Chapter 376: Who Can Resist Sizzling Lamb Skewers?

"Li Pei!"

Thibodeau called out to Li Pei and said, "Go sub in for Asik."

Everyone on the Bulls, from the coaching staff to the players, knew that Li Pei was Wade Dong's brother, so his teammates were polite to him. With Rose's support, the team was also intentionally nurturing Li Pei.

The training in the NBA was more systematic, and with Li Pei's hard work, he underwent a transformation within a year. He now got around five minutes of playing time per game, averaging 2.1 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 0.6 assists.

Wade Dong was supposed to take a rest, but when he saw Li Pei on the court, he decided to stay in the game.

Li Pei and Wade Dong were the same age but a year apart in school.

They were teammates at Beijing University for three years. Li Pei had decent talent, standing at 203cm tall with good speed and athleticism; he just had a weight problem.

After all, most people in college were carefree, and if they weren't aiming for a professional basketball career, they wouldn't bother with serious training.

Now, almost a year into his NBA career, Li Pei had received the most systematic training, including weight loss training, strength training, and one-on-one drills. With his relentless efforts over the past year, his shooting ability had improved significantly.

It could be said that at this point, if Li Pei were to return to the CBA, he would dominate as well.

"I'll guard him!"

After Li Pei received a pass from Gibson at mid-range, Wade Dong signaled Carter to move aside, as he wanted to guard Li Pei one-on-one.

Fate had brought them together!

Neither of them had expected to face each other in the NBA.

In fact, after Li Pei joined the Bulls, the Suns had already played against them twice, but both times, Li Pei only played during garbage time when Wade Dong was already resting.

"Boss, I'm much stronger now!"

Li Pei said, then turned his back to Wade Dong, made a half-turn, and lifted his wrist as if to shoot.

"Huh?"

Li Pei was clearly taken aback when he saw that Wade Dong didn't react to his fake shot.

During intra-squad scrimmages, when Li Pei made a fake shot against Asik's defense, Asik would usually react. It was unlike Wade Dong, who seemed to see right through his moves.

"Is that all?"

Wade Dong smiled, swiped the ball out of Li Pei's hands, and then dribbled down the court, blowing past Butler for a dunk.

...

The first quarter ended.

Rose noticed Li Pei's dazed expression and consoled him, "You did great. You're guarding the league's strongest player. Do you know how many players lose their courage to even attack when facing Wade Dong?"

"So, Dongge is already this strong..."

Li Pei's bedroom was still adorned with a poster, but it wasn't of James, Kobe, or Jordan; it was of Wade Dong!

He watched Wade Dong's game footage every day, but it wasn't until he faced him on the court that he realized how much his brother had transformed since their university days!

The boss who dominated the CUBA scene was now dominating the NBA as well!

...

Wade Dong returned to the game five minutes into the second quarter.

With five minutes left in the third quarter, the Bulls trailed by 30 points.

The Suns subbed out their starters.

Li Pei got another chance to play.

...

The referee blew the whistle, signaling the end of the game.

Final score: 109-74!

The Suns crushed the Bulls by 35 points at home.

After this game, the Suns had won 20 consecutive games and were on the verge of breaking their franchise record for the longest winning streak.

Game stats:

Wade Dong: 29 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks.

Durant: 23 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block.

Curry: 17 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks.

Li Pei: 11 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 0 steals, 0 blocks.

Rose: DNP

Although the Bulls lost to the Suns, this game marked Li Pei's third double-digit scoring performance since joining the NBA, indicating his gradual adaptation to the league. Wade Dong also noticed Li Pei's progress.

For a CUBA player to score in the NBA was already an achievement that most professional players in China couldn't attain. If Li Pei continued to improve, he might become another valuable asset for Wade Dong in the next Olympic Games.

...

The Phoenix night was a bit stuffy.

When Li Pei arrived at a beer garden filled with barbecue stalls, he exclaimed, "There are barbecue stalls here?"

"Chinese food culture is everywhere."

Tian Zhen joked, "We often joke that this place is like Hebei Province's Phoenix City."

In the past two years, Wade Dong had not only brought two championship trophies to Phoenix but also a cultural influence. The Phoenix citizens quickly embraced Chinese cuisine.

"Do you come here often?" Li Pei asked.

"I come here frequently, but Wade Dong and the others don't come as often," Tian Zhen replied.

Unlike China, there were hardly any customers at this hour, around 10 p.m. If Tian Zhen hadn't called ahead, the owner was about to close up.

The owner set up the grill outside and greeted Wade Dong with a wave, "Long time no see, Dongge."

"Hello, Boss Xu," Wade Dong greeted the owner.

There were only two long tables left outside, and Wade Dong's group took one.

The owner was Chinese and spoke with a Northeastern accent. He brought over the freshly grilled skewers and noticed Rose, saying, "Isn't this the famous Rose? Welcome, welcome!"

"Huh?"

Although Rose couldn't understand, he sensed that the owner was greeting him and smiled in response.

Of course, the owner could speak English, but he was more comfortable speaking Chinese with Wade Dong's group, so he greeted Rose in Chinese as well.

After the greeting, the owner returned to the grill, not realizing any issue.

"Eat while it's hot," Tian Zhen said, distributing the skewers to Li Pei and Rose and asking the owner to bring a case of ice-cold beer, which he placed on the table.

Li Pei swallowed hard, pushed the meat skewers aside, and said, "You guys go ahead. I just wanted to chat with Dongge since it's been a while."

"I just recovered from an injury, so I can't eat these either," Rose said, also pushing the barbecue away.

"Really?" Wade Dong picked up a lamb skewer and took a bite, chewing as he spoke, "It's delicious."

Li Pei swallowed repeatedly, knowing how tasty it was, but his diet was extremely disciplined, and he avoided sugary foods, let alone barbecue.

Wade Dong opened a beer and asked, "Can you at least drink beer?"

"Having a glass shouldn't be a problem..."

Neither Rose nor Li Pei refused the beer.