Chapter 580: The True Contest for Number One

James's gaze was icy; he brought the ball to the front court, and as he lowered his body, he was like a beast poised to strike.

Josh Smith went to defend him.

James took a quick, fierce first step; his body was like a tiger descending the mountain.

His tremendous explosiveness caused his powerful physique to erupt with frenetic kinetic energy.

Josh Smith was also a physical specimen, but he couldn't keep up; his body instinctively retreated.

He retreated two steps.

James, however, relied on astonishing bodily control to make a sudden stop, then stepped back beyond the three‑point line; he stopped and shot… swish!

The three‑pointer went in.

Fan Xi stared at James.

He had been forcing James into physical contact all along, making his muscles engorged so he couldn't soften his shooting touch.

But now James made that three‑pointer.

Moreover, Fan Xi keenly noticed a fact: James had evolved!

Just at that moment.

Fan Xi turned around, received the ball from a teammate, and stepped forward amid the Miami crowd's defensive shouts; he reached the front‑court three‑point line.

Still guarded by Qian Mo Si, Fan Xi drove inward a step, then changed direction; at the moment of his change of direction, James came charging from the side. This time it was no fake—he intended to shut Fan Xi down.

His defense was sharp and timely.

Any other point guard would have been locked down by him.

But Fan Xi caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye, made an instant decision, and, circling halfway around Qian Mo Si's body, flicked the ball quickly and covertly as his torso turned; the ball went to Garnett.

James lunged at empty air.

Yet he did not choose to help Josh Smith; instead he rushed in to double‑team Garnett.

He was like a tireless, frenzied bull.

Kevin Garnett first stepped into the paint, shook off Bosh, and went up for a shot; James jumped a little early.

Garnett passed the ball to Tyson Chandler, who slammed it home.

On the defensive end James achieved "omnipresence," and almost every one of his choices was correct.

The game became tough.

Fan Xi knew it full well.

But he felt no fear.

On the contrary, it ignited his fighting spirit even more fiercely.

"Defense!"

Fan Xi shouted, reminding the players to stay alert.

But James had already surged forward.

James seemed to have returned to his youthful style of play; he looked reckless, merely wanting to rely on his physical prowess to complete the offense.

Just as when he first entered the Finals and had his head shaved by the Spurs.

But, when the Knicks had set up a defensive trap, he chose to turn and then launch a leaning jumper… made it!

James was rough yet meticulous, and his touch opened up.

He attained a delicate balance. He was like a steel beast that suddenly gained high intelligence and learned to use tools.

This would let it wreak havoc in the jungle!

James's consecutive scoring made the commentary box erupt in screams.

Even Kenny Smith was moved to say: "I've truly never seen such a powerful monster; Le Bu Lang Zhang Si is now a pure technical player, and at the same time he possesses the top physical attributes in history, and… his basketball IQ and court awareness are also of historic caliber."

"If you placed him in the 1990s, I think the league would be troubled over which number should be the league's emblem."

Kenny Smith compared James and Jordan.

This had been very popular for a long time; people believed that the Heaven's Chosen Son would become Jordan's successor, and the NB would be ruled by him. But as he lost three consecutive Finals to Fan Xi, fewer people now compare them.

However, in terms of on‑court ability, James's strength is drawing ever closer to Jordan's; indeed many now believe that the current James has surpassed Jordan.

Fan Xi now thinks exactly that; he believes the energy displayed by James after returning from a timeout is already not inferior to the Jordan he saw on videotape… perhaps Jordan's dominance on a real court is even greater, but videotape is merely observing from across the river, unable to fully portray reality.

Jordan himself, in front of the TV, let out a sigh of relief; when he saw James make consecutive shots, he knew… Le Bu Lang Zhang Si had finally entered another realm: laymen watch the excitement, experts see the subtleties.

Such top‑tier subtlety can be perceived only by historic all‑time greats.

Fan Xi could see James's breakthrough at that moment, and Jordan could also see it.

Perhaps Magic Johnson could also sense it.

They can be considered the Mount Rushmore of NB's perimeter superstars.

James today finally entered this realm, at the most perilous moment of his career.

He has no way back.

But the opponent he now faces remains an unprecedentedly formidable foe.

Fan Xi!

Fan Xi dribbled past half‑court; after James scored, he became even calmer.

He chose the pick‑and‑roll, having Garnett come out to set a screen for him.

Then he proceeded to the free‑throw line, not moving quickly.

Then he suddenly stopped, leapt, and shot… swish!

The ball went in.

Fan Xi used slowness to beat speed.

James's aggression was like fire.

Both sides entered into a tug-of-war again.

This situation continued until the final minute.

With seconds left in the game, Fan Xi hit a stop-and-go jump shot, helping the Knicks establish a point lead.

At that moment, Spoelstra called a timeout.

The Heat home crowd's cheers filled the arena, everyone shouting hysterically. Everyone knew that if the Heat could not win this game, they would lose everything.

Wei De requested to enter the game; this was his third such request after James had asked him to rest on the bench.

He believed that once on the court he could help James, even just by patrolling the sidelines, providing strong defensive pressure.

And he repeatedly promised that his knee was fine.

In the end, Spoelstra was convinced, and James was also convinced.

The whistle blew, and the game continued.

When Wei De returned to the court, James's defensive pressure indeed eased somewhat.

Wei De's shooting touch was especially good tonight; he had already scored points, having played only the first three quarters. Therefore, the Knicks dared not gamble on his shooting percentage, and could only have defenders closely follow him.

James went in alone, finishing the attack with an airborne layup switching hands.

It was even somewhat graceful.

The Heat took the lead in points.

There were still seconds left on the clock.

Fan Xi did not deliberately stall the shot clock; he played at a normal pace.

Now every attack tugged at the hearts of fans worldwide; they had not seen such a passionate, breathless game in a long time.

The home fans created a terrifying intimidation, not only waving their red towels but also shouting: Defense! Defense! Defense!

They are the architects of this demonic home court.

Fan Xi faced Wei De beyond the three-point line.

Wei De stood before Fan Xi like a god of slaughter, his eyes filled with resolve.

Although he no longer felt superior to Fan Xi as he did four years ago, whether in skill or physical condition.

But his eyes also held something else: a stubbornness as if facing death were home.

He would use everything he had to defend Miami's honor; he would not accept the fate of Fan Xi defeating the Heat again.

He positioned himself in front of Fan Xi, just as he had many times shouted in this arena: This is my turf.

Fan Xi used a change of direction to cut his balance.

From slow speed to continual acceleration.

The speed of the rhythm change was astonishing.

But Wei De remained unmoving, still guarding his balance and maintaining defensive pressure on Fan Xi.

He is the Flash.

Even an aged Flash is still the Flash.

He, from the Windy City, possesses a strong backbone.

Fan Xi, unable to shift his balance, suddenly accelerated, launching a forceful drive from his left, but Wei De met him head‑on at that moment, a hard collision!

Wei De actually withstood Fan Xi's impact, which even surprised Fan Xi.

Because Wei De had extended his leg backward in advance, at the instant Fan Xi collided he pushed back with his leg.

He blocked Fan Xi's tremendous momentum.

Why did he do that?

Fan Xi did not understand.

Then James suddenly appeared at his side, James's expression even somewhat indignant, adopting a posture never seen before to block Fan Xi's path.

This was a perfect plan.

Dwyane Wei De risked injury for this.

He only needed to defend against Fan Xi for one possession; in this countdown stage, Miami would have victory secured.

They indeed demonstrated tenacious fighting spirit and sharp calculation.

Were it any other star in the league, none could escape.

But at the moment James suddenly appeared, Fan Xi worked a magic‑like maneuver on the ball, his fingers slamming it, altering its trajectory into a low, arcing, hidden yet high‑speed pass through Wei De's legs.

Wei De's knee pain worsened from the impact.

He did not quickly pull his leg back.

This gave Fan Xi an opportunity.

Although it was only a momentary lapse.

But who made him Fan Xi?

Fan Xi slapped the ball away.

Then he himself suddenly turned, escaping the seemingly inevitable trap of the two.

Once again he rendered the league's strongest perimeter duo ineffective; Fan Xi grabbed the ball he had slapped and drove to the basket.

He lofted the ball with a floater.

The ball hit the backboard and bounced in.

There were still seconds left in the game.

The Knicks led by points.

At that moment, Spoelstra rose from the sideline, about to make arrangements, when he saw James quickly pass the ball to Wei De, who took off with it dribbling.

He hardly paused, he drove to the frontcourt and shot… JR Smith's block was off by a hair; he did not expect the Heat to be so determined to grab the ball.

This is very risky; if it fails, the Knicks will completely seize the initiative.

But, Wade was extremely determined.

He stopped abruptly beyond the three-point line, leapt and shot… swish!

The basketball went in.

But the main referee only held up two fingers.

Wade charged too hard; he stepped on the line.

The Heat took the lead, with. seconds left.

Beep!

Fan Xi requested a timeout.

He knew the situation was now very dangerous.

Wade's basket gave the Heat the initiative advantage.

Although the Knicks still had a few seconds, they had to decide whether to launch a similarly quick offensive burst or use up all the time.

This will severely test the Knicks' wisdom.

"Hey, Jie Ke!"

As Fan Xi was leaving the court, Wade suddenly called out to him: "This time, you don't have a chance to buzzer-beat me like last year!"

"Even if you finish the next offense, LeBron will come back!"

He was very confident, his eyebrows flying up: "This is my turf!!"

Wade again spoke his classic saying.

Fan Xi smiled.

He didn't speak.

Then Wade stepped forward, but his knee could no longer provide support.

James quickly supported him.

Fan Xi's brow flickered with some worry.

Wade was his opponent, and also the object of his respect.

He did not want Wade to get injured.

James helped Wade back to the bench; after Wade sat down, he told James: "LeBron, I can't continue playing. The team is now yours."

Wade went on the court and completed an excellent defensive play, although it was not successful.

And, a perfect long-distance run.

If his knee hadn't flared up old injury, and his control were a bit better, that shot would definitely have been a three-pointer, not a line violation.

If Wade had just scored that point, the Knicks would have suffered even more.

James patted Wade's shoulder and said: "Alright, I'll take it!"

…

The atmosphere on the Knicks' bench turned solemn; Fan Xi rubbed his temples, he had a smart mind with many plans running, but he now had to make a decision during this timeout and put the plan into action.

The Heat are not ordinary opponents; if Fan Xi cannot arrange everything, they will lose this game.

James, with his strong strength, has recovered; he cannot let the Knicks continue their unstoppable momentum.

This will be a true turning point.

Although Fan Xi predicted James's failure in the first game.

But he didn't expect James to awaken in the second game, rise to a higher level, which was too fast.

Although Fan Xi knew Wade was injured, Wade's injury would not be a big blow to the Heat.

Just like when Joe Johnson got injured, it actually had a promoting effect on the Knicks overall.

Although Wade cannot be compared to Joe Johnson, James is absolutely capable of managing this team better.

"We want to use up these seconds."

Fan Xi said.

He made a decision.

He said: "We can't rely on defense! We can't pin our hopes on defense; James is playing like a god tonight, we can't give him too much time."

"Moreover, we can't let them call a timeout."

"We want a quick battle, quick decision."

Fan Xi said: "I'll take this score."

Fan Xi closed the tactic board.

He didn't discuss tactics, but closed his eyes.

Frankly speaking, he is now gambling.

What he is betting on is fate.

He believes in himself, he thinks he will achieve victory over James.

Now James and Fan Xi truly stand on the same level; their abilities are equal.

This is their unprecedented fair contest.

And it is a true battle for being number one.

…