Before his teammates could pull him up, he stood up straight away, causing the fans at the scene to gasp in amazement.

"This Chinese player, does he know martial arts?" A black girl with heavy makeup was so surprised that her mouth was as big as Guo Furong and Angel Baby.

Under the surprised gaze of his teammates, Xie Kai walked to the free throw line.

Xie Kai made two free throws steadily, narrowing the point difference to only 3 points!

The Rockets replaced Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady during the timeout.

The game continues.

On the Rockets' side, Artest received the ball from the right wing, and the man defending him opened the ball.

The weight gap between the two is huge, and they are not of the same weight class at all. Not that the Kings want to do this, but they can't let Bobby Brown, who is less than 190cm tall, go against Artest, right?

"It seems that Kenny has no choice but to let Kane go against Ron!" Bill Worrell said with a smile.

"Sacramento's second team doesn't have a wing player with a size that can match up to Ron. Compared to Bobby, Kane still has the height and wingspan," Barkley added.

Artest didn't know Xie Kai before, but he also knew that the other party was one of the bargaining chips in his trade. He smiled and greeted Xie Kai with trash talk: "Hey, little boy, you eat more, and you will come back with more meat."

Fight me! I'm afraid I'll push you back to China!"

"Then you're still standing there bragging, why don't you come over and back me up?" Xie Kai was not polite and immediately counterattacked.

"Okay, just wait!" Artest put away his smile and simply and roughly forced a breakthrough with his right hand!

Xie Kai's lateral movement was very fast and he did not lose his position.

In recent years, Artest has also lost his speed since he lost weight to James. Of course, he has never been known for his speed since he was a rookie.

Artest did not rush over or change his attack method, but tried to use his strength to push the opponent forward.

Rockets fans at the scene shouted excitedly: "Ron, crush him! Ron, use your big butt to push him out!"

Xie Kai stepped back and reached for Artest's exposed ball.

Artest's weight is close to that of James, but his ability to protect the ball cannot be compared with that of his opponent. Originally, he was not a forward with excellent ball-handling ability. His foothold in the league is still his defense.

Artest almost lost the ball. After he got the ball back, he adjusted his thinking, immediately turned his back, and then used his strength to push in.

Xie Kai's reaction was not slow at all. The moment the opponent turned his back and exerted force, he fell backwards and slid 3 meters away on the floor.

——This ball, he has the element of diving, but it is true that he can't withstand it. It's true, it's false, it's true.

The referee's whistle sounded - Artest committed an offensive foul!

Artest spread his hands, looked at the referee innocently, and complained to the referee that he had not committed a foul.

The referee ignored it. Poor Artest had committed two fouls and had to be replaced by Battier, who had just left the game.

"Ron has only been on the court for less than 2 minutes, and he has already committed two fouls, both of which were committed on Kane. I wonder if this is God's will?" Bill Worrell said.

"Ron underestimated Kane a little. This rookie is not the kind of young man who is single-minded. He is cunning!" Barkley said.

Artest angrily walked past Xie Kai, paused, and said viciously: "You kid fell, just wait for me, I will come up and blow you up later!"

Xie Kai was not polite: "We'll talk about it when you come up. Stop bragging now!"

The reason why Xie Kai was rude to Artest was, firstly, because it was the opponent who provoked him first; secondly, because he was the bargaining chip of the other party in the transaction. Although the transaction was not something Artest could decide, if Artest had not wanted to leave the team, maybe none of this would have happened.

will happen.

In the next minute or so, neither team made any small plays, and the first quarter was over.

At the end of the first quarter, the Rockets, playing at home, led the Kings by 3 points, 28:25.

Xie Kai made 1 of 2 shots in the first quarter, including 0 of 1 3-pointers, and all 2 free throws. He scored 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Artest played again for the Rockets.

Bobby Jackson dribbled over, and the frontcourt defense changed from Hyde just now to Artest.

"Chinese boy, I'm eyeing you. I want to see if you can score under my defense!" Artest said proudly. His defensive ability ranks among the best in the entire league.

When he was with the Pacers, he even won the Defensive Player of the Season award!

"Charles, Ron is starting to defend Kane!" Bill Worrell said excitedly.

"Ron actually defended a rookie with all his strength. It seems that he suffered a loss on Kane just now and made him angry!" Barkley doesn't take it too seriously. He is a leader who likes to join in the fun.

Xie Kai's offensive method is mainly off the ball, and he is active, fast and flexible. This is a test for Artest, who is heavier. He has excellent single defense and sufficient strength. In fact, he is very suitable for defending like

Small forwards with outstanding strength such as James and Anthony.

But the best defensive player is not a person who just lives up to his reputation. If he is serious, even if he is off the ball, he will defend well and squeeze past the screen. He is not afraid of opening up to catch the ball. His principle is not to

Give open shots a chance. If you want to catch the ball and hit the ball in isolation or make a strong shot, feel free to do so.

After playing two rounds, Xie Kai did not get a good offensive opportunity. However, on the defensive end, his "death entanglement" on Artest also prevented the opponent from getting an offensive opportunity.

"Haha, Bill, it seems Ron and Kane are going to have a fight!" Buckley opened his mouth wide. He liked to see this kind of conversation.

The matchup between Xie Kai and Artest brought the rivalry between the two teams to a new level. The Kings were limited in strength, but their second lineup had energetic rookies and veterans, which made them worthy of their opponent.

When the main lineups of both sides returned, the scores of the two teams were actually the same.

It's just that the Rockets' main lineup led by Yao Mai still has a clear advantage against the Kings' main lineup without Kevin Martin.

At the end of halftime, the Rockets led their opponents by 6 points, 52:46.

Xie Kai played 9 minutes and 11 seconds in the half, making 1 of 4 shots, including 0 of 2 3-pointers, and all 4 free throws. He scored 6 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.

During halftime.

"Kane, is there any problem with your physical fitness?" Kings coach Kenny Knight asked. Obviously, he believes that playing against an opponent dozens of kilograms heavier than himself for a long time will consume a lot of physical energy.
Chapter completed!