Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 586 423: The Greatest Master of the Stadium

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The battle at King of the Hill's first quarter had all the elements that people wished for.

Star performances, with Yu Fei scoring 14 points in a single quarter, while on the Celtics side, the Big Three each had their moments.

The Celtics finally shed their inability to play well in away games—or rather, it was the referee team led by Steve Javie that unlocked their shackles.

Javie was known for encouraging physical play, which suited the Celtics, who liked to engage in body contact.

In the latter half of the first quarter, Red, the secondary attacker, started to perform strongly thanks to Yu Fei's initiative, and the Supersonics gained a lead that lasted until the end of the quarter.

29 to 26

The Supersonics were ahead by 3 points.

However, there was a shadow over the Supersonics' advantage.

Kwame Brown, who had started off actively, was already burdened with two fouls, Marion had one foul, and the substitute Nick Collison also committed two fouls.

The paint is considered a high-risk area on the court, and if a player isn't an absolute star, the paint can, to some extent, be considered consumable.

They need to risk incurring numerous fouls in the fray.

The problem for the Supersonics was, other than Brown, they had no suitable substitute for the center position, so every foul committed by Brown was critical.

Their opponents were the Celtics, the team with the best frontcourt depth in the league.

"Nick, I need you to hang in there for a few more minutes," Karl said. "Our frontcourt needs a break."

Collison had no objections.

Into the second quarter, the Supersonics let Roy handle the link-up play while Yu Fei took a rest on the bench.

This was rare in the finals.

Normally, Yu Fei would lead the team through the first five minutes of the second quarter before resting, but tonight Karl clearly felt the intensity was different.

So, if Yu Fei could rest a bit more, he would, while also seeing how Roy managed the team during the link-up.

Roy did not disappoint.

He was the type who heated up slowly and usually didn't start the game with full energy. The Celtics were the kind of defensive team that went all out from the start. So, players like Roy, who couldn't get into the game right away, could end up underperforming throughout if they felt the impact of such defense.

But with Yu Fei, the pressure on Roy drastically decreased, and gradually, his shooting hand heated up.

As a 198 cm combo guard, Roy was undoubtedly an underrated player. At the beginning of the second quarter, the Celtics put Tony Allen, who had not yet blossomed, on him.

Mr. T and Victor Oladipo, years later, were both anticipated to be the next Dwyane Wade. One developed seventy percent of Wade's offensive firepower, while the other completely surpassed Wade on the defensive end.

But at this point, Mr. T had not yet undergone his transformation.

Roy broke his rhythm, and Allen's defense soon faltered, allowing his opponent to shake him off and score with a jump shot.

Pierce, leading the Celtics second unit, was discontented. It was one thing to be unable to guard Yu Fei, but to let Roy turn the tables, too?

Quickly, Pierce took on Durant, driving to the hoop with a slow three-step layup.

"Rookie, without Big Fei you're really not up to it!"

Pierce taunted.

There was a devil inside Durant's heart, telling him to be bold and take the ball.

If Frye could do it, so could he.

Youth could be an excuse for many things, but not this one.

Remember what the 19-year-old Frye was doing.

At 19, was he better than anyone else?

Suddenly, Durant stepped into Yu Fei's role.

As Yu Fei took a break, he suddenly moved forward, temporarily taking his opponent's tactical position and called for the ball from Roy.

Pierce was difficult to evaluate on defense. On one hand, his footwork wasn't fast, but on the other hand, he was good at physical confrontation, was bold, and had a wealth of experience.

It was like his offense, which seemed slow, but every move was meaningful. What seemed like a forced shot became viable in his hands.

The same was true for his defense.

Unless faced with overwhelming talent like Yu Fei and James, it wasn't easy to get past him.

Durant's talent was undoubtedly overpowering, but compared to James, Durant's physicality had greater limitations during his rookie season.

Durant dribbled and shifted directions. Although he wasn't as good as Yu Fei, he was starting to pose a threat. However, at the moment Pierce's body closed in, Durant's balance began to topple and he was forced to take a shot in a way he was not used to.

Such a shot was naturally unlikely to go in.

The exchange with Pierce was emblematic of Durant's performances in the finals.

His talent was evident, but his issues with physical play were magnified.

Talent could solve many problems, but ultimately, a strong body was necessary.

Durant missed the shot, and jeers filled the stadium.

They weren't directed at Durant, but at Pierce, and even more so at the referees.

Seattle's mayor Greg Nichols put on a classic political show. He stood up like a gambler who had bet his life savings on the Supersonics and bellowed, "You pig-like referee, why don't you blow the whistle? Are you targeting us? Are you trying to insult Seattle? You will never succeed!!!"

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Today, the entire city of Seattle is on holiday.

Perhaps less than one-third of the entire city are diehard fans of the Supersonics, but when the games reach the level of the finals, it doesn't matter whether you are a fan or not. Every Seattleite will be paying attention to the finals.

At least seventy percent of Seattleites will be watching this game.

As one of the city's most prominent faces, Nichols deliberately chose to come to the scene tonight not only to show his support for the Supersonics but also to demonstrate to the voters how strong his sense of civic pride is.

The thunderous wrath of Nichols gave Mr. T, Steve Javie, quite a scare.

In the end, it was the nearby security who came over to calm Nichols down, and the game was not interrupted.

Durant's missed shot led to a counterattack by The Celtics.

In an instant, Supersonics' lead was down to just one point.

A minute later, The Celtics officially took the lead.

Another minute passed, and The Celtics put their starters back in and extended their lead to five points within two minutes.

Then, Yu Fei, along with Brown and Marion, took off their warm-ups and came to the sidelines, ready to enter the game.

Durant's "evaporation" on the court of the finals had a significant impact on the Supersonics.

If he could play normally, Roy could use him as a poor man's version of Fei for cooperation, but since the start of the second quarter, he shot five times without scoring a single basket.

Was this all due to The Celtics' defensive intensity? Not entirely.

In addition to the pressure from Pierce's side, another factor was his overwhelming desire to prove himself, which led to immense psychological pressure.

But Roy's confidence was sky-high, and even without Durant's help, he was confident that he could shatter The Celtics' perimeter defense.

Red came to guard him, but he didn't take him seriously at all. After a change of direction, he suddenly rose up and forced in an unreasonable three-pointer.

The gap was narrowed to two points, and then Childress committed a tactical foul against The Celtics, allowing Fei and others to replace Durant and two other players.

When Durant walked off the court dejectedly, Fei suddenly stopped him and said, "You're still a million years too early to want to play like me."

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Fortunately, Durant was only dejected, not in despair.

He even had the mood to joke, "Because I won't live to be a million years old."

Fei snorted with laughter, "Just watch me, I'll take care of Paul Pierce."

Durant warned, "He's in great form tonight."

"That's just perfect," Fei said without turning his head, "The more fiercely he resists, the more I get excited."

Once Fei came onto the court, Pierce, brimming with confidence from his performance on Durant, even had the mood to taunt, "Hey Big Fei, did that useless kid go tell on me? Sorry, I'm just that ruthless."

Afterward, Pierce faced up against Fei.

While he held the ball, it was a feint, and ultimately the ball was passed to the perimeter where Red hit a three-pointer.

The gap returned to five points.

Having learned from the lesson in the first quarter, The Celtics, seeing Fei with the ball, neurotically doubled down on him.

What they neglected was that since the second quarter began, Fei liked to stay near the paint.

The moment Fei got the ball on the low block, The Celtics immediately shrank their defense inward, almost instantaneously doubling him.

But Fei's passing was a step faster than the double team.

From the low post, Fei became the pivot of the play, sending the ball to Marion's hands before the double team could even form.

Even Marion didn't know how Fei spotted him.

Marion emptied his mind and dashed in from outside the paint to slam dunk for points.

Afterward, Pierce went solo against Fei but missed.

Fei grabbed the rebound, took the ball up to the frontcourt by himself, and seeing The Celtics already set up, patiently waited for his teammates to come over before starting a backdown from beyond the three-point line.

"He's too far from the basket!"

No sooner had this cry emerged than The Celtics, too focused on Fei, exposed another gap in their defense.

With his back completely to the basket, Fei suddenly tossed the ball under the hoop, and Childress, appearing out of nowhere, caught the ball, scored a layup, and drew the foul.

Childress made the bonus free throw.

"The Supersonics have tied the game!"

"Under the basket, inside the paint, within the free-throw line, outside the free-throw line, beyond the three-point line, Frye can be a threat from every position, every area," praised Jeff Van Gundy, "He might be the greatest floor general in history!"

And all of this could be traced back to a conversation years ago between Fei and Jerry West.

West believed that Fei, as a perimeter player, had reached the pinnacle and that the next step to further his game was to develop inside and low-post offense.

After several years, Fei had indeed made achievements.

A few rounds later, The Celtics were thrown into utter chaos.

Inside, outside, on the low block?

What will he do next?