章 151: Kobe Scores 81 Points, the System is Causing Trouble Again?
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Sorry I am too busy tomorrow and the day after I have two final exams today and yesterday as well.
From Saturday/Sunday onwards I will be back to full speed
I just finished a 200 lines cod in notepad
SO SAD
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The Bulls' early January schedule was quite favorable, with opponents like the Bucks, SuperSonics, and Raptors. This allowed the Bulls to string together a series of consecutive wins, quickly improving their record. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers lost a few games at the start of January, causing a slight dip in their standing. The Bulls capitalized on this, overtaking them, and the Cavaliers dropped to fourth in the Eastern Conference.
Cavaliers fans were not pleased and were convinced that in the second game between the Bulls and Cavaliers, set to take place in a few days, their team would defeat the Bulls, avenging their previous loss and reclaiming their spot in the standings.
Why were Cavaliers fans so confident? Because this time, the game would be played in Cleveland, on their home court, not in Chicago. They were sure that the disaster that occurred during the Christmas game, where all but LeBron James underperformed, would not happen again.
Losing to the Bulls by 24 points was hard to swallow for Cavaliers fans, who believed their team was on the rise. After all, they didn't see the Bulls as a top-tier team.
So, the upcoming game was seen as a chance for revenge. Cleveland was determined to win.
On January 11th, Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland fell silent.
The Cavaliers' home fans stared at the scoreboard, eyes wide with disbelief.
98-93.
The Cavaliers had lost again, this time by a more respectable 5 points compared to their 24-point drubbing in Chicago, but a loss nonetheless.
LeBron James and the Cavaliers were once again defeated by the Bulls.
This time, there were no excuses. The Cavaliers simply couldn't get it done.
The main reason for their defeat was once again their inability to contain the Bulls' starting guard, Monta Ellis. Despite nearly half a month passing since their last meeting, Cleveland still couldn't figure out how to stop Ellis.
It wasn't for lack of trying. The Cavaliers tried various strategies, like sagging off and giving Ellis space beyond the three-point line, daring him to shoot from long range, an area where Ellis wasn't particularly strong.
However, even with this tactic, guards like Eric Snow struggled to keep up with Ellis' speed, especially when he ran the pick-and-roll with Wang Chong. The Cavaliers' defense collapsed.
Offense, too, was an issue for Cleveland.
In their first meeting, the Cavaliers' 24-point loss was more a result of their own offensive struggles. Outside of LeBron, none of their players could find any offensive rhythm against the Bulls' tough defense.
It was initially thought that Cleveland's poor shooting on Christmas was just an off night, but the same issues arose on their home floor.
The Bulls' perimeter defense, anchored by Raja Bell and Luol Deng, wasn't impenetrable, but it was solid. LeBron managed a strong performance with 36 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists, making 12 of 25 shots. However, Larry Hughes struggled mightily, shooting just 2 of 9 and finishing with 6 points and 4 rebounds under Bell's stifling defense.
Cleveland's center, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, had the upper hand against the Bulls' Tyson Chandler, scoring 24 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
But aside from LeBron and Big Z, the Bulls shut down the Cavaliers' other offensive options.
As for Wang Chong, he focused on scoring. Drew Gooden, whom Wang was tasked with guarding, wasn't much of an offensive threat, freeing Wang to dominate offensively. Wang finished the game with 40 points, while Monta Ellis chipped in with 20. The Bulls secured another victory.
Unlike the previous game, Wang Chong didn't have the pressure of a system task requiring a 20-point victory margin. He knew that as long as he matched LeBron's performance, the Cavaliers wouldn't have much of a chance.
The Bulls' victory further solidified their hold on third place in the Eastern Conference. Their record was now approaching that of the second-seeded Miami Heat.
Although the Heat would go on to win the championship that season, they didn't dominate in the regular season, finishing with a 52-30 record, far behind the Detroit Pistons' 64 wins.
The Heat had been plagued by injuries, with Shaquille O'Neal playing only 58 games and averaging 20 points and 9.2 rebounds, a noticeable decline. Starting point guard Jason Williams also missed nearly 30 games, impacting the team's performance.
However, before the All-Star break, the Heat remained mostly healthy.
The Bulls had already faced the Heat once in early December, losing 100-97 as Shaq overpowered Chandler, and with help from Dwyane Wade and others, Miami secured the win.
Their next meeting was set for January 18th, and once again, the Bulls lost, this time 94-97.
Wang Chong wasn't surprised by the loss. After all, Miami was a championship-caliber team with much greater depth than the Cavaliers. Even setting aside Wade and Shaq, the Heat roster was loaded with experienced players like Antoine Walker, Alonzo Mourning, and Gary Payton, all former All-Stars. Though no longer at their peak, their experience far surpassed that of the Cavaliers' role players.
Plus, the Heat had Wade and O'Neal.
Wade, a more powerful version of Ellis, gave Raja Bell a tough time. Wade also took on the challenge of guarding Ellis, shutting him down completely. The comparison between Wade and Ellis wasn't close—Wade was stronger, faster, and more defensively skilled. Meanwhile, O'Neal easily overpowered Chandler in the paint, using his size and strength to dominate.
Even though Wang Chong put up impressive numbers with 44 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists, it wasn't enough. The Bulls simply weren't strong enough to defeat the Heat.
Still, the fact that the Bulls managed to stay competitive with Miami was impressive.
In mid-January, the final round of All-Star voting closed.
To everyone's surprise, Wang Chong narrowly edged out Yao Ming to become the NBA's leading vote-getter.
Although Wang Chong wasn't as popular as Yao Ming in China, his rising star power and impressive performances—averaging 34 points per game—boosted his profile globally.
At the top of the league's scoring list, Wang had overtaken both Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson.
But January also marked the beginning of Kobe Bryant's personal scoring explosion.
After a quiet December, Kobe went on a tear in January, scoring at will.
Despite the Lakers having a better team than in the original 2005-06 season—featuring players like Kirk Hinrich, Eddy Curry, and Ben Gordon—Kobe felt the pressure of the scoring race.
For years, Kobe had been recognized as one of the league's best scorers, but he had never won a scoring title. This year, with Wang Chong hot on his heels, Kobe felt the pressure even more. Wang had been Kobe's former teammate in Los Angeles, and everyone knew that Kobe had forced him off the Lakers out of fear that Wang would take over as the team's leader.
Now, Wang had overtaken him in the scoring race, and Kobe couldn't stand it. In response, Kobe began taking more shots, determined to regain his spot at the top of the scoring list.
Wang didn't care much for the scoring title, as his focus was on helping the team win. With the Bulls' lack of consistent offensive firepower outside of Ellis, it made sense for Wang to score more. This was different from Kobe, who seemed obsessed with scoring for the sake of it.
Wang knew how competitive Kobe was. He wasn't surprised that Kobe would take 30 or 40 shots in a game, and Kobe had the stamina to back it up.
What intrigued Wang more was whether Kobe would replicate his historic 81-point game against the Raptors on January 22nd.
A few days later, the answer came.
In Toronto, Kobe went off, taking 46 shots and hitting 60.9% of them. He was unstoppable, scoring 81 points and leading the Lakers to a 122-94 victory.
The league was stunned. Only Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game stood above Kobe's 81 points in NBA history.
Even Wang Chong was impressed. He hadn't expected Kobe to pull off such a feat.
Though Wang's influence on the league had grown in his three seasons, Kobe's classic moment was preserved.
Wang watched the entire game and noticed a few differences from the original 81-point performance. The Lakers' current lineup was much stronger, and by the third quarter, they had a 30-point lead. Normally, both teams would call it a day, but Kobe kept playing, determined to reach the milestone.
While some criticized Kobe's unsportsmanlike behavior, this was 2005, not 2015, and media scrutiny wasn't as intense.
In the aftermath, most fans only saw the final score and Kobe's incredible 81 points.
"Kobe did something even Michael never did! He's the best player in the league!" fans cried.
With 81 points, Kobe's scoring average shot up to 34.6, surpassing Wang Chong's 34 points per game, reclaiming the top spot.
Wang Chong wasn't bothered by the scoring race, knowing it wasn't wise to compete with a player as obsessive as Kobe.
But the system had other plans.
On the day Kobe surpassed Wang Chong in the scoring race, the system chimed in:
"Ding—System task activated: Scoring Title Showdown!"
End of this chapter
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