Chapter 412: Lucky Charm

Guo Ailen still stands on the front line defending Chris Paul, spreading his arms to widen the defense and block Chris Paul's attacking route.

Paul's gaze contains contempt; he has never taken Guo Ailen seriously.

Guo Ailen's talent may be top‑tier in China, but in the United States, where geniuses are abundant, Guo Ailen is only at the level of an NCAA starting point guard.

Far from Chris Paul.

Paul originally tried to force a drive, but when he saw James pull to the perimeter, he quickly passed the basketball over.

Zhou Peng is defending James; Zhou Peng is one of the country's top defenders, tall and long‑armed. But he is skinny, and he can't hold off James; their talents differ by several levels.

But he moves around James like an octopus, probing, which still gives James a hint of threat. Tyson Chandler runs to the perimeter to set a screen, James uses it to break through the defense, drives into the paint and leaps up to meet Han Dejun.

Han Dejun's running and jumping ability is weak, yet watching James charge like a raging wave, he doesn't hesitate.

He grits his teeth, adopts a death‑defying stance, jumps and strives to block.

He jumps low, and his explosiveness is poor.

But as Fan Xi said, he is a Lucky Charm.

James clearly has never faced such a clumsy opponent; he expected the contest at the apex, but it didn't happen… Their physical clash occurs as James is about to dunk, already descending, and Han Dejun rises up.

His massive body forcefully blocks James's certain dunk.

James has no choice but to toss the ball out… Boom!

Clank.

Both stumble a bit when they hit the ground.

Yi Jianlian grabs the rebound.

"Not even a whistle?" James says angrily to the referee.

The referee answers with silence.

This isn't the NBA; here, paint‑area contact is encouraged.

The ball goes straight to Guo Ailen.

Guo Ailen dribbles past half‑court while Chris Paul applies pressure defense all the way.

Guo Ailen stumbles, Fan Xi roams nearby; he doesn't step in to take the ball, but lets Guo Ailen handle it himself.

This makes the Chinese fans watching on TV feel very anxious.

Fortunately, Guo Ailen has trained in the United States for so long; despite the stumbling, he bursts across half‑court and stops at the top of the three‑point arc.

Yi Jianlian runs over to set a screen; Guo Ailen drives through the free‑throw line toward the paint.

When he enters the paint, Tyson Chandler instantly changes position; Guo Ailen seems to realize something and quickly passes the ball to Han Dejun.

From a point‑guard's perspective, the pass is ordinary, like a reflex.

If it were Fan Xi, he would penetrate more calmly, eventually fooling Tyson Chandler outright.

In terms of timing and choice, Guo Ailen has not yet reached the point‑guard threshold.

Han Dejun receives the ball, feints adorably, tricks Tyson Chandler into leaping upward, then jumps, using his massive body against Tyson Chandler to toss it toward the hoop.

He aims for an alley‑oop.

But Tyson Chandler's athleticism is astounding; even while pressed by Han Dejun, his long arms and leaping still cover him.

Han Dejun's near‑range shot morphs… Boom!

The ball skims exaggeratedly near the edge of the backboard.

Then, it drops straight down… Swish!

It goes in.

Even Han Dejun didn't expect it.

He looks bewildered at his right hand, with an incredulous expression.

His expression is truly vivid.

Thus, he enrages Tyson Chandler.

In the NBA, players often use this to provoke opponents: after scoring, they stare at their hand and make a puzzled face.

The difference is NBA players aim to provoke, while Han Dejun is genuinely confused.

Tyson Chandler can't tell the difference.

Seeing this mediocre‑talent fat guy daring to act cool in front of him, he steps in and shoves Han Dejun hard.

Han Dejun had no defense; the ferocious Tyson Chandler's hard shove sends him crashing to the ground, landing face‑first, his teeth biting his lip.

His mouth instantly fills with blood, looking terrifying.

Tyson Chandler, swearing, rushes forward to argue with Han Dejun.

They are one brutally violent, the other pure and kind.

In contrast, the referee rushes forward, blows the whistle, and immediately ejects Tyson Chandler.

Tyson Chandler raises both hands, muttering, "He's provoking me! He's provoking me!! He's faking a fall! He's faking a fall!"

He feels deeply wronged; the fat guy clearly provoked him, he only gave a light push, yet he fell so far… and when he sees Han Dejun lift his head, mouth full of blood.

He freezes.

At this moment, the arena erupts in boos.

Coach Lao K paces back and forth on the sideline, urging Tyson Chandler to calm down; he doesn't understand why Chandler is so unsteady, why argue with that fat guy? In a normal game, he could have smashed him, so why…

With Tyson Chandler sent off, the U. S. team's two interior players are both gone, leaving only Kevin Love as a lone seed, still a big leaky bucket.

"The situation is becoming increasingly unfavorable for the Dream Team."

The ESPN commentator says on TV with great helplessness.

The China team gains possession and two free throws thanks to Tyson Chandler's provocation.

When Han Dejun, mouth full of blood, stands up, everyone worries about his injury. Yet soon he gives teammates joyful news: "I only tore the skin."

And his greater confusion was: "Why is that guy so magnanimous? I just go for a shot, he sneaks up behind me, then rushes at me as if he were going to eat me."

Fan Xi looked at him. He began to realize that Han Dejun truly is a Lucky Charm.

Now the Dream Team has consecutively lost Andongni Daise and Taixun Qian De Le, both defensive interior players; their paint foundation is completely gone, and Coach Lao K had to call a timeout.

"Our interior advantage will be highlighted, but our current interior starters have lost stamina. They will inevitably increase their speed," Bilupusi said to Fan Xi.

Yes.

Fan Xi nodded.

Normally, when a team loses its interior, it switches to a frantic fast‑break mode.

Undoubtedly, the Dream Team is the world's best at fast‑break play; their talent is astonishing.

"So the third quarter becomes especially crucial. We must hold onto our advantage," Mike Brown said firmly.

Fan Xi frowned; he understood the reasoning.

At this moment, Han Dejun's wound had been cleaned, just a tiny cut…

It doesn't affect his upcoming game at all.

This is a huge piece of good news for the Zhongguo team.

Thus, when the whistle sounded again, the Zhongguo team made no substitutions, and Han Dejun still stepped onto the court.

This caused the Dream Team to crumble a bit; Coach Lao K even erupted in fury, shouting, "I knew he was flopping, I knew he was flopping. Who knows if he deliberately held a mouthful of plasma to gain sympathy."

The experienced veteran coach was somewhat out of line, because he truly sensed the danger of defeat.

If he loses to the Zhongguo team like this, he will have no face returning to Duke.

The Dream Team's lineup has changed.

Kaiwen Lefu, Kamelong Andongni, Le Bu Lang Zhang Si, Kaiwen Dulan Te, Chris Paul.

It's a four‑forward formation; at least the Dream Team guarantees overall height, though their paint altitude drops sharply.

Swish!

Swish!

Han Dejun makes two free throws and scores both.

It was originally meant for Fan Xi to shoot, but Fan Xi gave it to Han Dejun, after all he earned it himself.

Then Yi Jianlian passed the ball to Fan Xi.

Fan Xi passed to Guo Ailen and then sprinted.

Fan Xi's off‑ball movement was highly threatening, the Dream Team's defense was heavily shifted, Guo Ailen sent the ball to Yi Jianlian, who leapt from the three‑point line to shoot… Kamelong Andongni's defense could not penetrate.

Swish!

Yi Jianlian hit the jump shot.

The Zhongguo team continues to widen the lead; at this rate, they're heading for double digits.

Chris Paul quickened the pace, but not to the level of a full‑court press.

The ball then went to Dulan Te, who pulled up from beyond the three‑point line and scored.

That was Dulan Te's 18th point tonight; his touch was scorching.

No one can guard him at all.

Afterwards, the Zhongguo team suppressed the tempo, playing a slow positional battle.

Guo Ailen, on the move, passed to Fan Xi, who immediately fed Han Dejun in the paint; Han Dejun, bearing Kaiwen Lefu, drove.

Kaiwen Lefu was knocked step‑for‑step, his leisurely turn left Lefu unable to keep up, and he finally hooked the ball in with one hand.

That play showed his solid fundamentals.

A Serbian prodigy in front of the TV burst into laughter.

Mili Xiqi watched the TV and laughed heartily; the player he despises most is Kaiwen Lefu. He thinks Kaiwen Lefu is just a stats chaser, and the reason he was swept out by the Timberwolves is because Kaiwen Lefu couldn't stand him. And Han Dejun gave him a very unpleasant experience in the training camp; Han Dejun's slow‑paced style always humbled him. Now watching Lefu get humbled, he is delighted.

Turning back, James surged into the paint; the Zhongguo team's defense could not stop his drive, like tofu against a hammer.

James shattered the defense, but was fouled by Han Dejun on the layup.

Han Dejun jumped up and pulled him down; it was a classic illustration of fat versus muscle.

James was left quite annoyed.

But there's nothing to be done; the Zhongguo team now has interior players, while the Dream Team is all swing‑forward swing‑guard types.

…