Chapter 520: Slaughter‑Style New Record

The Nets were wildly celebrating, their players pouring together, they high‑fived, roared, and encouraged each other.

Although the espn commentators could see this timeout was unusual, they merely felt excited, thinking the Knicks had been driven to desperation by them and could only call a timeout.

Often, a pivotal historical moment is born unnoticed.

Fan Xi rose from the bench, taking off his training jacket. Although he already had 58 points and originally wanted to rest a bit longer, now that Deron Williams was coming at him aggressively, he had no need to give these guys a pleasant look.

Larry Brown set a new lineup and stressed that he wanted to give the Nets a lesson, a lesson that would break their backbone and keep them from rising.

The old man spoke toughly, befitting the leader of an iron‑blooded army.

Drip!

The whistle blew shortly.

Throughout the process, the Knicks' coaching staff had not set any tactics; everyone knew what to do next, just as the enraged over twenty thousand fans at Madison Square Garden were shouting hoarsely, hysterically crying out a hero's title: Jieke Fan! Jieke Fan! Jieke Fan!

This was their last reserve of energy.

Their shouting left Fan Xi with no retreat; if the Knicks ultimately lost this game, the fans' disappointment toward him would quickly pile up.

So, when Fan Xi stepped onto the court, his expression was unprecedentedly solemn.

The players who followed Fan Xi onto the court were Hamilton, Joe Johnson, Stoudemire, and Kevin Garnett.

The opposing Nets lineup was Deron Williams, Paul Pierce, Carmelo Anthony, Blatche, and Chandler.

Both sides used their strongest talent.

Fan Xi received the basketball from Joe Johnson, walking slowly across half court. When Deron Williams came up to him, the whole arena roared: MVP! MVP! MVP!

The over twenty thousand Knicks fans in the arena shouted in unison, waving flags and cheering for Fan Xi.

Deron Williams stood in front of Fan Xi, feeling a bit nervous because he saw Fan Xi's expressionless face.

He knew Fan Xi had entered an extremely serious killing state.

But he could not show his nervousness; he also had to trash‑talk Fan Xi: "If you don't make this shot, you're done, Jie Ke—over twenty thousand people will laugh at you. New York fans aren't that tolerant… once you let them down… hehe!"

He wanted to put pressure on Fan Xi.

But the instant his words ended, he took a fierce step forward, like lightning.

Although Fan Xi used no feint.

But Deron still showed signs of losing control of his balance, instinctively recoiling, even though he knew Fan Xi would not be that simple.

Fan Xi's speed drove his subconscious.

And as he struggled to keep his body from fully retreating, Fan Xi made a sudden stop, then changed direction… Deron hurriedly shifted sideways, his feet and ankles already a bit tangled.

Fan Xi is the player who best toys with opponents on earth.

He can always easily manipulate an opponent's balance; any defender facing him cannot escape being treated like a marionette.

At this moment, Paul Pierce prepared to come over and help defend, knowing Deron could not withstand Fan Xi.

But Fan Xi, at this time, deliberately stepped back half a step.

He seemed to want to place himself completely in the double‑team.

Deron hardly hesitated, he quickly followed, not even caring about his own unsteady footing; he simply wanted to lock down Fan Xi completely.

Yet as he stepped forward, Fan Xi made an upward shooting motion; Deron came forward and raised his hand to block… bang!

Fan Xi lowered his center of gravity, changed direction while dribbling, bye‑bye!

Deron instantly lost sight of Fan Xi.

This perfect play made Paul Pierce rush to cut to the interior.

Deron also hurriedly staggered as he turned to pursue.

But just as Deron turned, Fan Xi rotated in the opposite direction… the two went their separate ways, and Fan Xi, pressing his body against Deron, gave him a boost… the already staggering Deron, under this aid, instantly lost control of his legs, he kept increasing his steps, staggering into the interior of the free‑throw line, he struggled to spread his arms to control his balance, like a drunkard… utterly embarrassing.

At the same time, Fan Xi stepped back to beyond the three‑point line, with no defenders in front of or behind him.

Deron stumbled like a clown seeking balance to avoid falling, while Paul Pierce charged inside and came up empty.

Fan Xi easily raised both hands and shot the basketball from where he stood.

Nonchalant and composed.

Utterly elegant.

The basketball traced a beautiful arc.

The entire Meihangzhongxin qiuguan erupted.

Swish!

At the instant the ball swished through the net, everyone's buttocks left the bench, they jumped up, they excitedly roared, and the volume reached an unsurpassable degree.

The passion of New York fans was fully released at that moment.

Like a TNT bomb being detonated.

The same shout spread across New York State, and Fan Xi's shot returned the Knicks' long‑lost dignity.

Fan Xi appeared under high expectations, he crushed Deron's aura, he rendered the Nets' defense meaningless, and with the simplest yet most overbearing means he warned these despicable provocateurs: "You are not worthy to be my enemy!" This is the turf of the New York King!

Fan Xi raised his right hand high.

The arena's roar quickly turned into a unified shout: MVP! MVP! MVP!

This was Fan Xi's 61st point.

And this was only a beginning.

"Defense!"

Fan Xi shouted loudly, leading the team back to their half‑court positions.

Fan Xi positioned himself at the top of the three‑point arc, waiting for Deron Williams to arrive.

Although Deron had not just fallen to the ground, his dignity and arrogance had already been trampled into the mud by Fan Xi, who toyed with him like a clown; aside from gnashing his teeth in anger, he could do nothing.

He brought the ball to the front court.

He intended to set a screen-and-roll with Blatche and use a shot to regain some face.

But Fan Xi moved in directly and extremely aggressively before the screen-and-roll, adopting an astonishing pressuring strategy.

Deron Williams has strong ball-handling ability, and his body is also very strong.

Ordinary point guards find it hard to get close to him.

But Fan Xi is not ordinary; his physique is already at forward level. When he collides with Deron, he won't be at a disadvantage, and his arms are long, so even in high-intensity confrontation he still reaches out to disrupt Deron's ball-handling rhythm.

It was only a stalemate of three or four seconds.

Deron then made a decision: he quickly grabbed the basketball, then pressed it against Fan Xi with his back, hoping teammates would come out quickly to help.

But at that moment, Joe Johnson darted out quickly, taking advantage of Deron's focus on blocking Fan Xi to slap the ball away with a hand chop.

Fan Xi was quick-eyed and quick-handed, swiftly grabbing the ball and making a long pass to the cutting Joe Johnson.

At the same time, he also sprinted over from the side.

Joe Johnson brought the ball to two meters outside the three-point line; Fan Xi had already rushed to the left baseline corner, and without thinking he passed the ball over.

Fan Xi caught the ball and, with Anthony flying in to block, quickly shot; the ball traced a beautiful arc again… swish!

It went in!

Fan Xi's open-shot ability has always been top-tier in the league.

This was his 64th point.

He had been on the court for less than 35 seconds when the situation instantly reversed.

The Nets' previously narrowed deficit was quickly pushed back, and their so-called high morale sank under the chill of these two three-pointers.

At the same time, the entire Madison Square Garden arena surged like molten lava from a volcano, rolling hot and scorching.

Jason Kidd stood on the sideline, feeling at a loss.

He wanted to call a timeout, but feared boosting others' morale; if he didn't call a timeout, what should he do?

In this dilemma, the Nets inbounded the ball.

His slowness and hesitation were evident.

Fan Xi implemented a full-court press.

He clung to Deron, slowing Deron's speed.

This was an extraordinary move.

Fan Xi used his actions to tell the world: don't provoke me; provoke me, and I'll destroy you—on both offense and defense—leaving you with no chance to recover.

Fan Xi's ruthlessness made the crowd roar with excitement; they loved such a leader, they loved such a New York King, and only such a ruler could lead the team to victory.

The last player to handle provocateurs this way was Michael Jordan; perhaps someone would think of Kobe Bryant, but Kobe Bryant wasn't that ruthless yet.

Deron felt angry; he wanted to single-handedly overturn this 'retaliation', but worried that when forced in the midcourt he'd have to make a helpless pass, so he could only seize a gap to quickly pass the ball to Paul Pierce.

Paul Pierce brought the ball to the frontcourt, facing Hamilton, and he had a size advantage.

His back-to-the-basket move was smooth, but at the instant he turned to shoot, Fan Xi rushed in to disturb him… bang!

It missed.

Kevin Garnett grabbed the rebound.

He threw a long pass to Fan Xi, who, under Pierce's pursuit, drove into the paint, leaped high, and Pierce sensibly stopped his steps and suppressed his urge to jump, not wanting to become a backdrop.

Boom!

Fan Xi's dunk reignited the arena's high energy.

Drip!

Jason Kidd finally requested a timeout.

But by then it was too late.

Fan Xi scored 66 points in this game, a new scoring record for Madison Square Garden.

But it was still far from the active player's highest scoring record.

According to this trend, Fan Xi has a chance to surpass Kobe Bryant and become the active scoring leader; he even has a chance to challenge Wilt Chamberlain's record.

That would be an unprecedented, unmatchable super record.

The on-site fans became restless.

They wanted to put some pressure on Jason Kidd so he wouldn't surrender early.

Just then, as Fan Xi walked past the Nets' bench, he suddenly stopped and shouted at Jason Kidd: "Don't forget your earlier arrogance and pride; I won't accept your surrender. I want you to fight me to the end!"

Fan Xi's voice was not small.

It was loud enough for the entire Nets bench to hear clearly.

It was also loud enough for the surrounding Knicks fans to hear clearly.

Fan Xi's words caused an uproar at the front of the arena, which then spread throughout the venue.

Fan Xi's words were justified and confident.

Because he stood on moral high ground.

He had originally intended to quit; he was already sitting on the bench, holding 58 points without much desire.

But it was the Nets who provoked him, and Deron Williams who charged up to his face and trash-talked.

If so, then please stand and face death.

Don't even think about fleeing the battlefield!

Fan Xi's words were like a thorn-covered dagger stabbing into the Nets' heart, still twisting, then pulling out bloody flesh.

The Nets had no retreat.

Their bench was filled with anger and humiliation; they glared at Fan Xi with furious eyes, and at that moment they formed a death-defying battle pact.

Two timeouts, provocation and being provoked, offense and defense reversed.

This ordinary game was set ablaze with the fire of a blood feud at the final moment.

After the ESPN commentators heard Fan Xi's words through the live broadcast, they began to comment, saying Fan Xi was unreasonable, saying Fan Xi just wanted to break the scoring record, and they criticized Fan Xi from every angle.

They were just like a supposedly wronged little daughter-in-law. They simply don't understand that weakness is the original sin in competitive sports.

Amid their chatter, the whistle blew and the game continued.

The Knicks made an adjustment, putting Prince in the game; he is a defender.

The Nets made no adjustments.

But the basketball was directly passed to Carmelo Anthony.

Anthony brought the ball to the frontcourt, he went one-on-one against Joe Johnson, who is one of the strongest one-on-one players in the world today, and Joe Johnson is as well.

After a series of high-frequency probes, Anthony settled the battle with a simple jump shot.

That's how a showdown between experts looks: awkward on the surface, all probing, and the final conclusion is merely an ordinary jump shot. But only the two opponents know how many times they have crossed blades.

Fan Xi dribbled past half court.

Paul Pierce came over to defend.

At this point, he no longer cared about reputation; being tough was what mattered most.

But Fan Xi did not get entangled with him.

Fan Xi ran a pick-and-roll with Kevin Garnett, Garnett provided high-quality screens, he drove into the paint and easily laid the ball over Blatche's head into the basket.

Fan Xi's personal score reached 68 points.

He was getting ever closer to Kobe Bryant's 81-point record.

At that moment, Kobe Bryant in front of the TV was quite anxious.

Damn it.

He was woken up by his agent's phone call.

He sat in front of the TV, watching Fan Xi's game.

In fact, many people were just like Kobe, including James, Harden, Westbrook, Durant and other superstars; they all sat in front of the TV in various ways to watch the impending record-breaking showdown.

They quickly learned the full story via the internet.

Then James gave his assessment: "Why did the Nets provoke Jieke Fan? Deron made the stupidest thing in the world, and Jason Kidd shouldn't have hesitated on a night when Jieke Fan's touch was on fire."

He already clearly knew that Fan Xi would definitely break Kobe's record tonight.

The only suspense is how many points this terrifying demon will score, and how high he will push the active scoring record.

Everyone wants to know.

This is why this originally ordinary game has now sparked a ratings frenzy worldwide.

Everyone wants to witness firsthand a slaughter-style new record being set.

…