NBA: The Dynasty Crasher

Knicks' Offense

Before Zhao Dong even hit the paint, he called for the rock from Charles. He wanted that one back.

As he crashed toward the rim, Rodman stuck to him like glue. But just as he reached the basket, Zhao Dong hit a quick spin move, trapping Rodman behind him, and threw his hand up for the pass.

Charles was locked in, lobbed it right in.

Before the ball even touched his fingertips, Rodman threw an elbow into his lower back. Zhao Dong gritted his teeth, let out a grim smile. No flinch. No reaction. Just business. But here came Pippen sliding over from the left wing for the double-team.

Ball's in the air. Pippen's there too. Now he's trapped—front and back.

Then—boom! Zhao Dong hit a hard left turn, bulldozed his way past Rodman and Pippen, planted his right foot, and flicked up a hook shot.

"Bang!"

Just off. Short. The ball clanked off the rim.

Next second, Zhao Dong and Rodman launched up at the same time. Both hands fighting for that rebound. Rodman had the hops, but Zhao Dong had the muscle. He kept that air contact, threw his weight around, bumped Rodman mid-air, and tipped the ball toward his side.

Before his feet even hit the ground, he exploded back up, snatching the rock.

Then came the mind games—he faked like he was going up, got both Rodman and Pippen flying, then rose for real. Two hands. Power dunk. Slammed that thing right through both of 'em.

"Beep!"

Whistles. Contact. Foul.

"OHHH!"

Zhao Dong roared, clenched both fists. Hype as hell.

Ref came running in, pointed straight at Rodman. Shooting foul.

"Damn! Zhao Dong just put Rodman and Pippen on a poster! Two-for-one special!" Zhang Heli went crazy.

"Is that Rodman's second foul?" Sun Zhenping chuckled.

"Yup, yup." Zhang Heli confirmed.

Zhao Dong walked up to the free-throw line, let the ball fly—but damn, felt off right away.

Sure enough, it bricked. But Ewing wasn't having it. Snatched the board.

Reset. Charles took over, slowed it down.

Zhao Dong parked himself at the high post, hand up. He wanted it again.

Rodman rushed in—Pippen too. Another double.

Didn't matter. Zhao Dong hit a quick left pivot, bolted straight into the paint.

Luke Longley slid over to contest. Zhao Dong didn't even flinch—just dropped a slick dime to Ewing on the left block.

Longley turned to recover, Rodman stayed planted under the hoop, watching the left wing.

Ewing had options. But instead of taking the shot, he kicked it back to Zhao Dong.

And just like that—GO TIME.

The second the ball hit his hands, Zhao Dong hit a nasty crossover, blew right past Rodman, forced him back under the rim.

One step.

Two.

Then he launched.

"BANG!"

Tomahawk. Full extension. Right through Rodman.

Rodman hit the floor. Basket shook.

"F*!"**

Rodman snapped. Dude was heated.

Zhao Dong, grinning ear to ear, turned to Charles:

"Yo, you see how they just leaving me open? They ain't even tryna guard me. Feed me, man. It's free buckets out here."

Oakley damn near choked laughing. "Yo, this rookie wildin'."

Rodman? Pissed. "Damn rookie!"

Zhang Heli lost it. "ANOTHER ONE! Zhao Dong just clowned Rodman twice in a row!"

Over on the NBC broadcast, Doug Collins just shook his head. "Man… Zhao Dong's force is different. Rodman's tough, but he can't stop this dude one-on-one."

57-56, Knicks up by one. Bulls ball.

Jordan pulled up from three—bricked it. Rodman, still fuming, snatched the offensive board.

Jordan cut to the wing, got the kick-out, pulled up again. Splash.

Bulls back up.

Knicks' Possession

Zhao Dong worked his way inside, got the ball just below the free-throw line. Another double-team crashed on him instantly. He swung it to Ewing, then cut hard to the right block.

Ewing went for a turnaround fade—missed.

Oakley and Rodman went at it for the rebound. Ball got tipped—right into Zhao Dong's hands.

Didn't hesitate. No thinking. Just instinct.

One step. Full speed. Straight at Rodman.

"Ohhh, hell no!"

Rodman turned just in time to see a 6'9" freight train coming straight at him.

Too late.

Zhao Dong gathered, took flight, both hands on the rock.

Rodman barely got his feet planted before—

"BOOM!"

Rim got murdered. Basket damn near bent. Zhao Dong hung up there for a second, then came down hard—legs spread, knees to Rodman's chest.

"AWWWWWW!"

Rodman collapsed.

"...!"

The United Center went silent.

Rodman laid there, staring up at the rafters.

Zhao Dong just walked off like it was nothing.

Knicks bench? Going wild.

Even the Bulls' bench had some dudes holding back laughs.

Jordan? Just shaking his head.

The crowd finally reacted. Some groaned. Some gasped. Some just started laughing.

Because damn… Rodman just got bodied.

"…"

Even Jordan was caught off guard outside. Watching his teammate get bodied like that? Yeah, he didn't see that coming.

"Ohhh…"

The commentator on-site was straight-up speechless.

"Shh!"

Bulls fans went crazy, booing like hell, throwing up middle fingers left and right at Zhao Dong.

"Dennis, you good?" Jordan and the others ran toward Rodman.

"I'm gonna kill that kid!" Rodman shouted, getting up.

Zhao Dong smirked. "Man, I didn't even step over you like Pippen did to Ewing. You should be thanking me, dumbass."

Rodman lost it and tried to rush at him, but Jordan and the squad held him back.

"Get your ass back, dumbass," Oakley stormed in, ready to throw hands.

Rodman hesitated. Oakley wasn't just anyone—he was a straight-up enforcer. Back in Detroit, Rodman had pissed him off at a party and got smacked in the ear for it. He had no choice but to eat that L.

Then Zhao Dong pointed right at Pippen. "You're next. Be careful, man. I won't be as nice next time—I'll step right over you."

Pippen's face twitched. He knew exactly what Zhao Dong was talking about. If the Knicks got the chance, they'd humiliate him just like he did to Ewing.

Bulls inbounded the ball, and Phil Jackson immediately called for a timeout.

Meanwhile, back in New York, Knicks fans were losing their minds.

Ewing was their franchise guy, and seeing him get clowned by Pippen had been tough. But now? Zhao Dong had just served up a poster dunk that had Bulls fans dead silent. Sure, it wasn't Pippen under him, but it didn't matter—the payback was real.

That dunk? It just made New York ride for Zhao Dong even harder.

Third Quarter – Warzone

Rodman cranked up the physicality. His defense got nasty, and he started throwing sneaky elbows, cutting down Zhao Dong's efficiency. He even baited him into another foul.

Tried to get in his head with some trash talk too, but Zhao Dong wasn't having it. If anything, he clapped back with his own fire, and after a few rounds, both of them just stopped talking.

By the end of the third, the score was deadlocked: 77-77.

Zhao Dong's Third Quarter Stats:

FG: 3-6

FT: 3-4

PTS: 9

REB: 3

AST: 1

FOULS: 2

Total Stats After Three Quarters:

FG: 10-15

FT: 9-11

PTS: 29

REB: 8

AST: 3

STL: 1

BLK: 3

TO: 1

FOULS: 4

Locked In for the Fourth

Sitting on the bench, Zhao Dong broke down his numbers. He still needed:

17 points, 5 rebounds over Rodman

Another dunk on Rodman

And to keep Rodman's rebounds under 13 (max 12 allowed)

The system's challenge was 40 points and 10 rebounds over Rodman, so the second-quarter stats didn't count. Right now, he had 23 points and 5 boards against him.

He got the Bulls' stat sheet—Rodman had grabbed 6 boards in two quarters. And that was with Zhao Dong going all out to limit him. Rodman's rebounding was insane. If he were fully healthy, it'd be even worse.

"Alright, keeping him under 13 boards should be doable. But dropping 17 and 5 on him in the fourth? Gonna be tough. But hey, dude's not 100%—he might gas out in crunch time. Let's go all in."

Then he checked Jordan's numbers. Damn.

MJ was cooking.

3rd Quarter: 5-8 FG, 2-4 3PT, 2-3 FT

Quarter Points: 14

Total Points: 45

That was 58% of the Bulls' total points. If he kept this up, Jordan was about to drop 60+ tonight.

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