Chapter 793 - 248: The Surprising Sensation Was Actually the Hairstyle (2)

After the Lakers vs. Bulls game, there’s another Christmas showdown: Pistons visiting Orlando, with Grant Hill vs. Anfernee Hardaway.

The league didn’t even put the defending champions Bulls’ Christmas showdown as the main event, but gave it to these two teams, showing how popular these two are, and also illustrating that the league is truly aiming to promote them.

Normally, even with the Lakers vs. Bulls game earlier, the Pistons vs. Magic Christmas showdown is definitely the game fans expect and media focuses on broadcasting and reporting.

However, just before this Christmas main event, a super crazy game occurred, making Grant Hill vs. Anfernee Hardaway seem so ordinary...

Grant Hill scored 29 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, while Anfernee Hardaway got 32 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists. The two teams were evenly matched, but in the end, Pistons relied on Joe Dumars’ deadly three-pointer to stretch the lead to 5 points, winning 105-100 away.

This, under normal circumstances, would definitely be focused on by media, and heatedly discussed among fans and on public platforms.

But tonight, this game could only become just a casual mention in the TV news’ regular coverage.

The previous three Christmas showdowns couldn’t even spark fans’ interest in their news.

After the Bulls’ third quarter offensive burst with 40-21, the Lakers countered even more fiercely in the final quarter, 47-30... ultimately, Zhang Hao’s 55 points narrowly bested Jordan’s 53 to lead his team to victory!

Zhang Hao’s hand was on fire in the final quarter, scoring a whopping 31 points; his performance was simply explosive!

TV hosts and experts analyzed Zhang Hao’s performance in the final quarter as being hot-handed.

No matter how you look at it, Zhang Hao was just hot-handed. There are many aspects that are hard to analyze directly.

For instance, the difference in dribbling; Zhang Hao’s usual dribbling isn’t bad and is excellent among big men. He can manage routine ball advancement and ball advancement during counterattacks. He also developed spin move drives this season.

Passing, this is more about awareness. Zhang Hao has had two triple-doubles. For a player, managing to get one triple-double in a season is already quite impressive, and his passing talent is recognized.

The difference in rhythm control... this is pretty mysterious...

This time, the Lakers defeated the Bulls, giving people a completely different feeling from when the Lakers defeated the Bulls last year.

Last year, Zhang Hao also helped the Lakers beat the Bulls, but at that time, no one considered the Lakers championship-level contenders. Without that terrifying stretch of a 20-1 record phase, last season’s Lakers would have taken 55 to 58 wins as normal with a regular winning rate.

Last year, only Zhang Hao was holding the scene; Van Exel and the current Magician were just second-line star players. Now, the Lakers have Kenny Anderson, O’Neal, and Barkley who took 25 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal seriously!

Zhang Hao’s 55 points, Barkley’s 25 points, O’Neal’s 19 points... these three frontcourt players combined for 99 points!

Aside from Zhang Hao’s insane 31 points in the final quarter and his scoring streak of 21 points starting from the middle of the final quarter without missing any shots, and the ultimate Lakers frontcourt lineup combining for 99 points... there’s another thing that went viral—Zhang Hao’s new hairstyle!

Since Zhang Hao appeared in public view, he’s been keeping a buzz cut, never changing it.

This game, Zhang Hao changed his hairstyle, into the kind of ordinary person hardly could pull off: the neck-length middle-part slick back!

That’s just the start; unexpectedly, Zhang Hao ran back to the locker room to put on a wig during the game’s midway...

Once Zhang Hao wore the wig, he went on a rampage!

Since it’s during a break and took only over two minutes to put the wig on, it can only mean one thing—Zhang Hao prepared the wig a long time ago!

...

Nowadays, even with the release of win97, and the United States starting the information superhighway construction since 92 coming into play, the channels for obtaining external information for people are still mainly TV and newspapers.

The next morning, all major sports channels and sports newspapers focused on reporting last night’s Lakers vs. Bulls game; only then did this game truly make the fans feel crazy.

But...

Zhang Hao, waking up in the morning wanting to enjoy his handsome face on the news, saw that newspapers and TV news focused mostly on his hairstyle...

Can’t you guys report sports news properly? (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

The most bitter thing is...

"Aix, when did you get the wig custom-made? The craftsmanship is just too good!"

Last night after returning to the hotel, Aprile Clark was tinkering with his wig; this morning she was still talking about it.

"So, I, Mr. Zhang, painstakingly played full 48 minutes to lead the team to victory, yet what people remember and care about is just that freaking wig?"

Zhang Hao was feeling indignant inside when Aprile Clark walked up to him, placed the wig on him, and carefully adjusted it...

Looking at Aprile Clark’s expression of awe, Zhang Hao resigned to fate.

Yes, it seems compared to the game, people are more interested in this...

"If being handsome is a crime, I’d probably be executed 300 to 500 times!"

Allowing Aprile Clark to tinker around, Zhang Hao stopped thinking about anything related to last night’s game.