He Ximeng, unable to bear it any longer, anticipated James Robinson's move and precisely stole the basketball the moment he feinted to change direction!
With the steal, He Ximeng bolted like lightning, with a clear path ahead!
The Lakers fans now eagerly expected He Ximeng to deliver a spectacular one-handed dunk, just like Kobe in the first half!
To everyone's surprise, He Ximeng pulled up from near the three-point line, choosing to showcase his three-point shooting skills...
Worse still, this unguarded three-pointer hit the rim and bounced out!
Just when everyone thought He Ximeng had botched his attempt, he soared into the air and, flying towards the basket, completed an emphatic one-handed put-back dunk over James Robinson, who was preparing to grab the rebound!
"Wow!" A collective gasp erupted from the Lakers fans, followed by a roar of cheers!
No fan could have predicted that the seemingly gentle He Ximeng possessed such a ferocious side!
The unfortunate James Robinson, caught off guard, was sent flying out of bounds by He Ximeng's momentum and landed amidst a cluster of photographers.
Upon landing, He Ximeng, in a show of good sportsmanship, jogged over to James Robinson and offered a hand to help him up. However, James Robinson angrily swatted away He Ximeng's hand, sat on the ground with his head down, and waited for his teammates to catch up.
Undeterred, He Ximeng flashed a "my bad" smile, turned back to his own half, and high-fived Eddie Jones and Corey Blount.
"Awesome, kid! I didn't realize you had such swagger!" Eddie Jones, who had previously maintained a lukewarm, indifferent attitude towards He Ximeng, hadn't bothered to talk much with him even after He Ximeng displayed his impressive passing and three-point shooting in the previous game.
This league had no need for nice guys; nice guys rarely lasted long here.
But after this dunk, Eddie Jones saw a hidden, formidable side to He Ximeng, which made him genuinely acknowledge He Ximeng's extraordinary talent.
On the sidelines, O'Neal grinned, a look of mock "terror" on his face. "What did I tell you? Would the young brother I picked be a coward? Hahaha... That dunk was so satisfying! I bet I would have been sent flying out of bounds too! Hahaha... God bless James..."
Across the vast ocean, countless Chinese fans were also stunned by He Ximeng's ferocious, over-the-head put-back dunk!
Chen Qiudao, who had enrolled in the E-commerce department at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, was watching the live broadcast of the game with his roommates.
Upon seeing He Ximeng's thunderous dunk, Chen Qiudao was left speechless, his mouth agape.
One of his roommates pointed at He Ximeng on the television and asked Chen Qiudao with a skeptical look, "Are you sure this He Ximeng is the same He Ximeng you know?"
"Absolutely, word for word!"
"You guys played together from middle school all the way until you graduated from high school?"
"You bet! We were the 'twin stars' of the Zhuji Junior High League back then, the best backcourt duo in the high school league..."
His roommates stared at Chen Qiudao with undisguised scorn, as if to say, "Keep boasting! See how far your tales take you... With your physique, you'd be dunked on by the He Ximeng on TV..."
"Really? I'm not lying?" Chen Qiudao felt like crying.
But no matter how much Chen Qiudao tried to explain, none of his roommates believed that the Chen Qiudao of last year could have matched He Ximeng. Forget last year; in their eyes, a talented player like He Ximeng must have been an invincible, all-powerful force since middle school!
Chen Qiudao finally decided to keep quiet. This was something that truly couldn't be explained clearly. In fact, even he, who had grown up with He Ximeng and considered himself the closest stranger, couldn't understand why He Ximeng's basketball skills had skyrocketed in the past year like he was on performance-enhancing drugs, reaching an unreachable level.
"I guess... I'll just focus on my e-commerce studies and quietly cheer for Ximeng from in front of the TV..."
With one shot and one dunk, He Ximeng finally helped the Lakers break the stalemate! The Timberwolves' double-digit lead, maintained for two quarters, was narrowed to just 6 points by He Ximeng's unexpected surge!
Timberwolves head coach Saunders immediately called a timeout, hoping to disrupt the Lakers' momentum.
Simultaneously, Saunders brought in starting center Fran Vrančić to strengthen the paint defense and minimize any opportunities for the Lakers to grab offensive rebounds.
However, He Ximeng had no intention of continuing to attack the Timberwolves' basket. In the subsequent possessions, He Ximeng and Eddie Jones executed a fluid offense. He Ximeng assisted Jones for a three-pointer, and Jones returned the favor with an assist to He Ximeng for a three-pointer of his own!
The Lakers successfully narrowed the deficit to 2 points before the end of the third quarter!
In this quarter, He Ximeng shot 3-for-4, scoring 8 points, 1 assist, and 1 steal. Combined with his 3 assists and 1 steal from the first half, his overall stats reached 8 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals!
Seeing the tremendous impact of putting He Ximeng on the court, Coach Harris decided to give He Ximeng another three minutes of playing time at the beginning of the fourth quarter, also allowing him 2-4 more shot attempts.
In the NBA, shot attempts are strictly allocated based on a player's status within the team.
The highest tier, naturally, is reserved for the team's superstars, who possess unlimited shot attempts and can disregard the coach's tactical instructions, attacking at will.
Next are the core players, commonly known as the leading stars.
There are nuances even among leading stars.
Typically, the primary star averages around 20 shot attempts per game, which can increase to about 25 if they're shooting well, or decrease to around 15 if they're not.
The second option averages about 15 shot attempts, fluctuating between 12 and 18 depending on their shooting touch.
If a team has a third option, their shot attempts are usually around 10, with a range of 8-12.
The designated "sixth man" has roughly the same shot allocation as the third option. If there is no third option, the sixth man essentially assumes that role.
Following these are the role players, who themselves have different tiers.
Core players with stable playing time, usually around 20 minutes per game, have a shot allowance of 6 attempts.
Non-core rotation players, with inconsistent playing time, have a shot allowance of around 3 attempts.
In the previous game, He Ximeng played 20 minutes and took 6 shots, not exceeding his established role.
In this game, He Ximeng's playing time is definitely less than in the previous game; he's only played 13 minutes so far and has taken 4 shots.
According to Harris's instructions, He Ximeng has about three more minutes of playing time and an additional 2-4 shot attempts, which is equivalent to the coach granting him an extra 2 shot opportunities.