Moreover, the referee’s authority: once the whistle is blown, it’s final.

But Zhang Hao’s attitude wasn’t intense, and the referee replied, "I only saw you elbow Thomas."

Zhang Hao looked at Kurt Thomas, who was being helped up by Moning and Rex Chapman, holding one leg with one hand and rubbing his chest with the other... Well, he accepted it.

Without further argument, Zhang Hao glanced at Kurt Thomas over there. Kurt Thomas seemed a bit smug now, finally finding a way to deal with Zhang Hao.

Tonight he used all kinds of small moves and close combat techniques, but with little effect. Now, he could only resort to more brutal actions,

whether it was hard strength or little tricks, any method would do. For Kurt Thomas, stopping the opponent was the most important thing, something Pat Riley constantly emphasized in his training.

Under Pat Riley’s training, "Dirty Kurt" had already begun to show signs.

Ignoring Kurt Thomas’s smug expression, Zhang Hao turned away from the referee, went to the center circle, and clapped his hands twice...

The referee was really surprised to see Zhang Hao’s calm demeanor. Generally speaking, when a rookie encounters an "unfair" call, it’s highly likely they’ll argue loudly in excitement. As a referee, he’s used to it, even rookies as mature as Jordan, Olajuwon, and David Robinson back then were like this.

But did Zhang Hao just express his doubts?

Obviously not, his purpose wasn’t to argue, but to confirm the referee’s scale of calling.

Teammates heard Zhang Hao clap and immediately gathered around.

On the court, when Zhang Hao clapped, it meant asking for the ball during offense or calling teammates together during a dead ball to say something.

"The scale of calling tonight is very lenient, and it became even more lenient after the last timeout. Confront where needed; it’s okay to be rough. Their offense isn’t as good as ours, and when we confront at their habitual intensity, we suffer. We need to raise the intensity to a higher level."

Increase the intensity even further!

Teammates looked at Zhang Hao calmly talking about raising the intensity to higher than the Heat with such coldness—it felt so strange—either our rookie doesn’t speak or he plays tough!

The implication in Zhang Hao’s words was clear to his teammates—they dare to double team and hit me, we’ll hit them back together!

However, although they felt this decision didn’t quite match their noble and cool Laker style, which man doesn’t have a bit of a violence gene in his DNA?

Ever since the start, the Heat’s rough confrontations had long annoyed the Lakers players!

...

Kurt Thomas paused for a moment, then stepped to the free-throw line. His talent for shooting was indeed good, and he quickly adapted to the confrontation after entering the NBA, making both free throws.

to 29, the Heat’s lead expanded to 4 points, greatly lifting their players’ spirits.

If they can establish a 6-10 point lead and maintain the confrontation, wearing down the opponent’s stamina and feel, they have a great chance of winning!

The Heat are not a tanking team; they strive to win every game. Although their record isn’t as good as last season’s, that’s just necessary adjustments. They never intentionally lose games; more losses are just a necessary process. By midseason, they’ve already become a team that gives any opponent a headache.

Lakers’ possession, Sedale-Srte advanced to the front court, passing the ball to Doug Christie.

No longer thinking about creating easier shots, as it’s no longer possible, Doug Christie called for a pick-and-roll with Zhang Hao. Using Zhang Hao to clear Rex Chapman out, Doug Christie forcefully attacked Kurt Thomas and hit a pull-up jumper!

Tough!

At moments like this, Zhang Hao always felt Doug Christie was more reassuring than Van Exel,

Now it was the Heat’s turn to attack, Koels just advanced to the frontcourt when he faced Doug Christie’s rough defense.

Gone was the noble and cool demeanor, Doug Christie’s defense was like he was ready to brawl, directly using his elbow in confrontations!

With solid basic defensive skills, good awareness, and now brutal moves, Doug Christie made Koels very uncomfortable!

Kurt Thomas quickly stepped out to screen for Koels, allowing Koels to break free from Doug Christie, with Zhang Hao now defending him.

Zhang Hao’s defense was average. Koels prepared to use speed and rhythm changes to break through. In terms of speed, Zhang Hao was fast, but Koels, as a small guard, was faster, with a speed rating of 93.

However, Zhang Hao didn’t give him space and pressed directly, pushing with his forearm at Koels’s chest!

Although Zhang Hao didn’t exert force deliberately, the confrontation made Koels stumble, and Zhang Hao seized the opportunity to poke at the ball that Koels hastily slapped back!

Zhang Hao immediately darted out, Koels couldn’t even pull him back!

The referee didn’t call Zhang Hao’s aggressive defensive move, and when Koels pulled on his jersey, tugging it out of his shorts, there was no whistle!

After Zhang Hao darted out and got the poked ball because it happened near the left arc top zone, "Single Rider" was at full throttle!

He rushed and grabbed the knocked-away ball, launching a counterattack!

At this moment, fans on the scene started cheering loudly!

Here we go!

Watching Koels desperately chase but unable to catch up with Zhang Hao, who was advancing with the ball, the crowd could no longer contain their long-suppressed emotions as the cheers erupted, deafening!