom!"

Dell Curry then reached out and closed the locker room door.

Kendall Gill glanced at the closed door but made no other reaction.

The infighting between Tang Bei and Larry Johnson had absolutely nothing to do with him; in his eyes, it was just dogs fighting.

But in the end, Larry Johnson didn't lose his temper, because the sound of Curry closing the door woke him up. He snorted angrily and turned to walk into the bathroom.

Many players were disappointed that they didn't get to see the excitement.

Dell Curry, in particular, wanted to see Tang Bei teach Larry Johnson a lesson, but unexpectedly Larry Johnson turned into a Ninja Turtle.

Two and a half hours later, the Hornets returned to their hotel.

Tang Bei had just entered the room when his phone rang. He looked at it and saw it was Larry Johnson calling.

"What does this guy want to do?"

He muttered something and answered the phone.

"Kid, come to my room and have a fight, you got the guts?" Larry Johnson's extremely cold voice rang out from the other end of the line.

"Hehe! Wait for me."

Tang Bei laughed, turned off his phone, and said to John Liu, "You rest first, I'm going out for a bit."

"Tang, where are you going?" John Liu asked hurriedly.

"Something's going on."

Tang Bei turned and left, heading towards Larry Johnson's room. Larry Johnson received the best treatment on the team, always getting a single room for away games, so he was alone in the room.

The door was ajar. After Tang Bei went in, Larry Johnson immediately threw him a pair of boxing gloves.

"You're more than 20 kilograms lighter than me, are you sure you want to get it?"

Tang Bei didn't want to win unfairly; although Larry Johnson and he were both in the heavyweight class, the difference in their weight was too great.

He's not the kind of person who's big but not agile; he's quite agile.

Larry Johnson sneered, "Idiot, Michael Tyson only weighs 100 kilograms. Are you stronger than him?"

"Actually, Larry, the wild boar I killed was probably stronger than you. I was really afraid of killing you," Tang Bei advised.

"Fuck you!"

Larry Johnson is furious.

"Fuck you too!"

Tang Bei cursed back, too lazy to say anything more, and started putting on his gloves.

These are training boxing gloves. They have Velcro for quick fastening, and then you wrap and knot them with long straps. Tang Bei hadn't used them much before, and it took him three or four minutes to put one right hand on.

"I told you I'd give you a handicap."

He threw his left boxing glove at Larry Johnson and raised his right fist at him.

"Fuck you!"

Larry Johnson was so angry he was practically fuming. He threw the glove back at him and yelled, "Put it on, you idiot!"

"Don't regret it!"

Tang Bei sighed and had no choice but to put on the other glove.

"Fight!"

Seeing that Tang Bei was ready, Larry Johnson shouted a command, quickly stepped forward, and unleashed a combination of straight punches with both hands without any hesitation.

He didn't think much of Tang Bei's boxing skills and only wanted to defeat him as soon as possible.

Tang Bei reacted incredibly fast, dodging with a backstep and, relying on his longer reach, throwing a heavy and swift jab.

"Oh!"

Larry Johnson was caught off guard and punched right into his guard, which was blasted open, exposing his face to Tang Bei's fist.

"He really did train in boxing!"

He was horrified. The speed and explosive power of that jab were too great; he couldn't even withstand it with his strength.

Given his height and weight of 113 kilograms, he was confident that his muscle ratio was no less than Tang Bei's.

He didn't know that muscles themselves have no power; they need the support of tendons and bones to generate power.

However, his physique was much smaller than Tang Bei's. Tang Bei had practiced martial arts since childhood, focusing on strengthening his muscles and bones, which combined with his explosive power, making him far superior to him.

But he wasn't afraid, because he was small and weaker than others, so he adopted Tyson's dodging fighting style.

Having already made his move, Tang Bei no longer hesitated or held back.

He seized the opportunity, and with a flick of his right arm, delivered a powerful right straight punch to Larry Johnson's exposed face.

Larry Johnson was very experienced in boxing, having trained for many years and fought in amateur boxing matches for several years. After understanding Tang Bei's punching power and speed, he had no intention of engaging in a direct confrontation.

As Tang Bei's rear straight punch came, he immediately ducked to dodge, then took a step to the left, flashing to Tang Bei's weak rear side, and immediately threw a fierce left hook.

This fighting style involves dodging and then using rapid footwork to suppress Tang Bei's counterattacks, attacking Tang Bei's unprotected right rib.

The fighting style originates from Michael Tyson's signature move, the antelope step followed by a hook punch, a highly lethal combination technique.

(End of this chapter)