Chapter 590: Is This a Gift of Fate?

"Kevin, this is the only series where you have a chance to beat me. About thirty percent. If you miss it, you won't even have a ten percent chance in the future."

Fan Xi said to Durant on the phone: "You should know what will happen when I return to the Western Conference. You have a smart brain."

Fan Xi was putting pressure on Durant.

Everyone knew why he was doing this. If Durant could drag the series to a Game Seven or Game Six, it would be perfect news for the Knicks. Their roster could get rest, and their injured players could return to the court even sooner.

Durant certainly knew Fan Xi's intentions, but he had no other choice.

Because he was well aware that Fan Xi was at his weakest right now. Once he returned to the Western Conference and merged with his Kuaisuan, the fighting power they would display would instantly overturn the Thunder.

The Thunder did not like the Kuaisuan's offensive and defensive tempo.

Defeating the Rockets became an imperative course of action for them.

In fact, the Rockets thought the same way. The Rockets hoped to quickly eliminate the Thunder. Right now was their best opportunity to win the championship. m

The Rockets had arrived at such a perfect opportunity, and they were even less willing to let it slip by.

Even their fans were very clear that resolving the battle at home in Game Five was best for them. The longer it dragged out, the more disadvantageous it would be for mustering the momentum to capture the championship victory.

On game day, the entire Toyota Center arena was boiling. The stadium was packed to the rafters with spectators, all wearing red jerseys, forming a crimson ocean. They wanted to swallow the Thunder, who had come from afar, in this sea of red.

Fan Xi sat in front of the television watching the game. Beside him sat Leonard and Butler.

These two trusted lieutenants were both staying in Los Angeles.

Leonard was nursing his physical injuries, while Butler was healing his emotional wounds. Butler's method of healing was dating different female models, and limited to white women only.

Over the past season, both had performed outstandingly. Although Butler was unwilling to admit that Fan Xi sending him to the Mountain Cat while keeping Leonard was a good idea, it did not prevent the three of them from sitting together watching the game. Moreover, he admitted that he and Leonard being apart was better than being together.

"I feel that if Kevin Durant still has any fight in him, they shouldn't lose this game," Butler said. "Who cares about Three Giants or Four Giants, just go out and fight! If I had Durant's talent, I'd definitely be the number one player in the league! Even now, I'm not bad either."

Fan Xi looked at Butler with a smile, then asked Leonard: "What do you think the probability of the Thunder winning is?"

"If Durant maintains his touch, and if Perkins and Ibaka play high-quality defense in the paint, their chances of winning are not small." Leonard was more cautious.

Fan Xi said: "I think the Thunder will win. Because they also want to win the championship. Right now, they're all fighting over the Knicks as a piece of pie. Everyone wants to enter the Finals to eat it."

"The power of pie is infinite."

Fan Xi smiled happily.

"So, you called Kevin Durant?" Butler said.

Fan Xi smiled again.

This was not a conspiracy; this was an open scheme.

The whole world knew the Knicks were having problems right now and were relatively easy to beat. They had already expended a great deal of energy in their matchup against the Miami Heat. Any team that became the Western Conference champions would be very close to the championship.

But, it had one problem.

It would intensify the fierceness of the Western Conference Finals. It would cause the two Western Conference teams to also expend a great deal of energy.

If they played to Game Seven, the Knicks could recover a lot of stamina and accelerate the return pace of their two injured players.

So, this was a difficult puzzle to solve.

Unless one of those teams did not want the championship and deliberately let the other win.

But, how could that be possible?

Westbrook was even clamoring about making his return.

Fan Xi saw Westbrook on television wearing his jersey jacket, looking as though he could take the court at any moment.

He was a player who put winning above all else. His mental fortitude was even stronger than Durant's.

After the game began, Kevin Durant hit a three-pointer on the very first possession.

Declaring to the world his determination to seize this victory.

Down 1:3, he still wanted to fight for the last sliver of possibility.

What if.

Fan Xi sat in front of the television watching the game, watching Durant charge recklessly. Durant was the runner-up for this season's regular season MVP, second only to Le Bu Lang Zhang Si.

Although he lost to Stoudemire, who was fed the ball by the entire team, on the scoring leader board, his scoring ability could not be underestimated.

James Harden was working hard to close the gap with his big brother.

He also began scoring wildly, entering scoring mode early. Paul and Howard, the other two Giants, escorted him.

Harden, to some extent, served the role Kobe had on the Lakers, but he was also different from Kobe. Kobe positioned himself very deep, and Kobe liked to gnaw on tough bones, so Kobe's efficiency was not very high.

But Harden liked to initiate attacks from the perimeter. Most of his attacks were face-up. He liked to take the clever route. His technique, of course, had no problems whatsoever.

However, Fan Xi had always believed he couldn't perform in tough battles. This style of play tended to make him disappear at crucial moments.

In fact, Paul had the same problem.

Fan Xi had played against them for many years, so, fundamentally, he did not take the combination of Harden, Paul, and Howard seriously.

He believed these three all lacked something in terms of mentality.

But, Fan Xi did not deny that the Rockets had a very high probability of winning the championship this year. They were clearly weaker than last season's Lakers, and they clearly couldn't even make the top three this season.

Perhaps, this was fate.

Luck was a hard thing to say.

The Knicks' roster and the Knicks' injuries were both sources of worry for Fan Xi.

Tonight, the Rockets' luck was not very good. They ran into a fully fired-up Durant the Reaper.

Durant swung his scythe, scoring 28 points in the first half alone.

In many situations, people believed that if Durant performed well in the first half, he would conserve energy in the second half.

But tonight, Durant broke this law.

Durant was even more ferocious in the second half, and he increased his drives.

He made Parsons, this white forward, look like a traffic cone in front of him. He effortlessly completed all kinds of penetration, scoring too many points in the paint. The Rockets' fragile wing defense was laid bare before him, and their interior didn't have much to boast about either, even though they had Dwight Howard… the nominally best center in the league.

Howard could still easily put up many 20+20 games this season, but when facing tough opponents, especially defensive centers with Perkins's kind of bulk, his dominance was insufficient.

After leaving the Magic, he still maintained a high level. However, losing the tactics that Van Gundy had tailor-made for him, he was marginalized. And the black humor is that he left the Magic back then because of his dissatisfaction with the "Half-circle Tactic".

After the game entered the fourth quarter, it actually lost its suspense.

Because the Rockets' backcourt experienced some chaos, Paul tried to take over tactical command, which inevitably conflicted with Harden.

Harden is not Kobe; although Harden is the absolute core of the Rockets and has high commercial value, he may not be able to contain Paul… this player who was turned into the league's top point guard by Fan Xi in Los Angeles.

Paul is essentially a point guard with very strong control desire.

Their "lack of chemistry" allowed the Thunder to seize the opportunity; without Westbrook, the Thunder may have lacked talent and explosiveness, but their on-court "unity" increased. After all, role players serving one young master are easier than serving two.

Moreover, Durant was incredibly effective tonight.

Finally, at the Rockets' home court.

The Thunder defeated the Rockets 108:101, securing a rare victory, bringing the series score to 2:3.

Durant scored a playoff-career-high 61 points in this game.

He also grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 6 assists.

He used this game and these godlike stats to declare that he too is one of the league's top stars, and can be mentioned in the same breath as Fan Xi and James.

"The Thunder are not that easy to defeat."

Durant said emphatically after the game: "We also need a championship ring to bolster our image."

At this moment, after watching the whole game, Fan Xi had only one comment. He said to Leonard: "Why, after I left the West, has the quality of the Western Conference Finals dropped so quickly?"

Fan Xi's overall evaluation of the game was not high.

In his mind, even if the Bulls came to the West, they could sweep everything. Neither the Rockets nor the Thunder could stop Rose's iron-blooded army.

James also shared the same view as Fan Xi.

James also watched the game in front of the TV, with Wade by his side.

Wade lamented: "If we were in the West, if we were in the West this season, we would definitely win the championship."

The Flash's words were spoken with conviction, but unfortunately there are no "ifs".

Although James did not echo Wade, he felt there was no need for such speculation. Yet deep down he also believed that if the Heat were in the West, they could definitely win the championship.

"If the Western Conference Finals go to a Game 7, the Knicks' chances of winning increase greatly. Any action that gives Fan Xi a breather is foolish." James said.

Wade expressed agreement, saying they had lost to Fan Xi for four straight years and knew his abilities all too well.

Actually, they gathered to discuss James's summer free‑agency decision.

James and Wade expressed his desire to leave the Heat; he wanted to regain his scattered branches and leaves.

Wade came over to persuade him, and then they sat together here to watch this not‑particularly‑exciting Western Conference Finals to the end.

"Next year is the final year of your contract; we should give it our all for one last push, no matter what, so as not to leave any regrets."

Wade then switched into persuasion mode.

James sat there calmly, his inner feelings fluctuating, and he even began to think about what Fan Xi said to him after the game.

After about two minutes of silence, James nodded and said: "Let's continue next season."

When James joined the Heat with grand ambitions, he signed a five‑year contract, believing that with Wade and Bosh, winning five straight titles would be no problem.

But now they have lost the first four years, they have only won three Eastern Conference championships, and this year they even lost the Eastern Conference title.

What is disheartening is that nowadays hardly anyone mocks them or jokes about their peak super‑team formation. It seems… all of this is just supposed to be, Jieke Fan should defeat them. Jieke Fan's name has already been compared to Michael Jordan; their existence serves to highlight Jieke Fan's greatness and excellence.

…

Fan Xi was spotted heading to a hospital in Los Angeles, and the media offered some interpretations that he might be injured.

That sounds reasonable; otherwise, why would he go to the hospital?

For a prenatal checkup?

Hmm.

Yes.

Fan Xi went to accompany Si Jia Li for a prenatal checkup, though they acted separately.

And this is a general hospital, so Fan Xi was caught on camera.

As rumors of Fan Xi's possible injury spread, many fans even dug up his game footage as evidence.

Many people spoke with apparent authority, claiming that Fan Xi's disappearance in the final moments of Game 4 was due to injury, that he influenced the game through constant assists, fooling the Heat; if the Heat put pressure on Fan Xi, they might actually win.

Such talk has become quite popular.

Because Fan Xi has a history of playing through injury, and because he indeed deliberately reduced his shot frequency in Games 3 and 4… especially since this hospital is renowned for sports rehabilitation.

Who knows why Si Jia Li chose this hospital when she could have gone to a private custom facility… her explanation is that the hospital's diagnostic equipment leads the nation.

Fan Xi unjustly bore the brunt of injury rumors.

When he was filming an ad in Los Angeles and was caught using a stunt double, this theory gained even more credence.

But… why would Fan Xi be hoisted on wires to shoot baskets in the sky?

Fan Xi is still in the season, with the Finals being crucial; he certainly wouldn't risk injury just to promote his new signature shoe.

However, Stephen Curry, who filmed the ad with him, really was hoisted into the air.

He had already finished his game, and he likes martial‑arts films, likes this concept, and is feeling playful.

Don't elementary school kids all do that?

Such rumors have made Knicks fans anxious, even though Fan Xi's agent came out saying he has no health problems and is fine.

But this explanation fails to convince anyone.

Fan Xi is also helpless.

But for Houston and Oklahoma, this is an excellent piece of good news.

Both teams have rallied, holding the belief that they must win.

After all, opportunities to catch a napping tiger are rare, especially when this tiger is not only dozing but also has a cavity. Shouldn't we strike while he's sick, rather than provoke him when his appetite is huge?

The Rockets issued a must-win order internally; they did not want to drag the game to a seventh game, and they were willing to pay any price to take victory on the road in Oklahoma and advance to the finals.

Similarly, the Thunder also issued an order internally to hold their home court.

Durant even issued an internal speech: victory or defeat hangs in the balance; the best chance to win the championship has already appeared, and we must seize the gift of fate.

…