Hello everyone, I'm A-Du.

Chapter 21 First Battle Victory

The score went back and forth, and after three quarters, the Nuggets led by one point at 88-89.

Du Xiaoshuai played another 10 minutes in the third quarter, scoring 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 assists.

During the break, Ernie Jensen excitedly showed us the latest stats and exclaimed, "Guys, 42 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 6 blocks, 2 steals! These are the stats Kevin Durant, the second overall pick this year, delivered in his debut three quarters!"

"Yes, the stats from just the first three quarters are already comparable to the perfect debuts of some of the greatest NBA stars in history," Kenny Smith chimed in.

"Let's look back at NBA debut records. In terms of points and rebounds, Chamberlain's 43 points and 28 rebounds have stood the test of time, but his debut scoring record will soon be broken—if Kevin makes just one basket in the fourth quarter, it will be easy for him," Ernie said. "Every basket Kevin makes from here on out will be a new record."

"Furthermore, Kevin has a great chance to tie Oscar Robertson's record for a triple-double in his debut, or even achieve an unprecedented quadruple-double. You know, the league's record for most blocks in a debut is only 8, held by Wayne Rollins of the Washington Bullets in 77..." Barkley read from his prepared statement in a serious tone.

The TNT hosts on the sidelines were praising the show excessively in order to boost ratings.

Du Xiaoshuai was drinking an energy drink on the bench, sweating profusely as he stared at the cheerleaders' legs to relieve his fatigue.

The game had already lasted over 30 minutes in three quarters, and Durant had just discussed with the coach about playing the entire final quarter. He couldn't let his pink performance card go to waste; the Nuggets, an opponent strong on offense but weak on defense, were the perfect target for padding his stats.

Debut history is very useful for the fan system. As long as the NBA exists, people will always pay attention to these when a new season starts. When they look back at the historical statistics and see Durant's amazing numbers, won't they gain more fans?

Of course, winning is also crucial; a player who scores in vain is simply not someone you can be a fan of.

In fact, during the Summer League, including the first preseason game, Durant was consciously boosting his stats in order to have a long-term source of fan value in the future.

Everyone has a youth, and Du Xiaoshuai is ready to act like a hooligan in the youth of every generation.

At the start of the fourth quarter, P.J. rested Billups, Thomas, and Collins, with Durant and Green leading the bench. For the Nuggets, Iverson rested, and Anthony led half of the bench.

The match begins, the Supersonics have possession, and Du Xiaoshuai once again takes the ball at the top of the arc and strikes a one-on-one with his stick.

This is Durant's most comfortable way to score. In the fourth quarter, Karl brought in Anthony to defend and limit him.

Durant dribbled the ball in a wide, zigzag motion, took a step back, and Anthony closed in with quick, short strides. Durant dribbled to the right and drove forward. Anthony, whose defensive habits were terrible, thought Durant was faking it and simply raised his hand without shifting his weight. Durant then took the opportunity to stand up and pull up for a fadeaway jumper.

Anthony jumped over quickly, and Durant had already taken a shot from a high point.

After three quarters, with his touch red-hot, Durant raised his hands and turned around to celebrate breaking his debut scoring record.

"Whoosh!"

91:89.

"Boo—" The fans in the stands booed loudly when they saw Du Xiaoshuai showing off.

The Nuggets were on offense. Anthony backed down Durant with the ball and hit a difficult turnaround fadeaway jumper.

91 is flat again.

The game was close, and the referee's calls were a little lenient. Karl used substitutes Nene and Kriza to aggressively guard Durant, which was very effective. Nene, who was taller and stronger, closely guarded and limited Durant's speed, defending against his shot but not his drive. With Kriza helping on defense, Durant couldn't even touch the ball for several possessions.

Rookie Green's three-point shooting was inconsistent, missing both of his attempts. The veteran attacked the basket, making one of two shots. Swift scored two points with an easy basket, and Joe Smith made one of his two mid-range shots.

However, Nuggets' Carmelo Anthony exploded, using screens from two teammates to avoid Kevin Durant, scoring 8 points with a combination of drives and shots, plus assists to teammates, leading the team to a 102-97 lead with 8 minutes and 8 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

The home commentators started raving about Anthony: "This is Carmelo, our superstar, he always steps up when we need him to score!"

P.J. requested a timeout, and with all main forces mobilized, the decisive battle began.

After Billups came on, the game immediately changed. The Nuggets tried to have Edondo Najera and Martin limit Durant, but Billups and his teammates scored two goals in a 4-on-3 situation.

On the defensive end, Billups, a defensive-minded player, combined with his teammates and Durant to form a zone defense, covering almost most of the area inside the three-point line. The Nuggets only made one of their three offensive possessions, and Anthony was blocked by Durant, who had no one to draw attention to him.

103:104, the Supersonics have closed the gap to just one point.

At this point, the more experienced Iverson stepped up and began to attack the basket relentlessly, drawing fouls. Durant was also fouled.

Seeing the situation was not good, P.J. quickly had Durant pull out and put Thomas and Collins under the basket, while he roared "Be tougher" on the sidelines, which earned him a warning from the assistant referee.

Because of Iverson's foul, the referee tightened the whistle again. Durant, who hadn't scored for most of the fourth quarter, suddenly felt less pressure around him, and the ever-reliable Billups immediately noticed and passed the ball to him.

Durant, like Iverson, charged straight to the basket to draw fouls. In mid-air, he collided with Camby, twisted his waist, turned around, and made a layup with a low hand, plus a free throw!

Standing at the free-throw line, he habitually shrugged his shoulders, raised his hand and shot, making the free throw.

The score was tied at 111, bringing both sides back to the same starting line.

The score went back and forth. With 2 minutes and 03 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Du Xiaoshuai once again drove to the basket, but Martin grabbed him in time, earning him two free throws.

Both free throws were made, making it 118-117, with the SuperSonics leading by one point.

The Nuggets have requested a pause.

On the bench, Coach P.J. clapped, while the benchwarmers jumped and waved towels.

After the free throw, Durant has now scored 51 points, breaking not only the rookie debut record but also nearly breaking it in his regular season debut!

Before 07, NBA scoring wasn't as explosive as it was after the offensive encouragement in 15. The record for the highest score in a regular season opener was 56 points by the first generation of "Data Rogues" Zhang Liangwan, followed by 54 points by the old "Rogues", and 52 points by Elgin Baylor.

Du Xiaoshuai's 51 points would rank him fourth, and there are still 2 minutes left in the game.

The Nuggets were a bit nervous. Today's game won't have much impact on their record, but losing to that rookie on the other side who scored so many points would really put them on the pillory of shame once again.

Especially Carlisle, this tactical mastermind has encountered many memorable upsets in his career, which is also a point of criticism regarding his coaching ability. At this moment, he seems to have returned to the scene of being upset by the eighth seed in the playoffs. It is worth mentioning that as the first coach to be upset by the eighth seed in the playoffs, the team that the SuperSonics faced was the Nuggets, which is now coached by him.

This scene is just like that scene back then!

After the timeout, the Nuggets had possession of the ball, and Anthony and Iverson continued their fast break. Durant tried to help defend, but was screened by J.R. Smith, and Iverson made a mid-range jumper.

118-119.

The SuperSonics were on offense. Anthony tried to hook onto Durant, but Durant started making a back-and-forth run, getting screened by his teammates and landing in the corner. He comfortably received a pass from Billups, and without much adjustment, jumped slightly to release the shot.

"Whoosh!"

121-119!

54 points!

1 minute and 30 seconds remaining.

The Nuggets went on offense, and after a series of rotations, Anthony's shot was blocked by Durant from the side and missed. Collins secured the rebound and passed to Durant. In the final moments, Posey and Billups, who had come on, quickly ran up the court. Durant dribbled behind his back to avoid Iverson's steal attempt. With no one in front of him, he pushed the ball hard, ran across half-court, received the rebounding basketball, and took a three-pointer from a step beyond the three-point line.

The long, flat parabola, like a cannonball trajectory, hit the backboard and bounced quickly into the basket.

"Oh, Three—" Barkley shouted from the control room.

124-119.

57 points! Surpassing Chamberlain's season opener record to take the top spot!

There are only 59 seconds left in the game!

The Nuggets didn't call a timeout. Iverson quickly inbounded the ball from the backcourt, and after some passing, AI took the shot, but this time he missed.

A collective sigh rippled through the audience.

As a result, J.R. stole the rebound, and J.R., who had the ball in the center position, raised his hand to shoot, but was poked by Durant next to him.

The ball grazed the edge of the backboard and landed on Martin's head. Martin didn't have time to dribble, so he jumped up and threw it.

At the crucial moment, the basketball also started to act mischievously, spinning around the rim before falling off.

Thomas and Collins frantically battled for position. Durant leaned on Anthony as he jumped, flicked the ball, and with a quick leap, grabbed it again in mid-air. Then, he made a long four-point pass, crossing more than twenty meters, to Billups, who had already run back to his half-court. Billups, in a moment of wild abandon, caught the ball and immediately shot from beyond the three-point line.

After shooting, Billups ran towards the empty basket to catch the ball, but before he could even take a step, the basketball went through the net and went in!

127:119.

Durant has added another assist!

Including the previous double-team pass, his assists have now reached double digits!

57 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, and 8 blocks!

There are only 38 seconds left in the game.

The trend is over!

No way, no way, someone really wants to recreate McGrady's moment?

The Nuggets had possession of the ball. Anthony tentatively took a three-pointer, but the ball bounced high and was rebounded by Durant in the midfield elbow area. He finally gave up the fight.

Only 31 seconds left.

Du Xiaoshuai passed the ball to Billups, and neither team scored again. The remaining time passed peacefully, and the final whistle blew.

The SuperSonics players on the sidelines, like a group of children about two meters tall, hopped onto the court and interacted with Durant.

Du Xiaoshuai pushed everyone away with an aloof expression, acting all high and mighty, as if he was ashamed to be on the same team as these inexperienced teammates.

Some of it was an act—in reality, they didn't want to have close contact with this group of sweaty, rough-looking black men.

After the game, the two teams shook hands. Iverson and Melo looked like they had accepted their loss, and patted Durant on the butt and head.

"Kevin, let's go celebrate tonight. I'll introduce you to some friends." With the media frantically filming, Melo whispered in Du Xiaoshuai's ear, inviting him.

Social Gua admires Du Xiaoshuai in this life; his strength and temperament are very much to his liking—both flamboyant and pretentious.

—You're a boss too! You lost the game tonight, and you still have the nerve to ask me out? You're even more heartless than your brother!

Du Xiaoshuai didn't quite understand Melo's behavior, but showed respect by bumping fists and asking, "Are they all men or women?"

"There are both men and women, and a few of them are my brothers. They are all very nice people," Melon said generously.

There are many unspoken rules in the Black community, such as "don't forget your friends when you become rich and powerful." Another unspoken rule is that if a Black person likes another person and genuinely wants to befriend them—the kind of friendship that transcends fame and fortune—they will often introduce you to their best friend, and you'll be part of the same circle!

Carmelo Anthony has been in the league for several years and is the leader of the Nuggets. He has money and status, but he is not obsessed with winning a championship. He doesn't want anything from Kevin Durant; he just wants someone with similar interests.

Other rookies would keep their distance from Carmelo Anthony, who has a gangster-like aura, but Kevin Durant doesn't seem to mind Anthony's gangster-like status.

Several NBA teams are often criticized as gang teams with a very bad reputation. The most famous example is the New York Knicks gang, the Portland Jail team a few years ago, and the Golden State gang located in a black community.

In fact, the Denver Nuggets have also attracted a lot of underworld figures in recent years, such as Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson, the womanizing Camby, and J.R., the future LeBron James' bodyguard. These people either had experience in gangs or were gang leaders, and almost all of them were villains.

Billups, who was originally slated to be traded over next year, was also a mob boss who had been sued in court before his previous life.

Du Xiaoshuai had no feelings for the gangsters on Meilika's side, but after transmigrating into the body of Brother Ni, he couldn't avoid contact with gangsters in this life. Rather than passively enduring it, he might as well take the initiative to embrace it. With fans, Tongzika, money, and status, he was still a benevolent figure even if he didn't become an underground emperor. What was there to be afraid of in the underworld?

If you push me too far, I'll be reborn as the underground president of North America. I'll take everything from the White House, who's afraid of who!

It's all because I'm "kind"!

"Cameron, I'd love to accept your invitation, but time doesn't allow it. Our new season starts with back-to-back games, and the team has to fly to Phoenix overnight. Maybe next time," Du Xiaoshuai said, his words tinged with sincerity and a hint of helplessness.

If he gets this kind of treatment every time he goes to an away game, I don't know if Durant can handle it.

"Okay, next time then. Oh, I forgot to congratulate you on breaking the record tonight! Next time, if you win, just win, but don't break the record over me," Anthony said, pumping his fist.

"..." Du Xiaoshuai didn't know how to answer, so he could only remind him, "OK, then next time you treat me, you should arrange for a few more girls."

"Ha ha..."