Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter 808 808 Untitled Section_4

?Chapter 808: Untitled Section_4 Chapter 808: Untitled Section_4 Damn bastard!

James was full of resentment. He hadn’t received enough support, nor had he been granted the ideal officiating he desired. Yu Fei’s tactical foul, in his view, was a malicious foul. The only reason the opponents dared to do this was that the SuperSonics had not yet reached the team foul limit for the quarter to warrant free throws.

James glared resentfully at Yu Fei, then took a mid-range shot with Hughes defending him, clanged it off the rim, and got hit on the counter.

Afterward, James’s drive was met with a double team, and in his panic, he passed the ball out only to find it in the hands of Miller, who was standing on the perimeter.

The next SuperSonics’ attack didn’t score, but their full team defense was in place, preventing the Lakers from having a fast break opportunity, forcing them to slow down. James tried directing the ball without creating any space, and ultimately, with the shot clock winding down near 24 seconds at the arc, he had to force the shot.

“Bang!”

“This is the worst clutch performance I’ve ever seen from a superstar in his prime!” Hubie Brown continued his sharp critique, “LeBron looks totally ineffective!”

On the flip side of James’s missed three-pointer was Yu Fei grabbing his 12th rebound of the game, shaking off James who was ready to foul him, and quickly stopping just beyond the three-point line in the frontcourt.

A chase-down three-pointer flew from his hand without waiting for anyone to settle into position.

Yu Fei couldn’t even be bothered to check if the shot went in, turning around to get back on defense.

Then—
“Swish!!!!!”

That shot sent tonight’s Lakers team packing.

They could rest easy now.

Phil Jackson requested a timeout with a look of desperation, knowing there was little he could do.

The third quarter hadn’t even ended, and Yu Fei had already racked up 45 points. He walked past James, with not even a hint of acknowledgment in his eyes for the other man.

Afterward, Yu Fei was subbed out until the fourth quarter, where he returned to the game to score five more points and thus fulfill the prophecy he made before the game.

The Lakers’ resistance in the final quarter wasn’t as strong as in the third. They knew the game was out of reach, so they put up but a slight fight before letting the game slip into garbage time.

At the final buzzer, the score was 119 to 95. The SuperSonics revenged themselves on their home court, washing away the Lakers with a 24-point victory, leading the series 2 to 1.

Post-game interview
“This game proved our ambition as the defending champions. We will not fall in the Western Conference,” Tyronn Lue said confidently, “No matter how hard it is, no matter how many obstacles there are, no matter who’s in front of us!”

Phil Jackson spoke solemnly about the loss: “From the outcome, we need to pay our respects to Seattle. It was a game worth reflecting on; we were thoroughly defeated. However, I believe we will bounce back like never before.”

“Frye is the best player in the world, but even the best players can’t always win games. The fight is not over.”—Chris Bosh viewed the upcoming games in this light.

“Substitute? Who hasn’t been a substitute? Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon!” Kwame Brown discussed tonight’s bench arrangement, “This was just a technical adjustment.”

“Without the support of my teammates, I couldn’t have played as I did tonight. Therefore, I have to pay tribute to my teammates, I have the best team in the world!”—Kevin Durant commenting on his own performance with 26 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists for the game.

“2 to 2.” Kobe Bryant expressed his determination to win the next game in a particular way, “That’s the series score we’re going to bring back to Los Angeles.”

“If it wasn’t for those vanilla calls, he would’ve scored under 20 points,” Ron Artest said, showing disdain for Durant’s performance. “Without his teammates providing him screens, there’s no way he could’ve scored double figures on his own.”

For LeBron James, tonight was a repeat of the first game of the Western Conference Finals.

Only this time, his performance was even more indefensible.

In a game the Lakers couldn’t afford to lose, he shot a mere 6 for 16 from the field.

Charles Barkley in the TNT studio went straight to the point after the game ended: “I urge Clevelanders to stop attacking LeBron, look at his performance, can’t you have a little sympathy for the guy? He didn’t betray you, he just wanted to save himself, what’s wrong with that? Tonight’s game proved that he will never be the Magic Johnson or the Michael Jordan of his era. At best, he’s a Scottie Pippen who looks better. He needs Kobe, just as Scottie needed Michael.”

The media naturally focused on asking James about his utterly failing ball-handling attack in the third quarter that led the team to a comprehensive defeat.

“I didn’t find the feel tonight, I will take responsibility for the loss,” James still had confidence in himself, “I can score on anyone’s head.”

“It’s just that tonight everything went wrong.”

For the Lakers, it was bound to be a bad night.

But Yu Fei was participating in the press conference with Alonzo Gee.

Gee was the SuperSonics’ surprise weapon in this game, starting and playing 24 minutes, scoring 11 points with 4 rebounds and 1 assist, including a fast-break dunk in the third quarter that brought the house down.

“Before the draft, not many people knew me. It was Frye who chose me. When the team didn’t know who to pick for the last spot, Frye said in the draft war room, ‘Hey, I think Alonzo Gee is pretty good.'” Gee recounted as if he had witnessed the moment, “I will never forget the moment I was drafted. I thanked God, hugged my mom, and then swore in my heart that I would never let this man (pointing to Yu Fei) down!”

Yu Fei was slightly moved by the reminiscence. A casual decision he had made back then had left such a tenacious man like Alonzo Gee feeling profoundly grateful.

He never asked for anything in return.

Gee’s success was the result of his own effort.

“I think you all saw how active he was on the court, he craves to perform, just as he craves to breathe. He deserves it,” Yu Fei said with a smile, “I hope you give him all the praise in tomorrow’s newspaper.”

Finally, someone asked Yu Fei about the prediction he made before the game started, telling Pau Gasol to let Kobe know he was going for 50 points.

“There’s nothing difficult about it,” Yu Fei chuckled, “you just need to score 45 points in the first three quarters, and then get 5 points in the fourth-quarter garbage time. It’s very simple.”

Scoring 50 points in the Western Conference Finals to lead the team to victory against a historic team like the Lakers, and Frye calls it very simple?

Alonzo Gee faced such insurmountable coolness and could only look on in silence.

That was a height he could only aspire to.