The NBA's Absolute Dominance

Chapter 155 Engagement Scorer

Jia Bao is a Catholic, but out of respect for Tang Bei, who is an atheist, the engagement ceremony was held at home, not in a church, and no priest was invited.

Some close relatives from the Nemur family came. The Leo Nemur branch had built up a lot of connections in the United States, and many friends and family acquaintances came as well.

On Tangbei's side, there were also quite a few people, several dozen.

He invited his Heat teammates, Heat owner Mickey Arison and his family, as well as a group of Heat management personnel.

Several other major brands that endorse the product also sent executives with gifts to offer their congratulations.

He meticulously prepared engagement rings, but not diamond rings; instead, they were custom-made Cartier ruby ​​rings, costing over three million US dollars for two.

Although the two rubies are not the absolute top-tier, they are still of first-class quality; one of Greta's is 19 carats, and the other is 18 carats.

Top-quality rubies are simply unaffordable. A one-carat top-quality ruby ​​costs millions of dollars, and two would probably cost tens of millions of dollars. There's nowhere to buy them. Top-quality rubies are even rarer than top-quality diamonds.

There were two witnesses. He invited Mickey Arison, and Garbo invited one: Javier Suarez, the former mayor of Miami.

The two signed a written engagement document, clearly stating their intention to marry in Chinese, French, and English.

With two witnesses and an engagement agreement, this engagement, unlike engagements in China, has legal effect.

Tang Bei and Jia Bao have not reached the legal marriage age in China, which is 22 for men and 20 for women, so they cannot get married for the time being.

However, they cannot register their marriage in China, but they can in the United States, where the legal marriage age is 18.

In other words, the two can legally register their marriage in the United States now, but not in China, where they would need to book two hotel rooms.

The two need to register their marriage in China two years later, when Jia Bao is 20 and Tang Bei is 22, for their marriage to be legal.

Furthermore, because it is illegal in the country, Jia Bao has no right to inherit Tang Bei's property.

After repeated discussions between the two families, it was actually a discussion between Tang Beijiabao and the Nemur couple, and Tang Bei's grandparents and parents had no objections.

For them, the earlier the better. In the countryside, they don't pay much attention to such things. As long as they have a banquet at home, that's considered a wedding. Age doesn't matter. They just get a certificate when they reach the appropriate age.

So, wedding banquets are still held in the hometown. For rural people, the marriage certificate is not the most important thing; the ceremony is.

After some discussion, at Garbo's request, they decided to get married during the off-season, on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, which is August 15th.

We'll register our marriage here in the US first, and then hold a wedding banquet back in our hometown.

"Jiabao, why are you in such a hurry?" Tang Bei asked quietly afterward.

Jia Bao chuckled and said, "Wet Tiger, I'm afraid you won't be able to resist cuckolding me."

Tang Bei's face turned dark instantly after hearing this. Am I that kind of person?

The next day, the 15th, the Heat arrived in Chicago.

The two teams have played three regular season games, with the Bulls leading 2-1.

As a result, the Bulls, playing at home, were not in good form, committing 11 more fouls than the visiting team and grabbing 8 fewer rebounds than the Heat.

Jordan only scored 26 points with a shooting percentage of just over 40%, which wasn't very efficient.

The Heat, playing away, were in excellent form. Tang Bei didn't even need to score; Steve Smith scored 25 points, Glen Rice 22 points, and Tang Bei 21 points, with the three of them scoring 20+ points, defeating the Bulls and tying the series 2-2.

After playing the Bulls, the Heat rushed back to Miami overnight.

On the evening of the 17th, at the Miami Arena, the Heat hosted the SuperSonics in a back-to-back game.

Jiabao has been bringing Tang Bin and his two siblings to watch the game at the home stadium these past few days. The Tang family is returning to China tomorrow, and their plane tickets have already been booked.

At 7:30, both sides announced their starting lineups.

Supersonics: Sam Perkins, Shawn Kemp, Detlev Schramf, Kendall Gill, Gary Payton
Miami Heat: Tang Bei, Grant Lang, Glen Rice, Steve Smith, Avery Johnson

"Kendall, welcome to Miami." Tang Bei greeted loudly from a distance as soon as he entered the player tunnel.

"Tang, it's been a long time," Kendall Gill waved and smiled.

"Hello, Gary," Tang Bei greeted Gary Payton.

"Tang, I hope we can meet in the finals this year."

The SuperSonics are still ranked first in the Western Conference. Gary Payton wants to make a run for the NBA Finals, but he can't help but feel conflicted when he thinks about the Game 7 of the last Western Conference Finals.

"Even Jordan didn't win three consecutive championships. If they cause trouble again this time, I'm going to walk off the court," Tang Bei said, half-jokingly and half-seriously.

"Yes, boycott the game."

Glenn Rice and others immediately chimed in.

"Tang, I support you in spirit."

Gary Payton chuckled dryly, knowing he didn't dare to boycott the game anyway.

"Support me morally? Get the hell out of here!" Tang Bei cursed irritably.

At eight o'clock, the competition begins.

Tonight, the SuperSonics' starting center, Michael Cage, is dealing with some injury issues and will be playing off the bench, with rotation center Sam Perkins filling in at center.

Both of them are only 206 cm tall. Michael Cage is a blue-collar worker with little skill, averaging only 20 minutes per game.

Sam Perkins is an important rotation player in the frontcourt. He weighs only 107 kilograms and mainly plays power forward. He is stronger and is a stretch big man. This season, he has a three-point shooting percentage of 36.7%.

During the jump ball, Tang Bei lightly leaped up and deflected the ball away.

Tang Bei entered the penalty area, but Sam Perkins, who had neither height nor weight, did not defend him head-on. Instead, he closely marked him, using both hands and feet to stick to him like a hanging accessory.

He carried the "accessory" on his body and moved inwards. Before he even got close to the basket, the ball was lobbed in.

"boom!"

The next moment, he was hanging on the rim, and Sam Perkins was thrown to the ground under the basket.

"Di!"

The referee awarded Perkins a defensive foul, resulting in a free throw.

However, the penalty kick went wide, making it 2-0, with the Supersonics on the offensive.

Sam Perkins came to the frontcourt and stopped outside the left three-point line, not even bothering to go in.

Head coach Kevin Longley had already made arrangements, with Tang Bei switching to guard Shawn Kemp on the defensive end, and Grant Long switching to guard Sam Perkins.

Sean Kemp also pulled out of the penalty area, positioning himself two meters outside the right waist to receive the ball. Tang Bei stood at the right waist position, leaving a small open space.

Gary Payton is a master of orchestrating the offense. He has excellent ball control and vision, and can pass the ball to his teammates as soon as they make their runs.

He reached the top of the right arc, suddenly accelerated past Avery Johnson, broke through from the right elbow area, drew Grant Long's help defense, and immediately passed the ball.

Shawn Kemp caught the ball and attempted a mid-range jumper. Grant Long and Avery Johnson both rushed towards him, but they were a fraction of a second too late. "Clang!"

Unfortunately, his touch was a bit off, the ball went wide, Tang Bei grabbed the rebound, and the Heat went on offense.

Tang Bei positioned himself low on the left wing. Just as Avery Johnson was about to pass the ball in, Gary Payton suddenly pressed him closely, forcing Avery Johnson to hold the ball and then turn to shield it, thus losing the opportunity to pass in.

Tang Bei quickly ran to the high post, but Kendall Gill had already double-teamed him, and Avery Johnson lost the ball.

He witnessed the SuperSonics' fierce defense, allowing only 96.9 points per game, a significant improvement over the Heat's defense, which explains their dominance in the Western Conference.

Shawn Kemp sprinted down the fast break and, as he reached the left elbow area, Gary Payton, who was driving to the basket, didn't attempt a layup under Avery Johnson's pursuit. Instead, he turned and threw the ball into the air in front of Shawn Kemp.

"Don?"

Just as Gary Payton threw the ball, Tang Bei rushed down from the top of the arc, but by then it was too late to retrieve it.

Shawn Kemp leaped high, caught the ball in mid-air with one hand, then arched his arm and prepared to unleash a powerful, high-flying dunk over the basket.

At that moment, his mouth stretched into a wide grin, his blood was boiling, and his adrenaline was surging.

"Snapped!"

The next moment, a giant shadow rose into the air from the right, and with a wave of its hand, it sent the basketball flying.

"what?"

Shocked, Sean Kemp turned around and saw Tang Bei standing right in front of him.

"WOW!"

That chase-down block sent the entire Miami Arena into a frenzy, with cheers erupting like a tsunami.

The ball didn't go out of bounds; it was smacked high into the air, behind Shawn Kemp.

Tang Bei quickly moved to block the way and then grabbed it.

During this process, Shawn Kemp did not make any attempt to fight back; he was still in shock from being slapped.

“My older brother is like a flying centipede. He can jump so fast. When I was little, he could jump right onto the roof. Once he even collapsed our woodshed. But after he ate too much, he couldn’t jump anymore.”

"Ha ha……"

Tang Ning, who was gesturing wildly on the sidelines, suddenly gave Tang Bei a nickname, which made Jia Bao burst into laughter.

"No nonsense."

She's been reading the Four Great Classical Novels lately and knows that the Flying Centipede in Water Margin is a villain. After realizing this, she gave Tang Ning a sly glare.

The game continued, and Tang Bei suppressed Shawn Kemp in the paint and controlled the rebounds, which affected the SuperSonics' offense.

Especially after delivering four big blocks in the first half, even a legendary power forward like Shawn Kemp only dared to shoot from the outside.

However, the SuperSonics are not to be underestimated. Their defense is also very strong, especially their fierce double-teaming and quick rotation defense, which suppressed the Heat's perimeter offense and prevented Glen Rice and others from getting many wide-open shots.

Ultimately, the game was decided in the final quarter, with the Heat defeating the SuperSonics thanks to Tang Bei's dominance in the paint and rebounding.

At 10 a.m. on the 18th, Tang Bei and Jia Bao saw their family off at the airport.

John Liu's paid leave ended yesterday, and he arrived in Miami. He was escorted back to the United States, first transiting through New York, and then flying directly to Beijing.

During their time in Miami, Jiabao took her grandparents to the best private dental clinic to get their teeth fixed, as the two elderly people had lost most of their teeth, making it difficult for them to eat.

She bought a lot of things for her family, including clothes and accessories, and checked in more than a dozen large suitcases, which included many household appliances and a massage chair.

Including the massage chair, all the electrical appliances she bought were compatible with 100V to 240V, so they could be used back in China.

After his family boarded the plane, Tang Bei said, "My hometown in the countryside often experiences power outages, especially at night. The voltage is also low and unstable. The massage chair and high-powered appliances will only be decorations when we take them back, as they won't work when the voltage is low."

During her time in China, Garbo mostly stayed in hotels and rarely encountered power outages, then suddenly realized and said:

"Oh, now I know why the Chinese government encourages foreign investment in power plants."

As the regular season entered March, injury problems began to worsen for each team, and some teams started to slow down in preparation for the playoffs.

This also includes the Heat, whose Matt Geiger was injured again after the All-Star break and was sidelined for three weeks.

Even more troublesome is Willie Burton, who only played 26 games last season and suffered a serious injury at the beginning of March, playing only 50 games.

His absence will have a significant impact on the rotation at the small forward position. Grant Lang will be the first backup at small forward, and the second backup will be fringe player John Williams.

This injury caused the management to lose patience with him, and they decided not to renew his contract.

John Salley, Grant Long, and Harold Miner also suffered some injuries and missed a dozen or twenty games each.

Tang Bei is the only one who is resilient. With his intense playing style, he hasn't had any injury problems yet, and although the team is playing conservatively, he hasn't.

After encountering biased refereeing in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, he felt that he should play aggressively in every game, just like Jordan did.

Although Michael Jordan was his rival, there were many things about him that he admired, such as his attitude towards the game.

In his view, if a superstar goes on the court but slacks off and leaves after only twenty-odd minutes, it's just as disgusting to the fans who bought tickets as if he encountered a biased referee in the Eastern Conference Finals.

With widespread injuries, the Heat's performance has not been as energetic as before, partly due to their intention to hold back in preparation for the playoffs.

The Heat's rotation has expanded, and players who were previously not even on the 12-man roster are now included and getting playing time.

But SuperSonics head coach George Karl, in order to compete for Coach of the Year and maintain the league's best record, still pushed the team to fight with all their might.

The Hawks, too, didn't hold back until the later stages of the regular season and even climbed to the top of the Eastern Conference at one point.

On April 20th, news came from the domestic company that Tangjia Electronics' three washing machine production lines had officially started production.

The color TV production line started operation on Labor Day, with all three production lines going into operation simultaneously.

The league regular season ended on April 24th.

The Heat have 56 wins, ranking third in the Eastern Conference. Last season they only had 49 wins, so this season they have 7 more wins.

唐北出战82场，场均38.5分钟，33分14.8篮板4.6助攻1.3抢断3.8盖帽2.3失误2.5犯规。

He became the regular season scoring champion, followed by Michael Jordan's 30.5 points for seven consecutive scoring titles, and David Robinson's 28.7 points.

David Robinson had a shot at the scoring title in the first half of the season, but gave up as Tang Bei's scoring remained high.

Rodman led all rebounders with 17.3 rebounds.

The assist leader is John Stockton with 12.6 assists, marking his seventh consecutive assist title, the same as Jordan's seven scoring titles.

The steals leader is Nate McMillan of the SuperSonics, with 3 steals.

The leader in blocks is Mutombo, with 4.1 blocks per shot.

(End of this chapter)