1+3! Zeng Fanbo made his debut! Booker’s foul sliding tackle shows NBA tough guy spirit

The wait is over, thankfully no one abandoned hope.

At the end of the second quarter, Zeng Fanbo entered the game and made his NBA preseason debut.

Perhaps out of excitement, Zeng Fanbo immediately committed two fouls, including a hard foul on Dillon, giving this NBA tough player a taste of CBA’s physicality.

To be fair, it was quite dangerous.

If Dillon hadn’t been considerate about playing in China, he likely would have exploded.

In the entire first half, Zeng Fanbo played 3 minutes and 6 seconds, but didn’t touch the ball once and mostly ran back and forth. However, as a 2.08-meter tall Chinese forward, his speed kept up with other NBA players, and he made a well-timed block on Dillon’s three-point attempt.

By the way, Zeng Fanbo recorded a steal, which happened when he successfully “ambushed” Dillon from behind before sliding to tackle him, though the ball was quickly stolen back.

At halftime, the Nets led the Suns 71-59. Booker, the biggest star, missed all his field goals under tight defense but scored 6 points from 7 free throws, along with 4 assists and 3 steals. Dillon shot wildly, making 6 of 15 attempts for 16 points.

Both the Nets and Suns showed great respect for the NBA China Games by playing their full lineups in the second half. Key players like Booker did not rest after the first half. In the third quarter alone, the Suns went on a 30-13 run, not only tying but overtaking the score at 89-84.

With about 3 minutes left in the final quarter, Zeng Fanbo got back on the court. He had a chance to handle the ball, but since that’s not his strength, he passed it out and stayed in the corner. On defense, he couldn’t contain his opponent and committed a crucial foul. The Suns tied the game at 121-121 in regulation, forcing overtime.

Zeng Fanbo played almost the entire overtime period,finishing with roughly 10 minutes of playing time but surprisingly never attempted a shot. His final stat line showed only 1 steal and 3 fouls, with all other stats at zero, and a plus-minus of -15.

The Nets lost to the Suns 127-132. The two teams will face off again in the China Games on October 12!