northernbook Chapter 510: 21 assists, on par with Magic Johnson!
Chapter 510: 21 assists, on par with Magic Johnson!
Nash stood on the sidelines, arms crossed.
Although he didn't call a timeout, he kept watching Wang Xiucheng.
He would call a pause immediately whenever Wang Xiucheng needed it.
The Nets are now leading by 15 points, and the game is practically over.
But he was only one assist away from Magic Johnson's record. Nash, also a guard, naturally knew that Wang Xiucheng really wanted to break this record.
Moreover, this record, once broken, belongs not only to Wang Xiucheng, but also to his coach.
Coach Ma Long did not call a timeout.
The two sides continued the match in this manner.
The Nuggets are on offense.
At this point, the Nuggets naturally wanted to waste every last second.
Although we are still behind, even if we make a three-pointer, we can't win the game.
This will actually give Wang Xiucheng plenty of time to break the record.
For the Nets and Wang Xiucheng, it was a record-breaking moment, but for the Nuggets and them, it was just a backdrop.
Therefore, they naturally did not want Wang Xiucheng to break this record.
Bang!
Jokic ran down the clock to the last second, and just as the buzzer sounded, he released the ball.
The ball didn't go in; it hit the rim instead.
Jokic was on the perimeter, and Claxton caught the ball with one hand. Then he saw Wang Xiucheng had already accelerated.
Murray stayed close behind Wang Xiucheng, preventing him from receiving the ball.
However, Wang Xiucheng suddenly braked and ran back, even making a small turn to create some space.
Claxton immediately passed the ball out.
Wang Xiucheng received the ball and, without any hesitation, dribbled and turned in one smooth motion, crossing the center line in just two steps.
After a slight pause, Wang Xiucheng tossed the ball forward.
He started from the backcourt with Jokic, but passed Claxton at the center circle earlier than Jokic. After entering the three-point range, he received a pass from Wang Xiucheng and hit the ball to the ground.
Holding the ball in one hand, Claxton took two big steps and arrived at the basket.
A bang!
With no one guarding him, Claxton slammed home a one-handed dunk for two points.
123:106.
Wang Xiucheng's assist count has finally reached 21!
On the giant screen in the dome, the white numbers next to Wang Xiucheng's name, in the row of assists, had turned into colors and were flashing intensely.
Claxton didn't celebrate at all. Instead, he immediately turned around, found Wang Xiucheng, and bumped chests with him.
He seemed even more excited than Wang Xiucheng at that moment.
There are 15 seconds left.
The Nuggets didn't attack this time; Murray was running down the clock while simultaneously pressing down on his hand.
Zeng Fanbo seemed to want to foul again, giving Wang Xiucheng some time, but Wang Xiucheng stopped him.
For Wang Xiucheng, being ranked alongside Magic Johnson is already quite an achievement.
There's no need to force a final assist at this point.
If I wanted to, breaking the record of 21 assists wouldn't be particularly difficult.
As the final whistle blew, Murray, who had been controlling the ball to run down the clock, threw it back to the referee.
The next moment, Claxton snatched the basketball from the referee's hands, muttering, "This ball belongs to the king tonight."
The referee glanced at the guy but ultimately didn't pursue the matter.
After the game, the Nuggets players showed no interest in shaking hands with the Nets players.
The two head coaches simply shook hands and then left the bench with their respective assistant coaches.
The entire stadium stood and applauded, with many chanting Wang Xiucheng's name.
Wang Xiucheng also stood in the field, waving and turning around as a way of thanking these lovely fans.
After finishing all this, Wang Xiucheng went to the sidelines and, as usual, thanked the celebrities who came to support him.
"You played well tonight, 21 assists, just one shy of the record." Yao Ming patted Wang Xiucheng on the head, mimicking Durant, and said with a smile.
Wang Xiucheng covered his mouth and said in Chinese with some complaint, "Westbrook was too cold tonight, I didn't even want to pass him the ball anymore."
Yao Ming, Cai Congxin, and Ma Yun, who was standing next to them, all laughed.
That's true. Westbrook missed three consecutive shots, which was a bit of a shooting slump. Otherwise, Wang Xiucheng would have broken the record of 21 assists long ago.
After shaking hands with Cai Congxin and Ma Yun, Wang Xiucheng bid farewell to the three and went elsewhere to chat with other celebrities.
In the live broadcast booth, O'Neal was staring at the data in front of him with exaggerated expressions.
"Wang scored 48 points and had 21 assists tonight. Durant's absence did not have any impact on the Nets."
"Like I said, the Nets can't do without Wang, even without Durant."
Barkley also commented, "When Durant is on the court, Wang gets fewer assists, since Durant has the ability to create his own offense."
"But with Durant out, Wang Xiucheng can make up for the void left by Durant with his assists."
"Just like that fellow Chinese guy tonight, whose name is... something, Wang, with 15 points, and Seth Curry with 24 points, at least they made up for Durant's score."
"Go interview Durant later and ask him how he's feeling right now, and whether he wants to rest for another game," O'Neal said suddenly with a hint of amusement.
Barkley, however, stared wide-eyed at O'Neal: "Yao Ming, what brings you here?"
At this moment, O'Neal suddenly burst into laughter, "Haha, you still want to use this trick? You ambushed me like this last time, but I definitely won't fall for it this time."
O'Neal knew Yao Ming was there tonight, but he had just seen Yao Ming talking to Wang Xiucheng on the sidelines. Why was he here now?
But the next moment, O'Neal heard a somewhat familiar voice.
Hey, Shaq!
O'Neal immediately turned his head and saw Yao Ming's very sculpted face.
Hey, Yao!
O'Neal immediately stood up and hugged Yao Ming.
After patting O'Neal on the back, Yao Ming hugged Barkley again.
"Since you're already here, would you like to give us an interview?" O'Neal suddenly said.
Upon hearing this, Barkley's eyes lit up immediately. Without waiting for Yao Ming's reply, he stood up and gave up his seat.
Then, without caring which country the live stream was from, he pulled out a chair from their room, sat down next to them, and put on his headset.
Yao Ming was initially reluctant to agree, but O'Neal was so strong that he practically pinned him down.
Moreover, Yao Ming couldn't refuse Shaquille O'Neal, whom Chinese fans considered the biggest fan of the American superstar.
There was no other way but to sit for a while longer.
Just as Yao Ming was being interviewed by O'Neal, Wang Xiucheng and Zeng Fanbo were also being interviewed in the CCTV Sports live broadcast booth.
Tencent Sports' live broadcast room still featured Yang Yi, China's biggest charlatan.
However, CCTV Sports' live broadcast today featured Guo Shiqiang, the latest head coach of the national team.
And of course, there's the Su skirt.
Yes, he is no longer the "acting head coach," but the head coach.
Perhaps because of the training camp roster released yesterday, CCTV specially invited Guo Shiqiang today, which can be regarded as explaining some issues through official channels.
"Coach Guo, the ages of the national team players this time seem to be very young. Was that intentional?"
The first question asked by the Yu family touched on a topic that everyone was concerned about.