Chapter 311: Chapter 83: Near-Triple-Double in Three Quarters

Su Xi spread his arms wide. The myriad boos of the Staples Center were like a gentle breeze blowing over a mountain, unable to disturb his state of mind in the slightest.

His gaze was calm, yet imperious.

He had everything on the court under control.

When he turned around, his eyes locked onto Carl Malone. A slight smile touched his lips as he mouthed a word.

Carl Malone had already guessed what he was going to say, even silently sounding out the foreign syllables in his mind.

Su Xi was still mouthing the same thing. It was like a single word, yet it felt like a judgment.

From the moment the first whistle blew, that had been Su Xi’s evaluation of him. No matter what happened, he never changed his judgment of Carl Malone.

Carl Malone was furious. ’What the hell does that even mean?’

Su Xi walked toward Kobe Bryant, his steps firm and steady. Just as Kobe had hounded him in the first half, he would now hound Kobe in return.

Otherwise, what was the point of having this Super Physical Talent?

Kobe was a calm person, but Su Xi’s violent poster dunk had still caught him by surprise. He hadn’t expected Su Xi to get back on the court so quickly, let alone explode with such ferocious energy the moment he did.

This completely defied his assessment.

As Su Xi approached and started bodying up on him, he immediately called for the ball.

He wanted to see what Su Xi was really made of.

Su Xi aggressively squeezed Kobe’s space as they fought for position, the two of them locked in a fierce physical battle.

Kobe couldn’t match Su Xi’s strength, but he had a slight height advantage, and his positioning technique was excellent. Without drawing a foul, he finally managed to receive the ball.

Since he was at a strength disadvantage and Su Xi’s lockdown defense was extremely tight, Kobe turned to face him head-on. He was going to attack Su Xi’s footwork.

He quickly made a jab step, but Su Xi didn’t bite.

Su Xi’s defensive instincts had always been sharp.

Kobe didn’t want to get into a drawn-out battle with Su Xi, so he quickly called for Carl Malone.

Filled with resentment and fury, Carl Malone immediately moved over and decisively set a screen on Su Xi. He thought it would be as simple as containing Ron Artest, but Artest’s flexibility was nothing compared to Su Xi’s.

Su Xi had max-level super flexibility.

He was like a rubber man who had eaten the Gum-Gum Fruit.

The instant he backed into Carl Malone and was about to be screened, his body suddenly spun, snaking around Malone’s body to get past him.

Carl Malone was powerless. All he could do was stick his arm out to try and block Su Xi.

But before his hand even touched Su Xi, Su Xi made an exaggerated motion of falling backward... TWEET!

The head referee didn’t hesitate for a second.

There was nothing wrong with the call.

Blocking foul on Carl Malone.

Change of possession.

Carl Malone was frustrated. He spread his hands and complained, "I didn’t even touch him!"

But no one was listening to him.

Even the Lakers fans had seen his arm come up to block Su Xi, perhaps even to hit him with an elbow.

He had the motive, and he had the prior record.

The whole world knew it.

Who could blame them, after he’d been humiliated by Su Xi’s violent dunk of the century on the previous play?

He had just picked up his fifth foul.

Phil Jackson’s mind was reeling. He hadn’t been concerned about Carl Malone’s foul count before. After all, Malone could only play twenty or thirty minutes a game anyway. The plan was just to drain Su Xi’s stamina and make him timid with fouls. The Lakers would win one way or another.

But now... Su Xi was back at full health, showing no signs of fatigue. He was even more aggressive than he had been at the start of the game.

Meanwhile, Carl Malone was saddled with his fifth foul and had just suffered the most humiliating posterization of his career.

The Lakers’ momentum had weakened.

Phil Jackson had no choice but to sub out Carl Malone.

He knew, however, that with Carl Malone off the court, Little O’Neal would come alive. Looking across the entire league, no one was better at picking on soft targets than Little O’Neal.

His performance was black and white; he was a super-spring. The weaker you were, the stronger he became.

He was the widely acknowledged superstar litmus test.

Su Xi brought the ball past half-court, with Kobe defending him.

Su Xi drove hard and dished the ball to Little O’Neal. Facing Medvedenko, Little O’Neal channeled his inner Olajuwon. His footwork was nimble, his movements fluid. He spun like a hot knife through butter and comfortably hooked the ball into the basket with his left hand.

It was a work of art.

Su Xi couldn’t help but reach out and high-five Little O’Neal.

Little O’Neal was thrilled too. As long as he wasn’t facing brutish, strong, and agile defenders like Carl Malone or O’Neal, he could fully unleash his skills.

Little O’Neal was completely unleashed.

And Big O’Neal wanted to be unleashed too.

Kobe Bryant was being smothered by Su Xi and couldn’t find an open space to receive the ball, so Gary Payton passed it inside.

Shaquille O’Neal caught the ball and began to back his defender down with force. Although the human backstop tried his best, even if he were made of a hundred little absorbent pillows, he couldn’t contain the overwhelming power that was about to overflow.

O’Neal’s power poured out in a frenzy. With a single spin, he got himself into perfect dunking position.

But just as he was about to complete the dunk, Ron Artest rushed over and wrapped him up. O’Neal still managed to power through and jump, but the ball missed the rim.

The brave, lonely Shark was sent to the free-throw line.

Did Hack-a-Shaq start early?

The Shark was not happy. ’So that’s how we’re playing, huh?’

’No honor among players.’

CLANK!

CLANK!

The Shark’s free throws tonight were uglier than a shot put.

The Pacers got the rebound.

Su Xi received the ball and pushed it up the court, with Kobe in hot pursuit. Su Xi passed to Little O’Neal. Little O’Neal isolated for a one-on-one, forcing Gary Payton to come over and help. Little O’Neal quickly passed back to Su Xi, who swung it to the corner for Reggie Miller... SWISH!

A three-pointer.

The Pacers had taken complete control. The whole team was elite!

Su Xi’s dominant return was like a wild beast sinking its teeth into the Lakers’ throat.

The Lakers were now completely on the defensive. As a team, they looked like two exhausted wild boars, fighting separately while being torn apart by a pack of wolves.

Phil Jackson could no longer sit calmly on the bench. He stood up, constantly reminding his players about their positioning.

But he still hoped the Lakers could organize a decent attack.

Kobe and O’Neal still possessed superior offensive output.

However, individual offense could not make up for the team’s overall weakness.

The appearance of a revitalized and ferocious Su Xi in the Pacers’ lineup was devastating.

You could say he wasn’t a superstar; he couldn’t take the ball and solve everything in a difficult situation. But him, plus the Pacers, was a perfect match.

The Pacers needed his drive, his off-ball movement, his court vision, his defense...

The Pacers plus Su Xi.

Equaled a championship.

Su Xi played the entire third quarter, the first time in his career he had done so.

It felt great.

The Pacers went from being down by 3 to leading by 9, and Su Xi was the main reason why.

His personal stats had now reached 23 points, 10 assists, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block.

He was only 2 rebounds away from a triple-double, with an entire quarter left to play.

During the timeout between quarters, the camera panned over to the Lakers’ bench, revealing a scene of utter panic.

"I’ve been saying it all along, Jack is a guy with hidden depths. He’s like the hero in every kung fu movie. Just when you think he’s exhausted and about to be beaten to death, he always erupts with infinite energy at the last moment to take down his opponent!"

"It’s a racial skill for them Chinese people."

Barkley said, his delight obvious. He even did a decent impression of Bruce Lee’s classic cry: "Wataaaah...!"

Magic Johnson was also in a panic, feeling incredibly upset. Given the Pacers’ current momentum, if the Lakers couldn’t find a way to stop them in the fourth quarter, their defeat was all but certain.

Once they were down 1-3, their championship dream could pretty much be declared over.

No team in history had ever come back from a 1-3 deficit.

Kenny Smith was listless. He couldn’t bring himself to praise Su Xi, nor did he have the energy to criticize him. With Su Xi’s explosion, it was as if his own spirit had been completely drained.

He even thought, ’Should I just surrender? It would be so much more fun to praise Su Xi along with Barkley.’

But he just couldn’t get over that mental block.

The grudge from the donkey French-kiss.

A feud that could not be shared under the same sky!

The fans in the Staples Center began to chant in unison: "Lakers! Champions! Lakers! Champions! Lakers! Champions!"

They were like a group of drowning people, roaring with their last ounce of strength. They hoped this could awaken the players’ fighting spirit and spur them to launch an all-out assault in the fourth quarter to secure this crucial victory. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Win this game, and the Lakers would secure home-court advantage for the pivotal Game 5.

Lose this game, and the Lakers would be kicked to the edge of a cliff.

Phil Jackson held his clipboard, still emphasizing the triangle offense. He still hoped Kobe and Shaquille O’Neal could work together seamlessly.

In his mind, the OK Combination was still invincible.

The three dynasties he had built in the past were all founded on trusting his superstars in the final moments. With the Bulls, when it came down to the wire, he would ’squeeze’ everything he could out of Jordan and Pippen. The Lakers’ three-peat was also built on the foundation of dominant performances from Kobe and O’Neal—though they hadn’t faced any decent opponents during those three championship years.

Now, he was once again pulling out this tried-and-true magic weapon.

He motivated O’Neal and Kobe to unleash their full dominance. He even deliberately used reverse psychology to provoke them: "You don’t want to be trampled into the ground by a rookie who just came out of nowhere, do you? You don’t want this guy to make a name for himself by walking all over the world’s best center and the world’s best shooting guard, do you?"

Of course, these words had an effect.

Phil Jackson had always been a master of psychology.

Although coaches like Pat Riley looked down on him, believing he had never proven himself outside of coaching the world’s best players to a championship.

But being able to lead the world’s best players to a championship was a skill in itself.

It was just that... this time, Phil Jackson had run into the Pacers. Or perhaps it was that besides the OK Combination, the Lakers’ rotation was simply too terrible. Moreover, this series had made it blatantly obvious that O’Neal was past his prime, while Kobe Bryant had not yet reached his own true technical peak.

So, if the Lakers wanted to win...

It would not be an easy task.

Just then, Carl Malone stood up. He walked over to Phil Jackson and pressed his giant palm onto the clipboard.

He told Phil Jackson, "Put me in. I came here to win a championship. I don’t want to lose the last hope of my career just like this."

"I have to answer to myself."

His face was grim and determined.

Phil Jackson gave him a deep look. He hesitated for a long while before finally nodding. "Alright. Since you insist on playing, then play. You don’t want to have any regrets, and I won’t say anything more."

Carl Malone nodded forcefully.

This time, the championship was too important to him.

For all these years, it had weighed on his heart, making it hard to breathe.

Now that he was so close to his dream, he really didn’t want to miss it again.

He was willing to pay any price for it.

...