NBA: Starting with the undercut by Parker and Bowen

As the final whistle blew, the tense atmosphere between the two sides immediately dissipated.

Yao Ming and Rasheed Wallace, who were just fighting tooth and nail and wishing they could kill each other with an elbow, are now chatting amicably.

When he got excited, he even gesticulated wildly and laughed heartily.

Billups stood with his hands on his hips, looking at Yang Lin with a helpless expression, and said dejectedly, "Yang, your shots are so unreasonable, there's no way to defend them."

Yang Lin shrugged and asked in return, "Do you know who I learned to shoot from?"

"Who? Who did you learn from?" Billups asked curiously.

He was genuinely curious about who could have taught a student like Yang Lin.

If possible, he hopes to get some extra tutoring... although it might be a bit late, but maybe it will be a chance for him to have a chance to shine in his twilight years!

Yang Lin replied mysteriously, pretending to whisper, "It's a guy named Chauncey Billups."

Billups was initially looking very serious, listening intently.

Upon hearing his own name, he was first taken aback, then burst out laughing.

"Haha~~ Yang, I'll take it seriously. Maybe I can leak what you just said, and that might improve my historical standing."

Yang Lin replied, "Don't be ridiculous. Elevate your historical standing? What am I anyway? Could I possibly elevate your historical standing?"

Billups patted him on the shoulder and affirmed, "Kid, don't underestimate yourself! You've already won a championship ring, and you're one of only two rookie Finals MVPs."

"And looking at your roster this season, if everyone is healthy, you'll be very competitive in the playoffs."

"Tsk tsk~~ With a little effort, you might be able to get a second consecutive rookie season... Your salary cap is pretty good, add some veterans who want to win the championship next year, maybe you can get a third..."

Yang Lin shook his head speechlessly.

"Chauncey, stop it! Stop this winning streak. With you bragging like this, I feel like I'm already tied with Larry with one championship! If I win another one, I'll surpass Jordan."

Yang Lin performed exceptionally well tonight, especially in the second half!

Two scoring runs helped him reach double figures in both quarters of the second half, finishing with 35 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 steals.

姚明全场砍下21分13板3助攻4盖帽；麦迪伤退前，也砍下了12分。

The Rockets' three stars combined for 68 points tonight.

Apart from those three, the rest of the Rockets players only scored a combined 12 points throughout the game.

Despite winning the game, the Rockets also put up an embarrassing statistic tonight.

They had a total of 22 free throws tonight, but only made 6 of them, for a free throw percentage of 27.3%.

Even Shaquille O'Neal would laugh his head off if he saw this.

On the bus to the hotel, Adelman announced to the entire team:

"Starting tomorrow, the team will have a three-day break. We will gather at the training hall for training on the morning of the 27th."

The league will suspend play for one day on the 24th;

The Christmas Day game is on the 25th, but the Rockets have nothing to do with it;

They didn't have any games on the 26th and 27th, and they didn't have an away game against the Memphis Grizzlies until the 28th.

Therefore, after the battle today, they have a four-day rest period.

"Don't go out tonight, everyone. We're heading back to Houston at 9 AM tomorrow. Merry Christmas everyone!"

Nobody seemed to care that we couldn't go out and have fun.

Detroit isn't much fun; over 80% of the city's population is Black, some parts are extremely unsafe, and the crime rate is among the highest of major cities.

Before the subprime crisis had fully spread, Detroit's real estate market was at its most frenzied peak.

If you come back next year, this place will be filled with desolation.

As the bus drove along, Yao Ming, who was sitting next to Yang Lin, asked, "Yang Lin, what are your plans for Christmas? Why don't you come to my house and spend it with me?"

Yang Lin shook his head wearily and refused, "No, Brother Yao. I plan to stay here for the three-day holiday, not go anywhere, not do anything, just stay at home for three days."

His uncle's family also invited him, but he declined as well.

First, he wasn't interested in Western holidays; second, they were too much trouble, and he preferred to stay quietly by himself.

Noticing that Yang Lin was acting strangely, Yao Ming asked with concern, "What's wrong? You seem a bit off?"

Yang Lin didn't hide anything, replying weakly, "Tired! I feel extremely exhausted. Not just physically, but also mentally."

Upon hearing this, Yao Ming raised an eyebrow in thought.

After a moment, he replied, "Your situation is a bit like the rookie season, the adaptation and transition period from amateur to professional."

"Some rookies hit the rookie wall, which is partly due to their playing styles being studied, but also related to this adaptation period..."

"You didn't play many matches last year, and this year you've suddenly been participating in intense competitions for a long time and on a large scale, so it's natural that you'll experience physical and mental fatigue."

As he spoke, he scratched his head and said somewhat helplessly, "There doesn't seem to be any effective solution. You just have to tough it out. Once you get used to it, you'll naturally take it for granted."

Damn! It's pointless to say anything.

Yang Lin rolled his eyes at him, annoyed.

Yao Ming gave an embarrassed, awkward laugh, and then invited him again:

"Why don't you come over to my house on Christmas Day? I'll invite those media reporters from China over, and we can all watch the Christmas battle together! You can relax a bit."

Yang Lin pondered for a moment, then finally nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll trouble you, Brother Yao."

On December 25th, the league scheduled a total of three Christmas Day games.

There was no defending champion Utah Jazz, no Boston Celtics with their Big Three, and not even the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

This year's Christmas Day games are actually quite interesting: the 96 draft matchup, with the Los Angeles Lakers hosting the Phoenix Suns.

In the 03 NBA Draft matchup, the Cleveland Cavaliers hosted the Miami Heat; in the 07 NBA Draft matchup, the Seattle SuperSonics challenged the Portland Trail Blazers.

Poor Iverson, is he no longer the representative figure of the 96 draft?

The Lakers ultimately defeated the Suns 122-115, with Kobe emerging victorious in the 96 showdown between him and Nash.

The Suns lost because of free throws. Both teams had 32 free throw attempts, but the Lakers made 27 of them, while the Suns only made 21.

同时在五号位上，安德鲁-拜纳姆13投11中，罚球8中6，砍下了28分12板4助攻2盖帽。

Amar'e Stoudemire, who dominated with 19 points and 6 rebounds, was the key contributor to the Lakers' victory.

The Cavaliers defeated the visiting Heat 96-82 without much effort.

The last game was rather uninteresting, as Oden was out for the season, and the game lost even the hype of a 07 draft matchup.

The two teams were clearly mismatched, with the Trail Blazers ultimately winning 89-79, while the SuperSonics' second overall pick, Kevin Durant, scored a game-high 23 points.

You get the victory, I get the data, and everyone gets what they want.

On December 27, after three days of rest, Yang Lin felt completely refreshed; youthful energy truly defies reason.

At 8:30 a.m., Yang Lin had just stepped into the training hall and was about to warm up when Adelman called him to his office.

Upon meeting, Ah Shuai didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "Yang, we've finalized our second deal."

Wow? So quick?

Don't most people hold off on their trades until the deadline? Why are we doing it one or two times, one after another?

Oh, everyone else is trading big shots, we're just trading small, insignificant stuff.

Now that you say that, everything's fine.