Chapter 88: Killing Wade, Right at Half-Court

There was 1 minute and 21 seconds left in the game.

Fan Xi assisted Pau Gasol in completing a hook shot in the paint.

The Western All-Stars finally overtook the score.

At this time, Fan Xi's full-game stats reached 28 points, 18 assists, 6 rebounds, and 1 steal. He was already the player with the best stats on the Western team. Once the West won, the possibility of him winning the All-Star Game MVP was extremely high.

This was an existence that the Eastern All-Stars absolutely could not tolerate.

Beep!

LeBron James requested a timeout.

His face was even uglier than Charles Barkley's in the live broadcast room. When he went off the court, he even complained about Howard, who was defending Gasol; he believed Howard should be tougher.

Howard was, after all, the current league's number one center, and also the Defensive Player of the Year; there was no reason to let Gasol suppress him.

Howard was a bit depressed, but he did put away the smile on his face.

The game didn't know when it started to become a decisive battle between black players and white players, a battle between American local players and international players.

The intensity of the game and the richness of the gunpowder smell far exceeded previous years.

In the fourth quarter, Popovich continuously sent Pau Gasol, Nowitzki, Ginobili, Fan Xi, and even Blake Griffin, a black player who looked relatively white, onto the court.

Popovich was a very interesting head coach; as long as the fire didn't burn him, he would do his best to fan the flames. For him, the harder Gasol and Nowitzki fought, the better, and the deeper the contradictions with those Eastern powerhouses, the better. As long as they had more entanglements, the Spurs could fish in troubled waters.

Therefore, Popovich was very happy now.

He believed this would be a harvest-filled All-Star Game. Perhaps the East could win by luck, but he, Popovich, would never lose.

Returning to the bench, he cheered for the players, telling them they were playing very well and that if they persisted in playing like this, they would definitely win.

At this time, Kobe Bryant actually saw the fatigue of Nowitzki and Pau Gasol.

Moreover, Fan Xi was not relaxed at all either.

Although he had disappeared for a long time in the middle, the East's defense against him was the strictest.

Therefore, Bryant wanted to play; he said to Popovich: "The team needs me now."

In fact, this was also the thing the East was most worried about.

The East had revealed all their trump cards, while on the West side, the two major trump cards, Kobe and Duncan, were all ready and waiting.

However, at this time.

Nowitzki suddenly said a sentence. He said: "We want to complete this game with our own strength."

The "German Tank" Nowitzki had always been a low-key and introverted person. In so many years of his professional career, he rarely got angry with people. When scolded as a softie, he quietly endured it.

Tonight, however, he had a stubborn streak.

At first, it was just Paul Pierce making a snide remark about skin color, and then Kevin Garnett confronted him during the game: "You play like this, you will never win a championship. You are too soft!"

Plus LeBron James shouting after a violent dunk: "This is my era."

These straws, which didn't look heavy, completely crushed Nowitzki.

Since entering the league, although Nowitzki had received great respect in Dallas and the boss valued him very much, his professional career had suffered many setbacks. He became famous when he was very young. At that time, under Don Nelson, he and Nash had emerged early.

Then, Nash was traded, and he remained the pillar of Dallas, and under the guidance of "Little General" Johnson, he became stronger and stronger, becoming one of the so-called "Four Great Forwards."

His team also became stronger and stronger.

He led the team to continuously achieve superior records in the regular season, and then killed into the Finals in 2006. However, in the situation of leading by 2 games, he was slaughtered by the third-year Wade, who took four consecutive games to take the victory.

Since that game, the American basketball circle had been commenting on him, affirming his personal ability, but always pointing fingers at his mental attributes, saying he was a softie. Just like Kevin Garnett's trash talk, saying he would never win a championship.

In 2007, he again led the team to achieve the first record in the regular season, breaking the Mavericks' regular-season team history record. However, in the first round of the playoffs, he met the Golden State Warriors led by Don Nelson. The Golden State Warriors fought with their lives and overturned the Mavericks in one fell swoop, becoming one of the only three "Black Eight" miracles in history.

Nowitzki's reputation fell to the bottom.

The Mavericks' record also gradually declined from that day on, and the league no longer listed the Mavericks as a championship favorite. With Boston and the Lakers forming super strong teams that summer, plus James's peak group... the Mavericks survived in the cracks, and the world seemed to have forgotten Nowitzki's existence.

Under such pressure, Nowitzki had finally come to the All-Star Game to relax, but heard such stimulation. Could he endure it?

Therefore, he gritted his teeth and, with his Germanic hysteria, refused Kobe Bryant.

Pau Gasol and Ginobili standing beside him also felt the same.

On the international stage, Argentina and Spain had both defeated the Dream Team, and they also had pride. Although in this league, they were not considered superstars, and in the All-Star arena, their right to speak was also very low, not comparable to Kobe, Duncan, or even up-and-coming stars like Paul and Durant.

However, the ship of fate had sailed here.

Their wills twisted into a rope, and they all gave birth to a tenacious determination to compete with the Eastern superstars.

Kobe Bryant heard Nowitzki's refusal. He looked at Popovich, then at the determined Pau Gasol, and finally locked his gaze on the silent Fan Xi.

Fan Xi was the person with the least seniority in the West, but he was the person Kobe Bryant trusted the most.

As Fan Xi nodded slightly, answering Kobe's question with a firm look.

Kobe Bryant finally stopped forcing it.

Popovich made the final personnel arrangement: Fan Xi, Ginobili, Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Kevin Love.

Four white men and one handsome Fan Xi.

When these five people walked onto the court.

In fact, whether it was the audience in front of the TV or the audience on the home court, they understood some meaning in their hearts.

But due to the complex relationships in the United States, they were not easy to say it explicitly.

Even a big mouth like Charles Barkley only said: "The Western team is too bold. Popovich didn't use a superstar in the true sense."

Kenny Smith retorted him: "Isn't Nowitzki a superstar?"

Barkley sarcastically said: "Have you ever seen a superstar who was overturned 2:0 in the Finals and was 'Black Eight' with the first regular-season record?"

Charles Barkley's tone was filled with a habitual arrogance.

At this time, they saw Fan Xi gather the four teammates together before the kickoff.

He was like a leader.

The camera pushed over, and the fans in front of the TV heard clearly: "... Brothers, shoot all the bullets, victory must belong to us. They are just a bunch of paper tigers, don't be scared by their terrifying physical fitness. Mental strength is the most formidable armament!"

Under the camera's display, after Fan Xi finished this sentence, he also reached out and patted Nowitzki's head.

"This guy really looks like an absolute leader giving orders. It's just that his ability is a bit lacking."

Even Charles Barkley gave Fan Xi a positive evaluation at this time.

It's just that he wasn't panicked at all in his heart now. When he saw that even with the last minute or so left, Popovich hadn't subbed in Kobe and Duncan, he completely relaxed.

He was no longer afraid of Fan Xi taking away the All-Star MVP.

Because essentially, he didn't take this group of international players seriously. He admitted that some international players did have extraordinary features, but compared to the true American "Chosen Ones," they were too weak.

David Stern internationalizing the NBA was a good thing, but never expect a historical superstar like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, or Michael Jordan to appear among international players.

In the Western team's current lineup.

Ginobili's physical fitness was too poor, his physical confrontation was weak, and he could only rely on agile adaptation to get the title of elite player. He was even only able to be a sixth man for a long time in the Spurs.

Pau Gasol had long been proven to be a weak guy; he didn't have the ability to lead a team to win in the playoffs alone; he just picked up some team honors behind Kobe.

Kevin Love, an immature stat-padder, although he was an American.

Nowitzki, his status was the highest, but had he proven himself? He just proved that he could set off the strength of American superstars.

And the last one, the pretentious Fan Xi, this kid's speed of becoming famous was indeed astonishing, and many sponsors also believed he could become a superstar, and Nike even signed an unequal treaty with him. However, Barkley didn't think this guy could become a superstar at all, at most a superstar player with commercial influence; it would be amazing if his status on the court reached the level of his compatriot Yao Ming.

Therefore, with such a lineup, how could Barkley think the West would win?

This was the confidence in his bones.

Similarly, the Eastern team was also relieved.

Their final lineup was Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard.

Excluding Kevin Garnett, the other four were the four most powerful people in the middle generation of American basketball. LeBron James ranked first on the ESPN player ranking this season. Dwight Howard ranked third, Dwyane Wade ranked sixth, and Carmelo Anthony ranked tenth in the league.

While Nowitzki, who had the highest ranking on the Western side, was 15th in the league.

How to compare?

Are eggs going to smash stones?

Carmelo Anthony passed the basketball to Wade, Wade held the ball and arrived at the front court, Fan Xi met him without giving an inch, he spread his arms and blocked "Flash" Wade's way without fear.

Many people said Wade's assault ability was not as fast as when he was young.

However, as long as Wade was willing, he could enter the opponent's paint area to score at any time.

Moreover, his upper body strength, which was comparable to inside players, was enough for him to easily crush Fan Xi.

He didn't do that; he passed the basketball to LeBron James.

James swung back and forth outside the three-point line. He didn't like to do such flashy movements in front of guards, but facing Nowitzki, he felt he could do more.

Defending small with big, and still standing outside the three-point line.

It was inherently more advantageous for the small guy.

Not to mention it was LeBron James.

James made a slight adjustment backward, and then he launched a charge like lightning. His physical fitness was extremely astonishing. Even though Nowitzki retreated in advance, he still missed a beat when defending.

His tall body couldn't handle such agile conditioned reflexes... Thump!

Nowitzki actually fell to the ground on his butt at a critical moment.

Staples Center rang with conditioned-reflex laughter.

Compared to Nowitzki, James was more liked by American fans.

This was a natural sense of closeness.

James succeeded in one go; he rushed into the paint, before Kevin Love could return to defend... Boom!

He completed a powerful violent dunk.

146:145.

There was 1 minute and 8 seconds left in the game.

LeBron James, with the courage of ten thousand men, killed into the paint and forcefully cut a violent dunk, and knocked Nowitzki over outside the three-point line.

This scene was very much in line with the aesthetics of American fans.

The scene was boiling.

The DJ shouted LeBron James's name with a long tail.

The Eastern bench was invigorated.

Dwyane Wade rushed over, jumped up, and bumped chests with James to celebrate.

This was very much in line with James's image.

Little Emperor, right!

The future superstar ruling the league, right.

It was also very much in line with people's positioning of Nowitzki.

A great white foreign star, a superstar who always set off others at critical moments.

Nowitzki made a big fool of himself again.

This scene would definitely appear repeatedly in the All-Star review history film, used to set off James's greatness.

Charles Barkley was extremely happy on TV.

At this time, Fan Xi walked over; he pulled Nowitzki up.

He saw the fear and despair in the bottom of Nowitzki's eyes.

Then, the whole world watched him pat Nowitzki's chest hard.

And, he reached out and pressed Nowitzki's head down, roaring in a low voice in his ear: "Damn it, cheer up. Now is not the time to repent for failure, don't be like a sissy. There has never been any god or emperor, or Chosen One, you can still overturn him."

After speaking, Fan Xi turned back; he received the basketball from Kevin Love.

At this time, Wade had already followed up.

Full-court pressure.

The Eastern team showed their daggers; they took the most determined attitude, with super strength and will, to strangle the danger at half-court.

They were like the overbearing United States, arrogantly placing the battlefield at someone else's doorstep.

Fan Xi watched Wade fly over with the confidence of victory.

He wasn't panicked at all, even though Kobe on the sidelines secretly clenched his fists for him, even though the Chinese fans on the other side of the ocean held their breath one by one, worried and afraid, fearing that it would affect Fan Xi's performance.

However, Fan Xi was very calm.

His breathing was even.

He was ready to "kill" Wade.

Right at half-court. ===== CHAPTER 89 =====