Chapter 574

Heat lost the game.

The score was:.

They lost points.

Their struggle after the timeout meant nothing; James made a three-pointer, then they fouled JR Smith on JR Smith, Smith made one of two free throws, and then James assisted Lei A Lun to make a three-pointer.

Then, Fan Xi dribbled past half-court, and time ran out.

Fan Xi brought victory again at the Miami Meihangzhongxin qiuguan, his image of raising his hands in celebration is very familiar to Heat fans. Whether he wore a Lakers jersey, a Kuaisuan jersey, or now a Knicks jersey.

The Heat's morale plummeted to the bottom when Fan Xi raised both hands and threw the basketball into the sky.

The whole city was filled with a sense of pessimism, as if this were fate's whipping. Fan Xi waved the whip, lashing their self-esteem over and over.

«Wei De is no different, and the Miami Heat Big Three is no different. »

JR Smith on the sidelines had already released mockery in front of the TNT cameras; he was the highest-scoring player besides Fan Xi tonight, he scored points. Fan Xi's score was points, plus X assists, X rebounds, X steals, X blocks.

Fan Xi's super triple-double will be recorded in the Eastern Conference finals' history, something never seen before.

Every step Fan Xi takes sets a new historical high.

JR Smith has always been an arrogant, lawless person, but the Knicks will not ask him to restrain his sharpness; every team needs such a player.

By comparison, Fan Xi is relatively low-key.

But his low-key attitude made many people in front of the TV feel unhappy; a certain Jordan in Charlotte quickly turned off the TV. When he heard Fan Xi say on TV: «The Miami Heat played very well, they hardly made any mistakes. Likewise, we made no mistakes. We are united, each of us played to our strengths, and then we won… I don't care how many points I scored or what stats I got; in the face of victory, these are trivial… I'm not in the mood to discuss my historical standing now; everything will fall into place naturally, as long as the judges are objective, they will naturally see my position. »

«I will appear in the position I should appear in…»

Fan Xi's remark is the reason Jordan turned off the TV.

What does 'the position one should appear in' mean?

Do you think you're destined to take first place in history?

This is only the first game of the series; you really think you can eliminate the Heat.

Jordan's heart was itching; if God permitted, he truly wanted to give up everything he currently possesses, exchange for being twenty years younger, and return to the court to compete with Fan Xi.

He believes that if he returns to his condition from years ago, he can still earn his current fortune, even against such a terrifying opponent as Fan Xi.

But he knows this is impossible.

But now the only person who could possibly undermine Fan Xi's dominance is walking down the player tunnel with head bowed, while many people on the sidelines are cheering for James.

But James is very calm; he reached out and clapped hands with the surrounding fans, but his eyes were somewhat dim, lacking any luster.

Losing to Fan Xi again, losing to Fan Xi in tonight's situation, the blow to him is huge.

The Heat were in a position of overall advantage this time, but ultimately the Knicks took the victory without bloodshed. James reviewed the whole game, guessing his only mistake was seeking a quick win in the first three or four possessions of the fourth quarter, failing to break the Knicks' defense, and Fan Xi seized the opportunity. In just a few possessions, Fan Xi turned the situation around.

This shows how terrifying Fan Xi is. This person not only leaves no gaps on the court, but in scheming is without omission.

His layout ability already surpasses that of the vast majority of current head coaches.

James is thinking, what way can he still use to defeat the Knicks?

Fan Xi has already become a thorn in his heart; he must pull it out.

Fan Xi is still accepting interviews.

He was asked how he viewed this victory of the weak over the strong…

Fan Xi's tone was solemn; he said: «Why do you think the Knicks are weaker than the Heat? Why do you think the Knicks' lineup is inferior to the Heat's? »

Saying this, Fan Xi even held up five fingers, counting them and saying: «First is the position; do you think the Heat's position ability can be compared with mine and Si Di Fen Na Shi's? »

«Position, I don't think De Huai En's strength surpasses JR Smith and Han Mi Er Dun by much; at least our advantage in position isn't that obvious. Moreover, we still have Qiao Yue Han Sun, who will return soon. »

«Position, okay, Le Bu Lang Zhang Si is completely invincible; he holds absolute dominance. But JR Smith will give him opposition, Ba Li Ya Ni will shoot from beyond the three-point line, and Pu Lin Si will give him strong interference…»

«Position, to be frank, Ke Li Si Bo Shen's ability is inferior to Kai Wen; I don't mean to offend Ke Li Si Bo Shen, but Kai Wen, when it comes to crucial moments, is at the level of a superstar. Moreover, we still have another superstar, Si Ta De Mai Er. We are strong on both offense and defense at position four, all of historic caliber. »

«Position, Tai Sen Qian De Le, A Er De Li Qi, and a time bomb Ben Hua Lai Si. I think this is the league's best defensive center combination. Miami will not have an advantage in this position. »

«We are only behind in position, position. You've been misled by impressions. »

Fan Xi, facing the TNT cameras, said: «It's you who made Miami underestimate us so much; perhaps that's the key to us winning this difficult away game. »

After fans heard Fan Xi's analysis, they were drawn into his logic: «It really seems that way; the Knicks' lineup is fundamentally not weak. » Why would anyone think the Heat are so much stronger than the Knicks?

What's there about the weak overcoming the strong? It's basically using violence to counter violence.

After the fans' thinking reversed, they began to feel this victory was a matter of course.

But when Fan Xi finished the interview, TNT began commenting on his interview.

The Magician said: «This is a typical concept of stealing and replacing. Kai Wen Jia Nei Te's fame is greater than Bo Shen's, and Si Ta De Mai Er is also a scoring king, but does their role in the team truly surpass Bo Shen's? Jie Ke's comparison is unscientific. »

«He didn't consider the team's chemistry, nor did he care about the players' offensive-defensive ratio. This is a card-game-style comparison. » Ba Ke Li also said that.

«But they just defeated the Heat and gained victory in reality. » Ken Ni's one sentence shut them up.

«This… maybe a fluke, » Ba Ke Li said, he was very uncertain.

In estimating Fan Xi, he always fails more than succeeds.

Er Yue Han Sun took over the topic: «No matter what, losing the first victory for the Heat, this top championship seed, is a huge test. They have encountered real trouble; if they cannot quickly resolve the impact of the loss, they will lose more than just this game. »

This sentence settled the matter for this game.

Everyone knows the Heat's real test has arrived.

If they cannot emerge from the loss, they will lose this series, and the very meaning of this team's existence will cease to be.

Le Bu Lang will become a real joke; his boastful words of the year will be repeatedly dragged out to whip corpses. Moreover, Pa Te Lai Li will also be held accountable by the owner and fans for such a costly investment.

They have no way out.

If they spend four years just to prove that Fan Xi is the greatest basketball player in history,

then they themselves will also feel sorrow.

At this very moment, in their locker room, the atmosphere has dropped to freezing point.

James entered the locker room and remained silent.

He kept his head down, thinking about the problem.

He was pondering which link exactly had gone wrong.

He stayed silent, still keeping his head down. The other players were even more dejected, and no one dared to step up to take responsibility for the game, including head coach Spoelstra. Because no one could bear that responsibility.

This is a matter that could cost them their livelihood.

Dwyane Wade tried to say something, but he found that he didn't even know what to say now.

The "pump‑up" speeches have been said far too often over the past three years.

The "knowing shame is close to bravery" line has been uttered countless times.

What else can be said now?

Did the players play badly in this game? No!

Did the core Three Giants not fight hard enough? No!

The Heat didn't make any mistake, yet they still lost.

A loss drags down morale, especially losing again to Fan Xi.

The silence in the locker room ended when James stood up, slapped his hands together, and said, "I know where we lost."

Everyone stared at him.

James said, "We overlooked one thing."

"In the first three quarters, we kept our focus on Jie Ke, and we didn't consider his teammates. In fact, that's exactly the effect Jie Ke wanted to achieve."

"We gave Tyson Chandler and Kevin Garnett too little opposition; we never really taxed their stamina. That gave Fan Xi confidence. If we had pressed their stamina to the limit in the first half, they would have had no energy left to mount a comeback in the second half."

"That way, the Knicks would fall into a vicious cycle, forced to rely on their offensive players. As those offensive players stay exposed for long periods, their defense would inevitably become riddled with holes."

James said, "We cared too much about Jieke Fan."

"We've been beaten by him so many times that our attention is fixed on him."

James spoke calmly, and he suddenly realized.

His sudden insight also woke his teammates, and even Spoelstra quickly saw the crux of the problem.

Indeed, that's how it was. In this game we never wore down the other two Knicks defenders, so Kevin Garnett logged many minutes, far more than Bistad Meyer's playing time, so Tyson Chandler was on the floor at every crucial moment. Also Josh Smith, whose minutes were second only to Fan Xi.

Stamina is the Knicks' fatal flaw, especially among their defensive players.

Spoelstra instantly became optimistic.

A war of attrition is the key to dealing with the Knicks.

The Knicks can't endure a drag.

They can only opt for a quick, decisive battle.

The Miami Heat locker room atmosphere became lively again.

Confidence returned to their faces.

This loss made them awaken.

…

Fan Xi didn't attend the post‑game press conference; Kevin Garnett went instead.

Garnett was the key to the win, and his several crucial defensive stops held the team together.

"I don't even know how much fuel is left in my tank; it depends on how hard Jie Ke presses the accelerator," Garnett said humorously at the press conference. "But what's certain is that Jie Ke isn't a high‑horsepower engine; when he bursts out, he doesn't consume much fuel."

"What's the difference between playing for the Celtics and playing for the Knicks?"

Garnett repeated the question and answered, "The difference is that in our last season in Miami we couldn't find the key to beat the Miami Heat. But now I'm beating the Heat with the Knicks, and it looks effortless."

Garnett didn't hide his admiration for Fan Xi.

He said, "I've seen Michael Jordan play, and I've gone one‑on‑one with him. I still believe Jordan is the player in basketball history with the greatest skill and the greatest talent, and the most perfect combination of the two. But Jie Ke is the player in history who masters game control the best. Do you get my point? If it's a one‑on‑one, I'd pick Jordan. But if it's leading a team with the same roster, I'd stake everything on Jie Ke."

Garnett once again evaluated Fan Xi and Michael Jordan.

His remarks made the reporters in the press area all nod, even the Heat reporters agreed with him.

But a reporter broke the mold and asked directly, "So, who is the number‑one basketball player in your mind?"

"It's still Michael Jordan today. But if Jie Ke helps me get a second championship ring, I'll vote for him no matter what," Garnett said humorously.

He's been roaming the league for many years; his words are airtight.

But when asked "What about Le Bu Lang Zhang Si?" he said, "Before Jie Ke emerged, I thought Le Bu Lang Zhang Si was the second‑best player at combining skill and physical gifts, and also the best of the new generation at controlling games. Then Jie Ke showed up."

"Now he should be the player in history with the second‑best physical gifts among perimeter players, the second‑best at blending physical gifts with skill, and also the second‑best at game control."

Garnett added many qualifiers.

His words puzzled Miami reporters; he said, "Since Le Bu Lang Zhang Si is second to Jordan in one respect and second to Jie Ke in another, why isn't he the number one?"

Garnett laughed, "Because he ran into Jieke Fan."

In competitive sports, second place isn't a compliment.

Kobe once said that the runner‑up is the biggest loser.

James should now fully understand this principle.

He later appeared at the press conference; he didn't deny the fact that the game was lost, but he showed a new demeanor, reigniting hope among Miami fans.

…