Chapter 310: Chapter 82: Brutal Dunk on Carl Malone

Su Xi remained motionless, looking at him as if he were a clown.

The second half began.

Fred Jones was completely locked down by Gary Payton. Payton’s defense wasn’t just for show like Derek Fisher’s; it was genuinely suffocating.

With Artest providing an outlet, he was forced to pass to Krohseil.

Krohseil drove inside and took a pull-up jumper. It missed. Karl Malone grabbed the rebound, swinging his elbows in excitement.

Karl Malone was beaming with satisfaction.

With Su Xi unable to play, Malone was more excited than if he’d won the lottery.

He could already see the championship beckoning.

His dream was finally about to come true.

The Lakers’ offense still ran through Kobe, who continued to run the pick-and-roll with Karl Malone, relentlessly exploiting Artest’s poor defense against it.

Kobe drove again, drawing the help defense from Little O’Neal before passing to Karl Malone. Facing Artest, Malone went straight into his jump shot... SWISH!

He hit it again.

"I don’t see any defense."

An ecstatic Karl Malone spread his palms open toward Artest.

Then, he turned and pumped his fist. "Twenty years of work in this punch! Can you handle it, rookie? The one who laughs last is the most badass!"

Karl Malone was getting brazen.

Twenty years of thirsting for a championship, combined with his own warped personality, erupted at this moment in a disturbing display.

Su Xi slowly rose to his feet. He calmly uttered a phrase Karl Malone knew all too well: "You big dumbass!"

A blaze of fury ignited within Karl Malone, and his composure shattered. ’The fuck is wrong with you?’ he thought. ’Look at the state you’re in, and you still have the nerve to talk trash to me?’

BZZZT!

Carlisle called a timeout.

Su Xi slowly took off his warm-up jacket. Then, he took the clipboard Carlisle handed him.

What?

What was happening?

Was Little Sheep Su Xi about to check in?

Seeing this on their screens, the television audience went wild.

Was Jack really going to step up again, just when the Pacers were on the brink of disaster?

Could he really put the arrogant, disrespectful Karl Malone back in his place?

Everyone was filled with anticipation.

Even Charles Barkley was saying, "Damn. Good Lord. I’m getting goosebumps. If Jack can really get back on the court and shut down Karl Malone, I’ll bow down and worship the man. Heaven knows how much I hate Karl Malone!"

Magic Johnson frowned, muttering, ’No way... no way...’

Kenny Smith was also stunned, so much so that he couldn’t even manage his usual ’hot take’. He was scared now, genuinely scared of Su Xi returning to the game.

Because that kid, Su Xi, was just too uncanny. He always managed to do the impossible.

The camera cut to the Pacers’ bench, where Rick Carlisle was drawing up a play on his clipboard, with Su Xi pointing and adding his own input. Their teammates around them nodded in agreement.

BZZZT!

The buzzer sounded.

All eyes were fixed on the Pacers’ bench.

Tony Battie and Little O’Neal took the court first, striding forward before parting to the sides. Su Xi then walked onto the court between them, with Artest and Reggie Miller following close behind.

The face of every Pacers player radiated an unshakeable confidence.

Little Sheep Su Xi was back.

Countless viewers screamed at their televisions, especially in the Indiana region and parts of New York.

The TNT broadcast was on point, immediately cutting to a close-up of Karl Malone’s face.

The expression on the face of the power forward, who had once been thoroughly dominated by Michael Jordan, was now undeniably ’stiff’ and unnatural.

He and the Lakers had assumed that even if Su Xi checked in, it wouldn’t be until the fourth quarter. By then, the Lakers would have already had victory in the bag.

Little did they know...

"Don’t get nervous. Even with Little Sheep Su Xi, the Pacers are no threat. If we play our game, nice and steady, no one can touch us."

Karl Malone immediately yelled to his teammates.

He wanted to boost his teammates’ morale.

But it would have been better if he hadn’t said anything. The words, meant to be reassuring, somehow felt like they were just building up the opponent’s prestige.

Reggie Miller inbounded the ball to Su Xi. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Su Xi brought the ball past half-court, with Kobe picking him up on defense again.

Kobe continued with his physically draining, smothering style of defense.

Before, Su Xi had been playing conservatively, but now, full of energy... he went right at him... THUD!

A brutal collision.

Su Xi’s strength hit Kobe’s chest like a cannonball.

Kobe wasn’t as strong as Su Xi.

He instinctively took a step back.

As he retreated, Su Xi exploded forward in a lightning-fast drive.

Su Xi fully unleashed his explosive power and speed; in both of these talents, he was superior to Kobe.

Kobe was instantly beaten by half a step, and he scrambled to recover.

If this were a one-on-one, Kobe might have caught up.

But this was a game.

Su Xi’s movement was uncanny!

With his coordination rapidly improving, Su Xi’s movements had become much more unpredictable.

He used Luke Walton as a screen, dipping right around him.

And then, in a move that felt both ’unexpected yet perfectly logical,’ Su Xi charged straight for Karl Malone.

His momentum was overwhelming, his eyes ferocious.

Karl Malone quickly adjusted his footwork, bracing for Su Xi’s head-on charge.

In a flash, Su Xi was right in front of Malone. He used no fakes, simply leaped explosively into the air and slammed into him with all his might... brute force beats technique!

Karl Malone jumped to meet the challenge, but he was a fraction of a second too slow... His reaction time was nowhere near what it was in his prime.

He didn’t even have time to get his notorious elbows up before Su Xi came down on him like a pouncing tiger, dominating him from above.

Karl Malone had met plenty of powerful guards in mid-air, but he had never encountered an opponent so ferocious, so violent, so overwhelmingly strong. Su Xi was like a primordial beast, crushing him so completely that he couldn’t muster an ounce of strength.

His massive frame couldn’t stop its downward momentum. He had been utterly defeated in this clash of power.

Su Xi’s left hand pushed Malone’s head down, getting a second boost of elevation as he viciously slammed the ball through the hoop with his right hand... BOOM!

Under Su Xi’s violent assault, the Lakers’ rim instantly surrendered, bending and sagging downwards.

And Karl Malone was now the man who had been dunked over, humiliated beneath Su Xi.

He stumbled out from under the basket in disgrace.

The entire Staples Center was completely stunned by Su Xi’s sheer dominance, silenced for several long seconds.

Utter dominance!

Phil Jackson stood on the sideline, having witnessed the whole thing.

That was the only phrase that came to his mind to describe Su Xi’s formidable presence.

He was like a brutal monarch who had just smashed Karl Malone’s skull with his scepter.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! What did I just see? What did I just see?"

Charles Barkley was screaming on television: "Everybody get on your feet! A tribute to Little Sheep Su Xi! He’s too damn cool! He gave me an answer I couldn’t even imagine! Who would have thought that his very first play back on the court would be to put down the provocative, offensive Karl Malone in the most brutal way imaginable? Absolutely savage!"

"This play is absolutely going to be number one on the Top 5 tonight. Karl Malone’s entire career will be forever shamed by his decision to provoke Su Xi."

"Let’s take another look at the replay... WHOA-HO-HO! Savage! Vicious! Beautiful!"

Charles Barkley was losing his mind on the broadcast.

And the viewers at home were even more ecstatic.

Just as Barkley said, who could have possibly imagined it?

Who could have imagined that the moment Su Xi stepped on the court, he would subject the insufferably arrogant Karl Malone to the ultimate humiliation of being posterized?

Su Xi was like a judge descending from the heavens, sentencing Karl Malone for the ’crime of being too cocky.’

Karl Malone’s head was still spinning.

He couldn’t believe he had just been dunked on, right in the face, by Su Xi.

But it had happened. And it had all seemed so natural.

He looked up at the jumbotron, and the replay filled him with shame. He looked like a lamb to the slaughter, with Su Xi doing whatever he wanted over his head. It was the equivalent of being held down in the mud while someone pissed on his bald head.

Humiliation!

What a disgrace!

Karl Malone almost choked on his own indignation.

He had played basketball his entire life, and not even facing Jordan had ever been this humiliating.

Boos finally erupted in the Staples Center.

But they came too late.