Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 584 421 He Does Not Fear Me

"Through the first four games of the series, the Supersonics and the Celtics are even-steven. Tonight, the crucial Game 5 continues at Seattle's Key Arena. Jeff, Mark, before the game starts, what are your thoughts on tonight's matchup, and what are your expectations for both teams?"

ESPN's classic trio, Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, and Mark Jackson, have arrived on site, with Breen energetically posing the question to Van Gundy and Jackson.

"I think the Supersonics are in top form. In the two games in Boston, only Frye managed to stand out. Back in Seattle for the first game, Brandon Roy began to make an impact, and in the second game in Seattle, even a youngster like Kevin Durant shined. We have every reason to believe that the Supersonics can pull off a triple win at home, but the Celtics, I think their problems are much more complex,"

Jeff Van Gundy quickly responded.

Then Mark Jackson chimed in. Due to Van Gundy's leaning toward Seattle, for the show's effect, Jackson naturally sided with Boston, a common arrangement with no personal sentiment involved.

"Kevin Garnett needs to get 'into' the game tonight," Mark Jackson said, "If you only look at the Celtics' away games, you could almost compare KG with Elvin Hayes, there's no doubt, KG performs poorly on the road. Boston tends to have problems when KG isn't in form. As the Finals' most outstanding inside line, the Celtics need his dominance on the inside; it's key to their winning on the road."

"Alright, thanks for the insightful commentary from you both, now let's turn our attention to the court." As Breen took control, ESPN also focused its cameras on Key Arena's front row of celebrities. "The attention this game has garnered has already surpassed the average level of the Finals, we can see that it's not just Seattle's mayor, the wealthy, and the celebrities who are here, even Hollywood stars have shown up in numbers."

The camera showed Spike Lee, then Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Of note, since Yu Fei has expressed his admiration for Winslet on several occasions, the Hollywood superstar is also present tonight, wearing No. 44 of the Supersonics in support of Yu Fei. Besides them, there were also celebrities from the music and fashion worlds.

Of course, Bill Simmons, who had already been to two consecutive games, was there again tonight.

The sparkling Key Arena made Supersonics owner Clay Bennett feel compelled to take the stage for a speech before the game began.

As Bennett was watched by the entire arena, he realized that gathered here were the most influential people from all walks of life, and he felt an incredible sense of pride.

If the Supersonics were to move to Oklahoma, such a spectacle would be something he could never experience in his life.

Of course, ESPN wouldn't focus its cameras on Bennett, who was about to show off on the court. The camera turned first to the visiting team's locker room, where the pig-headed coach was routinely motivating his players.

"Forget all those messy noises, guys!" Rivers began with a motivational coach's demeanor. "We need to focus solely on the victory. I know we're going to face issues, but our focus must always be on winning. When we encounter problems, you shouldn't put all your hopes on our Big Three. Instead, you should think, 'What can I do to help my team?' Ultimately, we must compete, we must stay focused, from now on, nothing is worth your attention except for victory!"

The camera then turned to the Supersonics' locker room.

"Our plan is simple," Yu Fei said. "Win tonight's game, and then win the championship in Game 6."

ESPN's cameras faithfully captured Yu Fei's comments.

But the NBA Entertainment crew, which had been following the Supersonics for half a year, captured even more.

Yu Fei also said, "Because we cannot expect a team that has won fourteen consecutive home games to lose their last home game."

Note: If the Supersonics lose Game 6, the Celtics would achieve a streak of fourteen home victories.

Soon, both teams came to the court to warm up, with the DJ announcing the starting lineups.

For the Supersonics, the starters were the usual suspects.

But the Celtics replaced Rondo with Sam Cassell in the starting lineup.

Nowadays, Cassell's main advantage over Rondo is his mid-to-long range shooting threat, but Rivers made this change because Rondo being left unguarded in the opening was the main reason the Celtics lost their rhythm at the start of the past two games.

Yu Fei walked onto the court and greeted the night's head referee.

The head referee for tonight was the familiar Steve Javie.

This was advantageous for the Celtics, as the game was likely to be called with a loose touch.

"Mr. T, it's always a pleasure to see you." Although Yu Fei would have liked to kick this man flying, he kept a smile on his face. "How's it going lately?"

Javie, stern-faced, said, "Don't try to cozy up, Frye, you won't receive any preferential treatment."

"That's alright, I know you're the fairest referee in the league," Yu Fei said. "Neither to my advantage, nor to my opponent's."

Javie's expression remained unchanged: "Of course."

What Javie really thought would reveal itself only once the game started.

At the jump ball, Kwame Brown timed his leap perfectly, winning the opening possession for the Supersonics.

Roy caught the ball and instantly saw that the Celtics were poorly positioned, so without waiting for anyone else, he launched an attack by himself, charging into the paint for a layup — Garnett jumped up to block with force.

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But he was a little too late; Garnett went for the block on a ball already on its way down, resulting in goal-tending.

2-0.

The Celtics were very steady.

That was also the influence of Cassell, who wasn't as controlling or aggressive as Rondo.

It was just the start of the game, and everyone was getting a feel for it, so there was no need to go all out just yet; hence Cassell passed the ball to Garnett.

Garnett, facing Marion, didn't hesitate, giving him a hard shove, then turning for a jump shot.

Still that same lottery-style offense.

But this was precisely why Kevin Garnett stood out in the finals; his post-fadeaway shooting percentage might have been inconsistent, but every game he could take that shot without fear of being blocked—a trait neither Brown nor Marion possessed.

Tonight, Garnett scored on his first attempt.

2 to 2

"Bring it on!" Garnett pounded his chest defiantly, "Let's see which bastard can guard me!"

Kwame Brown, watching this, thought the situation was dire. Was the pushover who had been sent packing in two consecutive away games about to turn the tables this evening?

"Seems like he's forgotten who knocked him out of the game the day before yesterday?" Brown yelled, "Big Fei, give me the ball!"

Yu Fei had a bad feeling since tonight's head referee was Javie, who wasn't known for blowing the whistle easily.

But Roy passed the ball to Brown.

Unfortunately, Brown wasn't facing off against Garnett; guarding him was David Lee, an undersized center better at offense than defense.

Brown, bursting with confidence, decisively made his move. Lee's defense kept falling back, and ultimately, Brown backed him down to the most dangerous spot, only to have his shot blocked by Garnett from behind right as he released it.

This time, it wasn't goaltending.

But Garnett, having come over to help, also lost his position for the rebound, and Marion snatched the offensive board and immediately stuffed it back to Brown.

Brown let out a roar as he forcefully scored over Garnett.

"Have the guts to guard me face-to-face!" Brown taunted Garnett with bloated pride.

Garnett retorted aggressively, "You're nothing but a paper tiger, I could guard you with one hand tied behind my back!"

Brown, infuriated, turned to Yu Fei while getting back for defense and said, "Big Fei, that dog doesn't even consider me, a championship center, worthy of his attention. Don't you have anything to say about that?"

Kwame Brown, who had stood over Duncan and hammered Shaquille O'Neal in the past two years, and made light work of Nowitzki, wouldn't be afraid of Garnett, would he?

One might think so, but after all, he was only the first choice interior player in the Cyber League.

"Next time I get the ball, set a screen for me!"

When Brown saw Big Fei was about to take action, he felt reassured and cried out in agreement, "Okay, okay, okay!"

Garnett was the kind of player whose offensive confidence soared if he could make his shots.

Having barely crossed half-court, he ignored Marion and went straight for Brown, demanding a position by calling, "Sam!"

The man and the ball arrived simultaneously.

Garnett caught the ball and turned to face the basket, ready to teach Brown how he used to moonlight as a small forward with the Timberwolves, when Pierce prepared to take Yu Fei away.

But to everyone's surprise, Yu Fei suddenly stopped halfway, turned around, and double-teamed Garnett.

Caught off guard, Garnett lost the ball to a swipe from Yu Fei.

"Big Fei!!!!!"

Garnett was livid—if not for Yu Fei's interference, wouldn't he have crushed Brown?

In a rage, Garnett sped back in defense, his immense talent sparking to life in that moment.

Seven feet tall, he had lost some agility after putting on weight, but his straight-line speed was still comparable to that of athletes like Yu Fei in their prime.

Garnett was fuming, ready to teach Yu Fei a lesson. Unexpectedly, Yu Fei channeled his inner Kobe just inside the free-throw line, delivering a fierce elbow to Garnett out of the referees' view before slapping the ball backwards and no-look bounce-passing it behind him.

No one cared about the inexplicable scream from Garnett as Kwame Brown, arriving on the scene, caught the ball mid-air and forcefully dunked over Garnett's body with both hands.

"!#@#￥%"

Yu Fei, the chief instigator, was already running back to their half of the court, leaving Kwame Brown shouting over Garnett, who was in pain, "When I was busting Tim Duncan's chops, you couldn't even make the playoffs. Don't think just because you've latched onto Paul Pierce's coattails you can get uppity with me. Remember, I'm the league's top center!"

From a distance, Yu Fei watched Garnett seethe while Brown jogged back as if nothing had happened.

"Feel good?" Yu Fei asked.

Brown replied, "Not enough, we need to push harder, or he won't have any respect for me!"

Brown's pathological boasting was undoubtedly a psychological disorder, but the strange thing was, Brown didn't act haughty with ordinary centers. It was as if showing off in their presence was beneath him, an act too lowly. He seemed to enjoy posturing in front of those centers with far higher status than his.

The higher the rank of his opponent, the more enthusiastically he played the part.

In a few possessions, Garnett had become the second Jermaine O'Neal; he would never let Brown off the hook.