Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter 470: Chapter 323 When Divine Punishment Comes_2

Drive? Shoot? Crossover? Fake?

In the midst of multiple options, Wade instinctively chose to shoot, and just as he leaned forward, a voice popped up in his head, “Damn!”

Fei blew past his defender along the baseline, charging under the basket like a soaring dragon and slamming the ball over Alonzo Mourning with one hand.

“Don’t tell me that wasn’t a foul!”

Fei raised his arm, now bright red from Mourning’s slap.

But the referee’s reaction was slow, and he didn’t blow the whistle. Karl immediately put pressure from the sidelines.

The unwritten rule of basketball is that if the referee misses an obvious foul, they will compensate the disadvantaged team shortly after.

The referee didn’t make Fei wait long.

In the next possession, Antoine Walker was inexplicably called for an offensive foul.

Miami Heat turned over the ball.

Riley was furious. Playing fair is one thing, but this was going too far. They were the ones behind. Why couldn’t they get some home court advantage?@@novelbin@@

How could the damn referees be intimidated by Frye’s formidable presence?

“Enough!” Riley shouted, “No more isolation for him! Trap the pick and roll!”

It was a risky move. Trapping Fei could certainly limit his isolation plays, but it would also leave his teammates open for shots.

Aside from Kevin Martin, the Bucks hadn’t showed much decline in their shooting form that night.

But underlying Riley’s fury was a sense of helplessness with the status quo. What good was Wade’s valiance when they couldn’t stop Big Fei’s offense?

With the Bucks holding a double-digit lead, as long as they could respond, Wade’s desperate efforts wouldn’t be enough to turn the game around.

Riley was a gambler.

In the first round of his gamble, he was right.

Sprewell missed a three-pointer.

But the Heat had no chance for a counterattack because Fei, emerging out of nowhere, grabbed the long rebound amongst a cluster of players and instantly dished it to Kwame Brown under the basket.

The timing of the rebound and the almost supernatural passing skills made the moment invaluable. Yet, Brown’s slippery hands wasted Fei’s performance.

The ball went out of bounds, and the American Airlines Arena filled with jeers.

Some Miami Heat fans sarcastically shouted, “Michael Jordan’s biggest mistake in life was choosing you!”

Brown’s face showed guilt, unsure of how to face Fei.

But Fei simply patted him on the shoulder, “My bad, I forgot you don’t like that kind of pass.”

“Big Fei…” Brown started anxiously.

Fei waved off his words, “Just guard one.”

Kwame Brown hated those remarks comparing Big Fei to Jordan. Big Fei was Big Fei. He had a Jordan-style competitive spirit and a morbid desire to win, but do some similarities in ability prove that Big Fei equals Jordan?

No, there’s no logic in that. Sprewell wouldn’t say Big Fei is Jordan, Mason wouldn’t say that, none of the teammates who felt empathy with Big Fei would ever compare him to that egocentric jerk.

Brown waited for Miami Heat’s offense, with two fouls to give but not willing to commit them recklessly. If he had to foul, he wanted it to be unforgettable. It was time for him to make amends.

Wade drove hard to the left, entering the paint to go for a layup, his leg extended in an irregular fashion to keep the defender and himself apart.

He had no idea that beside the blocked Granger, someone plagued him for a long time.

Brown leaped with all his might, swatting Wade’s layup against the backboard with force.

Could you say Fei knew Brown would redeem himself so quickly?

He couldn’t have known, but he happened to be right where the ball rebounded, swiftly initiating a counterattack up the court.

Once again outnumbering the opponent, once again faced with a choice.

Fei’s decision remained unchanged.

“Frye’s fast-break three~~~~~~” Mike Breen’s voice rang out, exhilarating, “Hits!!! The lead jumps back to 13 points, Miami Heat calls for a timeout!”

Five minutes into the fourth quarter, Miami Heat had few options left.

All Riley could do was bring Shaquille O’Neal back into the game, hope he made a difference, and then put all his faith in Wade.

Wade was still the most reliable one.

With everyone else failing to score, Wade’s isolation jump shots kept the Heat’s hopes alive.

The gap closed to 11 points, but O’Neal’s return made an obvious target for the Bucks, which was the reason Riley had kept O’Neal on the bench up to that point.

Targeting O’Neal was much easier compared to targeting Wade.

But Riley miscalculated.

By that night, O’Neal had lost his significance; his offense was poor, his defense weak, and he wasn’t even better at rebounding than Mourning. He now resembled the Wizards’ Jordan, reduced to mere glamorous fame.

One the GOAT, the other self-proclaimed most dominant center ever.

Well, what of the GOAT? Was the Wizards’ GOAT still graceful? And the most dominant center ever, what of him? Now, he was nothing but Wade’s lapdog.

Oh, how time has taken its toll, allowing Fei to witness the fall of many greats.

Whether it’s a giant god like O’Neal or James, who kept up till his 40s but whose receding hairline told no lies in the 2020s, or that deity of the basketball court, you may be naturally beautiful, self-assured, and unmatched in talent, but what of it after ten, twenty years?

Fei, as if embodying Father Time himself, wielding the scythe of death, called for the pick and roll aiming for Wade, but when the double team came, he forced his way through, scoring over O’Neal with a floater.

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