Charles Oakley isn’t like Kurt Thomas, a rookie still in his developmental phase—Charles Oakley is a true bruiser honed by Pat Riley over many years.

Everyone could see that when Zhang Hao tried to rely on his formidable strength that didn’t quite match his physique, Charles Oakley fought to hold his ground, ready to employ some sneaky moves... if that failed, he’d simply take Zhang Hao down.

No way would Zhang Hao continue to step over the New York Knicks’ dignity with his physicality!

But just as Charles Oakley was getting close, ready to press his thumb into Zhang Hao’s side, Zhang Hao made a plain and unremarkable spin move to bypass Charles Oakley!

Why was it unremarkable?

Because Oakley had the opportunity to step over to block Zhang Hao’s spin, and he had anticipated it.

However, because he was too close, when Zhang Hao spun left, he braced his arm, and his iron-like left elbow easily resisted Oakley’s movement!

Zhang Hao drove straight along to the basket on the left side of the paint, shooting a close-range floater...

The moment he released that shot, Zhang Hao felt incredibly in tune! He had never experienced such a wonderful layup before, so smooth to the core!

In the rebounding battle under the basket between the two, Zhang Hao’s floater went straight through!

This offensive play left his teammates feeling utterly amazed.

But all these were skills Zhang Hao had shown occasionally before, just never so perfectly.

His teammates speculated that perhaps in his anger, Zhang Hao was pushing his skills to the utmost.

One thing that his teammates found frightening—Zhang Hao gets colder the angrier he becomes!

A single spark can set off a blaze, a characteristic of Charles Oakley, which Zhang Hao effectively used to his advantage this time.

As the New York Knicks’ offense began, Zhang Hao scored 4 points right from the start, along with that blocked shot and gestured with his finger wagging—Ewing was utterly furious.

However, Ewing is Ewing, able to maintain a superstar level even at 33—naturally, his basketball intelligence is extremely high.

He decisively chose to head to the basket, temporarily abandoning team offense initiated by him, seeking opportunities for low-post isolation.

Though Ewing is known for his shooting, his low-post game is no less impressive, compared to Olajuwon, who’s more like a small forward, Ewing has always been seen as the technical model for center players.

As Ewing headed to the low post, Zhang Hao switched to defend Charles Oakley, and during Oakley’s screen for John Starks, Zhang Hao executed great off-ball defense, denying the opportunity for a low-post pass.

But this was precisely what Ewing wanted—all-out, unleashing gorgeous low-post footwork, avoiding Campbell’s block with a banked floater on target!

Truly impressive!

Zhang Hao imagined that himself in the low post facing Campbell would have struggled to pull off such an offense.

More comprehensive skills provide more options, an aspect Zhang Hao admits he’s not up to par with Ewing.

A person stands out by having self-awareness—Zhang Hao knew well, and continued to move to seek opportunities in the frontcourt, knowing the Knicks aren’t easy to deal with. Although tonight his stamina temporarily reached its peak, enhanced judgment in defense made him strive harder, and his stamina needed cautious allocation.

The Magician opted to use Anthony Mason, forcefully breaking through from the center, seeing the alignment of the opponent’s frontcourt trio, Zhang Hao circling the baseline swiftly analyzed possible offensive maneuvers and decisively opted to slip out from under the basket.

Charles Oakley, Ewing, and Anthony Mason exhibited superb defensive coordination—Ewing held firm under the basket preventing the Magician from driving directly inside—guarding against Campbell’s easy finishes, Charles Oakley responding to Campbell’s screen moved upward immediately, switching to the magician in front, when Zhang Hao sneaked out from the left side of the paint along the baseline, Anthony Mason pressed close to defend Zhang Hao from catching the ball for a mid-range shot.

Perfect coordination in trio defense!

Zhang Hao didn’t stop at his favored mid-range, continued moving, running to the left top arc!

The magician’s timely pass arrived!

Anthony Mason didn’t follow out but stayed within long two’s range to defend Zhang Hao stepping into the three-point line.

In Zhang Hao’s rookie season, he hit a total of 28 three-pointers, with 90 attempts—his rate was below thirty-three percent, though he had crucial three-point successes, his three-point ability was indeed mediocre.

Zhang Hao received the ball, adjusted, and with a push shot style released a three-pointer...

Anthony Mason immediately retreated to the basket, despite long playing as a small forward, averaging over 9 rebounds per game, he was still the Knicks’ best rebounder.

But his retreat was pointless!

Just outside the charge zone, Anthony Mason watched as Zhang Hao’s release hit nothing but net!

Seeing the ball drop into the basket, Zhang Hao blew on his hand expressionlessly, rejoicing within but showing a calm face retreating on defense.

This soaring feeling from the shooting, alongside the earlier spin floater—Zhang Hao deeply felt the ultimate pleasure of enhanced shooting!

Thinking it’s just one game... a bit of a pity, but immediately not anymore. Since it’s just one game to experience, then thoroughly enjoy it and make the most of it!

Additionally, the magician’s passing—Zhang Hao felt incredibly in sync! Tonight, even with his abilities temporarily lifted to a 94 rating, he still felt the magician’s passing provided immense support!

Zhang Hao began with a trifecta, securing 7 points in just two minutes—the Lakers kicked off their game with a 7 to 2 run.