Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

The pressure of critical moments can overwhelm most stars, but some exist precisely for such times.

"Put in Michael Redd," Yu Fei took the initiative to say to George Karl, "We'll run X-Offense!"

Karl looked at Yu Fei, "Shooting is unreliable under this kind of pressure."

"Not necessarily, George," Yu Fei said, "They won't give Ray any open chances because Ray has a 40% three-point percentage, and Michael has a 44% three-point percentage. Do the Spurs dare to bet on his touch? I'll go all-out on offense with their help."

To Karl's surprise, he felt he could trust Yu Fei.

Why? Because Yu Fei was the reason the Bucks had gotten this far.

Last season they didn't make the playoffs, but this season they secured the league's best record with 63 wins.

There was a reason, and without Yu Fei's average performance of 26+9+8, they wouldn't have made it here.

Now, the youngest MVP in league history was asking for full cooperation—was there even anything to consider?

Karl remembered Yu Fei's confrontation with Jordan in Washington, his 60 points in three quarters with the Wizards, his battles with Iverson during the semi-finals. After all, this was a man who dared to challenge God; with him, there were endless possibilities.

Karl picked up the whiteboard and said, "From now on, our strategy is simple: get the ball to Frye."

What Karl really wanted to plan was the defense.

He didn't give Yu Fei a 5 OUT lineup because it was too risky; failure to find the shooting touch quickly could lead to the inside being torn apart.

Ratner and Gadzuric teamed up with Yu Fei and two sharpshooters to maximize space and paint height.

Then, as the timeout ended, both teams pinned their hopes on their star players.

Ratner hounded Duncan like a vicious dog, cutting in front of him.

Yu Fei lingered close, ready to help at any moment.

After thinking it through, Duncan decided to start with a pick and roll for Parker. To everyone's surprise, Ratner abandoned Duncan completely and went around the three-point line to cut off the Frenchman.

In his panic, Parker failed to find an open Duncan and swung the ball broadly toward Bowen in the other corner.

Bowen caught the ball and instinctively passed it toward Robinson, who had sealed off his position in the low post.

The next second, Bowen's eyes widened as Yu Fei, who had been guarding Jackson, appeared as if stepping through a portal in time, just in time to intercept the pass.

The so-called genius lies not only in visible talent but also in the foresight to anticipate the course of events. Yu Fei hadn't wasted even half a second after intercepting Bowen's pass; he turned and slung the ball towards the frontcourt.

Michael Redd in the frontcourt immediately shot a trailing three-pointer!

"Swish!!!"

George Karl's fingers trembled.

Yu Fei shouldn't have been able to lock onto Redd's position so quickly, but like a man with eyes in the back of his head, he reacted instantly—meaning he had been aware of Redd's position since he turned to intercept Bowen's pass.

He anticipated Redd's response and passed the ball without hesitation.

Redd, untested by tough physical confrontation, had a complete touch; this trailing three-pointer was a display of extreme confidence in his own shooting.

68 to 80

For the first time since the start of the game, the Bucks' lead reached double digits.

The atmosphere at the SBC Center became strange; the fans were frenziedly cheering for the home team, but the Spurs were eager to stabilize the situation.

Facing the Bucks' blatantly shrinking defense and zone, they still decided to feed the ball inside.

In their minds, it was the royal road, an obvious choice.

What they didn't realize was that at the end of that royal road was hell.

Apart from Bowen in the corner, Jackson and Parker were left wide open by the Bucks.

The Bucks concentrated their forces under the basket.

Forced to attack with his left hand amid the crowd, Duncan's renowned fundamental skills didn't pay off.

The ball circled the rim and fell to the ground.

Duncan was still Duncan, using his wingspan to secure the offensive rebound and feigned a second attack.

But this time, awaiting him was Yu Fei's block as he helped on defense.

Duncan, who usually played with just seventy percent effort, was now fully exerting himself due to lack of space but was blocked by Yu Fei.

Sprewell snatched the loose ball as endless boos echoed throughout the SBC Center.

The home fans weren't dissatisfied with Duncan but with the referee.

To the brutes of Texas, Yu Fei's block must have been a foul.

Unfortunately, they encountered Dick Bavita, a referee who was never influenced by home or away crowds.

Sprewell brought the ball upcourt himself, not rushing to attack, but waiting for Yu Fei to come up, passed him the ball, and went to set a pick.

Sprewell brought Parker in front of Yu Fei.

Yu Fei took advantage of the size mismatch and forcefully broke through, coming to a sudden stop at the free-throw line and jumping to shoot.

Parker was too short to offer any real contest.

"Swish!"

68 to 82

"They're down by 14 points!"

"Will the Bucks kill the game right after the timeout?"

Quiet, so quiet—the Spurs fans were no longer screaming.

The hope of the Silver-Black Legion still rests with Duncan.

They passed the ball to Duncan, hoping that this man who was always unfazed would bring a miracle.

Duncan was well aware that there wasn't much time left, and the Bucks' shrinking defensive strategy wouldn't give him the chance to slowly unfold his game.

Hence, Duncan had an epiphany and made an inside spin move to shake off Gadzuric's defense, his expression no longer calm but rather vivid as an enraged Buddha.

Ratner was at a disadvantage on defense and was scored on by Duncan, who was directly in front of him, resulting in his sixth personal foul.

He graduated with a full count of fouls. Enjoy exclusive content from empire

The man who replaced him was Anthony Mason, who also had five fouls.