Chapter 303: Chapter 79: Put Me In
This time, when Su Xi drove past, Carl Malone slammed right into him, using his powerful body to knock Su Xi off balance, nearly sending him sprawling to the floor.
TWEET!
The head referee blew his whistle. Defensive foul.
Carl Malone raised his right hand, acknowledging the foul.
But when he turned his face, he looked at Su Xi with a grin, full of mockery and provocation.
His posture clearly said, ’I’ll take the foul, but I’m going to keep doing it.’
"Fucking idiot,"
Su Xi muttered, then walked to the sideline to take the inbound pass from Artest. Before Kobe could stick to him, he launched a quick drive, penetrating deep into the paint with Kobe in pursuit.
Just as O’Neal moved to help on defense, Su Xi came to a sudden stop. Kobe and O’Neal closed in on him at the same time.
But Su Xi seized the fleeting opportunity, passing the ball through O’Neal’s legs. Foster caught the ball, leaped up... and BANG!
He threw down a ferocious dunk.
"Jack’s court awareness is superb. I believe he designed that play intentionally. O’Neal and Bryant thought they had him trapped, but he actually tamed the OK Combination, easily creating that perfect dunk," Magic Johnson commented on TV.
He had more authority on passing than he did on womanizing.
No one would question the commentary of the greatest Point Guard in history.
The game continued.
The Lakers’ offensive set was relatively simple. Kobe Bryant initiated the offense, posted up Ron Artest, and hit a turnaround jumper.
Play resumed on the other end, and Su Xi once again took the ball and drove deep. But just as he faked out his defender under the basket and prepared to shoot, Carl Malone charged over and knocked Su Xi away again.
His football-style play made even the fans at the Staples Center frown.
"That’s just too dirty."
Charles Barkley couldn’t help but mutter, "Even if you win like that, no one will respect you, right?"
"Carl Malone doesn’t need respect. He just needs his opponents to be afraid," Kenny Smith blurted out instinctively.
That was exactly what Carl Malone was thinking.
He wanted to make Su Xi feel intimidated.
But Su Xi still just gave him a cold look and said, in Chinese, "Fucking idiot."
Although Carl Malone couldn’t understand the meaning of the Chinese phrase, he could hear the thick contempt and mockery in Su Xi’s tone.
This made him even more indignant.
He gritted his back teeth. ’Let’s see how long you can last, kid.’
SWISH!
SWISH!
Su Xi sank both free throws.
The game continued.
The Lakers’ offense remained simple and efficient. Both Kobe and O’Neal had a hot hand tonight.
But Su Xi didn’t back down; he became even more courageous and tenacious.
Carl Malone couldn’t intimidate him. He continuously drove to the basket, even though he would be pulled down from mid-air by the prehistoric beast that was Shaquille O’Neal, even though he would stumble and stagger under Kobe’s entanglement, and even though Carl Malone would viciously brandish the iron elbows that had injured countless players.
But his steps never faltered. He kept moving forward.
Before the game, many people called Su Xi a playboy and criticized his professional ethics.
They thought he didn’t take the game seriously, and some even said Su Xi wanted to use basketball as a stepping stone into the entertainment industry.
But now, those people should shut their mouths.
"Jack is like an engine. He’s burning himself up to generate all of the Pacers’ kinetic energy."
Charles Barkley said from the commentary booth, deeply moved.
However, Su Xi’s fuel was limited.
He played for about seven minutes in the first quarter, and his stamina was genuinely failing.
Kobe’s pestering defense accelerated his energy consumption. Combined with the collisions in the paint, his stamina faced an unprecedented challenge. At the 7:13 mark, Su Xi was subbed out to rest.
When Su Xi went to the bench, Phil Jackson also breathed a sigh of relief. He subbed out Carl Malone and Gary Payton.
Su Xi’s stamina couldn’t hold up, and those two weren’t in much better shape.
"Jack, you’re completely different from what they say on TV." As Su Xi walked to the sideline, Xiaowei held out her fist and gave him a fist bump. "You’re a true athlete."
The two sisters deeply respected Su Xi. Although they weren’t basketball players, the tenacious, competitive spirit of sports is universal.
"Of course," Su Xi grinned and walked back to the bench.
After Su Xi returned to the bench, Big Wei said to Xiaowei, "He’s at a disadvantage because of his stamina."
"The Lakers are obviously picking on him, deliberately wearing him out with their players on both offense and defense."
"Even though it’s a normal and reasonable use of tactics, it would be great if Jack could win the game. Carl Malone plays so dirty..."
The two of them discussed the game.
Their mood was like that of neutral fans.
...
After Su Xi was subbed out, everyone thought the Pacers would collapse.
But, unexpectedly, the Pacers didn’t fall apart.
Little O’Neal started sinking shots frequently from the free-throw line. He gave Luke Walton, who had come in for Carl Malone, a taste of what a superstar really is.
Carl Malone now had three fouls, so his playing time was bound to be strictly limited. In fact, he could only play about twenty-six or twenty-seven minutes per game these days; he no longer had the ironman constitution of his youth.
In addition, Reggie Miller was creating a threat from beyond the three-point line.
Kenny Anderson was also driving past Derek Fisher like he was a sieve.
Phil Jackson was undoubtedly a brilliant head coach. He had planned for every contingency, designing a scheme to wear out Su Xi.
In that, he was very successful.
However, he hadn’t expected Su Xi to be scheming against him as well.
Su Xi had repeatedly charged into the paint, fighting with the mentality of a close-quarters brawler.
It was by no means an emotional impulse.
Nor was it because he had no other choice.
He was ’sacrificing’ himself to wear down the Lakers’ key players. Carl Malone had tried to intimidate Su Xi, but now even getting on the court had become a problem for him.
The Lakers intended to erase Su Xi’s crucial role in the Pacers’ system, but Su Xi’s constant attacks had activated the Pacers’ offensive firepower. Reggie Miller, Little O’Neal, and even Ron Artest all started to find their rhythm because Su Xi was drawing all the defensive attention.
When Su Xi was on the bench, the Lakers’ defensive intensity dropped again.
They just needed to keep up the momentum.
And just like that, they were trading blows evenly with the Lakers.
The Pacers couldn’t stop Kobe and O’Neal, but the Lakers couldn’t contain the Pacers’ overall offense either.
The two teams went back and forth.
The first quarter ended quickly.
27-29.
The Lakers were only ahead by 2 points.
This was not the result Phil Jackson wanted to see. So, on the bench, he called Kobe and O’Neal over. He said to O’Neal, "If you still want to get that historic contract extension, you have to unleash all your energy. You have to prove you still have what it takes to dominate this league."
He said to Kobe, "If you want to be the team leader, you should be destroying the Pacers’ perimeter. Once you get that Finals MVP, everyone will shut up."
"But the prerequisite is winning tonight’s game."
Phil Jackson was openly fanning the flames of their rivalry.
It was a double-edged sword.
But from the increasingly determined looks in Kobe’s and O’Neal’s eyes, it was clear that Phil Jackson’s words were having a positive effect.
TWEET!
The whistle blew, and the game resumed.
The second quarter began, and Su Xi was still resting on the bench.
But at that moment, the game took a turn.
Kobe Bryant brought the ball past half-court. He took on Artest one-on-one on the wing. He was playing with great determination, driving from the side. Artest had no choice but to call for help defense from Little O’Neal. Under the pressure, Kobe still forced a shot... CLANG!
The shot missed.
But under the basket, the Lakers had a two-on-one advantage.
Luke Walton may not have a strong physique, but he was smart. He leaped up and tipped the ball to O’Neal, who exploded upwards and slammed the ball into the hoop with one hand.
Watching from the sideline, Su Xi’s heart pounded with anxiety.
Worse was yet to come.
Kobe switched to defending Kenny Anderson. Anderson’s physical condition was nowhere near Su Xi’s. He got tied up and barely managed to pass the ball to Artest.
But Artest failed to seize the opportunity, and his jumper missed the rim.
O’Neal grabbed the rebound, quickly passed to Fisher, and started a fast break.
When O’Neal reached the top of the arc, he set a screen for Fisher.
Fisher immediately pulled up for a jumper... SWISH!
He drained the three.
The lead instantly widened to 7 points.
The Pacers were in deep trouble.
Su Xi was getting antsy.
’Are we really going to get steamrolled by the Lakers?’
All the Indiana People knew that once the mighty Lakers found their winning momentum, they would be unstoppable.
The Pacers couldn’t afford to lose this game.
But now, what cards did the Pacers have left to play?
WHOOSH!
Su Xi shot to his feet. He appealed to Carlisle, "Put me in."
