Basketball miracles

Chapter 230 [Why do you love shooting three-pointers so much?]

Xiao Tu's powerful dunk greatly boosted the Heat's morale, demonstrating their dominance in a head-to-head confrontation with their core player.

Pat Riley was excited watching Xiao Tu play from the sidelines, believing that this goal could be the turning point of the game.

Xiao Tu has excellent physical talent, but the main reason he dropped to the second round, besides his college record, is that his physical qualities are not good enough. He was no match for the black players during the physical test.

Riley was now surprised to discover that Xiao Tu's physical attributes weren't as bad as the physical test data suggested; at least they were average. Furthermore, his technique was outstanding, and he always seemed to have a way to break through in one-on-one situations with the ball.

Pierce got a little carried away after being dunked on and immediately demanded the ball back.

He was selected to the Eastern Conference All-Star team for two consecutive seasons and considered himself a big star. Before the game, he fantasized about dominating Xiao Tu and receiving praise, but now he's being insulted by a rookie—how can he tolerate that?
Pierce dribbled past Xiao Tu with a screen and drove into the paint, determined to score, but was stopped by Haslem's block.

Pierce stormed to the free-throw line, missed the first, and made the second. 89-87.

The Heat are on offense. Xiao Tu receives the ball two steps beyond the three-point line, but his teammates have spread out again. A true superstar play is when, in crucial moments, the team abandons its own tactics to create a one-on-one opportunity for its leading scorer.

Xiao Tu dribbled between his legs and passed the ball to his left hand. He took a step forward, lowered his center of gravity, dribbled the ball from his left hand to his right hand, made a sharp change of direction, and passed Pierce. He then stopped abruptly one step inside the three-point line and launched a mid-range shot.

Williams left Eddie Jones open for a moment, and Xiao Tu's pull-up jumper was fluid and went in cleanly! 91-87.

Xiao Tu doesn't completely avoid mid-range shots; when several players are crowding the area near the paint, he stops dribbling forward.

He scored his 39th point, nearing 40+.

O'Brien's decision to assign Pierce to guard Xiao Tu was a mistake, but the Celtics genuinely lack a defensive specialist this season. Pierce's defensive efficiency is above average, and he volunteered to guard Xiao Tu, so the coach allowed it.

The Celtics fans were still booing Xiao Tu, but the boos have subsided. Xiao Tu completely outplayed Pierce today; even someone who doesn't understand basketball can see who's better.

O'Brien sensed the Heat's high morale and called a timeout.

Calling a timeout at this point is usually the most effective. It can disrupt the opponent's offensive rhythm and allow your own players to calm down, preventing them from getting too hasty.

Both teams made substitutions, with Mike James coming off for the Celtics and Marcus Banks coming on.

For the Heat, Wade and Odom returned to the court, while Alston and Haslem rested.

The strategy was to spread out the players so that Xiao Tu could take one-on-one shots, and Riley instructed Wade and Odom to abandon jump shots and only attack the basket.

The game continued, and the Celtics once again adopted an extreme tactic: as soon as Xiao Tu received the ball, two players immediately double-teamed him, leaving the others to shoot.

Wade was sleepwalking on offense, and no amount of encouragement could improve his performance. He played for a minute before committing a hasty foul, accumulating five fouls. Riley brought Wade in to strengthen the defense, deciding not to substitute him and intending to let him play until he fouled out.

Wade was very noticeable on the defensive end because the Celtics relentlessly attacked him.

For reasons unknown, O'Brien gave the 13th pick, Banks, the right to shoot.

身高188CM，体重93公斤的黑人后卫班克斯是真敢投，真不进。他出场后5投1中，罚球2中2爆砍4分，还有1次失误2次犯规。

Banks entered the game for less than 5 minutes and immediately led the Heat to extend their lead to double digits.

He also did a great job of "assisting with rebounds," having a big man pull out to screen for him when he took the shot, so that only one person could grab the offensive rebound.

Xiao Tu grabbed four defensive rebounds, bringing his total rebounds to 15 without him even realizing it. After assisting Odom on a fast break dunk, his assist count also reached 10.

Xiao Tu closely guarded Pierce off the ball, intercepted the pass, and launched a fast break, assisting Wade for a layup.

O'Brien then remembered to bring in Mike James, who had scored more points, and replaced Banks, the "Blacksmith".

Xiao Tu sees absolutely no potential in Banks; he lacks playmaking ability as a point guard and is too short as a shooting guard—a standard bust.

James was in much better form, hitting a three-pointer from the middle shortly after entering the game, though it was a bit late.

Xiao Tu forced his way past his opponent on the left side beyond the three-point line but failed. He dribbled a step in front of the free-throw line, backed down against Pierce, and then suddenly turned to the left and shot a fadeaway jumper.

He can shoot both face-up and back-to-the-basket, making him virtually unstoppable. Even with two defenders double-teaming him, they couldn't block him, and the ball swished through the net. With this basket, Xiao Tu's score reached 41 points.

Time was running out for the Celtics. They could score, but they couldn't defend. With 1 minute and 33 seconds left, Xiao Tu used a screen to get rid of the defender and hit a three-pointer from the right side at a 60-degree angle, sealing the victory.

Many Celtics fans left early, unable to bear watching any longer.

If Banks hadn't gone on a spree, the two teams might have gone to the final quarter, but the Celtics suddenly collapsed.

In crucial moments, no one on the Celtics could step up and score consecutively, highlighting the significant gap in ability between their core players.

After being primarily guarded by Xiao Tu, Pierce only scored 3 points in the final quarter, failing to take any shots or even receive passes in crucial moments. He went 1-for-2 from the field and 1-for-2 from the free-throw line, grabbing two defensive rebounds but no assists, a completely unacceptable performance.

The Heat finished 109-98, with a 32-19 run in the final quarter, completing a comeback victory over the Celtics and securing their second consecutive win.

肖途出战42分钟，25投16中，三分球13中7，罚球6中5，砍下44分15篮板11助攻2抢断1盖帽。他还有3次失误，3次犯规。

Xiao Tu's stats were outstanding, nearly achieving a 50+ point triple-double, with an exceptional performance in the final quarter. This was despite his relatively weak outside shooting in the second half, having already hit four three-pointers in the first quarter.

韦德因为犯规多只打了32分钟，13投4中，三分球2中1，得到9分2篮板4助攻，还有5次犯规。

Wade didn't get a single free throw in this game, and Xiao Tu felt he was just an unlucky guy being targeted by the referees. Even though he plays a style that involves attacking the basket, the referees turned a blind eye to the defenders' minor fouls. When Wade was on defense, he was called for fouls whenever there was physical contact, not because his defensive moves were aggressive, but because Mike James was weak.

Jones was the Heat's second-leading scorer today, recording 20 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal. His catch-and-shoot percentage was decent, but his other aspects were average.

The Heat won the game despite having only two players score in double figures, while the Celtics had six players score in double figures, including three reserves.

埃里克-威廉姆斯7投6中，三分球1中1，罚球4中2，高效得到15分5篮板。

托尼-巴蒂4投4中，罚球2中2，得到10分7篮板。

The Celtics lost because of their key player. Pierce went 8-for-16 from the field, 1-for-3 from three-point range, and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line, scoring 22 points, grabbing 7 rebounds, and dishing out 4 assists. His performance wasn't bad; his shooting percentage was higher than his personal average, but it couldn't compare to Xiao Tu's.

In the final quarter, when the Celtics needed their star player to score, Pierce simply disappeared, disappointing the fans.

Heat fans were ecstatic. Despite the Heat's consecutive away games, Xiao Tu delivered a phenomenal triple-double. Pierce is a star player in the same position, and Xiao Tu's ability to dominate Pierce proves he's definitely an All-Star caliber player.

Xiao Tu's shooting percentage was the most impressive; he didn't take many shots in the two games but still scored a lot of points. He made 15 three-pointers in those two games, which is unbelievable.

At the post-game press conference, a reporter asked Xiao Tu, "Why do you love shooting three-pointers so much?"

Xiao Tu said casually, "Because I can't do a 360-degree windmill dunk, I can only shoot three-pointers. If I were good at dunking, I would have signed up for the dunk contest this season."

Xiao Tu doesn't want everyone to follow his example and bombard the court with three-pointers, expressing his desire to "play basketball while flying in the sky." Dunking is definitely a fan favorite, and he can dunk too, but he's still a long way from getting his head level with the rim.

The reporter asked, "You've recorded two consecutive 40+ point triple-doubles. What are your thoughts?"

"I don't have any special feelings about it; this is just how my playing style results in these statistics. I don't think statistics are the most important thing; the key is winning. Statistics from losing games are meaningless." Xiao Tu often says this, making it easier to compare himself with superstars who don't win.

The reporter asked, "How would you rate your teammates' performance?"

“We are playing back-to-back games, and many of our players are fatigued, which is very tough. I hope the upcoming schedule will be easier so we can have time to rest.”

No matter how badly his teammates perform, Xiao Tu will not blame anyone; that's how it is during the adjustment period.

He's content as long as his teammates don't fight for the ball in crucial moments or act as spies; he doesn't ask for anything more. He simply can't stand rookies like Banks who rush to miss shots in clutch situations.

The reporter asked, "You played the longest for both teams, don't you get tired?"

"I've always trained hard to improve my physical fitness, and high-intensity training has become a habit. I have great stamina, and being young, I recover quickly. Back-to-back games are no challenge for me, so I took more shots today..."

Xiao Tu answered all questions fluently, and it's believed that the media will no longer ignore him after this match and will give him prominent coverage.

(End of this chapter)