Chapter 312: Chapter 84: What Goes Around, Comes Around

"Perhaps we should be discussing whether this year’s Finals MVP should go to Su Xi, or to Little Sheep Su Xi..."

Before the fourth-quarter buzzer sounded, Charles Barkley said something that broke James’s heart as he watched on TV. He almost smashed his plasma television again. If he keeps this up, he’s going to single-handedly revitalize the home appliance industry in Cleveland.

But everyone knew full well that as long as the Pacers won the championship...

...was there any doubt who the Finals MVP would be?

Nike was already starting to raise the money.

Magic Johnson looked a little sad, propping his chin on his hand. He knew Barkley was taking a jab at him.

Sigh.

With a soft sigh, Magic said slowly, "If the Pacers win the title, Jack will definitely be the Finals MVP. He’ll become only the second rookie in history to win Finals MVP."

"His Finals MVP award would be incredibly valuable, comparable to the one I won back in my day."

Magic’s greatest legendary feat was leading his team to a championship and winning Finals MVP in his rookie season, an honor no other all-time great has ever achieved.

Now, Su Xi was showing the momentum to stand as his equal.

The fact that Magic could say this so openly showed how broad-minded he was.

Other established superstars might not be able to accept a junior player surpassing or even approaching their own achievements.

"But he’s younger now than you were then. And he’s also winning the NBA Finals MVP right after winning the NCAA Final Four MOP," Charles Barkley added, rubbing salt in the wound.

Magic Johnson fell silent.

BEEP!

The whistle blew, and the game resumed.

The Lakers sent out Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Rick Fox, Carl Malone, and Shaquille O’Neal.

Phil Jackson deployed this lineup to bolster their offense. He needed to close the gap as quickly as possible.

The Pacers’ lineup was: Su Xi, Artest, Jonathan Bender, Little O’Neal, and Tony Battie.

This was an incredibly tall lineup for the Pacers; Bender, pushed to the small forward position, was a standard big man.

Su Xi brought the ball up the court, but the Lakers didn’t have Kobe guarding him.

Instead, they had Derek Fisher hassling him up front.

Su Xi frowned. ’This is unusual,’ he thought.

But he didn’t hesitate. He took a quick step to drive inside, and Derek Fisher followed him instinctively.

At that moment, however, Su Xi quickly passed the ball to Bender.

As he passed, he circled around Bender’s body and darted out to the three-point line.

Bender passed the ball back out, and Su Xi caught it and shot... SWISH!

His touch was red-hot tonight.

The lead widened further.

Phil Jackson was in a truly passive position. Su Xi never played by the book. ’Why is he suddenly playing off-ball, for goodness’ sake?’

Play resumed on the other end, and Su Xi was still guarding Kobe.

Kobe went one-on-one against Su Xi, hitting him with a turnaround jumper... CLANK!

No good.

O’Neal and Carl Malone fought for the rebound, but the Pacers’ three big men clearly had the advantage. Bender leaped and tapped the ball out with his long arms. Su Xi collected it and immediately launched a fast break.

His speed was incredible.

Kobe chased him down, trying for a steal, but Su Xi shook him off. Then, he took a long stride and exploded towards the rim.

BOOM!

A monster dunk from Su Xi.

The lead widened even further.

What Phil Jackson had been hoping for didn’t happen.

Instead, they were trapped by the Pacers’ lineup of giants.

Fisher passed the ball to O’Neal. As soon as O’Neal turned, Bender wrapped him up from behind.

This infuriated O’Neal, who slammed the ball on the floor in anger.

But it didn’t change anything. The "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy hadn’t been banned, and the Pacers had stockpiled big men precisely for this day.

Bender still had five fouls to give, and one of his tasks was to commit them.

CLANK!

SWISH!

O’Neal made one of two free throws.

Pacers’ ball. Su Xi brought it past half-court and came to the top of the three-point arc.

Just as Su Xi was about to replicate his last successful play, Carl Malone, positioned inside the free-throw line, shouted viciously at him, "Hey, you dare challenge my defense?"

Su Xi glanced up at him.

Carl Malone was staring at him with a provocative look on his face.

Su Xi just smiled, unfazed.

He turned and passed the ball to Bender.

This was torture for Carl Malone, who was itching with frustration. Just as he was about to say something to provoke Su Xi, Su Xi, who had been ’casually strolling’ on the perimeter, suddenly made a sharp cut to the inside, holding out his hand for the ball from Bender while in full stride.

Carl Malone was caught completely off guard.

But as Su Xi streaked past him, he immediately gave chase. He was going to put Su Xi in his place. More than that, he was going to use this defensive play to achieve his championship dream.

He was going to fundamentally shift the balance of power in this matchup.

Su Xi couldn’t see the twisted, savage expression on Malone’s face.

He charged to the basket, jumped quickly without the slightest hesitation, and laid the ball up with his right hand... Seeing this, Carl Malone immediately lunged at him viciously from behind.

But, just as Malone was about to slam into him, Su Xi suddenly dropped down, catching Carl Malone completely by surprise.

Malone’s iron elbow was already out, poised to destroy Su Xi from behind.

The nearby referee watched, dumbfounded. ’Is that even a basketball move?’ he thought.

BANG!

Su Xi’s shot hit the backboard and bounced off.

Since Carl Malone was charging at Su Xi, he wasn’t prepared for anything else. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Therefore, he was in no position to block the path of the rebounding ball.

Furthermore, because he had lunged with all his might, he hadn’t kept his center of gravity stable enough.

So, when he landed, his body couldn’t help but stumble.

Just as he was struggling to find his footing, Bender came charging down the middle, leaped violently into the air, grabbed the ball, and with every ounce of his strength and explosive power, ferociously slammed it into the hoop... BOOM!

Bender hung powerfully from the rim with both hands, his body’s momentum carrying him forward to crash hard into Carl Malone.

Carl Malone was a tough guy. In a normal collision, he certainly wouldn’t have come out on the losing end.

But now, he was unsteady on his feet, like a leaf in the wind, or a toad in a whirlpool—trying to escape, but already stuck deep in the mire... CRASH!

From this powerful impact, Carl Malone’s body pitched forward... THUD!

His knees buckled and he fell to the ground, letting out a horrific scream on the spot.

With that one fall, his career was over.

He clenched his jaw, cold sweat pouring from his forehead.

His evil deeds had finally brought retribution. All the wicked things he did in his youth and at his peak came back to him at this very moment.

If he hadn’t had the malicious intent to take out Su Xi from behind, he never would have ended up like this.

Barkley was thrilled. He despised Carl Malone. If he were Chinese, he’d surely be slamming the table and shouting: "What goes around, comes around! The wheel of karma turns!"

Seeing Carl Malone kneeling there, the head referee quickly stopped the game and had the Lakers send their medical staff over. Phil Jackson’s heart sank to the bottom of his stomach.

Carl Malone was the Lakers’ most important third option. If he was injured and had to leave the game, then... did the Lakers still have a chance?

Many fans were already voting with their feet, starting to leave the Staples Center.

But at that moment, Su Xi walked over to Carl Malone.

Carl Malone looked up at Su Xi, his face, already twisted in pain, becoming even more savage. His eyes were filled with venomous hatred.

He believed Su Xi had destroyed his last hope.

But Su Xi simply parted his lips,

and calmly spoke the words that Carl Malone now knew by heart.

"Fucking idiot."

A perfect fit.

...