These words from the team leader, Chris Paul, expressed a certain affirmation toward Wang.
Of course, this was not enough for him to gain a firm footing; one three-pointer was clearly insufficient to impress Head Coach Monty Williams and management.
Wang absolutely had to deliver his best performance today to have a chance to remain in the NBA.
Therefore, he remained calm at this moment.
Just then, a crisp sound suddenly rang out in his mind again!
[Ding!!!]
[Congratulations, host, on achieving your first score in your NBA career. Milestone reward obtained: Talent Skill - Sharpshooter (Bronze).]
[Sharpshooter (Bronze): Reduces the impact caused by close defenders.]
[System Mission Activated: Win the first game and score at least ten points.]
[Mission Completion Reward: Talent Skill - Off-Ball Movement Expert (Bronze)]
Wang instantly became excited as he looked at the translucent panel that appeared before him.
As a loyal 2K player, he naturally knew these were Badges from the game!
This was a good thing; the true quality and strength of a star player were partially determined by the quality of their Badges.
In many cases, the effect of a Badge was even more crucial than the ability rating itself.
For example, even if your three-point rating reached 99, without a Badge, it didn't necessarily mean you could shoot with perfect accuracy.
However, with the enhancement of various shooting Badges, the shooting percentage would be significantly improved.
If he completed this mission, it would mean he possessed two Bronze shooting Badges — a great boost for him right now.
The only pity was that they were only Bronze; it would be great if they were the highest-level Purple Badges!
Wang didn't have time to study them and could only deal with it later. The Charlotte Hornets finally broke their scoring drought in the fourth quarter, and Wang's three-pointer caused Head Coach Monty Williams on the sideline to secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
Although he was surprised by Wang's score, whether it was a lucky shot or not, the deficit had already been reduced.
He looked Wang over and nodded lightly, though the young man would likely still be cut after the game.
Chinese fans at the Toyota Center couldn't help but cheer and applaud Wang from the sidelines.
Hitting a three-pointer right after entering the game, his form today was clearly different from before.
However, this still drew mockery from the surrounding Houston Rockets fans:
— "He just got lucky!"— "What kind of splash does a rookie think he can make?"
Obviously, the home team fans didn't take the newly entered young player seriously.
The Rockets were still leading by seven points.
This possession belonged to the Rockets.
Kyle Lowry, who hadn't yet been nicknamed the "Trash Brothers," dribbled the ball past half-court.
The Rockets' strategy was simple: Lowry saw Yao Ming establish position in the paint and immediately lobbed the ball to him.
Yao Ming posted up Emeka Okafor in the interior.
Okafor's height of 208 cm looked small compared to Yao Ming's 226 cm.
Even the soon-to-retire Yao Ming still maintained a soft touch.
Yao backed down Okafor, executed a turn, and lofted a short hook shot.
"Swish!"
The ball easily dropped into the net.
82 to 73.
Yao Ming's height combined with that shooting touch made him an absolute killer in the paint.
Even against Shaquille O'Neal at the time, it was an even fight.
However, after gaining weight, the damage to his knees was severe, and his flexibility and athletic ability were worse than before.
Yao Ming seemed particularly excited today because of Wang's presence.
He pumped his fist to celebrate the score, and as he retreated on defense, he smiled and nodded at Wang.
Wang returned a smile; the back-and-forth was what made it interesting.
In these two possessions, Chinese players scored consecutively, delighting the domestic fans.
This was the Chinese Derby; exactly what they wanted to see!
Zhang Weiping shouted excitedly:
— "Hey! Big Yao made that shot look so easy!"— "This is a response to Wang's recent score!"
Yu Jia also exclaimed:
— "This is the Chinese Derby!"— "Great viewing!"— "Now let's see if Wang can keep scoring!"
The possession switched; Charlotte Hornets on offense.
Chris Paul brought the ball up to the frontcourt.
As the commander on the court, he stood at the top of the arc, orchestrating the offense.
Seventy percent of the Hornets' plays were initiated by Chris Paul, usually via the pick-and-roll with David West, complemented by outside shooters.
The problem earlier was all shooters had gone cold.
They couldn't drive inside, and shots weren't falling.
They also had Yao Ming inside, and Okafor severely lacked offensive creation ability.
Chris Paul ran the pick-and-roll with David West again.
This time, Kevin Martin abandoned his contempt for Wang.
The reason for the recent score was precisely due to his switch.
Kevin Martin stayed close to Wang, defending him seriously, and said with a smile:
— "I was careless just now!"— "I won't let you score another point for the rest of the game!"— "The NBA isn't as easy to navigate as you imagine, rookie!"
Being scored on by a rookie made him lose face in front of teammates, so he started trash-talking Wang.
Kevin Martin, the Rockets' star, averaged 23 points this season, making him the team's scoring leader, with a three-point percentage of 38% and a true shooting percentage of 64.6%.
However, Wang remained completely unfazed by Martin's trash talk and replied immediately:
— "With that awkward shooting form of yours, you shouldn't be talking to me!"
This instantly enraged Kevin Martin:
— "F*ck!"
He barked helplessly.
Wang's casual remark enraged Martin, which was exactly what Wang wanted.
Chris Paul used a screen, driving inside, while Shane Battier stepped toward him.
Wang took advantage of Martin's momentary distraction, burst to the right corner, and received the ball.
Kevin Martin was half a step late.
For a professional shooter, the shot is a matter of an instant.
Facing Battier's help defense, Paul's offense stalled, but he saw Wang waving in the corner.
The basketball flew into Wang's hands again.
Catch, push off, release!
The ball traced a beautiful arc.
Kevin Martin arrived late to contest; it was already useless.
He could only turn and hope for a miss.
But the ball went straight through the net.
Wang hit another three-pointer, right over Kevin Martin's defense!
Score: 82:76.
With only two shots, Wang had reduced the deficit to six points!
Even Rockets fans were shocked:
— "Who is this young Asian player??"— "He actually hit two consecutive threes!"— "What is Martin doing!!! Can't he guard a rookie?"