Chapter 122: The Miracle Child is, after all, the Miracle Child

Fan Xi had given Phil Jackson and Lao Wente too many surprises; the two well-traveled veterans of the League had experienced too many "firsts" because of him.

They rarely used rookies in the past; they were even dismissive of seasoned players, loving only superstars.

Even with a young Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson had subjected him to some discipline while coaching him.

And back when the OK duo was falling apart, Phil Jackson had stood clearly on Shaquille O'Neal's side.

Now, facing the young Fan Xi, they were like two withered, stoic old men who had suddenly remembered their first love, planting a strange seed in their parched hearts.

Damn it, they were starting to trust the process.

It was like a middle-aged woman's love—once it ignited, it was unstoppable.

"Alright, Jack, do whatever you want to do."

Phil Jackson told Fan Xi in a voice of "firm support."

Beep!

The whistle blew.

Fan Xi stood up and walked toward the court. He arrived beside Chris Paul, his gaze burning, locking onto Saint Paul directly and fiercely. Chris Paul's eyes flickered slightly as he met his gaze.

"Look me in the eye, Saint Paul."

Fan Xi's tone was firm and forceful, carrying an unquestionable dominance: "You're afraid, you're hesitating, you're finished!"

Hearing this, Chris Paul immediately stared back at Fan Xi aggressively.

However, deep down, he felt inexplicably insecure.

In this game, he had watched Fan Xi complete an epic comeback. When this guy, dubbed the "Miracle Child," first started, he had struggled even to cross half-court under his defense.

But from the second quarter on, he had handled things with ease; his ball-handling seemed to suddenly become seamless, not a linear improvement. Then, as the second half began, he had found a ball-handling offensive style that required immense talent, hitting the Hornets right in their soft spot.

This speed of evolution was too eerie.

Chris Paul had already concluded in his heart that Jieke Fan was a one-in-a-million combat genius.

This kind of genius player grew stronger against stronger opponents; he could grow rapidly in battle and quickly evolve moves to counter his opponents.

Chris Paul realized he was being countered.

Although he knew there was still a gap between Fan Xi's current strength and his own, and that he would definitely perform better than him against other teams,

this guy countered him. He was just another Deron Williams.

Yet, Deron Williams countering Paul had been the result of long-term honing.

Fan Xi, however, had done it in just one game...

Hiss!

Chris Paul gasped.

Only then did he understand a truth: a person's name might be wrong, but a person's nickname is never wrong.

The Miracle Child—the miracle is in his damn eerie evolution!

Paul had no way out.

He had to defeat this guy.

Even if he lost the game, he had to beat him in the bet.

If he lost both, he was done for!

So, when Fan Xi brought the ball to the front court, Chris Paul defended him tightly. When Fan Xi started to drive, he suddenly called for a teammate to double-team, hoping to snuff Fan Xi out.

Who knew, as soon as Belinelli arrived, Fan Xi passed the ball out, and Matt Barnes caught it.

Belinelli quickly retreated, but as he did, Fan Xi also ran over quickly, circling around Barnes's body to dodge Paul.

Matt Barnes turned his body to block Paul and passed the ball to Fan Xi.

Fan Xi caught the ball and suddenly shot... Swish!

The three-pointer went in.

This shot by Fan Xi fully displayed his catch-and-shoot ability; he had become famous with a single shot from beyond the three-point line.

Chris Paul had suffered a secret loss.

He wanted to double-team Fan Xi, but Fan Xi had cunningly used it to hit a three-pointer instead.

Paul's vicious punch hadn't just hit soft cotton; there were sharp steel needles hidden inside.

Saint Paul had been humbled again.

His resentment toward Fan Xi rose exponentially.

Intense and complex emotions intertwined in his mind; even he, known for his coolness, was feeling a bit frantic.

When he reached the front court and attacked Fan Xi again, Fan Xi did the same thing, calling Matt Barnes up.

Matt Barnes's defense was not something Belinelli could compare to; this tough guy blocked Paul's path directly, stopping Saint Paul in his tracks.

Fan Xi immediately pounced like a wolf, grabbed the ball from Paul with both hands, and yanked it away, stealing it directly.

Paul opened his hands in a pathetic gesture, trying to draw a foul, but the head referee ignored him.

He hurried to chase Fan Xi, but Fan Xi didn't hesitate at all as he rushed to the front court, quickly shooting from the top of the three-point arc... Swish!

Another perfect three-pointer.

Fan Xi had hit two consecutive three-pointers since coming on; Paul's lead in the bet was down to just 2 points.

"Jieke Fan's growth speed is too amazing; Kobe Bryant can rest easy with his divorce proceedings with Vanessa."

Kenny Smith said "cheekily."

Then, he looked at Charles Barkley beside him: "Looks like it's only a 1-point difference now?"

Barkley, of course, knew that before Fan Xi came on, Saint Paul had been leading by 8 points, and with Fan Xi on, two three-pointers and one steal.

In an instant, the lead was down to just 1.

The Hornets' point gap was also getting larger and larger.

Only one sentence was in Charles Barkley's mind: How could this happen?

Clearly, at the start of the game, he was suppressing Jieke Fan. How did it become like this in the second half?

Could he really be the Miracle Child? Could even the League's number one point guard not suppress him?

Chris Paul's mentality was even more shattered than Barkley's.

That steal just now was the final straw that broke his reason.

He dribbled through Fan Xi's defense, and as Fan Xi followed him closely, he suddenly swung his elbow backward; Fan Xi was hit in the chest and stopped in pain.

Paul took advantage of the momentum to drive into the paint, but as he jumped up for a layup, Lamar Odom swatted the basketball away directly from behind.

Fan Xi happened to pick up the ball behind him.

Fan Xi endured the pain in his ribs and moved forward.

Who knew that just as he reached the mid-court line, Chris Paul would ambush him again; this was the third time he had ambushed Fan Xi at the mid-court line in this game.

This time, his eyes were bloodshot.

He was like a desperate bandit; he stuck to Fan Xi and rammed into him... he wanted to knock Fan Xi over directly.

Paul always had such tactics; when the game didn't go his way, he would use these dirty tricks. He thought it was toughness, but in reality, it was "inability to lose" deep in his bones.

However, just as Paul rammed into him, trying to knock Fan Xi over, Fan Xi suddenly performed a fierce behind-the-back dribble, his body sliding past like a nimble loach, and Saint Paul lunged into thin air.

Because he had used so much force, leaving no room for error, he couldn't control his center of gravity after missing, and his body flew out of bounds... Bang!

He wasn't as lucky as Fan Xi.

Fan Xi had been pushed to the ground by him, sliding a distance to dissipate the force.

But he had fallen solidly onto the scorer's table, his upper body plunging forward with massive momentum... Bang! He hit the sharp corner of a computer inside the scorer's table hard.

The thing Paul hated most in his life was people touching his head; being short, he had strong self-esteem and believed anyone touching his head was looking down on him.

But this time, his head had been cracked open by a monitor.

He felt a sharp pain on the top of his head, and then a warm, crimson flow streamed down; he felt a piercing, bone-deep pain.

At this moment, he heard the excited cheers of the Staples Center.

He had no time to care about what was happening on the court.

But the on-site DJ was roaring loudly, shouting: Jieke Fan! Three-pointer good!

This was Fan Xi's third three-pointer; he had already surpassed Paul.

The head referee called a timeout, and people scrambled to pull the blood-covered Paul out from inside the scorer's table. The Hornets' team doctor supported the "blood man" and hurried toward the player tunnel; they had to stop Paul's bleeding and send him to the hospital.

The big screen overhead was replaying that scene.

Fan Xi had used a smooth behind-the-back dribble to bypass the aggressive Chris Paul; Paul couldn't stop his momentum, fell in a dive, and crashed hard into the scorer's table.

This was a classic scene.

The Lakers fans on-site couldn't empathize with Saint Paul's pain and shame.

They felt it was extremely brilliant; this was destined to be a highlight reel for Staples Center.

Fan Xi had suppressed the League's number one point guard in this way.

Paul had lost both the victory and his personal stats in this game.

Furthermore, he had made Fan Xi's reputation as the Miracle Child even louder.

When Fan Xi left the court, he raised his hands high, and the fans in the arena shouted in unison.

Fan! Fan! Fan!

The sound resonated to the clouds.

Fan Xi proudly raised his head, like a victorious general returning home.

He walked toward the bench with great majesty.

The CCTV cameraman gave him a long shot, giving his pace a sense of epic grandeur.

Too strong!

The CCTV cameraman had only one thought: Jieke Fan was even more impressive than Yao Ming.

Although Yao Ming was the number one person in Chinese basketball, he had never had such a dazzling performance: Fan Xi had actually shaken Saint Paul out of bounds, flying two meters away.

There had never been such a performance in NBA history.

This was much more spectacular than when Iverson shook Tyronn Lue on this court and stepped over him.

After all, what kind of goods was Tyronn Lue? Just an ordinary rotation player.

Saint Paul was the League's number one point guard!

The CCTV cameraman could add an egg to his meal when he got home this time; the footage he shot courtside was even more immersive than the official NBA footage.

"Chris Paul has truly become a stepping stone for Jack this time."

Kenny Smith said with great emotion on TV: "The Miracle Child is indeed the Miracle Child. Who could have imagined that the confident Saint Paul would end up leaving the court in this way?"

Charles Barkley hadn't imagined it at all.

The scene in his ideal world should have been Saint Paul rubbing Jieke Fan into the ground from the first minute, making him cry for his daddy and mommy, and suppressing this detestable guy directly.

Making him stop bragging about some bullshit Miracle Child, making him understand what a real point guard is like, and most importantly, making Kenny Smith taste a donkey's ass.

Yet now...

Sigh!

Charles Barkley let out a sigh.

Kenny Smith on the side reminded him: "Charles, don't forget to cast your media vote for Jack. Also, you have to pull 20 Rookie of the Year votes for Jack."

"I don't need you to remind me; I have always been a person who keeps his promises," Charles Barkley said irritably.

"Moreover, with such a performance from Jieke Fan, is there any question about him becoming Rookie of the Year? Blake Griffin and John Wall might have better talent, but they have never played such an exciting game."

Barkley continued.

This sentence struck the hearts of Blake Griffin and John Wall in front of the TV.

When Paul left with his face covered in blood, they were disheartened.

But after Charles Barkley said this, they thought about it and started to feel that it might indeed be the case. Jieke Fan had played too many brilliant performances this year; he was simply born for big scenes.

This was a very important reference factor for the voting reporters.

Lu Yuan opened a bottle of expensive Conti red wine in front of the TV, and he and Ma Chen clinked glasses excitedly.

"The boss's Chinese commercial market is about to explode! I didn't expect him to be able to defeat even Paul."

Lu Yuan said with extreme excitement: "The Miracle Child is indeed the Miracle Child. We followed the right person."

Ma Chen nodded in deep agreement; their careers were all tied to Fan Xi.

The better Fan Xi performed, the clearer their career prospects became.

"I'm going to send a press release to the media; the boss performed so well, how can we not brag about it? Paul lost both his wife and his army tonight."

Ma Chen raised his eyebrows and said happily.

As excited as Fan Xi's behind-the-scenes team was, Paul's behind-the-scenes team and sponsors were just as sad.

Originally, they also wanted to make a big deal out of this game, but they didn't expect Fan Xi to be so fierce, and in the end, he even left Chris Paul with no face, falling hard and covered in blood, extremely pathetic.

Now, they were only thinking about how to get through this PR crisis.

A superstar being beaten so miserably by a rookie would definitely damage his reputation significantly.

In the future, countless people would use photos of him covered in blood to mock him.

This was a night of shame for Saint Paul.

He paid the price for his madness and filth.

If he hadn't thought about knocking Fan Xi over hard, he wouldn't have fallen out two or three meters so pathetically, cracking his head open.

So, it is said, man proposes, God disposes.

Fan Xi returned to the bench like a hero returning in triumph; Phil Jackson stood up and gave him a hug, telling Fan Xi: "Jack, I am proud of you."

The head coach, the Zen Master, set the tone.

Other teammates also cheered for Fan Xi one after another.

Only Andrew Bynum sat silently on the edge of the joy, exuding frustration and low pressure.

The better Fan Xi performed, the more lost he felt.

He couldn't wait to return.

He couldn't wait to take back the "favor" that belonged to him.

Watching Fan Xi, who was infinitely glorious and surrounded by blessings, Bynum quietly clenched his fists, shouting wildly in his heart: I will definitely come back.

... ===== CHAPTER 123 =====