Chapter 178: Duke Provides Support, the Crown Prince Ends in Sorrow

June 8.

The Staples Center was brightly lit. As Jimbas had expected, ticket sales for the game set an all‑time record, and nearly a thousand standing tickets were also sold.

This is a record‑breaking feat.

For this, Los Angeles government agencies and the NBA opened wide doors of convenience.

This made Pat Riley, as president of the Miami Heat, watch with envy; Miami is a big basketball market, but its ticket and sponsorship prices are far below those of the Lakers, and the Lakers truly are a hen that lays golden eggs.

No wonder the Bass family has become flush thanks to this team.

"For this game, we will treat Jieke Fan as a tougher opponent than Kobe Bryant, completely sever his connections with other Lakers players, crush Los Angeles's spirit, and make them stall in their tracks."

Le Bu Lang Zhang Si declared solemnly in the locker room before the game.

This year's Finals have become the biggest test of his career, or rather the biggest gamble of his career.

If he leads the Heat to victory.

Then he will firmly sit on the league's top throne, becoming the only "ruler" of the league today.

But if he loses, loses, his historical standing will slip, and the fierce upward trajectory he's had since the start of his career will be halted.

Because last summer, his televised decision to join the Heat drew the greatest criticism ever, and if he then loses to a Lakers team without Kobe.

Then those who target him will mock him doubly.

Moreover, some will shift their affection for him onto the league's new‑generation superstars—Rosa, Durant, and Jieke Fan, who directly defeats him—draining his popularity and commercial value.

James will not allow this to happen; now is the best time of his life, and he will not tolerate any disruption, especially from that playboy.

…

Taylor Swift brought a pre‑game performance to Los Angeles; she rare‑ly wore a long gown, and the lavish stage design made her look like a fairy descending to earth.

She sang a track from her new album, and after finishing, clenched a tiny fist and shouted: "Go Lakers, go Jie Ke!"

This sparked the first wave of cheers in the Staples Center.

Of course, ESPN's camera quickly cut to Si Jia Li Johnson at the side of the arena, whose mouth showed a faintly disdainful smile. Meanwhile, the women of the Kardashian family made outright contemptuous faces, shaking their heads.

In fact, before the game, Kanye West, as the Kardashian family's uncle‑in‑law, criticized: Taylor Swift's musical talent is ordinary, and she is unsuitable as the opening act. They should have invited me; I charge nothing, and I could perform together with my fiancée and Jenna.

Putting Kanye West forward to fire shots clearly carries more authority; the Kardashian family truly are masters of manipulating public opinion.

However, tonight Jenna still did not sit with her sisters; she remained in the back of the bench seats, together with Kobe's family.

In a sense, Jenna has already earned the Lakers' internal approval; Kobe Bryant's family and Duke Jie Ke's other rumored partners are not this close.

Tonight, Selena's absence from the sidelines was a regrettable thing for gossip fans.

Probably her agency does not want her dating Duke Jie Ke; after all, Duke Jie Ke and his women have dealt a devastating blow to their most popular idol group, and they certainly do not want Selena to have any further ties with Jie Ke.

"This is a disappointing news. Honestly, among the new‑generation female singers, my favorites are Selena and Swift; they both have voices that intoxicate me. Taylor also has astonishing talent, and Selena's sweet smile is memorable. They seemed to have competed at an MTV awards ceremony for the most popular female singer among American teenagers."

"Now the trophy has become Duke Jie Ke. Damn, I still like calling him young Duke Jie Ke; he's only 19. Why call him Lord Duke? It sounds old‑fashioned."

Reggie Miller, as an ESPN commentator, babbled incessantly on television.

Reggie Miller is a historic‑level NBA sharpshooter, known throughout his career for his trash‑talk; after retiring, he finally landed a job earning a living from commentary, and he does it quite well.

His reputation in basketball commentary is comparable to Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith, making him a model for retired players finding new careers.

Compared with TNT's commentary trio of Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Earl Johnson.

Most of the time ESPN pairs senior commentator Mai Ke Bu Lin with Reggie Miller; their partnership lacks TNT's dramatic flair, yet their viewpoints are still sharp.

Before the game, Mai Ke Bu Lin grabbed Reggie Miller's neck and said: "Victory will belong to Miami; the Three Giants have no reason to keep losing! That damned playboy young Duke Jie Ke is the chief scourge of Hollywood, ruining the entire Los Angeles atmosphere."

Reggie Miller's neck is long and easy to choke.

But Miller isn't someone who respects elders; he also grabbed Mai Ke Bu Lin's neck and shouted, "Damn you, you old‑eyed fool, you can't even tell a woman's cup size, what do you know about basketball? Los Angeles winning the championship is already a certainty; imagine, when was the last time a rookie point guard led a team to an upset championship?"

It was the Lakers.

It was the Lakers' Magic Johnson.

Seated in a VIP box set up from the Lakers' temporary partition were Old Bass, Jimbas, Ku Pu Qie Ke, Jean Bas, Magic Johnson, Jerry West, and Jia Ba'er, among other Lakers bigwigs, gathered together.

They all accompanied the senior leader to watch the game.

Jerry Bass now laughed while discussing the issue with Magic Johnson and Jia Ba'er: "Today's situation is a bit like back then. Ervin, you also became famous with a single Finals shot back then. History is repeating itself."

Jia Ba'er laughed, "Yes, right now, just as it was then."

Magic Johnson merely smiled.

He internally disagreed with Old Bass's view, yet did not expose it.

He simply sat there as a minority shareholder and veteran player, waiting for the game to proceed.

And, at the right moment, discussed a few words about women with Old Bass.

In their youth, Old Bass and Magic Johnson were both playboys; Bass's lovers spanned Hollywood, and Johnson even took it further, ruining his entire career—he's the only known case of a player contracting AIDS to date.

Therefore, Fan Xi's current matter is not impressive enough in front of them.

It's just that young Duke Jie Ke's women are all well‑known entertainment figures, making them especially dazzling.

…

"Tonight, we must strike in one go and take Miami. That bastard Ke Li Si Bo Shen claims there are still three games left to finish the Finals, but we'll just refuse his wish."

"Tonight we'll change the final score to 3‑1!"

Andrew Bai Na Mu spoke endlessly before the game; he is now ambitious and eager to achieve something.

In fact, it's not just him.

The Lakers' internal morale has reached its peak since the Finals began; the victory in Game 3 gave them tangible hope. Their once‑dim spirits not only revived but now blaze fiercely.

Who doesn't want to lift the championship trophy?

Who doesn't want to be the season's protagonist?

Who doesn't want to be part of a three‑peat dynasty?

Even Gassol went iron‑blooded, cutting off his signature hair, vowing to turn from a family sister‑in‑law into a steel rope.

Looking at the high morale in the locker room, Fan Xi felt more confident about victory.

…

The whistle blew, and the game began.

When Fan Xi entered the court, the MVP chants from the crowd never stopped.

This made Jimbas, sitting in the VIP box, unable to refrain from sighing in front of his old father: Look, this is exactly what everyone hopes for.

Old Bas nodded slightly.

Ding!

The head referee blew his whistle, tossing the basketball into the air, and the game officially started.

The starting lineups were: Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Matt Barnes, and Fan Xi.

The Lakers deployed a three‑tall lineup.

Miami's starting lineup remained: Anthony, Chris Bosh, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Mike Bibby.

Their lineup succeeded because of the Three Giants, and failed because of the Three Giants.

The Three Giants gave them tremendous fighting power, but also weakened their roster depth; they could not find more strong elite players to pair with them.

After all, team building is limited by the salary cap.

Not everyone is willing to pay the luxury tax like the Lakers.

The Lakers are a team willing to spend big money, and they are now entering their harvest season.

Pa!

Andrew Bynum fiercely slapped the basketball to Fan Xi; the pre‑game dyed‑red‑hair Bynum was full of passion.

Fan Xi dribbled the ball to the frontcourt.

Wade quickly came on defense, displaying the toughness and caution he used against Kobe, officially treating Fan Xi as an equal opponent; he no longer dared to slight Fan Xi in the slightest, his arrogance shattered by successive crushing defeats.

This made Fan Xi feel a real threat.

Wade is, after all, a top‑tier league talent; his physical condition, experience, and skills are top‑notch.

Fan Xi used speed, explosiveness, and superb ball‑handling to shake Wade a step, but immediately Chris Bosh came in for a double‑team… Miami's defensive intensity rose noticeably.

Fan Xi failed to score hard, he quickly came to a sudden stop, found an opening, and swiftly passed the ball to Gasol.

Gasol, with his hair cut short, cut off the worries of his sister‑in‑law, caught the ball, took a hop step and slammed a powerful two‑handed dunk into the paint.

Miami's basket rang with a booming sound from his slam.

Kobe on the sidelines stood up and cheered for him.

The Spaniards finally rose up.

Jerry West in the VIP box shouted loudly: "Gasol is indeed the pillar of Los Angeles' paint!"

Gasol's coming to the Lakers was thanks to Jerry West's effort.

At this moment he stood up to praise Gasol, naturally because of that connection.

West needed to tell everyone in this room: only I can bring Los Angeles a true championship core.

Old Bas nodded at him.

Jerry West, the uncrowned king, is someone I understand; back then it was thanks to him that the Lakers' aristocratic fortune emerged. Later he retired into management, and also indirectly or directly brought the Lakers a dynasty; now another dynasty is about to arrive.

Old Bas is a man who values old friends, a pillar of the state!

He nodded his head in satisfaction.

The game continued.

Fan Xi blocked Mike Bibby's path; Bibby obediently passed the ball to James.

James singled out Lamar Odom; Odom couldn't hold up, after a few moves he was driven into the paint, but when James went for a layup, Gasol, helping on defense, pulled him down together with the ball.

James walked to the free‑throw line.

Bang!

Swish!

One of two free throws made.

This amounted to the Lakers' defensive success on this play.

The game continued; Fan Xi faced ever‑increasing defense, so he simply passed the ball to Bynum in the paint.

Bynum posted up, a quick spin turned him past Anthony behind him, drove to the basket, and finished with a beautiful reverse dunk.

"Tsk tsk tsk! This agility, this footwork, this dunk…… where does it look like a center?" Jabbar said: "If Bynum played in our era, he would have dominated the league. Now the league favors the perimeter more and more, but they don't realize that only whoever controls the paint can control the whole court."

Bynum is Jabbar's disciple; who would Jabbar praise if not him?

Moreover, Bynum was also the player Jerry West picked.

So Jerry West also praised Bynum as a heaven‑sent talent.

Magic also praised him there.

Old Bas kept nodding his head.

Jabbar is one of the greatest centers in Lakers history; he built the Lakers' dynasty of the seventies and eighties, and together with Magic Johnson he made the Lakers the most flamboyant and powerful team in the league.

The Lakers also became a true powerhouse at that stage, and have remained so to this day.

Old Bas holds these people in high regard.

At this moment Jimbas figured out a bit of meaning: these people came here collectively to give me eye drops, huh.

One by one they praised Bynum and Gasol, and belittled Jie Ke. Isn't this clearly an attempt to intimidate me? Isn't this clearly showing support for Jenny?

Do I not deserve support? Why do these veteran officials prefer to back a female upstart?

Jimbas was very angry.

At this time he very, very much hoped Fan Xi would put on an eye‑catching performance on the court, so he could raise his eyebrows and let out a loud boast.

However, the game did not shift according to his will.

Fan Xi never played as the main scorer; when he saw that Gasol and Bai Na Mu had an advantage in the paint, he decisively kept sending the basketball to the paint.

He didn't want to show off; he just wanted to win the game.

The Lakers had the initiative from the start of the game, and he was happy, even playing a supporting role.

Jimbas was anxious like an ant on a hot pan, watching that group of people laughing and chatting with the old man.

Jimbas wished he could jump onto the court, urging Fan Xi to quickly go into overdrive and enter scoring mode.

…