Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 288 Dominance, Ku Haotian

Upon seeing the Clippers' starting lineup, Duan Ran, who was in the commentary booth, said in confusion: "The Clippers are continuing to use the same lineup as in the last game. This lineup has never been in the lead. I don't understand why the Clippers are still insisting on it."

The Staples Center was packed with people today.

The celebrities snapped up the first two rows; it was a grand party, and everywhere you looked, there were women with amazing figures and stunning looks.

Besides some die-hard Lakers fans and celebrities, many big names from Hollywood also came.

Gal Gadot was pleasantly surprised to see Chen Fang approaching. When she realized he was really coming for her, she jumped for joy like a little girl.

"Thank you for your support, you look beautiful today!" Touched by Gal Gadot's repeated support for him on Twitter, Chen Fang took the opportunity during his warm-up to come over and greet Wonder Woman.

"You look handsome today too!" Gail looked at the domineering, sunny young man.

"Please cheer for us!"

“Of course, Let’s Go Clippers!” Gail was overjoyed and quickly replied.

"Yes!" Chen Fang replied simply, then hurriedly walked away, ignoring Jenna next door.

After a brief warm-up, the players returned to the locker room to begin their final preparations.

"Everyone will have open looks, and I demand that you attack, keep attacking!" Rivers said sternly to the entire team.

"In the last game, we proved that positional warfare is effective. If it weren't for our hot shooting, we might not have lost."

"As soon as the ball gets your hands on it, your first thought should be to attack. Show courage and determination, we must defend the dignity of our home ground!"

After he finished speaking, Rivers looked at Chen Fang.

The latter slowly stood up, and after all the team members' eyes were on him, Chen Fang spoke.

"After the second game, I was thinking that the Warriors weren't as scary as I thought. They are indeed very powerful, but it seems like we can score against them too."

"That's enough. I don't want to give you any motivational speeches. We're all professional players, and it's time to show our true abilities."

In the past, Chen Fang could have talked a lot. For example, during the NCAA tournament, he needed to be highly motivated in almost every game because everyone was just a college player, and their pursuit of honor was very pure.

But this is the NBA now, and everyone has their own reasons. Under the general premise, everyone naturally craves honor and status.

But this idea can waver at any time; you can't generalize and see every NBA player as a warrior.

First of all, the alliance is a business, and everyone who joins it is thinking about making a lot of money.

Things often don't go as planned, so you can't expect perfection.

The locker room responded enthusiastically to the head coach and team leaders' wishes, and everyone's face was burning with passion.

This is enough.

Chen thought to himself.

The moment the two teams stood on the court, the roar of the crowd filled the Staples Center. In a sense, when the Lakers lost their playoff spot, the Clippers became the only representative of Los Angeles.

This is also a microcosm of Los Angeles and San Francisco, a city that rivals each other in technology, culture, and finance.

Los Angeles will not acknowledge San Francisco's strength, just as San Francisco will not consider Los Angeles to be any great.

Once upon a time, during the Lakers dynasty, San Francisco could only look up in awe. Now, with the Warriors dynasty upon them, their desire to challenge Los Angeles is even stronger.

This is the underlying logic behind why the Clippers were able to quickly gain support from Los Angeles.

This city needs heroes, whether they're from the Lakers or someone else.

Now, Chen Fang is trying to become the city's new hero.

Zubac successfully jumped for the ball, and the moment Chen Fang received it, the entire stadium erupted in cheers. Finally, they could witness Chen Wang's heroic figure on their home turf.

This cry also embodies the hopes that Luocheng has for Chen Fang.

Iguodala had already moved closer. He thought Chen Fang would calm down, but the next second, he was horrified.

Chen Fang suddenly accelerated, using Zubac's mid-lane cover to shake off the latter.

Green and Klay quickly collapsed, closing in at the free-throw line.

A white light flashed so fast it blurred as it passed through the closing gate. Chen Fang raised the basketball high in his right hand and slammed it down, igniting the atmosphere in the arena.

"Chen Fang, you've opened the scoring again! This is a good omen. Use your unparalleled speed to break through the warriors' defenses and take the lead!" Ke Fan shouted.

Celebrities and stars all stood up and excitedly high-fived their companions and friends.

Thunderous shouts began to appear.

"BIG KING!"

The entire arena erupted in this chant. Clippers fans felt that neither Big King nor Kings were enough to express their respect for Chen Fang. In the Clippers fan community, BIG KING suddenly unified everyone's aesthetic.

Thus, the nickname that would accompany Chen Fang throughout his career appeared for the first time at the Staples Center.

Furthermore, BIG KING is both a name for a super burger king and a king-size bed, both of which aptly describe the lifestyle of North Americans, so it quickly gained widespread acceptance.

So the DJ joined in the chanting.

The entire stadium erupted in cheers immediately after Chen Fang scored his first point.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr frowned, realizing today's game would be very difficult. Although he had mentally prepared himself in the locker room before the game, he was worried about whether the players would be affected.

Curry quickly responded in the next possession with his signature three-pointer, telling Kerr the answer.

Don't worry, I'm here for you!
That three-pointer immediately lowered the temperature of the arena.

But Chen Fang wouldn't allow it. He pushed the ball over the center line, and facing Iguodala's defense, he once again used Zubac, who had retreated to the top of the arc, to gain a brief space to get away.

Klay switched onto Chen, but Chen's speed in changing direction was extremely fast, and he broke through with just a push of the ball.

He caught up with the bouncing basketball, then jumped up as he caught the ball.

Chen Fang didn't hesitate at all, standing a third of a meter away from the flank.

He doesn't care whether he gets in or not; he needs to set an example. Today is not only a positional battle, but also a chaotic battle.

One punch can prevent a hundred.

A head-on collision, a chaotic battle to win.

The ball bounced off the backboard and into the basket. It was clearly a lucky shot, but Chen Fang turned to face the audience on this side and raised his arms in celebration.

"yeah!"

The entire arena erupted in response, which not only invigorated them but also ignited the passion of the other Clippers players.

Durant responded with a pull-up jumper, using his nearly 3-meter shooting height.

Turning around, Chen Fang made a long pass to Kuzma, who received the ball without slowing down and took three steps to attack the basket in one dribble.

Green couldn't stop him in time and watched helplessly as Kuzma scored with a basket.

As soon as he landed, Chen Fang rushed up to him and roared at him face to face.

"That's it, that's it, show some spirit!" Chen Fang yelled at Kuzma, pounding his chest repeatedly.

This undoubtedly gave Kuzma greater confidence.

Furthermore, activating Kuzma also allowed Zubac, Richon, and Harrell to be further unleashed.

Just when the Clippers were gaining momentum, Curry extinguished their momentum with two consecutive three-pointers.

He hit a three-pointer from the top of the arc to close the gap.

Then, without the ball in the bottom corner, they scored again, taking the lead.

Those two three-pointers completely woke up Clippers fans and showed the entire league who the best breakout player in the league is.

Rivers looked helpless, the fans looked bewildered, the celebrities sighed, but one person smiled.

Chen Fang called out to Curry from afar, "Hey, Stephen."

"Let's put together a challenge today."

He extended an invitation, and Curry, gritting his teeth, gladly accepted.

Chen Fang broke through, took a step back and pulled up for a jump shot, scoring his 7th point.

Curry circled half-court twice without the ball, then, with a handoff from Green, knocked away the defender, drove to the basket, and scored his 11th point with a high bank shot.

The Clippers quickly inbounded the ball from the baseline, Chen Fang accelerated forward, shook off Iguodala and faced Green's help defense, passed to Zubac who had finally crossed half-court, and then continued to rush into the paint without stopping.

Zubac's slightly high pass almost resulted in a turnover, but Chen Fang leaped high and caught the ball with one hand in mid-air, turning it into a classic alley-oop.

Whether in North America or China, Chen Fang's classic goals can even last for a full twenty minutes. One Chen Fang fan even admitted that when he encounters setbacks in life, he habitually opens Chen Fang's scoring highlights to regain his strength.

A high-definition slow-motion compilation of goals can garner hundreds of thousands of likes on short video platforms.

That's the charm of Chen Fang.

As Chen Fang landed and was about to crash onto the floor to dissipate the force, fans behind the baseline reached out their hands to catch him.

Fans cheered for him, and Chen Fang responded to the excited Clippers fans in his own way.

The entire first quarter was arguably the most classic quarter of the Warriors-Ship Team battle.

Curry and Chen Fang poured their will and spirit onto the Staples Center court, composing a magnificent and exquisite picture of competition.

At the end of the first quarter, the score was 33-34.

The Clippers led by 1 point at the end of the first quarter.

Curry scored 16 points, and Chen Fang scored 14 points.

Both sides' key figures displayed extraordinary momentum.

"This was an unprecedented offensive battle. The Clippers, playing at home, delivered their best team offense of the series. The spirit and momentum of everyone overwhelmed the Warriors. Praise to the Clippers, praise to Chen Fang! Today's game is destined to become a classic!" David shouted, raising his arms. In the second quarter, Chen Fang returned to the court without rest. He gave up on handling the ball and began playing off-ball with his back to the basket on the wing.

In the past few days, he has been reviewing Kobe's playoff offense and he has discovered a secret.

When the opponent double-teams him with the ball, Kobe's strategy is to hook the ball in the elbow area, receive the ball and back down. If the opponent starts to double-team, he will pass the ball laterally to the weak side to give his teammates a numerical advantage.

This was a strategy Chen Fang had always used, but Kobe Bryant executed it better in terms of timing and execution.

He doesn't just post up; he keenly observes the degree of double-teaming, retreats beyond the three-point line, and intermittently takes possession of the ball.

Chen Fang believed he could do it, and he was going to try it now.

Chen Fang leaned against Iguodala, who provided him with a powerful counterattack.

Instead of seeking confrontation, Chen Fang let Iguodala push him out. But just as he reached the three-point line, Lou Williams understood Chen Fang's gesture and flicked the ball behind the two of them, bouncing it to the ground.

Wipe away, step forward, receive the ball, and pull up for a shot.

The several movements were completed in one go. Iguodala had just turned around when he stared in disbelief at Chen Fang jumping up.

As Durant continued to punish Kuzma's defense with his pull-up jumpers, the Clippers placed Chen in the same spot on the next possession to try and score two points against Iguodala.

Iguodala once again tried to use pure strength to push Chen Fang out of the danger zone. This time, Chen Fang began to respond, keeping his eyes fixed on Lou Williams with the ball.

His instructions to Lou Williams were that he should contact him whenever he needed to, no matter what the situation.

So when Lou Williams saw Chen Fang suddenly abandon his position and step back beyond the three-point line, he passed the ball to him again.

He catches the ball and rises, his hand swiftly bringing the knife down.

Iguodala was confused; he began to question the meaning of life.

He has faced all the superstars, each one unique, but none of them are like Chen Fang.

His playing style is so versatile that he has no idea what his opponent will do next.

Cole frowned. Iguodala was better suited to defending those aggressive forwards, while Livingston was a better fit for someone like Chen Fang.

After he was substituted, Cole went up to him to comfort him.

“He’s a problem. Sorry, I didn’t defend against him well!” Iguodala sat down dejectedly.

When Livingston came on, Chen Fang suddenly became fierce. He positioned himself deep, and as soon as he received the ball, he rose up and scored four points in a row.

Green, the Warriors' on-court commander, pulled Livingston aside, indicating that he would take over once Chen Fang was in position.

But when it came to Green, the atmosphere in the stands immediately reached a fever pitch. Green was already the Warriors' most booed player, and when Chen Fang spoke up against him, the fans' hatred reached its peak.

"Hit him! Hit him!" The shouts from the stands were like waves, one higher than the next.

Chen Fang fulfilled the fans' wishes. He sidestepped Green, received the ball, and immediately stepped back after a side swipe, similar to pulling back a chair, causing Green to lean forward. He then stepped up and down, and with his right hand, he held the basketball high and flicked it towards the backboard.

After seeing the ball go in, Chen Fang shook his head at Green without saying anything, just touched his head and then bent down to put his hands below his knees.

It was extremely insulting, but Green pretended not to see it and rushed past Chen Fang first.

"With his superb footwork, Chen Fang outmaneuvered Green with a post-up move. Their rivalry can be traced back to the first game of the regular season. Up to today, the two can be considered the biggest nemesis between the Warriors and the Clippers." Duan Ran wanted to say something more, but then saw Curry hit another three-pointer.

"This is Curry's sixth three-pointer today. He's been incredibly accurate today." Duan Ran immediately lowered his voice and glanced at the scoreboard.

"58 to 52. Despite the Clippers' full offensive firepower, they were simply outmatched by Curry today!"

This is a microcosm of the second quarter. Chen Fang kept scoring, and he had already scored 23 points, but Curry was even more dominant, with 31 points.

This is just 7 points away from his best first half of the season, which was 38 points in a half against the New Orleans Pelicans on October 20, 2017.

As Klay rubbed salt into the wound, he hit a three-pointer in the final seconds.

With the score at 63-74, the Warriors went into halftime with an 11-point deficit.

The Clippers' morale plummeted. In the first half, everyone was scoring and defending, but reality dealt them a heavy blow, leaving everyone sober.

In the TNT studio, Barkley frankly stated, "If the Clippers lose today, their fighting spirit against the Warriors will dissipate, and it will be difficult for them to recover."

"Because they played very well today, their best performance out of the three games."

"But it also brought out the strongest Curry and the strongest Warriors?" O'Neal asked in response.

"Yes, this Warriors team did a great job of keeping things calm and balanced on both offense and defense. No matter how much Chen Fang scored, the Warriors were always able to maintain the score."

"In some matches, the points lost from the very beginning are destined to become the bullet that kills you."

At the scene, David bluntly stated: "Curry responded with three-pointers after three-pointers, extinguishing the Clippers' desire to win. I really hope the Clippers can maintain their first-half mentality at halftime. Let's pray for them."

In the Clippers' locker room, Brian pointed out defensive issues to each player individually. As for offense, the team had done a good job, with every player on the court scoring.

Kuzma scored 11 points, Zubac 8 points, Lou Williams 12 points, Richaun 7 points, Harrell 5 points, and Chen Fang added 20 points.

Those 63 points are crystal clear.

After Brian finished speaking, he looked at Rivers, who remained silent, and then looked at Chen Fang.

Chen Fang remained expressionless, and the only sounds in the locker room were heavy breathing and faint noise.

Before the game, no one expected the Warriors to go even further. If it were the Clippers in the past, they might have been crushed by now.

74 points in the first half, that's terrifying.

Curry's 31 points, Klay's 15 points, and Durant's 18 points combined for 64 points, one more than the entire Clippers team.

Everyone was waiting for Chen Fang to speak, and it wasn't until the staff reminded him that he was about to go on stage that Chen Fang stood up and said something.

"Believe in yourself and believe in your teammates."

"I've never given up, and I believe you haven't either!"

With just a few words, the desire for victory was rekindled.

At the start of the third quarter, the Clippers frantically switched on defense, with Rivers boldly using Wallace and Williams, two two-way players who had been brought in as substitutes due to injuries to Channing and Tony.

They also replaced Zubac with DeAndre Jordan to cover a wider defensive area.

But the Warriors continued their first-half form, and led by their Big Three, they broke through the Clippers' defense one by one, constantly tearing apart it with their running. DeAndre Jordan committed several fouls, and Ivica Zubac's slow movement was also exploited.

Chen Fang did not give up. He kept breaking through and backing down his opponents, preventing the score from widening.

But tonight is truly Curry's night.

Ku Haotian achieved his highest three-point shooting percentage of the entire season.

He made 11 of 16 shots, scoring a whopping 58 points.

The Warriors crushed the Clippers 115-132 on the road.

"Although Chen Fang scored 36 points, 8 assists, and 12 rebounds, he faced a super Curry today. Curry scored 58 points, 6 assists, and 7 rebounds, and single-handedly destroyed the Clippers," Duan Ran said in a low voice, his heart filled with regret as he watched Chen Fang helplessly substituted before the final buzzer.

When the final whistle blew, Curry walked towards Chen Fang.

"I won today. I welcome you to challenge me again next time." After saying that, Curry happily ran towards his celebrating teammates.

Securing a victory on the road is crucial for the entire series.

He felt like a clown, but Chen Fang quickly erased that feeling.

Looking at the Warriors celebrating openly on the road, Chen Fang smiled and turned to walk towards his teammates.

He didn't forget his frustrated teammates, comforting them one by one, and leading them and the fans still in the stands to applaud and express their apologies.

Back in the locker room, Chen Fang unexpectedly asked all the coaches to leave first.

After the door closed, Chen Fang stood in the center of the room and said to everyone, "I couldn't beat the Warriors today, but I don't blame anyone."

“We’ve done very well, but today we’ve run into a super Curry.”

"Just like in the first game, they ran into a super version of me!"

"Competition is brutal. We lost today, but that doesn't mean we'll lose next time. Guys, let's recover and face the next one."

The players were surprised by Chen Fang's calm demeanor, but then Chen Fang opened the door and let the coaches in.

Rivers' appearance made everyone suppress their emotions again.

As for what Rivers said, many people didn't remember because they were too upset. Seeing everyone so frustrated, Rivers didn't say much, but just asked Chen Fang, "Are you going after the game?"

"Go!" Chen Fang answered resolutely.

Ten minutes later, Chen Fang, sitting at the press conference table, faced various questions from reporters with a calm expression.

"Today we faced a super warrior, we did very well, but that's competitive sports."

"Today, Curry showed me what a superstar looks like. I haven't reached that level yet, but the future is long, and I will remember today."

He put down the microphone and calmly left.

"Is he...?" Brian was very worried.

"No, he just understands that his current abilities are not yet at the point where his threats can always be counted."

"Curry displayed his dominance today, which may be a good thing," Rivers said, voicing his speculation.

Instead of going home, Chen Fang drove to Griffith Observatory.

He sat there alone until Wu Zi, worried, called him.

After returning home, Chen Fang asked Wu Zi a question, which was quite unusual for him.

"Let's go home during the offseason."

Wu Zi stared intently at Chen Fang, first embracing him, then softly agreeing, "I'll listen to you."

(End of this chapter)