Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter 817 817 521 Back to the Beginning_3

?Chapter 817: Chapter 521: Back to the Beginning_3 Chapter 817: Chapter 521: Back to the Beginning_3 How often will a LeBron James, devoid of desire, appear?

Before he traveled through time, Yu Fei’s understanding of James was mainly from his time with the Lakers, which was already in his twilight years. Although he still seemed to possess the strength of a top 15 player in the League, it was far from his peak. He had to rely on things like nonverbal defense, launching fast breaks early, and staggering substitutions just to maintain stats comparable to those of his prime.

James’s desire to control the game was strong, and he was hungry for stats. Could a man who had self-proclaimed himself as the King since high school truly become devoid of desire for the sake of a championship?

This version of James was unfamiliar to Yu Fei.

After the timeout, the Lakers brought Kobe back in, while James took a rest on the bench.

On the Supersonics’ side, Coach Lu did not have the courage to substitute Yu Fei. He could only plead with Yu Fei to hang in there.

And Yu Fei simply said, “I have no problem.”

But whether there were problems or not, Yu Fei knew best.

If the team’s offense and defense were all shouldered by one person, and this person was not just the entirety of the offensive system but also faced with teammates’ poor shooting, then he had to expend even more energy in personal offense.

How long can this full-load consumption last?

Yu Fei gradually realized that he had made some unnecessary mistakes in the first half. When he realized that the referees were not in his team’s favor, he should have given up any pointless fantasies and focused primarily on individual offense. As for the performance of his teammates, he should facilitate when possible, and if not, he should give up.

Indeed, basketball is not a one-person sport, but on such an extraordinary night, one must do extraordinary things to change the course of battle.

Before taking over the game, he had already wasted too much energy on initiating breaks, activating tactics, and directing the positional battle, all while his teammates’ feedback was negative.

Now the situation was clear, he had to do it all by himself until the end.

After Kobe re-entered the game, Yu Fei’s offensive onslaught did not stop.

Even when Kobe displayed ferocity in offense greater than that of James, he struggled to widen the scoring gap.

The difference in scores between the two teams seesawed around the 5-point mark.

Kobe wanted to widen the gap, but Yu Fei’s aggressive offense said no.

During this period, Supersonics players, including Kevin Durant, couldn’t feel their presence.

They seemed unable to bring any help and could only play defense. However, due to the referees’ interference, even if they wanted to intensify the pressure, they couldn’t do it as freely as in the last game.

Therefore, their contribution on the defensive end was also minimal.

Durant did not want to disappear in such a confrontation, but deep down he knew that the only one who could save the team tonight was Frye.

Two minutes before the end of the first half, Durant blocked Kobe, Yu Fei picked up the ball and rushed to the frontcourt, hitting a trailing three-pointer, and the Supersonics closed the gap to just 2 points.

In the remaining two minutes, the Lakers tried repeatedly to pull away, but they couldn’t do it.

The two teams tugged back and forth, ultimately maintaining a 2-point difference at the end of the first half.

Yu Fei played the entire half, racking up 37 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists.

It seemed he might have a chance tonight to reach another 59 points, thereby achieving the feat of back-to-back fifty-point playoff games.

However, if they couldn’t win the game, it all meant nothing.

Coach Lu thought of countless words to praise Yu Fei, but in the end, the only thing he said was, “Our top priority is to get other people involved in the game.”

And Phil Jackson’s comment was harsh, “Tonight’s Frye is like the 80s MJ. I think he should understand that one person cannot do it alone.”

The halftime break gave Yu Fei a chance to catch his breath, but the question was whether he could sustain his first-half performance in the second half.

At the start of the second half, since the difference in scores was small, Yu Fei decided to give up the plan to go solo until the end and started looking for opportunities for his teammates.

The Lakers’ fierce double-teaming played right into his hands.

Durant got his chance at this time, not wanting to become Yu Fei’s burden.

The first ball of the second half, he made it.

Supersonics tied the game.

Was this the beginning of a turnaround?

No, it was the last time Supersonics supporters smiled tonight.

Afterward, James broke through to complete a three-point play.

Yu Fei misfired on a jump shot in the half-court set, and although he retreated quickly, Kobe instantly pulled up for a three-pointer from the outside and scored.

Durant dribbled for an isolation play – he didn’t realize how crucial this shot was, he just knew he had to make it good.

To be fair, he wasn’t wrong, and Yu Fei, who passed him the ball, wasn’t wrong either. Facing the Lakers with all their firepower online, if no second person stepped up, even if Yu Fei scored 80 points, it would be in vain.

Durant stepped up.

He shot over James and scored.

Then, Kobe responded with an isolation play of his own.

Yu Fei attacked the low post to return the favor.

Just when everyone thought the game’s focus was going to be on star players’ isolation plays, Richard Hamilton gave the Lakers a path to victory with deadly perimeter shooting.

Yu Fei and Durant could score; they were stars with outstanding one-on-one abilities. However, when a comparison of individual abilities between stars usually happens when, apart from the stars, the role players on both teams have lost their scoring ability.

If one side relies solely on star isolation plays while the other is utilizing its entire team, the outcome is hardly surprising.

Moreover, Durant’s success rate in isolation plays couldn’t compare to Yu Fei’s, and Yu Fei’s touch was not as good as in the first half.

By the end of the third quarter, the Supersonics were 14 points behind.