Chapter 143: 4:00 AM in Los Angeles

There has always been a saying in the NBA: it's not scary to lose, but whoever is missing is the one who feels awkward.

Tonight, Kobe sat on the bench, watching coldly from the sidelines.

The situation in the fourth quarter exceeded his expectations. He had originally thought Bynum was just running his mouth and would soon be beaten into a retreat, scurrying back to the bench to beg for his help, after which he would take the court with Fan Xi, Gasol, and the others to sweep away the opposition and stage a scene of suppressing Dallas.

After Nowitzki entered the game, the Mavericks seemed to have found their backbone.

The German superstar grabbed the basketball and immediately launched a strong attack; he knew that what was needed at this moment was to stabilize the team's morale.

He drove past Odom's defense and charged into the paint, but just as he prepared to shoot, Fan Xi suddenly swooped in from his side, executing a steal attempt.

Nowitzki hurriedly changed his offensive approach; his arsenal was filled with a hundred different weapons.

However, the moment his basketball was tossed out, Bynum, inside the restricted area, let out a loud shout and leaped up, intercepting the ball directly in mid-air with his astonishingly long arms... Slap!

The basketball was fiercely swatted onto the floor by him, and with a loud thud, it rebounded.

Fan Xi, with quick eyes and fast hands, sprinted over and grabbed the ball.

Transition.

Fan Xi sprinted toward the frontcourt. He reached a meter beyond the three-point line, and taking advantage of the Mavericks' defense being caught off-balance, he decisively fired... Swish!

The ball hit the net in response.

The point gap widened further. Even with the German Tank on the floor, the Mavericks could not stop the Lakers' offensive, which flowed like a torrent of steel.

The Lakers' momentum burned fiercely, like a wildfire sweeping across the land.

When Fan Xi hit the super three-pointer in the frontcourt, Bynum roared with excitement in the backcourt. Matt Barnes rushed over to high-five Fan Xi immediately, and Odom and Deng Liwei were also extremely excited.

Morale was at its peak.

The hearts of the people were with them.

Dallas, holding the home-court advantage, was stunned.

"It's over; the Mavericks are about to be overturned," Kenny Smith said on television. "Jie Ke Fan is too good at killing a team's fighting spirit. He is always steady when he needs to be steady, and when it's time to pull out the spear and stab the opponent to death... his sword heart is like iron."

At this moment, the TNT camera captured Mavericks owner Mark Cuban behind the bench. When Fan Xi hit the three-pointer, Cuban painfully covered his face.

This was a microcosm of the entire arena; the Dallas home fans felt real fear because of Fan Xi's three-pointer.

The game continued.

Rick Carlisle did not call a timeout.

He just shouted loudly from the sidelines, intending to ignite his players' fighting spirit and make them struggle for victory.

However.

Once a watch is set to the wrong time, every second that follows is wrong. It would be better to stop; at least if it stops, it is correct twice a day.

The Mavericks' chemistry had been severed, and all their players were shrouded in low pressure.

Although they were experienced veterans.

Their experience only worked under normal conditions.

Tonight's Lakers were strange and powerful to them. After Fan Xi gained Bynum's unconditional loyalty, his energy was fully released, coupled with Deng Liwei, Matt Barnes, and Odom—the three teammates closest to him.

The Lakers were more united tonight than at any other time this season.

Bang!

Stojakovic's three-pointer missed.

Turning back, Fan Xi used his powerful lethality to break through the defensive line, drove inside the free-throw line, and passed to Bynum. Bynum played Tyson Chandler one-on-one in the post, turned, encountered a double-team, and passed it out to Fan Xi. Fan Xi quickly swung it to the corner, Deng Liwei caught the ball, and shot... Swish!

Three-pointer made.

The point gap continued to widen, instantly approaching the 20-point mark.

Rick Carlisle finally called a timeout.

Bynum returned to the bench with his head held high, showing unprecedented "confidence," and said loudly: "I said it long ago, half a quarter of play would send them into garbage time, and now the dirt is already buried up to their necks. This is the energy of a super center."

At this moment, whatever he said made sense.

Just like a billionaire bragging about being a model student since childhood, it would always be convincing.

Phil Jackson didn't even know what to say to him.

He just stood there, not saying a word.

When the timeout was about to end, he finally said a few words of encouragement.

Beep!

The game restarted.

The Mavericks played with a "burn the boats" intensity, but Nowitzki's mid-range jump shot after using all his strength to get past Lamar Odom failed to go in.

Immediately, Fan Xi threw a long pass, and Matt Barnes hit a three-pointer.

The point gap widened to 21 points.

The situation was lost.

Many home fans could not accept this result and stood up one after another, choosing to leave early, unable to bear watching their home team being slaughtered.

"The Mavericks should find it very difficult to turn the game around tonight. All the Lakers players are in hot form, and Kobe and Gasol are still sitting on the bench. If they don't want it to look ugly, and don't want to be slaughtered by thirty or forty points, they should announce that garbage time has arrived."

Charles Barkley kindly reminded them on television.

However, Rick Carlisle still persisted for 4 more possessions.

In these four possessions, the Mavericks scored 4 points.

While the Lakers scored 8 points.

The point gap continued to widen.

Rick Carlisle had no choice but to call a timeout.

At this moment, it was exactly the sixth minute of the fourth quarter.

Andrew Bynum's words had come true.

As the Mavericks subbed out all their starters and used all their bench players, they tacitly announced their surrender.

The Lakers also successively subbed out their starters.

When Fan Xi walked off the court, he passed by Scarlett Johansson.

Scarlett Johansson, this sexy Hollywood icon, suddenly stood up. Even though she knew this was a nationally televised game, she still gave Fan Xi a hug.

And, while hugging, she slightly raised her right leg, her upper body leaning against Fan Xi.

"Based on my understanding of women, Scarlett definitely has a thing with Jack."

Charles Barkley said confidently on television: "This is not a friendly hug."

Kenny Smith hurriedly refuted: "But, those Hollywood paparazzi have all confirmed that Jack is a person who keeps himself clean. You can't judge everyone else to be like you just because you are a messy person."

Barkley shrugged and raised his eyebrows, clearly disagreeing with this statement.

The game entered its final stages.

Kobe Bryant, after Fan Xi returned to the bench and exchanged greetings with him, headed to the locker room early.

This uncharacteristic move attracted the attention of the media, and Barkley and Kenny Smith discussed it for a long time on television.

After the game, the official explanation given by the Lakers was that Kobe had strained a ligament during the game, so he left the court early.

This also reasonably explained why he did not appear on the court at the critical moment.

The official statement put Lakers fans at ease, but there was still a lot of speculation in the media.

After all, this was the first time in many years that the Lakers had come from behind to win a key battle without Kobe.

Moreover, Andrew Bynum also said at the post-game press conference: "Jack and I can't wait to raise the banner of Los Angeles. Obviously, we are a peerless pair matched by God. Although we didn't speak to each other for a while before, we have recently recognized the real each other. I appreciate Jack's performance in the game, and he also appreciates my work in the paint."

Andrew Bynum did not mention Kobe. Combined with the news that he had a conflict with Kobe Bryant before this game, many conspiracy theorists made a judgment: the internal situation of the Lakers has changed, and the aging Kobe may not be able to control the young people in the locker room.

Some media outlets expressed surprise, saying: Previously, it was always Jack Fan and Bynum who had conflicts; I didn't expect that after they argued, the person who got hurt was Kobe.

Fan Xi was different from Bynum.

He did not brag about himself after the game, and he also actively avoided talking about his cooperation with Bynum.

"This was a wonderful game. We are all very happy to win an away game, which is of extraordinary significance for the entire series."

"In the next game, we will be even stronger. Undoubtedly, Kobe will lead us to perform even greater shows at the Staples Center."

Fan Xi still highly respected Kobe Bryant's leadership position in the team.

That night, the Lakers took a chartered plane back to Los Angeles.

Scarlett Johansson also boarded.

But not through Jack Fan's connection, but Andrew Bynum's.

Bynum took the initiative to find Scarlett to chat after the game. He hoped to break into the Hollywood circle through Fan Xi's connection, and he couldn't wait to start a marriage between the literary and sports circles.

Scarlett didn't really want to chat with this green-haired giant.

But after Bynum learned that Scarlett hadn't booked a ticket back to Los Angeles tonight, he patted his chest and guaranteed that he could definitely get Scarlett back to Los Angeles tonight.

He also said: With my status today, I can get anyone on the Lakers' chartered plane.

Then, he found the team leader and used his influence to pressure others.

Usually, how could the team leader refuse his face?

However, when Scarlett brought her team, a total of eight people, onto the private plane, it still attracted some side-eyes.

Bynum bragged shamelessly in front of Scarlett.

Kobe Bryant frowned; he was a little unhappy about this. When he was about to get off the plane, he found Fan Xi and said: "Jack, try not to bring your female confidantes onto the plane in the future. Although they are big-name stars, it has nothing to do with basketball."

Fan Xi explained helplessly: "Actually, I didn't call her up tonight. It was Andrew..."

As soon as Fan Xi's words came out, he realized he had said the wrong thing.

Kobe Bryant frowned. He looked at Bynum, who was fawning over Scarlett, for several seconds, but finally didn't say anything.

Fan Xi hoped to chat with Kobe Bryant for a while longer, but Kobe closed his eyes, which was a clear refusal.

Subsequently, the plane landed, and they each left.

Fan Xi never found an opportunity.

"That green-haired teammate of yours is really speechless."

Scarlett Johansson sat in Fan Xi's car, and she kept complaining to Fan Xi about Andrew Bynum.

Fan Xi didn't make a sound; he was still thinking about Kobe. He was worried that tonight's events would make Kobe Bryant misunderstand. He was afraid that Kobe would think he was closer to Bynum now, and even worried that Kobe would think he was consciously getting close to Bynum to isolate Kobe.

Kobe was a sensitive person.

"I always knew he was unreliable. Last time he told me and Selena that he was close to you and introduced us to that restaurant, but in the end... we were surrounded by reporters, and in the end, you didn't appear in Selena's sight..."

Scarlett Johansson continued to complain.

When she said this, Fan Xi suddenly woke up. He subconsciously stepped on the brake, parked the car on the side of the road, and asked Scarlett: "What did you say? You said it was arranged by him last time?"

Scarlett Johansson was stunned. She said: "Yeah. At that time, we thought he was a good person. As a result, he played us, and he also said he would provide us with magic potions, but it was useless at all."

Scarlett told everything.

Fan Xi was stunned. He finally understood why he was so restless that time.

Although he was a blessing in disguise for that matter, not only did he achieve commercial success, but he also gained the power talent he had dreamed of.

However, when he learned that Bynum was the one causing trouble, it still stuck in his throat.

This made him realize that he and Bynum could never be friends.

And Kobe Bryant was one of the few good big brothers he had in the NBA.

He stopped on the side of the road.

He dialed Kobe Bryant's phone again.

Kobe answered the phone, and Fan Xi chatted with him for a long time. Most importantly, they talked about their relationship. They talked about the good things they had in the past. Although Fan Xi didn't say any key information in every word, every word put together was affection.

This phone call put Kobe Bryant at ease. Although he didn't say much on the phone, when he put down the phone, the smile on the corner of his mouth couldn't be restrained.

He valued his relationship with Fan Xi very much, and he didn't want Fan Xi and Bynum to join forces.

Fan Xi hung up the phone, and for the first time, he realized the complexity of interpersonal relationships in the NBA locker room.

No wonder Matt Barnes told him before: I have played basketball in the NBA for so many years, but I haven't actually made a single friend. This is the most concentrated and luxurious vanity fair in the basketball world, and friendship is a real luxury.

"Jack, where are we going later? To Selena's house? I can help you two get together."

Seeing that Fan Xi had finished the call, Scarlett immediately groped up from the passenger seat, hooked Fan Xi's neck, and breathed orchid-like fragrance into Fan Xi's ear.

It was already 4:00 AM in Los Angeles.

Fan Xi smiled and said to Scarlett: "Have you ever seen Los Angeles at 4:00 AM?"

Scarlett was puzzled.

Fan Xi started the car and drove it to a corner on the side of the road.

The location here was relatively high, and looking down from the car window, one could just see the metropolis with neon lights still flickering.

Fan Xi put the seat down and said to Scarlett, let's watch the sunrise here.

... ===== CHAPTER 144 =====