After the chat, Xu Yong and Harden left home and went to DeRozan's house.

When they got there, DeRozan was about to go out.

"James?" DeRozan was stunned for a long time before speaking when he saw Harden.

They haven't seen each other since Harden went to Tempe, which is more than half a year.

What's more, Harden's beard has taken shape at this time, and he is completely different from before.

Harden went up and gave him a big warm hug.

Xu Yong could fully feel the intimacy of their relationship.

"Let me introduce you. This is my friend Xu. He is better at dunking than you." Harden introduced with a smile.

"Really? I don't believe it." DeRozan smiled and reached out to Xu Yong.

Unlike the impression that he was suffering from jade syndrome, DeRozan still looked very sunny at this moment.

"I'm Xu Yong, James' teammate." Xu Yong introduced himself.

"Don't disbelieve me, I'm ready to watch your dunk duel." Harden looked like he was enjoying the fun.

DeRozan and Xu Yong both smiled and shook their heads.

Xu Yong could fully feel that Harden's way of speaking was completely different from when he was in Tempe. On the one hand, he had relieved all the pressure after returning home, and on the other hand, he was very relaxed in front of his friends.

"Don't worry, once we enter the NBA, we can compete in the dunk contest," Xu Yong continued.

This statement surprised DeRozan.

"It's this expression. I had the same expression when I first met Xu." Harden said with a laugh.

After seeing Harden's reaction, DeRozan seemed to be thinking about it, and finally said with a smile: "Then it's settled."

Although he didn't know where Xu Yong's confidence came from, he knew that being able to become Harden's friend and being recognized by Harden meant it was definitely not just a show.

Because DeRozan still had to go to school for training, they didn't talk for too long. In his last year of high school, he had to do his best to get a good college offer.

But they have scheduled a game in the evening, and DeRozan will be there to support them.

…

At 8 o'clock that evening, the game between the Devils and the Bruins officially kicked off at the UCLA campus's home court, Poly Arena.

Unlike the Wells Fargo Arena, the Poly Arena is a serious quasi-NBA level arena that can accommodate 10,000 people to watch the game live, which is quite impressive.

When Xu Yong came out of the player tunnel, he felt that the atmosphere was indeed different from that in Tempe.

He couldn't help but look forward to the playoffs and the championships, especially the championships, which were held in huge venues of 50,000 or 60,000 square feet.

Harden was also searching the crowd at this time, and his eyes finally locked on Giles, Willis and DeRozan in the audience.

NCAA game tickets are not cheap, especially for a focus game like tonight, but fortunately players will get some, just not in large quantities and the seats won’t be very good.

Xu Yong also saw them and stretched out his hand to greet them.

But at this moment, he noticed the densely packed flags hanging above the stadium, among which there were ten flags of the championship alone!

It feels like there is a Himalaya standing in front of you.

"Can we do this?" Ayers blurted out at this moment.

Although they have been making great strides since defeating Stanford University and are no longer the bottom team they were in the previous two seasons, they have to face UCLA after all.

No matter how brave a cheetah is, it will feel fear when facing a lion.

What's more, they lost badly at home last time.

"Of course." Xu Yong and Harden said almost in unison, and then they both laughed at the same time.

For Harden, defeating Stanford only gave him a taste of victory. If he wants to truly experience it, he still has to defeat opponents like UCLA.

And the presence of his mother Willis gave him a reason to win.

For Xu Yong, as he once said to Harden, he will not be afraid of his opponents.

They failed to defend their home court in the last match. This time, their goal is to win the game back at UCLA's home court!

Ayers looked surprised, especially when he saw Harden's reaction.

However, when he carefully recalled Harden's performance in the past month, he also realized that the two freshmen on the team had gradually left him behind without him noticing.

If he doesn't work harder, he will become the "handle" of the trident!

"Yes, we can do it!" he said to the other team members, and even more so to himself.

After Ayers finished speaking, the players on the Devils team all turned their eyes to the players on the opposite side, the Bruins team.

Come on, let’s see if they are qualified to challenge the king of the Pac10 League now!

The opening ceremony began quickly, and when the Bruins came out, the cheers from the Los Angeles fans were deafening.

The background of the super wealthy families is overwhelming.

However, after the opening ceremony, the starting lineup of the Bruins surprised the Devils players.

Darren Collison, Josh Shipp, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Alfred Aboah, Kevin Love.

Aboya was the inside player who was dunked by Xu Yong in the last match. He was a substitute before that.

But that's not the point, the point is Westbrook? !

Is he injured?

Obviously not, he was there during the pre-match warm-up, and he was also wearing training clothes at that time.

After seeing this scene, Xu Yong suddenly became excited.

Westbrook's importance to the Bruins was clearly demonstrated in their last matchup.

The most basic point is that the Bruins' defensive counterattack is based on Love's long passes and Westbrook's fast breaks.

Now that Westbrook is not here, this move is greatly weakened.

Not to mention the threat Westbrook posed to the Devils' restricted area when UCLA passed and cut.

He didn't know why Bruins head coach Howland made the adjustment. Maybe it was because Westbrook was in poor form recently, or maybe it was to target their playing style in the last match.

But no matter which one it is, this gives the Devil team a huge opportunity, an opportunity to gain an advantage at the start!

"Guys, don't hold back at the beginning, let them feel the flame of our revenge!" Xu Yong raised his right fist.

"Come on! Devil Team!" The demons of the Devil Team also raised their hands high and roared from hell.

The game will start soon.

Ayers' blood boiled, he jumped high and passed the ball back to Glaser, and the Devils won the opportunity to attack first.

Harden's movement tied down the defense, and Ayers cut to the basket after a screen for Xu Yong. After receiving a pass from Glaser, he faced Aboya and attacked the basket hard to take the lead.

He doesn't want to be the "halberd holder"!

The Devils took the lead, and after retreating to the defensive end, they actually blocked UCLA's pass and cut.

This is partly because the Devils' defense was very active, and partly because Westbrook was not on the court.

After Ayers protected the defensive rebound, the Devils quickly launched a defensive counterattack. Harden rushed to the frontcourt, directly knocked Collison away and slammed the ball into the basket!

Just as Xu Yong requested, the Devil Team gave their all from the start.

The scene was in great turmoil.

The two coaches on the sidelines were also surprised and happy.

The reason why Howland made the starting lineup adjustment was similar to what Xu Yong guessed, but it was a combination of two considerations, including both the strategic level and Westbrook's condition.

But he never expected that the Devils would show such a strong desire to win from the start, which was completely different from the team a month ago.

Sandek was overjoyed, as he could clearly sense the players' desire from their body language, or what Xu Yong called the desire for revenge.

Either way, he felt the team looked completely different than it did a month ago.

Love overpowered Ayers in the low post and his shot caused Ayers to commit a defensive foul. An average person with his size would not be able to withstand it.

He made one of two free throws to help the Bruins score.

But looking back, Harden missed the outside shot, and Ayers and Xu Yong continued to attack the basket, which also caused Love to commit a foul!

There is a detail on the court that is easy to be overlooked. After the Bruins adjusted their lineup, Bamford became a small forward, and the person defending Xu Yong changed from him to Aboya.

Aboya was at a disadvantage in terms of speed, flexibility, and even confrontation.

Love was now in a situation where he was outnumbered.

Xu Yong adjusted his breathing and made two consecutive free throws.

Before the second free throw, he turned around and glanced at Howland on the sidelines. When he saw that Howland was holding his ground and did not make any substitutions, he was immediately relieved.

Seven minutes into the game, the score was 12 to 4, with the Devils taking the lead!

Before the first matchup with the Bruins, Xu Yong once told Harden that the chance to win was to get off to a good start.

It’s a pity that they didn’t do it in that game, but tonight, although it was late, they did it!