One Year Left to Play-Chapter 232 - 79: Starting Off with a Historic Record!

In the last seven minutes or so, both teams were playing recklessly. The Pistons were merely holding onto the extravagant hope of turning the game around, continuously shooting, while on the Nets' side, Zhang Hao, Jason Williams, and Edwards were exhausted and substituted out. Kenny Anderson and Almon Gilliam were taking turns playing one-on-one, and defense...was not important anymore.

No surprises occurred. With over a 10-point gap, Grant Hill scored 39 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and provided 8 assists, but was completely worn out. The Pistons lacked other players capable of leading a comeback. They relied on a versatile superstar as the foundation to build a playoff-caliber team under Coach Collins.

Finally, the Nets defeated the Pistons 119 to 101, winning the opening game away!

The crowd had been booing Zhang Hao since the start of the fourth quarter, but now, it was completely silent.

How unexpected the result turned out...

During the preseason, they saw hope.

At the start of tonight's game, they carried expectations.

Halfway through the first quarter, they felt hope had become reality.

But in the end, this was the outcome!

All because of that rookie!

44 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 blocks!

Just like when future Lieutenant Corey Brewer scored 50+ against a top shooting guard, with nobody believing he actually had the ability to score so much, everyone thought Zhang Hao's scoring was pure luck.

It was indeed a stroke of luck, with 19 points coming from fast breaks, 11 of which were scored in the last quarter. Before that, Zhang Hao was aggressive but scored only 8 points in fast breaks over the first three quarters.

But why were the unlucky ones the Pistons?

Is it really that they've done too much bad and now karma has come?

Their two coaches, one was unwilling to accept, and the other was filled with consolation.

In terms of players, the veterans were calm, having seen many big stages during their playing days, including players like Michael Jordan.

But the two rising stars were emotionally explosive.

Alan Houston felt a pang of envy, tall and fast...truly remarkable!

Grant Hill played personally very well, but the feeling of giving his all without winning was torturous!

Sometimes, simplicity and directness are the most effective approaches!

The key is, others don't know, but the team's star knows; they originally wanted to select Zhang Hao, and before the decision, they even consulted him about whether he'd be willing to partner with a high school rookie.

His personality is usually gentle, so when the team wanted to choose, he supported it.

But the team didn't select Zhang Hao and instead went for Ratliff, the center with defensive talent, which secretly delighted him.

He was indeed satisfied with Ratliff's rim protection ability.

But now, just after the first game of the new regular season, he felt like coughing up blood.

Ratliff was good, very good.

But the rim protection Ratliff possessed, Zhang Hao also had, along with athletic ability, shooting, tactical awareness...all of which Ratliff didn't possess!

The high schooler on the opposing team was supposed to be theirs, the Pistons'!

On the Nets' side, after the final whistle, Zhang Hao was surrounded again. Kenny Anderson was the most excited since Zhang Hao broke the Nets' single-game scoring record previously set by Derrick Coleman! This signifies that the marks left by Derrick Coleman on the team over the years are now one less!

Why mention the Nets' NBA single-game scoring record?

Because prior to joining the NBA, the Nets spent many years in the ABA league, where Julius Erving scored over 50 points in a game.

Since the NBA doesn't recognize ABA achievements aside from All-Star honors, Zhang Hao now holds the Nets' franchise single-game scoring record!

Zhang Hao, initially thrilled, hadn't stopped smiling since being substituted in the fourth quarter.

44 points!

63-day lifespan! Got it!

And when Kenny Anderson mentioned breaking the franchise scoring record, he was utterly befuddled, grinning idiotically.

But the subtitle after the final whistle completely bewildered him!

"Special contract player Zhang Hao has broken the NBA debut highest scoring record. Congratulations to the host for earning a chance to unlock the center position technical learning mode once."

There were other prompts, but Zhang Hao was too baffled to look at them.

Did he really break a record?

44 points is quite high, high enough to make Zhang Hao grin foolishly.

But there is a limit, and it's not particularly outlandish.

After all, a man who recently returned has achieved over 100 single 40+ point games, and looks like he'll add another 30 to 50 times.

He was gleeful because he knew, in reality, his true capability wasn't to score 40+. It was a confluence of various factors that, through luck, led to the 40+ score.

Such joy is certainly deserved.

But breaking records, especially Chamberlain's record, is a completely different matter!

Not only did he not anticipate it, but it seems no one else at the scene considered it.

However, they soon found out.

This game was broadcast live, and on a multinational scale, including China and the United States. Besides, two countries in Europe also aired this match featuring Grant Hill. The player with the best performance tonight was scheduled for a post-game interview. Due to some reasons, the league arranged for the Chinese Imperial Sports Channel to conduct tonight's post-game interview.

Su Qun excitedly approached the visiting team's bench, and as Zhang Hao regained composure, he was led by Butch Baird to accept the post-game interview.

Post-game interview...

Teammates gathered to watch. Apart from Kenny Anderson, few others had post-game interview experiences, including veterans like Vaughn Fleming and Almon Gilliam.