The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 73 Killing the King in the Air

The Hornets lead 120-122, and the Pacers attack.

Small forward Schremfe missed a jump shot from the left wing's two-point area, and Tang Bei grabbed the rebound.

"Bang!"

On the other hand, Dell Curry missed a three-pointer, adding 1 point.

"Snapped!"

Tang Bei was running out of energy, but fortunately, the Pacers players were in the same boat. With his superior jumping ability, he managed to grab the valuable offensive rebound.

"boom!"

With a second jump, Pacers' starting power forward Dale Davis and backup center DeLerin both fell to the ground under the basket with a powerful two-handed dunk.

"Di!"

The referee blew his whistle, indicating that Davis had committed a foul by hitting Davis's hand and would be awarded a free throw.

The two big guys were exhausted, and instead of getting up immediately, they took the opportunity to lie down on the floor and rest for a while.

Dale Davis, in particular, was knocked down multiple times during the game just by helping defend Tang Bei, and his whole body ached, feeling like his tendons and bones were broken.

"Clap clap clap..."

A round of enthusiastic applause erupted in the stadium.

Mitchell exclaimed excitedly, "Tang has already scored 46 points, we're up by 4 points, and if he makes the free throws, it'll be 5 points."

Tangulas said, "There are 21 seconds left. The Pacers will probably foul, so Tang needs to be careful."

Mitchell said, "So far, Tang's free throw percentage is 52%, and it's 57% in the last five games. It's a little off, but his percentage is steadily improving."

Tang Bei stood on the free throw line, panting, his hands on his knees, sweat streaming down his chin, his strength completely depleted.

He pointed to the sweat dripping onto his feet and made a mopping motion for the referee.

While the floor cleaner was mopping the floor, he took a few extra breaths to slow his breathing, then took the basketball that the referee threw to him and started dribbling.

Five dribbles – this was the free throw rhythm his personal trainer, Kyrie Osman, had set for him. Once he developed his own rhythm, his free throw percentage would be higher.

"Bang!"

The force was too light, and the basketball hit the front edge of the rim.

At this moment, players from both teams rushed to the basket to grab the rebound, but the bounced basketball hit the rim a second time and then rolled into the basket.

"Great! Tang made the free throw at the crucial moment, he's already scored 47 points!" Mitchell exclaimed excitedly.

"120-125, the Hornets are now leading by 5 points, the Pacers are on offense," Tangulas said with a smile.

Next, the Pacers' Reggie Miller took the shot. Despite having been on fire all game, he missed a three-pointer with only 7 seconds left in the game.

The Pacers employed a fouling strategy, fouling Tang Bei who was off the ball, and Tang Bei made both free throws.

Tang Bei missed his first free throw but made his second, giving the Hornets a 6-point lead. The Pacers then had 6.5 seconds left on the offensive end.

The Pacers called one last timeout, and then inbounded the ball from the center line.

The Hornets deployed a half-court press, and the Pacers attempted a three-pointer in the final moments, but missed, ending the game.

MC Hossam Tom excitedly said, "Congratulations to Tang, 48 points, setting a new personal single-game scoring record and defeating the opponent."

After saying that, he added in a joking tone, "Congratulations to Reggie Miller for scoring 50 points in a losing effort, but also for setting a new personal scoring record."

"Ha ha……"

The fans at the scene burst into laughter upon hearing the last sentence.

"Fake!"

Reggie Miller glared at Hossm Tom in the corner.

At this moment, Tang Bei came over. Although he was exhausted, panting heavily, and sweating profusely, he still had to say what needed to be said.

He said to Reggie Miller, "Hey, you empty stats king, you beat me by 2 points, but my team beat your team by 6 points. This result proves that you are just a big talker and you can't deliver on your promises."

Reggie Miller gritted his teeth in hatred. If it weren't for the huge difference in size and Tang Bei's violent nature, he would have really fought him.

Tang Bei asked with a "sincere" expression, "You trash talker and coward, do you have any more trash talk to say to me?" Reggie Miller couldn't control his emotions anymore, turned around and left, while a series of swear words came out of his mouth.

"Ha ha……"

Goodbye, King of Empty Strike.

Tang Bei's English listening and speaking skills were already quite good, but he still couldn't understand a single sentence. However, that didn't stop him from bursting into arrogant laughter and continuing to provoke Reggie Miller with trash talk.

"Oh!"

"Ouch!"

Reggie Miller, who rushed into the players' tunnel, heard Tang Bei's arrogant laughter and the "King of Empty Stats" and kicked the wall in anger. He was in excruciating pain and tears welled up in his eyes.

唐北全场28投19中，命中率67.9%，加上17罚10中，命中率58.8%，全场轰下48分15篮板3助攻2抢断7盖帽4失误3犯规的超豪华数据。

48 points, 28 field goal attempts, 3 assists, and 7 blocks are all his highest records in the NBA. The first three are his career highs, and he once recorded 9 blocks in a single game in the CBA.

He played for 45 minutes, the most playing time of his career.

Fighting with all their might on both offense and defense, the physical exertion of a heavy center is far beyond imagination.

Given that it was a back-to-back game, his physical strength was already completely depleted, and he was supporting his knees with his hands when he was interviewed on site.

An hour later, the post-match press conference began.

In addition to Tang Bei, the Hornets also had Dell Curry, who performed exceptionally well, participate.

"Don, you had a conflict with Reggie Miller before the game, right?" The first reporter to ask this question was a reporter from The New York Times.

Tang Bei said without any attempt to hide his feelings, "Yes, that foul-mouthed man insulted my family with profanities, but he ran away quickly, otherwise I would have definitely beaten him up."

"Did you do that block and hit him in the face on purpose?" the reporter pressed.

"That's a chain reaction; my arm isn't a machine, it can't stop."

Although it was indeed intentional, he certainly can't admit to that; he's not stupid.

The second person to ask a question was Zhang Heli. Because of Tang Bei's relationship, he received good treatment from the Hornets.

After taking the microphone, he asked excitedly, "Tang Bei, what does it mean to you that you scored 48 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and blocked 7 shots today?"

"What does it mean?"

Tang Bei felt that this question was difficult to understand and thought he should attend night school or something to supplement his cultural knowledge.

He had a good memory and his grades were actually quite good. He was admitted to the county's No. 2 High School, but he didn't attend because he wanted to practice martial arts.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "It means that if I want, I can make Reggie Miller, who scored 50 points, the king of empty stats."

"what?"

Zhang Heli was stunned.

"Ha ha……"

There was a moment of silence, then the room erupted in laughter.

"That bastard! I'm not done with him, I'll never be done with him in this lifetime!"

On the Pacers' side, after the press conference, Reggie Miller learned of Tang Bei's words from a reporter and flew into a rage.

With the victory over the Pacers, the Hornets improved to 11 wins and 2 losses, continuing to lead the entire league. Their record shocked the entire United States and the league, and they were hailed by the media as the most promising dark horse of the season.

Tang Bei's average points per game surged from 26.25 to 27.92 after this game, ranking third in the entire league.

The highest scoring average is Michael Jordan, who, after winning two consecutive championships, played an amazing game, averaging 32.71 points per game.

Second is Dominique Wilkins, averaging 30.01 points per game.

Tang Bei, as the Hornets' leading scorer, rebounder, and blocker, and also the player with the highest field goal percentage, highest individual offensive efficiency, and lowest defensive efficiency, has garnered significant attention.

Many of his offensive and defensive moments have been selected as the league's top ten plays of the day and frequently appear in sports news on major television stations.

As a result, his jersey sales began to grow steadily.

(End of this chapter)