With Reggie Miller and Eric Williams on the court, the Pacers now had a slight height advantage.

However, their defense completely fell apart.

Billups and Hamilton joined forces, turning the Pacers’ perimeter defense into a sieve.

Fortunately, Derek Williams had a decent touch. He hit a couple of mid-range jumpers, and then Reggie Miller sank a three-pointer.

They were barely hanging on, but the Pacers’ momentum was failing. Anyone could see they were like a skyscraper on the verge of collapse.

Carlisle, however, showed unprecedented strategic composure. He didn’t rush to put Su Xi in, even as the Pacers were steadily losing ground and the deficit widened.

Su Xi had asked to go in three minutes into the fourth quarter.

Carlisle refused. "Wait until at least the five-minute mark, Jack!" he said. "Get some rest. Our goal isn’t to win tonight; it’s the championship. I can afford to lose this game. But I can’t have you charging in while you’re exhausted."

So, Su Xi sat on the bench, counting down on his fingers, waiting for the fifth minute to arrive.

The fifth minute came quickly. The Pacers were now trailing by 6 points.

Su Xi stood up, but Carlisle decided to wait a little longer.

In his heart, Carlisle was actually leaning toward giving up on the game. After all, the Pistons had unstoppable momentum, and Ron Artest had been ejected.

Carlisle felt he could endure the mockery after the game; he didn’t want Su Xi to go in only to shoulder the blame for a loss.

The game continued.

"Charles, you’ve lost this one for sure. Your savior still hasn’t been put on the court. Carlisle has given up. He knows that even subbing in Su Xi won’t solve anything. He’d rather let the Pacers fans hold on to their grand illusions about him."

Kenny Smith taunted Barkley sharply on air. "You always end up on the losing side when it comes to players from China. Last time, it was because you didn’t believe in Yao Ming; now, it’s because you believe too much in Su Xi."

Barkley sounded a little less confident now, but his tone was still firm. "The game’s not over. You better watch out, or you’re going to eat your words."

"Heh, only a desperate man with no hope left would believe in a so-called miracle." Kenny Smith was getting carried away. He said, "How about this, Charles. If your savior manages to pull off a comeback victory tonight, I’ll kiss a donkey on the lips. How’s that? But if he can’t, all I want is for you to hug it and say, ’I love you.’ That’s it. Hahaha."

Kenny was a real showman, filling the broadcast booth with a jovial atmosphere.

Everyone was enjoying the show at Barkley’s expense.

Barkley was a proud man who never backed down from a fight. He had gone to the Rockets back in the day to ride on coattails but ended up becoming the team’s biggest star, even taking a pay cut so the Rockets could sign other players. It’s just... he never did get that championship ring.

"You’re on. What have I got to be afraid of? Kenny, make sure you kiss the butt before the lips. You gotta be hygienic about it, you know."

The moment the words left Barkley’s mouth...

BOOM!

Ben Wallace caught an alley-oop and threw down a thunderous dunk.

He successfully extended the lead to 9 points.

After Wallace’s dunk, the entire Auburn Hills Palace erupted.

Wallace charged toward the sideline and shouted at Su Xi, "Coward, why are you still hiding over there?"

The moment he said it, Su Xi ripped off his warm-up jacket and walked swiftly to the scorer’s table.

He didn’t wait for Carlisle’s instructions; he went straight to check himself into the game.

The Pacers’ lineup immediately changed to: Su Xi, Reggie Miller, Eric Williams, Tony Battie, and Jermaine O’Neal.

Su Xi took the court, received the inbound pass from Miller, whispered a few words in his ear, and then started pushing the ball upcourt.

’Will there be a miracle?’

Larry Bird muttered to himself in front of the TV. His mood mirrored that of every Pacers fan.

Down by 9 with only 6 minutes left, Artest ejected, and facing masters of the half-court game like the Pistons.

’Can we really win?’

Even the most die-hard, loyal Pacers fans couldn’t help but have their doubts at this moment.

But Su Xi didn’t.

He charged forward, undaunted.

He quickly dribbled into the frontcourt and, without a moment’s hesitation, unleashed a blistering first step. The moment Billups stepped up to challenge him, Su Xi executed a crossover so low it was like he was skimming the floor. Billups scrambled to keep up, but Su Xi’s flexibility allowed him to slip past most of the defense. The rest was up to... power!

THUD!

Billups was sent stumbling back. Su Xi wasn’t a heavyweight, but thanks to Ben Wallace, his strength stat had reached 96—a terrifying number.

Billups felt half his shoulder go numb from the impact.

Su Xi instantly drove into the paint. He didn’t shy away from Ben Wallace; instead, he accelerated right at him.

Ben Wallace quickly closed in, intending to body up Su Xi with his strength. Just then, Su Xi stopped on a dime. His body wobbled slightly—his coordination wasn’t quite high enough to handle such a violent stop. But Wallace was faked out, too. His own stop was unsteady. Just as Wallace tried to press him again, Su Xi used his outstanding flexibility to execute a quick spin move. With one dribble, he drove into the lane, leaped explosively... and slammed the ball through the hoop with both hands! BOOM!

Speed against strength!

A single, fluid motion!

Simply unstoppable!

The roaring Auburn Hills Palace fell silent for a moment, filled only with sharp gasps and stifled sighs that betrayed the crowd’s anxiety and panic. But then, those sounds were swallowed by a tidal wave of boos, creating an aggressive, intimidating atmosphere.

All bark and no bite.

As Su Xi landed, he shot a cold glance at Ben Wallace. "Defensive Player of the Year?"

With that simple title, Su Xi’s indifferent tone dripped with the utmost sarcasm.

Ben Wallace had to take a deep breath to suppress the urge to strangle Su Xi.

He turned, took the ball from under the basket, and inbounded it to Billups.

But just as the pass was made, Su Xi suddenly shot out from behind Tony Battie. He bumped Billups out of the way and snatched the ball.

Wallace immediately jumped back inbounds to try and get it back, but Su Xi had already turned and handed the ball off to Tony Battie. Battie rose up... BOOM!

Another thunderous dunk.

The lead was cut to 5 points.

Su Xi’s impact upon entering the game was immediate.

The gasps in Auburn Hills Palace quickly turned to boos and curses.

Billups and Ben Wallace were arguing to the referee that Su Xi had fouled.

But the referee waved them off. First, Billups hadn’t touched the ball, so it was legal off-ball contact. Second, the refs had already ejected Artest; if they started making ticky-tack calls against Su Xi now, it would be going too far. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Defense!"

Su Xi clapped to fire up his teammates as he jogged back on defense.

His encouragement sent the Pacers’ morale soaring.

A 5-point deficit let all his teammates know that victory wasn’t out of reach. They could defy the odds!

Watching the scene unfold on a TV in the locker room, Artest suddenly had a realization: ’Su Xi is definitely a better leader than I am.’

’He’s better at communicating, and he doesn’t get hot-headed so easily.’

In front of his TV, Larry Bird felt a surge of emotion. This was exactly what he wanted to see. ’I need to get to the practice facility more often,’ he thought. ’If Su Xi’s on-ball offense gets just a little bit stronger, the Pacers will be even more formidable.’

The Pacers fans watching on TV were ecstatic. He’d been on the court for 26 seconds and had already engineered two straight dunks. It was no exaggeration to call Su Xi the Pacers’ savior!

In the broadcast booth, Barkley slammed the table and yelled, "Haha, it’s only a 5-point game! Kenny, you were right about one thing: Jack is the Pacers’ savior! He’s here to save the Pacers! Larry Bird, I love you!"

The moment he said that... SMACK!

Su Xi drove into the paint and, with a powerful swat, knocked Ben Wallace’s would-be dunk out of bounds from behind.

The Auburn Hills Palace was in an uproar once again.

The jumbotron overhead replayed the entire sequence: Billups and Ben Wallace ran a pick-and-roll. With Su Xi in hot pursuit, Billups drove to the basket. Seeing his path blocked, he quickly passed to the trailing Wallace. Wallace caught the ball, took one hard dribble, and used his powerful frame to muscle past Tony Battie. Just as he leaped up to dunk, Su Xi shot in from an angle and viciously swatted the ball.

Incredible power!

The ball was instantly swatted out of Wallace’s control.

The ball flew into the fifth row of the stands.

It was a testament to the force of Su Xi’s block.

"I’m coming for you," Su Xi said to Ben Wallace. "This is what you asked for. How does it feel to get taken from behind? You happy?"

Wallace immediately lost his cool. He spun around and shoved Su Xi.

Su Xi went with the force of the push, staggering back three or four steps.

TWEET!

The referee didn’t hesitate.

He called a technical foul on Ben Wallace.

TWEET.

Larry Brown called a timeout.

They had to halt Su Xi’s offensive momentum. If he kept playing like this, it would no longer be a question of whether the Pistons could hold the lead, but whether they could avoid a total rout.

If the Pistons were routed... not only would Su Xi make a name for himself, but Larry Brown’s hard-earned reputation would likely be ruined.

The media was already saying that he had just inherited the team Carlisle built.

He had managed to quash those rumors with two wins against the Pacers.

But if Carlisle managed to orchestrate a comeback from such a disadvantageous position and beat the Pistons by a large margin...

...those voices would resurface in droves. And they would say, ’Larry Brown isn’t even as good as Carlisle. If Carlisle could build a formidable Pistons team, he can build an even grittier Pacers team.’

At his age, Brown was at the stage of his career where his legacy was being cemented. He didn’t want to leave a stain on it.

So, when Ben Wallace returned to the bench, he asked him, "Do you hate Jack Su?"

"I do!" Wallace said, fuming.

"Then your foul should have been a lot harder," Larry Brown told him calmly.

He said it without batting an eye.

It was like watching Popovich give orders to Bruce Bowen.

Oh, right. Popovich was Larry Brown’s prize pupil.

Meanwhile, on the Pacers’ bench, Su Xi was talking to Carlisle. "Rick, I think we need to pick up the pace! We should run quick pick-and-rolls and take fast shots."

"My speed is an advantage," Su Xi said. "Tony can shoot, and he has the size to box out. Jermaine has a complete face-up game. Eric is quick running off the ball, and then there’s Reggie—he’s a reliable three-point threat from anywhere."

"Our chemistry is great. We can absolutely play faster. Why are we getting into a war of attrition with them on offense?"

Su Xi asked Carlisle.

Carlisle didn’t come from a specific coaching tree in the NBA, nor was he burdened by a rigid coaching philosophy. In fact, he was a very open-minded head coach who believed in the ’black cat, white cat’ approach—whatever works, works.

After hearing Su Xi’s suggestion, he thought for a moment and said, "I think that could work. Let’s run the floor and execute quickly on offense!"

...