Chapter 6: The First Victory

  This scramble for the ball took place in the Nuggets' half-court, on the free throw line.

  Although he only played for less than two quarters, Steven Hunter was already being blown away by the two brothers on both ends of the court. This time, when competing for the ball, it was no exception. Even without considering the difference in arm span, Hunter's declining jumping ability made him inferior to his opponent in terms of speed and jump height. Ji Guo Shi easily tapped the basketball away.

  Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received the basketball, fought for the ball with Lu Wei, and accelerated immediately after landing. He took advantage of the screen set by Lu Wei to quickly move to the three-point line on the side before the Nuggets reacted, and then received the pass from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

  Ji Guo didn't stop at all, using a beautiful posture, he pushed out the basketball in his hand...

  The basketball was already flying through the air, and Krejza's block came just in front of him, but it was too late.

  "Whoosh!"

  The basketball made a crisp swishing sound as Ji Guo scored his third three-pointer of the day!

  Ji Guo's defense was outstanding, and he didn't hold back on offense either. He seized every opportunity to showcase himself, making almost all of his three-pointers today. The big man's precise shooting technique left a deep impression on the fans who came to watch the game today.

  The score was 38-35, with the Clippers leading by three points. Although the difference is not large, the situation on the field has been completely turned around by the two brothers to their advantage.

  The Clippers' performance worsened, while the Lakers became more courageous. The whole team showed their highest level under the two brothers' command. At halftime, the score had changed to 53-43, with the Lakers leading by 10 points entering the second half.

  Ge Quan scored 9 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks in the first half. His three blocks made the Clippers' restricted area a "no-fly zone". Four assists also showed his outstanding passing ability, although three of them were passed to Ge Gu for data.

  Ji Guo got 18 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block. He was solid on the defensive end, but what impressed was that he filled in a few gaps for Ji Guo, showing his defensive ability is not bad. That foul on JR Smith was even more impressive, making Lao Deng nod in approval.

  In the second half, the two continued to start together.

  The Nuggets still can't find a way to deal with the two, their starting inside duo, Nikola Joki? and Kenyon Martin, did not participate in this summer league, George Karl couldn't find defensive players capable of limiting the two brothers.

  In the second half, DeAndre Jordan continued to dominate the interior, while Lou Williams showed off his excellent shooting skills from outside. The two combined for a strong attack and defense, and by the end of the third quarter, the score had changed to 80-64, with the Clippers leading their opponents by 16 points.

  Lao Deng didn't send any of his two brothers on in the fourth quarter, and the game completely became a training ground for the bench players.

  Ji Zhe scored 12 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, dished out 5 assists and blocked 4 shots in 25 minutes of playing time.

  Ji Guo and his brother made their debut at the same time, scoring 25 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block shot, with 4 three-pointers out of 7 attempts, leaving a deep impression.

  The fast boat team won the game as expected, with the two brothers creating a 16-point lead for the team. In the fourth quarter, the substitutes only needed to score a few points to avoid being overtaken. If they lost again? Lao Deng Liwei would not leave any of them behind except for the two brothers.

  After the match, Old Deng Livi was excited and enthusiastic about taking the two to attend the post-match press conference.

  NBA post-match press conference, the coach usually brings the team's main players or the players who performed well in this game. Today, the main players are not here, so Lao Deng Livi naturally brought Ji Guochou and Ji Guoxiu.

  After the match, many reporters attended this reception, all of whom were aiming at the two brothers who performed well.

  "Mr. Guo Qiu, I'm a reporter for USA Today. You played extremely well today and almost dominated the three-second zone. Do you have confidence in competing with Chris Kaman for the starting position?"

  Ji Guo thought for a moment and said: "I will go all out on the court, if the coach thinks I can start first, I will start first."

  The journalist was not very satisfied with Ji Guoqiu's answer because it had no news value, a bland response that couldn't attract readers' attention.

  Another reporter asked Ji Guozhen, "Hello, I'm a reporter from the Chicago Tribune. You scored 25 points today and are the highest-scoring rookie of the past two days. How do you think you performed?"

  He didn't mince words like his brother, saying: "Obviously we were undervalued. We shouldn't be in this position. I noticed the top three picks this year, two of them are big men, that should have been our spot. There will be 20 teams regretting it this year."

  Lao Deng was shocked, he didn't expect Ji Guo Chi to say something like that? Just now, when facing the media's questions, Ji Guo Chou answered with ease and composure, making Lao Deng very satisfied. He thought Ji Guo Chi should be about the same, but it seems these two little guys are quite clever. But unexpectedly, Ji Guo Chi actually said something so arrogant, isn't this asking for trouble?

  The reporters under the stage are all stunned at this moment, and some reporters even wonder if they heard it wrong.

  "A guy who's at the bottom of the first round actually dares to say such arrogant words? Doesn't he feel embarrassed?"

  Many reporters felt extremely angry after reacting, and Ji Guo said that 20 teams would regret this. Doesn't that mean that the first 20 teams that didn't choose him are all blind? This is ridiculous! This rookie is really arrogant!

  Some reporters felt indignant, seemingly from Portland, who happened to select the super center rookie that everyone consistently looked good at this year, Oden.

  Auden is now, just like O'Neal in his heyday, favored by all experts and scouts, he has the potential to become a new generation of super center, he has everything physical quality to become such a player, his future is boundless! And yet, Ji Guo thinks that he himself is only a first-round pick at the end of the draft, just because he performed well in an insignificant summer league game, he thinks he's better than Auden?

  "Excuse me, since you're so confident in yourself, why didn't you lead your team into the NCAA's national top 64?" The Portland reporter struck a sore spot for Ji Guo.

  Ji Guo's face was not looking good, he couldn't say that he hadn't fully adapted to his body at that time, could he?

  Ji Guoqu was scolding himself in his heart, why did his younger brother have to look for trouble when there wasn't any? Can't he just keep a low profile?!

  Ji Guo's face turned red as he replied stiffly: "You don't believe me, then let the regular season data prove it. See if I'm bragging or not!"

  The reporters were relentless, thinking that the guy was already speechless and ready to strike while the iron was hot, making the boastful guy completely embarrassed and unable to show his face...

  Deng Lijun saw that things were not going well and immediately announced that the reception would end here.

  The team returned to the hotel on a big bus, and Lao Deng Liwei was obviously dissatisfied with Ji Guo's speech at the press conference, staring coldly at Ji Guo without saying a word.

  Ji Guo hastily helped his brother apologize to the coach and explained various excuses for Ji Guo.

  Lao Deng Liwei didn't mention this matter again, but he had already made up his mind. After the next game, at the press conference, he would only bring Ji Guoqiu and resolutely not let Ji Guochi attend.

  The reporters were still fuming and didn't want to let the two off so easily. They couldn't tell them apart, just like today's Nuggets players. They were ready to go back and blast these two arrogant guys in the newspaper.

  Ji Guo Chou was once again innocently shot, but he wasn't entirely innocent either. After all, they were still the same person, split from one soul, it's just that the "arrogant" attribute happened to fall on Ji Guo Chi's side.

  "Old Two, it's better for you to shut your mouth from now on. If you want to show off, can't you wait until after the regular season when you've performed well? This is just a summer league game, and I'm already annoyed by what you said, let alone others!"

  Ji Guo sat in the carriage and said to Ji Guo in his heart.

  "To be honest, I don't think we're any worse than anyone else. You can think of me as someone who likes to show off if you want, but the truth is, I just don't like being looked down on!"

  Ji Guo Xi replied in his heart, apparently without any intention of regretting his previous actions.

  However, if we exclude the press conference after the match, the two brothers performed well today. If not for Ji Guo's arrogant attitude at the end, perhaps the major media would have praised these two Chinese twin brothers in a small section tomorrow. But now, these media are using a large section to report on the two of them, but it is not to praise, but to criticize and pick on their arrogance yesterday.

  The end of the Nuggets game, the Clippers immediately prepared for the next game, just two days later, which is the most important game in the entire summer league.

  They will face China on July 11.

  This summer league, there is a big highlight, that is the Chinese men's basketball team will participate in the summer league held in "Las Vegas" as a whole, and Yao Ming will also represent the Chinese team to play.

  Yao Ming originally had a shoulder injury, but it is said that he has almost recovered and can play in the game against the Clippers.

  This game, the Clippers' two starting inside lines were still absent, but Maggette arrived early to report to the team. The match against China was full of highlights, especially in helping to increase the Asian popularity of the players. It seems that Maggette came with this purpose in mind.

  Lao Deng Livai didn't care about that much and decided on the spot to let Maggette start in the game against China.

  Thanks for "Hǎi Hún Qiú" classmate's reward and evaluation votes.