Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

As a devout Christian, Red said, "The Bible is not for cursing people."

"You're misunderstanding," Yu Fei said, "It's not about cursing, it's admonishment. Teach me a line."

With a look of resignation, Red replied, "Because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth."

"Where's that from?"

"'Revelation 3:16'."

"That's a good one. If that guy keeps preaching at me, I'll give him this line... Got any more?"

For the veterans of the Bucks, ending the finals tonight would be the best possible outcome.

Therefore, everyone was seriously preparing for the game.

Tyronn Hill, who had joined the team at the trade deadline, took the pre-game training extremely seriously.

Ratner also took hundreds more shots than usual.

Dan Gadzuric continued to lift weights in the gym, but it was obviously a case of too little, too late; his previous beatdowns by Duncan and Robinson definitely weren't because he didn't lift enough on game day.

However, if he thought it helped, who would stop him from taking some cheap comfort?

With nothing to do, Yu Fei challenged Sprewell to a one-on-one.

Sprewell was quieter than usual today.

Considering Sprewell lost to the Spurs back in 1999 and missed out on a championship, his mood wasn't hard to understand.

But Yu Fei was wrong.

"Have you ever paid attention to the Spurs' bench?" asked Sprewell. "Have you ever looked at their coaching staff?"

Yu Fei said, "I know Popovich."

"The others?"

"Not familiar."

Sprewell's expression changed. "You constantly bring up my choking incident, yet you don't even know who I choked?"

After all, not even the die-hard fans who shout about it all the time can name the girl Jack was so stylish with in Eagle County.

With a forced smile, Yu Fei said, "The guy you choked wouldn't happen to be a Spurs' assistant coach, would it? That would be quite a coincidence."

"Not an assistant coach, he's Popovich's assistant," Sprewell explained. "Imagine how satisfying it would be to beat the Spurs in front of him and win the championship."

It seems every person on the team has a reason why we must win tonight.

The buffs are fully stacked.

The Bucks must win tonight?

Yu Fei wouldn't go to the Bradley Center with such an optimistic mindset.

When the Bucks arrived at their home court, preparations were in full swing.

Yu Fei didn't idle around; he started warming up as soon as he arrived.

Twenty minutes later, the setup was complete, and fans who had been waiting outside rushed in the first chance they got. Stay connected with empire

Then, as one of NBA's main partners, ABC arranged three seats around the court for their live commentary team tonight, consisting of Brad Nessler, Bill Walton, and Tom Tolbert.

Because the live camera was aimed at the Bucks' side of the court, Yu Fei also played with the ball in front of Walton during warm-ups.

Particularly when they were path-finding topics to discuss the 2003 draft, Yu Fei suddenly said to Walton, "If Luke hadn't been the number one pick, I think there wouldn't have been any need to hold the draft."

But that was just a small episode before the game.

Before the big game, the atmosphere was already full of tension.

First, the Bucks unfurled a banner on the sidelines insulting Duncan: "The real MVP will prove everything, ghosts of San Antonio will only wail."

Next, the simple fans from America's heartland unleashed a verbal torrent on the Spurs.

Apart from ordinary fans, the scene was packed with big names, rare visitors to the Bradley Center.

Larry Brown, the new head coach of the Pistons and also the new head coach of the US men's basketball team, was in attendance, not for play, as he saw Yu Fei and Duncan as important elements of his Dream Team.

Then there was Jason Kidd, a 360-degree spin enthusiast with a tangled history with the Spurs.

Kidd was truly on vacation, but choosing Milwaukee as a vacation spot couldn't help but raise eyebrows—were the Spurs really about to sign the league's best point guard in the off-season?

As for celebrities from the entertainment industry, Yu Fei, admittedly not very observant, only recognized Christina Aguilera, who wasn't a local but showed up wearing his jersey to sing "Star-Spangled Banner" on stage.

"Didn't realize you had so many fans," Mason said with surprise.

Yu Fei shrugged his shoulders. What could he say? Even though he was the second MVP in Bucks history, Wisconsin, broadly speaking, was an area with fewer basketball fans.

So even if Yu Fei attracted all the basketball fans in the region, the number would still be very small by the standards of basketball-heavy states.

That's why Yu Fei, though nationally popular, couldn't translate that into market value and commercial income for the Bucks.

Although Aguilera boasted a vocal range that spanned four octaves, her rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner" was off-key, but of course, that didn't matter much.

With the pre-game events over, the starting players of both teams took to the court.

At the tip-off, Duncan lost the jump ball, and the Bucks secured possession.

Sprewell took the ball and attacked the paint like a madman.

Duncan and Robinson both failed to disturb him, watching as Sprewell scored a layup.

2 to 0.

The Spurs started the game tentatively, neither letting Duncan play inside nor allowing Robinson to play high.

Their first play was to set up Duncan at the high post for a pick-and-roll with Stephen Jackson.

However, after Duncan set the screen and rolled, he didn't receive the pass back from Jackson, because Jackson had passed the ball into Yu Fei's knee.