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On November 15th, the Lakers welcomed the Utah Jazz, with whom they had a deep rivalry, to their home court.

This game was broadcasted nationwide, attracting a lot of attention due to the grudge between Zhang Hao and Malone.

However, the course of the game was unexpected.

It was midway through the season when most teams were worn out, yet the Lakers, having gone through trades and with their legendary star back, were in excellent physical condition.

Doug Christie and Donyell Marshall stepped into form one after another, Doug Christie averaged 13.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.2 steals per game after joining the Lakers, and Donyell Marshall averaged 1.1 three-pointers and 0.9 blocks per game, grabbing 8.2 points on average.

The Magician was averaging 15.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 7.2 assists.

The Lakers were prepared to face the Jazz’s challenge, and during the game, Malone played for 37 minutes, hitting 6 out of 20 shots and only making 6 out of 12 free throws, finishing the game with just 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Stockton played for 30 minutes, hitting 2 out of 9 shots, with free throws at 3 out of 2, achieving only 6 points and 7 assists.

Despite Chris Morris and Horace scoring 23 and 21 points respectively, both scoring over 20+, it couldn’t compensate for the slump in Karl Malone and John Houston Stockton’s performance.

In the end, the Lakers, led by Van Exel’s 28 points, Zhang Hao’s 25 points, and bench player Doug Christie’s 26 points, with the trio all scoring over 25+, easily defeated the Jazz 116 to 100, securing their 12th consecutive win!

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Lately, the Lakers’ performance has been astonishing!

Los Angeles, the Lakers, they are playing so well, they’re making headlines every day.

The constant headlines were making Zhang Hao, who always analyzed calmly post-game, a bit fearful...

Indeed, this winning streak is unbelievable.

In recent games, he reviewed post-games and concluded that they weren’t actually that good.

There were always many unexpected factors influencing the game’s outcome.

Like when playing the Rockets, the opponent had star players missing; in the game against the Clippers, both teams had players stepping up simultaneously; against the Jazz, Karl Malone and John Houston Stockton were in a slump...

After finishing the game against the Jazz, the Lakers’ record turned to 30 wins and 8 losses. They now had 4 days of rest from the 16th to the 19th and the next game wouldn’t be until the 20th, which is the last home game of the month against the East’s formidable Cavaliers.

On the 16th, Zhang Hao trained alone for a day on back footwork and turnarounds, taught by Pierce. On the 17th, the Magician and James Worthy joined, and Zhang Hao continued his defense training.

There were no issues during training, but outside of it, the Magician noticed the perpetual anxiety on Zhang Hao’s youthful face.

The Magician grabbed a sports drink and handed it to Zhang Hao, saying, "What’s wrong, our best rookie in history? You’re playing so well, averaging 26 points a game; why the worried look?"

Listening to this, Zhang Hao pointed at the Magician and said, "Finals MVP in your rookie season."

The Magician was taken aback, laughing, "Haha, I was just lucky then. Without Kareem, there’s no way I could’ve gotten the FMVP in my rookie season."

Zhang Hao shrugged, noncommittal.

This insightful rookie... The Magician shifted topics, asking, "Is there something bothering you?"

It’s good having seniors to consult. Zhang Hao asked, "Our recent form is too good, a 12-game winning streak..."

The Magician was puzzled by the question swirling in his mind, "What’s wrong with us being in good shape?"

"Uh..." Zhang Hao was stumped by the question.

Right!

What’s wrong with being in good form?

Scratching his face, Zhang Hao awkwardly tried to articulate, "But we don’t seem like a team that can clinch the top spot in the West. What if our performance declines and our record drops later on...?"

His words faltered.

"Hahaha..." The Magician hadn’t anticipated Zhang Hao wrestling with this, chuckling for a while before responding, "Who worries about losing while they’re on a winning streak? Shouldn’t we be trying to win more games while we’re in good form?

Leave tomorrow’s concerns to tomorrow—I’m almost 37 and don’t worry as much as you do. You’re just 19, why worry about all this? Isn’t winning enjoyable?

While we’re winning, enjoy the happy times as much as possible!

Lakers fans aren’t easy to please, there’ll be plenty of criticism when the losses come!

Of course, your concerns are valid; we’re indeed not good enough yet, but we can strive to get better!

Because we have you!"

Silently, Zhang Hao realized that his anxiety was somewhat foolish.

Does anyone really see them as a title-contending team? He didn’t even see himself and the Lakers as a championship team...

"Since we aren’t really a championship team, why worry so much? Silly—keep training!"

Recalling the Magician’s last words, Zhang Hao decisively stood up.

"I’ve rested enough, let’s continue training! Magician, we have two more days off; can we train more today?"

"More training is fine, but hold on a second! My old bones can’t take your wear and tear..."

Despite saying that, the Magician got up.

Recently, Zhang Hao’s footwork has shown significant improvement, and the Magician must take things more seriously.

This extra training also allows the Magician to enter peak condition more quickly. It’s becoming increasingly challenging to easily dominate Zhang Hao one-on-one!

Another day of training passed, and by 10:50 PM, Zhang Hao turned off the TV, ready for bed.

Suddenly, text flashed across the screen!

"Special contracted player Zhang Hao’s team has achieved a 12-game winning streak and has sparked intense hostility from the league’s strongest player, Michael Jordan. The task ’Mark of Glory 2’ triggered..."