Jackson’s face looked even worse; he couldn’t hit back with this trash talk.
Towns and Koulistan high-fived Zeng Xingyang in celebration.
There were still 43 seconds left on the shot clock. Even if North Carolina used the full 30 seconds for their offensive play, they would still have enough time for a final attack.
"Zeng Xingyang’s ultra-long three-pointer, WOW, scored."
"Dare to shoot, what’s a bold shot."
"North Carolina’s defense still hasn’t put enough pressure on Zeng Xingyang, allowing him to shoot so easily."
"Zeng Xingyang’s shooting range is very far."
The on-site commentator shouted, sounding excited.
On the sidelines, Presti and the Thunder’s scouts couldn’t help but clap. This rookie’s shooting is excellent, and his three-point ability is very dominant.
"Defend!" The North Carolina head coach’s throat was almost hoarse from shouting. He was furious seeing Jackson’s performance, so disappointing.
Jackson didn’t dare to respond to his coach on the court; he didn’t execute the defensive strategy well, holding a lucky mindset, and ended up being caught by Zeng Xingyang.
North Carolina’s offense.
Peggy brought the ball to the frontcourt, slightly controlled the time, then passed the ball to Jackson on the right side of the free-throw line.
Jackson bent over with the ball outside the three-point line, faking steps.
Zeng Xingyang taunted him, "Don’t pass, coward, prove to me you have the ability to go one-on-one, rather than just trash talk."
From the start, Jackson had been trash-talking Zeng Xingyang; now Zeng Xingyang held the moral high ground, trash-talking back at Jackson.
This feeling of suppressing the opponent and then trash-talking him was exhilarating.
Jackson felt suffocated psychologically; he didn’t pass the ball, directly indicating for the approaching teammate to go away, as he wanted to respond to Zeng Xingyang.
North Carolina’s fans were also cheering for Jackson.
Zeng Xingyang spread his arms, lowered his center of gravity, and stuck to Jackson, not giving him a chance to shoot.
After a fake step, Jackson drove hard to the right, but his explosiveness wasn’t strong, and Zeng Xingyang maintained his defensive rhythm.
Their continuous physical confrontation, Zeng Xingyang stood his ground.
Jackson’s opportunity didn’t appear, but he still chose to force a step and make a quick stop in the middle range.
Zeng Xingyang stretched his long wingspan to interfere, while Jackson’s shot increased in arc.
This shot was heavily contested.
The basketball hit the backboard hard, bouncing out and was controlled by Koulistan.
Koulistan passed the ball to Tyler Ulis.
Tyler Ulis quickly advanced to the frontcourt and passed the ball to Booker.
Booker got the ball and quickly ran down the time.
Zeng Xingyang spaced out at the corner for Booker.
With 8 seconds left on the shot clock, Booker signaled, and Koulistan came up to set a screen.
Booker wanted to drive around the screen, but North Carolina obviously focused heavily on him, triple-teaming Booker.
Booker’s offensive route was blocked, and at this time, he saw Zeng Xingyang at the corner.
Booker bounced the ball to Zeng Xingyang.
Zeng Xingyang caught the ball, and there were only 3 seconds left on the shot clock.
Everyone thought Zeng Xingyang would immediately shoot after catching the ball.
But for his first move, Zeng Xingyang still made a fake.
Jackson lunged and was completely shaken off.
Zeng Xingyang then sidestepped laterally, and gathered the ball.
Zeng Xingyang’s shooting speed wasn’t very fast, but it was enough.
He bent his knees, jumped, and released the ball, with the basketball gliding from his fingertips.
As the ball left his hand, the halftime buzzer sounded.
The audience gasped in disbelief.
This three-pointer was like a bullet with a scope.
Went straight into the net.
Heart-piercing arrow, chilling to the bones.
In the last minute of the first half, Zeng Xingyang made two two three-pointers in a row, helping the team to widen the lead to double digits.
Zeng Xingyang stood there, raising the three-point gesture, his teammates rushed over as if they’d won the game, shouting loudly around Zeng Xingyang.
"Wow, he can do this!"
"This guy plays so maturely, not a bit like an 18-year-old youngster."
"Over 20 points in the half, unbelievable!"
"So fierce, so many threes in the first half."
"Many NBA teams need this kind of player who can shoot threes and defend."
"Huge-hearted shooter, staying calm when there’s almost no time left."
"North Carolina’s comeback was undone by these two three-pointers widening the gap."
The on-site commentator shouted.
The cameras focused on Presti on the sidelines.
Obviously, the camera operator was a knowledgeable fan, as they recognized who the big shot in the front row was.
Thunder’s drafts were famously impressive.
Presti was definitely here because he liked a player in this game.
It’s just that people didn’t know who he was here to see, so the cameras caught him.
Presti, seeing himself on the big screen, smiled and waved to the fans.
In the arena, besides Thunder’s scouts, there were also scouts from other NBA teams.
"Why is Sam here, who does the Thunder fancy?"
"Maybe Devin Booker, they lack players in the 2 and 5 positions."
"Carl and Koulistan are out of Thunder’s reach; these two will be picked high, not their turn. I think they might be looking at that backup center."
"Gotta study this, Sam’s taste isn’t bad."
"They seem to have a first-round and a second-round pick, right?"
"Zeng made those two threes impressively; he can maintain his pace in such situations."
"He’s confident in his shots; he knows exactly what to do on the court."
"He doesn’t dominate the ball; I think you all are interested in him, right?"
"Honestly, without looking at potential, just performance-wise, Zeng’s first-half performance was the best."
"This guy is a utility player, contributing on the court, but unfortunately, his potential is a bit limited."
The Bucks scout, Knicks scout, and Pacers scout chatted leisurely.
Throughout the first half, the scouts were most impressed by Zeng Xingyang, as he put on an extraordinarily impactful three-point shooting display.
Zeng Xingyang’s three-pointers were very stable, not just high-volume but also efficient.
In terms of shot selection, he seemed much better than his counterpart, Jackson.
After a simple celebration, Zeng Xingyang chatted and laughed with his teammates as they headed back to the locker room.
Thunder scout Richardson said to Presti, "Sam, I told you, Zeng’s performance is far beyond what’s reflected in the numbers."
Presti nodded, "Yeah, he’s quite special on the court, both in offense and defense, and plays smartly."
Richardson asked, "Do you think he’s worth a second-round pick?"
Presti nodded, "So far he looks alright, but we’ll have to see how he performs in some upcoming high-intensity games."
Presti thought Zeng Xingyang had decent immediate combat ability but limited potential, so a second-round pick could continue to be observed.
Richardson shrugged and smiled bitterly, "I’m afraid we’re not the only ones interested in him; we’ll face strong competition."
Presti said, "Haha, they’d need the guts to pick a Chinese guard."
Presti was never worried about his drafting vision and operations; he had his own logic and approach to these things.
Other teams might not dare to gamble on a Chinese guard.
In Presti’s view, Zeng Xingyang’s talent wasn’t exceptional, but his technique was very stable, so stable that players who played professionally for two or three years may not have his rhythm and ease on the court, and that maturity was significant.
The Thunder had no patience for rookies to develop right now; they needed immediate combat power to contend for the championship.